Seed of a Woman

Genesis 3:15

Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring [seed/zera] and her offspring [seed/zera] …He will pound your head, and you will bite his heel.”

Many Christians pull this verse out of the context of the rest of the Hebrew Bible and misapply meaning to the word seed/zera in the text. Does the Hebrew word, “seed,” indicate anything unusual? Does this verse predict the coming of an individual or multiple offspring? Does a woman not typically have seed or is seed/zera synonymous with offspring? Let us indulge in the luxury of context by looking at other verses in the Hebrew Bible that have the same word seed/zera. In Genesis 16:8-10, Hagar’s seed is said to be great in number,

 “And he said, “Hagar, maidservant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” “I am running away from Sarai my mistress...And the angel of HASHEM said to her, I will greatly increase your offspring, [seed/zera] and they will not be counted for abundance.”

The same Hebrew word is used to describe the offspring of both women, so any singular or momentous significance placed on Chava's seed/zera is erroneous.