Was the Serpent a Literal Snake?

[Mary Magdalene]

If so, where is he slithering about today?

Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan,
which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth,
and his angels were cast out with him.

Or, is there a spiritual understanding?

CF: Revelation 20:2
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.

 

[B-A-C]

I have seen this question asked before.

As far as myself - I don't really know the answer.
We know demons inhabited the bodies of people, and even swine. So it's possible Satan simply inhabited a serpent host.
Some animals such as Balaam's donkey talked. So it's possible the serpent (snake?) talked in an understandable language.
Other times Satan is called an animal metaphorically. (a roaring lion, a great dragon, etc..)

But I don't really know the answer to your question.
I would ask - whether it was literal or metaphorical, does it make any difference the over-all story of the garden of Eden?

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 3:1a . . Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which
the Lord God had made.

Probably no other creature in the Bible provokes so much skepticism as the
Serpent. It just smacks of mythology.

But this particular serpent was no ordinary reptile. It was indeed a remarkable
creature. Not only was it capable of language, and able to communicate on a very
sophisticated level with human beings, but it had an exceptional IQ too. It grasped
the significance of a supreme being, and totally understood the workings of human
nature and the human mind. No mere animal is capable of that degree of insight,
cognition, and communication.

The final book in the New Testament confirms the Serpent's true identity, and it is
none other than the dark spirit being well known to everyone as the Devil and
Satan. (Rev 20:1-3).

According to Christ, Mr. Serpent was in the world from the very beginning; and his
stock in trade was murder and deception right from the get go. (John 8:44)

Since Rev 20:1-3 has not yet come to pass, then the Serpent remains at large and
very active in today's modern world. It is highly skilled at mental suggestions:
secretly guiding mankind along a road to self destruction. It is the source of much
of the world's political tensions, and certainly the impetus behind all large scale
anti-Semitic agendas.

I have never seen the Serpent myself; nor would I care to. But I know from Matt
4:1-11 that Christ saw it, and spoke with it. From that passage it's obvious that the
Serpent is capable of human speech, understands human needs and weaknesses,
believes in the existence of God, understands the concept of worship, a master of
sophistry, understands the Bible, and understands the advantages of manipulating
human minds, and world power.

The Serpent certainly wasn't squeamish about tempting the Son of God to sin; so it
should come as no surprise that it wouldn't hesitate to entice a little nobody like
Eve. But Eve was extremely strategic; she was the high ground in the battle for
men's minds, because Eve was destined to be the mother of all subsequent human
beings. If the Serpent could get to the root of humanity, it would surely gain control
over the entire human race; and it did. (Eph 2:1-3)

The Serpent seems possessed with a strange, criminal mentality: beyond
comprehension. But then so are scam artists, cyber hackers, Ponzi schemers, and
cruel, domineering political bosses. Those kinds of inhuman misfits are prisoners of
dark minds clouded with anti-social inclinations.

Psychopaths like those above are a cunning breed of predators who lack sympathy,
remorse, and impulse control; readily violating social rules and exploiting others to
get what they want. Curiously, psychopaths are often so charming and
manipulative that they are well-concealed behind a mask of normalcy sometimes
for years; and even their entire lives.

The origin of the Serpent's twisted mind is really puzzling. How did it get that way?
Was it a birth defect? Did the Serpent bump its head?

One thing is for sure: the Serpent's fondness for deceit is living proof that angels
are not mindless robots created to obey the will of God without thought or question.
No; they too have a mind of their own, and the freedom of choice between good
and evil-- the very same decisions that Man is at liberty to exercise.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 3:14 . .Then the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you did this, more
cursed shall you be than all cattle and all the wild beasts: On your belly shall you
crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life.

Ancient Jews thought maybe the Serpent was originally equipped with feet.

T. Upon thy belly thou shalt go, and thy feet shall be cut off, and thy skin thou shalt
cast away once in seven years; and the poison of death shall be in thy mouth, and
dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. (Targum Jonathan)

It's probably best to interpret Gen 3:14 as poetic language because I have never
seen, nor yet heard of, a species of snake that eats soil for its food. True, snakes
crawl on their bellies; but they probably always did; because that's the way they're
designed. Some snakes live in trees and others live in water. Those kinds don't
spend a whole lot of time on the ground so not all snakes are alike. I really don't
think snakes crawl because they were condemned to crawl. Nor was every species
of snake condemned; nor every individual of a certain species; just the one snake.

A person who crawls and eats dirt is typically someone held in very low regard; in
other words: a worm. And "all the days of your life" is saying that God's low opinion
of the Serpent will never be rescinded.

Serpents will eat dirt in the kingdom of God; possibly as a perpetual reminder of
Man's first great mistake.

"The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and the serpent's food shall be earth." (Isa 65:25)

Today, snakes don't eat earth, they eat prey. How serpents will survive on dirt is
unclear, unless their digestive system will be changed to that of a night crawler.

Serpents are never portrayed in the Bible as beneficial to Man. They are always of
the poisonous variety and a serious threat to Man's health and well being. That will
all be different in the kingdom of God.

"A babe shall play over a viper's hole, and an infant pass his hand over an adder's
den. In all of My sacred mount nothing evil or vile shall be done; for the land shall
be filled with devotion to the Lord as water covers the sea. In that day, the stock of
Jesse that has remained standing shall become a standard to peoples-- nations
shall seek his counsel and his abode shall be honored." (Isa 11:8-10)

• Gen 3:15a . . I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and her offspring.

The word "offspring" is translated from zera' (zeh'-rah) which is an ambiguous
Hebrew word that technically means seed; but not always the biological kind. It can
also mean a product and/or a result (e.g. Isa 53:10) and also fruit, plant, sowing
time, and/or progeny and posterity.

I have yet to encounter a passage in the Bible indicating that spirit beings
reproduce; but I have encountered one strongly suggesting that they don't (Matt
22:30) so I think we should assume that the Serpent's seed would be something
other than biological progeny.

The beginning of the woman's seed was Cain; an obvious product of the Serpent's
handiwork (1John 3:12) and so were a number of the Lord's religious opponents
(John 8:44). So not all the woman's seed would be against the Serpent rather,
quite in league with him.

The woman finally did produce holy seed; beginning with Abel, and then on down
Seth's line to Noah, Abraham, David, and ultimately Jesus. (Gal 4:4)

• Gen 3:15b . . Hers will pound your head, and yours will bite his heel.

The Serpent's bite on Jesus' heel was fatal; however, it wasn't enough to render
him ineffective in his quest to destroy the Serpent. Jesus was restored to life with
immortality and will live to see the woman's ancient adversary permanently
incarcerated. (Rev 20:10)
_

 

[Brad Huber]

Angels are spirits that can assume physical form. In that case in Eden, satan did just that. And there is no scripture that specifically states this for those who ask. God shares things with me through the Holy Spirit. He would do it with you all, if you sought this ability out in humility.

 

[Sue D.]

@Brad Huber -- the Holy Spirit gives insight to all born again believers -- it's not just to you.

The serpant in the garden of Eden -- there are some beautiful serpants -- thinking in the Middle Eastern countries. Maybe the cobra is what I'm thinking about. Huge and strong.

Lucifer was thrown out of heaven and it's been suggested that it was since he was the most beautiful angel of God's creation -- that when he landed on earth -- he became the most beautiful of all snakes / the serpent who used his guile to persuade Eve to eat and share it with Adam.

Genesis 3:14 "on your belly you shall go..." so apparently they Used to Before the fall, they Were able to stand up. Maybe like bears. Bears both stand up and go on all-fours.

 

[Sue D.]

The King Cobra / Indian Cobra is what I found on Google.

 

[Brad Huber]

@Brad Huber -- the Holy Spirit gives insight to all born again believers -- it's not just to you.

The serpant in the garden of Eden -- there are some beautiful serpants -- thinking in the Middle Eastern countries. Maybe the cobra is what I'm thinking about. Huge and strong.

Lucifer was thrown out of heaven and it's been suggested that it was since he was the most beautiful angel of God's creation -- that when he landed on earth -- he became the most beautiful of all snakes / the serpent who used his guile to persuade Eve to eat and share it with Adam.

Genesis 3:14 "on your belly you shall go..." so apparently they Used to Before the fall, they Were able to stand up. Maybe like bears. Bears both stand up and go on all-fours.

Sue, although the Holy Spirit is a gift given to all those who give their life to Christ, its like the parable of the talents. You must use that talent, make it grow, versus hiding it in the ground, which is not using the gifts God gives you "for a purpose" for the growth of the person and the church. That part of using the gift of the Holy Spirit is sadly missing from most christians lives. They read the bible sometimes, go to church sometimes, thats sorta like reading the instructions of the use of the gift, but its "not" using the actual gift of the Holy Spirit. It must be exercised, used, experimented with, learned about, and use faith to make that gift grow. When people do this, God gives them even more gifts because unlike many, they actually "use" the gifts they have been given. Do you know your gift(s) and do you use it regularly?

 

[Sue D.]

@Brad Huber -- are you possibly getting the gifts given by the Holy Spirt at the time of salvation with the Holy Spirit's working in our lives. The spiritual gifts Given by the Holy Spirit are given to help the Church run smoothly.
And some people might not know what their spiritual gift is. And , upon a person's salvation, they will probably have a new interest in some form of church ministry.

And in some churches , when people move away who've done a certain thing, that the pastor will announce that those interested in doing 'such and such' see me during the week.

A long time ago -- the church we used to go to -- they had a new pastor come straight out of Bible college. He was married. He and his wife had met in a class about spiritual gifts. He supposedly helped her figure out her gift. What he had her doing first thing in our church wasn't even Biblical. He had her trying to teach a class of mixed adults. She was very uncomfortable and should Not have been doing that. A man should have been teaching that adult mixed class. Now a class of only women would have been appropriate. Or a children's class.

Well -- God, the Holy Spirit -- gives gifts as He sees fit. 1 Corinthians 12 -- now concerning spiritual gifts vs 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

 

[Brad Huber]

@Brad Huber -- are you possibly getting the gifts given by the Holy Spirt at the time of salvation with the Holy Spirit's working in our lives. The spiritual gifts Given by the Holy Spirit are given to help the Church run smoothly.
And some people might not know what their spiritual gift is. And , upon a person's salvation, they will probably have a new interest in some form of church ministry.

And in some churches , when people move away who've done a certain thing, that the pastor will announce that those interested in doing 'such and such' see me during the week.

A long time ago -- the church we used to go to -- they had a new pastor come straight out of Bible college. He was married. He and his wife had met in a class about spiritual gifts. He supposedly helped her figure out her gift. What he had her doing first thing in our church wasn't even Biblical. He had her trying to teach a class of mixed adults. She was very uncomfortable and should Not have been doing that. A man should have been teaching that adult mixed class. Now a class of only women would have been appropriate. Or a children's class.

Well -- God, the Holy Spirit -- gives gifts as He sees fit. 1 Corinthians 12 -- now concerning spiritual gifts vs 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

I got at least one gift at the time of my salvation. I had no idea what it was and didnt bother trying to find out for years. I prayed, read scripture, attended church, and tried to live "the good christian life". Thats what most christians do. If I had continued in that way, I would have been the man with the talent hidden in the ground. Eventually another christian told me that I had a specific gift and that I needed to find out what it was and start using it or be that man that hid his talent in the ground. I was convicted, and knew in my heart he was right. So I listed all the gifts the scripture talks about, and began studying them, seeing if they might be my gift. I know I didnt heal people, God hadnt at that time shared something with me to tell another christian to do as warning (like the guy who told me I had to find my gift), so I wasnt a prophet (thats basically a prophet), I wasnt sure about most of them, but I knew that I was able to "read" people better than most and accurately as well. So I figured out that I had the gift of discernment. God eventually shared with me that I had a sort of double gift in this area. He had given me a life that nutured that natural ability from an early age, and I saw spirits when I was only 10 years old, not even a christian yet, although I did go to church. I was much much better at it after salvation. The only thing I wasnt to wise about was involvement with women, my emotions warred with my superb intuition in most areas of my life. But I began using my gift more to help me, and realized that eventually, I need to do the same as that man did to me in the past. Make others aware of their need to know their gift, their supernatural gift from God to help themselves and the church.

 

[Beetow]

It's commonly believed, preached, and taught that the so-called fallen nature is
inherited from our biological fathers. Oh? Then from whence did the woman get it?

She was constructed with material taken from Adam's body prior to the forbidden
fruit incident. Since himself tasted the fruit after his wife was born; then it was
impossible for Adam to pass the so-called fallen nature to her by means of
procreation.

In the past, I was sure that the chemistry of the forbidden fruit had something to
do with the change that took place in the first couple's moral perception; but now I
seriously doubt it because the woman was the first to eat it, and when she did,
nothing happened. She remained shameless and went about in the buff as usual;
the woman's self awareness was unchanged, and her feelings about the human
body remained the same. It wasn't till Adam tasted the fruit that she began to think
that full frontal nudity is indecent; so I'm pretty sure that the underlying cause is
far more serious than the chemistry of that fruit.

Ruling out Adam, and ruling out the fruit; we're left with two alternatives: either
God did it to them or the Serpent did it. My money is on the Serpent, a.k.a. the
Devil (Rev 20:2)

He has the power of death (Heb 2:14) and the ability to tamper with the human
body and the human mind in ways not easily detected; e.g. Luke 13:16, Mark 5:1
5, and Eph 2:2.

The Serpent was apparently all set and ready to wield his power the moment that
Adam crossed the line and ate that fruit. It amazes me how quickly it takes effect.
As soon as Adam tasted the fruit, he and his wife both immediately set to work with
the fig leaves.

Faq: Why wasn't the woman effected by the Serpent's power when she tasted the
forbidden fruit?

A: It was apparently God's decision that if sin and death were to come into the
world, they would come via a male's actions just as life and righteousness would
later be offered to the world via a male's actions. (Rom 5:12-21)

Faq: When does the Serpent go to work on people. . . in the womb or out of the
womb?

A: Adam and his wife demonstrate that it can be done on adults, but I'm guessing
that for most of us it's in the womb. (Ps 51:5 & 58:3)

I really have to hand it to the Serpent; he's very good at shifting blame away from
himself. For quite a few years now it's been traditional to believe biological fathers
propagate the fallen nature; when it's been the Serpent all along.

How he has managed to deceive so many people for so long a time I don't know,
but what's really ironic about it is that there are people behind pulpits, and chairing
whole Sunday school departments, helping him do it as unsuspecting accomplices;
which goes to show that if an idea is repeated often enough, widely enough, and
loud enough by people held in high regard; pretty soon it's accepted by the masses
as fact without thought or question.

A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong;
Gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
( Thomas Paine )
_

 

[Brother Paul]

IMHO, Genesis 1-3 is engulfed in metaphoe...the Serpent is not a physically literal talking snake any more than the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is an apple or pomegrzanite or some other physicaly literal piece of fruit...that is not to say they are prettend or made up...they are nece3ssarily symbolic in suach a way that very early civilizations (from long before Moses came along) could grasp the reality of how we get to this fallen state and that despite it God loves us and has a remedy (than as yet future that they could place their trust in and now a present reality who is Christ that we can place our trust in). As badf as it is and as much turmoil and tribulation we see around us, be of good cheer because He has overcome the world (God working together all things for our good).

 

[Christ4Ever]

• Gen 3:14 . .Then the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you did this, more
cursed shall you be than all cattle and all the wild beasts: On your belly shall you
crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life.

Ancient Jews thought maybe the Serpent was originally equipped with feet.

T. Upon thy belly thou shalt go, and thy feet shall be cut off, and thy skin thou shalt
cast away once in seven years; and the poison of death shall be in thy mouth, and
dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. (Targum Jonathan)

It's probably best to interpret Gen 3:14 as poetic language because I have never
seen, nor yet heard of, a species of snake that eats soil for its food. True, snakes
crawl on their bellies; but they probably always did; because that's the way they're
designed. Some snakes live in trees and others live in water. Those kinds don't
spend a whole lot of time on the ground so not all snakes are alike. I really don't
think snakes crawl because they were condemned to crawl. Nor was every species
of snake condemned; nor every individual of a certain species; just the one snake.

A person who crawls and eats dirt is typically someone held in very low regard; in
other words: a worm. And "all the days of your life" is saying that God's low opinion
of the Serpent will never be rescinded.

Serpents will eat dirt in the kingdom of God; possibly as a perpetual reminder of
Man's first great mistake.

"The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and the serpent's food shall be earth." (Isa 65:25)

Today, snakes don't eat earth, they eat prey. How serpents will survive on dirt is
unclear, unless their digestive system will be changed to that of a night crawler.

Serpents are never portrayed in the Bible as beneficial to Man. They are always of
the poisonous variety and a serious threat to Man's health and well being. That will
all be different in the kingdom of God.

"A babe shall play over a viper's hole, and an infant pass his hand over an adder's
den. In all of My sacred mount nothing evil or vile shall be done; for the land shall
be filled with devotion to the Lord as water covers the sea. In that day, the stock of
Jesse that has remained standing shall become a standard to peoples-- nations
shall seek his counsel and his abode shall be honored." (Isa 11:8-10)

• Gen 3:15a . . I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and her offspring.

The word "offspring" is translated from zera' (zeh'-rah) which is an ambiguous
Hebrew word that technically means seed; but not always the biological kind. It can
also mean a product and/or a result (e.g. Isa 53:10) and also fruit, plant, sowing
time, and/or progeny and posterity.

I have yet to encounter a passage in the Bible indicating that spirit beings
reproduce; but I have encountered one strongly suggesting that they don't (Matt
22:30) so I think we should assume that the Serpent's seed would be something
other than biological progeny.

The beginning of the woman's seed was Cain; an obvious product of the Serpent's
handiwork (1John 3:12) and so were a number of the Lord's religious opponents
(John 8:44). So not all the woman's seed would be against the Serpent rather,
quite in league with him.

The woman finally did produce holy seed; beginning with Abel, and then on down
Seth's line to Noah, Abraham, David, and ultimately Jesus. (Gal 4:4)

• Gen 3:15b . . Hers will pound your head, and yours will bite his heel.

The Serpent's bite on Jesus' heel was fatal; however, it wasn't enough to render
him ineffective in his quest to destroy the Serpent. Jesus was restored to life with
immortality and will live to see the woman's ancient adversary permanently
incarcerated. (Rev 20:10)
_

Dear Beetow,
I found this short video which you might find interesting, on the subject of whether snakes had feet as you mention the Hebrews believing is the case.

Too often we have difficulty with the imagery of Scripture, along with its symbolism, and so attribute it some other meaning than what is intended.
As always a joy and enlightening reading your postings.

With the Love of Christ Jesus.
YBIC
Nick
\o/
<><

 

[Brother Paul]

I have seen this question asked before.

As far as myself - I don't really know the answer.
We know demons inhabited the bodies of people, and even swine. So it's possible Satan simply inhabited a serpent host.
Some animals such as Balaam's donkey talked. So it's possible the serpent (snake?) talked in an understandable language.
Other times Satan is called an animal metaphorically. (a roaring lion, a great dragon, etc..)

But I don't really know the answer to your question.
I would ask - whether it was literal or metaphorical, does it make any difference the over-all story of the garden of Eden?

In retrospect I would say this was the wisest answer in this thread....thanks B-A-C

 

[Beetow]

The verse below is deliberately misquoted. Watch for the revision.

"Now the serpent was more crafty than the other wild animals the Lord God had
made" (Gen 3:1)

The word "other" is not supposed to be there. I penciled it in for a reason.

Here's a valid translation of that verse.

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had
made"

A reasonable conclusion to draw from a valid translation is that the Serpent
wasn't a wild animal. So unless Adam kept a number of domesticated snakes on his
property, I'd have to say that the Serpent wasn't an organic creature.

Spirit creatures are normally invisible to the naked eye. However, seeing them is not
impossible. For example Gen 32:1-2 and 2Kgs 6:15-17.

It's very possible that in the beginning, people could see spirit creatures just as
easily as organic creatures. Apparently human eyesight somehow lost a percentage
of its visible spectrum and we today have what might be called a fallen visual acuity
due to being deprived of certain essential nutrients found only in the tree of life.

That's not an unreasonable posit. Common science is well aware that inadequate
nutrition can lead to problems with eye health; and not only our eyes, but also the
proper function of other parts of our bodies too.

• Rev 22:1-3 . .Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as
crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the
great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing
twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are
for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse.
_

 

[Downunder]

Or, is there a spiritual understanding?
CF: Revelation 20:2
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.

Dr Michael Heiser has written about this - see his book "The Unseen Realm" chapter 10 'Trouble in Paradise'
It was not a snake or serpent that spoke to Eve. The original Hebrew word - nâchâsh - translated as serpent in English has several meanings, including shining or radiant
A spiritual being spoke to and beguiled Eve > "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5

Ezekiel 28:12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.
16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendour. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.

 

[Downunder]

It's very possible that in the beginning, people could see spirit creatures just as
easily as organic creatures. Apparently human eyesight somehow lost a percentage
of its visible spectrum and we today have what might be called a fallen visual acuity
due to being deprived of certain essential nutrients found only in the tree of life.

That's not an unreasonable posit. Common science is well aware that inadequate
nutrition can lead to problems with eye health; and not only our eyes, but also the
proper function of other parts of our bodies too.

Seeing the spiritual is not organic and has nothing to do with natural eyesight. It is only possible when spirit beings give such sight.
We can have angels walking beside us but not perceive them by natural sight.
People have visions only by the actions of whoever is permitting a person to see such. And the enemy loves to give apparitions as an angel of light to deceive many.

Acts 9:3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.
4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
7 The men who were travelling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

Eve saw a bright shining spirit being in the garden who spoke to her. Given that God [Jesus] walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening it would not be a terror to Eve to interact with an angelic being.

 

[Downunder]

Naga (Sanskrit: “serpent”) in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, a member of a class of mythical semidivine beings, half human and half cobra.
They are a strong, handsome species who can assume either wholly human or wholly serpentine form and are potentially dangerous but often beneficial to humans.
They live in an underground kingdom called Naga-loka, or Patala-loka, which is filled with resplendent palaces, beautifully ornamented with precious gems.
The creator deity Brahma relegated the nagas to the nether regions [underworld] when they became too populous on earth and commanded them to bite only the truly evil or those destined to die prematurely.
They are also associated with waters—rivers, lakes, seas, and wells—and are guardians of treasure.
> Cited from Encyclopaedia Britannica

 

[Beetow]

.
A characteristic of Eden's world was not only a lack of human death, but also a lack
of fear. Man feared neither himself, nor the other creatures, nor the dark, nor the
boogie man.

The woman displayed no recorded astonishment whatsoever when the Serpent
spoke to her; which suggests it had associated with the Adams on other occasions
before this incident; and possibly had become a close family friend. Before making
its move to wreck their life, the Serpent more than likely spent some time in
advance nurturing a rapport with the Adams so the woman would have no cause for
alarm when it approached; and would. therefore not suspect its intentions.

That's actually a pretty effective sales approach. Many years ago I tried selling a
line of high-end vacuum cleaners for a while. I was trained to engage potential
customers in chit-chat, a.k.a. small talk, to break the ice and get them to let their
guards down. In other words; to build some trust before I got down to the
predatory business of talking them into buying something expensive that they could
easily get by without.

An innocent who had never been exposed to evil, the woman would certainly never
suspect one of God's creatures to be anything but honest and truthful. Up to this
point, the woman wasn't even aware that something called dishonesty existed. And
actually, she didn't even know what honesty was either because nobody had taught
her anything about it yet

• Gen 3:1c . . Did God really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?

Why didn't the Serpent attempt to trick the male before turning to the female?
Well, Adam was a tougher nut to crack because he got his intel straight from the
horse's mouth. But the woman quite possibly was instructed second hand, in
conversations with her husband; who was, in effect, her personal rabbi. So it would
be fairly easy to convince the woman that maybe she didn't hear her husband
correctly; or worse; that he didn't know what he was talking about. I mean: isn't
there more than one way to explain the Bible? How do you know your way is the
right way?

Of course it was ridiculous to suggest the humans were forbidden to eat of "any"
tree. But the Serpent was slowly sneaking up on the woman with subtle
suggestions. Probing for weak points, the Serpent tested her understanding of
God's instructions by asking a question that she should have been able to answer
with relative ease. In response; the woman bounced right back and quoted God like
a pro (or so she thought).

• Gen 3:2-3 . . The woman replied to the serpent: We may eat of the fruit of the
other trees of the garden. It is only about fruit of the tree in the middle of the
garden that God said: You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.

Is that really what God said? No, that's not what God said. He forbad their eating
the fruit, yes; but said nothing about touching it. (Gen 2:16-17)

The woman failed to repeat what God said, rather, she interpreted what He said.
Apparently, in her mind's eye, the ban on eating the fruit implied not touching it.
Consequently; her humanistic reasoning put a spin on God's instructions so that
instead of following them to the letter, the woman revised them to mean something
that God didn't actually say.

The woman fell prey to a very human weakness-- not only of interpreting God, but
of a tendency to embellish His rules and make them more cumbersome and more
strict than they really are.
_

 

[Waggles]

If so, where is he slithering about today?

Many places, as satan and his other rebellious beings are the rulers of this world.
Which is why the born new again Christian is called out of the world and separated from worldly desires and passions to be a vessel of honour unto God and the gospel.