GENESIS 8:21

  Q: Does this verse teach that God reversed the original curse on the land found in Genesis 3:17?

 

That is a minority opinion among scholars. Victor Hamilton (The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1-17, p.

 309-310) notes that there is no evidence that the other aspects of the original curse, such as toil in

 childbearing or manual labor in agriculture, were eliminated at the time of Noah. Also, this view

 demands that a key Hebrew word be translated as “view as accursed” instead of “curse,” which has no

 justification elsewhere. Also, completely different Hebrew words for curse appear here and in Gen. 3.

 

A third argument in favor of Genesis 8:21 having nothing to do with the Genesis 3 curse is that the

 following verses (21-22) explain exactly what God means when he says he will not curse the land 

again – there will be no major upset in the normal balance of nature and the order of creation with its 

seasons will continue. (also in International Bible Commentary, p. 122 and Allen P. Ross, Creation and 

Blessing, p. 198)

 

Michael Grisanti (Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, vol. 1, p. 272) points out that 

the similar language between Gen. 6:5b and 8:21c refutes the idea that the Genesis 3 curse is in mind in

 the latter verse. M. G. Kline (New Bible Commentary:Revised, p. 89) agrees with this argument.

A further explanation behind God's promise in 8:21 is given in Genesis 9:11,15, as Victor Hamilton

 (Handbook on the Pentateuch, p. 72) points out.

 

The strongest argument, however, to support the idea that the curse of Genesis 3 is still in effect is

found in Romans 8:18-23. This clearly points back to the Genesis 3 curse, as noted in three one-volume

 commentaries I consulted, three devotional commentaries by influential authors (John Stott, William

 Barclay and Warren Wiersbe), and in four scholarly commentaries from differing theological

 perspectives (by Leon Morris, Joseph Fitzmyer, Ernst Kasemann, and John Murray).