1. Science and the Bible A Course of Study by Dr. David C. Bossard Winter, 2008 (Continued) Week 19 Genesis 3 - The Fall

2. The Fall Genesis 3:1-13

3. The Curses Genesis 3:14-24 The Curse on the Serpent 3:15. Cf. Romans 16:20 The God of Peace will soon crush Satan beneath your feet. What is a "curse?" Not Magical A Universal Principle of Life - But it can be overcome.

4. The Curses Genesis 3:16 On the surface, this verse seems fairly straightforward. However, the word-for-word translation obscures a great deal of its meaning. Because the Hebrew wording includes so much more than the words' literal meanings, both curses give translators fits. They do not want to stray too far from God's exact words, nor do they wish to leave out underlying ideas expounded by Paul in the New Testament. In the end, most choose to translate the passage word for word. Forerunner Commentary At bibletools.org

5. The Curse on the Woman Genesis 3:16b compared with 4:7b [you] desire for [your man] and [he shall] rule over [you] [sin] desires for [you] and [you must] rule over [it] 3:16b "Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you." 4:7b "Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."

6. The Curses Genesis 3:16 God is saying that a woman's desire will be to gain the upper hand over her husband, but because she is the weaker vessel, her husband will put her down by force, if need be. The curse is that, in the main, women will lose the battle of the sexes. History bears this out. Only where true Christianity flourishes is there any real easing of this curse. Thus, wives are told to submit rather than contend, and husbands are commanded to love rather than dominate (Eph. 5:22-23). Forerunner Commentary At bibletools.org

7. The Curses Genesis 3:16 Contrary to the usual interpretations of commentators, the desire of the woman in Genesis 3:16b does not make the wife (more) submissive to her husband so that he may rule over her. Her desire is to contend with him for leadership in their rela- tionship. This desire is a result of and a just punishment for sin, but it is not God's decretive will for the woman. Consequently, the man must actively seek to rule his wife. Susan T. Foh, What is the Woman's Desire? Westminsteer Theological Journal 37 (1974-1975) 376-83 My comment on the above quote: I agree, except that part of the curse Is that men will exert their rule by coercive means. Apart from God's grace that rule will not be loving.

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