The following question was submitted regarding the punishment given to Eve in Genesis 3.
God tells Eve that her husband shall rule over her AFTER they have sinned. Was this part of her punishment since it’s mentioned right after increasing pain in childbearing?
The short answer to this question is yes.
When Eve disobeyed God by eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, part of the punishment placed on Eve (and all women who would follow her) was that her husband would “rule” over her. However, it is important that this phrase at the end of Genesis 3:16 be understood along with the preceding phrase. Why? The entire verse reads:
“To the woman he [God] said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.’”
The conjunction, “but” links these two phrases together and, therefore, we cannot correctly interpret and understand one without the other. There are two elements of the curse being placed on Eve—both involve relationships. The first part of the curse deals with the relationship between a mother and her children, specifically that there will be great pain in childbearing. This word in the Hebrew is heron (h-ay-ron) and it is only used in reference to pregnancy or the process of giving birth. Any woman who has given birth (and any man who has been within ear-shot of that process) knows that it is extremely painful. The second part deals with the relationship between husband and wife. Notice the first phrase, which reads in the ESV, “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband…” In the original language, the word “desire” has the same meaning as it does in English. Desire is an inclination to want. The word “contrary” is a preposition in the Hebrew language that can be translated into several English equivalents (e.g., into, toward, against, etc.). The only way to discern which preposition is most appropriate is to look at the context. Therefore, we must consider the flow of the passage, the purpose of the words, and the scene itself.
The flow of this passage is one of cursing and punishment based on the actions of the serpent, Eve, and Adam. Some scholars have suggested that this phrase should be translated, “Your desire shall be toward (or for) your husband,” because it is referring to sexual desire. That explanation is not convincing based on the context of the whole of Scripture up to this point. God gave them sexual desire and the gift of marital intimacy before they disobeyed Him. God commanded them to “Be fruitful and multiply,” which indicates that this intimate aspect of their relationship was already in place; so it is unlikely that these words are God punishing her (or them) by having the woman desire a physical relationship with her husband. Before they disobeyed God (The Fall of Man), both Adam and Eve desired each other in a perfectly loving way in which no sin was involved.
The purpose of the words in this text is cursing and punishment, both of which bear a negative connotation. The scene is one of shame on the part of Adam and Eve, and Fatherly love and punishment on the part of God. So, the idea that Eve’s “desire” related to her husband would be something negative that reflects separation and alienation would be most appropriate. This also makes sense within the flow of the passage because everything within the curse/punishment revolved around enmity (e.g., the serpent and the woman, the man and the ground, and the wife and her husband).
Therefore, translating the preposition as “against” is most appropriate because it provides the most accurate understanding of the context, flow of the passage, scene, and purpose. Rendering the verse, “Your desire shall be against your husband,” assists in discerning just exactly what God is doing when He hands out this punishment. Within the context of the entire chapter, we know that Eve was tempted by the serpent and it was as a result of that encounter that she sinned against God and against her husband. In her sin, Eve took the lead by acting independently of her husband’s authority and, worse, acting independently of God’s authority. In the punishment handed out to Eve, God is in effect saying, “You wanted to be in charge, make your own decisions and be in control. So, your punishment is that you will never be those things or have those things.” In essence, by taking control, Eve lost it permanently.
Woman’s natural desire forever will be to be independent of her husband, usurping his biblically defined role, and being in charge. Yet, she will ultimately never achieve those desires and, in fact, cannot achieve them if she is to honor God. Why? There are two reasons, the first of which is found in the last part of the punishment in verse 16 which says, “Your desire shall be against/contrary to your husband, BUT he shall rule over you.” The Hebrew word translated “shall rule” is mashal which means “to exercise authority over another.” That is what is being communicated at the end of the verse and the reality of this punishment has been documented throughout human history in many different societies. Countless women have been degraded, viewed as servants, slaves, sexual instruments, and live-in maids. In the Jewish culture there was a law developed that allowed a husband to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away for simply burning his breakfast. Clearly, these exercises of authority also do not honor the Lord. How can we know this for sure? In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, commands that “husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph 5:25).
The second reason women cannot achieve their natural desires and honor the Lord is found in the command given to wives in the same passage of Ephesians in verse 22 where we read, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands” (Eph 5:22-24). These commands given to husband and wife fall under the umbrella of the culminating phrase at the end of verse 21 which says, “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph 5:21b). This is important to understand because while the word “submit” is not used regarding the husband, it is certainly implied. It is the husband’s responsibility to submit to Christ and the wife’s responsibility to submit to Christ and to her husband as he submits to Christ.
Unfortunately, the reality is that neither men nor women tend to follow these commands. As long as that is the case, the curse upon them, because of sin, reigns in their flesh. In the marriage relationship, as the woman tends toward rebellion, the man tends toward tyranny. The battle of the sexes began in the third chapter of Genesis. It is why there is conflict in marriage. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world, and cursing/punishment was assigned. There is no escaping it, no undoing it, no amount of feminist movements or legislation in any chamber of government that will permanently end the conflict between husbands and wives, men and women, boys and girls. It will only end at the victorious return of Jesus Christ.
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