“To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
Genesis 3:16 NKJV
Dear Expectant Parents,
As a Christian Mother, you can wonder…did God curse women to have pain in Childbirth? It can be a confusing and daunting question, and one that can challenge your faith. Today we are going to dive into the Fall of mankind, the curses of God, and how they apply to childbirth.
First, let’s set the stage. In the first two chapters of Genesis, we see that God created everything, and pronounced all as good. He created man, Adam and his wife Eve, in His image, with His lovingkindness, to rule and minister over creation. He placed them in the garden of Eden and gave them all plants for food, accept for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil…and so, mankind was faced with a choice:
Would they trust God’s perfect wisdom? Or choose their own knowledge and understanding over God’s?
When tempted by the Serpent, both Eve and Adam ate of the Tree, giving them knowledge of good and evil. With this knowledge, mankind will now constantly be faced with the choice to choose God’s way (good) or what seems pleasing to man (evil); and thus, sin entered into the world.
In order to fully break down Genesis 3:16, you must first understand two things.
- First: Genesis was written in ancient Hebrew. This language does not translate seamlessly into English, there are many Hebrew words that do not have an English equivalent, or can mean several different English words.
- Second: Translation is always a work of interpretation; because of the nuance of the Hebrew language, the translators are able to derive different meanings from one passage (which is why we have so many translations). Keep these in mind as we dig into the Hebrew text:
“To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow (‘itsabon) and your conception (herayon); In pain (‘atsab) you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.””
- ‘Itsabon: Itsabon is the Hebrew word that is often translated in this verse as sorrow or pain, and specifically labor pains in certain translations. However, the meaning of this word actually refers to physical labor, hardship, toil and the sorrow and pain that comes naturally from that. This is the same word that is used in verse 17 when God speaks to Adam: “in toil (‘itsabon) you will eat of it all the days of your life…” Never is the word itsabon translated as “labor pains” elsewhere in the Bible.
- Herayon: In this verse, and this verse alone, herayon often translated as childbirth, childbearing, and labor. The meaning of this word is actually to conceive. In all other places where this word appears in the Bible, it is translated as such.
- ‘Atsab: The meaning of atsab refers to an emotional emotional pain such as anger, frustration, or sorrow, or the pain that comes from work.
By understanding the meaning of the original text, we get a visual of a lament from God, not a curse.
He is simply and straightfowardly naming the consequences of the decisions that Adam and Eve made, in light of the sin that has entered the world. In his essay Let Us Go Up to Zion, Lain Provan says the following:
“Gen. 3:16 refers to the agony, hardship, worry, and anxiety of the circumstances in which children are conceived, born and raised, and in which they die…”
We see these consequences play out all throughout Genesis, through struggles with infertility, pregnancy, birth, and raising children. It is the result of sin in the world.
So mama, when Gen. 3:16 makes you question God’s goodness or lovingkindness, know that He laments too. He sees the hardship and anxiety in your life, He is acquainted with your pain and grief. Yet, He promises to be with you through it all. How great is our God?
With Love,
Pearl
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