The Inscrutable Question: First Messianic Prophecy, Gen 3:15; Curse on the Woman: to Usurp Man’s Authority, Gen 3:16
		6.	Please note that the judgment upon the devil and the serpent occurs before salvation is promised to mankind.  Further, it is presented before the curses are placed on the woman and the man. 
		7.	This is the principle of grace before judgment.  The Seed of the woman will be the source of salvation.  He will enter into the world as the ultimate victor in the angelic conflict.  Exactly how this Seed will emerge from the woman is implied by the curses that follow.
	8.	But before we go there remember this principle: there are two seeds that are at enmity with each other, the Seed of the woman and the seed of Lucifer.  The Seed of the woman will crush the head of Lucifer, an idiom for his eventual defeat in the appeal trial.
	9.	The seed of Lucifer will be unregenerate mankind who will become his emissaries in the Invisible War and who will join him as witnesses for the defense.
	10.	Please note that there is no mention of the “seed of the man.”  The reason becomes clear in the next verse when we see the sentence upon the woman for her original sin.  Lucifer understands at this point that the woman will be at enmity with him by giving birth to a Son:
Genesis 3:16 -	To the woman the Lord said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in your pregnancy; in pain you shall bring forth children.  Your desire [ hqWvT / teshuqa / ] shall be to usurp your husband’s authority; yet he shall rule [ lvm / mashal / ] over you.”  
1)	In Genesis 3:14-16 we find the Lord’s pronouncement of punishment on the serpent and the woman.  In verses 17b-19 is the record of His penalty clause regarding Adam.
2)	These 5½ verses are delivered in the form of Hebrew poetry.  The structure of verse 16 is of interest to our study.
3)	Here we find four lines of poetry.  The first two relate to Ishah’s original sin and the punishment for it. 
Genesis 3:16a -	“I will greatly multiply your pain in pregnancy; in pain you shall bring forth children.”
4)	These first two lines are a synonymous parallelism.  The word “pain” is used twice.  The first use is with the Hiphil infinitive absolute of hbr / rava /.  This emphasizes an intensity of pain related to pregnancy and childbirth: “I will greatly multiply your pain …”
5)	These two lines are also related to the next two.  However, the last two lines are not synonymous but antithetical.  They oppose each other.
Genesis 3:16b -	“Your desire [ hqWvT / teshuqa  ] shall be to usurp your husband’s authority; yet, he shall rule [ lvm / mashal / ] over you.”
6)	We know from Genesis 3:1-6 that the woman violated the prohibition of Genesis 2:16-17 which constituted a rejection of divine authority.
7)	The last two lines of Genesis 3:16 are part of the curse on the woman.  Lucifer was able to solicit out of Ishah a lust for power when he said to her in verse 5, “God knows that in the day you eat from it [ the forbidden fruit ] you eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
8)	The implication was that God had a fear that the woman would be as smart as He is.
9)	The motivation for the woman was possession of knowledge that would give her power to break free from divine authority and in so doing break free from Adam’s authority.
10)	To desire this means that Ishah was arrogant.  Arrogance is the opposite of humility.  Humility is oriented to authority.  When an humble woman identifies her right man she has true love for him.  Her true love for her husband is manifest by respect for him
11)	What destroys the woman’s respect for her husband is a loss of humility.  Thus the arrogant woman has a desire to usurp the power and authority of her husband.
12)	Thus, Ishah was the first Woman Libber.  She identified God not as her authority but rather as the Source of Adam’s authority from which she desired to be emancipated.
13)	 Knowledge provided by the forbidden fruit would enable her to become “like God” and therefore supply the power to reject Adam’s authority over her.
14)	Part of her curse was therefore related to these motivations.  The first line of the second set indicates that throughout the course of the appeal trial the woman would always have a lust for power over the man: hqWvT / teshuqa /.
15)	However, the second line of the second set is antithetical to this idea in that throughout the course of the appeal trial the husband would always have power and authority over his wife: lvm / mashal /.
16)	Throughout history, although the woman will desire to usurp authority over the man, the Lord decreed in Genesis 3:16 that the man has been ordained with His delegated authority over the home.
17)	The word “desire” in the English translations is taken from the Hebrew noun: hqWvT / teshuqa /, a lust to usurp duly appointed authority.
18)	Usually it is assumed that this word, translated “desire,” is related in a positive way to the statement in the last line—that the man shall have rulership authority over the woman.
19)	In other words, she willingly desires to submit to his leadership and authority.
20)	But remember, this is antithetical.  She is not cursed by a desire to submit.  She is cursed by a lust to rebel.  We can document this translation by referring to another passage that is very close in context to this one.
21)	It is a passage we have already noted and we can refer back to it in order to shed light on the use of hqWvT / teshuqa / and lvm / mashal / in Genesis 3:16b.  Genesis 4:3-7 is the passage and it develops the struggle for power between Cain and Abel which resulted from a divine mandate related to sacrificial offerings.  The trouble started in:
Genesis 4:3 -	It came about in the course of time that Cain brought his offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.
22)	Cain is under satanic influence.  The bringing of vegetables is an effort to acquire salvation by human works, not the recognition of salvation by innocent sacrifice.
Genesis 4:4 -	And Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock [ /ax / son /: “sheep”; first fruits concept of sacrifice and worship ] and of their fat portions.  And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering;
v. 5 -	but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard.  So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
23)	Cain obviously did not agree with the use of animal sacrifice as a legitimate expression of worship and through the arrogant skills self-justified the substitution of vegetables.  Cain was zealous for his way of thinking and jealous that Abel’s sacrifice, which Cain abhorred, received the Lord’s approval.
24)	The Hebrew word translated “jealousy” is the noun hanq  / qina / and means either “jealousy” or “zeal.”  Helpful analysis is provided by:
Harris, R. Laird, (ed.).  Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament.  Vol. 2.  (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 802-803:
hanq  / qina /: The verb form expresses a very strong emotion whereby some quality or possession of the object is desired by the subject.
25)	The Hebrew word translated “jealousy” is the noun hanq  / qina / and means either “jealousy” or “zeal.”  Helpful analysis is provided by:
26)	The “object” is Abel and the “subject” is Cain.  The “quality or possession” Cain jealously “desires” is that the Lord’s approval of Abel’s animal sacrifice be redirected over to his vegetable sacrifice.  Cain’s jealousy is self-justified by his belief that his sacrifice is better than Abel’s.
The term, qina, may be used in a derogatory sense to denote hostile and disruptive passions or in a favorable sense to denote consuming zeal focused on one that is loved.
27)	Cain is jealous toward Abel because his animal sacrifice is acceptable and zealous over his self-righteous belief that his is better.
The noun form describes the state wherein the subject is dominated by jealousy and zeal whether positive or negative.
28)	Cain is operating in a status quo of unbelief.  His jealousy and zeal move him toward anger and self-deception.  He is angry with the Lord for approving Abel’s sacrifice instead of his.  Cain is self-deluded into believing that his sacrifice is superior to Abel’s and that he can convince the Lord that it should be approved instead.  His anger with the Lord turns to hatred when he learns that the Lord has no intention of favoring his tossed salad over Abel’s sacrificial lamb.
Genesis 4:6 -	Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?  And why is your countenance fallen?
v. 7 -		“If you do well [ orient and adjust to divine mandates ] will not your countenance be lifted up?  And if you do not do well [ do not orient and adjust ], sin is crouching at the door; and its desire [ hqWvT / teshuqa / ] is for you, but you must master it [ lvm / mashal /; through the free will choice of faith alone in Messiah alone ].”