Comentário sobre Gênesis 4:20

אבי יושב אהל ומקנה THE FATHER OF SUCH AS ABIDE IN TENTS AND OF SUCH THAT HAVE CATTLE — He was the first of those who pastured cattle, and he dwelt in tents, a month here and a month there, on account of the pasture necessary for his sheep; for when the grass was finished in one place he went away and pitched his tent in another place. There is a Midrashic statement (Genesis Rabbah 23:3) that he built temples for idol worship, (for ומקנה may be read ומקנה –– provoking jealousy), just as you say, (Ezekiel 8:3) "the image of jealousy which provoketh God to jealousy" (המקנה); similarly his brother handled the harp and guitar to make music for idol worship.

ישב אהל וקנה, this is another way of saying that he was a shepherd.

ותלד..אבי ישב אהל ומקנה. The word אבי, is the same as “the first of,” The meaning of יושב אהל ומקנה is that he dwelled in a tent to supervise what was happening to his herds and to tend them. Apparently, the need for a tent, i.e. temporary shelter, was due to his leading his herds to pastures far away from his home. People prior to him were content to graze their flocks within walking distance of their homes. The letter ו at the beginning of the word ומקנה is to save having to write the word רועה. We find similar constructions in Proverbs 20,1 לץ היין, where it refers to someone drinking wine, the author saving himself the word שותה by writing the letter ה in front of the word יין. It is also possible that the meaning of the letter ו in front of the word מקנה means “with.” A similar construction occurs in Exodus 1,5 in the line ויוסף היה במצרים, where it means that when one combines Joseph (and his family) who were already in Egypt with the number of Israelites descending to Egypt now the total comes to 70.

He was the first one. I.e., “father” means that he was the “first” to dwell in tents and to breed cattle. Rashi says “in the wilderness” since Yaval was different from Hevel who shepherded in a settled area. [In the wilderness] it requires great mastery of the craft.

אבי יושב אהל ומקנה, “the original nomad living in tents” (instead of caves) as the owner followed his herds to where grazing was available. According to a Midrash quoted by Rashi, Yovol built houses to worship idols in. [This Midrash understands the word: מקנה, not as cattle, but as mekaneh, doing something to arouse jealousy, i.e. G-d’s jealousy. Ed.] His brother would then have been the first one to use musical instruments for the purpose of worshipping idols.