Cleverness or Guile?

Before the Fall

First, what was the serpent before the Fall? The Bible doesn’t say clearly that it had legs, however if it didn’t, what was the point of the curse and why compare it to creatures with legs in verse 14? In Hebrew, Genesis 3:1 makes it clear that the serpent was classified as a beast, therefore, it probably moved with legs – and lost them after the curse.
   

What did the Serpent guess?

The image of the serpent in Judaism is not altogether negative, as it is in Christianity, where it represents Satan, “that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan”. Mainstream Judaism doesn’t see the Fall as the crucial point of its worldview, therefore the Hebrew Bible doesn’t identify the serpent with Satan. In Hebrew, the same word Nachash (נחש), snake, also means “guessed”, which gives us some additional insight into the clever nature of this creature.
  

Discover the nuances of the Scripture

The symbolism of the serpent in Jewish thought is very ambivalent. The serpent of Genesis 3 is certainly perceived as a deceptive and cunning creature. Yet, the Talmud says that the serpent was created to be Adam and Eve’s personal assistant, which is why it, “was the cleverest of all the beasts of the garden”. Enroll in our course live online Biblical Hebrew course to see the important nuances of His Word.