The Seed of the Woman and the Blessing of Abraham

I have just been alerted that my Tyndale Bulletin essay, “The Seed of the Woman and the Blessing of Abraham,” is now online:

“The Seed of the Woman and the Blessing of Abraham,” Tyndale Bulletin 58.2 (2007), 253-73.

Here’s the abstract:

Might the blessing of Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 be a direct answer to the curses of Genesis 3:14-19? The curses of Genesis 3 introduce con­flict between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, con­flict between the man and the woman, with difficulty in childbearing, and conflict between the man and the ground, which is cursed for man’s sin. God promises land, seed, and blessing to Abraham. The nations will be blessed through the seed of the woman, seed of Ab­raham, who crushes the serpent’s head. The birth of this seed means that the conflict between the man and his wife is not final, nor will the dif­ficulty in childbearing be fatal. And God promises land to Abraham and his seed, land that hints of a return to Eden.