Genesis 3:15

GENESIS—NOTE ON Genesis 3:15 This verse is usually understood as pointing forward to the defeat of the serpent by the offspring (that is, a descendant) of the woman. For this reason, it has been labeled the “Protoevangelium,” that is, the first announcement of the gospel. While Genesis 1:1 does not explicitly identify the serpent with Satan, that is clearly what the apostle John understood (see Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:2). The idea of the woman’s “offspring” is seen again in Genesis 4:25 in the birth of Seth. The rest of Genesis 1:1 traces a single line of Seth’s descendants (see diagram), which will eventually produce a king through whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed. he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. The use of the singular “he” and “his” suggests that one particular person (“offspring”) is in view. The promise of this person comes to fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is clearly presented in the NT as overcoming Satan (Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8; compare John 12:31). At the same time, he is “bruised” by Satan at the cross.