Genesis 3:15 in rabbinical pre-Christian thought

[Pergamum]

I am looking for commentary from pre-Christian rabbis or Jewish teachers which read Gen 3:15 as the promise of Messiah. What sort of evidences do we have that the ancient Jews read this passage in this manner?

 

[rickclayfan]

You can check out Owen's commentary on Hebrews, vol. 1, Exercitations VIII-IX (particularly pages 170-176, 186-187 in Goold's edition). He discusses the prophecy and vindicates it from Jewish glosses. You can reference the Jewish authors he speaks of and go from there. He interacts with post-Christian Jews though. May be of limited help to your inquiry.

 

[Pergamum]

I don't want to take Owen's word for it. I am looking for direct links to the rabbis themselves rather than the rabbis as seen through Christian eyes.

But thanks for the source...it gives me another lead to start with....

 

[arapahoepark]

This might help and yes it does bear my name
http://www.tyndalearchive.com/TRENT/Vol1/

http://instonebrewer.com/RabbinicTraditions/

 

[Peairtach]

Check out "fall", "serpent", "original sin" "seed of woman" "seed of serpent" "adam" eve" "messiah" etc in the Jewish Encyclopeadia

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5999-fall-of-man

 

[Pergamum]

Here is one source, but it is Messianic Jew: http://www.hadavar.org/critical-issues/messianic-prophecy/the-torah/genesis-3-the-seed-of-the-woman/rabbinic-support/

And this link cites Joseph Samuel C.F. Frey in his two volume work, Joseph and Benjamin:

Our ancient Rabbis, as with one voice, have declared that by the seed of the woman, who was to bruise the head of the serpent is meant the Messiah. You know as well as I, their common saying, “that before the serpent had wounded our first parents, God had prepared a plaster for their healing; and as soon as sin had made its entrance into our world, the Messiah had made his appearance.” Hence both the Targums, that of Onkelos, and that of Jonathan, say “that the voice which our first parents heard walking in the garden, was the Memra Jehovah, ie. the word of the Lord, or the Messiah, who is always meant by this expression;… In the Targum of Jonathan, and that of Jerusalem, it is said, “the seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent, and they shall obtain healing, or a plaster for the heel, (the hurt received by the Serpent,) in the days of Messiah the King.”

He claims that the rabbis all "declare with one voice" that this is about Messiah, but then only mentions a few sources and doesn't cite them very well. Plus, he is a Christian.

I am looking for direct Jewish voices claiming that Gen 3:15 is about Messiah.

 

[rickclayfan]

You can look over this paper: http://postbiblical.info/PDFS/The_Curse_on_the_Serpent.pdf. It seems to discuss early Jewish views on the text. Haven't read the paper myself. Quick Google search ("qumran genesis 3:15") yielded it.