Kayin and Yonah/0
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Kayin and Yonah
Introduction
At first glance, Kayin and Yonah appear to have little in common. One is the first murderer in the history of mankind, the other a prophet of God. Both stories, though, revolve around sin and the possibility of repentance and speak of what it means to stand before or be cast away from God.
Content Parallels
Literary Allusions
There are several linguistic parallels between the two stories as highlighted in the following table:
EN/HEע/E
| סיפור קין (בראשית פרק ד') | ספר יונה (יונה פרקים א'-ד') |
| (ה) וְאֶל קַיִן וְאֶל מִנְחָתוֹ לֹא שָׁעָה וַיִּחַר לְקַיִן מְאֹד וַיִּפְּלוּ פָּנָיו. (ו) וַיֹּאמֶר י״י אֶל קָיִן לָמָּה חָרָה לָךְ וְלָמָּה נָפְלוּ פָנֶיךָ. (ז) הֲלוֹא אִם תֵּיטִיב שְׂאֵת | (ד:ד) וַיֹּאמֶר י״י הַהֵיטֵב חָרָה לָךְ. (ט) וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל יוֹנָה הַהֵיטֵב חָרָה לְךָ עַל הַקִּיקָיוֹן וַיֹּאמֶר הֵיטֵב חָרָה לִי עַד מָוֶת. |
| (יד) הֵן גֵּרַשְׁתָּ אֹתִי הַיּוֹם מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה וּמִפָּנֶיךָ אֶסָּתֵר וְהָיִיתִי נָע וָנָד בָּאָרֶץ וְהָיָה כׇל מֹצְאִי יַהַרְגֵנִי. | (ה) וַאֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי נִגְרַשְׁתִּי מִנֶּגֶד עֵינֶיךָ אַךְ אוֹסִיף לְהַבִּיט אֶל הֵיכַל קׇדְשֶׁךָ. |
| (טז) וַיֵּצֵא קַיִן מִלִּפְנֵי י״י | (ג) וַיָּקׇם יוֹנָה לִבְרֹחַ תַּרְשִׁישָׁה מִלִּפְנֵי י״י |
| (טז) וַיֵּצֵא קַיִן... וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּאֶרֶץ נוֹד קִדְמַת עֵדֶן. (יז) וַיֵּדַע קַיִן אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד אֶת חֲנוֹךְ וַיְהִי בֹּנֶה עִיר וַיִּקְרָא שֵׁם הָעִיר כְּשֵׁם בְּנוֹ חֲנוֹךְ. | (ה) וַיֵּצֵא יוֹנָה מִן הָעִיר וַיֵּשֶׁב מִקֶּדֶם לָעִיר וַיַּעַשׂ לוֹ שָׁם סֻכָּה וַיֵּשֶׁב תַּחְתֶּיהָ בַּצֵּל עַד אֲשֶׁר יִרְאֶה מַה יִּהְיֶה בָּעִיר. |
Analysis
- Degree of similarity – Most of the above parallels are not linguistically identical, and share roots rather than exact grammatical forms.
- Distinctive phrases – Though none of the individual words above are unique to our stories, some of the combinations and phrases are rare in Tanakh:
- Though the root "חרה" appears many times in Tanakh, the specific form of "חָרָה לָךְ " comes up only here and in one other story.1
- The phrase "מִלִּפְנֵי י״י" appears about 18 times in Tanakh, but Kayin and Yonah are the only two people said to have left/ fled from before God.
- Though the roots "ישב" and "קדם" are prevalent in Tanakh, the combination is not. In only three places do people settle "to the east", in our two stories and in the story of the Tower of Bavel.
Points of Contrast
As is often the case, some of the parallels serve to highlight points of contrast between the stories:
- Kayin is cast away from Hashem when rebuked, while Yonah, of his own volition, runs away from God when asked to rebuke others.
- When Kayin is upset, Hashem tells him he can improve, giving him a second chance, but Kayin does not heed the call. Yonah is upset after others have been given a second chance to improve and do, in fact, heed his warning.
- After killing his brother, when again rebuked by Hashem, Kayin says "גָּדוֹל עֲוֺנִי מִנְּשֹׂא", appearing to repent. When Yonah is rebuked (both via the storm and in Chapter 4), he makes no admission of guilt.
- While Kayin is afraid that others might kill him, Yonah asks to die.
- Yonah sits to the east of a city which is in danger of destruction. Kayin moves to the east of Eden to build a new city. In addition, while Yonah makes for himself a temporary dwelling (סכה), Kayin (despite being punished to be a nomad) builds a permanent settlement.
