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Haamek Davar (to 4:1) answers that the wording by Cain implies that even without being named, it was obvious that that should be his name… because when a person devotes himself to his subsistence ...
Answer
#1: Initial revision
by
msh210
·
2020-10-17T17:28:07Z (about 4 years ago)
[_Haamek Davar_](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naftali_Zvi_Yehuda_Berlin) (to 4:1) answers that the wording by Cain > implies that even without being named, it was obvious that that should be his name… because when a person devotes himself to his subsistence by working the land, naturally his first child will be his helper, like someone he's acquired to help him on his way through life, so his name was Cain [from the word _kinyan_, acquisition]. This ties in to his thesis about the fundamental difference and relationship between Cain and Abel, which includes an explanation of why Cain killed Abel. It's a fascinating thesis and I highly recommend it; it's in [his commentary to chapter 4, verses 1–12](https://www.sefaria.org.il/Haamek_Davar_on_Genesis.4).