The fifteenth verse of the third chapter of Genesis is considered to be the first messianic prophecy in the Bible.
The Seed of the Woman - Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity (hatred) between you (the devil) and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. – Genesis 3:15
Christians see the seed of the woman as a reference to the Messiah Jesus. Critics argue that this is a misinterpretation. The text in the original Hebrew reads somewhat differently. -
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; they shall strike at your head, and you shall strike at their heel.”
The Jews interpret this to mean that the devil will be defeated by the nation of Israel, the seeds. A majority of modern Jews see themselves as the deliverers of mankind. Aside from being a massive ego trip on their part, they are still misinterpreting what this verse is really telling us.
The Hebrew word, “zera” seed, can be translated as an individual seed or “descendants.” The “seeds” are an obvious reference to a lineage, which consists of more than one person. What we are being shown is that deliverance will come through the lineage of the woman.
Luke’s Gospel contains the lineage of the Virgin Mary (Luke 3:23-38). It was a custom to list the wife’s lineage under the name of the husband as they were viewed as one flesh (Genesis 2:24). This is why Joseph’s name is mentioned in verse 23.
Joseph’s lineage is listed in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 1:1-17). It’s interesting to note that his lineage is traced from Abraham up to Joseph. Mary’s lineage however, is traced down all the way back to Adam. It has been discovered that the DNA of anyone is carried by the female. Therefore the Bible miraculously records Mary’s lineage connecting the DNA from the first Adam to the last Adam, the Messiah Jesus.
The “seeds” contained in Mary’s lineage, the individuals that God had chosen to be part of the Messiah’s family line, including Abraham, David and Noah; all had a part in helping to defeat the devil by being the seeds through which the Messiah Jesus would be born – the “Seed” of the “seeds.”
So we can see that in this sense, deliverance is accomplished by the Jews, solely because their nation was chosen by God to be the womb through which He would birth salvation for everyone through the prophesied Messiah Jesus.
The wording of the Hebrew texts illustrates the continuous warfare between the two lineages, the devil’s agents and Eve’s offspring. The bondage of death that the devil held was broken by the Messiah’s death and victorious resurrection. Faith in Him breathes eternal life on all who believe as promised.
In either case, the seed or seeds of the woman have the same victory in any translation.
Copyright 2019 by H. D. Shively