Yeshua in the Torah: Genesis 3:15
The Serpent, Dusty Feet and the Messiah
by Ed Nelson
The third chapter of Genesis [Bereishit] introduces us to several topics not found earlier in this first book of the Torah, and of the Bible itself. Looming as large as any topic is the mysterious figure who speaks to the woman. He is upright, intelligent, talkative, listening, arguing, well-spoken, confident and suave, uncharacteristic of a serpent as we know them.
The Nachash in the Garden of God
We first meet this creature in Genesis 3:1 where his identity is commonly translated as “the serpent” [ha-nachash]. Such an identity is far removed, even contrary, from our idea of what a serpent, or snake, is. Without fanfare or explanation, he is introduced. The text of Genesis [Bereishit] 3:1 reads:
Now ha-nachash was more ‘arum than any
beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said
to the woman, “Indeed, has Elohim said, ‘You shall not eat from
any tree of the garden’?”
Who is this voice in the Garden of Eden who speaks with such confidence? All we know at this point is that the Hebrew text says he is, that he exists with personality and, technically, is ‘arum in his distinction, not only from man and woman, but from the animals God made as well.
What does this description of being ‘arum mean? Usually our English Bibles render ‘arum as being “more crafty,” “more subtle,” “more cunning,” or something similar. But is this what it really means in the intended sense of the Hebrew text? Perhaps, in a derivative sense, it is. But to get at the original meaning of this word ‘arum, we need to look at the preceding verse in Genesis 2:25 and compare it with 3:1. You will find them to be in a literary relationship, like a couplet with distinctions and similarities. We translate the these two passages as literal as possible to get at the way the Hebrew text was written:
Wvv'(Bot.yI al{ßw> AT=v.aiw> ~d"Þa'h'( ~yMiêWr[] ‘~h,ynEv. WyÝh.YI)w:
Vay-yihivu shenehem arumim ha’adam ve-‘ishitto ve-lo yithboshashu
“And they were two naked ones [‘arumim]—the man and his wife—and they were not ashamed.”
>~yhi_l{a/ hw"åhy> hf'Þ[' rv<ïa] hd<êF'h; tY:åx; ‘lKomi ~Wrê[' hy"åh' ‘vx'N"h;w
ve-ha-nachash hayah ‘arum mi-col chayath ha-sadeh asher ‘asah YHVH Elohim
“And ha-nachash was naked [‘arum], distinct from all beasts of the field which the LORD God had made.”
What sense can we make from this translation? The last verse of chapter 2 and the first verse of chapter 3 form a bicolon, i.e., they are two verses related to each other by parallelism or contrast. In this bicolon, first, we learn that “the serpent” [ha-nachash], as our English Bibles have it, is not human. Nor is he a beast of the field. He stands apart from all creatures God made.
Second, like Adam and his wife, he too is naked.
Third, we see that the man and his wife were not ashamed in their nakedness. No word or phrase in the second half of the bicolon says the serpent [nachash] was unashamed. We must not conclude that he was ashamed, however, but take for granted that he also was unashamed by implication. What we may surmise is that his nakedness was more exaggerated than that of the beasts of the field, corresponding more to the humans. In other words, he was not covered with a body of hair as the beasts of the field were. The imagery of nakedness, of course, supports the idea that the hairless creature was more like a serpent, or dragon, than beasts of the field.
The dialogue between “the naked ones.” After the scant introduction the Scripture gives us about this distinguished creature, immediately a dialogue begins between “the naked and unashamed ones.” The hairless creature is not unlike the man and woman in that he is gifted with speech. He is no ordinary speaker. He speaks with intent to manipulate the mind of the woman. The woman, apparently unsuspecting but open to his control of the line of reasoning, answers him, entertaining his manipulative question to get her to think his way. He asks a simple question of nine Hebrew words: “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
She answers. In reply, “the serpent,” also known in the Bible as haSatan, or “the Satan,” says in seventeen Hebrew words to the woman:
Not dying, shall you die! For God knows that in the day you
eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.
“Not dying, shall you die!,” is the literal Hebrew. It is the same sentence Elohim [God] spoke to warn man and woman about eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—“Dying, you shall die.” In Hebrew, the negative word “not” is inserted as the first word to contradict God’s warning. “For God knows” implies that ha-nachash [“the serpent”] has secret knowledge of the mind of God. He has insider knowledge, hidden knowledge, or occultic knowledge that man does not have through normal channels of information.
Twenty-six (26) history-shaping, destiny-altering words. These words in Genesis 3:4-5 are the last words “the serpent” speaks in the narrative. As a matter of fact, it is the last time “the serpent,” or haSatan, speaks in the Torah. He spoke only twenty-six (26) Hebrew words from the moment he met the woman until he left her. From now on he is silent, at least as far as the Torah, Prophets and Writings [Tanakh, or Old Testament] are concerned. “The serpent” raised only a single question about the veracity of God’s word—nine (9) words, then merely opined an alternative view—seventeen (17) words. Twenty-six words were spoken in total. Then catastrophic results occurred that would shape history and alter human destiny.
Then “the serpent” [ha-nachash] became silent. The dialogue between him and the woman ended as abruptly as it began. But the course of human history tragically and dramatically steered away from its original purpose. Man became independent-minded, self-aware and self-absorbed. He was in rebellion against his Creator. He would demonstrate this by his animosity towards his own kind and his world. Evil would color the mind of humankind. In man’s triumph of a raised self-awareness in separation from God, all creation groaned, now in bondage to decay (cf. Romans 8:20-22).
In Hebrew gematria, the system of distilling words into numeric values, the absolute or normative value of the personal name of God, YHVH [Yod-He-Vav-He, or Yahweh], is twenty-six (26). (The gematria value is shown in the formula [(Y=10)+(H=5)+(V=6)+(H=5)] = 26.). YHVH (Yahweh) is the personal name of God. In ancient Hebraic hermeneutics gematria played an important role, even as it does today in Jewish hermeneutics. The numeric association between the numeric value of the name YHVH and Satan’s total number of words spoken to the woman is not missed by those who study gematria. A Hebraic hermeneutical conclusion drawn from applying gematria, or numeric associations of Hebrew letters and words, is that Satan’s 26 words spoken to the woman were to blaspheme YHVH (Yahweh) while manipulating her (and the man, as a result) to join his way of thinking.
A powerless demonstration of deceit. Notice that the serpent demonstrated no signs of visible power, accomplished no spectacular feats of might, called down no lightning from above, attached himself to no one as we think of demons doing at times, and physically attacked no one. He did nothing but ask a question and offer a contradictory opinion to God’s word.
The way many people speak of haSatan today you would think the biblical story must be understated. Shouldn’t this amazing creature called “the serpent” at least strike the woman with a deadly bite, or the man, her husband? Isn’t this what serpents are known to do? They coil and strike. Their fangs secrete venom in their victims. This creature, on the contrary, doesn’t act like a serpent at all. He neither strikes nor bites. Instead, it is the woman and man who bite. They sink their teeth into the forbidden fruit. The humans, acting on behalf of their own desires, do the evil work of rebellion and destruction. They do it independent of haSatan. He is only an influence.
As far as the Torah shows, ha-nachash [“the serpent”] is virtually powerless in his rhetoric. He must argue his case against God to humans using mere words. He asks a mere question to probe the human mind and raise human consciousness. His power, if it may be termed this, is in his contradiction of God’s word. He offers an alternative outlook to what God says, critical of God’s knowledge as being selfish knowledge.
What power, then, does “the serpent” possess? He is utterly dependent on God’s power, not his own, to reshape history and alter human destiny. God’s commands, when broken, demand justice. “The serpent” forces the issue that God’s judgment must occur for the humans. Yahweh must honor his spoken word to the man and woman: “Dying, you shall die,” He said. He is obligated to exercise his executive power under his promise of death to the living if they ate of the banned fruit. He must be true to his word. The devil depended on it. It is his back-handed way of exerting power.
We marvel at haSatan’s tactics in the Garden of Eden. They were quite simple, less than extraordinary according to our measures today. Simply sow seed-thoughts of doubt. Questions do this, you know. They raise self-consciousness to a higher level. Such mental exercises stir human minds to think on their own independent of God and others. The tactic used was to manipulate the human mind by opening it to other possibilities besides God’s way. It was enough.
With his mission accomplished, ha-nachash [“the serpent”] became silent, leaving behind twenty-six (26) chilling words for humankind to ponder throughout their generations.
Manipulation and mind control. Though silent in the invisible backdrop of human history, haSatan never ceases being a master manipulator and controller of human minds and lives. The Hebrew word satan means “accuser.” So does the word “devil,” derived from the Greek word diabolos. He plays a mind game using malicious gossip. Slander is a main tool of his arsenal. It causes deceit, and fear. Using manipulation of truth to unsettle human minds, he seizes the higher consciousness of the human psyche to make it self-absorbed.
For example, haSatan knows and understands that his power is not in himself. He, too, is under God. His power is in his deceptive words to manipulate human thought so to bring it into doubt, distress, and eventually despair and bondage. If his will is to be enacted against God, it will not be done by his using brute force to overpower humans into submission. Only a question and a manipulative suggestion of how to improve your life or empower your mind is needed to thwart the human mind. We were easy to undo. All we had to do was choose between God and self.
Once humans are spiritually bent towards the self-absorbing goal of selfishness and self-determination, when they cultivate the worldview that it’s all about one’s self, then all the evil the serpent desires for humankind is made possible through humans. HaSatan didn’t use brute force against the woman, or her husband. Instead, having acting on their desires, they use brute force. People are the demonstrable power of evil in the world. They are the violent, destructive ones who use the means of human power to overthrow, tear down, steal, kill and destroy.
The works of haSatan may not be ignored, of course. All creation was convoluted in the catastrophe. Besides natural disasters, genetic flaws and the in-built death clock within human nature, humans are the main source for the perpetuation of evil. They, like “the serpent,” seduce others with seed-thoughts, ruses and brute force to make choices apart from God’s will and ways. You find this same mentality on the streets and in the universities. Evil is the deep-seated problem of man’s desire to overthrow God’s will and ways with this caveat. Now, the desire is not only to overthrow God’s will and ways but to overcome the wills and ways of others.
Evil is the act to unravel and undo what God builds up and finishes. Acts of evil are in the mind first before they become reality. The human mind remains the fertile culture for deceit, manipulation and control.
Desire is the basis for evil. By now in this story of “the serpent” tempting the woman, the Torah shows that it is man, male and female, that undoes mankind and creation, not haSatan! The woman acts only upon her desire. She chooses evil, i.e., to unravel God’s design. It was not forced action. Instead, she desired to test God’s truth, to overcome what she now imagines as limitations imposed by Yahweh on her development, self-actualization and self-achievement.
Her desire is the beginning of her evil act. It is always this way with humans. People conceive and do evil out of their desire for something they do not have but desire for themselves. In James 1:15 we read a summary statement of this whole episode: “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is accomplished, gives birth to death.”
The woman, whom we later come to know as Eve, willingly followed her desire once it was formed by the serpent’s question, and then made her desire desirable to her husband.
Even the feeling of hate is a reflection of one’s desire. We choose to hate. Likewise, abuse of others is based on one’s desire to achieve something they do not and cannot have in their current state of mind. Some justify their evil behavior based on insecurities. What is insecurity but doubt of God and, consequently of self’s own standing in the world. Insecurity is merely an excuse for self-empowerment to hurt other people. The saying is true, “Hurting people hurt people.”
The desires of humans opens the door to ha-Satan to manipulate and control minds. He manipulates our reasoning powers based on our desires with alternative thinking that seems to benefit us in some misguided way. Evil power is exerted, not by haSatan directly, but by us on our behalf when we act on his suggestions that inflame our evil desires.
Reappearances of haSatan. After this one discourse with the woman in Genesis [Bereishit] 3, this metaphorical “serpent” disappears behind the scenes of human history, present but silent. Only in the book of Job does haSatan speak again in the Old Testament. In this instance he answers the questions God addressed directly to Him. He had to reply. He is subject to God. From this vantage he argues his case against Job (Job 1:7-12).
Notice in the Book of Job that haSatan does not initiate speech to God at all. He is silent unless he is asked to speak. We never see him speaking to any mortals again in human history until he speaks to the Messiah Yeshua [Jesus] when he tempted Him three times (cf. Matthew 4:1-11). And this was the last time. Thus, he speaks twice in human history according to the Bible, first to the First Adam in Genesis 3, and then, millennia later, to the Second Adam, the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). Both times he speaks, he uses God’s word as his authority and source of power, each time in a misguided, contradictory way.
What can we learn from this? First, we need to know the whole context of God’s Word, the Bible. This comes by daily study. It means more than reading the Bible. Research is required on our part so we know the difference between a passage quoted in context and out of context. haSatan uses God’s Word as his main source of disinformation to trick the human mind. An unprepared mind is subject to futile thinking.
Second, we need to “resist the devil,” i.e., the evil suggestion from whatever source that prompts us to act on our self-centered desires. We are admonished in the Scriptures to not live in the futility of thinking that characterizes those who “are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God … due to the hardening of their hearts … corrupted by its deceitful desires” (cf. Ephesians 4:17-22).
Third, we need to come to know the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) in such a way that we “put off the old self” and become “new in the attitude of our minds.” We put on our new self, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” so we “do not give the devil a foothold” (cf. Ephesians 4:23-27).
The Name of the Nachash is Unknown
Keep in mind that ha-nachash, or as translated in our English Bibles, “the serpent,” is a metaphorical description of the nature of haSatan, “the Satan.” Of course, the word haSatan or “the devil” is a description also, meaning “the accuser.” It is not his true name. These are all descriptions of his nature and behavior. He remains nameless in the Bible.
Is haSatan’s name really “Lucifer”? Some suggest, of course, that his name was Lucifer. This is based on an unwarranted translation of Isaiah 14:12. For example, the King James Version and Revised King James Version read something like this:
How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who weakened the nations!
Other versions translate this passage differently. For example, the New American Standard Bible doesn’t insert the word Lucifer at all, but reads this way:
How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
you who have weakened the nations!
This is more accurate in a literal sense, but also fails to understand what is actually intended in this text. The Hebrew word translated here in the King James Version as “Lucifer” and as “star” in the New American Standard Bible is the word helel. It doesn’t sound like the word “Lucifier” at all. It is connected to the next word by the word ben, meaning “son.” In context it reads “Helel son of Shachar” [rxv-!b llyh] which, if translated literally, means “a glowing one, son of a charmer,” or “a glowing one, son of the daybreak,” or “Star, son of the Dawn.” However, we have a better solution in how to render this phrase. In ancient Canaanite mythology was a minor god by the exact name of “Helel son of Shachar.” This, undoubtedly, is the reference here and not the name of haSatan. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, is being compared to a minor story found in a Canaanite myth.
So where does the name “Lucifer” come from? In Roman astronomy, Lucifer was one of two Latin names given to the morning star, the other being Venus. The morning star is actually a planet that appears as the next brightest object in the sky compared to the moon. It appears just before dawn and is a precursor of the sunrise. The name Lucifer is derived from two Latin words, lux (light; genitive lucis) and ferre (to bear, to bring), meaning “light-bearer,” i.e., the one who brings the sunrise.
Translators of the King James Version of the Bible depended on versions translated earlier, largely the Latin Vulgate translated by Jerome in the fourth century. Jerome mistakenly identified the Canaanite name mentioned in Isaiah 14:12, “Helel ben-Shachar,” as a phrase referring to the planet Venus, or Lucifer, as it was also known. Instead of knowing it was a direct reference to a Canaanite mythological god and its fateful story, Jerome did the obvious. He translated the name “Helel ben-Shachar” into its literal meaning in Latin—“Star, son of Dawn.” Once done, he took the next step and assumed this was a reference to the planet Venus, otherwise known as Lucifer. Thus, he interpreted the name “Helel ben-Shachar” as the name “Lucifer.” As a result of mistranslation, suddenly a mythology of Lucifer emerged from the text. This bright morning star, or planet, was cast in a different, negative light. Now it was taken to mean haSatan, or the devil. The story emerged in the fourth century that the devil was once a disobedient angel cast out of heaven to the earth.
So the word “Lucifer” in the King James Version, and related versions, is nothing more than an ancient Latin name for the planet Lucifer, what was called “the bringer of light,” or the herald of the sunrise.
This mistaken translation of the name “Helel ben-Shachar” as the planet “Lucifer, and “Lucifer” as meaning haSatan instead of the king of Babylon, has persisted by perpetuation through the centuries. Lucifer became a misplaced name for the devil. How foreign this meaning is from the biblical teaching that identifies the Messiah Yeshua [Jesus] as the morning star in Revelation 22:16: “I, Jesus, … am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
Imagery of Canaanite mythology. Consider the background for the imagery in Isaiah 14:12-15? This whole section (4b-21) is directed to the king of Babylon, who is clearly depicted as a human ruler. Other pagan kings of the earth address him in verse 9 and following. He is called “the man” in verse 16, and, according to verses 19-20, he possesses a physical body.
Nevertheless, since the fourth century with Jerome’s translation of the Bible into Latin, the language of verses 12-15 has led many to see a dual reference in this taunting song of King Nebuchadnezzar. These verses, which appear to be spoken by other pagan kings to this Babylonian king, contain several mythological titles and motifs that resemble those of Canaanite mythology, including, as mentioned already, the minor Canaanite god named Helel son of Shachar. Other references to Canaanite mythology are the stars of El, the mountain of assembly, the recesses of Zaphon and the divine title Most High. The title “Most High” is also used of the God of Israel.
These pagan kings, nurtured on Canaanite mythology, use their pagan understanding to compare King Nebuchadnezzar to the mythological story about the minor god, Helel son of Shachar, who tried to take over Zaphon, the mountain of the gods. His attempted coup failed and he was hurled down to the underworld. These pagan kings taunt the king of Babylon for having similar unrealized delusions of grandeur.
The allusion to the fall of haSatan is an unwarranted conclusion. Rather, it is better to understand the passage in the context of pagan kings of the past using their mythological story common to their worldview to berate King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to anticipate his utter collapse of power.
Since the name “Lucifer” is actually unwarranted in Isaiah 14, and there are no other references to a name for him in the Bible, the creature known as the serpent, haSatan, the devil, Beelzebub and other such titles remains a nameless creature. We do not know his name.
Why is the serpent nameless? The answer is simple. The LORD God does not want him to be identified because of the evil he has done. How do we know this for sure?
In the Hebraic world of the Bible if a person committed a grievous, deliberate sin against God and his people, and persisted in it, his name was removed or glossed over from the record of names. It was blotted out as if the person never had a name, leaving only a title or description of some sort.
When a general dislike for a person occurred, the convention used to discount a person’s name was to say the person was “cut off” from the living, i.e., his or her name was removed from the family records.
An example of this type of excommunication that bans the use of a person’s name is found in 1 Samuel 20:27 when King Saul’s dislike for David was so strong that he referred to him only as “the son of Jesse,” skipping his name. The name of David was too reprehensible for Saul to say it. David, in his mind, was cut off. This gave justification for Saul to seek the death of David.
Another example is found in Isaiah 7:4-5 where Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Northern Israel marched up against Jerusalem to overpower it. Allied with him was the pagan king Rezin of Aram. When the LORD spoke to Isaiah to warn Ahaz, king of Judah, about the evil plot, the LORD did not mention the name of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Northern Israel as one of the two evil plotters. Because he was an Israelite turned against God’s people and in alliance with a pagan king, the LORD referred to him metaphorically as a smoldering stub of firewood and as “the son of Remaliah.” His name was cut off from the family records, and in the Bible his name was blotted out by God.
The fact that the record of the name of the serpent, or haSatan, is missing in the Bible is indicative that the LORD God removed his name from the biblical records of heaven and earth. His name is missing on purpose. The evil he did, and persists in doing, invalidated the recording of his name. He remains nameless because he is cut off from the living.
Why is the Nachash in the Garden?
This leads us to the question of how the nameless “serpent” [ha-nachash ] got in the Garden of Eden? Our narrative in Genesis 3 does not tell us. He merely appears suddenly as a contestant against God.
The King of Tyre: Is a double reference intended? Some claim that the book of the prophet Ezekiel gives us a better understanding of what “the serpent” was like in the Garden of Eden. They believe that the passage in Ezekiel 28:11-19 is a double reference to the king of Tyre and haSatan. Let’s examine this passage from a Hebraic point of view to see if this is true to the text.
Ezekiel 28:1-19 is a prophecy against the pompous and evil king of Tyre. We must read the entire passage in this context, for the king of Tyre is the main subject. His name, too, is omitted for the evil he has done. His name is blotted out. God refers to him only as “the king of Tyre,” i.e., by his title.
The LORD says to Ezekiel that this king of Tyre, a ruler of an island in the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, thinks of himself as a god. The LORD says, “yet he is a man” (v. 2). We must keep this in focus when we study this passage. It is about a man. We know that haSatan is not a man and, therefore, we see that the intent of the prophecy is against the king of Tyre, not haSatan.
In verses 12-19 we find an amazing reference to the king of Tyre in light of the Garden of Eden at the time of Adam. Certainly the king of Tyre was not there in the Garden of Eden with Adam. So what does this mean?
Let’s consider the passage as it is translated in the New American Standard Bible. Look at how the king of Tyre is described as if he were in the Garden of Eden:
Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to
him, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘You had the seal of perfection, full
of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of
God; every precious stone was your covering: the ruby, the topaz
and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx and the jasper; the lapis lazuli,
the turquoise and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of
your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were
created they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who
covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of
God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were
blameless in your ways from the day you were created until
unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade
you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I
have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have
destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of
fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted
your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the
ground; I put you before kings that they may see you. By the
multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade
you profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from
the midst of you; it has consumed you, and I have turned you to
ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you. All who know
you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have become
terrified and you will cease to be forever.’”
The Garden of Eden and the King of Tyre. The question is whether this is a double reference to the king of Tyre and haSatan. Is it? Is it describing the serpent in the Garden of Eden? Some believe it is. Before committing to this view, remember that the ancient Hebrew of the Bible was without vowels and punctuation marks. A declarative sentence that made a clear statement and an interrogative sentence that raised a question were not distinguished by periods or question marks as done in English.
Of course, a huge difference exists between someone asking a question or making a statement. Most versions of the Bible translate this passage with declarative sentences, as matter-of-fact statements. However, The Stone Edition of the Tanach translates the passage with several interrogatives, or questions. This changes the whole meaning from being a supposed reference to the serpent to a reference to Adam. Who is this passage about—haSatan or Adam?
The Tanach reads this way beginning with verse 11 of Ezekiel 28:
The word of HASHEM came to me, saying,
“Son of Man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre.
Say of him:
Thus said the Lord HASHEM/ELOHIM:
Are you [Adam] the culmination of perfection,
full of wisdom, perfect in beauty?
Were you in Eden, the garden of God?
Was your canopy of every precious stone—
Odem, pitedah and yahalom; tarshish, shoham and yashfeh;
sapir, nophech and barkas—and gold?
Translating these lines properly as questions, as the Tanach does, radically reorients the reader to consider this a reference to Adam instead of haSatan. Such an interpretation proves to be old, indeed. In the Talmud, Tractate Baba Batha 75a we read:
R. Hama b. Hanina said: The Holy One, blessed be He, made
ten canopies for Adam in the garden of Eden; for it is said:
Thou wast in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone
[was thy covering, the cornelian, the topaz and the emerald, ,br>
the beryl, the onyx and the jasper, the sapphire, the carbuncle
and the emerald and gold] etc., Mar Zutra says: Eleven; for it is
said: Every precious stone. R. Johanan said: The least of all
[these] was gold, since it is mentioned last.
The Tanach continues now with statements about the king of Tyre and his disqualification to visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to see Solomon’s Temple. His predecessor, King Hiram of Tyre, had a significant role in building on the mountain of God (cf. 1 Kings 15) in cooperation with David and Solomon, otherwise known as the fiery stones, the great kings of Israel.
The work of your drums and wind instruments was in you [king
of Tyre]; they were established on the day of your creation.
You were a great sheltering cherub [guardian of great stature],
and it is I who granted you this;
You were upon the holy mountain of God [Temple Mount in
Jerusalem];
you walked [in cooperation] among the fiery stones [David and
Solomon];
perfect were you in your ways from the day of your creation—
until wrongdoing was found in you.
Because of your abundant commerce, your midst filled with
violence and you sinned;
so I desecrated you from the mountain of God [Temple Mount in
Jerusalem] and destroyed you, O sheltering cherub, from among the
fiery stones.
Your heart became proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.
So I have thrown you to the ground and I have set you before kings
to gaze upon you.
By the multitude of your iniquities, by the dishonesty of your
commerce,
you desecrated your sanctities;
so I drew out a fire from within you. It consumed you;
thus I made you into ashes upon the earth in the eyes of all who
see you.
All who knew you among the peoples were astonished over you;
you were a terror, but you shall be no more, forever.
We are safe to conclude that the more ancient, Hebraic understanding of this passage is not about the serpent in the Garden of Eden at all. Such references to the time of the Garden of Eden are to draw contrasts between the king of Tyre and Adam’s perfect state before he sinned.
Why was “the serpent” in the Garden? As far as the answer to the question why the serpent is found in the Garden of Eden, the answer is, according to the woman’s testimony, to raise her up to self-awareness and self-determination. She ascribes the only value to him found in Genesis 3.
Make a closer examination of the text in Genesis 3:13-15 to see what evidence exists inherent in the text.
Then the LORD God said to the woman:
What is this that you have done?
And the woman said,
“The serpent exalted me [nasha], and I ate.”
You recall that nasha means “to carry,” “to lift up,” “to exalt.” It is the word preferred to describe the Levites lifting up and carrying the Ark of the Covenant. It is not the word for deceit as it is rendered in some Bible versions. Of course, the woman was deceived by implication, but the word nasha should be weighed on its own merits as meaning something else.
The woman, having sinned against God, is not pictured in this passage as bowing in humility before God, or bending low in repentance, or even of possessing fear of God. Rather, she is saying that ha-nachash raised her up to a level of prominence that God refused to do. Her use of the word nasha is to express her complaint against God and ascribe value to “the serpent.” She claims that the serpent benefited her by exalting her to a higher state of self-awareness and self-reliance. She achieved independence, self-actualization and self-determination from following “the serpent’s” suggestion. She is puffed up in her new-found knowledge of self.
In this light, the LORD turns to the now silent “serpent” and announces his collapse from his upright posture. From henceforth he will be transformed from walking on the dust of the ground, from which humans were made, to living in the dust like a snake beneath the feet of humans.
The LORD God said to ha-nachash:
“Because you have done this
cursed are you distinct from all cattle,
and distinct from every beast of the field.
On your belly you will go,
and dust you will eat all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He shall crush your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
The Serpent is “the Glowing One who Whispers Secret Knowledge”
As stated before, the Hebrew word rendered in our Bibles as “the serpent” in Genesis [Bereishit] 3 is ha-nachash. The article “the,” or ha, is attached to the noun nachash, translated as “serpent” in our English Bibles, hence, “the serpent.” We will examine this word in depth.
“The glowing one.” The word for “serpent,” nachash, is from a root verb, lachash. The verb has two essential meanings. The primary meaning is “to flame,” “to glow” (as of coals), or “to lick” as a fire. We find evidence of this in the Bible where the word “bronze,” a copper-plating technique used in a fiery furnace, is rendered also with the word nachash. The association of flaming or glowing with the process of making bronze is easy to see, for the copper metal came through the flames and glowed in the fiery coals.
In this case, the tempter in the Garden of Eden would be “the glowing one,” or “the fiery one” who is brilliant and appealing to the eye. He would not resemble a serpent at all in physical considerations, but would be understood to be an angel of light instead. Therefore, instead of translating the word nachash as serpent, as our English Bibles do, it could also be translated as “the bright one,” or “the brilliant one,” or “the glowing one.”
“The whisperer” of secret knowledge. But we would be remiss to neglect a second meaning of lachash from which is derived the word nachash. The word lachash not only means “to glow,” it also means “to whisper.” It has two main associations in the Bible. One is with the whispering of a secret occultic incantation. Such a whispering of occult secrets is called nachash, the same spelling as the word for serpent, In this case it means “divination”—a superstitious action based on the secret knowledge of the occult, or from an omen. In this sense “to whisper” means “to charm,” or “to divine” in order to bring about a desired mystical effect. Such whispering was done in a low voice to keep confidential the secret arts of the occult, or of witchcraft.
The other association of the verb lachash was with the method of handing over secrets of the Torah to another by whispering them in the student’s ear. This meaning helps us understand the words of Yeshua [Jesus] when He said, “What you hear whispered in your ear [of Torah] shout from the housetops.” He meant the secrets of the kingdom of God are to be revealed openly so all may know them. They are not to be kept secret from others.
A hissing serpent. A derivative meaning of the verb “to whisper” [lachash] was “to hiss at,” or “to be incited to hiss,” as a snake that is stepped upon by foot. Because it is incited by being stepped on, it whispers a hissing sound as a warning of a fiery attack. It is this secondary meaning which causes the word nachash to mean a “snake,” or “serpent.” Literally, the meaning of “serpent” is “whisperer,” or “hisser.”
The fiery serpent of bronze: Numbers 21. The “hissing one,” or “serpent” in the Bible is also associated with fire by virtue of the poison in its bite. In Numbers 21 we learn that Israel suffered from the fiery bites of serpents in the desert. Many died. These serpents in the desert had two descriptions: they were “fiery” and they were “hissers”—hence, “fiery hissers.” In this case, the word used to describe the “fiery serpents” was from the word saraph which means “a burning one,” or “a fiery one.” The snakes were called saraphim (plural)—“fiery ones.” Interestingly, a classification of angels are also called “fiery ones.” They are the seraphim mentioned in Isaiah 6:2 and 6 who cry “holy, holy, holy” before the LORD. Obviously, these angels are not serpents, but they are creatures of fiery appearance.
When the LORD said to Moses to make a fiery serpent of bronze, He actually said to make a saraph [a fiery one] of bronze [nechsheth]. The word “bronze,” as we have noted, is derived from the same word as “serpent” in Hebrew—nachash. Consider the textual structure of the narrative in Numbers 21. It is in the literary form of parallel forward symmetry:
Then the LORD said to Moses,
A “Make a fiery one [saraph]
B and set it on a standard;
C and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten,
D when he looks at it,
E he will live.”
A’ And Moses made a serpent of bronze [nachash nechsheth]
B’ and set it on the standard;
C’ and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man,
D’ when he looked to the serpent of bronze [nachash nechsheth],
E’ he lived. (Numbers 21:8-9).
When you look at A and A’, you see that the word saraph, meaning “fiery one,” and the phrase nachash nechseth, meaning serpent of bronze, are in synonymous parallel. The word saraph and the phrase nachash nechseth are interchangeable. The word nechseth, meaning “bronze,” makes the word “serpent” take on the meaning of one who glows like a fiery creature among the coals.
A double meaning: nachash. We know that the word saraph (literally, “a burning one”) describes a kind of angel, or spirit-being, who dwells in the presence of God. This class of angels is called the seraphim, “the burning ones,” or “the fiery ones,” or “the glowing ones.” We’ve also shown that the word for “glowing one” [saraph] is a synonym for the word “serpent” [nachash] because its bite was burning, like fire.
What we have is a word—nachash—that plays off of its two different meanings. We could translate the word either as “a glowing one” or “a serpent,” and both would be correct. Both meanings are intended in one word. This nameless, metaphorical serpent is a whisperer of secret knowledge. He also is the glowing one who is the light of new revelations apart from God. He imparts knowledge, not in the darkness, but in the appearance of light as an angel of light. The apostle Paul warned the church in Galatia about such. He said: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:8). To the Corinthians he warned about false apostles, deceitful in their ways, saying, “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
We do justice to the meaning of the word nachash to render it in a paraphrase—“the glowing one of secret knowledge who whispers his secrets like a hissing serpent.”
The Curse of “the Glowing One who Whispers Secret Knowledge”
The first time the word “curse” is found in the Bible is here. The curse is God’s corrective action to a tragic condition brought about by the serpent’s role in deceiving the woman. The curse is a reminder to the serpent of who is the sovereign judge, and that He stands in judgment. The consequence of the serpent’s evil actions in deceiving the woman and, consequently the man, is a curse. Corrupting those whom God has blessed demands accountability for the action.
The word “curse” is the opposite of the word “blessing.” Man is blessed. haSatan, the “glowing serpent” as we shall call him now, is cursed. That is, a new, delimiting behavior pattern is installed by God into him. He will be constantly reminded that he is a lesser being than he imagined. He is cursed for fatally corrupting the blessings of God bestowed on mankind. A blessing reminds us of the lovingkindness and faithfulness of God. Like a blessing does in a positive sense, the curse reminds haSatan of God’s supremacy in spite of his rebellion. “Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Yeshua is Lord” is not a statement of universal conversion, but of universal acknowledgement of the supremacy of God.
We have a bicolon, two lines in Hebrew poetry that parallel, or, in some cases, contrast. In this case, we have synonymous parallelism. “Cursed are you…” is repeated in thought from the first to second line. Though not written in the second line, it is unnecessary. The second line is a continuation of the statement “cursed are you.”
So the parallelism is preserved in this paraphrase:
Cursed [‘arur] are you separate from [mi-cal] all cattle,
and cursed are you separate from every beast of the field.
The first line where it reads “cursed are you” finds a parallel in the second line by intention. The phrase in the first line, “more than all cattle,” parallels the phrase in the second line, “more than every beast of the field.” What does this mean? Are cattle and the beasts of the field cursed? No. This is not the point. They serve to illustrate that what is natural for them, to eat their food while standing, will not be far enough in the curse of haSatan. He will eat his food lying on his belly, legless in form. He will be so low that he will have dust, the dust of humans, in his eyes, upon his face and mouth.
We find a play on words here. When the serpent is introduced in Genesis [Bereishit] 3:1, we are told he is ‘arum—naked. Now he is ‘arur—cursed, something God did not do to the man or woman. Satan will be confined to the dust and ashes of humanity. Though man and woman were not cursed by God, the soil beneath their feet was cursed (see Genesis 3:17) on account of their disobedience. This ground was their destiny. They would return to it at death. Yahweh Elohim summarized their outcome: “For dust you are and to dust you will return” (3:19).
Satan’s Presence: In the Dust under our Feet
In Genesis 3:14 the LORD continues his words about Satan’s curse: “On your belly shall you crawl and dust [aphar] shall you eat all the days of your life.”
This reference is the second time “dust” is mentioned in the Torah. The first time is in Genesis 2:7: “Then the LORD God formed man of dust [aphar] from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
We understand that man was made from dust. Man was made a living, upright being from the dust. The “glowing one, or radiant one who whispers secret knowledge like a hissing serpent” is commanded to live in the very substance from which man was made, in the elemental particles of creation. He is humiliated and furious. Figuratively, he shall eat this dry dust from which animals and man was formed by God. It is a sign of his fall and destined ruin to dwell in the ashes of animals and humanity.
The feet of those who bring good news. Other important truths may be found in the Bible about this dust [aphar] where haSatan dwells. Animals walk on the dust of the earth. Satan is made lower than the beasts of the field. More importantly, human feet walk on dust. The prophet Isaiah does not lose the connection between the dust of the earth, Satan’s dwelling in the dust, and the feet of those who bring good news walking on the dust.
How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings
good news, who announces peace and brings good news of
happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your
God reigns!” (Isaiah 52:7).
The apostle [shaliach] Paul, in describing how faith comes by hearing the good news of the word of the LORD, quotes Isaiah:
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?
How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? >br>
And how will they hear without a preacher?
How will they preach unless they are sent?
Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring
good news of the good!” (Romans 10:14-15).
Those who bring good news have blessed feet. They walk on the dust of the earth where Satan dwells. Though Satan bruises the heels of the feet of the “good news bearers,” he cannot bruise their heads. But those who bring good news of the goodness of God and of faith in Him bruise Satan’s head.
The word of the apostle [shaliach] to his advance mission team who preceded him to Rome is found in Romans 16:17-20. Their feet walked on the dust of the earth to bear good news of the Messiah’s victory over Satan, sin, death and hell. Paul exclaims the promise of their victory over those in Rome who deceive people about God. He encourages them through their faith in Messiah’s crushing of the head of Satan, that they too, soon, will crush Satan under their blessed feet. Paul’s exhortation is taken from Genesis 2-3 and applied to their immediate situation. He writes (note: italics are added as personal comments to show the basis of his statement in Genesis 2-3):
Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause
dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you
learned, and turn away from them [for this is what “the
serpent”—“the radiant whisperer”— did in the Garden to the
woman and her husband]. For such men are slaves, not of
our Lord Messiah but of their own appetites [seeking their
own selfish desires as did the woman and her husband];
and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the
hearts of the unsuspecting [as “the serpent,” “the radiant
whisperer,” did to the woman]. For the report of your
obedience [to God and not to selfish desires] has
reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you [because
you have overcome the temptation], but I want you to be
wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil [since
Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and
contaminated us all through sin]. The God of peace will
soon crush Satan under your feet [where Satan has been
placed in the dust and is now under the feet of Messiah
Yeshua]. The grace of our Lord Yeshua [Jesus] be with you.
The promised Messiah rises from the dust in triumph over Satan. Furthermore, from the dust of humanity will rise forth a righteous Man, a holy seed of the Woman. He will be the Son of Man, the Son of Adam, the Messiah. Though haSatan will hurt his heel as a serpent attacks one who steps on him, the Righteous Seed will crush his head. He will be crushed by the Holy Man, who is of the dust like we are, but in whom is the Spirit of God.
In the curse of Satan by God, the evil one’s fate lies in the dust with all its implications. He is reminded of the humble origin of man who was made in the image and likeness of God and received life in the Spirit of God. Further, being cast down to the dust was a prophetic statement of Satan’s destiny of defeat. From the dust God will raise up a Second Adam whom He will send forth as a Man to crush his head. The story of the “sinner” woman who poured her costly perfume on the feet of Yeshua (Jesus) rings with this truth. His feet were blessed because of who He was—the Holy One who was born of woman to crush the head of the serpent under his feet (cf. Luke 7:37-38).
The Messiah did crush the head of Satan in his death, his committal to the dust of the earth, in his resurrection from the dead and in his ascension to heaven where He sat down and put all things under his feet.
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