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The Hebrew version of Genesis 3:17 curses the ground “because of you,” placing the blame on Adam. The Greek Septuagint translation says “in your labors” instead, shifting the cause of the curse from Adam himself onto the work he does.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 3:17
Hebrew Bible
16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.” 17 But to Adam he said, “Because you obeyed the voice of52 your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ the ground is cursed because of you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grass of the field.
LXX Genesis 3:17
Septuagint
16 And to the woman he said, “I will increasingly increase your pains and your groaning; with pains you will bring forth children. And you will return to your husband, and he will dominate you.” 17 Then to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, of this one alone, not to eat from it, cursed is the earth in your labors; with pains you will eat it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall cause to grow up for you, and you will eat the herbage of the field.
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Notes and References
"... His discussion of the renderings of Genesis 3:17 and 8:21 is an example of this distinction. In 3:17 the phrase ארורה האדמה בעבורך (“cursed be the ground because of you”) is rendered ἐπικατάρατος ἡ γῆ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις σου (“cursed is the earth in your labors”; NETS). ... In both these translations, the deeds of mankind become the cause of God’s judgment rather than simply “Adam” or “mankind,” as in the Hebrew. ..."
Ross, William A., and W. Edward Glenny
The T&T Clark Handbook of Septuagint Research
(p. 323) T&T Clark, 2021
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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