All we learn from the passages that speak of the viper is that its bite was poisonous: “the viper’s tongue shall slay him.” When one fixed on Paul’s hand they expected that he would drop down dead. What species of serpent is alluded to is unknown. It is only otherwise referred to in the New Testament as symbolical of evil ones. John the Baptist called the multitude who came to be baptized “a brood of vipers,” and the Lord applies the same term to the scribes and Pharisees, showing the deadly character of their opposition (Job 20:16; Isa. 30:6; Isa. 59:5; Matt. 3:7; Matt. 12:34; Matt. 23:33; Luke 3:7; Acts 28:3).
Horned Viper