And the Lord said to Cain: Where is thy brother Abel? And he answered, I know not: am I my brother’s keeper?
Rashi
איה הבל אחיך WHERE IS ABEL THY BROTHER — thus entering into a friendly conversation with him: perhaps he might repent and say, “I have killed him, and sinned against You” (Genesis Rabbah 19:11). לא ידעתי I KNOW NOT — He became a deceiver of the Most High (i. e. he persuaded himself that he could deceive Him) (Numbers Rabbah 20:6). השומר אחי אנכי AM I MY BROTHER’S KEEPER — This is a question. Similarly, wherever ‘ה has a חטף פתח it introduces a question.
Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.