I will put enmities between thee and the woman,
and thy seed and her seed:
she shall crush thy head,
and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
Genesis 3, 15 (DRB)

The Protoevangelium, the first Messianic prophecy recorded in sacred Scripture, is found in the Book of Genesis. This prophecy was pronounced by God Himself to the serpent after Adam and Eve sinned. It speaks of the Divine Messiah and mentions the free Woman of Promise, ultimately fulfilled in the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Divine Lord and Saviour. Because of Eve’s transgression and her involvement in the fall of Adam, God declares to the serpent that He will put the woman in complete opposition and hostility with it, which refers to Mary. This enmity between Mary and Satan will be similar to that of her Divine Son with the Devil’s offspring, which is sinful and wicked humanity. The woman’s offspring will not be a descendant of Adam by the seed of man but rather by the seed of the woman. He will have a divine origin, and his conception and birth will be supernatural, but not to the preclusion of his full humanity.

It is believed that this verse suggests that Mary was completely free from any connection with Satan, as well as her Son, and therefore, she was exempt from all types of sin, both original and personal. The best way to be in total opposition to the Devil or serpent is to always remain in a state of God’s sanctifying grace. God made Mary and Satan completely opposite to each other, as they were meant to be hostile enemies with hatred towards each other, as the Hebrew word for enmity (ebah/אֵיבָה) suggests. This was because Mary was chosen to be the mother of the Divine Messiah (Lk 1:31-33, 35).

According to Galatians 4:4, God’s plan was for the Son of Man to be “made of a woman.” However, this did not mean becoming a man in the likeness of Adam. The serpent, envious of God’s creation, aimed to destroy it. Through its malevolence and shrewdness (‘aruvum), it targeted Adam, who was the head of the two covenants established by God – the one between God, Adam, and his female counterpart, and the marital one between Adam and the Woman. Adam represented both covenants rooted in faith and trust. However, the serpent targeted Adam indirectly through his Helpmate. To be successful, the serpent needed the Woman’s cooperation, which it obtained by enticing and deceiving her with a lie.

In the story of Adam and Eve, the serpent tricked Eve by appearing to have her best interests at heart. As a result, she rebelled against God and became an enemy of Him. However, God chose the Virgin Mary to help reconcile mankind with Him. Mary needed to trust God completely and cooperate with the angel Gabriel in faith. This would allow her Offspring to undo the fall that Adam caused. Mary would have been a friend of Satan if, at any moment in her life, she sinned against God and fell from His grace like Eve, which would have rendered her unworthy to be the mother of her divine Son, who was like us in all things but sin (Heb 4:15), with whom she was intimately associated to undo the evil that the devil had worked to the spiritual detriment of mankind. Eve was at enmity with God along with Adam, for they both did what was hateful in God’s sight and pleasing to the serpent by partaking of the forbidden fruit.

There is a reason why Jesus referred to his mother as “Woman.” It can be traced back to the Book of Genesis, where Adam called his wife “Woman.” After Eve sinned, she was named “Eve,” which means “mother of all the living.” By calling his mother “Woman,” Jesus paralleled her to Eve before the fall. The Evangelist understood this and knew that Mary was not just Jesus’ biological mother but also the woman of faith who was promised to be associated with him in his redemptive work. This association made her the spiritual mother of all those alive in Christ and who followed God’s commandments (Jn 2:3-5; 19:26-27; Rev 12:17).

Therefore, according to God’s will, Mary had to be preserved free from the stain of sin. God had foretold that Mary would participate with her Son, who is the new Adam, in undoing the sin of Adam and Eve and reconciling the world to Him as his “helpmate” (Gen 2:18). By calling his mother “Woman,” Jesus was affirming her perpetual state of sanctifying grace. Mary was similar to Eve before she fell from grace when her husband still called her “the woman.” We have good reason to believe that our Lord was alluding to his mother’s Immaculate Conception and freedom from the stain of personal sins resulting from the pride of life and concupiscence of the eyes and flesh.

Sacred Scripture confirms the age-old Catholic tradition that Mary is the spiritual mother of all living beings. She is seen as the new Eve who never fell from grace and God’s re-creation of our universal biological mother. Eve and Mary were daughters of a covenant with God. Eve was the daughter of the first covenant between God and Adam, where the Lord commanded Adam, “From any tree of the garden, you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for on the day you shall eat from it, you will surely die” (Gen 2:16-17). The serpent tempted Eve, and she succumbed, leading to her fall from grace. In contrast, Mary remained faithful to God as the new Eve and never sinned.

Mary was born into the covenant between God and Israel that was made at Sinai. This covenant was a set of laws and regulations that were to be followed by the Israelites. In Deuteronomy 5:1-10, God tells the Israelites to listen carefully and obey these laws. He also reminds them that He is the only true God and that they must not worship any other gods. God clarifies that He is a jealous God and will punish those who disobey Him, but He will show kindness to those who love Him and keep His commandments. Eve was the daughter of the covenant God had made with Adam. Both Eve and Mary were given the free will to choose between life and death by either obeying or disobeying God’s will for them.

Eve’s disobedience ultimately led to the fall of “mankind” (Adam/אָדָם). As a result of the fall, all humans are conceived and born without the original justice and sanctity that Adam lost for his descendants by his sin. “Then the man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What have you done?’ And the woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’” (Gen 3:12-13). On the other hand, Mary obeyed God’s will and gave birth to the living source of all grace, who would reconcile humanity with God. Mary said: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38).

Mary could undo the consequences of Eve’s sin through her faith, which was demonstrated through love. Mary’s soul glorified God, whereas Eve’s was tainted by vanity and curiosity, making her vulnerable to the serpent’s deception and temptation. Even though God had commanded Adam and Eve to abstain from the forbidden fruit, Eve decided to take matters into her own hands and taste it anyway. By doing so, she and Adam put their desires above God’s will, believing they could judge what was good and evil for themselves. This choice made them believe they were like God but without Him or before Him.

Mary made the wise decision to choose “life and prosperity” instead of “death and adversity” after hearing the words of the angel Gabriel, which were very close to her heart. As a true servant of Israel in the spirit, she listened to and followed the word of God. Like Yahweh’s faithful spouse, the Daughter of Zion, Mary refused to bow down to any idol the ancient serpent might have presented to her in his jealous hostility towards women. Mary’s loyalty to God and her desire to please Him in her covenant with Him allowed her to destroy the ravages of sin that the serpent initially caused. By giving her salutary consent to become the mother of our Lord and Saviour, she welcomed the will of God with open arms, and this act of love and faith made it possible for our Redeemer to enter the world. In fact, according to Peter Chrysologus, “Without Mary, neither death could be done away with, nor life restored” (Sermon 64).

“You shall be holy to me; for I the Lord am holy,
and have separated you from the peoples,
that you should be mine.”
Leviticus 20:26

The early Church viewed Mary as the perfect embodiment of Daughter Zion. They saw her as the culmination of Israel’s unwavering love and trust in God. St. Luke confirms this early Marian tradition in the Canticle of Praise (Lk.1:46-49), where he cites multiple Old Testament references (Isa.61:10; Zech.9:9; Zeph.3:14-15, 20; Ps.102:13; 126:1-3; 147:12-13). The connection between the election of Israel and the election of Mary was clear to the faithful. Just as Israel was chosen as the people through whom the Messiah would be born, Mary was selected to bring Him into the world as its Savior. Israel and Mary had the divine privilege and responsibility of bringing the Messiah into the world, so they had to be specially prepared by God.

If the people of Israel were to receive God Incarnate in their midst as one of them, they would have to be made exclusively worthy through a special holiness imparted by the Old Covenant. More was expected from the Israelites than from the people of the surrounding nations because of the holiness required of them in anticipation of the Incarnation. If that was true of the people of Israel, it would be even more true of Mary, in whose maternal womb the holy Son of God became incarnate. What if she somehow received a means of singular holiness that would set her apart from sinful humanity through a special grace through God’s intervention? Mary was the living personification of faithful Daughter Zion and not just a metaphor: “clothed in the garments of salvation” and “wrapped in a mantle of justice” (Isa 61:10).

You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians,
how I have carried you upon the wings of eagles,
and have taken you to myself.
Exodus 19, 4

As we have seen, the Hebrew word for enmity (ebah/אֵיבָה) is derived from the verb ayab or אָיַב, which means “to be hostile to.” This root word takes the form of the noun “enemy” (אוֹיֵֽב). In Exodus 15:6, we read: ‘Thy right hand, O Lord, is magnified in strength: thy right hand, O Lord, hath slain the enemy.’ This verse is part of the Song of Moses, where Hebrew people joyfully praise God for causing the Red Sea to swallow up Pharaoh’s army. This happened after their liberation from slavery and departure from Egypt. The Egyptian army’s fall is celebrated in the song because it resulted from Pharaoh’s obstinate pride and arrogance in his opposition to God. In her Canticle of Praise, Mary proclaims: “My spirit rejoices in God my savior; for he has looked with favor on the lowliness (humility) of his handmaid” (Lk. 1:47-48). The Lord raises the lowly and casts down the mighty from their thrones (Lk 1:52; Ps 147:6).

The Annunciation was made possible because of Mary’s humility and purity of heart. She was known to be a friend of God, just like how Moses humbled himself before God to become His servant and instrument of salvation. Our Blessed Lady rejoices and thanks God for saving her from the clutches of the enemy, symbolized by the serpent or dragon, similar to Pharaoh’s prototype. The angel Lucifer fell from heaven because of his pride and arrogance (Isa 14:12-17). And because he opposed God in his vanity and was cast out from heaven, he wished to rally mankind against Him, whereby humanity, in its rebellion against God in league with Satan, would fall, too, from His grace and end up under the Devil’s dominion as his captives together with all the other fallen angels, enslaved to sin and subject to death in its sinful condition.

Mary rejoices in God, her savior because He has mercifully redeemed her by a singular grace, having been chosen to be the mother of our Lord and humanity’s Saviour, who shall redeem mankind and deliver it from the clutches of the dragon and man’s enslavement to sin. (Rev 12:10). She knows that together with God, she has been chosen to stand in opposition to Satan to help undo his works. By her act of faith and love, our Blessed Lady helps turn the Devil’s proud and arrogant opposition to God into his humiliating defeat. Mary’s humble state is a means by which God becomes incarnate and dashes Satan’s pride into pieces along with his rule over humanity. In her humility, Mary opposes the Devil’s pride in his opposition to God. She stands with God as His faithful helpmate in opposition to the inimical serpent.

The free Woman of Promise became the Mother of the Son because she refused to do what was hateful to God and pleasing to the serpent out of pride. This was unlike Eve, who submitted to the will of God’s adversary and was cast out from paradise because of that same pride that cast the Devil out from heaven. By collaborating with the serpent in his revolt, Eve rebelled against God, which made her an enemy of God and His “adversary” (Ex 23:22; Isa 63:10). On the other hand, Mary made herself a friend of God and a disciple of the Son whom she would bear by faithfully assenting to the divine knowledge that was made known to her through the message of the angel (Jn 15:15).

Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he
might devour her child as soon as it was born. And she gave birth to a son, a male
child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched
away and taken to God and to his throne; and the woman fled into the wilderness,
where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one
thousand two hundred sixty days…. But the woman was given the two wings of
the great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to her
place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. And the dragon
cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to
be carried away of the flood.
Revelation 12, 4-6, 14-15

There are four prevailing themes about the wilderness in the Hebrew Old Testament. To begin, the imagery of wilderness may signify a place where one encounters God very closely, notably when they are called for an important task during a crisis. Also, for the Jewish people who were delivered from slavery in Egypt by God’s intervention, the wilderness was where they received the Torah (the Divine instructions) so that they could be set apart from all the surrounding nations to become God’s very own and be prepared as a holy nation in anticipation of the coming Messiah.

The Talmud says:

And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai…
The azure sky encompasses the parched and barren land:
an untouched, silent vacuum devoid of mortal ploys.
No stamp of human grandeur
imprints the endless sand;
no thoroughfares are chiselled
through the undulating dunes.
Standing in the wilderness
we wait with open hearts:
we may yet tend the desert
and find our way to Eden.
(B’midbar 1:1)

The Talmud says further: “One should be as open as a wilderness to receive the Torah” (Nedarim 55a). Some Jewish commentators understand this statement to mean that God’s chosen people have been called to open themselves to God’s moral demand of living an entirely new way of life that differs from that of the pagans who do not know God, regardless of how intimidating it might be to the Israelites. In preparation for the coming Messiah, God established a covenant with His people through Moses at Sinai so that they would be moral and godly people, unlike His adversaries. For this purpose, God gave the Israelites the Torah or moral Law. Only those who conducted their lives following the moral precepts of the Divine law reached the promised land after their sojourn in the desert. The unfaithful Jews who failed to “tend the desert” or persevere in faith in the wake of many hardships and trials never found their “way to Eden.”

Moreover, the wilderness can be described as a place untouched by human development and settlement. In the form of imagery, it represents a moral haven. For the Israelites, the wilderness contrasted with Egypt, which was polluted with the vain grandeur of this world and the many false idols that alienated the Egyptian captors from God and even corrupted many of Abraham’s descendants while living there. The Exodus happened so that the Hebrew people would be free to worship the God of their fathers as He desired that they righteously should in the land that He had initially promised to Abraham (Gen 17:7). The wilderness was where God’s emancipated people could be spiritually refined and come to know God, as to walk in his ways without any worldly distractions that might hinder them. The wilderness provided the straight path that would help them become a holy nation set apart by God and consecrated to Him as worthy of begetting the promised Messiah.

Indeed, in sacred Scripture, the wilderness is portrayed as the site of the dispensation of divine grace where God disciplines, purifies, and transforms His chosen people by imparting a singular holiness to them through His covenant. It was at the outset of the Israelites’ forty-year sojourn in the desert that God assured Moses: “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Ex 33:14). On this occasion, God didn’t simply offer his chosen people guidance but promised to guide them to the promised land Himself. The wilderness was where the Israelites had to learn to place their undivided trust in Divine providence. Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden for failing to trust God and placing all their hope in Him. The Jews who lost their trust in God and failed in their trial of faith never made it to the promised land.

In this place, God descended from His heavenly realm to live among His people and teach them His ways. He physically manifested His presence through the Ark of the Covenant, which also served as a channel of His grace (Ex 25:8, 22; Josh 3:5-17; 6:2-5). Once they were outside of Egypt, the Israelites could experience a personal God who related to them in a loving and caring manner. God sought nothing other than their true happiness, even though they had to endure physical hardships to prove themselves worthy of His favor. ‘The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend’ (Ex 33:11). Through Moses, God would speak to all of His people through His theophanies.

Finally, many passages in the Old Testament depict the wilderness as a magnificent aspect of God’s creation, inspiring awe and admiration. For example, the prophet Isaiah uses an allegory to illustrate the spiritual state of the Hebrew nation. The text conveys the sense of moral and spiritual emptiness in the Jewish people’s lives. This was the condition of the Judeans before God permitted the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and take His chosen people into captivity and exile. The reason behind this was the people’s apostasy and idol worship.

Still, the prophet looks forward to a time when the Jewish people, who had created a moral and spiritual wasteland for themselves, would be restored to their former glory, as God intended. This restoration would be like the lush beauty of Lebanon, with its plush cedar trees and fertile land. The “glory of God” would be revealed through the rejuvenation of His chosen people by His grace, which would restore them to a new life in the spirit (as described in Ezekiel 36:26-27). Even a “crocus” (rose) would beautifully blossom out of what was once a desolate wasteland now that God’s judgment against His people was past and the nation had redeemed itself of its sins through its suffering and subsequent change of heart (as described in Ezekiel 20:36-38).

The splendor of Zion, which was once lost due to the people’s infidelity and spiritual desolation, will now be restored. By God’s grace and mercy, His chosen ones have left the pathless desert of alienation from God and set themselves on the right path. The grace of forgiveness and salvation has led them to a land renewed with blessings, where piety and knowledge of God flourish. Carmel and Sharon’s fertility will now be restored in the wasteland that Zion created for herself. This renewal is a testament to God’s covenant with His people, who will now flourish and prosper. (Isa 35:1-4).

The defining features of a desert are a barren and arid place (ציה or tsı̂yâh) without any sources of water, lacking vegetation, and unable to support life. However, only in this desolate state can it flourish and be transformed into a lush environment through God’s regenerating grace. Similarly, the spiritual condition of the ancient Hebrews serves as a metaphor for humankind’s need for baptism and reconciliation with God through sanctification and justification.

When God created Mary’s soul, He sanctified it at the moment of her conception in her mother’s womb and made her an enemy of the serpent. Unlike the rest of humanity, Mary was not affected by the spiritual desolation caused by original sin. God preserved her from being subjected to it, and she was considered God’s recreation of mankind before the fall. Mary was born without the spiritual ruin Adam brought upon himself and his descendants by nature. She was untouched by that spiritual ruin and was restored to the original state of justice and holiness that Adam had forfeited for all his offspring. Our Blessed Lady did not enter this world as a “wandering daughter” separated from God. Her soul was fertile and bountiful in its sanctified state and blossomed like a rose by the power of God’s grace.

God chose Mary to be holy and consecrated to Him, preparing her for the Divine Maternity. He set her apart from all the descendants of Adam and Eve who were born in slavery to sin. Similarly, God freed the Israelites from slavery and separated them from the pagan nations to be His own holy people, from whom the Divine Messiah would come. In Exodus 19:3-4, God reminded the Israelites that He had saved them from the Egyptians and brought them to Himself on eagles’ wings. In the same way, God bore Mary on the wings of His grace and kept her from being taken captive by sin. God looked with favor on Mary’s lowliness and lifted her away from the rest of sinful humanity to be His own virgin bride and the mother of His Son. She was “clothed in the robes of salvation” and “wrapped in a mantle of justice” (Isa 61:10). Just as the floodwaters could not reach and engulf Zion at the time of Noah and Pharaoh’s army of chariots, our Blessed Lady Mary was also protected from sin, unlike the rest of humanity.

A great sign was seen in heaven:
a woman clothed with the sun,
and the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
Revelation 12, 1

In the spirit of the faithful remnant of the Israelites or Daughter Zion, Mary received the Divine commands and kept them in the depths of her heart and soul. She personified the renewal of Israel after having been liberated from bondage and exile by being spared enslavement to sin and the prospect of mortal corruption that plagues fallen humanity. There was no place for the vain idols of this world in her soul. How she conducted herself throughout her entire life was impeccable by the plenitudes of grace God bestowed on her. Mary observed the word of God and kept it. Not once did she profane God’s holy name by thought, word, or deed. Our Blessed Lady embodied in her person the ideal standard of a redeemed and resurrected people of God but singularly and most perfectly.

God “tilled the desolate land” and had it “become like the garden of Eden” by restoring what Adam and Eve had reduced to a wasteland in Mary. God replanted in her what was uprooted from humanity by their transgression (Cf. B’midbar 1:1; Nedarim, 55a). God put His spirit within our Blessed Lady and a heart of flesh that would never turn to stone. And by the efficacious influence of His grace, God caused Mary, without violating her free will, to observe all His commandments and to walk in His statutes free from all abomination that infests sinful humanity (Ezek 36: 16:37). Mary was indeed the creation of God’s sublime handiwork, His greatest masterpiece of grace in all creation, who in awe all generations shall pronounce blessed. The Lord had done “great things” to her, for holy is His name (Lk 1:48-49).

And I passed by thee, and saw thee: and behold thy time was the time of lovers: and I spread my garment
over thee and covered thy ignominy. And I swore to thee, and I entered into a covenant with thee, saith the
Lord God: and thou becamest mine. And I washed thee with water, and cleansed away thy blood from
thee: and I anointed thee with oil. And I clothed thee with embroidery, and shod thee with violet-colored
shoes: and I girded thee about with fine linen, and clothed thee with fine garments.
Ezekiel 16, 8-10

Early Sacred Tradition

“In the beginning, the Serpent, having captivated the ears of Eve, spread poison
into the whole body; today Mary receives by means of the ears, the advocate of
perpetual happiness. So (woman) who has the instrument of death was also the
instrument of life.”
Ephraem of Syria, De devirsis, sermo 3
(ante. A D 373)

“What a grand and most wise strategy against the devil! The world, which had
once fallen under the power of sin because of a virgin, is now restored to freedom
because of a Virgin. Through the virginal birth, a great multitude of invisible
demons has been cast down to Tartarus.”
Amphilochius of Iconium
In natalitia Domini, 1
(ante A D 394)

“There is a great mystery here:
that just as death comes to us through a woman,
life is born to us through a woman.”
Augustine, Christian Combat 22.24
(A D 396)

“Think not, O man, that this is a birth to be ashamed of, since it was made the
cause of our salvation. For if He had not been born of woman, He had not died;
and if, in the flesh, He had not died, neither would He have destroyed him through
death, who had the empire of death, that is, the devil.”
Proclus of Constantinople
Oratio 1Laudatio Dei genitricis mariea
(ante. A D 446)

“You have heard that it deals with this, that man would return
to life by the same route by which he fell into death.”
Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 142
(ante. A D 450)

“Truly elect, and superior to all, not by the altitude of lofty structures,
but as excelling all in the greatness and purity of sublime and divine virtues,
and having no affinity with sin whatever.”
Germanus of Constantinople
Marracci in S. Germani Mariali
(ante A D 733)