What “Bruise” Really Means

Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” I was ‘today’s year old’ when I realized what ‘bruise’ means. I’ve never really understood it, even though I’ve heard messages on it. Let’s break it down: Enmity means hostility (a state of deep-seated ill-will) The first bruise means to crush, bruise (a downward pressing motion of an object, batter as a repeated action of fighting; some translate as an injury which is not fatal per se) The second bruise means strike, bite (a piercing action of sharp teeth into soft tissue) Could the Bible be any more specific!!! Men tend to focus on the head/heel part and not realize the ‘bruise’ in Hebrew is two different words! Ok, I’m totally blown away by this! I can see the cartoon character hitting the snake repeatedly and the snake ‘striking’ back. Blown away, I say. Also, when God clothed man (3:21) and made the ‘coats of skin,’ I looked it up. ‘coats’ was a basic garment reaching the knees, a common garment for common wear and work. Guess that’s where they get ‘knee length’. ‘skin’ was leather, animal skin that has been processed into leather. The first garment ever made was leather! No wonder we like it! ha