{{Short description|none}} [[File:William Blake - The Temptation and Fall of Eve (Illustration to Milton's "Paradise Lost") - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|[[William Blake]], ''The Temptation and Fall of Eve'', 1808 (illustration of [[John Milton]]'s ''[[Paradise Lost]]'').]] {{Bible sidebar |expanded=interpretation}} '''Serpents''' ({{langx|he|נָחָשׁ|translit=''nāḥāš''}}) are referred to in both the [[Hebrew Bible]] and the [[New Testament]]. The [[Serpent (symbolism)|symbol of a serpent]] or [[snake]] played important roles in the religious traditions and cultural life of [[ancient Greece]], [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], [[Mesopotamia]], and [[Canaan]].<ref name="Graf-2018">{{cite book |author-last=Graf |author-first=Fritz |year=2018 |chapter=Travels to the Beyond: A Guide |editor1-last=Ekroth |editor1-first=Gunnel |editor2-last=Nilsson |editor2-first=Ingela |title=Round Trip to Hades in the Eastern Mediterranean Tradition: Visits to the Underworld from Antiquity to Byzantium |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Cultural Interactions in the Mediterranean |volume=2 |pages=11–36 |doi=10.1163/9789004375963_002 |isbn=978-90-04-37596-3|s2cid=201526808 }}</ref> The serpent was a symbol of evil power and [[Chaos (cosmogony)|chaos]] from the [[underworld]] as well as a symbol of fertility, life, healing, and rebirth.<ref name="Olson 1996-2">{{harvnb|Olson|1996|p=136}}</ref>
''Nāḥāš'' ({{Script/Hebrew|נחש}}), Hebrew for "snake", is also associated with [[divination]], including the [[Semitic root|verb form]] meaning "to practice divination or fortune-telling". ''Nāḥāš'' occurs in the [[Torah]] to identify the serpent in the [[Garden of Eden]]. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, it is also used in conjunction with ''[[seraph]]'' to describe vicious serpents in the wilderness. The ''[[Tannin (monster)|tannin]]'', a dragon monster, also occurs throughout the Hebrew Bible. In the [[Book of Exodus]], the staves of [[Moses]] and [[Aaron]] are turned into serpents, a ''nāḥāš'' for Moses, a ''tannin'' for Aaron. In the [[New Testament]], the [[Book of Revelation]] uses the phrases "ancient serpent" and "[[Dragon#Jewish|the Dragon]]" to identify [[Satan]] or [[Devil in Christianity|the Devil]]<ref name="Kvam 1999-1"> * {{cite book |editor1-last=Kvam |editor1-first=Kristen E. |editor2-last=Schearing |editor2-first=Linda S. |editor3-last=Ziegler |editor3-first=Valarie H. |year=1999 |chapter=Hebrew Bible Accounts |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux3bSDa2rHkC&pg=PA15 |title=Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |pages=15–40 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.5 |isbn=9780253212719 |jstor=j.ctt2050vqm.5|ref=none}} *{{cite book |editor1-last=Kvam |editor1-first=Kristen E. |editor2-last=Schearing |editor2-first=Linda S. |editor3-last=Ziegler |editor3-first=Valarie H. |year=1999 |chapter=Jewish Postbiblical Interpretations (200 BCE–200 CE) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux3bSDa2rHkC&pg=PA41 |title=Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |pages=41–68 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.6 |isbn=9780253212719 |jstor=j.ctt2050vqm.6|ref=none}} *{{cite book |editor1-last=Kvam |editor1-first=Kristen E. |editor2-last=Schearing |editor2-first=Linda S. |editor3-last=Ziegler |editor3-first=Valarie H. |year=1999 |chapter=Early Christian Interpretations (50–450 CE) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux3bSDa2rHkC&pg=PA108 |title=Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |pages=108–55 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.8 |isbn=9780253212719 |jstor=j.ctt2050vqm.8|ref=none}} *{{cite book |editor1-last=Kvam |editor1-first=Kristen E. |editor2-last=Schearing |editor2-first=Linda S. |editor3-last=Ziegler |editor3-first=Valarie H. |year=1999 |chapter=Medieval Readings: Muslim, Jewish, and Christian (600–1500 CE) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux3bSDa2rHkC&pg=PA156 |title=Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |pages=156–248 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.9 |isbn=9780253212719 |jstor=j.ctt2050vqm.9 |ref=none}}</ref> ({{bibleref|Revelation|12:9|NRSV}}; {{bibleverse-nb||Rev|20:2|NRSV}}). In later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic interpretation, the serpent of Eden has been variously identified with Satan, the Devil, or [[Lilith]], although the [[Book of Genesis]] itself does not name the serpent as Satan or the Devil.<ref name="Kvam 1999-1"/>
The narrative of the Garden of Eden and the [[Fall of man|fall of humankind]] constitute a mythological tradition shared by all the [[Abrahamic religions]],<ref name="Kvam 1999-1"/><ref name="Leeming-2003">{{cite journal |author-last=Leeming |author-first=David A. |author-link=David Adams Leeming |date=June 2003 |title=Religion and Sexuality: The Perversion of a Natural Marriage |editor-last=Carey |editor-first=Lindsay B. |journal=[[Journal of Religion and Health]] |publisher=[[Springer Verlag]] |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=101–09 |doi=10.1023/A:1023621612061 |issn=1573-6571 |jstor=27511667 |s2cid=38974409}}</ref><ref name="Awn-1983">{{cite book |author-last=Awn |author-first=Peter J. |year=1983 |chapter=Mythic Biography |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jt-mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA18 |title=Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Numen Book Series |volume=44 |pages=18–56 |doi=10.1163/9789004378636_003 |isbn=978-90-04-37863-6 |issn=0169-8834}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Muhammad |last=Mahmoud |title=The Creation Story in 'Sūrat Al-Baqara," with Special Reference to Al-Ṭabarī's Material: An Analysis |journal=Journal of Arabic Literature |volume=26 |issue=1/2 |year=1995 |pages=201–14 |doi=10.1163/157006495X00175 |jstor=4183374 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4183374|url-access=subscription }}</ref> with a presentation more or less symbolic of Abrahamic morals and religious beliefs,<ref name="Kvam 1999-1"/><ref name="Leeming-2003"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01129a.htm|title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Adam|website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> which had an overwhelming impact on [[Religion and sexuality#Abrahamic religions|human sexuality]], [[Gender role#Religion|gender roles]], and [[Sex differences in humans#Religion|sex differences]] both in the Western and Islamic civilizations.<ref name="Kvam 1999-1"/> In [[Nicene Christianity|mainstream (Nicene) Christianity]], the doctrine of the Fall is closely related to that of [[original sin]] or [[ancestral sin]].<ref name="Tuling-2020">{{cite book |author-last=Tuling |author-first=Kari H. |year=2020 |chapter=Part 1: Is God the Creator and Source of All Being{{snd}}Including Evil? |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EzfsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |editor-last=Tuling |editor-first=Kari H. |title=Thinking about God: Jewish Views |location=[[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]] and [[Philadelphia]] |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]]/[[Jewish Publication Society]] |series=JPS Essential Judaism Series |pages=3–64 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv13796z1.5 |isbn=978-0-8276-1848-0 |s2cid=241611417 |lccn=2019042781}}</ref> Unlike Christianity, the other major Abrahamic religions, Judaism and Islam, do not have a concept of "original sin", and instead have developed varying other interpretations of the Eden narrative.<ref name="Kvam 1999-1"/><ref name="Awn-1983"/><ref name="Tuling-2020"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Kolatch |first=Alfred J. |author-link=Alfred J. Kolatch |year=2021 |orig-year=1989 |title=Issues in Jewish Ethics: Judaism's Rejection of Original Sin |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/judaism-s-rejection-of-original-sin |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Virtual Library]] |publisher=American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) |access-date=10 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009013353/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/judaism-s-rejection-of-original-sin |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-last=Jarrar |author-first=Maher |year=2017 |chapter=Strategies for Paradise: Paradise Virgins and Utopia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5_MoDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA271 |editor1-last=Günther |editor1-first=Sebastian |editor2-last=Lawson |editor2-first=Todd |title=Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |pages=271–94 |series=Islamic History and Civilization |volume=136 |doi=10.1163/9789004333154_013 |isbn=978-90-04-33315-4 |issn=0929-2403 |lccn=2016047258}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Johns |author-first=Anthony Hearle |year=2006 |title=Fall of Man |editor-last=McAuliffe |editor-first=Jane Dammen |editor-link=Jane Dammen McAuliffe |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān]] |volume=II |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQSIM_00147 |isbn=90-04-14743-8}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=June 2025}}
==Hebrew Bible== {{Main|Genesis creation narrative|Jewish mythology}} [[File:France Paris Notre-Dame-Adam and Eve.jpg|thumbnail|[[Adam]], [[Eve]], and a female serpent at the entrance to [[Notre Dame Cathedral]] in [[Paris]], [[France]]. The portrayal of the image of the serpent as a mirror of Eve was common in earlier [[Christian iconography]] as a result of the identification of women as the ones responsible for the [[fall of man]] and source of the [[original sin]].<ref name="Kvam 1999-1"/>]]
In the [[Hebrew Bible]], the [[Book of Genesis]] refers to a serpent who triggered the expulsion of [[Adam and Eve#Judaism|Adam and Eve]] from the [[Garden of Eden]] ({{bibleverse||Gen|3:1-20|HE}}). ''Serpent'' is also used to describe [[sea monster]]s. Examples of these identifications are in the [[Book of Isaiah]] where a reference is made to a serpent-like [[Dragon#Levant|dragon]] named [[Leviathan]] ({{bibleverse||Isaiah|27:1|HE}}), and in the [[Book of Amos]] where a serpent resides at the bottom of the sea ({{bibleverse||Amos|9:3|HE}}). ''Serpent'' figuratively describes biblical places such as Egypt ({{bibleverse||Jer|46:22|HE}}), and the city of [[Dan (ancient city)|Dan]] ({{bibleverse||Gen|49:17|HE}}). The prophet [[Jeremiah]] also compares the [[King of Babylon]] to a ''serpent'' ({{bibleverse||Jer|51:34|HE}}).
===Eden=== The Hebrew word ''נָחָשׁ'' (''Nāḥāš'') is used in the Hebrew Bible to identify the serpent that appears in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] {{bibleverse-nb||Genesis|3:1|HE}}, in the Garden of Eden. In the first book of the [[Torah]], the serpent is portrayed as a deceptive creature or [[trickster]],<ref name="Graf-2018"/> who promotes as good what God had forbidden and shows particular cunning in its deception. (cf. {{bibleverse||Genesis|3:4–5|HE}} and {{bibleverse-nb||Genesis|3:22|HE}}) 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".<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|3:1|HE}}</ref> 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 in the [[Torah]] of animals that talk,<ref name="von Rad-1973">{{cite book |last=von Rad |first=Gerhard |author-link=Gerhard von Rad |year=1973 |title=Genesis: A Commentary |location=[[Philadelphia]] |publisher=[[Westminster John Knox Press]] |edition=Revised |series=The Old Testament Library |pages=87–88 |isbn=0-664-20957-2}}</ref> the other being [[Balaam#Balaam and the donkey|Balaam's donkey]].
God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to tend it and warned Adam not to eat the fruit of the [[Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil]], "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|2:17|HE}}</ref> The serpent tempts Eve to eat of the tree, but Eve tells the serpent what God had said.<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|3:3|HE}}</ref> The serpent replies that she would not surely die ({{bibleverse|Genesis|3:4|HE}}) and that if she eats the fruit of the tree "then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." ({{bibleverse|Genesis|3:5|HE}}) Eve eats the fruit, and gives some to Adam who also eats. God, who was walking in the Garden, learns of their transgression. To prevent Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the [[Tree of life (biblical)|Tree of Life]] and living forever, they are banished from the garden upon which God posts an angelic guard. The serpent is punished for its role in [[Fall of man|the Fall]], being [[Curse#Bible|cursed]] by God to [[Snake#Locomotion|crawl on its belly]] and eat dust.
There is a debate about whether the serpent in Eden should be viewed figuratively or as a literal animal. According to one [[Midrash|midrashic interpretation]] in [[Rabbinic literature]], the serpent represents [[sexual desire]];<ref>Barton, SO "Midrash Rabba to Genesis", sec 20, p. 93</ref> another interpretation is that the snake is the [[yetzer hara]]. Modern Rabbinic ideas include interpreting the story as a psychological allegory where Adam represents reasoning faculties, Eve the emotional faculties, and the serpent the hedonic sexual/physical faculties.<ref>Hakira, Vol. 5: Reclaiming the Self: Adam’s Sin and the Human Psyche By Menachem Krakowski</ref> [[Voltaire]], drawing on [[Socinian]] influences, wrote: "It was so decidedly a real serpent, that all its species, which had before walked on their feet, were condemned to crawl on their bellies. No serpent, no animal of any kind, is called [[Satan#Judaism|Satan]], or [[Belzebub]], or [[Devil#Christianity|Devil]], in the [[Torah|Pentateuch]]."<ref>{{harvnb|Gorton|Voltaire|1824|p=22}}</ref> The [[Book of Genesis]] itself does not identify the serpent as Satan or the Devil; that identification developed in later interpretation, especially in Christian readings influenced by the [[Book of Revelation]].
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.<ref>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."</ref> Modern historiographers of Satan such as Henry Ansgar Kelly (2006) and Wray and Mobley (2007) speak of the "evolution of Satan",<ref>"The idea of [[Zoroastrian]] influence on the evolution of Satan is in limited favor among scholars today, not least because the satan figure is always subordinate to God in Hebrew and Christian representations, and Angra Mainyu ..." –{{cite book|last=Kelly|first=Henry Ansgar|title=Satan : a biography|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-84339-3|edition=1st|page=360}}</ref> or "development of Satan".<ref>{{cite book|last=Mobley|first=T.J. Wray, Gregory|title=The birth of Satan : tracing the devil's biblical roots|year=2005|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4039-6933-0}}</ref>
According to [[Gerhard von Rad]], [[Biblical scholar|Old Testament scholar]], [[Lutheran theology|Lutheran theologian]] and [[University of Heidelberg]] professor, who applied [[form criticism]] as a supplement to the [[documentary hypothesis]] of the Hebrew Bible, the snake in the Eden's narrative was more an expedient to represent the impulse to temptation of mankind (that is, disobeying [[Mosaic law|God's law]]) rather than an evil spirit or the personification of the Devil, as the later [[New Testament|Christian literature]] erroneously depicted it; moreover, von Rad himself states that the snake is neither a supernatural being nor a demon, but one of the wild animals created by God ({{bibleverse||Genesis|3:1|HE}}), and the only thing that differentiates it from the others in Eden is the ability to speak: {{Blockquote|The serpent which now enters the narrative is marked as one of God's created animals (ch. 2.19). In the [[Jahwist|narrator]]'s mind, therefore, it is not the symbol of a "demonic" power and certainly not of Satan. What distinguishes it a little from the rest of the animals is exclusively his greater cleverness. [...] The mention of the snake here is almost incidental; at any rate, in the "temptation" by it the concern is with a completely unmythical process, presented in such a way because the narrator is obviously anxious to shift the responsibility as little as possible from [[Human|man]]. It is a question only of man and ''his'' guilt; therefore the narrator has carefully guarded against objectifying evil in any way, and therefore he has personified it as little as possible as a power coming from without. That he transferred the impulse to temptation outside man was almost more a necessity for the story than an attempt at making evil something existing outside man. [...] In the [[history of religions]] the [[Snakes in mythology|snake]] indeed is the sinister, strange animal ''par excellence'' [...], and one can also assume that long before, a myth was once at the basis of our narrative. But as it lies now before us, transparent and lucid, it is anything but a myth.<ref name="von Rad-1973"/>}}
Since ancient Hebrew had no written vowels, the letters comprising נָחָשׁ (Nāḥāš) can also be translated as deceiver or diviner. As the root of adjective, the word could indicate a noun translated to mean luminous/shining one. A derivation of this word was used in number of places in the Bible to refer to the shine of brass,<ref>Num 21:9; Deut 8:9; Josh 6:19, 22:8; Jud 16:21; 1 Sam 17:5; 2 Sam 8:10</ref> which is a feature that is generally associated with angels or God in the Bible.<ref>Daniel 10:6; Ezekiel 1:7</ref> The [[International Standard Version]] of the Bible translates נָחָשׁ (Nāḥāš) as "the Shining One",<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|3:1-2|ISV}}: ISV</ref> with "the diviner" and "the serpent" as alternative readings, observing that the word "connotes one who falsely claims to reveal God’s word".<ref>ISV Foundation, [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203%3A1-2&version=ISV#fen-ISV-57a Footnote a at Genesis 3:1 in the ISV], accessed on 25 November 2025</ref> Therefore, the serpent in Genesis is often interpreted as a serpentine angel, [[Seraph]](שָׂרָף).<ref>Ben Stanhope, The Reception of the Winged Serpent Motif on Hebrew Seals of the Late Monarchy and the Biblical Seraphim.</ref>
The biblical statement that the serpent will "crawl on your belly" is paralleled by frequent spells in [[Pyramid Texts]] that call on the snake to lie down, fall down, get down or crawl away (Pyramid Text 226, 233, 234, 298, 386).<ref>John Walton, "The Lost World of Adam and Eve", pp. 129-130.</ref> These parallels suggest that when the serpent is commanded to crawl on his belly, it does not refer to losing limbs. Instead, it is referring to being sent away in a docile position instead of upright in an attack position. The [[Pyramid Texts]] also refer to commands of vanishing serpents to the dust (Pyramid Text 227, 230, 237). In both the [[Epic of Gilgamesh]] and Job 16:17, the underworld is referred to as the house of dust. Thus, it is likely that the curse of eating dust refers to being cast out to the underworld.<ref>Ben Stanhope - The Reception of the Winged Serpent Motif on Hebrew Seals of the Late Monarchy and the Biblical Seraphim.</ref>
===Moses and Aaron=== When God had revealed himself to the prophet Moses in {{bibleverse||Exodus|3:4–22|HE}}, Moses recognized that the call of God was for him to lead the [[people of Israel]] out of [[Slavery in the Bible|slavery]], but anticipated that people would deny or doubt his calling. In {{bibleverse||Exodus|4:1–5|HE}}, Moses asked God how to respond to such doubt, and God asked him to cast the rod which he carried (possibly a shepherd's crook) <ref>[[Carl Friedrich Keil]] and [[Franz Delitzsch]], [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/kad/exodus/4.htm Keil and Delitzsch OT Commentary] on Exodus 4, accessed on 9 October 2015</ref> onto the ground, whereupon it became a serpent (a ''nachash''). Moses fled from it, but God encouraged him to come back and take it by the tail, and it became a rod again.
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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/346795 |title=A tale of two staffs |access-date=17 June 2024 |date=8 January 2016 |work= Israel National News}}</ref>
===Fiery serpents=== {{Further|Fiery flying serpent|Seraph}} "Fiery serpent" ({{langx|he|{{Script/Hebr|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'' ([[Venomous snake|''Jawl aqra'']]), serpent; ''sarpin'', reptile (from the root ''srip, serpere'').<ref name="Gesenius-1893">{{cite book|last=Gesenius|first=Wilhelm & Samuel Prideaux Tregelles|title=Genenius's Hebrew and Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures|year=1893|publisher=J. Wiley & Sons|page=dccxcv}}</ref> These "burning serpents"<sup>([[Young's Literal Translation|YLT]])</sup> 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).<ref>{{harvnb|Olson|1996|p=135}}</ref>
The [[Book of Isaiah]] expounds on the description of these fiery serpents as "flying saraphs"<sup>(YLT)</sup>, or "flying dragons",<ref name="Gesenius-1893"/> in the land of trouble and anguish (Isaiah 30:6). Isaiah indicates that these saraphs are comparable to [[Viperidae|vipers]],<sup>(YLT)</sup> worse than ordinary serpents (Isaiah 14:29).<ref name="Noth 1968"/> The prophet [[Isaiah]] also sees a vision of ''seraphim'' in the [[First Temple|Temple]] itself: but these are divine agents, with wings and human faces, and are probably not to be interpreted as serpent-like so much as "flame-like".<ref>{{harvnb|Hendel|1999|pp=746–47}}</ref>
===Serpent of bronze=== {{Further|Nehushtan}} In the [[Book of Numbers]], while [[Moses]] was in the wilderness, he mounted a serpent of bronze on a pole that functioned as a cure against the bite of the "seraphim", the "burning ones" ({{bibleverse||Numbers|21:4–9|HE}}). The phrase in Numbers 21:9, "a serpent of bronze", is a wordplay as "serpent" (''nehash'') and "bronze" (''nehoshet'') are closely related in Hebrew, ''nehash nehoshet''.<ref name="Olson 1996-2"/>
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<ref name="Nelson 2008">{{harvnb|Nelson|2008|p=172}}</ref> to practice a healing ritual known as [[sympathetic magic]] in an attempt to ward off, heal or reduce the impact of illness and poisons.<ref name="Olson 1996-2"/> Copper and bronze serpent figures have been recovered, showing that the practice was widespread.<ref name="Nelson 2008"/> 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.<ref name="Olson 1996-2"/> It has also been proposed that the bronze serpent was a type of intermediary between God and the people<ref name="Nelson 2008"/> that served as a test of obedience, in the form of free judgment,<ref name="Noth 1968-2">{{harvnb|Noth|1968|p=157}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Olson 1996">{{harvnb|Olson|1996|p=137}}</ref> Thus, this instrument bore witness to the sovereign power of [[Yahweh]] even over the dangerous and sinister character of the desert.<ref name="Noth 1968-2"/>
In {{bibleverse|2|Kings|18:4|HE}}, a bronze serpent, alleged to be the one Moses made, was kept in Jerusalem's Temple<ref name="Olson 1996-2"/> sanctuary.<ref name="Noth 1968">{{harvnb|Noth|1968|p=156}}</ref> 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]]''<ref>{{cite book|last=Joines|first=Karen Randolph|title=The Bronze Serpent in the Israelite Cult The Bronze Serpent in the Israelite Cult|year=1968|publisher=JOBL, 87|page=245, note 1}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Olson 1996-2"/>
==New Testament==
===Gospels=== In the [[Gospel of Matthew]], [[John the Baptist]] calls the [[Pharisee]]s and [[Saducees]], who were visiting him, a "brood of vipers" ({{bibleref|Matthew|3:7|KJV}}). [[Jesus]] also uses this imagery, observing: "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" ({{bibleref|Matthew|23:33|KJV}}). Alternatively, Jesus also presents the snake with a less negative connotation when sending out the [[Twelve Apostles]]. Jesus exhorted them, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as ''serpents'', and harmless as doves" ({{bibleref|Matthew|10:16|KJV}}). [[Wilhelm Gesenius]] notes that even amongst the ancient Hebrews, the serpent was a symbol of wisdom.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gesenius|first=Wilhelm & Samuel Prideaux Tregelles|title=Genenius's Hebrew and Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures|year=1893|publisher=J. Wiley & Sons|page=dccxcvi}}</ref>
In the [[Gospel of John]], Jesus made mention of the Mosaic serpent when he foretold his [[crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]] to a Jewish teacher.<ref name="Olson 1996"/> Jesus compared the act of raising up the Mosaic [[Nehushtan|serpent on a pole]], with the raising up of the [[Son of Man]] on a cross ({{bibleref|John|3:14–15|KJV}}).<ref>C. H. Spurgeon, [http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0153.htm "The Mysteries of the Brazen Serpent"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212034140/http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0153.htm |date=2013-02-12 }}, 1857</ref>
[[File:Ivory from Genoels-Elderen left.JPG|thumb|200px| [[Ivory]] of [[Christ treading on the beasts]] from [[Genoels-Elderen]], with four beasts; the [[basilisk]] was sometimes depicted as a bird with a long smooth tail.<ref>[[:File:Wenceslas Hollar - The basilisk and the weasel.jpg|The basilisk and the weasel]] by [[Wenceslas Hollar]]</ref> ]]
===Temptation of Christ=== In the [[temptation of Christ]], the [[Devil]] cites {{bibleref|Psalm|91:11-12|KJV}}, "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."<ref>{{bibleref|Matthew|4:6|KJV}})</ref> He cuts off before verse 13, "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon (''tanniyn'')<ref>[[Strong's Concordance]]: '''H8577'''</ref> shalt thou trample under feet."<ref>({{bibleref|Psalm|91:13|KJV}} KJV)</ref><ref>Whittaker, H.A. ''Studies in the Gospels'' "Matthew 4" Biblia, Cannock 1996</ref>
The serpent in Psalm 91:13 is identified as Satan by Christians:<ref>Psalm 91 in the Hebrew/Protestant numbering, 90 in the Greek/Catholic liturgical sequence – see [[Psalms#Numbering]]</ref> "''super [[Asp (reptile)|aspidem]] et [[Basilisk|basiliscum]] calcabis conculcabis leonem et draconem''" in the [[Latin Vulgate]], literally "The [[Asp (reptile)|asp]] and the [[basilisk]] you will trample under foot; you will tread on the [[lion]] and the [[dragon]]". This passage is commonly interpreted by Christians as a reference to Christ defeating and triumphing over Satan. The passage led to the [[Late Antique]] and [[Early Medieval]] [[iconography]] of [[Christ treading on the beasts]], in which two beasts are often shown, usually the lion and snake or dragon, and sometimes four, which are normally the lion, dragon, asp (snake) and basilisk (which was depicted with varying characteristics) of the Vulgate. All represented the devil, as explained by [[Cassiodorus]] and [[Bede]] in their commentaries on Psalm 91.<ref>Hilmo, Maidie. ''Medieval images, icons, and illustrated English literary texts: from Ruthwell Cross to the Ellesmere Chaucer'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2004, p. 37, {{ISBN|978-0-7546-3178-1}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgMMIyJ-BIIC&dq=Christ+treading+on+the+beasts&pg=PA48 google books]</ref> The serpent is often shown curled round the foot of the cross in depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus from [[Carolingian art]] until about the 13th century; often it is shown as dead. The crucifixion was regarded as the fulfillment of God's curse on the serpent in [[Genesis 3:15]]. Sometimes it is pierced by the cross and in one ivory is biting Christ's heel, as in the curse.<ref>Schiller, I, pp. 112–13, and many figures listed there. See also Index.</ref>
===Ancient serpent=== Serpent ([[Greek language|Greek:]] {{lang|grc|[[wikt:ὄφις|ὄφις]]}};<ref>[[Strong's Concordance]]: '''G3789'''</ref> [[Transliteration|Trans]]: ''Ophis'', {{IPA|/ˈo.fis/}}; "snake", "serpent") occurs in the [[Book of Revelation]] as the "ancient serpent"<ref>From the [[Greek language|Greek]]: ἀρχαῖος, ''archaios'' ({{IPA|/arˈxɛ.os/}}) – [[Strong's Concordance]] Number '''G744'''</ref> or "old serpent"<sup>([[Young's Literal Translation|YLT]])</sup> used to describe "the dragon",<sup>[20:2]</sup> [[Satan]]<ref>Σατανᾶς, ''[[Satan]]as'', ({{IPA|/sa.taˈnas/}}) – of [[Aramaic]] origin corresponding to Σατάν (G4566) – [[Strong's Concordance]] Number '''G4567'''</ref> the Adversary,<sup>(YLT)</sup> who is the [[devil]].<sup>[12:9, 20:2]</sup> This serpent is depicted as a red seven-headed dragon having ten horns, each housed with a [[diadem]]. The serpent battles [[Michael (archangel)|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 [[the Beast (Revelation)| Beast]]. Unable to obtain her, he wages war with the rest of her seed (Revelation 12:1–18). He who has the key to ''[[Abyss (religion)|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" of Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 is commonly identified with the serpent of Genesis and with Satan or the Devil. This identification is not explicit in Genesis itself, where the serpent is not named as Satan or the Devil, but became important in later Christian interpretation of the Eden narrative.<ref>[[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.</ref>
==Religious views== ===Biblical apocrypha and deuterocanonical books === The first [[Deuterocanonical books|deuterocanonical]] source to connect the serpent with the devil may be [[Wisdom of Solomon]].<ref>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)".</ref> The subject is more developed in the [[pseudepigrapha]]l-[[Biblical apocrypha|apocryphal]] [[Apocalypse of Moses]] ([[Vita Adae et Evae]]) where the devil works with the serpent.<ref>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, ..."</ref>
===Christianity=== [[File:BibliaPauperum.jpg|thumb|Medieval illustration of Eve and the serpent in the [[Garden of Eden]]. Folio from the ''[[Biblia pauperum]]'', 14th–15th century.]] 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".<ref>[[Gertrud Schiller|Schiller, Gertrud]], ''Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. I'', p. 108 & fig. 280, 1971 (English trans. from German), Lund Humphries, London, {{ISBN|0-85331-270-2}}</ref>
===Gnosticism=== {{Main|Gnosticism}} {{Further|Gnostic texts|Naassenes|Ophites}} [[File:Lion-faced deity.jpg|thumb|A lion-faced, [[Snakes in mythology|serpentine]] [[deity]] found on a Gnostic gem in [[Bernard de Montfaucon]]'s ''L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures'', a depiction of Yaldabaoth.]]
Gnosticism originated in the late 1st century CE in non-rabbinical Jewish and [[Early Christianity|early Christian]] sects.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Magris |first=Aldo |year=2005 |title=Gnosticism: Gnosticism from its origins to the Middle Ages (further considerations) |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Lindsay |encyclopedia=Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion |edition=2nd |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Macmillan Inc.]] |pages=3515–16 |isbn=978-0028657332 |oclc=56057973}}</ref> In the [[History of early Christianity|formation of Christianity]], various [[sectarian]] groups, labeled "gnostics" by their opponents, emphasised spiritual knowledge (''[[gnosis]]'') of the divine spark within, over faith (''pistis'') in the teachings and traditions of the various communities of Christians.<ref name="May-2008">{{cite book |author-last=May |author-first=Gerhard |year=2008 |chapter=Part V: The Shaping of Christian Theology – Monotheism and creation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UTfmw_zStsC&pg=PA434 |editor1-last=Mitchell |editor1-first=Margaret M. |editor1-link=Margaret M. Mitchell |editor2-last=Young |editor2-first=Frances M. |editor2-link=Frances Young |title=The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 1: Origins to Constantine |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=434–51, 452–56 |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521812399.026 |isbn=9781139054836}}</ref><ref name="Ehrman-2005">{{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |author-link=Bart D. Ehrman |year=2005 |orig-year=2003 |title=Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew |chapter=Christians "In The Know": The Worlds of Early Christian Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URdACxKubDIC&pg=PA113 |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=113–34 |doi=10.1017/s0009640700110273 |isbn=978-0-19-518249-1 |lccn=2003053097 |s2cid=152458823}}</ref><ref name="Brakke-2010">{{cite book |last=Brakke |first=David |year=2010 |title=The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3EQ1XwHg0o0C&pg=PA18 |location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |pages=18–51 |isbn=9780674066038 |jstor=j.ctvjnrvhh.6 |s2cid=169308502}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Layton |first=Bentley |author-link=Bentley Layton |year=1999 |chapter=Prolegomena to the Study of Ancient Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GC4vwTXJSaMC&pg=PA106 |editor-last=Ferguson |editor-first=Everett |editor-link=Everett Ferguson |title=Doctrinal Diversity: Varieties of Early Christianity |location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]] |publisher=Garland Publishing, Inc |series=Recent Studies in Early Christianity: A Collection of Scholarly Essays |pages=106–23 |isbn=0-8153-3071-5}}</ref> Gnosticism presents a distinction between the [[Monad (Gnosticism)|highest, unknowable God]], and the [[Demiurge#Gnosticism|Demiurge]], "creator" of the material universe.<ref name="May-2008"/><ref name="Ehrman-2005"/><ref name="Brakke-2010"/><ref name="Kvam 1999-2">{{cite book |editor1-last=Kvam |editor1-first=Kristen E. |editor2-last=Schearing |editor2-first=Linda S. |editor3-last=Ziegler |editor3-first=Valarie H. |year=1999 |chapter=Early Christian Interpretations (50–450 CE) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux3bSDa2rHkC&pg=PA108 |title=Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |pages=108–55 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.8 |isbn=9780253212719 |jstor=j.ctt2050vqm.8}}</ref> The Gnostics considered the most [[Essential property|essential]] part of the process of [[salvation]] to be this personal knowledge, in contrast to faith as an outlook in their worldview along with faith in the [[Great Church|ecclesiastical authority]].<ref name="May-2008"/><ref name="Ehrman-2005"/><ref name="Brakke-2010"/><ref name="Kvam 1999-2"/>
In Gnosticism, the biblical serpent in the Garden of Eden was praised and thanked for bringing knowledge (''[[gnosis]]'') to Adam and Eve and thereby freeing them from the [[Dystheism|malevolent]] [[Demiurge#Gnosticism|Demiurge]]'s control.<ref name="Kvam 1999-2"/> Gnostic Christian doctrines rely on a [[dualistic cosmology]] that implies the eternal conflict between good and evil, and a conception of the serpent as the [[Salvation|liberating savior]] and bestower of knowledge to humankind opposed to the Demiurge or creator god, identified with the [Hebrew God of the Old Testament.<ref name="Ehrman-2005"/><ref name="Kvam 1999-2"/> Gnostic Christians considered the Hebrew God of the Old Testament as the evil, [[false god]] and creator of the material universe, and the [[Monad (Gnosticism)|Unknown God]] of the Gospel, the father of Jesus Christ and creator of the spiritual world, as the true, good God.<ref name="May-2008"/><ref name="Ehrman-2005"/><ref name="Kvam 1999-2"/><ref name="Bousset, Wilhelm-1911">{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Valentinus and the Valentinians|author=Bousset, Wilhelm|author-link=Wilhelm Bousset|volume=27|pages=852–57|short=x}}</ref> In the [[Archontics|Archontic]], [[Sethianism|Sethian]], and [[Ophites|Ophite]] systems, [[Yaldabaoth]] (Yahweh) is regarded as the malevolent Demiurge and false god of the Old Testament who generated the material universe and keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the world full of pain and suffering that he created.<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Litwa |author-first=M. David |year=2016 |orig-date=2015 |chapter=Part I: The Self-deifying Rebel – “I Am God and There is No Other!”: The Boast of Yaldabaoth |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwcBDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 |title=Desiring Divinity: Self-deification in Early Jewish and Christian Mythmaking |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=47–65 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190467166.003.0004 |isbn=9780199967728 |lccn=2015051032 |oclc=966607824}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Fischer-Mueller |first=E. Aydeet |date=January 1990 |title=Yaldabaoth: The Gnostic Female Principle in Its Fallenness |journal=[[Novum Testamentum]] |volume=32 |issue=1 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |pages=79–95 |doi=10.1163/156853690X00205 |eissn=1568-5365 |issn=0048-1009 |jstor=1560677}}</ref><ref>{{Catholic Encyclopedia |wstitle=Demiurge |volume=4 |first=John Peter |last=Arendzen}}</ref>
However, not all Gnostic movements regarded the creator of the material universe as inherently evil or malevolent.<ref name="Bousset, Wilhelm-1911"/><ref name="Logan-2002">{{cite book |author-last=Logan |author-first=Alastair H. B. |year=2002 |orig-date=2000 |chapter=Part IX: Internal Challenges – Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fyCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA923 |editor-last=Esler |editor-first=Philip F. |title=The Early Christian World |location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |series=Routledge Worlds |pages=923–25 |isbn=9781032199344}}</ref> For instance, [[Valentinianism|Valentinians]] believed that the Demiurge is merely an ignorant and incompetent creator, trying to fashion the world as good as he can, but lacking the proper power to maintain its goodness.<ref name="Bousset, Wilhelm-1911"/><ref name="Logan-2002"/> All Gnostics were regarded as [[Heresy in Christianity|heretics]] by the [[Proto-orthodox Christianity|proto-orthodox]] [[Early Church Fathers]].<ref name="May-2008"/><ref name="Ehrman-2005"/><ref name="Brakke-2010"/><ref name="Kvam 1999-2"/>
==See also== {{div col|colwidth=20em}} * [[Aaron's rod]] * [[Caduceus]]{{snd}}Staff of Mercury and staff of Hermes * [[Caduceus as a symbol of medicine]] * [[Chinese dragon]] * [[Church of God with Signs Following]] * [[Dragons in Greek mythology]] * [[Ethnoherpetology]] * [[Lucifer]] * [[Naassenes]] * [[Nāga]] * [[Narayana]] * [[Ningishzida]] * [[Ophites]] * [[Protoevangelium]] * [[Rod of Asclepius]] * [[Serpent seed]] * [[Snake worship]] * [[Staff of Moses]] * [[Yaldabaoth]] {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
===Works cited=== * {{cite book|last=Gorton|first=John G|title=A philosophical dictionary, from the French of M. De Voltaire|year=1824|publisher=C. H. Reynell|location=London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INMGAAAAQAAJ&q=Voltaire+%27%27A+philosophical+dictionary%27%27+1824 |author2=Voltaire|volume= 4|page=22}} * {{cite book |last = Hendel |first = Ronald S. |chapter = Serpent |editor1-last = Van der Toorn |editor1-first = Karel |editor1-link = Karel van der Toorn |editor2-last = Becking |editor2-first = Bob |editor3-last = Van der Horst |editor3-first = Pieter W. |title = Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible |publisher = [[Brill Publishers]] |location= [[Leiden]] |pages = 744–47 |year = 1999 |edition = 2nd |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA744 |isbn = 90-04-11119-0}} * {{cite book|title=The Chronological Study Bible: New King James version.|year=2008|publisher=Thomas Nelson|location=Nashville, Tenn.|isbn=978-0-7180-2068-2|first=Thomas |last=Nelson|page=172}} * {{cite book|last=Noth|first=Martin|author-link=Martin Noth|title=Numbers: A Commentary|year=1968|publisher=[[Westminster John Knox Press]]|isbn=978-0-664-22320-5|issue=613|volume=7|pages=155–58}} * {{cite book|last=Olson|first=Dennis T.|title=Numbers|year=1996|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|location=Louisville|isbn=978-0-8042-3104-6|pages=135–38}}
== External links == * {{Commons category-inline|Snakes in the Bible}}
{{Adam and Eve}} {{Reptiles in culture}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Serpents in the Bible| ]] [[Category:Adam and Eve]] [[Category:Animals in the Bible]] [[Category:Christian mythology]] [[Category:Dragons]] [[Category:Garden of Eden]] [[Category:Jewish mythology]] [[Category:Judeo-Christian topics]] [[Category:Legendary serpents]] [[Category:Satan in Bible verses]] [[Category:Snakes in religion]] [[Category:Talking animals in mythology]] [[Category:Anthropomorphic reptiles]]