Genesis 4:1-8 (NASB)
Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the Land of Nod, east of Eden.
Genesis 4:16 (NASB)
-------------------
A few
years back, I began reading through the great American novels that I had never
read before. The books that I was not
required to read in school and had never picked up previously. Great
Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye,
various essays by Mark Twain. And my
favorite discovery in this time was John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Steinbeck’s epic
tale of family struggle and guilt and freedom, of predestination and
forgiveness resonated in a way that few books can. It quickly rose to be my favorite book of everything I have ever read.
Steinbeck
himself considered it his magnum opus. After completing the manuscript, he wrote “I
finished my book a week ago […] Much the longest and surely the most difficult
work I have ever done… I have put all the things I have wanted to write all my
life. This is ‘the book.’ If it is not good I have fooled myself all
the time. I don’t mean I will stop but
this is a definite milestone and I feel released.” It was highly based on his experiences in the
Salinas Valley and influenced by his Episcopalian upbringing. Reflecting on this work, Steinbeck said “I
believe that there is one story in the world, and only one . . . . Humans are
caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, and
in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net
of good and evil... and it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn,
while good, while virtue is immortal.”
And
Steinbeck covered this, in particular, through the midrash-like exploration of
the story of Cain and Abel and the word timshel
in verse seven.
Midrash refers to the exegesis or process of
interpreting and explaining the biblical text developed by rabbis of the
Talmud. When capitalized, it also refers
to a specific compilation of these writings, which are still used for
instruction today. Steinbeck devotes an
impactful portion of the book and its themes to the exploration and exegesis of
God’s instruction to Cain in verse 7.
“Do you remember when you read us the sixteen
verses of the fourth chapter of Genesis and we argued about them?”
“I do indeed. And that’s
a long time ago.”
“Ten years nearly,” said
Lee. “Well, the story bit deeply into me and I went into it word for word. The
more I thought about the story, the more profound it became to me. Then I
compared the translations we have—and they were fairly close. There was only
one place that bothered me. The King James version says this—it is when Jehovah
has asked Cain why he is angry. Jehovah says, ‘If thou doest well, shalt thou
not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto
thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.’ It was the ‘thou
shalt’ that struck me, because it was a promise that Cain would conquer sin.”
Samuel nodded. “And his
children didn’t do it entirely,” he said.
Lee sipped his coffee.
“Then I got a copy of the American Standard Bible. It was very new then. And it
was different in this passage. It says, ‘Do thou rule over him.’ Now this is
very different. This is not a promise, it is an order. And I began to stew
about it. I wondered what the original word of the original writer had been
that these very different translations could be made.”
…
“My old gentlemen felt
that these words were very important too—‘Thou shalt’ and ‘Do thou.’ And this
was the gold from our mining: ‘Thou mayest.’ ‘Thou mayest rule over sin.’ The
old gentlemen smiled and nodded and felt the years were well spent. It brought
them out of their Chinese shells too, and right now they are studying Greek.”
Samuel said, “It’s a
fantastic story. And I’ve tried to follow and maybe I’ve missed somewhere. Why
is this word so important?”
Lee’s hand shook as he
filled the delicate cups. He drank his down in one gulp. “Don’t you see?” he
cried. “The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and
you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in ‘Thou
shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the
word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important
word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a
man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’ Don’t you
see?”
“Yes, I see. I do see.
But you do not believe this is divine law. Why do you feel its importance?”
“Ah!” said Lee. “I’ve
wanted to tell you this for a long time. I even anticipated your questions and
I am well prepared. Any writing which has influenced the thinking and the lives
of innumerable people is important. Now, there are many millions in their sects
and churches who feel the order, ‘Do thou,’ and throw their weight into
obedience. And there are millions more who feel predestination in ‘Thou shalt.’
Nothing they may do can interfere with what will be. But ‘Thou mayest’! Why,
that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his
weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great
choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win.” Lee’s voice was
a chant of triumph.
Steinbeck, John. East of Eden. The Viking Press.
1952.
Steinbeck
truly mined gold with this exploration of the translation of timshel from the Hebrew. When it stands alone, it is pronounced timshol,
with a long “o” in the final, accented syllable. But in this passage, as
often happens in Hebrew, the word is connected to the word that follows, and
therefore loses its accent. So, instead of a long “o” the vowel is
reduced, and the word is most correctly pronounced timsh’l.
Steinbeck chose to render this sound with an “e” and the word is usually
pronounced timshel.
Steinbeck
was not so much interested in the pronunciation as he was in the meaning of the
particular grammatical form. It is second person imperfect, referring to
an act that has not yet occurred. Something of possibilities. The capacity for good and evil in all of us.
Here is
the choice each of the characters in East of Eden face, as do we all. No
matter how deep-rooted the sin, there is always a chance for redemption. In the Orthodox Jewish translation from The Chumash: The Stone
Edition the passage reads: "Surely if you improve
yourself, you will be forgiven. But if you do not improve yourself, sin rests
at the door. Its desire is toward you, yet you can conquer it."
And
conquer it we can, through the power that strengthens all things we do.
But in all these things we
overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39 (NASB)
It’s a series
of choices to follow, to take up our cross daily and obey, which leads to
conquering, which leads to the victory, just as it is a series of choices to
ignore the call, to walk away, and to try to live this life divorced from God. Every choice is an opportunity.
Thou Mayest.
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