The Good and Evil Serpent (113 page)

In the ostraca, letters, and texts found in the Judean Desert and at Petra, V)n] appears. In these nonbiblical writings the noun means only “copper” (viz. at Petra and dated to 28
CE
and in the Nahal Hever and dated to 94
CE
).
¹³²

The negative connotation of
increases in postbiblical or modern Hebrew, since “an evil man” DTK) is simply, as in English, called “a snake.”
¹³³
While the negative meaning of the noun is paramount in postbiblical Hebrew, the compiler of
Perek Shirah
has the
saying: “God supports all the fallen, and straightens all the bent” (Ps 145:14).
¹³⁴

Evidence of serpent cults in ancient Palestine, though not necessarily within the religion of Israel or represented in “Old Testament Theology,”
¹³⁵
may be reflected in the meaning of the verb
. This verb appears only in the Piel in biblical Hebrew. It denotes “to seek and give omens.”
¹³⁶

In the Qumran Scrolls, WTO appears in the
Pesharim
. In
Isaiah Pesher 3
we find the following collection of Hebrew words for serpent or snake:

[O Philistia, a]ny of you, that the rod [that smote you] is broken, [for from the root of the] snake will co[me] [a viper, and its off]spr[ing will be a] flying f[iery] s[erpent.]
¹³⁷

These lines are taken from Isaiah 14, beginning with verse 28.

In Hebrew, the root
nhs
denotes not only snake
(ndhds
[with accent on the second syllable]) but also “divination” or “magic curse”
(nahas
[with accent on the first syllable]). While it is conceivable, but unlikely, that the two meanings are related etymologically in Hebrew, some, maybe many, Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews imagined the “serpent” to be related to divination. Evidence of ophiomancy, divination through serpents, was well known in the ancient world and no doubt was practiced by many in Israel since passages in both the Law and the Prophets repeatedly condemn such practices.

6.

“bronze serpent”

Num 21:4–9

P

Moses made a “bronze serpent” so that those who had been bitten by “fiery serpents” (
)
¹³⁸
and looked up at the “bronze serpent” would be cured from the deadly bite (Num 21:4–9). Early worshippers in Jerusalem, up until the time of Hezekiah (who destroyed it), thought the bronze serpent in the Temple, apparently worshipped by some devotees of Yahweh, was the one Moses had made in the wilderness (2 Kgs 18:4). The Tlttn:) seems to be a mixture of
, “serpent,” and Tlttn:), “bronze.” Clearly, the apotropaic function of the “bronze serpent” is salubrious and positive.

7.

“asp”

Ps 140:3[4]

N

The noun can denote any viper or an asp.
¹³⁹
Evil and violent men sharpen their tongues “like a serpent [
]” and the “poison of an asp is under their lips” (Ps 140:3[4]). Since in the Hebrew Bible the noun for “asp” appears only in Psalm 140:3[4] and there it draws attention from the asp to evil men, it is far from clear what type of serpent or snake the author had in mind (and it is not to be presumed that he could distinguish among the various species [which had not yet received names]). The English “asp” seems the best choice for 21V)DV, since the Greek translators of Psalm 140, who had access to a vocabulary more advanced than in Hebrew for snakes, chose “the poison of asps” (Eoq aojtiScov) in verse 4 (as also in the Peshitta: cK-ajDrrr:!). The sound
‘khshubh
may have originated from the attempt to mimic the sound of an asp.
¹⁴⁰

8. ,	“cobra” 141	Ps 91:13	N
	“cobras”	Deut 32:33, Job 20:14, 16	N

The noun
appears only in Isaiah 11:8 and Psalm 58:5;
is found in Deuteronomy 32:33 and Job 20:14, 16. The best choice, in light of a full study of all Hebrew nouns denoting a type of snake, seems to be “cobra.” While the noun can denote any asp or viper (KB 3.990 chooses “horned viper”),
¹⁴²
the
terminus technicus
seems to be
naja haje
. One cannot expect the translators of the KJV of 1611 to chose “cobra,” since the noun “cobra” was not an English word until about 1668.