Genesis 3:15 Meaning and Explanation
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →In the very hour of the fall, God speaks the first promise of a rescuer who will crush the enemy.
The Context of Genesis 3:15
God is pronouncing the consequences of the first sin, speaking in turn to the serpent, the woman, and the man. These words are addressed to the serpent, and within a sentence of judgment a thread of hope appears.
What Does Genesis 3:15 Mean?
Even as God names the cost of what has happened, He makes a promise. There will be lasting enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between their offspring, a long conflict running through history. And it will end a certain way: the woman's seed will bruise the serpent's head, a crushing, mortal blow, while the serpent will only bruise his heel, a real wound but not a fatal one. In the darkest moment of the story, God speaks first of victory. The hurt is honest, and the hope is greater.
Christians have long heard in these words the first whisper of the gospel. The seed of the woman points ahead to Christ, who at the cross took the serpent's strike to His heel and rose to crush its head for good. The wound and the victory meet in Him. What God promised in Eden's ruin He kept on Calvary's hill, and the long enmity is answered by a Savior who wins.
Genesis 3:15 in the Original Language
zera' (זֶרַע), 'seed' -- offspring or descendant; a single word that can mean one heir or a whole line.
Where Genesis 3:15 Echoes in Scripture
Paul echoes this promise of the crushed serpent: 'the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly' (Romans 16:20). And John sees the conflict named here, 'the woman' and her child against 'that old serpent' (Revelation 12).
How to Apply Genesis 3:15 Today
When everything seems to have gone wrong, this verse shows us a God who speaks hope into the wreckage and keeps His word across the whole of history. The promise made in Eden was fulfilled at the cross, which means no ruin in our own lives is beyond His power to redeem.