“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.””
Genesis 3:15
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What does Genesis 3:15 mean?
Genesis 3:15 is God's first promise of rescue. With the hiding and the blaming still fresh, God spoke to the serpent and promised that a Son of the woman would come, take the serpent's blow, and defeat him.
Read the whole studyWhat is the protoevangelium?
Protoevangelium means the first gospel, the name later readers gave this verse: God's first promise that one born of the woman will defeat the serpent. Irenaeus was already reading it as a promise of Christ by about AD 180, in the last book of Against Heresies, long before it had its name.
Read the whole studyConnection with Cain and Abel
Over her third son Eve said, "God has granted me another seed in place of Abel" (Genesis 4:25). Seed is zera (H2233), the same word God uses here for the woman's seed who would crush the serpent's head. Cain's murder of Abel was a real blow to that promise, and God kept the line going.
Read the whole studyWhy is this called the first gospel?
The church has long called this promise the Protoevangelium, the first gospel: the offspring of the woman will crush the serpent's head.
Read the whole studyConnection with the line from Shem to Abram
God's promise here, that the woman's seed would crush the serpent, travelled down through the ordinary fathers listed from Shem to Abram in Genesis 11. Luke walks back up that same list when he sets out the family tree of Jesus (Luke 3:35-36).
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Cross-References
Seed of the woman — born of a woman to crush the serpent
“But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,”
God of peace will crush Satan under your feet
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
The ancient serpent defeated
“And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”
Son of God appeared to destroy the devil's work
“The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.”
Read next
How to Hear God’s Voice: A Practical Guide for BelieversScripture is the record of a God who speaks. This guide covers how to hear Him today and keep what He says.Engage with Genesis 3:15 in a fresh way
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