Genesis 3:15 is interpreted by many to be the first Messianic prophecy recorded in the Scriptures. Many believe that the serpent, either being Satan or possessed/influenced by Satan, tempts Eve into eating fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil and then giving some to her husband, Adam. When God decided to dish out punishment to the three that were involved in this treachery, he tells the serpent in Genesis 3:15 that “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heal.” People who interpret this as being a Messianic prophecy conclude that “her seed” is Jesus and “he [Jesus] will strike your head, and you [Satan] will strike his heal” is referring to how Jesus will deliver the defeating blow to Satan, whereas Satan will only deliver a weak blow that will not hinder the mission of Jesus. While this potentially may be true, let us look at it from a different perspective.
14 Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
Because you have done this,
you are cursed more than any livestock
and more than any wild animal.
You will move on your belly
and eat dust all the days of your life.
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.
For contextual purposes, verse 14 begins with God cursing the serpent for what he has done. One would think that if Satan were involved in this deception, wouldn’t the curse be directed towards Satan? Instead we read no mention of Satan being, using, possessing, or manipulating the serpent to do his bidding. What we read is that a cunning serpent is being punished, because of it deceiving Adam & Eve. The verse concludes with what this curse consists of which is the snake being forced to slither on its belly and it will stay that way forever.
Verse 15 begins with God continuing what the serpent’s curse is. The verse mentions first, that God will put hostility between the serpent and the woman. The text continues and also adds that there will be hostility between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s seed. Let us define the terms “hostility” and “seed.” The term “hostility”, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is defined as 1a) deep-seated unusually mutual ill will; 1b) a hostile action; and 2) conflict, opposition, or resistance in thought or in principle. Either of these definitions will work in the context of Genesis 3:15. The term “seed” has many definitions, most of which involve plants. However, Merriam-Webster also defines seed as “progeny.” The definitions for “progeny” include 1a) children, descendants; 1b) offspring of plants or animals; 2) outcome, product; 3) body of followers, disciples, or successors. It is safe to say, that the term “seed” used in the context of Genesis 3:15 is talking about children or descendants. For the most part, seed is used through the Scriptures as a reference towards progeny. The question, though, is this: Is seed singular or plural?
The answer is that seed can be EITHER singular or plural depending on the context. Let us look at some examples in Scripture where the singular form of seed is used:
“And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” (Gen. 4:25)
“And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.” (Gen. 21:13)
Here some examples of the plural form of seed being used:
“And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you…” (Gen. 9:8-9)
“And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” (Gen. 15:5)
“And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.” (Joshua 24:3)
“And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.” (2 Kings 17:20)
“As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever. “ (Isa. 59:21)
The verses used are taken from the King James Version, however if one reads them in the Holman Christian Standard Bible and other modern translations, the term seed is used either to mean child, children, descendants, or offspring. So the usage of seed can be singular or plural depending on the context. When comparing the singular usage of seed verses the plural usage of seed, one can see that when seed is used singularly, the seed is specified (in the case of our examples, Seth and the son [Ishmael]). The majority of times, seed is used a plural sense. So what is my case? My case is that there is no specific reference to who the seed is of the woman, so there is strong reason to believe that seed in Genesis 3:15 is being used in its plural form. So who is the woman’s seed? Her seed is her children, her descendants. We have no reason to suspect that the woman’s seed is someone specific. The same can be said for the serpent’s seed. This, if true, then brings up an interesting thought. If the serpent is Satan, then who is Satan’s seed? If the serpent is being possessed or unwillingly manipulated by Satan, then why punish the serpent and the seed of the serpent? There is not to my knowledge, no sound answer to these questions if the proposed scenarios are true.
Then what is this hostility that is between the woman and the serpent and their seeds? It seems like there is just a mutual ill will towards each other. Genesis 1 paints of picture of man and beast living in harmony with man ruling over them. Adam does not need to hide or defend himself from the beasts that could potentially harm or devour him. After the fall, this harmony is shattered. Not only is there hostility between man and serpent, but man and all other beasts as well. Also, it seems like the majority of mankind has an intense disliking of snakes and I am sure that if snakes could still talk, then I think the majority would say they have an intense disliking of mankind.
If we go with the notion that “seed” is plural, then we must ask what do we do when verse 15 uses the masculine term “he”? He is, for the most part, a singular term that refers to a male. How then do we harmonize the text if “seed” is plural and “he” is singular? People who consider this a prophecy point to 2 things: The usage of “he” and that a woman is the only one who conceives the child; therefore, the “he” in question is pointing towards Jesus, and the fact that only the woman is mentioned to conceive points to the Virgin Mary. These may be true, but I think there are other options. Yes, the woman is the only one mentioned to conceive, but even back then people knew that it took a man and a woman to conceive. Why not use something like “their seed” instead of “her seed”? It should be noted though, that this is not the only place in Scripture where the author attributes offspring to just the woman (i.e. Genesis 16:10; 24:60). In the next verse, Gen. 3:16, the author tells us that God punishes Eve by intensifying her labor pains. The serpent’s punishment describes the enmity between its offspring and the woman’s offspring, Eve’s punishment focuses on her painful delivery of children, and Adam’s punishment makes no reference to offspring. I think it is possible that the only reason the author references the seed as “hers” is the fact that two verse down, we see her punishment be the painful delivery of her seed. The usage of “he” is odd and seems out of place. Even though “seed” is plural, I think that it is possible that “he” is pointing back to “seed.” For example, in Genesis 28:14 reads “Your offspring [plural] will be like the dust if the earth, and you [singular] will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south.” While there is no specific usage of “he” being used to describe a plural term, I don’t think there is a specific reference with this “he.” It could be Jesus, but it could not be. The author has no idea of Jesus and we have no reason to suspect he does. If we look at just the first three chapters of Genesis, and maybe even the entire book of Genesis, the readers have no reason to think this passage is pointing towards a coming messiah. I think the usage of “he” and “you” in verse 15 are just general terms to describe the endless war these two wage on each other.
To conclude, I don’t think there is enough evidence to say that this is a Messianic Prophecy. The point of this post is not by any means to give empirical evidence that completely disproves Genesis 3:14-15 as a Messianic Prophecy; rather, it is to show that there is reasonable evidence to support a view that holds to this passage not being a prophecy of the coming Messiah. Still, I think Genesis 3:14-15 is just what the text makes it out to be, and that is the curse of a cunning animal and the hostility that there will always be between man and serpent.
Living In Grey 