RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE INTERPRETATION OF THE SEED OF THE WOMAN IN GENESIS 3:15.

From the late nineteenth century through the 1980s, a lack of strong exegetical support for a messianic understanding of Genesis 3:15 (the “protevangelium”) led to a number of exegetical and theological treatments of the verse downplaying the messianic significance of the verse and favoring a collective view of the seed of the woman and often a naturalistic view of the serpent. Since the early 1990s, though, scholars have provided significant exegetical and theological arguments to support an understanding of the seed of the woman as an individual who will engage in warfare with the serpent. These developments have brought about something of a renaissance in the interpretation of Genesis 3:15 among evangelical scholars. This article will survey and evaluate the most significant issues and developments in the interpretation of the seed of the woman over the past thirty years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]