Which 3:16 is important? Genesis 3:16? John 3:16?
by Bruce C. E. Fleming, Executive Director Tru316 Foundation,
Speaker on The Eden Podcast and Author of The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3.
Do you know the difference? At the Tru316 Foundation we love both verses, we apply and act on both verses. But we are getting the word out that one of these 3:16 verses has been polluted and is poisoning the thoughts and practices of people in the church today.
John 3:16. John 3:16 comes early in the Gospel of John. It sums up the Good News of salvation. Followed by another key verse it is one of the most quoted verses in the New Testament because its message is so important! “For God loved the world so much that He gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
The message of John 3:16 in English is clearly translated from the original Greek version. There is no translation problem and thus on implementation problem when it comes to this 3:16.
Genesis 3:16. With the 3:16 in Genesis there is a translation problem. The Hebrew text of Genesis 3:16 is clearly written out in 4 lines. In Line 1 God acts and tells the woman about two words that apply to her: sorrowful-toil and conception. The first action points down to God’s curse on the ground because of the man. As a result both of them will experience sorrowful toil when they work the ground with their hands (compare Genesis 5:29).
But sadly, in most English translations these words are incorrectly presented as meaning just one thing, something very different from the two Hebrew words in the original text, and something that comes across as a curse on the woman.
This layering of a new and bad idea over the original and important meaning of the Hebrew words is like pollution pouring into a pure spring. Not only does it foul the pool of pure water but it taints everything downstream related to it.
There is much more that is important to know about Genesis 3:16 and the other verses on the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2-3. At the Tru316 Foundation we offer you excellent ways to GO DEEPER!
Pick one that best fits your learning style:
- Online course (TheEdenCourse.com),
- Live zoom small group Workshops (contact Mimi@Tru316.com),
- Books in The Eden Book Series starting with The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3 (in three formats – paperback from Amazon, eBook on Kindle, audio book on Audible),
- The Eden Podcast which is nearing 100,000 downloads worldwide.
For a quick overview check out the links on LinkTree – www.Linktr.ee/tru316
