Continued from Chapter 3
(Genesis 4:1)
Christians seek proof-texts of their claim that Jesus was born in a supernatural way. As a result, they interpret, “I have acquired a male with [the help of] the Lord” (Genesis 4:1) to mean that Eve thought she had conceived supernaturally, with God as the father of her child, and had given birth to the Messiah. Christians claim this to be a forerunner of what happened to Mary.
They claim prophetic power for Eve because, in accordance with Christian belief, she knew that the Messiah was to be born of the union of God with a female. However, they deny the mother of humanity the fundamental knowledge of the biological process of birth. Thus, according to them, Eve was not aware of the part played by Adam in the birth of her child. This is evidently not the case since the verse, as it reads in full, states: “And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said: ‘I have acquired a man with [the help of] the Lord.’” Adam is clearly acknowledged as the father of her child. This fact is not given simply to enlighten the reader but most of all this knowledge is principally attributed to Adam and Eve, themselves.
What Christians choose to ignore, is that Eve is grateful to the Almighty for His help in the process of birth. She feels the personal closeness of the Divine Presence to herself. Eve felt this way since divine aid is most essential in facilitating birth. We see this in Jacob’s words to Rachel: “Am I in God’s stead, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” (Genesis 30:2). This is explicitly stated in Ruth 4:13: “And he [Boaz] went in to her [Ruth], and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.” This interaction of God, man, and woman in the birth process can be expressed as: God + Man + Woman = Child. The Rabbis have aptly phrased it by stating that: “There are three partners in man: The Holy One, blessed be He, his father, and his mother.”1 There is simply no messianic significance to be found in this verse.
1 B.T. Kiddushin 30b, B.T. Niddah 31a.
Continued