The Good and Evil Serpent (172 page)

99
. See S. Golowin,
Drache, Einhorn, Oster-Hase und anderes phantastisches Getier
(Basel, 1994) p. 33. During a study tour of Megiddo, numerous scholars came to me and said they had seen large worms, like snakes, crawling among the ruins. The worms were large, black, and had many tiny legs.

100
. See H. Vincent, “La fontaine de Rogel, Gihon, Zoheleth,”
Jerusalem Antique
(Paris, 1912) pp. 134–41. For a modern succinct summary on Zoheleth, see W. H. Mare, “Serpent’s Stone,”
IDE
5.116–17.

101
. See R. Kittel, “Der Schlangenstein im Kidrontal bei Jerusalem,” in
Studien zur Hebräischen Archäologie und Religionsgeschichte
(Leipzig, 1908) pp. 159–88. Kittel offers his opinion about the location of the serpent’s stone, and provides photographs of the area near Silwan, as well as the serpent rock of Petra.

102
. See Y. Aharoni, “The Horned Altar of Beer-sheba,” 3–5. Also see Le Grande Davies, “Serpent Imagery in Ancient Israel,” Fig. 26 on p. 242.

103
. It is possible that the altar was perceived by Adonijah to be the altar of Israel’s God, but one should not forget that Adonijah is rebelling against Solomon and seeking David’s throne. Le Grande Davies, too boldly, claims that Adonijah “probably sacrificed at a stone altar dedicated to ‘the Serpent,’ who should be identified as the God of Israel.” “Serpent Imagery in Ancient Israel,” p. 217.

104
. M. J. Paul’s suggestion that Leviathan might refer to a dinosaur is impossible, since they died out long before humans evolved. See Paul, “
”
Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis
2.778–80.

105
. At the outset, I indicated that “N” denoted negative symbolic meanings.

106
. For citations of places where Leviathan appears in the Targumim, Midrashim, and Talmudim, see N. Jechielis,
Aruch Completum sive Lexicon
, ed. A. Kohut (New York, 1970 [original 1531]) 5.23–24.

107
. While one must not conflate what is reflected in the Hebrew Bible about Leviathan with Rahab or Satan, it is informative to see this figure in light of creation motifs in other world cultures. See P. Bandini,
Drachenwelt von den Geistern der Schöpfung und Zerstörung
, trans. T. Prohn (Stuttgart, 1996). Alonso Schökel et al., in
Diccionario biblica hebreo-español
, provides accurate information:
“Leviatán
, serpiente o dragón mitológico;
crocodrilo,”
p. 388. He claims that Leviathan is not a good translation for Job 40:25 and that crocodile is better.

108
. See E. Lipiñski,
La royauté de Yahwé dans la poésie et le culte de l’ancien Israel
(Brussels, 1965) and Lipiñski,
TDOT
7.504–9. There is a striking link between the Ugaritic Ba’al myth and Isa 27:1; in both Leviathan is fleeing and twisting. See M. Dietrich et al., eds.,
Die keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit
, 1.5 I 1–3, 27–30, and Lipiñski,
TDOT
7.506. Also see J. A. Emerton, “Leviathan and LTN: The Vocalization of the Ugaritic Word for the Dragon,”
VT
32 (1982) 327–31. Quite un-convincingly, Stig I. A. Norin sought to derive both “Leviathan” and “Tanin” from the Egyptian monster called
apophis
. See Norin,
Er spaltete das Meer
, trans. C. B. Sjöberg (Lund, 1977) pp. 42–76. One line of development in Israelite poetry went from “dem ägyptischen Apep-Mythos aus und umfasst die eigentlichen Urgewässerungeheuer
liwjatan, tänntn undrähäb (sic)”
(p. 76).

109
. The words for “fleeing serpent” and “twisted serpent” are uncertain; see B. W. Anderson, “The Slaying of the Fleeing, Twisting Serpent: Isaiah 27:1 in Context,” in
From Creation to New Creation
(Minneapolis, 1994) pp. 195–206.

110
. As W. Rebiger reports, Leviathan has a “schlangenähnliches Wesen.” See his contribution in
Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart
, 3rd ed., ed. K. Galling, 7 vols. (Tübingen, 1957–65). 5.295–96. Koehler-Baumgartner, 1.498: “Meerdrache.”

111
. For the Ugaritic texts, see Lipinski,
TDOT
7.506 (= KTU 1.5.I.1–3, 27–30; KTU 1.3.III.41–42).

112
. For seven heads, see the very early clay depiction from the temple of Abu at Eshnunna (which is Tell Asmar). See H. Frankfort,
Stratified Cylinder Seals from the Diyala Region
(Chicago, 1955) no. 497 (also see no. 478). For more, see also the serpent-like reptiles collected in
ANEP
670, 671, 691. For an excellent drawing of
ANEP
671, see Black and Green,
Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia
, illustration 135.

113
. C. H. Gordon focused on Leviathan only as a symbol of evil. See Gordon, “Leviathan: Symbol of Evil,” in
Biblical Motifs
, pp. 1–9.

114
. See ibid.

115
. See A. Caquot, “Leviathan et Behemoth dans la troisième ‘parabole’ d’Hénoch,”
Semitic
25 (1975) 111–22.

116
. Also see, e.g.,
b. B. Bat
. 74b-75a;
j. Sanh
. 10.29c; GenRab 7:4 (the Taninim are Behemoth and Leviathan); and Midrash Ps on Ps 23:7.

117
. E. G. Clarke, with W. E. Aufrecht, J. C. Hurd, and F. Spitzer,
Targum PseudoJonathan of the Pentateuch: Text and Concordance
(Hoboken, N. J., 1984) p. 2.

118
. The italics are those of the translators; the italics highlight the differences between the Targum and the original Hebrew. The translation quoted is by M. Maher in
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: Genesis
(Edinburgh, 1992) p. 19.

119
. Consult M. Beit-Arié, “Perek Shirah,”
EncJud
13.273–75.

120
. My translation; for the Hebrew text, see N. Slifkin,
Nature’s Song
(Southfield, Mich., 2001) p. 32.

121
. Again, let me clarify that I frequently do not use the means of representing Semitic sounds, since non-Semitists, for whom I am writing, would not find formal transliterations meaningful or helpful. Often my goal is to help readers who do not know Semitics get a feel of the language.

122
. See also Fabry in
TDOT
9.364.

123
. This Greek term is used to signify the sagacity of animals; see Plato,
Politicus
263d, Aristotle,
Historia Animalium
488
^b
15; also see LSJM, p. 1956.

124
. This tradition is probably J and expanded by JE. According to P in Ex 7:9, the serpent is strikingly called a TOX
I
, “dragon;” the redactor has also elevated the legitimization to a demonstration of power when the “dragon” devours the serpents of the Egyptian magicians (as Fabry states in
TDOT
9.367).

125
. The Hebrew term
does not appear in Isa 11:6–8, despite the impression given, unintentionally, by Fabry
(TDOT
9.368).

126
. For a general discussion, see W. Foerster, “őφις”
TDNT
5.566–71.

127
. Both these Greek nouns, as well as others, are translated by the Coptic
HOQ
.

128
. See also Z. Ben-Hayyim,
The Literary and Oral Tradition of Hebrew and Aramaic Amongst the Samaritans: Vol. IV, The Words of the Pentateuch
(Jerusalem, 1977) pp. 178–79.

129
. See H. Dahan,
English-Hebrew Dictionary
(Jerusalem, 1997) pp. 36, 529.

130
. The meaning of the Hittite noun
artaggas
has not been clear. Now, in light of its appearance on a tablet found at Boghazkoy in 1933, it probably means an animal that molts; hence, it seems to signify some snake. The word—
artagga
—most likely denote a class of priests who are serpent-men. See H. G. Güterbock, “Le mot hittite—
artaggas
‘serpent,’ “
Revue Hittite et Asianique
6 (1941) 102–9.

131
. See Bodenheimer,
, p. 344:
(Coluber aesculapi)
,
(Hydropinae)
,
(Natrix tesselatus)
,
(Tarbophis martini)
, (
)
(Python)
,
(Coluber jugularis [asia-nus])
,
(Typhlos vermicularis)
.