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Bible Dictionaries
Serpent
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament
or SERPENT.—The prevalence of serpents in ancient Palestine is illustrated by the fact that no fewer than 11 Heb. words are rendered ‘serpent’ in OT. Tristram (Nat. Hist. of Bible) states that 33 different species of serpent are still found in Syria. Of 18 varieties which he himself secured, 13 were innocuous and 4 deadly, including cobras and vipers. Naturally there are numerous references, in the OT, in the NT, and in Rabbinical literature, to serpents as well-known but generally disagreeable inhabitants of the country. So unpleasantly common were they, that it was regarded as one of the perpetual miracles of Jerusalem that no one was ever bitten by a serpent there. The references in the Gospels may conveniently be grouped under three heads.
1. In Matthew 10:16 our Lord charges His disciples, ‘Be ye wise as serpents’ (φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις). There may be here a reference to Genesis 3:1 ‘the serpent was more subtil (עָרוּם) than any beast of the field.’ The Heb. word means ‘shrewd,’ and is used also in a good sense (cf. Proverbs 12:16; Proverbs 12:23), although the parallel root in Arabic suggests only a bad sense. It is probable, however, that our Lord refers to the well-known habits of the serpent, its ability to conceal itself in unexpected places, and to escape swiftly and silently in time of danger (cf. נָחָשׁ בָּרִחַ ‘the swift serpent’ Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 , Job 26:13, Isaiah 27:1).
2. But the phrase which follows in Matthew 10:16 ‘and harmless (ἀκέραιοι) as doves,’ suggests that there was also in the mind of Jesus the equally well-known reputation of the serpent as a dangerous reptile; and this is borne out by other passages in the Gospels. Almost parallel are Mark 16:18 ‘they shall take up serpents,’ and Luke 10:19 ‘I give you power over serpents’; while the noxious and repulsive nature of the serpent is referred to in Matthew 7:10, Luke 11:11 ‘if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?’
In all the above passages, ὄφις, the generic name for a serpent, is used. But in Matthew 3:7; Matthew 12:34; Matthew 23:33, Luke 3:7 we find ἔχιδνα, which probably means a poisonous serpent, and is rendered ‘viper’ both in Authorized Version and Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 . In Matthew 23:33 Jesus employs both words to describe the Pharisees—ὄφεις, γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν, ‘serpents, offspring [see Generation] of vipers’ (cf. Micah 7:17).
3. Very different is the passage John 3:14 ‘and as Moses lifted up the serpent (τὸν ὄφιν) in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,’ where the reference is to the plague of serpents among the Israelites in the wilderness and the miraculous cure, as recorded in Numbers 21:6-9. Full consideration of this passage, and of its relation to 2 Kings 18:4, does not fall within the scope of this article (see art. ‘Nehushtan’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible iii. 510b). It is interesting, however, to note, in connexion with John 3:14, that both passages in the OT have been regarded as pointing to serpent-worship in some form among the early Hebrews.
Literature.—On the symbolism of the serpent: Baudissin, Studien zur Semit. Religiongesch. i. 257–292; Nöldeke, ‘Die Schlange nach arab. [Note: Arabic.] Volksglauben’ in Ztschr. f. Völkerpsychologie. On natural history: Tristram, Nat. Hist. of the Bible; O. Günther, Die Reptilien und Amphibien von Syrien; Doughty, Arabia Deserta. See also Schultz, OT Theol. (English translation ) ii. 272; Sayce, Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia, pp. 208–214; Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible iv. 459.
G. Gordon Stott.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Serpent'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/s/serpent.html. 1906-1918.
