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“Adam and Eve hear the sound of the Lord going to and fro in the garden ‘as the Spirit of the day.’ This rendering is not so opaque as it my seem on a first reading.” - Word by Word
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Snake or Seraph? The Identity of the Serpent in Genesis 3 (Part 2)
Read Part 1.
Perhaps what Adam and Even saw and heard in the Garden was no mere snake but a serpent-like creature belonging to a higher order than the ordinary “beasts of the field.” Several considerations lend support to this view.
Snake or Seraph? The Identity of the Serpent in Genesis 3 (Part 1)
Genesis 3:1 introduces a new character into the Eden narrative and signals a shift in the plot. He is introduced as “the serpent.” Initially, the reader may picture nothing more than a legless reptile (suborder: serpentes). The Hebrew term נחש is generally used to refer to a type of a reptile, usually a legless reptile such as a snake (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Ps 58:4; Prov 23:32; Isa 65:25; Jer 8:17; Amos 5:19; Mic 7:17). But additional information in the account suggests that this entity is more than a mere snake. This creature talks with the humans and entices them to sin (3:1–5). As a result, he and his “offspring” are cursed by God (3:14–15).
