Enmity

Enmity in Scripture denotes deep, active hostility between parties. The Hebrew ʾêbâ and Greek echthra both convey a settled, structural opposition rather than mere temporary disagreement. The foundational instance is the enmity God placed between the serpent and the woman in Genesis 3:15—the protoevangelium—where the hostility between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman is established as a defining feature of all subsequent history, culminating in the crushing of the serpent's head by the woman's seed.

Paul employs the concept theologically in multiple ways in his epistles. The carnal mind is characterized as enmity against God, incapable of submission to his law (Romans 8:7). Christ's atoning work is described as abolishing the enmity between Jew and Gentile—the dividing wall of the law's ordinances—reconciling both into one body and making peace (Ephesians 2:15–16). The redemptive narrative thus moves from the declaration of enmity at the fall to its resolution in the cross, where Christ himself became the peace between estranged parties.