The text indicates that Abel was the younger brother of Cain in the statement. The narrative continues with the birth of Abel, who is described as the brother of Cain. The first act of procreation according to the text is signalled by the birth of Cain. The narrative opens with the first man and woman created in a family context. The Yahwistic material of the Cain and Abel narrative in Gen 4:1-16, which forms part of the narrative block of Gen 4:1-26, 5 is one of the most complicated stories in the OT. I will examine these texts and point out the tensions, conflicts and resolutions within them. 4 These texts clearly illuminate the various forms of family conflicts among siblings, rivals, parents and sons, parents, brothers of different mothers, and grandfather and son. 3 I will then deduce the resolutions of these conflicts in the narratives and discuss their hermeneutical implications for the contemporary African family.ī EXAMINATION OF YOUNGER-BROTHER MOTIF TEXTS IN THE BOOK OF GENESISįive texts from the book of Genesis in which we find the younger-brother motif with tensions and conflicts among family members are the stories of Cain and Abel in Gen 4:1-16, Isaac and Ishmael in Gen 16 and 21:1-21, Jacob and Esau in Gen 25:20-34 27:1-45, Joseph and his brothers in Gen 37:1-11 (37-50) and Ephraim and Manasseh in Gen 48:7-19. I will analyse some of the younger-brother motif texts in Genesis, highlighting the various forms of family conflicts in them. It is of interest to delve into the related texts to find out the intention of the narrators' use of the motif and to see how the tensions and conflicts are resolved within the narratives. One wonders why an element of love is responded with hatred in the narratives. This situation originates and reflects conflicts and rivalry among family members. Forming as it were a pattern within the book, the motif elicits ambivalent reactions of love and hatred which cause tensions in the narratives themselves. These narratives which have elements of love for the younger brother, at the same reveal an element of hatred. The younger-brother motif 2in Genesis, found within the family setting has some of these tensions and conflicts. It contains some narratives with tensions and conflicts within human society.
The book of Genesis is a sacred history of the beginnings of creation and how God dealt with humankind from the very beginning. Keywords: Younger-brother Motif, Genesis, Tension, Conflicts, Rivalry, African Family. The paper recommends, among others, going back to the traditional moral training of the African child to build the conscience as a step to resolution of the conflicts in the contemporary African family. The family problems raised in the narratives also persist in the African family. It further explores the theological significance of the use of the motif in Genesis. This paper analyses five younger brother-motif texts, highlighting the various types of family conflicts demonstrated in the narratives. The younger brother in some cases becomes an object of hatred to his siblings but is loved by the parent and this has devastating consequences for the family. The younger-brother motif in the book of Genesis reflects tension and conflict in a family. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana Younger-brother motif in Genesis as an object of love and hatred in the family: Tensions, conflicts and reflection for the contemporary African family 1
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