Noah’s parents in Genesis 5:29 experienced the same sorrowful-toil as did Eve and Adam. We do too!
In the linchpin of Genesis 3:16 Line 1, there are two distinct words, one that links to the verse after it and one that links to the verse before it. The first Hebrew word is “sorrowful-toil” in verse 16. It links down to the same Hebrew word, “sorrowful-toil,” in the verse after it in 3:17. The second Hebrew word of the linchpin construction, “conception,” in verse 16, links back to a similar Hebrew word “seed” in the verse before it. This precise way of arranging these words is one of the ways Hebrew is written out to deliver information in a memorable way.
In Line 1 of 3:16 the first linking Hebrew word is ‘itsabon. It means “sorrowful-toil” and points down to the same Hebrew word used in verse 17. There God tells the man that the curse on the ground made because of him will result for him in ‘itsabon or “sorrowful-toil.” In fieldwork each one, the woman and the man, would have ‘itsabonor “sorrowful-toil.”
And they weren’t to be the only ones. All humanity regardless of gender is subject to this ‘itsabon, this “sorrowful-toil,” for we all have to deal in some way with the ground that God cursed because of the man.
The Hebrew word ‘itsabon is used only three times in the Old Testament. The third and last time is instructive. In Genesis 5:29 a new child is born. He is named “Noah.” We’ve all heard of him. The name Noah means “relief” which means relief from ‘itsabon, relief from sorrowful toil! Here is what the verse says where it uses the Hebrew word ‘itsabon: “Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the sorrowful toil of our hands caused by the ground which the Lord has cursed.”
This “sorrowful toil of our hands” is true for the parents of Noah as well as for the first two humans in the Garden of Eden. Noah’s father said “our sorrowful toil.” He said the sorrowful toil of our hands. He was referring to the field work both he and his wife performed and not his wife’s experience in giving birth. ‘itsabon is not something that only applies to the woman in Eden. It is not something to do with the act of childbirth as many modern versions would have us believe. It has to do with the sorrowful toil of our hands as we work the cursed ground.
All our Bible translations need to clearly show this link between the woman and the man in Eden and the parents of Noah just before the Flood. But most don’t. They need to “true the verse!” That’s why I’m praying this. Please join me!
Bruce C. E.Fleming, Founder of the Tru316 Project, www.Tru316.com
My wife, Dr. Joy Fleming wrote the book on this. You can get it here: Man and Woman in Biblical Unity.
