10/31/10
The Real Meaning of 'My Brother's Keeper'
Cain was a wise-ass punk. Who knew?
| Matthew Eckel tells us why claiming to be "my brother's
keeper," as President Obama is so wont to spout, is an insult to the
brother! In Genesis, Chapter 4, after Cain has killed his brother, Abel, God asks Cain innocently, "Where is your brother, Abel?" Cain replies, "I don't know," and asks, "Am I my brother's keeper?" In English, we have taken keeper to mean protector or defender. In Hebrew, the word more accurately means master or owner, like a sheepkeeper or a dog owner. So, after murdering his brother, Cain was sassing God! Wow! And "The Won" likes to use the phrase. It figures.
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