the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Serpent (2)
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament
or (ὄφις)
Apart from the Gospels, the only occurrences of the word ‘serpent’ in the NT are in the Epistles to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 10:9, 2 Corinthians 11:3) and in the Apocalypse (Revelation 9:19; Revelation 12:9; Revelation 12:14-15; Revelation 20:2). In 1 Corinthians 10:9 the writer exhorts his readers not to tempt Christ sorely as the Israelites did, with the result that they were allowed to perish from time to time (ἀπώλλυντο) by the inflammatory bites of serpents. In the second passage (2 Corinthians 11:3) he expressed the fear lest, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so the minds of the Corinthian converts should be corrupted from the simplicity and single-mindedness of Christ. In both cases the tempter is Satan, and in both cases his nefarious work is accomplished by subtlety and deception, but in Genesis his agent is the serpent, while here the ‘ministers’ of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:15) are the Judaizers (2 Corinthians 11:13). In Revelation 12:9 the Devil appears in his time-honoured rôle as a serpent, and he is identified both with the great Dragon and with the person called ‘Satan’ in the later books of the OT and in Jewish literature. The name ‘Satan’ was familiar to the later Jews, and occurs fourteen times (ὁ σατανᾶς) in the Gospels, twice in the Acts of the Apostles, ten times, in the Pauline Epistles, and eight times in the Apocalypse. The earth was no new sphere for the exercise of his devilish activities, but henceforth his scope was to be confined thereto, and this limitation of his powers seems only to have intensified his animosity and desire for revenge. A torrent of water issued from his mouth (Revelation 12:15) which was designed to sweep away the Woman, but this malicious attempt recoiled on the Devil’s own head, and the destructive flood was swallowed up by the earth which was his own domain. The purpose to which the Roman Emperors set themselves was to eradicate and stamp out the very name of Christianity as well as the memory of the Founder of that religion. The futility and complete failure of the attempt are too obvious to admit of comment. In Revelation 20:2 the Devil is again identified with the great Dragon and Satan. The Dragon has from the outset (Revelation 13:2; Revelation 13:4) been the real instigator and author of the revolt led by the Beast and the False Prophet, but hitherto he has escaped justice. Now, however, he is seized and bound for a period of a thousand years. The period of his imprisonment is indeed limited, but its length forms a striking contrast to the short duration of heathenism-a thousand two hundred and threescore days (Revelation 11:3 ff.).
In Revelation 9:19 the tails of the horses in the vision are likened to serpents, just as the tails of the locusts in Revelation 9:3 are compared to scorpions. The power of these horses resides in their mouth and in their tails. The tails are incongruously said to have heads, but the incongruity is perhaps atoned for by the additional horror thereby imparted to these superhuman animals.
Serpents are very common in Palestine and in the wilderness of Sinai; over thirty species are known, the majority of which are, however, harmless. Most of the innocuous serpents belong to the genera Ablabes and Zamanis of the Colubrine family. Many of these are brilliantly coloured; they are well proportioned and slender, with a gradually tapering tail, and they live exclusively on land. The majority are of rather small size, but some are very large. A species very frequently found in the marshes and lakes is the Tropidonotus hydrus. A few species of harmless sand-snakes have also been found, of which the Eryx jaculus is the most common.
The poisonous snakes of the country are the following: the cobra (Naja haje), and four viperine snakes, two true vipers, the Vipera euphratica and the Vipera ammodytes, the Daboia xanthina, and the Echis arenicola, a dangerous reptile which is very frequently encountered in the hotter and drier parts of the country. With the exception of the Daboia xanthina, they all belong to the Mediterranean and North African fauna, or are closely allied thereto. The Daboia xanthina is a beautifully marked yellow serpent and the largest of the vipers in Palestine, as well as one of the most dangerous. The Naja haje, or Egyptian cobra, is of rare occurrence. It is the species especially popular with snake-charmers. Another very deadly serpent is the Cerastes hasselquistii, or ‘horned serpent.’ It lies in ambush in depressions in the way (cf. Genesis 49:17) and attacks the wayfarer. It is 12 or 18 ins. long, and of a sandy colour with brown or blackish spots. See, further, Asp, Viper.
Literature.-H. B, Tristram, Survey of Western Palestine, London, 1884, p. 140 f., The Natural History of the Bible10, do., 1911, pp. 269-277; W. M. Thomson, The Land and the Book, 3 vols., do., 1881-86, vol. i. ‘South Palestine and Jerusalem,’ pp. 188-189; J. C. Geikie, The Holy Land and the Bible, do., 1903, pp. 88-90; Hastings’ Single-vol. Dictionary of the Bible , p. 837; Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) iv. 459-460; Encyclopaedia Biblica iv. 4391-4397; H. B. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John 2, London, 1907, pp. 124, 154, 159, 260; The Speaker’s Commentary, do., 1881, vol. iii. pp. 310-311, 457-458.
P. S. P. Handcock.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Serpent (2)'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/s/serpent-2.html. 1906-1918.
