Jude v11
11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
11–13 as a substantial repetition of the charges he has already made in his first three examples, apart from the fact that now he concentrates on three individuals, not, as before, on three groups.
By the first century, the biblical story of Cain (Gen 4:1–16) became allegorized so that it became a stereotype of certain vices and heresies. Cain is best known as the man who hated his brother and slew him (T. Benj. 7:5), and so became the archetype of jealousy and envy (1 Clem 4:7). Philo interprets his name (“Possession” [Cher. 52; Sac. 2; Josephus, Ant. 1:52–53]) to mean that Cain incarnates possession or avarice (Cher. 64–66; Det. 103; Josephus, Ant. 1:53). As regards heresy, Philo and certain targums to Gen 4:8 label Cain an “atheist” (Det. 103, 119; Post. 42) and “godless” person (Det. 50; Post. 12, 38). Because Cain’s offering was not accepted, nor does Genesis indicate why, Cain is portrayed as denying a just universe. Hence, he denies that God judges, that there is postmortem existence and rewards and punishments then (P. Grelot, “Les Targums du Pentateuch—Etude comparative d’après Genese IV.3–16,” Semitica 9 [1959]: 59–88). Thus, Philo calls him “self-loved” or self-seeking (Sac. 3, 52; Det. 32, 68; Post 21). But Cain’s secrets are uncovered by God (Jub 4:6; Josephus, Ant. 1.55), and he is cursed by God (Jub 4:5; Philo, Post. 12; Josephus, Ant. 1.57). This portrait, admittedly a stereotype, fits Jude’s opponents in many ways: (1) they too seek possessions and profit (v 16); (2) like Cain, they are godless (vv 4, 16); (3) they deny the Lord (v 4), presumably spurning judgment after death; (4) he perceives them as hostile to his position (v 8); and (5) like Cain, they are accursed (“woe,” v 11).
The first sin of Cain is envy for his brother Abel. Cain refuses God’s suggestion to do better with a new offering
4:1–7. sacrifices of Cain and Abel. The sacrifices of Cain and Abel are not depicted as addressing sin or seeking atonement. The word used designates them very generally as “gifts”—a word that is most closely associated with the grain offering later in Leviticus 2. They appear to be intended to express gratitude to God for his bounty. Therefore it is appropriate that Cain should bring an offering from the produce that he grew, for blood would not be mandatory in such an offering. It should be noted that Genesis does not preserve any record of God requesting such offerings, though he approved of it as a means of expressing thanks. Gratitude is not expressed, however, when the gift is grudgingly given, as is likely the case with Cain.