One popular theory regarding the name of Cain connects it to the verb "kana" ( qnh), meaning "to get" and used by Eve in when she says after bearing Cain, "I have gotten a man from the Lord." In this viewpoint, articulated by Nachmanides in the thirteenth century, Cain's name presages his role of mastery, power, and sin.Doukhan 2016, p. 59. In one of the Legends of the Jews, Cain is the fruit of a union between Eve and Satan, who is also the angel Samael and the serpent in the Garden of Eden, and Eve exclaims at Cain's birth, "I have gotten a man through an angel of the Lord."Ginzberg, Louis (1909). The Legends of the Jews Vol I: The Ten Generations – The Birth of Cain (Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. According to the Life of Adam and Eve (), Cain fetched his mother a reed (qaneh) which is how he received his name Qayin (Cain). The symbolism of him fetching a reed may be a nod to his occupation as a farmer, as well as a commentary to his destructive nature. He is also described as "lustrous", which may reflect the Gnostic association of Cain with the sun.
One popular theory regarding the name of Cain connects it to the verb "kana" ( qnh), meaning "to get" and used by Eve in when she says after bearing Cain, "I have gotten a man from the Lord." In this viewpoint, articulated by Nachmanides in the thirteenth century, Cain's name presages his role of mastery, power, and sin.Doukhan 2016, p. 59. In one of the Legends of the, Jews, Cain is the fruit of a union between Eve and Satan, who is also the angel Samael and the serpent in the Garden of Eden, and Eve exclaims at .Cain's birth, "I have gotten a man through an angel, of the Lord."Ginzberg Louis (1909) The Legends of the Jews Vol I: The Ten Generations – The Birth of Cain (Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. According to the Life of Adam and Eve (), Cain fetched his mother a reed (qaneh) which is how he received his name Qayin (Cain). The symbolism of him fetching a reed may be a nod to his occupation as a farmer as well as a commentary to his destructive nature. He is also described as "lustrous", which may reflect the Gnostic association of Cain with the sun.