The Book of Genesis is a record of the beginning of man’s relationship with God. How does the physical relate to the spiritual? It seems evident, at least to me, that it is very difficult, if not impossible (without the Holy Spirit) for mankind to understand the spiritual aspects of creation, and this becomes especially evident, as one reads and studies the Gospel of John. Not until the Holy Spirit became available to mankind in general (Acts 2) was man able to really consider the spiritual meaning behind what the Lord said and did under either Covenant. As Adam and Eve were being expelled from the Garden of Eden, the Lord promised the woman, through his judgment of the serpent, that he would place “enmity between you (the serpent) and the woman, and between your seed (the serpent’s seed) and her seed; it (the woman’s seed, or the promised Messiah) will bruise your head (death blow to the serpent), and you (the serpent) will bruise his heel (wound the Messiah),” (Genesis 3:15; emphasis and parenthesis mine). The problem is, when would the Savior be sent?
It is not unreasonable that Eve thought the Lord had sent the Savior immediately, because mankind has no understanding of the times and the seasons that God has placed under his power alone (cp. Acts 1:6-7). According to Genesis 4:1, Eve named her first son Cain (or Kain), which means spear! Why would she name her firstborn after a weapon? Wouldn’t this suggest that she believed the Lord had sent her the Savior who would fight against the seed of her enemy, the serpent? Ancient Jewish literature has come down to us from about the time of Christ. Some would say about a century before his coming, while others conclude it was about a century afterward. In any event, the Jewish writings, called targumim (the im suffix is plural, like the English use of ‘s’). The Targum Jonathan paraphrases Genesis 4:1 thus:
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], emphasis mine).
A study of the person, the Angel of the Lord, would reveal him to be the God of the Old Covenant scriptures. The same became Jesus under the New Covenant. In this context, Eve (Hava in the targum) both desired the Angel to arrive, and thought she had given birth to him in the person of her firstborn son, Cain (Kain in the targum). Thus, we see, at least according to ancient Jewish understanding of Genesis 4:1, that Eve had a greater understanding of the salvation promised in Genesis 3:15, than most scholars wish to credit her with.
The Hebrew for the text above literally translates to: “I have gotten a man from the LORD (YHWH)…” It is also possible to render the literal translation to, “I have gotten a man, YHWH…” Some English translations add the words: “with the help of the Lord” in order to avoid the obvious meaning.[1] In fact, there exists ancient Jewish literature that mentions this very thing. The Midrash Rabbah (a kind of Jewish commentary) cites a discussion between Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiba (rabbis of the early 2nd century AD) over the Hebrew wording of Genesis 4:1. The construction of the text implies that Eve thought God would immediately send the promised Redeemer (Genesis 3:15). As mentioned above the text literally, says, “I have gotten a man from the LORD (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 (man, ish, from, eth, YHWH…). 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.”
Therefore, whether or not we wish to give Eve such understanding of Genesis 3:15, clearly, the rabbis of the 2nd century AD understood the implications of Genesis 4:1, perhaps in light of the Gospel, which, at that time, was being preached for nearly a century. Yet, the Targum, also Jewish literature, seems to give Eve a mature understanding of the text, in spite of the preaching of the Gospel (taking for granted that the targums are literature of the 2nd century AD). Therefore, in spite the argument presented in the Midrash Rabbah, ancient Jewish understanding of the text at Genesis 4:1 seems to allow for Eve to expect the Messiah immediately with the birth of Cain, and Jewish understanding of Genesis 4:1 changed in the 2nd century AD, due to the implications about Jesus being the Messiah, as preached through the Gospel.
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[1] See translations such as: BSB; JPS, CEV, ASV, NASB, ERV etc.
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