The Serpent and the Sacrifice of the Woman's Seed

Oct 18

Hope hidden in a curse

Right after everything goes deadly wrong….
Right after sin entered the world with all its disastrous consequences…
a beacon of hope begins shining. An amazing promise is hidden in a curse!

Right before G-d pronounces the curse following Adam and Eve’s disobedience, He curses the serpent who tempted them into this rebellion.

Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all the beasts of the field,
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring (seed) and her offspring (seed).
He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.
(Genesis 3:14-15)

Now what is this? Is this simply a curse on the crawling reptiles we call snakes?

No, there is much more to this than the human dislike for snakes and fear of snake bites.

No mere snake

First, consider this: who is the serpent G-d curses? It is the serpent who spoke to Eve, inciting the rebellion against G-d. This snake is trying to destroy mankind by separating us – G-d’s image bearers – from our Creator.

Since snakes don’t speak (this story in the Bible is the one exception), it is clear much more is involved here than the common serpent with which we are familiar.

Other details in the curse also indicate this is no mere snake. Consider this:

In Genesis 3:15a we read about enmity between the serpent (you) and Eve (the woman) and between the serpent’s descendants (your offspring or seed) and the woman’s descendants (her offspring or seed).

But then, as we read the rest of the verse (15b) we find no mention of strife between the descendants of Eve and the serpent as we might expect. Rather, we read of a battle between one descendant of Eve and the serpent himself. The woman’s descendant (“he”) bruises the head of the serpent (“your head”) and the serpent (“you”) bruises the heel of the woman’s descendant. Thus the serpent is not taken out immediately; at a later time a special descendant of Eve will defeat him.

This makes it clear to us that this passage is about far more than human dislike for serpents and their painful bites. We see here a prediction of victory over the evil one who instigated the revolt against G-d!

When we see a literal snake crawling through the dust we are getting a little preview of the fate of this evil one. “On your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.”

The phrase “dust you shall eat” is more than literally ingesting dirt. In the Hebrew Bible, “eating dust” is a sign of utter defeat. This signals that the evil one is doomed; his evil plans will be thwarted.

Plural and Singular Seed

The curse of the serpent also raises an obvious question: Who is the seed, the offspring, of the woman?

“Seed” (זרע) is a key word in the book of Genesis. It often indicates many descendants. For example, “I will surely multiply your offspring (זרע) as the stars of heaven and the sand that is on the seashore” (Genesis 22:17a).

Yet it can also refer to a specific descendant. In Genesis 4:25 Eve says in reference to her son Seth: “G-d has appointed for me another offspring (זרע, or seed) instead of Abel.”

In (1 Chronicles 17:11) G-d promises David, “I will raise up your seed after you, one of your sons, and I will establish his kingdom.”

In Genesis 3:15 we actually have it both ways. In the first part of our verse there are many children of Eve referenced; the latter part focuses on one specific descendant.

War Between Two Lines of Descendants

G-d doesn’t leave Eve aligned in rebellion with the evil serpent. Rather, G-d graciously wins her back to His side. He gives her hostility towards the evil serpent to which she first listened and was tempted to disobey.

I will put enmity between you (serpent) and the woman.

But that is not the end of the story.

The war continues between the seed of the woman on one hand and the seed of the serpent on the other hand. Throughout time there will be warfare between two lines of descendants. There will be those who continue listening to the evil one. These are the serpent’s “offspring,” his spiritual seed.

There will also be those like Noah who find favor in the eyes of the L-RD; these are the woman’s offspring, her spiritual descendants.

We see this enmity immediately in our parsha through the Genesis 4 story of Eve’s sons, Cain and Abel. G-d has regard for Abel and his offering but not for Cain and his offering. G-d warns Cain, telling him how he also can be accepted. But Cain chooses to be the “seed” of the serpent when he decides to disobey G-d.

In his anger against G-d and his brother Cain murders Abel (Genesis 4:4-8). After Cain’s sin, things go from bad to worse in his family line. His genealogy ends significantly with a depraved and vengeful Lamech who boasts about his violence (Genesis 4:23-24).

By G-d’s grace Eve bears another son, Seth, to replace righteous Abel. In contrast to the line of Cain, Seth’s descendants are associated with “calling upon the name of the L-RD” (Genesis 4:26). In this lineage we find Enoch (Hanoch) who walked with G-d, and also Noah (Genesis 5:22, 29). We can trace these two lines all through the scriptures. There are those among whom G-d establishes His kingdom and those who oppose it.

A Special Victorious Seed

In the book of Genesis the genealogy of Seth becomes the genealogy of Abraham, which finally focuses on a special royal seed (Genesis 17:7,16; 49:10).

But also in our verse the focus already narrows from many offspring to just one: “He will bruise your head.” (Genesis 3:15b)

Not a “they,” but a singular “he” is in view.

In the Hebrew text the word “he” (הוא) is added for emphasis. We could correctly understand this phrase to read, “He, he will bruise your head.”

The key point is that we are now talking about a specific descendant of Eve. This one will overcome the evil brought into the world through rebellion. He will defeat the serpent who seemed to successfully spoil G-d’s beautiful creation.

His victory over the serpent will be absolute; a crushed head brings death to the snake. That’s good news!

But what about the very last words of our verse? “And you (the serpent) will bruise his heel.”

A Venomous Bite

A bruise often indicates a minor injury. But serpents referenced in the Tanakh are nearly always venomous. Does a venomous bite by this serpent also imply death? It seems so.

And when we add the lenses of the other promises of hope of the Tanakh, it becomes clearer still. The light of this early promise of a serpent slayer becomes a laser-focused light beam on the Messiah. Evil is conquered by Messiah’s suffering and death.

In Genesis 3:15, this may all still seem to be a riddle with the meaning hidden. As we keep reading the Torah and the prophets it becomes clear this verse contains a great promise of redemption. The promised “seed of the woman” is indeed the Messiah. He will have victory over evil and will bring blessing again.

How will this be accomplished? By giving himself as a sacrifice for sin.