Because who wants to name their kid after a wimpy suck up?
I mean ok, Cain was the Birkinstock wearing, won’t-it-any-thing-with-a-face vegetarian type and Abel was the hunter…but you know he was a hunter just because the Man (er…the God) told him to be. And he was all like, “yes Sir, one slewn (slewn?) beast coming right up, whatever You say Sir!” And rather than fighting back when his brother attacked him he just callled out from the ground for God to take care of it…wimp!
Cain kept it real, man. He kept it real.
Plus, even with a big old mark on his forehead he could still get chicks.
Well, God pulled the same stunt on Abraham a few years later. “Abe, be a good boy like your ancestor Abel and make me a bloody sacrifice. Only instead of a worthless sheep, make it your first-born son.” “Yes, sir, God, sir. Whatever you say, sir.” Today Abraham remains a common Christian and Jewish name, and is also quite popular among the Muslims, who named their entire religion after his act of “sucking up”.
I might add, that even though I often disagree with gods actions, I like him in this story. None of that veggie crap for him. Just pure meat in his sacrifices.
Well, you know how the chicks love the bad boys. I wonder if naming one’s kid Cain increases in frequency among women who’ve been knocked up by guys with leather jackets, motorcycles, and skull tattoos on their nads.
Hmmm…good point. In fact I’d guess you’d say with the possble exceptions of Jacob/Israel, who at least put up a fight, and Job, who was more of a whiney suck up, the suck ups certainly do get the accolades.
That said though, you can at least say Abraham sucked up and got a nation founded afer him. Abel sucked up and got bugger all for it. So there’s a difference rigt there.
Plus, Abraham managed to convince his wife it was ok to sleep with the help because it was all God’s idea. So he had SOME balls.
The villain is always more interesting than the hero (especially when the villain is the son of a serpent).
BTW, if you were to look at a listing of residents in a 17th century village you would find names like Herod, Antipas, Ahab, Absalom and of other biblical “villains”. They weren’t as common as Thomas or John, but they were common enough that they appeared regularly.
