Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

GENESIS 3:18KJV
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Genesis 3:18 (KJV)

What does Genesis 3:18 mean?

Genesis 3:18 describes the difficult conditions under which the man will get food from the ground. The ground will produce unwanted plants alongside the food he needs, so living from it will involve struggle.

God says these words to the man after he has eaten from the forbidden tree. Following the statement in verse 17 that the ground is cursed, the mention of thorns and thistles gives a picture of that hardship: the soil will grow plants that obstruct cultivation.

The Hebrew behind Genesis 3:18

  • “thistles” — דַּרְדַּר (dardar): This word refers to a prickly plant, often understood as a thistle. Its exact plant is uncertain, but it pairs with “thorns” to picture troublesome growth.
  • “herb” — עֵשֶׂב (ʿesev): This word can refer broadly to plants or vegetation. The phrase “herb of the field” points to plants growing in open land, rather than to a particular herb used for seasoning.

Why Genesis 3:18 matters

  • The ground will still provide food. Alongside “thorns” and “thistles,” the verse says the man will eat plants from the field.
  • The words connect the man’s food with the ground outside the garden. Soon afterward, Genesis 3:23 says that God sends him out of the garden to work the ground from which he was taken.
  • The difficulty concerns more than the unwanted plants themselves. Genesis 3:19 adds that the man will eat bread “in the sweat” of his face, linking his food to hard work.

Where else these words appear

“thistles” Hebrew H1863 · used in 2 verses

  • Hosea 10:8 The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.

“also” Hebrew H6975 · used in 12 verses

  • Exodus 22:6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
  • 2 Samuel 23:6 But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands:
  • Jeremiah 4:3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

“forth” Hebrew H6779 · used in 32 verses

  • Genesis 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
  • 1 Chronicles 19:5 Then there went certain, and told David how the men were served. And he sent to meet them: for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.
  • Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

“herb” Hebrew H6212 · used in 32 verses

  • Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
  • Deuteronomy 11:15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
  • Psalms 105:35 And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.