Serpents in the Bible
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Serpents (
Nāḥāš (נחש),
The narrative of the Garden of Eden and the
Serpents in Mesopotamian mythology
In one of the oldest stories ever written, the
Hebrew Bible
In the
Eden
The Hebrew word נָחָשׁ (Nāḥāš) is used in the Hebrew Bible to identify the serpent that appears in Genesis 3:1, in the Garden of Eden. In the first book of the Torah, the serpent is portrayed as a deceptive creature or trickster,[1] who promotes as good what God had forbidden and shows particular cunning in its deception. (cf. Genesis 3:4–5 and 3:22) The serpent has the ability to speak and to reason: "Now the serpent was more subtle (also translated as "cunning") than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made".[22] There is no indication in the Book of Genesis that the serpent was a deity in its own right, although it is one of only two cases of animals that talk in the Torah[23] (Balaam's donkey being the other).
God placed
There is a debate about whether the serpent in Eden should be viewed figuratively or as a literal animal. According to one
20th-century scholars such as W. O. E. Oesterley (1921) were cognizant of the differences between the role of the Edenic serpent in the Hebrew Bible and its connections with the "ancient serpent" in the New Testament.[29] Modern historiographers of Satan such as Henry Ansgar Kelly (2006) and Wray and Mobley (2007) speak of the "evolution of Satan",[30] or "development of Satan".[31]
According to
The serpent which now enters the narrative is marked as one of God's created animals (ch. 2.19). In the
Moses and Aaron
When God had revealed himself to the prophet Moses in Exodus 3:4–22, Moses recognized that the call of God was for him to lead the
Later in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 7), the staffs of Moses and Aaron were turned into serpents, a nachash for Moses, a tanniyn for Aaron.
Fiery serpents
"Fiery serpent" (Hebrew: שָׂרָף sārāf; "burning") occurs in the Torah to describe a species of vicious snakes whose venom burns upon contact. According to Wilhelm Gesenius, saraph corresponds to the Sanskrit Sarpa (Jawl aqra), serpent; sarpin, reptile (from the root srip, serpere).[33] These "burning serpents"(YLT) infested the great and terrible place of the desert wilderness (Num.21:4-9; Deut.8:15). The Hebrew word for "poisonous" literally means "fiery", "flaming" or "burning", as the burning sensation of a snake bite on human skin, a metaphor for the fiery anger of God (Numbers 11:1).[34]
The
Serpent of bronze
In the
Mainstream scholars suggest that the image of the fiery serpent served to function like that of a magical amulet. Magic amulets or charms were used in the ancient Near East[37] to practice a healing ritual known as sympathetic magic in an attempt to ward off, heal or reduce the impact of illness and poisons.[2] Copper and bronze serpent figures have been recovered, showing that the practice was widespread.[37] A Christian interpretation would be that the bronze serpent served as a symbol for each individual Israelite to take their confession of sin and the need for God's deliverance to heart. Confession of sin and forgiveness was both a community and an individual responsibility. The plague of serpents remained an ongoing threat to the community and the raised bronze serpent was an ongoing reminder to each individual for the need to turn to the healing power of God.[2] It has also been proposed that the bronze serpent was a type of intermediary between God and the people[37] that served as a test of obedience, in the form of free judgment,[38] standing between the dead who were not willing to look to God's chosen instrument of healing, and the living who were willing and were healed.[39] Thus, this instrument bore witness to the sovereign power of Yahweh even over the dangerous and sinister character of the desert.[38]
In 2 Kings 18:4, a bronze serpent, alleged to be the one Moses made, was kept in Jerusalem's Temple[2] sanctuary.[35] The Israelites began to worship the object as an idol or image of God, by offering sacrifices and burning incense to it, until Hezekiah was made King. Hezekiah referred to it as Nehushtan[40] and had torn it down. Scholars have debated the nature of the relationship between the Mosaic bronze serpent and Hezekiah's Nehushtan, but traditions happen to link the two.[2]
New Testament
Gospels
In the
In the
Temptation of Christ
In the temptation of Christ, the Devil cites Psalm 91:11–12, "for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."[44] He cuts off before verse 13, "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon (tanniyn)[45] shalt thou trample under feet."[46][47]
The serpent in Psalm 91:13 is identified as Satan by Christians:
Ancient serpent
Serpent (Greek: ὄφις;[51] Trans: Ophis, /ˈo.fis/; "snake", "serpent") occurs in the Book of Revelation as the "ancient serpent"[52] or "old serpent"(YLT) used to describe "the dragon",[20:2] Satan[53] the Adversary,(YLT) who is the devil.[12:9, 20:2] This serpent is depicted as a red seven-headed dragon having ten horns, each housed with a diadem. The serpent battles Michael the Archangel in a War in Heaven which results in this devil being cast out to the earth. While on earth, he pursues the Woman of the Apocalypse and gives power and authority to the Beast. Unable to obtain her, he wages war with the rest of her seed (Revelation 12:1-18). He who has the key to the abyss and a great chain over his hand, binds the serpent for a thousand years. The serpent is then cast into the abyss and sealed within until he is released (Revelation 20:1-3).
In Christian tradition, the "ancient serpent" is commonly identified with the Genesis serpent and as Satan. This identification redefined the Hebrew Bible's concept of Satan ("the Adversary", a member of the Heavenly Court acting on behalf of God to test Job's faith), so that Satan/Serpent became a part of a divine plan stretching from Creation to Christ and the Second Coming.[54]
Religious views
Biblical apocrypha and deuterocanonical books
The first
Christianity
In
Following the imagery of chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation, Bernard of Clairvaux had called Mary the "conqueror of dragons", and she was long to be shown crushing a snake underfoot, also a reference to her title as the "New Eve".[57]
Gnosticism
In
However, not all Gnostic movements regarded the creator of the material universe as inherently evil or malevolent.
See also
- Aaron's rod
- Caduceus–Staff of Mercury and staff of Hermes
- Caduceus as a symbol of medicine
- Church of God with Signs Following
- Ethnoherpetology
- Lucifer
- Naassenes
- Nāga
- Narayana
- Ningishzida
- Ophites
- Protoevangelium
- Rod of Asclepius
- Serpent seed
- Snake worship
- Staff of Moses
References
- ^ S2CID 201526808.
- ^ a b c d e f Olson 1996, p. 136
- ^ a b c d e f g
- Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Hebrew Bible Accounts". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.5.
- Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Jewish Postbiblical Interpretations (200 BCE–200 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.6.
- Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Early Christian Interpretations (50–450 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.8.
- Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Medieval Readings: Muslim, Jewish, and Christian (600–1500 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.9.
- Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Hebrew Bible Accounts". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender.
- ^ S2CID 38974409.
- ^ ISSN 0169-8834.
- JSTOR 4183374.
- ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Adam". www.newadvent.org.
- ^ S2CID 241611417.
- ^ Kolatch, Alfred J. (2021) [1989]. "Issues in Jewish Ethics: Judaism's Rejection of Original Sin". Jewish Virtual Library. American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE). Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- LCCN 2016047258.
- ISBN 90-04-14743-8.
- ^ "Storytelling, the Meaning of Life, and The Epic of Gilgamesh". eawc.evansville.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
- ^ Gerard Michon. "Meanings of Mathematical Symbols and Scientific Icons". Numericana. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
- ^ Gordon Loud, Megiddo II: Plates plate 240: 1, 4, from Stratum X (dated by Loud 1650–1550 BC) and Statum VIIB (dated 1250–1150 BC), noted by Karen Randolph Joines, "The Bronze Serpent in the Israelite Cult" Journal of Biblical Literature 87.3 (September 1968:245-256) p. 245 note 2.
- ^ R.A.S. Macalister, Gezer II, p. 399, fig. 488, noted by Joiner 1968:245 note 3, from the high place area, dated Late Bronze Age.
- ^ Yigael Yadin et al. Hazor III-IV: Plates, pl. 339, 5, 6, dated Late Bronze Age II (Yadiin to Joiner, in Joiner 1968:245 note 4).
- ^ Callaway and Toombs to Joiner (Joiner 1968:246 note 5).
- ^ Maurice Viera, Hittite Art (London, 1955) fig. 114.
- ^ Leonard W. King, A History of Babylon, p. 72.
- ^ Pritchard ANET, 331, noted in Joines 1968:246 and note 8.
- ^ E.A. Speiser, Excavations at Tepe Gawra: I. Levels I-VIII, p. 114ff., noted in Joines 1968:246 and note 9.
- ^ Genesis 3:1
- ^ ISBN 0-664-20957-2.
- ^ Genesis 2:17
- ^ Genesis 3:3
- ^ Barton, SO "Midrash Rabba to Genesis", sec 20, p.93
- ^ Hakira, Vol. 5: Reclaiming the Self: Adam’s Sin and the Human Psyche By Menachem Krakowski
- ^ Gorton & Voltaire 1824, p. 22
- ^ Oesterley Immortality and the Unseen World: a study in Old Testament religion (1921) "... moreover, not only an accuser but one who tempts to evil. With the further development of Satan as the arch-fiend and head of the powers of darkness we are not concerned here, as this is outside the scope of the Old Testament."
- ISBN 978-0-521-84339-3.
- ISBN 978-1-4039-6933-0.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Keil and Delitzsch, OT Commentary on Exodus 4 http://biblehub.com/commentaries/kad/exodus/4.htm accessed 2015-10-09.
- ^ a b Gesenius, Wilhelm & Samuel Prideaux Tregelles (1893). Genenius's Hebrew and Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures. J. Wiley & Sons. p. dccxcv.
- ^ Olson 1996, p. 135
- ^ a b Noth 1968, p. 156
- ^ Hendel 1999, pp. 746–7
- ^ a b c Thomas Nelson 2008, p. 172
- ^ a b Noth 1968, p. 157
- ^ a b Olson 1996, p. 137
- ^ Joines, Karen Randolph (1968). The Bronze Serpent in the Israelite Cult The Bronze Serpent in the Israelite Cult. JOBL, 87. p. 245, note 1.
- ^ Gesenius, Wilhelm & Samuel Prideaux Tregelles (1893). Genenius's Hebrew and Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures. J. Wiley & Sons. p. dccxcvi.
- ^ C. H. Spurgeon, "The Mysteries of the Brazen Serpent" Archived 2013-02-12 at the Wayback Machine, 1857
- Wenceslas Hollar
- ^ Matthew 4:6)
- ^ Strong's Concordance: H8577
- ^ (Psalm 91:13 KJV)
- ^ Whittaker, H.A. Studies in the Gospels "Matthew 4" Biblia, Cannock 1996
- ^ Psalm 91 in the Hebrew/Protestant numbering, 90 in the Greek/Catholic liturgical sequence - see Psalms#Numbering
- ^ Schiller, I, pp. 112–113, and many figures listed there. See also Index.
- ^ Strong's Concordance: G3789
- ^ From the Greek: ἀρχαῖος, archaios (/arˈxɛ.os/) - Strong's Concordance Number G744
- ^ Σατανᾶς, Satanas, (/sa.taˈnas/) - of Aramaic origin corresponding to Σατάν (G4566) - Strong's Concordance Number G4567
- Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.
- ^ Alfred von Rohr Sauer, Concordia Theological Monthly 43 (1972): "The Wisdom of Solomon deserves to be remembered for the fact that it is the first tradition to identify the serpent of Genesis 3 with the devil: 'Through the devil's envy death entered the world' (2:24)".
- ^ The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Expansions of the "Old ... James H. Charlesworth - 1985 "He seeks to destroy men's souls (Vita 17:1) by disguising himself as an angel of light (Vita 9:1, 3; 12:1; ApMos 17:1) to put into men "his evil poison, which is his covetousness" (epithymia, ..."
- ISBN 0-85331-270-2
- OCLC 56057973.
- ^ ISBN 9781139054836.
- ^ S2CID 152458823.
- ^ S2CID 169308502.
- ISBN 0-8153-3071-5.
- ^ JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.8.
- ^ a b c Bousset, Wilhelm (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). pp. 852–857.
- OCLC 966607824.
- JSTOR 1560677.
- ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Arendzen, John Peter (1908). "Demiurge". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ ISBN 9781032199344.
Further reading
- Hendel, Ronald S. (1999). "Serpent". In ISBN 90-04-11119-0.
- Gorton, John G; Voltaire (1824). A philosophical dictionary, from the French of M. De Voltaire. Vol. 4. London: C. H. Reynell. p. 22.
- Thomas Nelson (2008). The chronological study Bible : New King James version. Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-7180-2068-2.
- ISBN 978-0-664-22320-5.
- Olson, Dennis T. (1996). Numbers. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 135–8. ISBN 978-0-8042-3104-6.
External links
- Media related to Snakes in the Bible at Wikimedia Commons