Genesis 3:15 in early Jewish and Christian reading, to Calvin and Keil
Says God puts enmity between the serpent and the woman, and “between your seed and her seed” (Gen 3:15, BSB). The Hebrew reads הוּא יְשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב, one verb twice (BSB “He will crush … you will strike”); הוּא (“he/it”) is masculine singular, agreeing with “seed”.
The Septuagint has masculine αὐτός with neuter “seed” (see note.language.Rom.16.20.gen-3-15.heb). The Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan applies it to the woman’s sons keeping or forsaking the law, with “a remedy for the heel in the days of the King Meshiha”. Irenaeus says the enmity lasts “until the seed did come appointed to tread down his head,—which was born of Mary” (Haer. 3.23.7; cf. 5.21.1). Justin sets Eve, who “conceived the word of the serpent”, against the Virgin Mary (Dial. 100). The Vulgate’s feminine pronoun underlies a later Marian reading, which Calvin rejects from the Hebrew and Greek. Calvin takes the seed as the woman’s posterity generally, yet says we must “come to one head”, Christ. Keil holds the seed is the human race, culminating in Christ as head; an exclusive reference to Christ “appears to be exegetically untenable”. Josephus has men aim their blows at the serpent’s head (Ant. 1.1.4).
Uncertain Whether 3:15 speaks of an individual messianic seed (Irenaeus, Justin), the woman’s sons collectively (the Targum), a posterity culminating in one (Calvin, Keil), or lasting hostility between people and snakes (Josephus) is open, as is whether Rom 16:20 alludes to it. No lean is taken, and these readings do not fix 3:15.
Claims
- SaysGen 3:15 puts enmity between the serpent and the woman and between the serpent’s seed and hers; the Hebrew הוּא יְשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב uses one verb twice (BSB “crush … strike”), and הוּא is masculine singular, agreeing with “seed”.
- UncertainWhether Gen 3:15 speaks of an individual messianic seed (Irenaeus, Justin), the woman’s sons collectively (Ps.-Jonathan), a posterity culminating in one (Calvin, Keil), or lasting human–snake hostility (Josephus) is open, as is whether Rom 16:20 alludes to it; no lean, and the readings of Ps.-Jonathan, Irenaeus, Justin, Calvin, Keil and Josephus do not fix 3:15.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gen 3:15
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 3:15 (WLC/OSHB), cantillation removed
- Etheridge public domain Etheridge, vol. 1 (1862), Targum of Palestine (Pseudo-Jonathan) on Gen 3:15, p. 166 (n178); read on the page image; “a remedy for the heel in the days of the King Meshiha” quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Irenaeus public domain Haer. 3.23.7, p. 457 (n474); 5.21.1, p. 548 (n565) (ANF 1; CCEL anf01.ix.iv.xxiv, anf01.ix.vii.xxii); read on the page images; 3.23.7 quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Justin, Dial. (ANF 1) public domain Dial. 100, p. 249 (n266) (ANF 1; CCEL anf01.viii.iv.c); read on the page image; “conceived the word of the serpent” quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- 🔒︎ Vulgate (Clem.) public domain Gen 3:15, cited by verse only (reference-only; not quoted)
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain Calvin, Genesis (King, CTS 1847), on Gen 3:15, pp. 170–171 (n179–n180); read on the page images; “come to one head” quoted; the Vulgate dispute paraphrased neutrally, otherwise paraphrased
- Keil–Delitzsch, Pentateuch 1 public domain Keil, Pentateuch vol. 1 (Clark, Martin trans., 1868), on Gen 3:15, pp. 101–102 (n104–n105); read on the page images; “appears to be exegetically untenable” quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Josephus (Whiston) public domain Ant. 1.1.4 = 1.40–51 (Whiston, 1817, vol. 1), pp. 9–11 (n18–n20); read on the page images; paraphrased
2026-11-10
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