How God Prepared Eve for Motherhood

Many people think that when God the Father is talking to Eve in this verse, he is being punitive. However, when you look at the Hebrew root of some words, we see that isn’t the case.

Genesis 3:16

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Multiply: HEB increase thy discomfort and thy size (i.e., in the condition and process of pregnancy).

Sorrow in this verse links to the Topical Guide: Sorrow. However, when you look at this same instance in Moses, sorrow references something else.

Moses 4:22

22 Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said: I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Sorrow: TG Pain

What God the Father is truly doing is preparing Eve for what will happen to her when she becomes pregnant and gives birth. He is saying to her: “I will greatly multiply your size and pain in conception” – she will get big and have pain. “in pain you will bring forth children” – giving birth will be painful.

These are the words of a loving father preparing his daughter for the role she will play in the creation of mortal bodies for his spirit children.

Bruce C. Hafen gives insight into the end of the verse regarding “rule over thee.”

“in the Hebrew original of that verse, the letter beth (pronounced “bait”) may be translated as “with.” Thus, the Lord was advising Eve that Adam “shall rule with thee,” which perfectly corresponds to our doctrine and definition of exaltation in the celestial world.” (Verse by Verse the Old Testament).

Our Father in Heaven is loving. By better understanding the origin of some words, we will see that displayed time and again in the scriptures.