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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(creeper). The
Hebrew
original embraces the entire
serpent
genus. Serpents numerous and venomous in
Bible
lands.
The word
appears in
Scripture
under various
names
;
adder
, supposedly the cerastes (
Gen. 49:17
17
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. (Genesis 49:17)
);
asp
, or cobra (
Deut. 32:33
33
Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps. (Deuteronomy 32:33)
);
cockatrice
(
Jer. 8:17
17
For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 8:17)
);
viper
(
Job 20:16
16
He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him. (Job 20:16)
). Subtile (
Gen. 3:1
1
Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1)
); wise (
Matt. 10:16
16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16)
); poisonous (
Prov. 23:32
32
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. (Proverbs 23:32)
); sharp-tongued (
Psa. 140:3
3
They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah. (Psalm 140:3)
); charmed (
Psa. 58:5
5
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. (Psalm 58:5)
); emblem of wickedness (
Matt. 23:33
33
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Matthew 23:33)
); cruelty (
Psa. 58:4
4
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; (Psalm 58:4)
); treachery (
Gen. 49:17
17
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. (Genesis 49:17)
);
the devil
(
Rev. 12:9-15
9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
13
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
14
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
15
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. (Revelation 12:9‑15)
); fiery serpents sent as a
punishment
(
Num. 21:6
6
And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. (Numbers 21:6)
); sight of “
brazen serpent
,” an antidote for
poison
of bite (
Num. 21:8-9
8
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (Numbers 21:8‑9)
); “fiery flying serpent,” a probable allusion to
dragon
(
Isa. 14:29
29
Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. (Isaiah 14:29)
).
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
The
Hebrew
word most commonly translated serpent is
nachash
, agreeing with
ὅφις
in the
New
Testament
, so called because of its “hissing.” These words are used for the serpent that beguiled
Eve
(
Gen. 3:1-14
1
Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
9
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13
And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: (Genesis 3:1‑14)
;
2 Cor. 11:3
3
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3)
), and in other passages where
Satan
is alluded to (
Isa. 27:1
1
In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. (Isaiah 27:1)
;
Rev. 12:9-15
9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
13
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
14
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
15
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. (Revelation 12:9‑15)
;
Rev. 20:2
2
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, (Revelation 20:2)
). SERPENT (COBRA).
Satan has succeeded in causing the serpent to be worshipped all over
the world
.
Nachash
is also
the word
for the serpents that bit the Israelites in
Numbers 21:6-9
6
And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
7
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
8
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (Numbers 21:6‑9)
. In
Numbers 21:8
8
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (Numbers 21:8)
, for the serpent that
Moses
was told to make, the word is
saraph
, “FIERY SERPENT,” signifying that the
poison
burnt like
fire
, as we say “a burning pain,” though the serpents may also have been of a red color. From the bite of these serpents much people died.
The serpents mentioned in
Isaiah 14:29
29
Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. (Isaiah 14:29)
and
Isaiah 30:6
6
The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. (Isaiah 30:6)
, are described as “FIERY FLYING SERPENTS.” There is no known species of serpent that
fly
: the allusion may be to those which
dart
short distances from tree to tree; but in both the passages the language is figurative.
Three
other words are translated “serpent:”
zachal
(
Deut. 32:24
24
They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. (Deuteronomy 32:24)
); tannin (
Ex. 7:9-12
9
When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
10
And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11
Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
12
For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. (Exodus 7:9‑12)
)—to what particular species these refer is not known; and
ἑρπετόν
(James. 3:7), this word refers to any creeping thing or reptile.
The taming and charming of serpents is alluded to, which shows that it was an ancient practice (
Psa. 58:4-5
4
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
5
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. (Psalm 58:4‑5)
;
Eccl. 10:11
11
Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better. (Ecclesiastes 10:11)
;
Jer. 8:17
17
For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 8:17)
).
The
Lord
bade His disciples be as wise as serpents, probably an allusion to
Genesis 3:1
1
Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1)
. The word “subtle” there is translated by the same word in the LXX as used in this
passage
. It is “prudence.”
Download (1.5 MB)
King Cobra
From
Manners and Customs of the Bible
:
Psalm 58:4-5
4
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
5
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. (Psalm 58:4‑5)
. They are like the deaf
adder
that stoppeth her
ear
; which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
Serpent
charming has from remote
times
been practiced among Oriental nations. While there is doubtless imposture often associated with the exhibitions of serpent charmers, yet there are many carefully observing travelers who give it as their opinion, from their own observation, that there are men who, in some way, can detect the presence of serpents in houses and old walls, and can draw them out and keep them from doing mischief by the
power
of shrill musical notes. Since none of the serpent tribe have any external ear, and consequently can only hear very sharp sounds, it is hardly necessary to explain the deafness of the adder as willful, occasioned, as some old travelers have gravely asserted, by putting one ear to the
dust
and stopping the other with its tail.
Some travelers give it as their opinion that all the serpents exhibited by the charmers have previously had their fangs extracted, while others assert that some of the serpents thus sported with have afterward given unmistakable evidence of still possessing the
death
-dealing power. Forbes gives a curious illustration of this. He once painted the
picture
of a cobra de capello, which a Hindu snake
charmer
kept dancing on the
table
for a whole
hour
, while the artist was at his work. During this
time
he “frequently handled it to observe the beauty of the spots and especially the spectaclos on the hood, not doubting but that its venomous fangs had been previously extracted.” The next morning his
servant
informed him, very much to his astonishment, that “while purchasing some fruit in the bazar he had observed the
man
who had been with me on the preceding
evening
entertaining the country people with his dancing snakes. They, according to their usual
custom
, sat on the ground around him, when, either from the
music
stopping too suddenly, or from some other cause irritating the vicious reptile which I had so often handled, it darted at the throat of a young
woman
, and inflicted a wound of which she died in about half an hour” (
Oriental Memoirs,
vol.1, p. 44).
Besides the text, reference is made to serpent charming in several other passages.
Solomon
refers to it in
Ecclesiastes 10:11
11
Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better. (Ecclesiastes 10:11)
: “Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a
babbler
is no better.” In the
prophecy
of
Jeremiah
, there is allusion made to the same custom: “For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the
Lord
” (
Jer. 8:17
17
For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 8:17)
).
Related Books and Articles:
439. Serpent Charming
From:
Manners and Customs of the Bible
By:
James M. Freeman
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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