Th Serpent In The Bible

[Fr. Antony Maria OSB]

I was just reading Exodus, when God tells Moses to throw his staff on the ground and the staf turns into a serpent, and I was wondering why the staff would turn into a serpent. In Genesis, the serpent is shown as the instigator of sin, per se, by tempting Eve, but in Exodus the serpent is a sign that Moses is indeed sent by God. I don't know anything about the original translations, so are different words used in these cases, or are the the same word? If they're the same, then does anyone have any idea why the staff of Moses would turn into a serpent?

[abercius24]

[quote name='NazFarmer' post='1663856' date='Sep 25 2008, 09:18 PM']I was just reading Exodus, when God tells Moses to throw his staff on the ground and the staf turns into a serpent, and I was wondering why the staff would turn into a serpent. In Genesis, the serpent is shown as the instigator of sin, per se, by tempting Eve, but in Exodus the serpent is a sign that Moses is indeed sent by God. I don't know anything about the original translations, so are different words used in these cases, or are the the same word? If they're the same, then does anyone have any idea why the staff of Moses would turn into a serpent?[/quote]

From what I understand, the serpent represents a Christ-like, Messianic figure. In the case of the evil serpents (the Serpent in the Garden and Pharaoh's serpents), they take on a role similar to that of the Anti-Christ. The Serpent from the Rod of Aaron (Moses' brother) and the Serpent in the Desert (the well-known medical symbol for healing; Numbers 21:8) represent Jesus Christ the True Messiah. It was Jesus who was raised up on a pole that healed us of our spiritual illness -- our sins. Even the Protoevangelium in Genesis 3:15 shows a diametic relationship between the Serpent and Jesus:

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel."

I also read somewhere that the Hebrew word for Serpent has the same root as the Hebrew word Messiah. I'll have to look that up and get back with you.

Edited September 26, 2008 by abercius24

[thessalonian]

That is very interesting. I never thought of it but it probably is a forshadowing of the anti-christ. I wonder as well with the bronze serpant if that is a forshadowing of the anti-christ since their comes a point when the Jews worship it and so it is destroyed. I believe that the serpant also reflects how the trials and sufferings and ugliness of the cross in this world that we brought in to it by the serpant are used to bring about our salvation. A paradox in the defeat of the serpant, the crushing of his head is brought about through his own folly of thinking he can win with the suffering that he perpetuates.

[StColette]

What's really cool is what plagues were chosen for Egypt. Each of them represented a false god of Egypt and how the one true God would smite false god worship.

For example,

To the Egyptian people the Nile River was something to be worshiped like a god. When the Nile was turned red with blood it was meant to symbolize the "death" of that god. I mean, who wouldn't freak out if they saw their "god" bleeding.

I could go on with the others but I don't have my notes from my class that dealt with this. I'll dig them up and post about them one day.

[thessalonian]

[quote name='StColette' post='1664164' date='Sep 26 2008, 12:16 PM']What's really cool is what plagues were chosen for Egypt. Each of them represented a false god of Egypt and how the one true God would smite false god worship.

For example,

To the Egyptian people the Nile River was something to be worshiped like a god. When the Nile was turned red with blood it was meant to symbolize the "death" of that god. I mean, who wouldn't freak out if they saw their "god" bleeding.

I could go on with the others but I don't have my notes from my class that dealt with this. I'll dig them up and post about them one day.[/quote]

That sounds really cool.

[abercius24]

[quote name='StColette' post='1664164' date='Sep 26 2008, 12:16 PM']What's really cool is what plagues were chosen for Egypt. Each of them represented a false god of Egypt and how the one true God would smite false god worship.

For example,

To the Egyptian people the Nile River was something to be worshiped like a god. When the Nile was turned red with blood it was meant to symbolize the "death" of that god. I mean, who wouldn't freak out if they saw their "god" bleeding.

I could go on with the others but I don't have my notes from my class that dealt with this. I'll dig them up and post about them one day.[/quote]

Please, do find your notes. I myself am very intrigued.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='abercius24' post='1664799' date='Sep 26 2008, 10:43 PM']Please, do find your notes. I myself am very intrigued.[/quote]
Me too! There's just a couple places in the Bible that I can't explain to people who don't understand, and the plagues are one of them.

[StColette]

I'll do my best to find them, if I don't I know my hubby knows at least a brief description of most of the plagues and what false gods they symbolized. Helps when both of us took the same prof.

[Archaeology cat]

Hapi is the god of the Nile. It was also the responsibility of the pharaoh to ensure the Nile was safe (one of his duties was killing hippos) and that the seasonal floods came so that the crops could be planted. So it would also be an attack on pharaoh's power.

For the other plagues:
frogs - Heqt, frog-headed goddess of fertility
gnats - Geb, god of earth & first ruler of Egypt
flies - Kheper, solar deity, scarab beetle, symbol of the dawn
cattle - either an attack on the sacred Apis bull (associated w/ Ptah-Sokar-Osiris) or in reference to Hathor, the cow-headed solar-deity, and perhaps the god(des) referred to by the golden calf
boils - Isis or Imhotep - gods of healing
hail - Nut, the sky goddess, or Horus, the falcon (sky god; pharaoh was believed to be the embodiment of Horus on earth)
locusts - Set, god of crops
darkness - Re, the sun god
first born - pharaoh, the embodiment of Horus on earth, and the embodiment of Osiris in death

There may be other references, since the Egyptians had many, many gods.

[StColette]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1665646' date='Sep 28 2008, 11:28 AM']Hapi is the god of the Nile. It was also the responsibility of the pharaoh to ensure the Nile was safe (one of his duties was killing hippos) and that the seasonal floods came so that the crops could be planted. So it would also be an attack on pharaoh's power.

For the other plagues:
frogs - Heqt, frog-headed goddess of fertility
gnats - Geb, god of earth & first ruler of Egypt
flies - Kheper, solar deity, scarab beetle, symbol of the dawn
cattle - either an attack on the sacred Apis bull (associated w/ Ptah-Sokar-Osiris) or in reference to Hathor, the cow-headed solar-deity, and perhaps the god(des) referred to by the golden calf
boils - Isis or Imhotep - gods of healing
hail - Nut, the sky goddess, or Horus, the falcon (sky god; pharaoh was believed to be the embodiment of Horus on earth)
locusts - Set, god of crops
darkness - Re, the sun god
first born - pharaoh, the embodiment of Horus on earth, and the embodiment of Osiris in death

There may be other references, since the Egyptians had many, many gods.[/quote]

lol Arch Cat beat me to it