Smoodock's Blog

The ancient Jewish Targums are interesting literature and useful in helping us understand Jewish thought about God during the times of Jesus. The Targums are ancient Aramaic translations of the Hebrew text of the Scriptures. One of those really interesting sections involves the Targumist’s understanding of Genesis 4:1-2. Immediately after the rebellion in the Garden of Eden, God promised a Redeemer before expelling Adam and Eve from the Garden (Genesis 3:15). In chapter 4 Adam and Eve began to populate the earth. According to the Targum, Pseudo-Jonathan, Eve seems to believe that her first child, Cain, is the Messiah:

And Adam knew Hava his wife, who had desired the Angel; and she conceived, and bare Kain; and she said, I have acquired a man, the Angel of the Lord. [Targum Pseudo-Jonathan – Compare Genesis 4:1-2] (emphasis mine)

In the text above, Hava (Eve) “desired the Angel.” That is, she longed for the Redeemer. The terminology of the Targum indicates that God may have been more explicit in Genesis 3:15 concerning his promise of a Redeemer than what has been preserved for us in the Scriptures we have. Eve told Adam that she had “Acquired a man, THE ANGEL OF THE LORD.” The title, Angel of the LORD, belongs to a being that we meet often in the Old Testament, but he is never understood as merely an angel or messenger. He is more than this. He is YHWH who became Jesus. However, the point I wish to bring out here is that Eve thought Cain was the promised Redeemer. Moreover, she knew the Messiah was not a mere man. The text of the Targum indicates that Messiah would not only be a man, but a heavenly being, as well.

This idea becomes even clearer when one looks at the Hebrew text itself. It reads “I have gotten a man from the LORD,” [KJV], not as the JPS, ASV or NASB that add “with the help of the Lord.” The Hebrew is “…’ish ‘eth YHWH” or “I have gotten a man from YHWH (the LORD)!” It can even be rendered, “I have gotten a man, YHWH!” The Scripture indicates that the Savior would be YHWH and both Pseudo-Jonathan and the Jerusalem Targums call him the Angel of the LORD! The Targum Onkelos says, “I have acquired the man from before the LORD,” indicating, as Pseudo-Jonathan and the Jerusalem Targums above, that Eve expected the Savior and that he was to come from before the LORD (YHWH).

The Midrash Rabbah (a kind of Jewish commentary ) cites a discussion between Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiba (rabbis of the early 2nd century CE) over the Hebrew wording of Genesis 4:1. The construction of the text implies that Eve thought God would immediately send the promised Redeemer (cp. Genesis 3:15). As mentioned above the text literally, says, “I have gotten a man from the LORD (i.e. YHWH),” or “I have gotten a man, the LORD!” Rabbi Ishmael calls this to the attention of Rabbi Akiba where the discussion lends its attention to the accusative particle eth. Rabbi Akiba said that the implications of a literal translation would be out of the question and noted that the text should read an addition “with the help of” (as the JPS, ASV, and NASB).

The Rabbis seemed to have clearly understood that the alternative would mean that Eve begat the LORD (i.e. YHWH), so “with the help of” became necessary to avoid difficulties of interpretation. It is interesting that these same difficulties are carried over into the New Testament concerning the Virgin Birth. Eve’s theology was correct, but her application was in error.

Many Commentaries suggest that Eve could not have been as mature in her understanding of Salvation as to realize that the LORD would become the Savior, yet Adam and Eve enjoyed a relationship with God that would be the envy of many, if not all, Christians. They spoke with the One who became Jesus, face to face, knowing he was God. This is something few people were able to do afterward. One thing is clear, the Jews, who rejected Jesus, were astute enough to realize that Genesis 4:1 means more than Eve’s bringing forth a son. She expected more. Even the name she gave her firstborn indicates she believed he was the Messiah. She named him Cain, meaning spear. His name means a weapon, and seen in the context of Genesis 3:15, it would indicate Eve expected Cain to make war against the seed of the enemy.