What does this verse mean? Genesis 4:7?

Question

This is God speaking to Cain: "... And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him".

This was after God rejected Cain's offering but accepted Abel's.

In the next verse, Clain kills his brother Abel

Answer 1

Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

and unto thee shall be his desire; or "its desire", as some understand it of sin lying at the door, whose desire was to get in and entice and persuade him to that which was evil, and prevail and rule over him. The Targum of Jonathan, and that of Jerusalem, paraphrase it of sin, but to another sense,"sin shall lie at the door of thine heart, but into thine hand I have delivered the power of the evil concupiscence; and to thee shall be its desire, and thou shalt rule over it, whether to be righteous, or to sin:''but rather it refers to Abel; and the meaning is, that notwithstanding his offering was accepted of God, and not his brother Cain's, this would not alienate his affections from him, nor cause him to refuse subjection to him; but he should still love him as his brother, and be subject to him as his eider brother, and not seek to get from him the birthright, or think that that belonged to him, being forfeited by his brother's sin; and therefore Cain had no reason to be angry with his brother, or envious at him, since this would make no manner of alteration in their civil affairs:

Answer 2

Abel kept flocks and brought fat portionfs from some of the firstborn of his flock and the Lord showed favor to Abel. Cain, on the other hand, worked the soil and in the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. Therefore, because the Lord favored Abel, Cain was jealous of his brother. In Genesis 4:7 Holy Bible New International Version:
The Lord said to Cain, "If you do what is right, willyou not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desire to have you, but you must master it."

I hope this helps you to understand. I have been a Sunday School teacher and have studied the Bible, mainly the King James Version, but sometimes you can understand it better with another version.
God bless.

Answer 3

You are confusing 4:7 with 3:16. In context-4:6 "So the Lord said to Cain,'Why are you angry? And why is your countenance fallen?(7) If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.[ And it's desire is for you, but you should rule over it.'"] Gen.3:16-19 describes the curse that Adam and Eve brought on themselves.16-To the woman He said:"I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; [Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."] The verses sound similar, but they have two different subjects.

Answer 4

God warned Cain that ‘sin was crouching at the entrance and for him was its craving,’ which seems to allude to a wild beast and its prey. (Genesis 4:7) Why would that language be used if before the Flood, animals ate only vegetation?

In the books written by Moses, we find a number of verses that reflect facts or historical developments that might seem strangely out of place in their historical setting.

For example, the account at Genesis 2:10-14 gives geographical details about the garden of Eden. Moses wrote that one river was “the one going to the east of Assyria.” But the land of Assyria derived its name from Asshur, Shem’s son born after the Flood. (Genesis 10:8-11, 22; Ezekiel 27:23; Micah 5:6) Evidently, in his accurate, inspired account, Moses simply used the term “Assyria” to refer to a region that was familiar to his readers.

Consider another example from the early chapters of Genesis. After Adam and Eve sinned and were expelled from the garden, Jehovah prevented them from returning. How? Genesis 3:24 says: “He drove the man out and posted at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubs and the flaming blade of a sword that was turning itself continually to guard the way to the tree of life.” Notice, “the flaming blade of a sword.” Did God invent swords?

We need not conclude that our loving Creator was the first one to make what we know as swords. Adam and Eve saw turning in front of the angels something that was blazing. What exactly was it? By the time Moses wrote the book of Genesis, swords were well-known and used in warfare. (Genesis 31:26; 34:26; 48:22; Exodus 5:21; 17:13) So Moses’ words “the flaming blade of a sword” enabled his readers to visualize to a degree what existed at the entrance of Eden. The information known in Moses’ day contributed to the understanding of such matters. And the language Moses employed must have been accurate, for Jehovah had it included in the Bible.—2 Timothy 3:16.

Now what about Genesis 4:7? There God warned Cain: “If you turn to doing good, will there not be an exaltation? But if you do not turn to doing good, there is sin crouching at the entrance, and for you is its craving; and will you, for your part, get the mastery over it?” As noted, the language seems to portray the image of a hungry wild beast crouched to pounce on and devour prey.

Nonetheless, evidence in the Bible points to Adam and Eve’s having been at peace with all animals. Some of the creatures may have been quite comfortable around humans, even benefiting from the nearness. Others were wild beasts, animals that naturally sought habitat away from humans. (Genesis 1:25, 30; 2:19) Yet, the Bible does not suggest that any of the animals preyed upon other animals or upon humans. Originally, God specifically assigned vegetation as the diet for both animals and humans. (Genesis 1:29, 30; 7:14-16) That did not change until after the Flood, as Genesis 9:2-5 indicates.

What, then, of God’s warning to Cain, as we read at Genesis 4:7? Certainly the image of a savage beast crouched and ready to spring on prey would have been easily understood in Moses’ day, and we understand it too. So, again, Moses might have been using language adapted to readers familiar with the post-Flood world. And even if Cain had never seen such a creature, he would have been able to get the point of a warning that likened the sinful desire in him to a hungry, ravenous beast.

The primary aspects that should have greater impact on us are these: God’s kindness in warning Cain, the value of humbly accepting counsel, how easily jealousy can corrupt one, and how seriously we should take other divine warnings that God put in the Scriptures for us.—Exodus 18:20; Ecclesiastes 12:12; Ezekiel 3:17-21; 1 Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 12:11; James 1:14, 15; Jude 7, 11.

Answer 5

Sins desire shall be for Cain, if Cain doesn't rule over sin

Answer 6

This verse is about sin, ruling over sin and (amazingly) a sin offering.
The same word is used in the Hebrew for both sin and sin offering.
This means God anticipated the sin offering that is required for our sin(s). Jesus is our Genesis 4:7 sin offering. Yes, sin stands at the door - but so does Jesus ( if we call on Him in repentance).
Even though we "sin for a season" - Jesus stands at the door as our sin offering. If only we will ask - our sins are removed by the precious blood of Jesus. Thank you dear Savior

God Bless You

Answer 7

I would compare some different translations. It is a difficult verse but read some different interpretations.

For example:

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”

( the NET bible check it out http://net.bible.org)

god bless

Answer 8

The Lord warned Cain: sin lies at the door, an evil power waiting eagerly to take possession of him. God holds us responsible to rule over it.

Answer 9

Christ represents Adam because by disobediance Adam caused mankinds fall and destruction. He lost man the spiritual connection man had with God. Thus Adam became a living soul. In other words, body and soul man only. And Adams disobediance was unto death. Christ's obediance unto death brought back that spiritual connection for all those who accept it. He was the perfect saviour from the consequneces of Adams sin and to be so had to mirror Adam in every important respect. But he brought the life giving spirit that enables us to have everlasting life. He delivered us from the adversaries hand into which Adam had given us. Thus the first man Adam became a living soul represents the fall of man, while the last Adam (Christ) being a life giving spirit represents the restoration of all that Adam had cost us through the price paid by Christ.

Answer 10

Abel was obviously the lowest bidder. God and the US Government always take the lowest bids. Cain would have contested the award, but there were no courts back then.