“This study will look at Genesis 3:16 and ask if this verse about “ruling,” “dominating,” “mastering” presents a prescription or a description. The question can be posed thusly: Is the “ruling of man over woman” something in place before the Fall by the design of the Creator — a prescription — or is the “ruling” the result of something that happened as a result of the Fall — a description?”
Following an interpretation of this verse by the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and the presentation of various translations of the verse, Rev. Voigt continues:
“Walter Kaiser translates the Hebrew teshugah as “You are turning away to your husband and he will rule over you.” He discovered that the Hebrew teshugah, almost universally translated as “desire,” previously was rendered as “turning,” not desire, in the twelve known ancient versions of the Bible: the Greek Septuagint, the Syriac Pashitta, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Old Latin, the Sahidic, the Bohairic, the Ethiopian, the Arabic, Aquila’s Greek, Symmachus’ Greek, Theodotion’s Greek, and the Latin Vulgate. Thus the Hebrew conveys: “You are turning away (from God) to your husband, and (as a result) he will rule over you (take advantage of you)” (see Walter Kaiser, “Hard Sayings of the Old Testament” (Intervarsity Press, 1988, pgs. 34-35).
For a full reading of this important topic, please visit Rev. Voigt’s website, What Does This Mean? (Topic 2).