Serpents in the Bible

Serpents (Hebrew: נָחָשׁ, romanized: nāḥāš) are referred to in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. The symbol of a serpent or snake played important roles in the religious traditions and cultural life of ancient Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Canaan.^[1] The serpent was a symbol of evil power and chaos from the underworld as well as a symbol of fertility, life, healing, and rebirth.^[2]

Nāḥāš (נחש‎), Hebrew for "snake", is also associated with divination, including the verb form meaning "to practice divination or fortune-telling". Nāḥāš occurs in the Torah to identify the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, it is also used in conjunction with seraph to describe vicious serpents in the wilderness. The tannin, a dragon monster, also occurs throughout the Hebrew Bible. In the Book of Exodus, the staves of Moses and Aaron are turned into serpents, a nāḥāš for Moses, a tannin for Aaron. In the New Testament, the Book of Revelation makes use of ancient serpent and the Dragon several times to identify Satan or the Devil^[3] (Revelation 12:9; 20:2). The serpent is most often identified with the hubristic Satan, and sometimes with Lilith.^[3]

The narrative of the Garden of Eden and the fall of humankind constitute a mythological tradition shared by all the Abrahamic religions,^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] with a presentation more or less symbolic of Judeo-Christian-Islamic morals and religious beliefs,^[3]^[4]^[7] which had an overwhelming impact on human sexuality, gender roles, and sex differences both in the Western and Islamic civilizations.^[3] In mainstream (Nicene) Christianity, the doctrine of the Fall is closely related to that of original sin or ancestral sin.^[8] Unlike Christianity, the other major Abrahamic religions, Judaism and Islam, do not have a concept of "original sin", and instead have developed varying other interpretations of the Eden narrative.^[3]^[5]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

^ Graf, Fritz (2018). "Travels to the Beyond: A Guide". In Ekroth, Gunnel; Nilsson, Ingela (eds.). Round Trip to Hades in the Eastern Mediterranean Tradition: Visits to the Underworld from Antiquity to Byzantium. Cultural Interactions in the Mediterranean. Vol. 2. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 11–36. doi:10.1163/9789004375963_002. ISBN 978-90-04-37596-3. S2CID 201526808.
^ Olson 1996, p. 136
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f
- Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Hebrew Bible Accounts". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 15–40. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.5. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.5.
- Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Jewish Postbiblical Interpretations (200 BCE–200 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 41–68. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.6. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.6.
- Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Early Christian Interpretations (50–450 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 108–55. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.8. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.8.
- Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Medieval Readings: Muslim, Jewish, and Christian (600–1500 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 156–248. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.9. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.9.
^ ^a ^b Leeming, David A. (June 2003). Carey, Lindsay B. (ed.). "Religion and Sexuality: The Perversion of a Natural Marriage". Journal of Religion and Health. 42 (2). Springer Verlag: 101–09. doi:10.1023/A:1023621612061. ISSN 1573-6571. JSTOR 27511667. S2CID 38974409.
^ ^a ^b Awn, Peter J. (1983). "Mythic Biography". Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Numen Book Series. Vol. 44. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 18–56. doi:10.1163/9789004378636_003. ISBN 978-90-04-37863-6. ISSN 0169-8834.
^ Mahmoud, Muhammad (1995). "The Creation Story in 'Sūrat Al-Baqara," with Special Reference to Al-Ṭabarī's Material: An Analysis". Journal of Arabic Literature. 26 (1/2): 201–14. doi:10.1163/157006495X00175. JSTOR 4183374.
^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Adam". www.newadvent.org.
^ ^a ^b Tuling, Kari H. (2020). "Part 1: Is God the Creator and Source of All Being – Including Evil?". In Tuling, Kari H. (ed.). Thinking about God: Jewish Views. JPS Essential Judaism Series. Lincoln and Philadelphia: University of Nebraska Press/Jewish Publication Society. pp. 3–64. doi:10.2307/j.ctv13796z1.5. ISBN 978-0-8276-1848-0. LCCN 2019042781. S2CID 241611417.
^ Kolatch, Alfred J. (2021) [1989]. "Issues in Jewish Ethics: Judaism's Rejection of Original Sin". Jewish Virtual Library. American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE). Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
^ Jarrar, Maher (2017). "Strategies for Paradise: Paradise Virgins and Utopia". In Günther, Sebastian; Lawson, Todd (eds.). Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam. Islamic History and Civilization. Vol. 136. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 271–94. doi:10.1163/9789004333154_013. ISBN 978-90-04-33315-4. ISSN 0929-2403. LCCN 2016047258.
^ Johns, Anthony Hearle (2006). "Fall of Man". In McAuliffe, Jane Dammen (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. Vol. II. Leiden: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQSIM_00147. ISBN 90-04-14743-8.

[Graf-2018-1] Graf, Fritz (2018). "Travels to the Beyond: A Guide". In Ekroth, Gunnel; Nilsson, Ingela (eds.). Round Trip to Hades in the Eastern Mediterranean Tradition: Visits to the Underworld from Antiquity to Byzantium. Cultural Interactions in the Mediterranean. Vol. 2. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 11–36. doi:10.1163/9789004375963_002. ISBN 978-90-04-37596-3. S2CID 201526808.

[Olson_1996-2-2] Olson 1996, p. 136

[Kvam_1999-1-3] 
Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Hebrew Bible Accounts". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 15–40. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.5. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.5.

Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Jewish Postbiblical Interpretations (200 BCE–200 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 41–68. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.6. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.6.

Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Early Christian Interpretations (50–450 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 108–55. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.8. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.8.

Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Medieval Readings: Muslim, Jewish, and Christian (600–1500 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 156–248. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.9. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.9.

[4] Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Hebrew Bible Accounts". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 15–40. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.5. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.5.

[5] Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Jewish Postbiblical Interpretations (200 BCE–200 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 41–68. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.6. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.6.

[6] Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Early Christian Interpretations (50–450 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 108–55. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.8. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.8.

[7] Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Medieval Readings: Muslim, Jewish, and Christian (600–1500 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 156–248. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.9. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.9.

[Leeming-2003-4] Leeming, David A. (June 2003). Carey, Lindsay B. (ed.). "Religion and Sexuality: The Perversion of a Natural Marriage". Journal of Religion and Health. 42 (2). Springer Verlag: 101–09. doi:10.1023/A:1023621612061. ISSN 1573-6571. JSTOR 27511667. S2CID 38974409.

[Awn-1983-5] Awn, Peter J. (1983). "Mythic Biography". Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Numen Book Series. Vol. 44. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 18–56. doi:10.1163/9789004378636_003. ISBN 978-90-04-37863-6. ISSN 0169-8834.

[6] Mahmoud, Muhammad (1995). "The Creation Story in 'Sūrat Al-Baqara," with Special Reference to Al-Ṭabarī's Material: An Analysis". Journal of Arabic Literature. 26 (1/2): 201–14. doi:10.1163/157006495X00175. JSTOR 4183374.

[7] "Catholic Encyclopedia: Adam". www.newadvent.org.

[Tuling-2020-8] Tuling, Kari H. (2020). "Part 1: Is God the Creator and Source of All Being – Including Evil?". In Tuling, Kari H. (ed.). Thinking about God: Jewish Views. JPS Essential Judaism Series. Lincoln and Philadelphia: University of Nebraska Press/Jewish Publication Society. pp. 3–64. doi:10.2307/j.ctv13796z1.5. ISBN 978-0-8276-1848-0. LCCN 2019042781. S2CID 241611417.

[9] Kolatch, Alfred J. (2021) [1989]. "Issues in Jewish Ethics: Judaism's Rejection of Original Sin". Jewish Virtual Library. American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE). Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2021.

[10] Jarrar, Maher (2017). "Strategies for Paradise: Paradise Virgins and Utopia". In Günther, Sebastian; Lawson, Todd (eds.). Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam. Islamic History and Civilization. Vol. 136. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 271–94. doi:10.1163/9789004333154_013. ISBN 978-90-04-33315-4. ISSN 0929-2403. LCCN 2016047258.

[11] Johns, Anthony Hearle (2006). "Fall of Man". In McAuliffe, Jane Dammen (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. Vol. II. Leiden: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQSIM_00147. ISBN 90-04-14743-8.

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