“I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed”
Seed of the woman or offspring of the woman (Biblical Hebrew: זַרְעָ֑הּ, romanized: zar‘āh, lit. 'her seed') is a phrase from the Book of Genesis: as a result of the serpent's temptation of Eve, which resulted in the fall of man, God announces (in Genesis 3:15) that he will put enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.
In Christianity, this verse is known as the protoevangelium[a] and is interpreted as a prophecy of the coming of Jesus.
In Judaism, the "seed of the woman" is taken as a collective reference to humankind in general.
In Genesis 3, Eve is tempted by a serpent to disobey God's orders and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When confronted by God, she blames the serpent for her actions. God therefore curses the serpent to crawl on its belly and eat dust, and adds:
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” — Genesis 3:15
There are several different ways of translating this verse. The Latin Vulgate, which is generally used as a source text for Catholic bibles, has feminine rather than masculine pronouns in the latter half of the verse. Additionally, the second occurrence of the Hebrew shuph (שׁוּף), "bruise", is translated in the Vulgate as insidiaberis, "lie in wait". Consequently, Catholic bibles often give a reading such as that found in the Douay–Rheims Bible: "... she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel".
In rabbinical Judaism, the contrasting groups of "seed of the woman" and "seed of the serpent" are generally taken as plural, with the promise "he will bruise your head" applied to Adam and humankind bruising the serpent's head.[4] There is a Jewish tradition where a messiah is said to be a remedy to the bruising of the heel of the "seed of the woman".[5]
Protevangelium
Alternative spellings include protevangelium, proto-evangelium and protoevangelion.
In Christianity, Genesis 3:15 is known as the protevangelium. This is a compound of two Greek words, protos meaning "first" and evangelion meaning "good news" or "gospel". Thus, the verse is commonly referred to as the first mention in the Bible of the "good news" of salvation.
The importance of the redemptive promise included in the curse.
A tradition found in some old eastern Christian sources (including the Kitab al-Magall and the Cave of Treasures) holds that the serpent's head was crushed at Golgotha, described as a skull-shaped hill at the centre of the Earth, where Shem and Melchizedek had placed the body of Adam.
“And it was called 'Gaghulta', because it was round Pike the head, and 'Resiphta' (i.e. a trodden-down thing), because the head of the accursed serpent, that is to say, Satan, was crushed there, and 'Gefifta' (Gabbatha), because all the nations were to be gathered to it." Kitab al-Magall: "The place was called Gumgumah, 'of a skull', because in it was placed the skull of the Father of mankind, and Gulgulah, because it was conspicuous in the earth, and was despised by its sons, for in it was the head of the hateful Dragon which seduced Adam.” - Budge, Ernest Aldfred Wallis (2010). The Book of the Cave of Treasures