Cain and Abel

People have sometimes thought that the brothers were twins because the wording for Cain’s birth differs from the wording for Abel’s birth. In the case of Cain’s birth, the Bible states that “Eve became pregnant and gave birth to Cain” (Genesis 4:1). In the case of Abel’s birth, the Bible omits the phrase that Eve became pregnant and simply says: “Later she gave birth to his brother Abel” (Genesis 4:2). With that difference in mind, some have taken “Later” to mean minutes and not months or years.

That understanding is possible, but the wording does not limit the interpretation to that meaning. There are other instances in Scripture where the births of children are recorded without explicitly stating that their mothers became pregnant. Some examples are Genesis 4:20, 22, 25. With these thoughts in mind, the Bible does not provide a definitive answer.