Some idioms straight out of the Bible:
- A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
- A little bird told me
- A broken heart
- A cross to bear
- A drop in the bucket
- A house divided against itself cannot stand
- A law unto themselves
- A man after his own heart
- A soft answer turns away wrath
- A two-edged sword
- A voice crying in the wilderness
- All things must pass
- All things to all men
- Am I my brother's keeper?
- An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
- As old as Methuselah
- As old as the hills
- As white as snow
- As you sow so shall you reap
- Ashes to ashes dust to dust
- At his wits end
- Baptism of fire
- Be fruitful and multiply
- Beat swords into ploughshares
- Bite the dust
- Blessed are the peacemakers
- By the skin of your teeth
- By the sweat of your brow
- Can a leopard change its spots?
- Cast the first stone
- Coat of many colours
- Don't cast your pearls before swine
- Eat drink and be merry
- Faith will move mountains
- Fall from grace
- Fat of the land
- Feet of clay
- Fight the good fight
- Fire and brimstone
- Fly in the ointment
- For everything there is a season
- Forbidden fruit
- Go the extra mile
- Good Samaritan
- Harden your heart
- He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword
- Holier than thou
- In the twinkling of an eye
- It's better to give than to receive
- Labour of love
- Lamb to the slaughter
- Land of Nod (to Nod off) **
- Law unto themselves
- Let he who is without sin cast the first stone
- Let not the sun go down on your wrath
- Let there be light
- Letter of the law
- Living off the fat of the land
- Love thy neighbour as thyself
- Man does not live by bread alone
- Many are called but few are chosen
- Mark of Cain
- My cup runneth over
- No rest for the wicked
- Nothing new under the sun
- ye, of little faith
- Out of the mouths of babes
- Physician heal thyself
- Pride goes before a fall
- Put words in one's mouth
- Put your house in order
- Red sky at night; sailor’s delight
- Reap the whirlwind
- See eye to eye
- Set your teeth on edge
- Sign of the times
- Skin of your teeth
- Sour grapes
- Spare the rod and spoil the child
- Strait and narrow
- The apple of his eye
- The blind leading the blind
- The bread of life
- The ends of the earth
- The fruits of your loins
- The letter of the law
- The love of money is the root of all evil
- The patience of Job
- The powers that be
- The root of the matter
- The salt of the earth
- The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
- The straight and narrow
- The way of all flesh
- The writing is on the wall
- Thorn in the flesh
- To everything there is a season
- Wash your hands of the matter
- Weighed in the balances and found wanting
- Wisdom of Solomon
- Woe is me
- Wolf in sheep's clothing
The Land of Nod also refers to the mythical land of sleep, a pun on Land of Nod (Gen. 4:16) [1]. To “go off to the land of Nod” plays with the phrase to “nod off”, meaning to go to sleep. The first recorded use of the phrase to mean "sleep" comes from Jonathan Swift in his Complete Collection of Polite and Ingenious Conversation (1737) [2] and Gulliver's Travels. A later instance of this usage appears in the poem The Land of Nod [3] by Robert Louis Stevenson from the A Child's Garden of Verses and Underwoods [4](1885)collection.
In The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes book, The Land of Nod is a pun on the mythical land of sleep, or The Dreaming, Cain's destination after his murdering his brother.
In Bad Monkeys, a psychological thriller by Matt Ruff, the main character frequently refers to apparent contradictions in her back story as "Nod problems."
The Land of Nod Trilogy is a series of books by author Gary Hoover. The first book in the trilogy ( Land of Nod, The Artifact ) was published by Fantasy Island Book Publishing in 2011.
(Genesis 4:1 [KJV])
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
- Cain= "Gotten"
- Cain was the first person ever born on the earth
- Abel="Vain, vapor, breath, whiff", same word used in Ecclesiastes "vanity of vanities"
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
- Abel first person to die
- Abel first person murdered
- Abel first person to die as a victim of sin
- Abel first person to die childless, making his life and his death in "vain"
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
- Commandment was given and understood for animal sacrifice to God-Cain violated it
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
- Abel was not present when God sacrificed an animal to clothe his parents after the fall
- How did he know to do this?
- Commandment was already given for animal sacrifice to God-Abel obeyed it
- Commandment was already given for animal sacrifice, even though permission to eat meat was not given yet, so the entire purpose of having a flock was for worshipping God, not for food
- For this, he was killed (persecution for the righteous)
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
- The seed of murder is already planted
- It is either jealousy or hate or both
- Cain is already a murderer
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
(Matthew 5:21-22 [KJV])
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
(Genesis 4:6[KJV])
And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
- God is again not asking because HE does not know......HE is asking for Cain to confess sin in his heart
- It is in his heart and on his face both and plain for all to see
In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
(Matthew 6:16 [KJV])
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
(Genesis 4:7 [KJV])
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.
- The fact is that if Cain did well, he would be accepted. If he does not do well, just in his heart, the enemy is right there with his flesh, urging him and tempting him to sin
- Our flesh, our bent is toward the evil and not the good
- Change of first person to the serpent from Cain
- Our flesh is also the object of the desire of the enemy (unto thee shall be his desire)
- Sin also rules over us if we let it
- This is premeditated
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
(Romans 6:12 [KJV])
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
(Romans 6:14 [KJV])
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
(Genesis 4:8 [KJV])
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
- In the premeditation, Cain prepares the crime by acting normal with his brother
- There is no indication of a provocation from Abel; he merely was in the field, and was previously offering blood sacrifices to God-his crime for which Cain killed him
- He was killed far away from the First Couple, secretly
- How long did he think it would be before Abel would be noticed missing?
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
(Genesis 4:9[KJV])
And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
- He learned irresponsibility from his parents
- He did not learn lying, but he lied anyways
- Today we say, "Can you prove I did it?"
- Cain thinks God did not see what he did, visibly, visually
And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
- Cain obviously would not answer the question above about the location of his brother
- When people are murdered, God sees the bloodshed, witnesses the crime, does not forget what happened unless we get saved. Even then, there are consequences
- Cain thinks God did not see what he did, visibly, visually
And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
- Abel's blood was shed on the ground, God had used to cover and bury Abel, presumably
- Cain was cursed for this bloodshed, and it was at his own hand ("from thy hand")
When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
- You wanted to eat and offer plants? Fine. Try gardening now!
- One can imagine how Cain farming from here on out was made virtually impossible.
- Would God then make animal husbandry work for Cain, to get that sacrifice?
- Cain will be both on the run and wandering aimlessly about
- Just as his parents were kicked out of the Garden, so now Cain is kicked out of society
- Volatile; apt to flee away; readily wafted by the
wind.
The more tender and fugitive parts - - Not tenable; not to be held or detained; readily escaping; as a fugitive idea.
- Unstable; unsteady; fleeting; not fixed or durable.
- Fleeing; running from danger or pursuit.
- Fleeing from duty; eloping; escaping.
Can a fugitive daughter enjoy herself, while her parents are in tears? - Wandering; vagabond; as a fugitive physician.
- In literature, fugitive compositions are such as are short and occasional, written in haste or at intervals, and considered to be fleeting and temporary.
- One who fees from his station or duty; a deserter; one who flees from danger.
- One who has fled or deserted and taken refuge under another power, or one who has fled from punishment.
- One hard to be caught or detained.
Or catch that airy fugitive, called wit.
- Wandering; moving from place to place without any settled habitation; as a vagabond exile.
- Wandering; floating about without any certain
direction; driven to and fro.
Like to a vagabond flag upon the stream.
And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
- Once the consequences of our actions hit home,we often realize too late that it really, in the end, was not worth it.
- God can redeem a person from life of crime, but the victim in this case is to remain the victim.
- Abel is still dead. His punishment was for being innocent of a crime, only to get the death penalty for it
Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
- There were other people on the earth then, enough that Cain was worried about getting the death penalty when the word gets out who killed Abel
- "From thy face shall I be hid" may indicate that his fellowship with God is over, or he never really had it
- There is no repentance here, so this indicates an unsaved man and his attitude
- Cain has basically been sentenced to a prison without bars
And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
- God's sign of mercy on Cain
- God is God and can impose whatever sentence He wills, and spares Cain the death sentence from Himself and even others
- Any attempts to kill Cain now will be considered vengeance
And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
- An attempt at a normal life without God's presence
- This is the best that this world has to offer in the end-separation from God, being accursed with a death sentence, restless, meaningless, uneasy, without peace with man and God, never to be heard much from again, wandering the earth alone, lost forever.
- Cain is in The State Of Man, after the Fall
And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
This is the last word on Cain
(Jude 1:11 [KJV])
Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
(Genesis 4:18[KJV])
And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
(Genesis 4:19[KJV])
And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
(Genesis 4:20[KJV])
And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
(Genesis 4:21[KJV])
And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
(Genesis 4:22[KJV])
And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
(Genesis 4:23[KJV])
And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
(Genesis 4:24[KJV])
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
(Genesis 4:25[KJV])
And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
(Genesis 4:26[KJV])
And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
