If Adam and Eve existed, were they vegetarians? ~

Some say that God gave permission to eat meat after the flood. But there were a lot of shepherds in the Bible, and to me, shepherds = meat eaters. Was everyone before Noah vegetarian? And if so, were they strict vegans?

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hartfire

KJV Genesis 4:2 "... And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground."
This would have had roughly the same meaning in the Torah.

Presumably the shepherd provided wool, milk and meat for the family.

Since Able and Cain were the first offspring of Adam and Eve after their expulsion from Eden, we can guess that presumably the family ate meat and Cain provided their vegetables, fruit and grain.

It doesn't say why God prefers Able's sacrifice to Cain's. We only read that God smites Cain for his jealousy.

I see it as a metaphor describing the beginnings of agriculture in a time before fences had been invented. I have no doubt that grazing herds would have plundered farm crops whenever they could slip the vigilance of the shepherds and their dogs. It would have created a lot of conflict.

SW-User

@hartfire they didn't eat meat

He prefers Abel's sacrifice because he thinks it's the better sacrifice 🤷🏻‍♀️ It is superior really because it's an animal offering, but only Abel was in a position to give that offering as he was the shepherd and Cain was the farmer (who only grew crops). God did accept crops on other occasions though.

I think it's possible that God may have been testing Cain. Cain *could've* and *should've* just accepted God's choice, but instead he had to get jealous to the point of murdering his brother.