A question for Jews or Christians who speak Hebrew.?

Question

As I understand it, the Hebrew word used in Genesis for "serpent" is "nachash". The same word when used as a verb means "divination", "witchcraft", etc.

The thought that the Genesis account is speaking of a natural "snake" seems to be drawn from the word's use as a substantive, and from God's curse of the serpent (on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust). However, if one simply understands the latter curse as meaning "you shall be brought low" or "humiliated", it would not by necessity mean that an anatomical change is taking place. This, in turn, might suggest that "nachash" is referring to some sort of witchery by an evil spirit. What do you think?

The reasons I favour this view:

A) There is only one other possible instance of a talking animal in the Bible (Balaam's donkey), and even for that there is an ancient Rabbinical tradition that the story of Balaam's donkey is merely speaking of a vision. This demonstrates that the ancient Hebrews were not generally credulous to stories about talking animals.

B) The traditional belief that the serpent was not just a talking snake (demonstrated by the diverse depictions of the creature in medieval art, sometimes even with a human head).

C) For Christians, St. John says in the Apocalypse that "that old serpent, the devil" is to be identified with a great dragon.

Please note that even if you hold the account of man's fall to be in a mythological genre--and thus not to be taken literally--the objective identification of the antagonist in the author's mind ought still be a valid literary topic.

At any rate, is there anyone fluent in Classical Hebrew or in ancient Hebrew conceptual categories who can give me their thoughts on this?

Answer 1

Nachash is a metaphor for the Yatzer Hara or Evil Inclination.

Just as the Yatzer Tov is the Good Inclination we have both within us.

The issue with Balaam's Donkey was quite different than that of the Nachash. Balaam was paid a large amount of money to curse Israel, innocent people. On his way to do so an Angel of God stopped and blocked the pathway leading the donkey to stop. Balaam, beating the animal... caused God to speak through the animal to ask why Balaam was hitting it. Then, when Balaam went to curse the Hebrews, instead of curses God spoke through him and all he could say were praises.  This was not an animal speaking of its own, it was God doing it through the animal.

Azazel is the scapegoat. It is the practice of throwing the goat over the cliff to atone for the sins of the Jewish people. It was an atonement by sacrificing it. (Actually two goats were used, one died one was sent into the wilderness)

Leviticus 16:22 (Aaron is "he" that it refers to)

כב  Ã—•Ö°× Ö¸×©×‚ָא הַשָּׂעִיר עָלָיו אֶת-כָּל-עֲו‍ֹנֹתָם, אֶל-אֶרֶץ גְּזֵרָה; וְשִׁלַּח אֶת-הַשָּׂעִיר, בַּמִּדְבָּר.  22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land which is cut off; and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.  

I should think anyone would find it strange to see a talking animal... however, God has spoken through animals, clouds, bushes... ;-)

Me? Probably not at first. He probably pissed his robes... but I think he figured it out.

Answer 2

From what I understand, Judaism has always envisaged 'evil' as an internal force, not something external. In Genesis, the serpent is representing the 'yetzer ra' or 'evil impulse'. Remember that the vast majority of Jews regard the creation story as allegory. We do not take it literally.

In Jewish folk tales, yes, there are plenty of mentions of 'evil spirits' and so on. But within actual Jewish theology, one doesn't find anything like this.

Answer 3

Not me pero habla Espanol

Answer 4

Hi!

I'm not an expert, but I do speak Hebrew (as a native tongue) and have learnt about this a few years ago.

Firstly, you're right- the verb ניחש (nixesh), which is of the same root of the word naxash, means "guess". In biblical times it was used in the context of witchcraft ("guessing the future"), and "menaxesh" is traditionally translated as soothsayer, or fortune teller.

The mythical aspect of the Genesiac snake is dealt by many theologists and biblical scholars, but not only for the reasons you mentioned (medieval art and the New Testament do not necessarily express the original meaning of the biblical author).

Here are some other thoughts you might want to consider:

1) The snake thinks and speaks like a human being, or like god itself. It turns to Eve first and starts a conversation with her; definitely not a regular "beast".

2) The snake knows all about the tree of knowledge, more than Adam and Eve know. The snake even knows that god had lied about it, what means that the snake knows what god thinks- therefore the snake equals god?

3) Isaiah 14:29 teaches us that the Seraphim (beings of god's entourage) are in fact flying serpents: "For out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper, and its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent" (the last word, serpent, is in fact a translation of the word "Seraph").

"וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים"

"Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made" (Genesis 3:1 NKJV)

4) The word עָרוּם (arum) that King James translated as "cunning" is a pun and has a double meaning: naked and deceitful. The snake is cunning while Adam and Eve are naked (innocent)- this emphasizes the mental superiority of the snake comparing to Adam and Eve (that suppose to be the "masters" of the garden, Genesis 2:16, 19).

5) The bible makes a great effort on persuading us that the snake is just another "beast of the field" that god had made. This is where the monotheistic agenda of the writer shines through the ancient myth of the snake.

Other places in the bible don't serve well this agenda, as they still portray the snake as a demonic creature, or a divine force:

*Numbers 21: "So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died… Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live"

* Isaiah 27: "In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong, will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; and He will slay the reptile that is in the sea"

We must keep in mind that the snake had a great role in the legends of the Ancient East: the motif of the destructive demonic serpent appears in both Enuma Elish and the Epic of Gilgamsh (Tiamat; the thieving snake), as well as in the Egyptian mythology (Apep-Apophis).

Answer 5

I believe it was also intended to drive a wedge between the Hebrew people and the vision of the Serpent as a totem/Goddes of Wisdom, shared by their neighbors.

Remember it took the prophets of Yahweh centuries to completely root out the cult of Ashera, and even Solomon might well have been a devotee.

The biblical "ashera" therefore holds a close identity with the Baltic "hiisi". ... who also was the serpent of paradise, was known in lands where the ...

http://thuleheim.blogspot.com/2006_04_01...

But thankyou very much for your Question; that translation of the text if very thought provoking.