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Chapter 4

Genesis 4:4

RBT Translation:
And Vapor has caused to come in, also himself, from the firstborn-ones160 of his sheep, from their milk.161 And Yahweh saved162 toward Vapor and toward his offering.
RBT Paraphrase:
Vanity not looking closely
And Vanity has brought in, also himself, from the firstborn-females of the flock of himself, and from the milk of themselves. And He Is saved toward Vanity and toward a gift of himself.
Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And Abel, he also brought in the first-born of his sheep, and their fat. And Jehovah will look to Abel and to his gift.
LITV Translation:
And Abel brought, he also, from the firstlings of his flocks, even from their fat. And Jehovah looked to Abel and to his offering.
Brenton Septuagint Translation:
And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his sheep and of his fatlings, and God looked upon Abel and his gifts,

Footnotes

160

Strong’s #1062, ื‘ื›ืจื•ืช, firstborns. A feminine plural noun derived from bakar (#1069) to burst the womb, bear new fruit. Because it is used here of a sheep it can only mean female firstlings, as Robert Young translated it in the YLT. If it were not specific to female ewes a masculine plural form would have been used. This also provides the basis of definition for its use elsewhere where it has been rendered birthright.

161

Compare:

Strong’s #2459 ื—ืœื‘, fat, fatness.

Strong's #2461 ื—ืœื‘, milk

 
 

milk

noun: milk

162

Hebrew ื•ื™ืฉืข and he saved

The phrase "ื•ื™ืฉืข ื™ื”ื•ื” ืืœ ื”ื‘ืœ" can be interpreted as "the LORD is saving toward Abel and toward the offering of himself" 

ื™ืฉืข was thought to come from the verb ืฉืขื” #8159 but the meaning ืฉืขื” is "to look/gaze upon" as used of the eyes in Isaiah 32:3.

Was a letter really lost?

The letter ื” is missing. The Grammarian scholars call it an "apocope" which means "a letter was lost."  But ื™ืฉืข means to deliver, save, cf. Strongs #3467. A letter was considered "lost" because the traditional context and interpretation had to remain intact.

A Closer Look

The verb ื•ื™ืฉืข in Genesis 4:4 has traditionally been translated as “and He had regard” or “and He turned to” Abel’s offering, The respected Rabbi Rashi of 11th century CE, (cf. Rashi Gen. 4:4) equated it with ืคื ื” (panฤh, “to turn toward”). However, from a straight etymological and philological perspective, this equivalence is untenable. The root ืฉืขื” is morphologically and semantically distinct from ืคื ื”, the former meaning “to regard” or “pay attention to,” and the latter “to turn.” Rashi’s conflation appears motivated by exegetical and theological considerations rather than linguistic accuracy.

Moreover, the root ื™ืฉืข (yฤshaสฟ, “to save” or “deliver”)—visually similar in the unpointed Hebrew text—is a separate and well-attested verb in Biblical Hebrew with a causative, transitive meaning clearly seen in contexts such as 2 Samuel 8:6 and Judges 3:31, where it signifies divine salvation or deliverance:

  • In 2 Samuel 8:6 (ื•ื™ืฉืข ื™ื”ื•ื” ืืชึพื“ื•ื“ ื‘ื›ืœ ืืฉืจ ื”ืœืš) "and the LORD saved/delivered David within the whole of which he walked"
  • In Judges 3:31 (ื•ื™ืฉืข ื’ืึพื”ื•ื ืืชึพื™ืฉืจืืœ), it refers to Shamgar saving Israel

To take  ื•ื™ืฉืข "and he saved" for ื•ื™ืฉืขื” "and he paid attention/regarded" is not a matter of debating what is written, but what the "correct authoritative tradition" is.