![[#45] Genesis 3:14-15 – The Serpent and the Seed](https://redeeminggod.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/curse-150x150.jpg)
Does God curse animals and people? Genesis 3:14 indicates that God cursed the serpent. But what did the serpent do to deserve being cursed? And what is the whole thing about the serpent crawling on the ground and eating dirt?
And then there is Genesis 3:15 which talks about the serpent striking the heel of the woman’s seed, but the seed crushing the serpent’s head. What is all that about? Is it truly a prophecy about Jesus?
These, another other related questions, will all get considered in this episode of the One Verse Podcast.
The Text of Genesis 3:14-15
So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
In this discussion of Genesis 3:14-15 we look at:
- Did God curse the serpent?
- What happened to the serpent?
- What does it mean for him to crawl on his belly and eat dust?
- Is Genesis 3:15 a prophesy about Jesus?
Resources:
- The Re-Justification of God is on Sale at Amazon
- Walton, Lost World of Adam and Eve
- Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary
- Zevit, What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden
- Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes
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It’s just a story. No serpent. No curse. All human mythologyz
The Serpent Cursed in Genesis 3 is not Satan, and the Crushed Head passage is not a Prophecy about Jesus
Gen. 3 describes the serpent (nahash in Hebrew) in very un-Satanic-like terms, as “more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made,” and also curses it like a wild animal, stating that it will be cursed “above all livestock and all wild animals,” and also speaks about it “crawling on its belly and eating dust all the days of its life.” But Satan isn’t a beast of the field that the Lord God had made, and the days of Satan’s life appear to be without number. Instead, it looks like the serpent functions allegorically like in a fable by Aesop, and the tale is meant to reflect general notions of how clever snakes/serpents are in ancient folklore, and to explain how they came to travel on their bellies unlike other animals, and why humans are so afraid of snakes. (Primates instinctually hate snakes perhaps because they move low to the ground and can creep up with hardly a sound, and hence these primate cousins of ours react very negatively with a lot of hooting when they see one. Chimps will beat a rubber snake with sticks over and over again if placed in their vicinity.)
These types of stories that “explain” how things got the way they are, were quite common in the ancient world. Certainly the early chapters of Genesis are like such stories, and were meant to explain how humans came to possess god-like knowledge, yet also remained mortal like animals. In fact the OT is filled with stories that appear to be inventions to try and explain how things came to be, relationships, land ownership, how things got their names.
Also, I don’t think the idea in Gen. 3 of the “serpent’s offspring” and the “woman’s offspring” being at enmity with each other proves anything about the serpent being Satan. It’s a consequence of the story itself since the serpent deceived the woman. And it’s a consequence of the order in which the participants in the story are addressed after God finds out about the act of disobedience, first God addresses the man and asks him questions, then the woman, then the serpent, followed by the curses pronounced in REVERSE order, i.e., the serpent is cursed first (along with its offspring being at enmity with the woman’s offspring), and then woman is cursed, and finally man is cursed. So the scene explains itself without the need to introduce any added ideas about the woman’s offspring being singular, or being unusual in mentioning the serpent’s offspring. The serpent deceived her, and so their offspring are both cursed. And the curse fits neatly between mention of the serpent’s curse and the woman’s curse.
And the reference to serpents “biting heels” in Gen. 3 appears to simply be a reference to what serpents and vipers do. Compare Genesis 49:17: “Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.” The Bible thus compares the tribe of Dan to a viper by the roadside that bites the horse’s heel. But that doesn’t make the tribe of Dan equal to Satan.
So in context in Gen. 3 the serpent story appears to be one of those explanatory tales like in Aesop, that explain how certain things came to be in the world, like women drawn to men, children and adults in danger of dying from serpent bites, people toiling and dying even though they have god-like knowledge.
Note also, these common references to the heel, or striking the heel, in the OT:
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
Genesis 49:17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
Genesis 49:19 Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. [SO THE WHOLE “HEEL ATTACK” IDEA WAS QUITE COMMON]
Job 18:9 A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare holds him fast.
Genesis 25:26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.
Hosea 12:3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God.
“CRUSHED HEAD” PHRASES WERE ALSO COMMON
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
Judges 5:26 She struck Sisera, she crushed his head.
Psalm 68:21 Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies.
Psalm 74:14 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert. [Again, not Satan, and this beast appears dead]
An ancient society ripe with mythology and trying to find meaning from every Thunderstorm, Every flood, every disease, every scary animal. The beauty of religion is how its founders interpret natural phenomena. Are they afraid ? Are them emboldened ? Are they inspired?
Jeremy, you’re on a noble mission here, but it’s flawed; if this Yahweh fellow actually exists, he’s some kind of demon, and you’re just deluding yourself and others by whitewashing and spinning him like this.
You’re so close, SO CLOSE, to breaking free of this toxic, soul-corroding morass of a religion…just a little more.
Breaking free from ” religion ” sounds good to me Melissa. The very point of this web site.
If we are to break free from God ( Yahweh as you say ) , where are we going to go. If God does not exist or is a demon, then there is no forgiveness, no renewal, no chance of justice, no resurrection and no hope. We are condemned to despair as we all go to the grave.
How do we live in despair.
… see what happens when you abandon the Bible … the imaginations of men run amuck …
Is that God’s foot
http://www.therain.org/appendixes/app19.html
Genesis 3:14 (cast down)
John 3:14 (lifted up)
Galatians 3:13
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree:
Hebrews 2:14-15
14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Yahweh does not do anything without first warning. In Gen.2:17 He clearly stated “In the day that you eat the fruit of the tree you will surely die” This is what would happen to disobedience bringing forth death when the word death was never known as both Man and animals never killed or there was any bloodshed in that perfect environment. Read Gen.3:21 and find why Yahweh made coats of skin when they were already covered with fig leaves. Isa.64:6 says your righteousness is like filthy rags. So unless we are covered with the blood atonement there is no remission of our sins. Shalom.
Could you please share information about the picture of the sculpture you’ve included in this article? Does the sculpture depict Jesus or Mary crushing the serpent’s head? What is the name of the artist/sculptor?
Thank you.