The Eden Bible Study by Bruce C. E. Fleming (Tru316.com)
What is God’s Tru316 Message?
Back in the Beginning, Satan attacked the woman and the man. He succeeded in getting them to eat the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:1-6).
When God asked the man what he had done, the man failed to point out the role of the serpent-tempter who had lied to them and twisted God’s word. Instead the man turned on God and on the woman and blamed them for his rebellion (3:12).
When God asked the woman what she had done, the woman confessed her disobedience and unmasked the serpent tempter. She correctly told God that the serpent tempter had deceived her (3:13).
Immediately God acted on the woman’s words and cursed the serpent (3:14).
Next, God confirmed that the woman would be Satan’s combatant (I will put enmity between you and the woman) and announced to Satan that the woman’s offspring would crush his head (3:15). This is the protevangelium, part 1, the first announcement of the Good News!
Then, in 3:16, God turned back to the woman and promised her “conception” (heron is Hebrew word #4 in Line 1 of 3:16). God told her she would still fulfill the blessing God gave the humans on Day Six. The humans would be fruitful and multiply. And most specifically the woman would bear the “seed,” or “offspring,” who would defeat Satan. This is the protevangelium, part 2. God gave to her the Good News of the promised Champion!
In Line 1 of 3:16, God also told her that she would experience difficulty along with the man in doing fieldwork with their hands. That would be because God would curse the ground because of the man. As a result both would experience “sorrowful-toil” (‘itsabon is Hebrew word #3 in Line 1 of 3:16).
Here are God’s words to the woman in Line 1 of Genesis 3:16 as translated into English according to the King James Version of 1611. (Hebrew words #3 and #4 are shown in bold.)
“I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception”
If you’ll look closely at the words used to translate Hebrew words #3 and #4 in Line 1 of 3:16 neither has to do with the experience of childbirth at the end of a pregnancy.
- “sorrow” or “sorrowful-toil” is what both the man and woman would experience doing fieldwork of the cursed ground with their hands. This is not childbirth.
- “conception” or “pregnancy” happens in the 9 months before childbirth. This is not childbirth.
However! Modern language versions of the Bible have changed how Hebrew words #3 and #4 of Line 1 were correctly translated into English in 1611. They have introduced an incorrect, unjustified and very misleading single new idea.
In doing so they have erased the obvious connection of word #3, “sorrowful-toil,” with God’s words to the man in 3:17. They have also erased the obvious connection of Hebrew word #4, “conception,” with God’s promise of the woman’s offspring who would crush Satan’s head in 3:15.
They have replaced the two Hebrew words with a new single idea that is not part of the original text. That idea is that God will multiply her “pain-in-childbirth.” This is not a correct translation of the Hebrew words.
This different and single action supposedly taken by by God at the end of her pregnancy leads people to think that God cursed the woman. But when we “true” the verse we discover that God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way!
In Africa, and elsewhere, we found that people take the mistranslation they read in the versions of the Bible and reason as follows.
- If Eve was cursed with pain-in-childbirth then she must have deserved it.
- They reason further that the Bible must be teaching that woman was guilty or flawed from the beginning.
- Therefore, they reason, (1) we must limit a woman’s destructive nature in the home and (2) we must restrict a woman’s destructive nature from harming the church.
After getting Genesis 3:16 wrong, modern translators and commentators have gone on to misread other passages on woman and men in the Bible. They act as if Eve was the Temptress and as if Adam was the combatant against Satan! This twisting of the truth and reversal of the facts is in line with Satan’s aims as he continues to work against us all, but especially as he combats women.
What is the Tru316Message? The true message of Genesis 2-3 and especially of Genesis 3:16 is that God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.
End of The Eden Bible Study. This study is written by Bruce C. E. Fleming and is based on the research of Joy Fleming, PhD, PsyD.
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State of the Question: Where are we now? Where are we going?
To “true” the verse Bruce and Joy Fleming launched the Tru316 Project (Tru316 .com). They produced The Eden Podcast and published The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3 (available on Amazon). In its first year the podcast received 50,000 downloads from 85 countries!
Yet, so far, Bible translators and publishers haven’t gotten the message. Also, missionaries, preachers and counselors continue to use the flawed and mistranslated versions of 3:16. They mistakenly treat woman as if she was cursed by God and deserved it. They mistakenly restrict women in the home and in the church. This is causing great harm to Christian women and the church as a whole.
What needs to be done? You can help the launch of the Tru316 Foundation. You can help educate translators and those involved in Bible teaching at all levels. The Tru316 Foundation will promote the work of the Tru316 Project and will facilitate donor advised funding to like-minded organizations worldwide.
The public rollout of the Tru316 Foundation will be held on 3/16 Day of 2023 (March 16, 2023). The behind-the-scenes work is being done now. Initial funding is being collected now. Will you help?
Contact us here: Bruce@Tru316.com, 612-229-0007, 6122 Elliot, Minneapolis, MN 55417
Patreon support and gifts are being received here https://www.patreon.com/Tru316Project
