First consider dictionary...
protevangelium (from Merriam-Webster) - a messianic interpretation of a text (as Genesis 3:15 Revised Standard Version) presaging man's ultimate triumph over sin through a coming Savior - used as the first anticipation of the gospel. (Notice that the Merriam-Webster Dictionary spells it differently than biblical scholars as shown in the heading above).
Further Definition from biblical sources... the word protoevangelium was derived from two Greek words... "protos" meaning "first" and "evangelium" meaning "gospel"... thus, Genesis 3:15 is frequently referred to as the first mention in the Bible of salvation.

So... this study is to study if Genesis 3:15 is the first mention in the Bible of salvation!

Biblical references regarding Protoevangelium...
Genesis 3:14... The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
Genesis 3:15...  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."
Other versions lead to slightly different meanings:
Genesis 3:15 (New English Translation)... And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; her offspring will attack your head, and you will attack her offspring’s heel.”
Genesis 3:15 (The Passion Translation)... And I will place great hostility between you and the woman, and between her seed and yours.  He will crush your head as you crush his heel.” 
Genesis 3:15 (Tree of Life Version)... I will put animosity between you and the woman— between your seed and her seed.  He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.
Genesis 3:15 (New Living Translation)... And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.  He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3:15 (The Message)... I’m declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers.  He’ll wound your head, you’ll wound his heel.”
Genesis 3:15 (International Children's In the next part of Genesis 3:15...Bible)... I will make you and the woman enemies to each other.  Your descendants and her descendants will be enemies.  Her child will crush your head.  And you will bite his heel.
Genesis 3:15 (Good News Bible, British, Catholic Edition 2017)... I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies.  Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel.”
Genesis 3:15 (Free Bible Version)... I will make sure you and your children, and the woman and her children, are enemies.  One of her children will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” 
Genesis 3:15 (Easy to Read Version)... I will make you and the woman enemies to each other.  Your children and her children will be enemies.  You will bite her child’s foot,  but he will crush your head.”
Genesis 3:15 (Amlified Bible)... And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel. 

Other Biblical references...
Genesis 2:16-17... And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 9:6... “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed,
Genesis 12:3... “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse...
Genesis 12:17... But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
Genesis 15:18-21... On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
Genesis 16-13... So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
Genesis 17:4-6... “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.  No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.  I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
Genesis 19:24... Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
Genesis 24:1... Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years.  And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
Exodus 20:1-17... And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  “You shall have no other gods before me.  “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,  but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.  “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.  “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.  For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.  “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.  “You shall not murder.  “You shall not commit adultery.  “You shall not steal.  “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.  “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Discussion thoughts... at first glance, it makes no sense to talk about salvation being derived from Genesis 3:15, but let look a little deeper into what the verse says!

First... what does enmity mean... again going back to Merriam-Webster... enmity is defined as "positive, active, and typically mutual hatred or ill will".  
Looking at different Bible versions of Genesis 3:15 listed above the word "enmity" is described (transcribed) in many different ways, as follows... hostility, animosity, war, enemies, hate. 

For purposes of this study I will use the word "enemies"  or "hate" for the rest of this study instead of the word "enmity"... why? because "enmity" is a word we are not familiar with and "enemies" is a word we understand).

We need to look at verses 14 and 15 together to understand that in Genesis 3:15 where God says "I will put enmity (enemies) between you and the woman"... God was talking about "you (the Devil)" and "the woman (Eve)"!
In the next part of Genesis 3:15... the International Children's Bible Genesis 3:15 says it best... Your descendants (the Devil's) and her descendants (Eve) will be enemies.
In the last part of Genesis 3:15... the Message says it best... He’ll wound your head, you’ll wound his heel.

Combining the different versions above with, with some editing of my own, I come up with what I think God says in Genesis 3:15 in today's language... I will make the Devil and Eve enemies, the Devil's descendants and the Eve's descendant's will hate each other, the Devil will wound you and you will wound him.

A lot of biblical scholars say that Genesis 3:15 is Protoevangelism... I disagree with the scholars... mostly I disagree because some scholars take it a bit too far.  Some scholars say that Genesis 3:15 is "the first glimmer of the gospel".  Genesis 3:15 is probably the first mention of good and evil (salvation)... calling part of one verse a "gospel" is going too far... to be a "gospel" it needs to be more than one short verse!  See the paragraph below entitled "Further related discussion thoughts" which delve into "gospels" as they existed in the early days of our world!

Further related discussion thoughts... Several additional Bible references above (most from Genesis plus the key one from Exodus) discuss how God ruled over his people... He gave specific laws to be followed, He explained what would happen to those who disobeyed his commands, He chastised those who disobeyed his commands, He made covenants with those who worshiped Him, He granted blessings to those who worshiped Him AND early in biblical writings gave us the 10 commandments (the "gospel")!  God handles sin and those who do not sin in many ways... a few of the ways is described in the "Other Biblical references" listed above.  In our early world, 4000 BC up to 2348 BC (when the flood destroyed all life except for those on the Ark) we have little knowledge of how God ruled the world... all we know is that sin became so perverse that God decided to create the flood and destroy the world at that time!

My Beliefs... Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed Gods command to not eat the Apple!  Genesis 3:15 is the first biblical mention that some of the descendants of Eve would be evil and some would be good.  So... very early in the world, God informed us that sin had entered the world, and that some people would be good and some would be evil! 

According to some scholars Genesis 3:15 is the first evidence of Protoevangelism... my belief is that scholars are reading something in Genesis 3:15 that is not there... Genesis 3:15 is talking about good and evil but I don't see that as a "gospel".  Some versions of Genesis 3:15 refer to "her seed and yours (the Devil)"... some scholars say that "her seed" is referring to the virgin birth of Jesus (that makes no sense, and I can find no source where scholars explain their logic!)... other scholars point out that "women" do not have "seed"... only the man has "seed" (I agree) but then some scholars go on to say that "her seed" came from God... (another statement that makes no sense)!  It would be true to say that Mary would have been a direct descendant of the woman (Eve) and thus Jesus was a direct descendant of Eve... but I don't see how anyone can say that Eve's seed (when only men have seed) created the virgin birth.  Some scholars say that God's seed created the virgin birth... that is absolutely true... but God's seed has nothing to do with Eve's "seed" and Genesis 3:15.
So... to conclude... Genesis 3:15 was the first biblical mention of good and evil; but I cannot agree that Genesis 3:15 is referring to the virgin birth of Jesus (I see nothing in Genesis 3:15 referring to a "virgin birth").  And further I cannot agree that Genesis 3:15 is a "gospel" as suggested by some scholars... as stated above, calling part of one verse a "gospel" is going too far... to be a "gospel" it needs to be more than "part" of one short verse!

[Return to home page to see the list of other questions discussed]
 See Home Page for Copyright dates... All rights reserved
This website is casual informational only.  No representation is made or warranty given as to its content.
User assumes all risk for use of all information on this website.
Data on this web site may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner.
Refer to the home page for email address responses