Oh, the farmer and the shepherd should be archetypal enemies

By now, we are all familiar with what liberation theology and Catholic social teaching have called the Bible’s “preferential option for the poor.” But what about a biblical preferential option for the rebel? 

In a new book by biblical scholar Yoram Hazony called The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture—which I learned about from Jonathan Yudelman’s review—the story of Cain and Abel receives a reading different from any I have heard. Hazony argues that Cain and Abel represent a fundamental conflict between the archetypes of “farmer” and “shepherd.” The farmer relies heavily on the cycles of nature, on stability and predictability, on tradition without too much innovation. The shepherd, on the other hand, has more reason to disrupt things, to seek out new pastures, to change the way things are done.

When Cain kills Abel, God’s punishment is not to kill him, but to send him out as a wanderer. Following Hazony's logic, God turns Cain from a traditionalist into a seeker. He is compelled to become an outsider, to travel beyond the familiar and see and do things differently. For Hazony, the story of Cain and Abel becomes an important biblical theme.