Abel
Within the apocryphal traditions that expand upon the earliest biblical narratives, the younger son of the first humans emerges as a pivotal figure whose life and death illuminate themes of divine favor, fraternal strife, and the cry for justice that echoes through the ages. The Book of Jubilees places his birth in the third week of the second jubilee, describing him as a keeper of sheep whose offering of the firstfruits from his flock finds acceptance before the Lord, in contrast to his brother's produce from the earth. This acceptance precipitates the fatal jealousy recounted in both Jubilees 4 and the Book of Jasher, where the texts detail how the elder brother strikes him down in a field after a dispute over the proper manner of sacrifice, marking the first instance of bloodshed among humanity and establishing a pattern of martyrdom that later apocalyptic writers would invoke. The Book of Jasher elaborates further on the brothers' occupations and the precise circumstances of the conflict, noting that the slain shepherd's blood is said to have soaked into the ground, an image that resonates with the legal and moral concerns of these texts regarding the pollution of the earth. Such details underscore Abel's role not merely as a victim but as the inaugural witness to righteousness whose death exposes the growing corruption that prompts the later judgments described in Enochic literature. These expansions move beyond the terse Genesis account to emphasize moral accountability and the consequences of envy, situating the event within a broader chronology of human decline that includes the descent of the Watchers. Particularly significant in the Enochian corpus is the portrayal of his enduring voice in the visionary journey of 1 Enoch 22, where the spirit of the slain one is depicted among the hollow places of the dead, crying out for vengeance until divine judgment is rendered. This scene integrates Abel into the text's elaborate geography of the underworld and its concern with the fate of the righteous and the wicked, reinforcing his status as the prototype of those whose blood testifies before the throne. Across these works, his story thus serves as a foundational thread linking primordial history to the eschatological expectations that define the Enochic tradition, inviting readers to contemplate the persistence of justice amid human violence.
Biography
- Occupation
- Keeper of Sheep
- Father
- Adam
- Mother
- Eve
- Era
- Antediluvian
Family
Did You Know?
Abel was a keeper of sheep whose offering was accepted by God.
He was the first righteous martyr, slain by his brother Cain.
Key Chapters
Key Passages
Abel's Offering
The Book of Jubilees 4:1-5
Abel brings the firstlings of his flock with their fat. God has respect for Abel and his offering, establishing the pattern of acceptable sacrifice.
1nd in the third week in the second jubilee she gave birth to Cain, and in the fourth she gave birth to Abel, and in the fifth she gave birth to her daughter Awan. And in the first (year) of the third jubilee, Cain slew Abel because (God) accepted the sacrifice of Abel, and did not accept the offering of Cain. And he slew him in the field: and his blood cried from the ground to heaven, complaining because he had slain him. And the Lord reproved Cain because of Abel, because he had slain him, and he made him a fugitive on the earth because of the blood of his brother, and he cursed him upon the earth. And on this account it is written on the heavenly tables, 'Cursed is ,he who smites his neighbour treacherously, and let all who have seen and heard say, So be it; and the man who has seen and not declared (it), let him be accursed as the other.' And for this reason we announce when we come before the Lord our God all the sin which is committed in heaven and on earth, and in light and in darkness, and everywhere. And Adam and his wife mourned for Abel four weeks of years, and in the fourth year of the fifth week they became joyful, and Adam knew his wife again, and she bare him a son, and he called his name Seth; for he said 'GOD has raised up a second seed unto us on the earth instead of Abel; for Cain slew him.' And in the sixth week he begat his daughter Azura. And Cain took Awan his sister to be his wife and she bare him Enoch at the close of the fourth jubilee. And in the first year of the first week of the fifth jubilee, houses were built on the earth, and Cain built a city, and called its name after the name of 10, his son Enoch. And Adam knew Eve his wife and she bare yet nine sons. And in the fifth week of the fifth jubilee Seth took Azura his sister to be his wife, and in the fourth (year of the sixth 12,13 week) she bare him Enos. He began to call on the name of the Lord on the earth. And in the seventh jubilee in the third week Enos took Noam his sister to be his wife, and she bare him a son in the third year of the fifth week, and he called his name Kenan. And at the close of the eighth jubilee Kenan took Mualeleth his sister to be his wife, and she bare him a son in the ninth jubilee, in the first week in the third year of this week, and he called his name Mahalalel. And in the second week of the tenth jubilee Mahalalel took unto him to wife DinaH, the daughter of Barakiel the daughter of his father's brother, and she bare him a son in the third week in the sixth year, and he called his name Jared, for in his days the angels of the Lord descended on the earth, those who are named the Watchers, that they should instruct the children of men, and that they should do judgment and uprightness on the earth. And in the eleventh jubilee Jared took to himself a wife, and her name was Baraka, the daughter of Rasujal, a daughter of his father's brother, in the fourth week of this jubilee, and she bare him a son in the fifth week, in the fourth year of the jubilee, and he called his name Enoch. And he was the first among men that are born on earth who learnt writing and knowledge and wisdom and who wrote down the signs of heaven according to the order of their months in a book, that men might know the seasons of the years according to the order of their separate months. And he was the first to write a testimony and he testified to the sons of men among the generations of the earth, and recounted the weeks of the jubilees, and made known to them the days of the years, and set in order the months and recounted the Sabbaths of the years as we made (them), known to him. And what was and what will be he saw in a vision of his sleep, as it will happen to the children of men throughout their generations until the day of judgment; he saw and understood everything, and wrote his testimony, and placed the testimony on earth for all the children of men and for their generations. And in the twelfth jubilee, in the seventh week thereof, he took to himself a wife, and her name was Edna, the daughter of Danel, the daughter of his father's brother, and in the sixth year in this week she bare him a son and he called his name
The Murder
The Book of Jasher 1:1-5
Cain speaks with Abel in the field and rises up against him and slays him. Abel's blood cries from the ground to God.
1nd God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and God created man in his own image.