Genesis 4:2

And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

And she again bare his brother Abel - Hebrew, 'she added to bear.' "Abel," or, according to the Hebrew, Haabel (H1893), a breath-metaphorically, vanity, weakness, transitoriness (Psalms 39:5; Romans 8:20), or grief, lamentation. The name, if given at his birth, probably originated in the painful sense which his arrival produced in the breast of his mother, by reminding her of the misery and short-lived existence she had entailed on her offspring; or it may be that it was not bestowed upon him until after death, and then it would have a reference to his sudden and tragic end by the violent hands of his brother. This is the opinion of Kennicott, who, after stating it as his persuasion that the name of Abel was given immediately after the murder, and became the only name by which he was thenceforth known and recorded, adds, 'It is remarkable that he is not called Abel in any speech made either of him or to him during his life. He is called "his brother Abel." The word "brother" is repeated seven times (Genesis 4:8-11).' A great variety of opinions are entertained respecting the time that elapsed between the creation of the first pair and the birth of their oldest son.

Since, however, no data are furnished by which we can determine the duration of their residence in the garden of Eden, so it is equally impossible to form any well-founded opinion as to what length of time elapsed before their oldest son was born. One thing is certain, that he was born after the expulsion from paradise; and it may be inferred on Scripture grounds (Psalms 51:5; Ecclesiastes 7:29) that he was also begotten after that great change in the condition of Adam and Eve had occurred. Had his birth taken place while the primeval pair were in the full possession of their original rectitude and immortality, this son would have inherited the same pure and exalted nature, and have come into the world in circumstances equally favourable as the first man was at the period of his creation. But, fallen as his parents had become from their primitive integrity, they transmitted to their offspring a corrupt and disordered nature; and hence, their oldest son, though doubtless instructed by his penitent and pious parents in the knowledge and revealed worship of God, and unexposed to any moral contagion or seductive example from without, yet gave early indications of that moral perversion, that strong propensity to evil, which has characterized the human race ever since the fall.

Of course, Abel was a partaker of the same sinful nature; but, since his heart was given to God early, through faith in the appointed method of salvation, he was made an heir of grace and a subject of holiness. Beyond this solitary notice of the birth of these two forementioned sons, the sacred history gives no insight into the domestic state and household economy of our first parents. It is evident, however, that they lived constantly in the open air, which is by far the pleasantest mode of life when the atmosphere is warm, dry, and salubrious: or, if they sought any covert, the only roof they had over them was the umbrageous canopy of trees. No other protection would they need from the weather in the delicious climate of Eden.

And Abel was a keeper of sheep - literally, 'fed a flock,' which in Oriental countries always includes goats as well as sheep.

But Cain was a tiller of the ground - literally, a servant of the soil х 'ªdaamaah (H127)], red earth, or arable land. Whether Adam had trained his sons in their early youth to these different occupations, or the young men themselves made a voluntary choice of them as their favourite pursuits, the record is interesting and valuable, as showing that the primitive condition of mankind was very different from that of wild hunters prowling in the forests. Both the pastoral and the agricultural modes of life are incompatible with the rudeness of barbarism; and the co-existence of both in the family of Adam affords conclusive evidence that they lived in a civilized state of society, (see Remarks on Genesis 2:1-25). But objections have been urged against the truth of this record, on the ground of an alleged impossibility that the sons of the first man could, at so early a period as their rising into manhood, have possessed the knowledge or procured the implements requisite for their respective occupations-that Abel could have gotten vessels to hold milk, or a distaff for spinning, cords to tether, or knives to slaughter sheep; and much more, that Cain could have acquired hatchets to cut and fashion timber, tools to make his plowshare, furnaces to make his hammers, a mill to grind his corn, skill and foresight to preserve grain and fruits as seed for a future season, as well as an acquaintance with many arts which the labours of a farmer imply.

It might be sufficient to meet these objections by the statement that there is no difficulty in conceiving that the pursuits both of a shepherd and a farmer could be exercised by the first men in the simple manner in which both occupations are carried on to this day in the East, where the sheep are domesticated, and where the soil requires simply to be scratched, as it were, for the reception of the seed. But the true explanation (see the note at Genesis 2:20) is, that man was taught by God a knowledge of all that was essentially necessary for the supply of his needs, as well as for the duties of his situation; and that he would undoubtedly bring with him both his acquired experience and the implements he had used in the garden, when "he was sent forth to till the ground from whence he was taken."