She stopped and helped the stranger, because she felt she was her brother's keeper.
my brother's keeper
idiomResponsible for the welfare of another person — most often used when denying that responsibility.
Origin
The phrase comes from the story of the first murder, in Genesis 4. Cain, having killed his brother Abel out of jealousy, is asked by God where Abel is. He answers with a question of his own: "Am I my brother's keeper?"
It is a lie dressed as a shrug — Cain knows exactly where his brother is, and the reader knows he does. The retort has survived because it captures a particular kind of evasion: pretending that another person's fate is simply none of your concern.
In modern English the phrase is used both ways. To say you are your brother's keeper is to accept responsibility for others; to ask "Am I my brother's keeper?" is Cain's move — a way of denying that any such duty exists.
When asked why he had walked past the accident, he just shrugged and said he was not his brother's keeper.
The charity was founded on a plain conviction that we are, in the end, our brother's keeper — that a neighbour's hunger is not somebody else's problem.
Genesis 1–4: the making of the world, Eden, and the first family.
- 01
forbidden fruit (idiom)
Illicit pleasure.
- 02
the mark of Cain (idiom)
A visible stigma that marks someone out as guilty or disgraced.
- 03
let there be light (idiom)
A phrase marking the start of something new, or a moment of sudden clarity.
- 04
by the sweat of your brow (idiom)
Through hard physical labour and personal effort.
- 05
fig-leaf (word)
A small or flimsy thing used to hide something embarrassing or shameful.