I Will Multiply Your Sorrow - Genesis 3:16

Question

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children"

Is conception tied to sorrow or is conception merely multiplied? Example:

• I will greatly multiply your sorrow [but]

• I will multiply your conception

• In pain you shall bring forth children

Would the multiplication of conception be redemptive to the sorrow? Because conception and bringing forth children are two separate acts. One is pregnancy; one is full-term labor.

John 16:21-22 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

So, the multiplication of children would be a joyful thing, even if labor is awful.

See, I'm just not convinced at the traditional idea that Eve's punishment was painful labor, and that without sin there would be no labor pains at all. I don't see how a woman can not have labor pains because, well. . .biology. A lot of contractions and dilations are going on to give birth to an 8 or 9lb baby. I also believe the fall was necessary or at least foreseen, and so no matter what, childbirth would have been painful, regardless of Eve being deceived and falling into transgression.

God states "I" claiming He will do a specific thing: "I will multiply your sorrow"; "I will multiple your conception"; but I does not seem to be connected to painful labor: this reads more like a statement. It doesn't read, "I will give you painful labor" it reads more like a heads up, childbirth is going to hurt. Additionally, though I didn't quote it I is not connected with man ruling over woman: this also reads like a statement. Seems to me that painful childbirth and the male-female hierarchy were already formerly established and are natural law, not punishments.

Is the only real punishment (or consequence) here the fact that Eve now has multiplied sorrow?

John 16:22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

Jesus Christ is the 2nd Adam and the Church is, by implication therefore, the 2nd Eve. Before Christ's crucifixion He tells His disciples (the first-fruits of the church) that they have sorrow, and why, because Christ was departing the world to go to the Father.

Likewise we see, not so much God departing Eve, but Eve departing God and being cast from Eden. A literary-poetic juxtaposition, so to speak. Either way, Eve was without God in the world, and the Church is waiting for Christ to return and because He is not in the world and we are not Eden, we have sorrow.

So if God actively multiplied sorrow, the only thing God actively did in Genesis 3 was cast them from Eden and cut them off from God. You now have sorrow, BUT I will see you again

God further then multiples Eve's conception: her ability to bear children and it is by Woman that Christ would come. Eve was cast from Eden, but through childbearing and the promise of a savior, God is saying, You will see me again.

So again I ask, is the only punishment the multiplication of sorrow by being in the world not by conception; childbirth; or martial hierarchy, just simply, not being in Eden.

Answer 1

Biologically, the intensity of labor pain can be explained by the sensitivity of nerve receptors. Surely God is capable to make this more severe. However, since Eve had not experienced labor before God's pronouncement in Genesis 3:16, I tend to agree with the OP that this is more a statement of fact rather than a punishment. This perspective aligns with the belief that the fall of Adam and Eve was predetermined.

When comparing to the verdicts given to the serpent, Adam and Eve, it's noteworthy that only the serpent was explicitly cursed (Genesis 3:14). Eve received the pronouncement of "painful labor" (Genesis 3:16), and Adam was told of "painful toil" (Genesis 3:17). Both of these conditions seem to reflect the natural hardships of earthly existence, consequentially from their expulsion from Eden.

Sorrow is a different matter. It is a mental response to the perception of events. In John 16:21-22, Jesus uses a metaphor, comparing the timing of His crucifixion as time for labor. His sacrifice will give birth to His Church, and usher in the arrival of the Holy Spirit, who will guide believers in truth, as prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-33. Thus, the sorrow resulting from Jesus' crucifixion will bring forth His New Covenant, and believers will rejoice in their hearts, knowing that God's promises are fulfilled.

Reflection on today, we find that pain can often be controlled by medical means, but sorrow is not as easily managed. Rather than sorrow arising from pain, it is often pain that stems from sorrow. This pain can be felt for others, as expressed by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, or it can come from personal repentance. In such moments, two scripture passages can provide comfort and relief.

Psalm 34:18 NIV

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 51:17 NIV

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Answer 2

The curse of sin, as meted out in Gen 3 had several components:

SERPENT (V14, 15):

• cursed above all livestock (V14)
• it would crawl on its belly
• it would eat dust
• God would put enmity between the woman and the serpent
• The seed of the woman (Messiah) would ultimately crush the serpent's head (ie, kill the serpent)

WOMAN: (V16):

• increase pain in childbirth (suggesting that childbirth would not have been painful before the fall)
• "husband of desire" (this clause is tricky to translate). Most versions render it: "Your desire will be for your husband" but it could also be translated: "you will desire to control your husband" (See BLB notes). In any case, the point appears to be the marriage relationship would be greatly disrupted.
• the husband will rule over the woman (this is perhaps the greatest curse) and is largely overcome in the ideal Christian marriage as set out in Eph 5, but that is another question

MAN (V17-19):

• Ground cursed making farming/food production far more laborious
• thorns and thistles (ie, abundance of weeds) will occur
• great effort and sweat will be required of agriculture
• man will die and turn back to dust

All these curses are summarized in what follows - banishment from the garden of Eden and access to the tree of life (to be restored in the new earth, Rev 22:14).

CONCLUSION

So, what is the source of the curse and multiplied sorrows of woman?

According to the text of Gen 3, God was the source of these sorrows which occurred because of the sin which is a ruptured relationship with God. God achieved this by unstated means but presumably a combination of a lack of access to the tree of life and altered biology (this is a guess because we are not told).