Cain, קַיִן, and "getting gain"

As has been demonstrated many times in various ways, the writers of the Book of Mormon understood Hebrew. This post gives an overview of many examples.  Today we'll discuss an additional example, which also lends credibility to the idea that the Book of Mormon writers had access to some form of the Book of Moses., perhaps on the brass plates.

I'll be summarizing many ideas presented by Matthew Bowen in this 2017 FairMormon presentation.

Bowen points out that unlike in English, ancient Hebrew names are important signals of meaning:

Names, as signals or signs, communicated much more in terms of meaning anciently than they often do today. As Michael P. O’Connor has noted, “Semitic names are often linguistically transparent, i.e., meaningful as ordinary words (or compounds of them) in the language of their hearers.” In other words, names in the ancient Israelite onomasticon most often meant something to ancient Israelites in the Hebrew language or in languages of neighboring cultures with which at least some members of their society (e.g., scribes) were familiar (e.g., Egyptian, cf. Egyptian names Phinehas, Hophni, Pashhur, Miriam/Mary, etc.). With the exception of a few linguistically transparent personal names like Rose, Lily (and other “flower names”), Sunny, Hope, and so forth, English names overwhelmingly tend to be linguistically opaque.

This is an important backdrop, because it suggests that if we can find relevance in the meaning of a name in the Hebrew Bible, that meaning is way more likely to be intentional than in a modern text.

The meaning of Cain

The Hebrew name for Cain is 

קַיִן - Qayin (source)

This name is related to the Hebrew root 'qanah' (קָנָה) which means 'to get, acquire.' The wordplay is transparent in the first mention of Cain in Genesis 4:1 --

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. (Genesis 4)

Cain's Fate

In Moses 5:24 we learn that God warns Cain that if he rebels against the covenant, his name "shalt be called Perdition." This is significant because 'perdition' is an antonym of 'qayin' meaning "eternal damnation, utter destruction, loss" (source).

Sadly, Cain rejects this warning and slays his brother.

It is very interesting to me that the Book of Moses intensifies the nature of the wordplay on the name of Cain. Think of the elements found in Moses 5 regarding secret combinations in verses 29-41, which specifically highlights the purpose of these combinations, which is to murder and get gain. This is certainly not a coincidence but rather a restoration of something very ancient which was literally built into the name given to Cain. After making this oath with Satan, Cain's new name for himself is "Master Mahan" which might derive from the Hebrew word for "destroyer" (see page 148 of this paper).

Connections to "the two churches" concept

Nephi plainly teaches there are two churches. (See this post for a longer discussion.) One, the church of the Lamb of God, invites all to "come unto [Christ] and ... eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely." (See Alma 5:34.) This activity ultimately leads to "works of righteousness" (discussed in more depth here and here) and eternal life. Some of these righteous works are sacred and only given to those who have fully committed to following Christ all their days (partly as a protection against the curses associated with breaking the covenant). The ultimate reward of belonging to this church is to be "gathered in" (see 3 Nephi 21:24, 28) and receive eternal life.

The church of the devil, on the other hand, seeks to produce "workers of iniquity" who are "puffed up in the vain things of the world" and who "have professed to have known the ways of righteousness nevertheless have gone astray." (See Alma 5:37.) Some of their more advanced activity also involves secret agreements which involve "murdering to get gain" but leads to being cutting off, cast out, and experiencing spiritual death -- permanent separation from God. Alma-2 puts it this way in his masterful sermon in Zarahemla:

42 And whosoever doeth this must receive his wages of him; therefore, for his wages he receiveth death, as to things pertaining unto righteousness, being dead unto all good works.

What does the Book of Mormon say about Cain?

Matthew Bowen points out that both times Cain is mentioned in the Book of Mormon, his name is used in close proximity to references to secret combinations for the purposes of getting gain:

Helaman 6

Mormon gives us an in-depth overview of the origin and purposes of secret combinations in this chapter, as he is explaining that the Nephites "began to set their hearts upon their riches" and "began to seek to get gain that they might be lifted up one above another" (see Helaman 6:17).  This begins a long passage about secret combinations, where we learn:

• "those murderers and plunderers were a band who had been formed by Kishkumen and Gadianton" (v. 18)
• the purpose was to allow them to commit crimes without having to suffer for them (v. 21-23)
• Satan is the author of them (v. 26)
• Satan plotted with Cain in a similar manner (v. 27)

We also learn from verses 21-22 that these secret combinations involved:

• covenants
• oaths to protect and preserve each other
• secret signs
• secret words

Ether 8

Moroni gives us a glimpse into the secret combinations which were had among the Jaredites, in which many of the same principles are outlined, including that these oaths "were given by them of old who also sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a murderer from the beginning." (See Ether 8:15.)

We also learn that these oaths "have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the destruction of the people of Nephi." (See verse 21.)

The purpose of these oaths is to "get power and gain." (See verses 16, 22, and 23.) 

Summary

In conclusion, we learn a few important truths from this layer of meaning embedded in the name of Cain. 

1. First, we learn that names are meaningful in Hebrew.  
2. Second, we learn that Cain's association with Satan for the purpose of getting gain is an abomination and we should seek to identify it and eliminate its influence from our lives (See especially Ether 8:23-25.) 
3. Third, we learn that the writers of the Book of Mormon seem to have understood the deeper Hebrew meanings of names. 
4. Finally, we learn that the writers of the Book of Mormon seem to have had access to material that is similar to what we have in the Book of Moses.