Unto the woman he said,
I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.
All Commentaries on Genesis 3:16 Go To Genesis 3
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Let us turn again, if you don't mind, to the woman. You see, since it was the serpent that was the cause of the deception, accordingly he was the first to incur punishment; and since he deceived her first, and she then dragged her husband down with her, she is punished first, receiving that punishment which carries with it lengthy admonition: "He said to the woman: 'I will greatly aggravate the pain of your labor, in pain you will bear children; your yearning will be for your husband, and he will be your master.'" [ Gen 3:16 ] See the Lord's goodness, how much mildness he employs despite such a terrible fall. "I will greatly aggravate the pain of your labor." My intention had been, he is saying, for you to have a life free of trouble and distress, rid of all pain and grief, filled with every pleasure and with no sense of bodily needs despite your bodily condition. But since you misused such indulgence, and the abundance of good things led you into such ingratitude, accordingly I impose this curb on you to prevent your further running riot, and I sentence you to painful labor. "I will greatly aggravate the pain of your labor, in pain you will bear children."
I will ensure, he is saying, that the generation of children, a reason for great satisfaction, for you will begin with pain so that each time without fail you will personally have a reminder, through the distress and the pain of each birth, of the magnitude of this sin of disobedience, and may not in the course of time allow the event to slip into oblivion, but may be enabled to realize that the deception was the cause of these ills. Hence "I will greatly aggravate the pain of your labor, in pain you will bear children." In this passage he refers to the pangs of labor and in that great distress there is no avoiding carrying the child all those months like some load, feeling each twinge of pain that is caused by that, the twitching of its limbs, and the unbearable pangs known only to those who go through the experience.
Nevertheless, however, the loving God offered comfort with the pain, so that the satisfaction of bearing the child equally matched those pangs that tortured the womb all those months. I mean, women who are subjected to such distress, are so tormented by the bouts of pain, and, so to say, even despair of life itself, enjoy after the birth satisfaction even in their distress: as though forgetting all that has happened, they give themselves again to the bearing of children, according to the loving God's providence for the maintenance of human beings' welfare. You see, the expectation of future benefits makes us always bear the distress of the present time with ease.
You would see this trial affecting travellers as well, as they cross the mighty oceans and put up with shipwreck and pirates; despite those many dangers and the disappointment of their hopes they in no way give up, but rather press on to wards the same goal. The same thing can be said also of farmers: when they dig deep furrows, till the earth with great care and sow the seed liberally, there frequently occurs drought or flooding, or at the conclusion of the harvesting rust descends on the crop and they lose hope; yet they still don't give up at this point, but when better times come they resume their farming. And you would find this happening in the case of every occupation.
Well, in just the same way, woman too, in her turn, despite all those months, despite the unspeakable pains, despite the sleepless nights, despite the twitching of limbs, or through some slight accident she gives birth prematurely to the child in an undeveloped state and unrecognizable, or if fully developed yet handicapped, or unhealthy, or even in many cases stillborn, scarcely escaping risk to her own life yet despite all this she puts up with the same trouble again, as though oblivious of all these pangs, and she undergoes the same process again. Why do I say the same process? Often it happens that the woman dies with the child, yet this event does not worry other women or induce them to avoid the experience such being the pleasure and satisfaction of nasty combined together with the pains.
Hence he said, "I will greatly aggravate the pain of your labor, in pain you will bear children." This is what Christ also talked about with his disciples, showing them the intensity of the pain and the great degree of satisfaction, when he said, "A woman in labor suffers for the reason that her time has come;" then, wanting to bring home to us how the element of suffering is suddenly removed whereas its place is taken by joy and happiness, he said, "But when she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the distress for joy that a human being has been born into the world." [ John 16:21 ] Do you see the exceeding care? Do you see punishment accompanied by admonition? "In pain you will bear children;" then, "Your yearning will be for your husband, and he will be your master."
As if to explain his reasons to the woman, the loving God said this, meaning, In the beginning I created you equal in esteem to your husband, and my intention was that in everything you would share with him as an equal, and as I entrusted control of everything to your husband, so did I to you; but you abused your equality of status. Hence I subject you to your husband: "Your yearning will be for your husband, and he will be your master." Because you abandoned your equal, who was sharer with you in the same nature and for whom you were created, and you chose to enter into conversation with that evil created the serpent, and to take the advice he had to give, accordingly I now subject you to him in future and designate him as your master for you to recognize his lordship, and since you did not know how to rule, learn well how to be ruled. "Your yearning will be for your husband, and he will be your master." It is better that you be subject to him and fall under his lordship than that enjoying freedom and authority, you would be cast into the abyss. It would be more useful also for a horse to carry the bit and travel under direction than without this to fall down a cliff. Accordingly, considering what is advantageous, I want you to have yearning for him and, like a body being directed by its head, to recognize his lordship pleasurably.
