How Cain Was Conceived

Targum Jonathan on Genesis 4:1

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·March 24, 2026

And Adam knew Hava his wife, who had desired the Angel; and she conceived, and bare Kain; and she said, I have acquired a man, the Angel of the Lord.

Commentary

This myth is a response to the enigmatic verse in which Eve says, I have gotten a man with the aid of Yahweh (Gen. 4:1). Targum Pseudo-Yonathan translates this verse as "I have acquired a man, the angel of the Lord." One reading of this verse in the Talmud (B. Shah. 146a) suggests that Eve had intercourse with the serpent: "When the serpent consorted with Eve, he cast impurity into her." This interpretation is echoed in the Zohar: "From the impurity with which the serpent infected Eve emerged Cain." Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer builds on the talmudic interpretation, but changes it in an essential way. Here the true father of Cain is the angel Samael, who came to Eve riding on the serpent. Indeed, in this passage the angel and serpent are closely linked, creating a satanic figure and suggesting that Eve had intercourse with the serpent, a powerful phallic symbol. In Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, the Torah upbraids Samael as he rides upon the serpent like a camel: "The Torah began to cry aloud, saying, 'Why, O Samael, now that the world is created, is it time to rebel against God? Is this the time to lift yourself on high? God will laugh at the horse and its rider/" This establishes the role of the Torah as the defender of the human race against the evil intentions of Samael. Zohar 1:36b explains that two came upon Eve, the serpent and Adam, and that she became pregnant from both of them, and bore two sons. The son of the serpent is, of course, Cain. In order to explain why Cain was evil and Abel was good, Zohar 1:54a explains that Cain was conceived from the side of unholiness and Abel from the side of holiness. As a result, Abel was in the likeness of God's image, as stated in the verse And God created man in His image (Gen. 1:27). But Cain was of the likeness of the nether image. Just what this is isn't clear, although one commentary, Ziv ha-Zohar, identifies the nether image as that of an ape. Because Cain was from the side of the Angel of Death (another possible explanation of the "nether image"), he killed his brother. The idea that Eve was infected by the impurity of the serpent when she had intercourse with it attempts to portray women as not only impure, but also untrustworthy. It is part of an extensive antifeminine bias found in some rabbinic texts. However, in other texts. Eve is portrayed in a very favorable manner. She is regarded as the mother of all generations, and she is called a life-giver, who nursed the whole world (B. AZ 43a). The serpent of Genesis becomes transformed in kabbalah into a principle of evil, the primal serpent who makes its home in the darkness of the Sitra Ahra, the Other Side. It is a serpent by the road, a viper by the path (Gen. 49:17). It comes down from above, swims across bitter waters, and descends in order to deceive, lying in wait to ambush mankind with sins. The Sitra Ahra is the realm of evil. It is said to be ruled by Samael and Lilith. The primal or primordial serpent is an archetype of evil, based upon the serpent in the Garden of Eden. In this realm it functions as a force of evil, an exaggerated version of the Yetzer ha-Ra, the Evil Impulse in every person. Here this impulse is understood to be an underlying principle in the concept of an evil realm. Evil, however, flourishes only in the absence of good. The Zohar describes this serpent as "eternal death, on the left side, that enters into a man's innermost secret parts" (Zohar 2:52a). See the closely related myth, "The Seed of Cain," p. 448. For a Hasidic tale about the primal serpent, see "Reb Shmelke's Whip" in Gabriel's Palace, p. 226.

Themes

Original Sources

Targum Pseudo-Yonathan on Genesis 4:1
B. Shabbat 145b-146a
B. Sota 9b
B. Yevamot 103b
B. Avodah Zarah 22b
Genesis Rabbah 18:6
Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 13
Zohar 1:28b
Zohar 1:136b-137a
Zohar 1:54a
Zohar 1:55a
Zohar 1:243b
Zohar 2:52a
Magen Avot 53

Biblical References

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