כִּ֤י תַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה לֹֽא־תֹסֵ֥ף תֵּת־כֹּחָ֖הּ לָ֑ךְ נָ֥ע וָנָ֖ד תִּֽהְיֶ֥ה בָאָֽרֶץ׃
Cuando labrares la tierra, no te volverá á dar su fuerza: errante y extranjero serás en la tierra.
On Husbandry
[21] For he says, “Cain was one working the ground” (Gen. 4:2), and, a little later, when he is discovered to have incurred the pollution of fratricide, it is said: “Cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand, with which thou shalt work the ground, and it shall not yield its strength to give it thee” (Gen. 4:12 f.).
The Midrash of Philo
What is the meaning of Cain saying, "My punishment is too great for you to dismiss me?" (Genesis 4:12).
That the Worse is wont to Attack the Better
[104] For this reason he shall “work” the earth (Gen. 4:12), not “till” it: for every tiller of the soil is a skilled workman, since tilling, too, is a matter of skill, but plenty of untrained men are workers on the soil, plying the task of unskilled labourers to procure the necessaries of life. These people do much mischief in their agricultural operations from not having found anyone to direct them; and if they do anything well, they succeed by accident, not with the aid of reason; but the scientific labours of the tillers of the soil are all of necessity beneficial.