snake (Heb. nakhash /שחנ)
1. The Snake Among the Animals of Genesis 1
2. The Snake As a Symbol of Disorder and Sorcery
Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet 11 ‘This plant… is the “Plant of Heartbeat”, with it a man can regain his vigour…. ‘Its name shall be “Old Man Grown Young”, I will eat it myself, and be again as I was in my youth!’… Gilgamesh found a pool whose water was cool, down he went into it, to bathe in the water. Of the plant’s fragrance a snake caught scent, came up [in silence], and carried off the plant. As it turned away it shed its skin. Then Gilgamesh sat down and wept, down his cheeks the tears were coursing. —STEPHANIE DALLEY, MYTHS FROM MESOPOTAMIA (OXFORD WORLD CLASSICS), P. 119.
Throughout the ancient world, [the serpent] was endowed with divine or semidivine qualities; it was venerated as an emblem of health, fertility, immortality, occult wisdom, and chaotic evil; and it was often worshipped. The serpent played a significant role in the mythology, the religious symbolism, and the cults of the ancient Near East. —NAHUM SARNA, GENESIS (JPS COMMENTARY).
Deuteronomy 18:9-11
2 Kings 21:5-6
3. The Snake As a Figure in the Heavenly Throne Room
Isaiah 6:1-2
Numbers 21:6
Isaiah 14:29
Ezekiel 28:6-17
Ezekiel provides us with the earliest interpretation of the Genesis 3 snake within the Bible itself. The snake is understood to be a spiritual being, one of the winged throne guardians, a “living creature” (a.k.a. cherubim) in the garden temple. But as we learned from the “last will be first” design pattern in Genesis, it seems that we’re meant to infer that this snake resented coming under the authority of the human creatures whose origins were of dirt. And so this glorious creature misused its honored place of God-given authority and rebelled by seducing the humans into misusing their authority in the same way. In this way, the snake represents a spiritual rebellion that coincides with the earthly rebellion of the humans. Genesis 3 portrays the fall of humanity and the fall of the spiritual rebel. —The Bible Project, From Adam to Noah
“How are we supposed to understand the serpent’s function in the story? On the one hand the author wants to convey the idea of a actual snake, one of the animals Yahweh had made. But it is precisely this referential comment that raises a clear tension: What about this snake’s ability to speak? And how is it that the snake is more shrewd and knowledgable than humans? If the text intentionally raises such questions and then leaves them unanswered, it’s clear that this is a purposeful and deliberate means of creating a mystery. More than that, the narrative wants to present the temptation’s power and effectiveness as resting on this mysterious nature. Therefore, we may not expect the text to satisfy our curiosity. It seeks to not only communicate the scene from Eve’s point of view, but also seeks to evoke curiosity in the reader as a literary device to draw them into the narrative. The author wants the readers to experience the power and elusiveness of the snake “first hand,” as it were.” —MARTIN EMMRICH, “THE TEMPTATION NARRATIVE IN GENESIS AS A PRELUDE TO THE PENTATEUCH AND HISTORY OF ISRAEL,” P. 8.> According to Israel’s Scripture, animals can speak when they are in proximity to God. A biblical example of this phenomenon occurs when an angel appears before Balaam and his donkey: “When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam, and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’” (Numbers 22:27-28). The donkey goes on to dialogue with Balaam just as Eve engages the snake in Eden (cf. Num 22:29-30; Gen 3:1-5). —Dr. Nicholas J. Schaser -From the Israel Bible Center
Most Christians Get This WRONG About the Serpent - Answers in Genesis
Was the Snake of Genesis 3 a Spiritual Being? - Dr. Michael S. Heiser
Bibliography
Mangum, Douglas, Miles Custis, and Wendy Widder. Genesis 1–11. Lexham Research Commentaries. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012.
https://bibleproject.com/course/adam-noah/
https://www.gotquestions.org/two-Creation-accounts.html
Terje Stordalen, Echoes of Eden: Genesis 2-3 and Symbolism of the Garden of Eden in Biblical Hebrew Literature
Seth Postell, Adam as Israel: Genesis 1-3 as the Introduction to the Torah and Tanakh
John H. Walton. About The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2–3 and the Human Origins Debate
https://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2006/02/literal-renderings-of-texts-of.html
https://weekly.israelbiblecenter.com/snake-garden-serpent-satan
https://weekly.israelbiblecenter.com/why-did-the-serpent-speak?via=f1d21ea&utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IBC_lead_drip_content_E19_why-did-the-serpent-speak_2023-7-27#f1d21ea