Gen 3:15: enmity, the seed, and "he"
Says God says וְאֵיבָה אָשִׁית, "and enmity I will put" (BDB "enmity"), between the serpent and the woman, וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ וּבֵין זַרְעָהּ, "and between your seed and her seed." BDB glosses the noun "seed = offspring." Then הוּא יְשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ, "he will bruise your head," וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב, "and you will bruise his heel" (BDB "heel, footprint, hinder-part"). One verb stands twice, יְשׁוּפְךָ and תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ (BDB "bruise"); the BSB has "He will crush your head" and "you will strike his heel." The pronoun הוּא is masculine singular (OSHB), as is the noun "seed." Swete has αὐτός σου τηρήσει κεφαλήν: a masculine pronoun after the neuter σπέρματος, one verb twice. This agrees with note.language.Rom.16.20.gen-3-15.heb.
Uncertain Four readings; no lean is taken among them. (1) One descendant of the woman. Grounds: the singular pronoun; the noun of one son in Gen 4:25, זֶרַע אַחֵר ("another seed"), and 2 Sam 7:12, אֶת־זַרְעֲךָ followed by "his kingdom." Objection: a collective "seed" also takes singulars, as in Gen 22:17, זַרְעֲךָ … אֹיְבָיו, "his enemies" (OSHB 3ms). Holders: Irenaeus, Justin. (2) The woman's descendants as a whole. Grounds: "seed" set against "seed." Objection: the blow falls on the serpent's own head. Holder: Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. (3) Descendants that issue in one. Grounds: the noun moves between the two uses. Objection: the verse marks no shift. Holders: Calvin, Keil. (4) A story of why people and snakes are enemies. Grounds: the animal language of 3:14. Objection: the serpent has spoken and is judged. Holder: Josephus. See note.historical.Gen.3.15.protoevangelium-reception.
Claims
- Saysוְאֵיבָה אָשִׁית (BDB "enmity"); וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ וּבֵין זַרְעָהּ (BDB "seed = offspring"); one verb twice (BDB "bruise"; BSB "crush"/"strike"); הוּא masculine singular with the noun; Swete αὐτός after neuter σπέρματος, one verb twice; agrees with the Rom 16:20 note.
- UncertainFour readings (one descendant: Irenaeus, Justin; the descendants as a whole: the Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan; descendants issuing in one: Calvin, Keil; an etiology: Josephus), each with grounds and objection; no lean.
Citations
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 3:15 (WLC/OSHB; morph HNcmsc/Sp2ms, HNcmsc/Sp3fs, HPp3ms, HVqi3ms/Sp2ms, HVqi2ms/Sp3ms)
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 4:25; 22:17; 2 Sam 7:12 (WLC/OSHB)
- BDB CC BY 4.0 s.v. H342, p. 33, entry a.cx.ab; BDB 1906 page image, archive.org hebrewenglishlex00browuoft, leaf n56
- BDB CC BY 4.0 s.v. H2233, p. 282, entry g.cl.ab; BDB 1906 page image, archive.org hebrewenglishlex00browuoft, leaf n305
- BDB CC BY 4.0 s.v. H7779, p. 1003, entry v.bw.aa; BDB 1906 page image, archive.org hebrewenglishlex00browuoft, leaf n1026
- BDB CC BY 4.0 s.v. H6119, p. 784, entry p.eu.ab; BDB 1906 page image, archive.org hebrewenglishlex00browuoft, leaf n807
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Gen 3:15. LXX read on the Swete page image, vol. 1 (1901), p. 5 (leaf n36).
- BSB public domain Gen 3:15; 4:25; 2 Sam 7:12
- Irenaeus public domain Haer. 3.23.7, p. 457 (n474) (ANF 1); read on the page image; paraphrased
- Justin, Dial. (ANF 1) public domain Dial. 100, p. 249 (n266) (ANF 1); read on the page image; paraphrased
- Etheridge public domain Etheridge, vol. 1 (1862), Targum of Palestine (Pseudo-Jonathan) on Gen 3:15, p. 166 (n178); read on the page image; paraphrased
- 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; 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; 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
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2026-11-10
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