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Genesis 3:15 is rightly recognized as a foundational prophetic utterance in Scripture, often termed the protoevangelium—the first gospel—because it contains the earliest explicit promise of divine victory over Satan through a future descendant of the woman. This verse has profound implications for Christology, soteriology, and biblical theology. Yet its meaning and interpretation have been obscured and corrupted in multiple ways: first, by the Latin Vulgate’s mistranslation of the Hebrew masculine pronoun הוּא (hūʾ) as the feminine ipsa (“she”); second, by the rise of Roman Catholic Mariolatry that idolized this mistranslation into dogma; and third, by modern interpretive trends that dilute or spiritualize the specificity of the passage, rendering it allegorical or corporate rather than Messianic.
The Updated American Standard Version (UASV) preserves the correct reading and structure of the Hebrew:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
This article will explore the grammatical structure of the Hebrew text, the history and consequences of its mistranslation in the Latin tradition, and the prophetic significance of the masculine subject as a reference to the coming Messiah—Jesus Christ. A faithful translation and interpretation of Genesis 3:15 depends entirely on a grammatical analysis of the pronominal forms and a contextual understanding of biblical prophecy.
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Grammatical Analysis of the Hebrew Pronouns
The relevant phrase in the Hebrew is:
הוּא יְשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ
hūʾ yĕshuphkā rōʾsh
“He shall bruise your head.”
The subject הוּא (hūʾ) is a third-person singular masculine pronoun meaning he. The verb יְשׁוּפְךָ (yĕshuphkā) is second-person masculine singular with the suffix -ךָ (kā), “your,” addressed to the serpent (masculine). The object רֹאשׁ (rōʾsh) is “head.” The next clause parallels this structure:
וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב
wĕʾattāh tĕshūphennū ʿāqēv
“And you shall bruise his heel.”
Here, אַתָּה (ʾattāh) is “you” (masculine singular), again referring to the serpent. The verb תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ (tĕshūphennū) contains the third-person masculine singular suffix -נּוּ (nū), “him.” The object is עָקֵב (ʿāqēv), “heel.” The parallelism between “you will bruise his heel” and “he will bruise your head” is clear and emphatic.
Crucially, the masculine pronoun הוּא (hūʾ) cannot, under any grammatical circumstances, refer to הָאִשָּׁה (hāʾiššāh, “the woman”) in the first clause, because Hebrew requires הִיא (hîʾ) for a feminine subject. The nearest grammatically appropriate antecedent is זַרְעָהּ (zarʿāh, “her seed”), which is grammatically masculine even though “seed” is a collective noun and may refer to an individual or a group. But in this context, as shown below, the singular pronouns and parallel clauses point to an individual male descendant, not a corporate or metaphorical group.
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The Significance of the Masculine Pronoun (הוּא)
The use of hūʾ narrows the prophetic focus of this verse to a specific male individual within the line of descent from the woman. While “seed” (זֶרַע) can be collective in certain cases (e.g., Genesis 13:16), it can also denote a singular, representative individual (e.g., Genesis 22:17–18). Here, the shift from collective “seed” to the singular “he” indicates a specific offspring who would engage in a direct confrontation with the serpent.
This grammar is decisive. The masculine singular pronoun cannot be explained away as referring to a corporate group (e.g., Israel, the righteous, humanity). Nor can it be distorted to support Marian doctrines, as seen in the Roman Catholic tradition. The only viable referent is a male descendant—a he—who would ultimately crush the head of the serpent.
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The Vulgate Mistranslation: Ipsa
The Latin Vulgate, produced by Jerome in the late 4th century C.E., renders the critical phrase as:
“Ipsa conteret caput tuum…”
“She shall crush your head…”
This egregious mistranslation substitutes ipsa (feminine) for ipse (masculine), thus replacing “he” with “she.” Jerome’s Latin either introduced or perpetuated this error (the textual history is uncertain), but the consequence was doctrinal catastrophe: the verse came to be interpreted as referring to Mary, not Christ.
This Marian misreading became a cornerstone of Roman Catholic Mariology, resulting in theological innovations such as:
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The Immaculate Conception
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The Assumption of Mary
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The Co-Redemptrix doctrine
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The Mediatrix of All Graces
These false doctrines are rooted in an error of translation. The inspired Hebrew text says he—not she. Mary is nowhere in view in this passage, and to force her into it is a doctrinal imposition with no exegetical basis.
Even the Clementine Vulgate preserves this faulty reading, and medieval art and liturgy often portray Mary crushing the serpent’s head. But the text does not support this. It is Christ—not Mary—who was foretold as the seed who would bruise the serpent’s head.
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Modern Translations: Fidelity vs. Interpretation
Many modern versions preserve the masculine singular:
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NASB95: “He shall bruise you on the head…”
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ESV: “He shall bruise your head…”
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UASV: “He shall bruise your head…”
Some, however, weaken the clarity by using collective terms or gender-neutral language:
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NRSV: “They will strike your head…”
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GNT: “They will crush your head…”
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CEB: “They will strike your head…”
Such renderings obscure the gender and individuality of the pronoun and therefore diminish the Messianic specificity of the prophecy. Though these may be motivated by stylistic or interpretive decisions, they are grammatically indefensible in light of the clear use of הוּא and the context that follows.
The UASV stands alone in upholding strict fidelity to the Hebrew by rendering the masculine singular pronoun directly and consistently.
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Theological and Messianic Implications
Genesis 3:15 introduces the long trajectory of Messianic prophecy in Scripture. The serpent’s deceiver role is met with a divine promise: a male offspring will rise to destroy him. The imagery is of a lethal conflict—one that results in the crushing of the serpent’s head, though not without the bruising of the man’s heel.
This prophecy unfolds throughout redemptive history:
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Genesis 12:3: “In you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
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Genesis 22:17–18: “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”
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Isaiah 7:14: “A virgin will conceive and give birth to a son…”
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Isaiah 53: The Suffering Servant who is pierced and crushed for transgressions.
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Matthew 1:21: “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
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Romans 16:20: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”
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Revelation 20:10: “The devil… was thrown into the lake of fire…”
The entire canon confirms that the seed of the woman is Christ, not Mary, not the church, and not humanity in general. Christ alone, by His death and resurrection, delivers the fatal blow to the serpent. His heel was bruised in the crucifixion, but Satan’s head will be crushed in final judgment.
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Christ as the Fulfiller of Genesis 3:15
Jesus Christ, born of a virgin (Luke 1:35), is the literal “offspring of the woman.” He is not a product of male descent—thus bypassing the corrupted seed of Adam (cf. Romans 5:12). His humanity was real, His suffering actual, and His triumph complete. He alone fulfills Genesis 3:15.
Hebrews 2:14 says:
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”
John echoes this in 1 John 3:8:
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”
These fulfillments confirm that Genesis 3:15 is not symbolic, not generalized, not spiritualized—it is literal prophecy concerning a literal man, the Messiah, whose decisive victory over the serpent was accomplished in history and awaits final consummation at His return.
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Conclusion: Literal Accuracy Preserves Doctrinal Integrity
The inspired words of Genesis 3:15 do not speak of a woman defeating the serpent. They speak of her seed—a specific male individual—doing so. The Hebrew הוּא mandates a masculine translation. The UASV rightly preserves this:
“He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Any departure from this grammatical truth—whether it be Roman Catholic Marian theology, gender-neutral paraphrasing, or corporate reinterpretation—obscures the divine promise and distorts the gospel. Translation matters. Accuracy matters. Faithfulness to the original text ensures that readers of Scripture receive not a man-made reinterpretation, but the very Word of God as He gave it.
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Response, A Vindication of the Feminine She in Genesis 3:15
Writers supporting the Feminine She in Genesis 3:15.
Philo:
“And he will guard your head, and you will guard his heel (Gen. 3:15). In terms of language, there is a barbarism [grammatical irregularity], but in terms of meaning, it is an achievement. For it is said to the serpent concerning the woman, but the woman is not “he” [αὐτός, masculine], but “she” [αὐτή, feminine]. What, then, should be said? The discourse about the woman has shifted to her seed and its head [or origin].”
Josephus:
“Thus God spoke to the defeated man: He placed the earth almost under his feet, not so that it would yield to them willingly, but to those laboring and toiling with effort, it would give some fruits and deny others. But Eve He punished with the pains of childbirth and conception, because she had been deceived by the serpent and led Adam into calamity. He also took away the serpent’s voice, angry at its malice toward Adam, and placed venom under its tongue, commanding it to be an enemy to humans, so that the woman would strike its head, while it, lying in wait, would be hostile to humans and easily bring them to ruin. He also deprived it of feet, so that it would crawl in the dust.”
Tertullian:
“Will this also be lacking for a Christian woman, that she should become more refined by means of a serpent? Thus, will she trample the head of the devil while she adorns herself with ornaments from his head, her own neck, or her own head?”
Origen:
“O[rigen’s Septuagint column]: He will guard your head.
Others: She will guard your head.”
Saint Ephrem:
“Our Lord said that Satan had fallen from heaven. That cursed one had exalted himself, but was cast down from his exaltation. The foot of Mary trod under her heel him who with his heel had wounded Eve. Blessed is He who by His birth laid him prostrate.”
“Blessed Babe that bruised the head of the serpent that smote her.”
“Hail, thou pure one who crushed the head of the most wicked dragon and hurled him bound in chains into the abyss.”
Saint Ambrose:
“But to return to the point, that God thought it better to restrain malice for a time rather than abolish it, He said to the serpent: And I will put enmities between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. She will watch your head, and you will watch her heel. (Genesis 3:15). Where there is enmity, there is discord and a desire to harm; where there is a desire to harm, there malice is established. Therefore, the discord between the serpent and the woman is underpinned by the malice of discord. Thus, malice has not been removed. Indeed, it has been preserved for the serpent to watch the heel of the woman and her seed, so that it may harm and pour out its venom.”
Prudentius:
“The serpent, the author of deceit itself, Is justly punished, so that the woman may crush its three-tongued neck with her heel: Thus, the serpent receives the woman’s sole, And the woman [receives] the man.”
Saint Augustine:
“And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle and every beast of the field. On your breast and belly you shall crawl, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmities between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. She will watch your head, and you will watch her heel.”
Saint Jerome:
“I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. ”
Claudius Marius Victor:
“Conceal yourself, for a woman with her offspring will destroy you: though you, cunning one, will lie in wait at her heels, trembling with force, she will also fix her steps upon your head. Yet even to the trembling head, she will plant her footsteps.”
Chryssipus of Jerusalem:
“The first Eve of old raised me on high, but the second Eve has cast me down.”
Hesychius of Jerusalem:
“Lo a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel. Lo, a Virgin-! ‘ What Virgin? She who is the chosen of women, the elect of Virgins, the excellent ornament of our race, the boast of our day, who freed Eve from shame and Adam from threat, who cut off the boast of the dragon, when the smoke of desire and the word of soft pleasure hurt her not.”
Saint Avitus of Vienne:
“You, deceitful serpent, have overcome both with a single effort, but one day it will come to pass that you, prostrate, will adore the female sex: though you, trembling, will lie in wait at her heel, a victorious woman will finally crush your head, and a sprout will be born even from such a stem.”
Pope Saint Gregory the Great:
“For since the heel is the end of the body, what does it signify if not the end of an action? Therefore, whether it be evil spirits or perverse humans who follow their pride, they watch the heel when they desire to corrupt the end of a good action. Hence, it is said to the same serpent: She will watch your head, and you will watch her heel (Genesis 3:15, according to the LXX). To watch the serpent’s head is to observe the beginnings of its suggestion and, with the careful hand of consideration, to completely uproot it from the heart’s entrance. However, when it is detected from the beginning, it strives to strike the heel, because even if it does not corrupt the intention with its initial suggestion, it seeks to deceive at the end. But if the heart is once corrupted in its intention, the middle and end of the subsequent action are securely possessed by the cunning enemy; for he sees that the whole tree bears fruit for him, which he has poisoned at the root with the tooth of his venom.”
Pseudo-Eucherius:
“And God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed among all living creatures and beasts of the earth. On your breast you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. I will put enmities between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. She will crush your head, and you will lie in wait for her heel.”
“The seed of the devil is perverse suggestion; the seed of the woman is the fruit of good work, by which perverse suggestion is resisted. She will crush its head if the mind rejects it at the very beginning of the evil suggestion; it lies in wait for her heel because it seeks to deceive, at the end, the mind that it could not deceive with its initial suggestion. However, some have understood this statement, ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman,’ as referring to the Virgin from whom the Lord was born, because at that time the Lord, who was to be born from her, was promised to defeat the enemy and to destroy death, of which the enemy was the author. For that which follows, She will crush your head, and you will lie in wait for her heel, is understood as referring to the fruit of Mary’s womb, which is Christ. That is, ‘You will supplant him so that he dies, but he will rise victorious and crush your head, which is death.’ As David also said, speaking in the person of the Father to the Son: You will tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and you will trample the lion and the dragon (Psalm 90:13). He called death, the asp, sin, the basilisk, the Antichrist, the lion, and the devil, the dragon.”
Saint Bruno:
“The first head of this line is Adam; the second is Christ. This line begins in Eve and ends in Mary. In the beginning was death ; and in the end is life. Death was caused by Eve ; life was restored through Mary. Eve was conquered by the Devil ; Mary bound and conquered the Devil. For since the line is extended from Eve to her, in her at length that Hook was bound and Incarnate, through whom that Leviathan was taken, the old Serpent who is the Devil and Satan, that he who entered his Kingdom through a woman, should be drawn out of his Kingdom through a woman.”
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux:
“She (Mary) was so valiant that she crushed the head of that serpent to whom the Lord said: I will put enmities between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed: she shall crush your head…(Genesis 3:15).”
Maimonidies:
“The greatest hatred exists between the serpent and Eve, and between his seed and her seed ; her seed being undoubtedly also the seed of man. More remarkable still is the way in which the serpent is joined to Eve, or rather his seed to her seed ; the head of the one touches the heel of the other. Eve defeats the serpent by crushing its head, whilst the serpent defeats her by wounding her heel.”
Aheta Mikael’s (Ethiopian) prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary:
“O MARY, hedge me round about with the power of thy covenant against temptation, and bruise thou his head with the rods of pain and disease when the Serpent yawneth with his mouth to swallow me up.”
The existence of “She” in Non-Latin translations prove the Hebrew had the feminine pronoun she and the feminine verb for “bruise”.
I’ve already shown the Greek evidence for “She” which are recorded in the testimonies of Josephus, Tertullian, Origen, Chrysippus of Jerusalem and the Non Latin readings which come from the Septuagint. And also Aramaic evidence from Saint Ephrem, Ethiopic evidence from Aheta Mikael’s prayer to the Virgin Mary and the evidence of Maimonides. This shows, (lest the Prots make a conspiracy theory that they somehow didn’t know hebrew grammar) that the Hebrew had היא תְּשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ.
THIS WILL BE AN ARTICLE TOMORROW
A Biblical and Grammatical Defense of “He” in Genesis 3:15 Against Marian Misinterpretation and the Misuse of Patristic and Apocryphal Witnesses
The debate surrounding the proper interpretation and translation of Genesis 3:15 is not one of mere academic curiosity but of theological consequence. The text in question is universally recognized by conservative evangelical scholarship as the Protoevangelium, the first announcement of the Gospel—a direct prophecy of the coming Messiah who would ultimately destroy the works of the devil. The challenge raised against the masculine pronoun הוּא (hūʾ, “he”) by citing a litany of post-biblical and patristic sources does not withstand the weight of grammatical, textual, and theological scrutiny. This response will expose the methodological errors, theological fallacies, and historical misunderstandings behind the claim that Genesis 3:15 originally contained the feminine pronoun היא (hîʾ, “she”), and will reaffirm that the correct subject is a male, singular individual—Jesus Christ.
The Inspired Hebrew Text of Genesis 3:15: Masculine, Singular, and Specific
The critical issue at hand is what the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT)—the inspired and preserved source of the Old Testament—actually says. The Hebrew of Genesis 3:15 reads:
וְאֵיבָה אָשִׁית בֵּינְךָ וּבֵין הָאִשָּׁה וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ וּבֵין זַרְעָהּ הוּא יְשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב
Transliteration: wĕʾēbāh ʾāšît bēnĕkā ûbēn hāʾiššāh ûbēn zarʿăkā ûbēn zarʿāh hūʾ yĕshūphkā rōʾš wĕʾattāh tĕshūphennû ʿāqēv
Literal Translation:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
The word הוּא (hūʾ) is a 3rd person masculine singular independent pronoun. It is unambiguously “he,” not “she” (which would be היא hîʾ). There is no variant reading in the Hebrew manuscript tradition that supports the notion that the original word was feminine. Even in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which provide some of the oldest known biblical manuscripts, Genesis 3:15 is entirely consistent with the Masoretic rendering. The Hebrew grammar is exact, direct, and undeniable.
It must be emphasized: Hebrew pronouns agree in gender and number with their antecedents. The claim that the Hebrew originally said hîʾ tĕshuphkā rōʾš (“she shall bruise your head”) is linguistically and textually baseless. No Hebrew manuscript, ancient or medieval, supports this. The challenge, by appealing to non-Hebrew traditions and mistranslations, undermines sola Scriptura and opens the door to doctrinal corruption rooted not in inspired Scripture, but in flawed human tradition.
The Grammatical Structure Supports “He,” Not “She”
The antecedent of הוּא (hūʾ) in Genesis 3:15 is זרע (zeraʿ, “seed”). Though zeraʿ is grammatically masculine and sometimes used collectively, it is singular in this context and governs the pronoun that follows. There is no feminine noun antecedent that could possibly justify the substitution of היא (hîʾ).
The parallel structure in the verse confirms the singular individual male:
“He shall bruise your head” – masculine singular subject הוּא (hūʾ), masculine singular verb, directed at a second masculine singular object (the serpent).
“You shall bruise his heel” – masculine singular second person subject (the serpent), masculine singular object suffix -נּוּ (-nû, “his”).
The masculine singular subject and object constructions indicate a one-to-one, personal conflict—not a collective allegory, and certainly not a feminine subject.
Patristic and Apocryphal Witnesses: Misused and Misguided
The challenge resorts to citing numerous Church Fathers and apocryphal or devotional traditions—Tertullian, Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and others—to vindicate the feminine rendering. But this argument collapses under its own weight for three reasons:
First, the patristic authors were not writing in Hebrew and often relied on the Old Latin, Vulgate, or Septuagint. These are translations, not original sources. They reflect theological interpretations and manuscript transmission traditions that were prone to theological insertions—especially as Marian devotion escalated.
Second, many of the writers cited are speaking devotionally, not exegetically. Their interpretations are shaped by later doctrinal developments and allegorization, not careful grammatical analysis of the Hebrew text. For example, when Saint Bernard of Clairvaux or Ephrem the Syrian references Mary crushing the serpent, they are engaging in Mariological typology rooted in Church tradition, not grounded in the inspired Hebrew grammar.
Third, some early Christian writings were explicitly allegorical, a method wholly rejected by the Historical-Grammatical approach which honors the intended, literal meaning of the original text. Allegory was commonly used in Alexandrian exegesis, particularly by Origen and later by Augustine. But allegorizing the serpent, the woman, and the seed creates doctrinal chaos and violates the principle of sola Scriptura.
The Vulgate’s “Ipsa” Is a Corruption, Not a Witness
The Latin Vulgate rendering “ipsa” (“she”) in ipsa conteret caput tuum (“she shall crush your head”) is grammatically unjustifiable based on the Hebrew. Jerome either introduced or adopted a gender switch based on theological motives or copyist error. The Latin masculine “ipse” would have properly represented הוּא (hūʾ). “Ipsa” reflects an interpretive rather than translational choice.
Even Roman Catholic scholars today admit that “ipsa” is likely not the correct rendering and that the passage refers to Christ, not Mary. The Nova Vulgata, the official Latin text of the Catholic Church since the 1970s, now reads ipse, not ipsa—a silent correction acknowledging the original error.
The Septuagint: A Flawed and Incomplete Witness
Appeals to the Greek Septuagint (LXX) are also misapplied. While the LXX is useful for understanding certain interpretive tendencies of Hellenistic Jews, it is not an inspired text. The Septuagint translation of Genesis 3:15 reads ambiguously:
αὐτός σου τηρήσει κεφαλήν, καὶ σὺ τηρήσεις αὐτοῦ πτέρναν
(autos sou tērēsei kephalēn, kai su tērēseis autou pternan)
“He will watch (or guard) your head, and you will watch his heel.”
Here, αὐτός (autos) is masculine singular—again affirming the masculine pronoun “he.” Any claim that the Septuagint supports “she” is contradicted by its extant Greek text. Origen’s variant “she” is explicitly marked as “others” and reflects interpretive gloss, not textual authority.
Extrabiblical Traditions Do Not Alter Inspired Scripture
Invoking Ethiopic prayers to Mary, mystical writings, or even rabbinical reflections (like Maimonides) has no bearing on the inspired reading of the Hebrew Scriptures. These are not inspired texts, and they often reflect the theological agendas of their authors—whether mystical, liturgical, or polemical.
The inspired Word of God is not corrected or enhanced by late liturgies, devotional traditions, or religious poetry. To assert that these variant readings prove the original Hebrew said hîʾ is to abandon the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration and to replace divine revelation with human tradition.
Christ, Not Mary, Is the Seed of the Woman
The theological context of Genesis 3:15 affirms that the “seed of the woman” is not the woman herself but a specific male descendant. This is the same seed promised to Abraham (Genesis 22:18), reiterated by the prophets (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6–7), and fulfilled in the New Testament:
Galatians 4:4: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law.”
1 John 3:8: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”
Hebrews 2:14: “That through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”
Mary is honored as the vessel through whom the Messiah came, but she is not the agent of Satan’s defeat. Christ alone fulfills the literal prophecy of Genesis 3:15. Any attempt to insert Mary into this prophecy is eisegesis—reading something into the text that is not there.
Conclusion: Fidelity to the Hebrew Text Is the Only Safe Path
The assertion that Genesis 3:15 originally said “she shall crush your head” is a doctrinal invention rooted in post-biblical tradition, not divine revelation. No Hebrew manuscript supports a feminine reading. The grammar of the inspired text demands a male singular subject—hūʾ, “he.” The serpent was not promised defeat at the hands of a woman, but at the hands of her seed—a male descendant who would be bruised but would ultimately destroy the adversary.
To deviate from this truth is to deny the clarity and authority of Scripture in favor of speculative and mystical traditions. The inspired Word of God in Genesis 3:15 stands as a testimony to the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ, the true and only Seed of the Woman who shall bruise the serpent’s head.