Over time I have developed a dread of attending a women’s Bible study--especially when it's a group of single women. Inevitably, in these situations the conversation revolves around how much everyone wants to get married and how all the cute church guys never ask us out. Now I admit I enjoy indulging in these conversations sometimes, (I too am single and desire to be married!) but more often than not, they leave me internally rolling my eyes and wondering if they actually talk about theology at the men's Bible studies.
It was in one of these Bible studies that I heard a girl express her struggles with her singleness. As a part of her soliloquy she blamed her desire for a boyfriend with something to the like of, “it’s Eve’s fault, she cursed us women to be thirsty!” Now as comical as this was, I was disturbed by the lack of critical theological thinking on this matter. The women just laughed, shrugged their shoulders and moved on. I however, could not move on so easily. I had heard the term, “the curse of Eve” before but had not taken the time to figure out what it really meant.
So now the quest for truth begins...are women cursed to be thirsty? What is the curse of Eve? Is it real or merely a myth used to continually downgrade women?
Many of you know how the Genesis story goes. Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden living in perfect communion and shalom with God. Then one day Eve was deceived by the serpent to eat of the tree she was explicitly told not to eat of. Adam then joined her in eating it and so the fall of humanity unfolded. In response to their actions, the curse of sin was laid bare on the earth. For Adam this meant difficult work toiling the earth. For Eve this meant pain in childbirth and the domineering control of her husband. Many believe this implied Eve would have sexual desire for her husband, hence the “thirsty” comment.
“Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.” - Gen 3:16.
The Hebrew word used here is Teshuqa. This comes from the root word shuq meaning “to run.” Modern translations translate the word to mean “desire” however, this is not the original meaning of the word. Of the 12 known ancient versions (this includes the Septuagint which Jesus Himself quotes) of this text the word is rendered “turning” not desire.
History of the Word Teshuqa
So where did this translation go wrong? The history of this little word is quite interesting.
The translation of teshuqa as “desire” began with the Talmud. The Talmud is an ancient book of Jewish laws written by Rabbis, it is not recognized as Scripture by either Christians or Jews but is rather a book of ceremonial laws and a type of commentary on the Old Testament. The Talmud is where the “Ten curses of Eve” first originated and in which the Rabbi’s add other supposed “curses” about women. Suffice it to say women are not talked about in a positive light within the Talmud but are spoken of in disparaging terms. Unfortunately, it is from this teaching where the idea was set forth that teshuqa means “desire."
John Wycliffe is credited with being one of the first to translate the Bible into the English language. He translated his Bible from the Latin Vulgate, both of which translate Tushuqa to mean “turning.” Then came along a monk by the name of Pagnino who translated the Old Testament in 1528. Pangino though based his translations off of the writing of the Rabbi’s and the Talmud and translated teshuqa to be “desire.” From here on out Bible translators followed his trend and continued to translate the word as “desire” which led some to go a step further and translate it “sensual desire” furthering the idea that Eve’s desire was sexual in nature (it’s amazing how men flatter themselves isn’t it?).
So now that we know the real meaning of teshuqa is “turning” not “desire” what do we make of this?
We know that before the fall, Adam and Eve experienced perfect, unbroken communion with God. However, because of their sin, their perfect unity was rent. If we understand teshuqa in its original meaning of turning in the context of the now broken relationship of humanity to God, the true meaning of this passage comes to life.
Eve, because of her sin will now turn away from God to her husband and as a consequence he will rule over her (or take advantage of her). With this translation in mind the passage reads like this, “You are turning away from God to your husband, and as a result he will rule over you.” However, with this the verb for “to rule over” expresses futurity there is no hint of obligation or normativity in this verb.
I first learned about the origins of the word Teshuqa in the book, God's Word to Women by Katherine Bushnell ( must read for those interested in feminist theology!). Bushnell argues that God never cursed Eve, for this would mean that God and Satan are working on the same side. Rather, God put enmity between her and Satan, and gave her the amazing prophecy that her offspring would crush the head of the snake as found in Genesis 3:15:
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
Why would God prophesy this and then turn around and curse her? Nowhere else in the Bible is the language of a “curse” on women used. This is something that has been handed down in tradition with no Biblical backing. Yes, many women can attest to the extreme pain of childbirth, but we all know pain is not exclusive to childbirth, rather pain is a universal experience as a result of the general fallenness of the world.
Bushnell goes on to explain that the verse, “It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The word “bruise” is an obscure word. Scholars note that this is a difficult passage because of the word shuph used and the meaning is uncertain. Some of the ancients translate this word to mean “lying in wait.” Because of this some scholars believe the verse should actually be rendered “a snare has increased thy sorrow.” This would help to explain why the concept of “lying in wait” is found here. This brings the rest of the passage into focus. For we know that Eve was deceived by the serpent, so the fact that he was “lying in wait” for her makes sense.
At the end of the day, regardless of who or how the curse was placed on women and the rest of the earth, we can rest in the certainty that Jesus broke the curse on the cross!
With this said, I ask you, why do we still live like we are under the curse? I do not have to prove to you that we live in a fallen world marred by sin, we see this reality played out every day. However, as believers in Jesus, we are no longer under the power of the curse of sin.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—Galatians 3:13
This is really, really good news. We are not cursed “to be thirsty” and desire after men for them to then "rule over us". Patriarchy is a result of the fall. Period.
If anything our "thirst" or longing for relationship, is only a shadow of a deeper desire. We were created to experience an intimate relationship with our Bridegroom, Jesus (Eph 5:25-27). Jesus is the only one who can quench our thirst and fulfill us completely (John 7:37). Jesus is still calling us to turn from the things of this world to Him alone for our salvation. For we have been washed by the blood of Jesus, sweet like honey to our souls, the curse is broken.
