Genesis 3 - Video(s): Does God Punish Women with Pain in Childbirth?

Continuing the study of the curses in Genesis 3, this video from BibleProject talks about one of the more difficult set of sentences relating to the curse associated with the woman (Eve) - pain in childbearing.

The video keys in on the Hebrew word “itstsabon” (עִצָּבוֹן). A basic definition from the lexicon is “Sorrow, pain, toil, labor.” It comes from the root word “atsab” (עָצַב) meaning “to grieve, to hurt, to pain, to vex.”

The idea here is one of emotional hardship or grief, not necessarily physical pain. It speaks to the worry and anxiety that comes with trying to conceive (as we will see in future stories about barren women) and during pregnancy.

Update: here’s another concise commentary from Kinsey Joy Largen about the curse on the woman.

A key highlights from the video to consider: “‘I will greatly multiply’ isn’t God issuing punishment, but expressing the natural outworking of broken creation.” Also, “it’s God saying what will happen, not what God wills to happen.”

Largen also states, “The brokeness of the world now multiplies sorrow, in a way that wasn’t known before the fall. In the same way, there is multiplication of conception and toil.”

The entire video is worth a watch.

These notes are unpolished on purpose. You can read more about why, here.