Close your eyes. Imagine the Garden of Eden. Eve is being tempted by a snake coiled about the Tree of Knowledge, beguiling her to eat the forbidden fruit.
Terrible things are about to happen, but right now it's just Eve and the snake.
What does the snake look like?
Are you picturing a little green garter snake? A giant boa constrictor?
What if I told you that the Bible is describing something much larger and much more terrifying than any of these?
What if I told you that the "cunning serpent" of Genesis isn't a snake at all?
I have previously written about the Forbidden Fruit not being an apple. Now, read why the serpent of Genesis is not a little green garter snake.
A quick note in case you are finding this article because you are under spiritual attack ...
Are You Being Attacked by the Serpent? Here are some Books on Spiritual Combat
Here are a couple books if you are in the midst of Spiritual Combat or Warfare. I wrote Prayer Warrior Guide: How to Create Your War Room Prayer Strategy, linked below. I have also published this reprint of Dom Lorenzo Scupoli's classic on spiritual warfare, The Spiritual Combat:
Be a Prayer Warrior! Here is a mountain of ammunition for you to use in your prayer. Here is your arsenal for Spiritual Warfare and Spiritual Combat.
Now ... back to the serpent of Genesis!
Critically-Flawed Understandings of the Serpent in the Bible
Some people actually argue that the serpent of Eden was not Satan. Take this article from The Huffington Post, for example. In it, a professor from Berkeley - God help us - argues that the conception of Satan was greatly enlarged just prior to the writing of the New Testament. The New Testament authors just rewrote Satan into the Genesis accountWhat's being implied here? Satan and the Fall of the Angels was just a fabrication, a fiction, and a recent one at that. Ultimately, it's an attempt to undermine the importance and validity of Scripture.
Think that's bad? Though possibly the least likely place to find truth online, The Huffington Post is not alone in attempting to re-write the Bible and, specifically, the Book of Genesis.
The Fable Explanation of the Serpent in the Bible
Other scholars have explained Genesis as merely a fable used to explain why women are afraid of snakes. At the very least, this interpretation is demeaning to women and misogynistic.This isn't the only problem with the snake fable interpretation:
First, and perhaps worst of all, the women-being-afraid-of-snakes theory contradicts the text of Genesis itself. Eve is not afraid of the snake. She's chatting it up with him.
Also, in Genesis 3:15, a woman is prophesied to crush the serpent's head (for more on Genesis 3:15, the Protoevangelium, click here). That snake should be afraid of women, not the other way around!
Second, the genre of Genesis is not fable.
Talking animals may be a traditional characteristic of fables, such as the tortoise and the hare of Aesop's Fables, but there's a problem. Fables are fiction. Genesis, Adam, and Eve are not fiction. Genesis may not read like a modern-day history textbook, but that doesn't mean it doesn't bear historical truth.
What Are We to Believe? Who is the Serpent in the Bible?
Was it not Satan that slithered into the Garden of Eden as a serpent?Could it possibly be true that Satan wasn't always part of the story?
How do we answer these questions? Let's go first to the text itself and see what Scripture actually says. This would be the obvious step, right?
What Word is Used for "Serpent" in the Bible?
What is the Hebrew word used in Scripture for "snake" or "serpent"? If you want to get to the bottom of a question in Scripture, always look to the original language.The word in Hebrew is nahash. Nahash is basically an onomatopoeia. It describes the hissing sound a snake makes ... or other, snake-like monsters make. This second understanding of nahash is brought out by one of its Hebrew synonyms: leviathan. [This meaning of nahash is confirmed later in Scripture, but we'll get to that in a minute]
Leviathan has come to be associated with all manner of massive sea monsters in mythologies from around the world:
- The Midgard Serpent or Jörmungandr of Norse mythology; the Christ-Thor parallels with the Midgard Serpent are really interesting, btw;
- The Kraken, also of Norse myth, based on the Giant Squid, featured in both Clash of the Titans and Pirates of the Caribbean;
- The sea monster Lôtān of Babylonian mythology, Lotan was a servant of the sea god Yammu and was defeated by Hadad in the Baal Cycle of myths; and
- Its colossal size even inspired Thomas Hobbes to title his seminal work on the economy after it.
Leviathan & the Book of Job
The Book of Job, too, has quite a lot to say about Nahash-Leviathan. There is a lengthy description of Levi'athan in Job 41 - here are some of the highlights:Can you draw out Levi′athan with a fishhook,
or press down his tongue with a cord?
Can you put a rope in his nose,
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Will he make many supplications to you?
Will he speak to you soft words?
Will he make a covenant with you
to take him for your servant for ever? ...
He beholds everything that is high;
he is king over all the sons of pride.” [41:1-4,34]
This part about the covenant is very interesting. Remember the Huffington Post theory (above) that Satan was shoe-horned into the Genesis narrative thousands of years after it was written?
When Adam and Eve sinned by eating the Forbidden Fruit, they broke their covenant with God. Worse than that, in breaking their covenant with God, they formed a covenant with the Leviathan-serpent, i.e. Satan.
Sidenote: The covenant between Adam & Eve and Satan was ratified by an act of eating, i.e. the eating of the Forbidden Fruit. I wonder what we will eat to remake our covenant with God? Cf. John 6:53.
The covenant between Adam, Eve, and the Leviathan-serpent is referenced in this line from Job. Not just Adam and Eve, though. All those who break covenant with God make covenant with "the king over all the sons of pride." In Hebrew, he is called "the Adversary" or Satan.
Where's Waldo - This is the Seven Deadly Sins by Peter Brueghel the Elder - can you find PRIDE? |
Humans cannot make covenant with a mere animal. The Leviathan-Serpent in the Bible is not, therefore, a mere animal. It's not a what, it's a WHO. It's the One who is the Lord of all Covenant-breakers, all sinners. He is the One who Christ must defeat to break the power of sin: Satan.
The Leviathan-Nahash-Serpent, therefore, is Satan. Also, Satan is consistently portrayed as Leviathan-Nahash throughout Scripture. The earliest date for the writing of the Book of Job is still several hundred years before these Satan add-ins were supposed to have occurred.
So is the Serpent in the Bible Just a BIG Serpent? Or Something Else?
Let's read some of the verses I omitted in the lengthy description of Leviathan found in the Book of Job:
I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who can penetrate his double coat of mail?
Who can open the doors of his face?
Round about his teeth is terror.
His back is made of rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal.
One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
His breath kindles coals,
and a flame comes forth from his mouth." (Job 41:12-21)
What kind of creature is Leviathan-Nahash really? Smoke rises from his nostrils and flames shoot from his mouth? What is being described here?
Still not sure? Here's some more verses from the Book of Job. J. R. R. Tolkien could have written these himself to describe the beast that lived in the Lonely Mountain.
When he raises himself up the mighty [or the "gods"] are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail;
nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
He counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make him flee;
for him slingstones are turned to stubble.
Clubs are counted as stubble;
he laughs at the rattle of javelins. (Job 41:25-29)
Has it become obvious? What kind of creature breathes fire and is pursued by swords and spears?
A DRAGON!
A mere serpent does not "raise himself up," because it has neither arms nor legs. Does that remind you of something back in Genesis?
Is The Serpent a Dragon in Genesis, Too?
To answer this question, you need only ask yourself this: What is God's curse on the serpent in the Bible?Here's Genesis 3:14, in which God curses the Serpent (Hb. nahash; Gk. leviathan):
Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all cattle,
and above all wild animals;
upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
But God's curses are not empty. Just ask any woman who has ever given birth!
Therefore, prior to this curse, the serpent was NOT crawling on its belly. This means the serpent had arms and legs.
What do you call a serpent with arms and legs?? A DRAGON!
The Dragon of Revelation 12
Need more Scriptural proof that the silly, talking snake from Genesis was actually Satan in the form of a giant, terrifying dragon? No problem!There is a chapter in Revelation that is the sister chapter to Genesis 3 and the Proto-evangelium. Revelation 12 refers back to the "Woman" prophesied in Genesis 3:15 who will be the enemy of Satan, i.e. not in covenant with Satan:
And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery. And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. ... Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:1-3,7-9)
Could it be any clearer that the "ancient serpent" of Eden was Satan, himself?
Not only that, Satan and the Fallen Angels are referred to as "the dragon and his angels."
So What Do We About Dragons ... Men?
So there was no ordinary, garden variety snake in Eden, but a fire-breathing dragon. This revelation may leave you with many other questions.It leaves me with one main question: What was Adam doing? When a dragon is threatening your Princess, your Eve, what's a Man supposed to do? SLAY THE DRAGON. You slay the dragon. What was Adam doing?
Adam had been charged by God to till/cultivate (Hb. abodah) and to keep/guard (Hb. shamar) the Garden and everything and everyone in it, cf. Genesis 2:15, Numbers 3:7-8 (priests and the Tabernacle). Adam completely failed at this.
There is a great lesson here for all men. When the dragon comes near your wife or any woman, for that matter, you kill it. It's what we WERE MADE FOR.
Don't be like "Brave" Sir Robin ...
Conclusion: Is "Serpent" Mistranslated?
Is "serpent" a possible translation of nahash? Yes, of course, it is. But it would be like translating> Adam as merely "Man" or, worse yet, just "One." This is sometimes done to make Genesis seem less gender-specific. Gross.While translating Adam as just "Man" or "One" may be technically correct, it's not very specific. Translations which are oversimplifying or overgeneralizing can even lead to a watering down of the Truth of Scripture.
Theological truths can be hidden in this way. Translating Adam as just "Man" or "One" is a great way to hide the amazing truths of the Theology of the Body and male-female complementarity.
Likewise, translating nahash as just "serpent" or "snake" disguises the terrifying reality of Sin and Satan. This is like living in a place where lions roam and teaching your children that "lions" are merely "cats," like Fluffy here:
Further, translating nahash as just "serpent" or "snake" deprives us of the cosmic drama unfolding during the Fall. Adam should have slayed the Dragon!
The "snake" translation deprives us, therefore, of an essential aspect of Christ's sacrifice and victory on the Cross. Jesus slays Satan with the Cross, the sword-shaped Cross. Jesus slays the Dragon that Adam failed to fight.
Adam & the Dragon is the ORIGIN of the Dragon Archetype. This is why knights slaying dragons became a motif in the story-telling of the entire the world and throughout all history and pre-history.
For more on the importance of archetypes, especially with regard to our moral and intellectual formation, check out this great book by Michael O'Brien, A Landscape with Dragons:
Please comment and share! What did you think? Did you already know the serpent of Genesis was a dragon?
119 Comments
You're really stretching with some of your points. Maybe no mere beast can make a covenant with humans, but then no beast mocketh at fear or saith among the trumpets, ha ha, either. It must be very confusing to read such passages with absolutely no appreciation for poetry.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. However, it is a great disservice to the truth to dismiss Biblical realities as mere poetry. It also leads to a shallow and insipid reading of the Bible - ha, and even poetry. No, there's no stretching. Revelation 12:9 confirms that the serpent of Genesis is a dragon and Satan. Then, Revelation 20:2 does it again. It would be a stretch to say the serpent of Genesis is merely a garter snake.
DeleteSo scott, what word is used to replace nachesh in the septuagent?
DeleteThe Septuagint version of Genesis 3:1 uses the word "ophis" to replace nahash/nachash (and sometimes for "tannin" elsewhere).
DeleteDoes it even use the word drakon? Also, nahash-leviathon I can't find this in job can you help me?
DeleteSigil for Salt Water - hello. ( I find it interesting that so many know so much and how could they know?) They barter what they claim to know and others use the barter to have what they know. But even Salt Water knows that GOD is never ever a part of the barter system. All those using it and claiming a status of such? Do not know GOD at all. ( This should place a mark on them for all to see. ) So easy. ( Another monster came here long ago. ) Solve the riddle that none have solved, the riddle of time and who next is coming to remove time, after all time is only here and no where else does it exist. (Solve that and see the world you thought you knew.) Have a great day!
DeleteDo a Google search for bahima.
Delete(Strong's #929 behemah); bahima, "beast of the field," the "two footed variety" with hands & the capacity of speech & looting. Apply this to (Psalm 22:12-21) Bible Gateway (KJV), (VOICE), (MSG), (NIRV), & (TLB) are the best translations to learn what the “darnel,” the “Kainite/Kenite/Shasu/Kanaanite/Idumean/Edomite/Jewish/negroes did 2,000 years ago to when they scourged, tortured, brutalized, crucified & decapitated JESUS. After the crucifixion, these ancient “darnel” rolled the dice (played craps) to see who would win HIS clothes. (John 8:44) (NET) “You people darnel Idumeans/Edomites/Jews are of your father [Gadre`El] the [Black] Devil.” (3 Enoch 68:6-8,n page 64), (2 ADAM & EVE 4:4). You want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning." (JUDE 1:4) (THE LIVING BIBLE) “I say this because some “godless teachers” have wormed their way in among you.” (NEW LIVING TRANSLATION) “ I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches.” (REVISED GENEVA TRANSLATION) “For there are “certain men” who crept in unawares who were long ago “pre-ordained” to this “condemnation” ungodly men.” (AMP + AMPC) “…who pervert God’s Grace, spiritual blessing, & favor into lawlessness and wantonness and sexual immorality, viewing it as an opportunity to do whatever they want, and disown and deny our only MASTER & LORD, JESUS CHRIST.” (Deuteronomy 23:2) (JWB) “FOR IT IS WRITTEN: A (Strong's #4464 מַמְזֵ); “mamzer” bastard, mongrel, mulatto, negro, hybrid, half breed, bastard) born due to an “ILLICIT SEXUAL ASSAULT “ (Gadre`El the serpent/Nachash raping ADAMIC EVE) or a “FORBIDDEN MARRIAGE,” (ESAU + Kainite negro wives Judith, Adah, Aholibama) = black & red Idumeans/Edomites/Jews) http://biblicalanthropology.blogspot.com/2011/09/edomites-and-color-red.html or a “FORBIDDEN SEXUAL UNION” (ADAMIC JUDAH breaking the 7th COMMANDMENT with HIS FORBIDDEN Kainite negro wife Sava = Shelah Jews) “AND ALL OF HIS [Indigenous] DESCENDANTS” WILL NOT enter into the ASSEMBLY of the LORD, the CONGREGATION of the LORD, the CHURCH of the LORD, and he may not join with the ADAMIC MEN of JESRAEL (AS IN JESUS) to worship the LORD, and CANNOT be the LORD’S PEOPLE FOREVER!” Deuteronomy 23:2 - Bible Gateway
DeletePoetry. Come on you new age Shakespearean. The original scriptures are written straight forward. But you wouldn’t know that reading fiction. The 66 book Holy bible is a Protestant corruption. King James got William Shakespeare to produce the heretical Holy ( Holika ) bible King James even wrote himself in to the NT with the book titled James. YAHUSHA never had a brother called James. His name was Ya’aqob ( Jacob ). I wish I had 1 cent for every person who thinks he Knows The Most High and knows Scripture. I would be a billionaire not just a millionaire
DeleteFascinating, thought-provoking analysis, Scott. I think you made a creative and plausible case.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Eowyn! Eowyn's epic slaying of the Witch-King, by the way, has its roots in Adam & the Dragon of Eden :) You might like to read some of my articles on the Hidden Eucharist in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Here's a link to the first one: https://www.thescottsmithblog.com/2017/05/the-hidden-eucharist-in-lord-of-rings.html
DeleteAlso, this page lists all the Tolkien articles, too: https://www.thescottsmithblog.com/p/movies.html
Enjoy and God bless!
The greatest lie is that SATAN presents himself as GOD, to be worshipped for ever by humans and throw them in everlasting burning furnace if they worship another god.SATAN gives humans confusing languages,cause "natural disaster" Once drowned the entire planet!!!
DeleteScott,
ReplyDeleteI have come to a similar conclusion. But I am confident the scriptures also teach in a hidden fashion that Leviathan was present at and slain by Jesus at His resurrection. The cross was firewood, the weapons Jesus used were His tomb stone (a large smooth stone) like David did to Goliath and the tent peg that nailed His feet to the cross as a small sword in His left hand like Othniel and Jael. I have been writing a book on what Jesus said on the road to Emmaus. If you are interested I will send it to you.
Grace and Peace,
Bruce
Thanks for your comment, Bruce! I can definitely see the Cross as firewood through the typology of Isaac, who carried the wood of the sacrifice/holocaust on his back. Sounds like your making some interesting connections. Sure, here's my email, if you would like to send it to me: scottsmith81 at gmail dot com.
DeleteHi, could you please send me "On the road to Emmaus"
DeleteThank you
hi, i would love to read the book : what Jesus said on the road to emmaus". my email is vodinasg@gmail dot com
DeleteSir, if you would be so kind, I would also like to read your book.
DeleteMy email adress is alexaioanei@yahoo.com
Yep. Good stuff. I tried to find an email on your site to email you privately but can't find one. If you haven't read my book "Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon", I think you might really like it. In the book, I talk about the ancient dragon and how a sword is needed to slay the dragon. That sword is the rosary. Give it a read, if you get a chance. God bless! Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC
ReplyDeleteThanks, Fr. Donald! Thanks so much for checking out my article. I will definitely read your book. I'm working on a novel that uses that exact connection. This is actually a great coincidence - I'm one of the organizers of the Men of the Immaculata conference in Baton Rouge. Father Walsh used your "five smooth stones"-Rosary link for his homily this year, and it brought down the house! I'd like to write an article on that link soon. I would love an email. Here's my address: scottsmith81 at gmail dot com.
DeleteI just bought the ebook :) Here's the link, if anybody else is interested:
Deletehttps://www.fathercalloway.com/
(Just follow the "Books & Gifts" link)
Interesting read! I have a couple of questions;
ReplyDelete1. If Satan was a frightening dragon why wouldn't Eve run away scared instead of conversing?
2. If dragons were forced on their bellies in Genesis and with our first parents, how can dragons be talked about in detail (and even described as being fought with by man) in Job, which I believe was written or took place after The Garden?
Just wondering.
Thank you
Thanks for your comments and questions!
Delete#1 is very interesting, isn't it? I think Eve not running away reveals to us something about mankind before the Fall: we did not know fear. Similarly, we did not know shame and didn't hide our bodies. This changed with the Fall, and Adam & Eve immediately made clothes. This also shows us what kind of knowledge the Tree of Knowledge contained. This helps us see why God forbid us to eat of this tree. What do you think of this answer?
#2 isn't as easy to answer. There are a lot of variables we just don't know. Here's one possibility: Eve's dragon and its seed were the only ones affected by the curse. The other dragons and sea monsters in existence, if any, were unaffected by God's curse. Satan would be free, then, to possess other dragons/sea monsters, such as that depicted in Job. The dragon depicted in Revelation 12 is outside of time or depicted from the perspective of God's time, so there would be no temporal sequence.
What do you think? Do you have any theories? Thanks!
Hello!
DeleteSorry took me so long to respond.
Your answer to question #1 makes perfect sense.
I really had to think about your answer to question #2. What do you think of this theory; After The Fall SOME of the effects of the curse didn't manifest for some time. For instance we have Methuselah and Noah that lived for hundreds of years, so the fact that dragons are mentioned in the Book of Job would allow for this "time delay" of the effects of The Fall.
Does that make sense?
No problem - take your time to respond! I'm certainly far from perfect with my response time. I think your theory makes plenty of sense. As you say, the effects of the Fall certainly increased (and continue to increase) over time.
DeleteYes I knew that the serpent was a dragon not a snake. I learned this from previous scripture study. However
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your description of Eve and the serpent. Adam must have been terrified of the serpent. Also Adam could have been in communication with the serpent also. Adam was afraid to die and co-operated with Satan.
Thanks for your comment! Right, as men, I think we have much to learn from this scene about the fall of manhood.
DeleteMy book published in 2010 identifies the pre-biblical origin of Eden's serpent as being several Sumerian gods: Enki, An, Ningishzida and Dumuzid. They all had in common the Sumerian epithet usumgal "great serpent" or "dragon." The Sumerian myths have these usumgals as responsible for man's creation, to care for their gardens in the Sumerian Edin "the desert wilderness" of modern Iraq. In other words the Sumerian myths have man's creator to be an usumgal, specifically usumgal Enki (Babylonian Ea) of Eridu and usumgal Enlil of Nippur. Gods in human form, bearing the title usum-gal/ushum-gal, were recast as Eden's serpent in Genesis. See my book for more details on the internet at Amazon.com, Walter R. Mattfeld, Eden's Serpent: Its Mesopotamian Origin (2010). Also published in 2010 is The Garden of Eden Myth: Its Pre-biblical Origin in Mesopotamian Myths.
ReplyDeleteScott Smith, according to my research is partially correct, a Dragon lurks indeed behind Eden's serpent, for the Sumerian usum-gal is described as being a serpent-dragon with four legs, two horns atop its head, two wings, and a serpentine body. The Babylonians called the ushum-gal a Basmu. How would a Jew, writing Genesis circa 562 BC in the Babylonian Exile, know of a ushum-gal, a Sumerian word? Sumerian was a dead language by 2500 BC, but it was kept alive by Babylonian scribes who wrote compositions in Sumerian as late as the Neo-Babylonian period (539 BC). The Sumerian/Babylonian account is called Adapa and the South Wind Myth. Man's loss at obtaining immortality in Genesis takes place BEFORE the Flood, whereas in the Sumerian version it takes place AFTER the flood. The author of Genesis is not attempting to copy the Sumerian and Babylonian accounts of how man came to be made in the Edin, deceived by a walking, talking snake and drowned in a flood, the Hebrews are refuting, and denying the earlier accounts. Why? The earlier accounts portray the gods as being rebels, murderers, adulterers, pedophiles, and rapists. Man's sinfulness is explained as being not his fault, he was made in the image of sinful gods! Genesis substitutes a righteous, ethical god for the sinner gods in the Sumerian and Babylonian myths and thereby blames man for his sinful ways instead of a sinful creator of mankind. My two books published in 2010 explain all this in greater detail.
ReplyDeleteOn a some what different subject: When will the Messiah come? Both Jew and Christian have wondered on that topic. The Jews deny Jesus is the Messiah, the Christians claim God has blinded the Jews so that God's grace can be extended to the Gentiles via Christian Evangelical missionary works. It was only recently (2017)that I came to realize that the Bible tells us who the Messiah is and when he will appear and what will be the sign accompanying his appearance. As a former Christian, and now Secular Humanist, you can imagine my shock to realize the Jews were right, Jesus could not be the Messiah. My Bible studies solved the Mystery of the long-awaited Messiah, what a shock! He is identified by name as a prince of Judah, of the line of David, by the name of Zerub'babel. He was a Persian appointed governor of Judah under the Persian King Darius I. The prophecies about him are found in Jeremiah, Isaiah, Haggai and Zechariah. Jeremiah and Isaiah tells us that a 70 year Babylonian exile will end (circa 517 BC) for Judah when God causes the fall of Babylon to its enemies. At that time his people will return to Judah, rebuild Jerusalem, rebuild the Temple, and God will cause a Messiah to reign on the throne of David. Zechariah tells us that God has chosen Zerub'babel to rebuild his Temple, and further more, Zechariah informs us that the man who rebuilds the Temple will sit on the throne as the Messiah or king. Haggai tells us God has chosen Zerub'babel to be his signet ring, a euphemism for a Messiah, AFTER God destroys the Throne of Kings, a euphemism for the Persian Monarchy of Darius I. Zechariah has Zerub'babel completing God's Temple, but he never is crowned the Messiah, as promised by God. Why? Haggai has God declaring the Messiah will happen after the overthrow of the Persian Monarchy. It never happened. The Persians and their client kings never assembled at Jerusalem to wage war against God and deny him his Messiah, Zerub'babel. Apparently Zerub'babel was recalled to Persia and that ended his chance at a Messiah-ship. What were the Rabbis to do? God had failed to carry out his promise of making the builder of the Temple his Messiah! The Rabbi's found a way out of the dilemma, the Messiah would come at a future unknown date, but he never did. Jeremiah's prediction of a Messiah appearing at the end of a 70 year Babylonian Exile also failed to materialize. Then in 30 AD appears a false messiah, one Jesus of Nazareth, to claim to be the long-awaited Messiah. The Problem? He was 500 years too late according to Jeremiah's timetable of his appearance with the fall of Babylon (circa 517 BC), and Jesus did not build the Temple, Zerub'babel did, according to Zechariah. Eventually the Throne of Kings was overthrown (the Persian Monarchy) circa 332 BC by Alexander the Great of Macedon. For an excellent source to read on all this see Rabbi Hayyim Angel. _Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, Prophecy in an age of Uncertainty._ Maggid Books.Jerusalem. 2016. 1st edition.
ReplyDeleteThe “temple” is us, and Jesus, is building the temple as we speak
DeleteThe Eden account has a walking, talking serpent contradicting God, telling Eve she will not die if she eats of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the Sumerian version, it is the gods An, Ningishzida, and Dumuzid, who offer Adapa/Adaba the food which he believes will kill him if he eats of it, as forewarned by his god Enki/Ea. The warning "Don't eat, you will die," given Adam by God is given Adapa at Eridu, a Sumerian city, in the midst of the Sumerian EDIN (EDIN being the uncultivated desert wilderness the Euphrates flows through). Usumgal Enki created man at Eridu to care for his fruit tree garden. At Nippur, it is Usumgal Enlil who has man created to care for his fruit tree garden in the midst of the EDIN. The food of death is BREAD in the Sumerian and Babylonian accounts, not tree fruits. But we are informed that Adam "will EAT BREAD by the sweat of his brow," so he is portrayed as being a baker like Adapa/Adaba. After eating of the Tree of knowledge Adam and Eve clothe themselves with fig leaves, suggesting for some commenTators that the Fig Tree was envisioned, perhaps, as being the Tree of Good and Evil. We are informed that the Tree of life is denied to Adam and Eve by God stationing the Cherubim near it to deny it to Adam and Eve. Elsewhere in the Bible we are informed that the Temple of Solomon was decorated with images of cherubim and palm trees suggesting that the Tree of Life was envisoned as being a date palm, the fruit being dates. The Sumerians and later Babylonians grew both of these trees in their fruit tree gardens for the gods' consumption. The date palm was seen as a life-giving tree as it towered above all other fruit trees, including fig trees, that thrived in its shade. The Sumerian version of why man is a naked gardener is preserved in myths. Man was created in the EDIN to care for the gods' fruit tree gardens. He is shown in SUmerian art, in a naked state presenting the harvest from the gods' gardens to the gods for their consumption, on a vase found at Uruk (biblical Erech in Genesis). The Sumerians and Babylonians understood man was a sinner because the gods he was modeled after were sinners. The Hebrews refuted this by changing the Sumerian myths. Instead of gods, there was only one God. Instead of many gods' gardens in the EDIN, there was only one GOD'S garden in the Eden. Instead of man being considered a lowly despised gardening slave, God intended man to rule the earth. The gods made man to end their having having to toil for their food in their gardens of EDIN. Man would bear the back-breaking toil, giving the gods and eternal rest from physical gardening toil. There was a problem however. The gods could not enjoy their new found rest from toil for man's nonstop clamor, night and day, denied them rest by day and sleep by night. Enlil of Nippur decides to destroy all of mankind, ending the clamor, he does so with a flood to destroy the earth and its mountains. The flood lasted 7 days. On the 7th day the earth is peaceful and quiet for mankind has been drowned, except for those on a boat built by the Mesopotamian Noah, called Atrahasis. On the 7th day the gods can at long last rest by day and sleep by night for man's clamor is no more. Why man's clamor? The Atrahasis myth explained that when man was created the goddess Mami announced that the clamor of the Igigi gods had been transferred to man. They had clamored over having no rest from gardening toil and had been ignored by the senior gods. So, man's clamor was that he had no rest from gardening toil as was enjoyed by the Annunaki and Igigi gods. The Hebrews denied this explanation for how gods came to rest on a 7th day (THE HEBREW SHABBAT or SABBATH) and, reworking the Sumerian myths, had a God creating a 7th day of rest for himself on a 7th day AFTER creating the earth instead of a 7th day after DESTROYING the earth. Google "Mattfeld Sabbath Origins" for more info at my website www.bibleorigins.net
ReplyDeleteHi there. This is a very thought-provoking article that reveals how literally you take the Bible. It was just as enjoyable and inspiring to read the comments and see how others are allowing their mental gears to turn. I agree with your approach to a literal understanding of God's written and inspired word for mankind should n o t live by food alone but by every word spoken by the Creator. That's paraphrasing Deut 8:3 and Matt 4:4. I recently wrote a book called "The Serpent's Lie" and it explains life in the garden of Eden before the age of fear, death, and sin. It approaches Genesis by taking it 100% literally and what's interesting as it relates to this article is the topic of dragons. We should know that the human mind is INCAPABLE of imagining anything truly new. As a simple experiment...imagine a color you've never seen, or a creature that doesn't exist. If you chose the first one, good luck! If you tried the second experiment, how original was this creature? Was it truly without elements you've never seen before (i.e. fur, feathers, scales, slimy, leathery, or rocky skin, etc.), or was it inspired by mismatched ingredients from our memory and inagination? Dragons are creatures that have become legend throughout the world...and dragons of East Asiatic regions especially bear uncanny anatomical resemblance to serpents. With that said, I do believe that the serpent of Eden was indeed a dragon. However,I don't believe Satan is a physical dragon and yet he was and will always be associated with that creature. Why? Well...the Heavenly abode of the LORD does not have fleshly creatures inhabiting it. Satan was cast out as the first fallen angel. Heaven is spiritual realm. Yet we know that Spirit can interact with flesh. Proof? We are spirit in flesh. When we look in the mirror, we see our invisible spiritual nature clothed in something tangible that we have assumed as our identity (physical form). What did God breathe into Adam's nostrils? He breathed the breath of life, the "spiritum" from Latin and Adam became a living soul. In other words, mankind came to life when God breathed a spirit into Adam. The spirit of Adam possessed his body. It owned it and controlled it. When a foreign spirit enters a host, it is often referred to as spirit possession. Whereby an overwhelming spirit possesses a physical body and controls it. If that spirit would look in a mirror, it would see the identity it assumed. It would see the body of the host and while it controlled the host, it would be the host through symbiosis. This is why Satan, the anointed cherub is referred to in the book of Revelations as the great dragon, the ancient serpent called the Devil and Satan (Rev 12:9). I look forward to your reply.
ReplyDeleteThis doesnt make any sense simply because why would god curse a simple snake for being possessed? Also, read Daniel. The prince of Persia apprehended gods angel and micheal had to rescue him. Theu can take physical form.
DeleteGod is the serpent. A serpent and dragon does not mean the same. Ever heard the old tale that snakes once had legs. The snake was Christ. reminding Adam and Eve who were the first to forget their identity under slavery of satan. This was his first coming. The serpent and Christ refers to your spine and fluid. Which is blood and water. The gods refer to children of satan as he is their God. Only people of God knows this. People blindly follow religion as law. It’s based off spirituality. The translators at the time mistranslated on purpose to hide the truth from the gods of satan. This is why God said his children who are gods of God would recognize his voice. Know that their is only 2 races. Fallen angels/aliens and humans which are his chosen people. Meaning shapeshifting is possible and taking on another form. The devil was made a beast. Dragon. He his red. And as described breathe fire. Satan was the god who the threatened them to not eat of the tree of knowledge and tree of life. Referring to the spine and brain. This is why you meditate. Meaning Eve was on break more than likely. And Adam was working. Heaven is in you. So is hell. During meditation she gained the knowledge of good and evil also having the knowledge to realize who satan was and that slavery was bad. The devil knowing they had this knowledge would lose his control over them, as he had no power. It’s not that hard to realize that during the biblical days technology existed. Same as today. Who controls the books? Education.? And history? Understand this and you will realize that the devil convinced the world he didn’t exist and his followers carry on his orders of new world order. Which actually sealed the deal when the United States, formerly Atlantis fell to the invasion of Columbus. 1989 marked the death of Atlantis. Know that all land is indigenous black until The nations who are face cards for the still in power Roman Empire over took them. Greece was also a black nation. This tells you who the devils are. And who the chosen ones are.
DeleteFirst, I enjoyed reading your findings on the serpent. I feel they were, not only, thoroughly reserched but when discovered you viewed them as precious treasure. Well done! To the people that made all the comments that you already knew that the serpent was a dragon: do y'all realize how puffed up y'all sound? I mean, give credit where credit is due.
ReplyDeleteSecond, to those of y'all who criticize ANYONE of ANY findings or theories they might have about God: who are you? Can any of y'all speak ANYTHING into existence? Maybe just a sunflower seed? No? Can any of you enlighten the rest of us and describe how creation just... created itself? No cheating now. Only speak up if you were actually there. No? Surely one of y'all can explain how to make a visible shape of a voice. Y'all can't do any of these? Not even ONE?! Then who are you to put God in a box? Stop! He doesn't fit! We can't comprehend heavenly things nor are we ment to. God opens his mouth and universes come out!! Super amazing! If he can do THAT He can do ANYTHING.
Your musings about your God, are just musings. You have to prove God exists, just bombastically asserting it does'nt pass mustard. Science has disproved many events in the Bible. Yet scientists are willing to ask, if archaeology proves the event didn't happen as portrayed, WHAT is behind the event? Science posits that even myths have a kernel of truth somewhere, and Science attempts to uncover that reality. For example, the Bible tells us that Noah's flood covered the tops of the world's mountains, and only those on Noah's ark were spared the rest died in the flood waters. Geology has found no evidence of Noah's flood. But archaeologists did unearth clay tablets in Mesopotamia that described a similar flood story. It too claimed mountains were covered in flood waters. It too claimed that three birds were released to determine the abatement of flood waters before disembarking from a mountain top. Excavations in Mesopotamia found no flood silt evidence that could be dated to the biblical flood (2340 BC being a popular date for the Flood for some Christians). The Mesopotamian account has its flood hero living at Shuruppak, a city on the Euphrates, in Mesopotamia, when his god warns him to build a huge boat and put on it the seed of man and animals to re-establish life after the flood. Shuruppak was excavated in the 1930s to bedrock. It existed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. Only ONE FLOOD LAYER was found at the site dated to 2900 BC. The depth of the flood silt was only 14 inches, of river laid silts. The silts did not extend to other nearby cities. The archaeologists realized that the Mesopotamian flood account, written over a thousand earlier than the biblical account, was a greatly embellished and exaggerated account of an event at Shuruppak. The Bible's authors had accepted as true the older account, but they changed some of the details. Ancient Jericho, near the Dead Sea, is below sea level. It was excavated to bedrock and was settled circa 9500 BC in the Neolithic Era and finally abandoned 587 BC when destroyed by the Babylonians. NO FLOOD LAYER EXISTS at Jericho. If the bible was true, then a flood layer should have existed circa 2340 BC, but there is none. Site after site, existing before 2340 BC in the Middle East, showed no evidence of world wide flood (Egypt, Canaan, Syria, JOrdan, Mesopotamia). My own research on the pre-biblical origins of the Garden of Eden, follows the discoveroies by archaeologists in Mesopotamia between 1845-1945. They came to realize that the ancient Sumerians called their uncultivated desert wilderness EDIN. The gods created fruit tree gardsen in the EDIN to grow food for the gods to eat. Tiring of work on the gardens, they create man to be a gardening slave. Man will plant seed, harvest produce, and present it to the gods to eat in temple sacrifices. The Hebrew word Eden means "delight," and apparently they gave the Sumerian EDIN, this Hebrew meaning, but Sumerian EDIN did not mean delight, it was uncultivated desert wasteland through which flowed the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Sumerians fed their gods twice a day, a morning and evening meal at the temple where the god abode. In the BIble, God abides in the Temple at Jerusalem, and is feed twice a day, morning and evening just like a Mesopotamian god. All this is to say that the GODS OF EDIN were recast by the Hebrews in A GOD OF EDEN. The many gardens in EDIN (every city had a garden in its Edin) were recast as one garden in Eden.
ReplyDeleteWell then; by your reasoning Godzilla must be Japan's dragon/Satan.
ReplyDeleteYou might want to re-read Genesis 3:15. It is not the woman who crushes the gone a of the serpent; it is her offspring. "He will crush you head and you will bruise his heal."
ReplyDelete*head, not gone
Delete@Mark:
ReplyDeleteMost glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in "our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places" (Eph., VI,12). Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to His likeness and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Holy Church venerates thee as her guardian and protector; to thee, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into heaven. Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush Satan beneath our feet, that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to the Church. Offer our prayers to the Most High, that without delay they may draw His mercy down upon us; take hold of "the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan", bind him that he may no longer seduce the nations" (Apoc. XX,2).
I've wondered if the Hebrew word allowed the for the serpent to be a dragon ever since I learned that in older forms of English the terms dragon, serpent, and worm were interchangeable. For example the wyrm of Beowulf was a dragon, not an earthworm.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Hanne! That's interesting about Beowulf. Yeah, I think I remember Tolkien using "wyrm" a bit, too. Very cool.
ReplyDeletethe forbidden fruits are the foods poisons in our health as today that made by demons to people make sick
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. Possibly, but not the original or primary meaning.
DeleteSatan as Eden's Serpent in the Book of Revelation, from an anthropological point of view: In the Old Testament appears an angel sent to kill the prophet Balaam. Balaam's ass sees this HASATAN, and avoids him. Balaam curses and beats his donkey, not realizing the beast is attempting to save his life. Some scholars are puzzled as to how an angel called a HASATAN in Hebrew, who cannot disobey God in the Old Testament, suddenly reappears in the New Testament not as HASATAN, but as SATAN. In the New Testament Satan has power to oppose God and kill God's saints, shedding their blood. How to account for this from an anthropological point of view? The Catholic Bbible contains books not preserved in some Protestant Bibles called the Apocrypha. These books reveal that after 332 BC the Hellenistic Greeks are the masters of Judaea. They attempt to introduce Greek religious ideas to the Jews, and appoint Jewish priests who look favorably on Greek religious ideas. At this time, Plato argued that it was outrageous that the Greek Gods should be portrayed as sinners, rapists, murderers, and oath breakers. They should be portrayed as only noble, ethical, and good. Many agreed with Plato and a NEW CONCEPT reared its head among the Greeks: Evil was to be accounted for by the actions of a class of demi-gods called the DEAMONS (English: Demons). The Daemons were to blame for inciting man to do acts of evil, absolving the gods, in harmony with Plato's teachings. The New Testament is written in Greek and was pitched to a Greek-speaking audience. The word Demon appears in the New Testament and is associated with acts of evil and SATAN is associated as the leader or prince of the demons. In Greek belief Daemons can take the form of a snake or serpent as well as a human form, sometimes a man with beard, other times a young beautiful male youth. The Christians apparently accepted the NEW concept of Demons being responsible for evil after Plato's time, and recast the HaSatan as SATAN, who can take the form of a man as well as of serpent. The leader of the Greek Deamons was called the Agathos-Daimon, and portrayed sometimes as man, sometimes as a serpent. The Agathos-daimon is called in the Greek Hermetic literature THE RULER OF THE WORLD, and in the New Testament Satan tells Jesus, worship me and I will give you all the kingdoms of the earth, for they are mine. Apparently the Agathos-Daimon has re-emerged in the New Testament as SATAN. I discuss all this in greater detail in my book published in 2010, available at Amazon.com on the internet, Walter R. Mattfeld, Eden's SErpent: Its Mesopotamian Origins. In this book I also discuss how the Greek Daemon came to appear as Satan in the New Testament.
ReplyDeleteBro you sound so confused and all ur ramblings contradict. Perhaps get tested for dementia
DeleteGreat, thanks very much Walter R. Mattfeld, really useful information. Sorry about your troll.
DeleteVery interesting. Does this blog address his shimmering attributes as the luminescent one, or his colleagues in Genesis 6 and their infamous offspring?
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ReplyDelete^ Yikes. This guy's crazy.
DeleteYou are spot on with your commentary and evidence here. The translation of the Bible does not do justice to what was really tempting Eve. The Bible eludes to this fact in several places. The fact that it was the most majestic creature of all tells us this. Then the tales of dragons in history must have had it's root from someplace that was actually factually. Someone didn't just sit around one day and make up the characteristics of a dragon. Don't forget that at some point Adam and Eve spoke to the animals of Genesis. This means that for a "serpent" to speak to Eve was not an unusual event in her mind. It was actually something she was very accustomed to.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Thanks for your comment!
DeletePeople projected their fears onto nature in all sorts of ways. When one does not understand how nature works, even a mouse in the cupboard can scare the shit out of you. Dragons are not real. They never have been and never will be. And the idea that Adam and Eve "spoke to the animals" is also a literary device designed to explain relationships, but not literally.
DeleteWhy do you think Adam and Eve speaking to the dragon is a literary device? Do you think the author believed that? Are you basing your conclusion on context clues or other evidence?
Deleteand some dragons were cursed into the human image
ReplyDeleteSince dragons are fictional animals, you are contending that the Book of Genesis indeed depends on metaphor to explain its early narratives. This debunks the literal interpretation of Genesis, and by proxy, the contents of creationism, which are also wrong. Perhaps some of your readers will "get it" now and confess that biblical literalism is a scriptural farce.
ReplyDeleteyou keep thinking dragons are fictional ....it does not matter
DeleteWhy do you think dragons are fictional?
DeleteIf you want real truth about serpent/Satan/fruit, please read the book of "Serpent Seed" by William Branham Prophet. or click the bellow link.
ReplyDeletehttps://branham.org/en/biblestudy/TheSerpentSeed
If you want the real truth about anything, avoid heretical faith-healer televangelists like William Branham "Prophet". May God spare us. Also, the provided link just asks questions. It provides no answers.
DeleteI absolutely enjoyed the article! Thank you so much! I already had those kinda thoughts but never thought that much!!! I just had a thought that the Dragon was there already before God was creating, maybe there was darkness with him already there???
ReplyDeleteAlso another thing is could have the dragon be nice, not scary ...cause Eve listened to him a d wasn't doubting him even...
Also could have the dragon be a flying dragon as seraphims in front of Gods thron cause Satan is fallen seraphim isnt it?
Thanks for your kind words! Not knowing good and evil yet, it's difficult to know how Eve responded to the sight of the dragon emotionally. The dragon was not nice, for sure, but it's possible Eve did not yet know fear, and not fear as we experience it as fallen creatures.
DeleteI'm not sure about the seraphim connection. I don't think the dragon was Satan's true form as a fallen angel. My understanding is that Satan was possessing the creature's body. I don't know of any clear indications, though, one way or the other. I try not to delve too deep into demonology. St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us!
While I certainly don't agree with everything you have said here, I have always felt that the serpent didn't become a "snake" until God said, "On your belly you shall go..." I envision a serpent looking something like a small dinosaur or lizard looking creature...perhaps more like an iguana looking creature.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe dragon could have cursed and reduced to an earthworm@ crawl on its belly and forever eats dust
ReplyDeleteDude, all was okay until you failed miserably in the end. Too much pride, too much gaming? When was Adam commanded to defend the garden or even to kill the serpent? Seriously, Who's your defender? Yourself?, your parents? Gee, stretching the meanings of words and misrepresenting facts are completely different. Grow up.
ReplyDeleteThat's easy - Genesis 2:15: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it." In Hebrew, the verbs are "abodah" and "shamar," respectively. You see at 2 Samuel 20:10 and elsewhere that "shamar" translates as "to guard" both with and against a sword.
DeleteI describe that Adam was charged by God to defend the Garden at Genesis 2:15 in the article ... did you just miss that part of the article?
DeleteIf you cared about Scripture, you would be a Catholic. Matthew 16:18, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it." Here Jesus is quoting word-for-word Isaiah 22:22, in which the King of Israel appoints Eliakim as the steward of the kingdom to rule in the king's stead, while the king is away. What Church office then is the earthly steward of the Kingdom of Heaven?
ReplyDeleteHi Scott and other readers, here is another perspective which I hope you will at least consider.
ReplyDeleteWhat if there was no serpent or dragon etc. at all in Genesis? Perhaps God was instructing Adam and Eve to obey a simple command, while at the same time allowing them to understand one of God's gifts to humanity - our ability to make a conscious choice about right and wrong.
This conscious choice is what separates us from the animal kingdom; we can choose in ways which serve our spiritual growth. Animals on the other hand choose unconsciously and based on their evolutionary instinct to survive in the purely physical sense.
Unfortunately for Adam and Eve, and readers of scripture up to just a few hundred years ago, God did not explain the science behind their own evolution. He did not explain that they had inherited a limbic system which was there to ensure their physical survival.
This limbic system is sometimes called the "reptile brain" which gives rise to the negative aspects of being human, our basest behaviours - greed, avarice, revenge, violence, deceit, vanity etc.
Adam was tempted by Eve (perhaps?) and gave into his limbic system.
The "serpent" in question was actually part of their brain structure; in other words, the serpent was a metaphor for our own reptile brain; it was a metaphor for our ability, or inability, to make the right choice for spiritual growth.
I think this involves a common misconception - just because one interpretation may include some truth, it does not exclude other interpretations or even the literal interpretation. It's always both/and.
DeleteJohn's point is accurate on multiple levels of analysis. It's totally valid. This is meditation literature and rich in symbolism the meaning of which is neigh inexhaustible. Just to add some interesting information here: The word use here for serpent is also related to: divination (surely ye shall not die), Tempting (with eve) and to shine (bronze). It's interesting to note that the entrance to the tabernacle of dwelling requires a sacrifice at the bronze alter, and indeed Jesus' first adversary is with Satan. Whom he subdues. The Greek word used is a military one, and Jesus later has Satan work for him helping him accomplish his end on the cross. This dovetails with Jung's "Letter to job" and his ideas on individuation and the incorporation of the shadow. :)
DeleteAnonymous: Why do you think Genesis 1-3 is "meditation literature"? Does the text indicate that it's meditation literature or merely symbolic? Does any other book in the Bible refer to it as such? Does Jesus?
DeleteBecause your first read through informs the second, which informs the third and so on. It invites contemplation and familiarity. In other words it must be meditated upon and I believe it was written that way. Psalm 1 seems to agree.
DeleteI want crack
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that there are pyramids, temples, dedicated to snakes or serpents in Mexico. They are also highly revered in China...
ReplyDeleteExactly! This combat has been waged throughout all of history. Thanks for your comment!
DeleteI wanna know where all the dragons went.
Deletemy whole life is a lie!
ReplyDeleteDimitri explained that satan is real. Satan was kicked out of heaven for his ego and trying to undermine God and God's laws. When he was exiled to earth satan began working on "his people" to compete with and enslave God's own Adam and Eve. The serpent in the garden appeared as a naked man. While Adam toiled, Eve became curious and spoke with the serpent before sucumbing to his charm. The rule of God was to populate the earth, building outwards from the garden. Eve was coerced into comprising her body, ingesting the only fruit that creates humans and eventually talked Adam into it. The demon offered his perversions as a way to learn things that, supposedly, God kept hidden from the couple. Sex with a human bodied demon from every angle is the cause of their shame, the broken covenant with God, the beginning of ego based role of man's mind, and enslavement by the bastardized children of satan that have never been toppled.
ReplyDeleteI found your article very much on spot, but for this most important exception -- you say:
ReplyDelete"Also, in Genesis 3:15, a woman is prophesied to crush the serpent's head"
And that statement is completely false! It undermines that God promised right from the beginning He had a rescue plan underway that involved Jesus. The woman's seed, not the woman, her seed, HE is prophesied to crush the serpent's head. You mis-stating the woman is prophesied to do the crushing, falsely credits her with the salvation that can only be received by faith, believing in the work that Jesus alone did on the cross.
"I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed;
he shall bruise (CRUSH) your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.” - Genesis 3:15
When I read you credited the woman, I almost quit the article right there at that statement.
Not really, no. I have written more on Genesis 3:15, the Protoevangelium, here: https://www.thescottsmithblog.com/2017/04/the-first-prophesy-in-human-history.html
DeleteIt's interesting because the Hebrew word for "he" in "he shall bruise your head" is not specified as "he" or "she", specifically, but depends on which person is the antecedent. It could be either or even both, in a sense. St. Jerome even translated this verse for the Vulgate as "she shall bruise your head".
Jesus is certainly the one who conquers Satan and crushes Satan's skull, particularly at "the place of the skull", Golgotha. But, by Mary's "yes" to the Angel Gabriel, Mary also takes part in crushing the serpent's skull.
I hope this helps!
I thought this was great! I knew leviathan had so much more significance and Job being one of the oldest books pieces are falling together.
ReplyDeleteAlso the mythological stories are just mockeries with hidden truth Satan doesn’t create he imitates. People need to wake up to the spiritual realm it’s more real then the natural snd realize we are truly fighting a spiritual battle. Being stuffy and religious about precise dryness of the word will keep your eyes snd ears closed to Holy Spirit. There’s a whole other world out there folks and you will only find it through Holy Spirits truth he leads us into all truth. That’s why Jesus left him with us to be the guide and everything we need to find our identity again before the fall of Eden.
ReplyDeleteAMEN
ReplyDeleteI believed that Satan used the snake to mislead Eve because I read God cursed the snake for letting Satan use him. I always tried to picture how the snake looked like with legs. A long thin body with legs. I have been researching the scriptures lately. Why I do not know but maybe because of all the dragon shows in TV. I started wondering if dragons really existed and how we could know how they looked like when they were before our time. In the bible you can read the (Serpent) and then the (Dragon) and both refer to the Devil. So I wondered if the serpent and the dragon could be the same thing. Not a snake as we know them. Looking at some Chinese dragons I did see that some of their dragons do look kind of like snakes. Reading your article was interesting. It did shine a new light on my thoughts. Thank you. I still don't know how dragons looked like (smile) But some dots have been connected in my mind
One thing I have come across is that the word serpent leads me to the color of it. Shining like highly polished brass or copper. The word seraphim plays into the color of it also.
ReplyDeleteYes! Thank you! It has occurred to me recently that this is the origin of the "myth" of dragons. I cannot imagine Adam and Eve not telling their sons the story of the fall from Eden, which would have included a description of the Serpent in his original form before being cursed. They would have passed this story down through the generations. The Serpent of the Bible has all the characteristics attributed to a dragon - cunning, smooth talking, manipulative and smart enough to know the weaknesses of its prey.
ReplyDeleteI am not a follower of any kind, especially not in todays teachings of religion.That being said, I keep my mind clear and my eyes open to what I read, what I hear,most of all what I see. I just am curios why any human would follow Catholic/ Christian beliefs for the fact of most of our wars are rooted in religion. Another fact that the Bible has been altered and parts of it removed. Mass genocide by religious leaders of children not to mention the sexual assault that has been going on for decades. I find religion to be a hypocritical double standard to the fullest. I witness many followers make judgments upon others and many go through life attached to biases and hate for others. Why would anyone follow a religion that isn't forthright and honest? The serpent is used as symbolism all over the world, in western medicine and other. For me personally the New Testament was created for men to use against others especially women. Where most of misogyny derived from. Serpent is mere deception, the deception of man against women. The fact that men has this urgency to over inflate their strength and power makes me believe it is a mere facade. Built up by our history to make women less than. Fear based. If people need to believe in a heaven or some paradise to hold them accountable than I'd have to say ,they are not very good people to begin with. I find more regions followers with the lack of a moral compass, common sense and empathy for others than non religious people. Catholic church Holy See has a tight entanglement with government all around the world, they own more land than anyone else yet there's millions of starving and homeless individuals suffering. You would think with as much money as they have they would be eradicating poverty. That would be the Godly thing to do. Don't you agree? And if other religions have the similar stories and u find the Bible missing parts or mistranslantion would you feel that was a red flag?? What if due to misogyny that aka Jesus was protecting Mary and her knowledge. He spoke in the place of her otherwise people would not listen. That he dies for her, to protect her Devine intellect. Whatever the case, ii believe that following a religion without questioning the logic is following with a blinds eye. Following a religion that has been very deceptive with their intention and information.
ReplyDeleteIn a dream I've seen the Serpent, or some progeny of the Serpent. I was on a plain not unlike the a Mongolian steppe. In the distance upon a grassy hill was a great tree easily a thousand feet tall. Around it was a ancient stone wall. The tree was perhaps a mile away. Between the tree and I was a great serpent made of light and impossible geometric symbols, perhaps 15 feet thick and 150 or so feet long. It's head was longer than I am tall. It turned it's massive head to look at me, reared itself up about 3 times my height, a tongue of pure blackness flicked out and it's eyes (black as the abyss and the size of dinner plates) regarded me. It felt ancient, sentient, and malevolent. I had an instinctual feeling of wrongness, and that I should not be there. I remember ripping my soul back to my body as hard as I could and immediately opened my eyes absolutely shaken. Take that for whatever it's worth, one of the most profound things I've ever seen and a big part of what brought me to Christ.
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest to you and your readers something to consider? Since satan communicates to us through our minds, and no one can hear what you hear as you do, perhaps ... Adam could not hear that Eve was being tempted, manipulated, and lied to by that conniving liar satan? My husband and I are one , but we can hear each others thoughts. Just a thought to ponder... perhaps ask our Father through the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth.
ReplyDeleteI meant we can NOT hear each other thoughts...please adjust... totally makes a difference
DeleteI agree
DeleteI disagree that the serpent in the garden wasn’t a snake , it was not Satan, think about this . I was reading a blog on this and it didn’t make sense. A low voice said read the scripture so I read it the voice said read it again so I read it agin the voice said read it one more time so I read it agian my eyes were open I looked up and asked why would you punish a snake for something Satan did. The voice said because Satan didn’t do it it was the serpent, Satan is a spirit not a living breathing being the serpent was created by God
DeleteSerpent is not a mistranslation. The Serpent in the garden was certainly a dragon though!
ReplyDeleteSerpent in antiquity actually means "lizard, or reptile"
It is correctly translated, but it is our modern understanding of the word "serpent" that is the problem. We automatically default to "snake" when we here the word serpent because of
(1)Artwork commissioned by the Unholy roman catholic church during the renaissance period, that depicted snakes with a White Adam and Eve
(2) with the extinction of Dragons in the past 500 years, and the belief in the lie that their remains are of "dinosaurs" (this word formed from the Latin which literally means "Terrible lizard") that predated man by millions of years
(3) a communist based government run education system that excludes ALL the written eye-witness history of dragons throughout our existence, calling them mythical stories that people made up.
The serpent in the Garden, satan, the devil, is a DRAGON, not a snake
Serve me and I will give unto you the four corners of this world, for the sun the moon and the stars bear my seal.
ReplyDeleteIts sad you want to say that somehow soemone wants to undermine scripture, when the nkjv is compiled writing selectively, and that the story of a messiah (jesus) isn’t new. Sounds like you are trying to continue lying to people as if the bible is an unerrant divine writing. Not one scripture was written realtime during the things that were actually happening. Who truly saw a burning talking bush, or can account of living in a fish for days. Spare me the fleecing zealot xtians continue doing.
ReplyDeleteLeave it to a fellow Texas Aggie to eat up around 3 hours of my evening reading these fascinating Biblical Essays! Good stuff and Gig Em and most importantly Pace e Bene!
ReplyDeleteDr. Scott Hahn also proposes the dragon interpretation. He is a well-known lecturer and apologizing and theology teacher at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio
ReplyDeleteScott Smith, the true church are the believers in Jesus, (the bride of Christ) who have accepted His sacrifice.. reconciling us to the Father, as our Lord and Savior. It is not any one denomination or religion.
ReplyDeleteNope, Jesus established One, Catholic, Holy, and Apostolic Church
DeleteThis is complete rubbish from beginning to end.
ReplyDeleteIn the first place, Satan is indeed clearly mentioned in Job - he is the HaSatan, a bona fide angel, actually, of whom no evidence is given that he is fallen or a rebel. You obviously are not going to accept this, but that just proves that you do not care about evidence.
There is certainly zero evidence that Leviathan is also meant to represent Satan. HaSatan is a precise concept in Hebrew - it means Adversary, which is a legal term. On the other hand, Leviathan is mentioned in a part of Job where the author is having God describe his transcendency in creating a natural world that goes beyond the pale of human understanding - not a supernatural world of spirits. It is unusually easy to prove that in this case, given that the supernatural world of spirits is indeed mentioned in the very same book - but here, no connection to it is posited.
The passage about Leviathan not being susceptible to a covenant, and not being able to press him into service, is obviously intended as a comparison with a domestic animal, such as a horse or a dog. The point is just that Leviathan is wild, and shows nature in all its wildness, beyond the reach of human reason: i.e. incomprehensible to facile human rationalization - hence the analogy with Job's suffering. The point about using a covenant is that wild nature cannot be thus addressed by humans - it exclusively obeys a divine voice. It is false to claim that covenants are only made between Man and assorted supernatural agents: the concept in fact derives from the fact that people were constantly making covenants with each other. As to the sons of pride, your claim there begs the question by importing a reading entirely reliant on your interpretation of the text, and then citing it as evidence for that very interpretation.
Moving onto the serpent in Eden, well, the serpent is directly associated with beasts of the field (Genesis 3:1) which cuts strongly against your interpretation, to say the very least. It is certainly true that John in his apocalypse associates the dragon with the serpent, but your exegesis conflicts with what he says - precisely, he is claiming to be writing an apocalypse, which reveals in the text meanings which are not self-evident.
The question regarding the form of Bereshit's first three chapters is an open one among scholars. What they all have in common is that none of them thinks it is chronicle like Kings, Samuel or Chronicles. It has been suggested by some to be proto-apocalyptic writing - in which case, the Serpent could be a spiritual agency instead of a snake, but in no case a fire-breathing dragon.
I am sorry that modern scholarship does not back up your particular beliefs as they apply to these passages. But that's tough, I'm afraid. Scholarship is scholarship - it's not some caprice to be bashed down by your militant stupidity.
Our country is failing because people legitimately wonder if talking snakes are real. I guess most Christians believe that Jesus really had a plank of wood in his eyeball? If only other books had been written in the last 2,000 years… Alas, just Jesus, Genesis, and Job… which, coincidentally, are all chapters from the same collection of fairy tales 🧚♀️
ReplyDeleteWow, that's what you call an unpierceable veil of ignorance. Will pray for your intellect to be undarkened.
DeleteScott Smith SS wannabe master, knower of none, proclaimer of all. The intentional deception is building such a karmic debt I feel sorry for the suffering you’ll encounter upon judgement. Hopefully you enjoy desolation and separation.
ReplyDeleteI'll pray for you
DeleteAlthough the “serpent” may have physically been a dragon in reality, I have always believed the “serpent” had a very different physical form when he appeared to Eve, an almost human like form. Although she didn’t have fear before she and Adam ate the fruit, I still believe the “serpent” had to look unassuming, even appealing, and I can’t see a dragon looking like that. Therefore, I’ve always believed that when the serpent appeared to Eve, he probably looked more like a human. He had to have an appearance she could trust, above her husband Adam and God, which is why she could be fooled. In modern times, Satan is cunning to us and also comes often in unassuming form. Maybe once they realized what they had done and God confronted them, then the real form of Satan as a physical dragon appeared. That’s always been my theoretical interpretation.
ReplyDeleteSo when God told the serpent he would crawl on his belly for the rest of is life, does that mean that Satan is now more like a snake on his belly, but we also know from scripture he also has the ability to possess people or objects and disguise himself as an object of beauty?
ReplyDeleteCrawling on his belly is a metaphor for Satan now being the lowest of low creatures that the Almighty created. From one the highest Angels to the lowest creature.
DeleteI have read through all the comments and I have realized that there are very learned people and authors. I am not one and I don't have all your knowledge and I thank God for that. One thing I have noticed is that some people are caught up in a physical world and probably do not realize the importance of the spiritual world. I believe that everything that we see were created by God. If not let the intelligent people explain to me where everything came from. Even the "Big Bang" theory do not hold water, where did the two giant planets come from to collide with each other and ultimately lead to the universe we know of so little. So in my belief there is a God that created everything. My question is if we accept this as true my next question is, can you see God? I don't think so. I believe that heaven and paradise, also hell, is in another dimension that can only be witnessed once the human body dies and the spirit is released. Eden was a place created by God and when Adam and Eve was thrown out of Eden did any human ever see Eden again? No. If God was the serpent would God first tell Adam and Eve not to eat of the forbidden fruit and later contradict himself and say eat the fruit. So for some learned people to suggest that the serpent(dragon?) created the humans to toil the soil to feed him/them does not make sense. Why would a God who created everything need an earth so that somebody must work to feed him/them? One intelligent person mentioned that most wars started because of religion, really? It is because of greed, power, hatred etc. Did God teach humankind to hate? I don't think so. Then there must be an adversary against God but how does this adversary influence people to hate, kill, rape etc. My conclusion is that it is a spiritual influence. Can we see this influential spirit? No. Then where is this thing that causes this hatred on earth? Maybe also in a dimension which we cannot see. Does it matter whether this thing which is called a serpent in the Bible looked like a dragon or whether it sails today on its stomach? Once again no. We all know there are no dragons or snakes on earth today who speak or whisper bad things in people's ears. From the Bible we know the Jews expected a messiah that would rid them from the Roman oppression because they believed in a physical world and not in the spiritual God. Jesus came and a new meaning in life. A life that goes beyond the physical and what you can see. And for those that dispute Jesus Christ as the Messiah and the Son of God, one historian writer in that time, Josephus, wrote of Jesus who performed all these miracles. Is there any human on earth who can cure the blind, the deaf, the lame and who can even bring back the dead from the living? Scientists have tried their best to disprove Jesus only to become converted Christians in the end. Why do you think that happened? Ultimately the facts awoken their spiritual understanding and led them to convert. I think my message although only my humble opinion is God exists, as well as His Son Jesus and the devil/satan. You can choose to believe or not. There will be a continuous spiritual warfare but when you die I believe you will find out the truth for yourself. May God bless you all.
ReplyDeleteThat was really good points u had. I agree with you. And i can point another evidence. In Quran moses miracle describes in to ways. When moses talk to god with fire and god said to him throw down ur stuff its becoming moving serpent, but latter in Pharoah court its describes as dragon.!
ReplyDeletePs. Quran its very great book and work as key here. In quran says the pervious book are accepted anjil and Torah (old and new testimony)
And the stories that mention in quran and the other two work as corrections. Its saud thet they make differences and quran tell accurate one. Like u siad quran testified that was satan that talk to Eve.
Why a bronze serpent on Moses pole, Satan can not heal.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33621491?ocid=socialflow_twitter
ReplyDeleteFour legged snakes existed 112 million years ago… lol
The decapitated head of Jormangandr IS Idaho; Thor makes up a good part of the landscapes in Arizona and New Mexico. All true, too bad for Yaldaboath; the guy on the ceiling at Paul the 6th Chapel? Yea!
ReplyDeleteThe Bible refers to satan as that Dragon, that serpent of old.in Rev 12:9 . I offer this as speculation. What happened to the dinosaurs? The word dinosaur only comes into use in 1842. Before then Dinosaurs bones were known as ........"Dragon bones" in common terms. So, What was the curse of the serpent?
ReplyDeleteupon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I offer it was a dinosaur/Dragon. What is the closest living relative we have to a dinosaur/Dragon? Crocodilians( Alligators, Crocodiles, Caymans etc). So out of these grand colossal creatures the closest thing left, crawls on its belly and eats of the dust of the earth. This is my theory and it seems to check all the boxes.
Hello Scott_
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to point something out in one of your arguments (yet even so I agree that he is not a snake but a type of dragon). You said in your post:
“Also, in Genesis 3:15, a woman is prophesied to crush the serpent's head (for more on Genesis 3:15, the Protoevangelium, click here). That snake should be afraid of women, not the other way around!”
Whereas Genesis 3:15 ESV (and other versions) it is written:
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
Amen.
The way I’ve read Genesis 3:15 (in various versions) is that the “he” in “ he shall bruise your head” is her offspring, not herself. I followed your link to the Protoevangelium post you made and from what I quickly scanned (so I could return and finish this post) was that you show “he” as “He” Jesus Christ. That all lines up with my interpretation as well with further scripture you mention.
I just wanted to mention that the point about Eve crushing the now belly crawling serpent stuck out to me as a bit off-alignment (and you probably don’t even need this argument to make the point about the fable of women being afraid of snakes … tell that to professionals at the San Diego or Bronx zoos).
I think overall your assessment is sound in my humble opinion. I just would pray for you a loving and non-racist and anti-Semitic readership than some I have read in your comments. God urges us to love our friends, neighbors, and enemies. I’ll stick with that, albeit hard to do at times. I’m a work in progress. Thanks for your research and diligently seeking His word.
Corrections:
ReplyDelete*Is her offspring, and not she herself.
* I would just pray for you a more loving and non-racist and non-anti-Semitic readership, than those I’ve read in your comments.
I have spend the past months researching everything I can get my hands on regarding where we are as humans on this earth which is crumbling beneath us. I am a believer (Christian). I have often struggled with a few understandings of biblical passages. One was indeed the "snake" that God actually curses it to crawl on it's belly. (in the Garden of Eden). It wasn't until I understood more about Satan and the angels who followed him to earth some time later to take human women and as the world turns after that.
ReplyDeleteOn another note I have been curious in UFOs, visitors from other worlds, an alien which means "not of this world", gave me new insight into God being an alien.....and He is, being not of this world.
Now then, ancient aliens did indeed visit this world and they left behind a multitude of clues through writings and hieroglyphics. I am understanding the Reptilians were one species of visitors and that they are evil, they want to conquer and control, and are shape shifters. They are among us today, they hold great office and do not necessarily show their evil intent, but many can see it. Now, believe this or not, it certainly could make it understandable that the great dragon (a reptilian) could easily shape shift into a man and approach Eve whereas she wouldn't be afraid (although with Adam supposedly the only man in the garden should have surprised her....but. So goeth my present understanding as my research continues. Thank you for a great commentary.
The Bible often uses allegorical language. I believe the "serpent" is neither a snake nor a dragon in physical form, but appeared as a man. Eve struck up what seemed like a friendship with this "man" who was Lucifer in his first attempt to deceive humankind. No question Lucifer became Satan and therefore in his heart, like a Leviathan (Dragon) when he met Eve. Genesis 3:1 shows a conversation that's in progress. That's all I have for now.
ReplyDeleteThe serpent loves to add to, take away from and change God's word. The writer of this article has been listening to a serpent.
ReplyDelete