Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
Genesis 2-3 – Why Did the Serpent Speak?
Two realities make it difficult to see a text with fresh eyes: 1) Familiarity with the Details; 2) Explanation of the Familiar Details. Such is our challenge with any inspired narrative, such as Adam, Eve, and the Serpent. To do this we must separate the revealed NT information from the Genesis record.
Who was the serpent? 1) From the perspective of the new covenant, we know Satan either took the form of a serpent, or indwelt within the snake (Rev.12:9).This fleshly encasement would be somewhat the opposite of Jesus’ incarnation – one led to sin, the other to salvation. 2) From a Torah perspective, the serpent was just a serpent, with even the Hebrew word meaning “hiss”. There are some fanciful explanations that go far beyond the text.
How can a serpent speak? If you believe the first 4 words of the Bible, you can believe everything that follows. 1) From a Christian perspective, the power could be satanic. 2) From a Jewish point of view, God gave the serpent (maybe other animals too) the ability to speak – an innate gift only humans have today. Genesis 3:1 implies this was God’s creation – (HCSB) “Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made….”
3) Why would a serpent speak, and speak lies? Remember, the serpent could walk, talk, and was intelligent. And don’t forget what Adam did before this: 1) named the animals; 2) rejected the animals as his complement helper. According to one rabbi, the serpent consequently wants to destroy Adam’s relationship with Eve; and so it tempts Eve to destroy her. Basically Genesis 2-3 become a moral lesson against the destructive effects of jealousy and envy.
This last question is possibly the most interesting. Theologically the serpent speaks for the same reason the tree exists – both are part of the necessities for free will. 1) From a Christian perspective, the serpent speaks as a typological foreshadowing of another temptation scene – Jesus in the wilderness and Jesus in another garden. 2) However, seeing this from using only the information written in Genesis warns us of so many continual temptations; especially how envy destroys.
Of course many can object saying we have the NT so why see the OT only through a veil? The answer is it helps us see the text like those to whom it was written. That’s always valuable.
Comments