The Good and Evil Serpent (47 page)

Snakes can foretell the future (11.2). In Epidaurus and in a grove sacred to Apollo are snakes that are “the pets of the god” (11.2). In a sacred grove in Lavinium are snakes in a deep cavern (11.16). Blinded “holy maidens” can walk as if seeing due to the “divine inspiration” received from the snakes. The snakes can even determine “their impurity.” Clearly, snakes are considered divine (11.17).

Aelian seems to accept a certain Alexander’s report that snakes can grow to 40 cubits, and are sacred to Poseidon (17.1; cf. 17.1–4). While frequently warning of the dangerous bite of a snake, Aelian accepts Phylarchus’ report that in Egypt asps (
,
aspides)
are “extremely gentle and tame.” This mild behavior is because the asps are treated with such respect, being fed with the children, and creeping out of their lairs when called. How? They obey when one snaps one’s fingers (17.5).

The following account helps us comprehend the context of ancient serpent symbolism, the penchant for depicting serpents upraised (as in Num 21 and Jn 3), and the seeming ubiquity of asps in Egypt, even in the bedroom:

Then the Egyptians give them presents in the way of friendship, for when they have finished their meal they soak barley in wine and honey and place it on the table off which they happen to have dined. Then they snap their fingers and summon “the guests,” so to call them. And the Asps as at a signal assemble, creeping out from different quarters, and as they encircle the table, while the rest of their coils remain on the floor, they rear their heads up [
,
caput allevantes]
and lick the food; gently and by degrees they take their fill of the barley and eat it up. And if some need causes the Egyptians to rise during the night, they again snap their fingers: this is a signal for the Asps to make way for them and to withdraw. … Accordingly the man who has got out of bed neither treads upon nor encounters any of them. [17.5]

I cannot imagine a clearer example that illustrates the vast differences between the ancient Egyptian culture and our own.
⁴¹
Perhaps this quotation signals why an appreciation of serpents and their symbology has eroded. The shift is paradigmatic.

Aelian serves as an example of the ancient and continuing ignorance of snakes. In the Babylonian Talmud we find additional examples. In
Avodah Zarah
(30b) we receive the misinformation that a snake
grows stronger as it ages, but in aging the venom loses its potency
. Of course, we should not expect the ancients to know about pure toxin, which was isolated for the first time in the 1960s, or comprehend that 0.3 micrograms of the neurotoxin from a
naja naja
is lethal.
⁴²

A brief summary of the common theme of the symbolic meaning of the serpent in world cultures follows. I have ordered the shared concepts and symbols according to their importance for a better understanding of ancient perceptions of the serpent and the relevance of such insight for an improved exegesis of biblical passages, especially John 3:14–15.

THE SYMBOL OF THE SERPENT IN ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ICONOGRAPHY, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND MYTHOLOGY

Many biblical exegetes have assumed that the symbol of the serpent means something primarily evil. We have seen abundant reasons why this assumption is wrong. Learned experts in psychology have assumed that the serpent symbolically always denotes the phallus. We have perceived why this conclusion is invalid and misrepresentative. We have also observed how and why serpent symbology is fundamentally multivalent. It denotes and connotes a bewildering variety of concepts and ideas that we have organized into sixteen negative and twenty-nine positive typologies. It is understandable why M. Eliade opined that serpent symbolism is “confusing.”
⁴³

Serpent imagery and symbology were used in antiquity to signify the triumphant power of a political regime. Two examples must suffice: First, with W. von Soden
⁴⁴
and M. Gorg,
⁴⁵
K. Holter sees a hidden polemic against Solomon’s foreign policy in the serpent imagery of Genesis 3. He claims more than Egypt is in view, since
nachash
in the Old Testament symbolizes Egypt as well as other nations. Because the Yahwist perceived Israel as a blessing for all nations (Gen 12:3: “and whoever curses you I will curse”), some scholars claim that this tradition preserves a critique of Solomon’s alliances with other nations that had cursed Israel.
⁴⁶
Second, H. P. Laubscher argues, persuasively, that the depictions of baby Hercules strangling the two snakes sent to him by the jealous Hera had political significance; it was used especially to legitimize the new power of the Ptolemies.
⁴⁷

As we continue, and try to summarize what has been learned, it is prudent to recognize that the study of snakes in ancient Palestine should not be guided by the presence of snakes in Israel or Palestine today.
⁴⁸
Many species of Irano-Turanian origin have entered this area only in the past three hundred years, as F. S. Bodenheimer, a professor of zoology at the Hebrew University, stated in
Animal Life in Palestine
in 1935.
⁴⁹
A large reticulated python
(python reticulatus)
can be seen at Hamat Gader and in the reptile “farm” on the way from Jerusalem to Eilat, but these were brought to the area for the purpose of entrapping tourists or so that people might see these large snakes.

Figure 64
. Bronze Cobra Lamp. Herodian Period. Jerusalem. JHC Collection

In the following review, we shall try to avoid redundancy with the preceding pages by citing publications that have not yet been noted. The summaries will tend to move from the global meanings of serpent symbolism to the eastern Mediterranean world, and from prehistoric images and then from more modern perspectives, to the late first century
CE;
that is, our goal continues as it was from the outset: to seek a deeper meaning of John 3:14–15, wondering what this passage might have symbolized to its author and to its readers. The ordering of all the variegated data amassed so far is essential so that we might have a perspective on the meaning of ophidian and anguine iconography in the Levant by the end of the first century ce.
⁵⁰
With this summary and a perception of a continuity or development in serpent symbolism,
⁵¹
we may then obtain a coherent perspective that will guide us in the interpretation of such crucial biblical passages as Genesis 3, Numbers 21, 2 Kings 18—and, of course John 3.
⁵²
References will be made to the illustrations included; it will become clear that only seldom can we with confidence obtain negative denotations from serpent iconography. Those who created serpent images almost always worked with the understanding that they were making something helpful to them and their associates. By the first century
CE
, Jews realized the importance of art and ornamentation, as we know from archaeological discoveries in the Upper City of Jerusalem, Masada, and elsewhere. Assimilated Jews probably saw no problem with having a human statue in their homes.
⁵³
In parentheses I have drawn the reader’s attention to what was learned about the thirty-two virtually unique physical characteristics of a snake; thus, “cf. 2.1,” e.g., means as follows: consult
Chapter 2
, the first characteristic of a snake.

NEGATIVE SYMBOLIC MEANING

Sixteen negative meanings of serpent symbolism may be discerned in the data already collected. Thus, we shall now discuss succinctly the following meanings:

Death-Giver

The snake can administer almost instant death with only one bite (cf. 2.20), but the lion must maul its prey. The snake is forced to swallow another animal whole, and usually when it is still alive (cf. 2.9). Thus, the serpent symbolizes the Death-Giver. Examining serpent images from the Megalithic world of western Europe as well as southern Russia, J. Maringer concludes: “The serpent was closely related with the Goddess of Death.”
⁵⁴

The usual nouns in Ugaritic for “snake” are
bathnu
and
nahshu;
⁵⁵
four Ugaritic texts are devoted to liturgies or incantations against venomous snakebites, indicating that venomous snakes terrorized horses and humans.
⁵⁶
In medieval etchings and paintings, the snake is often shown with a skeleton, sometimes sliding down the Devil’s throat.
⁵⁷
It was common knowledge in antiquity, as today, that venomous serpents had the ability to cause death. It seems to be used by the author of Ecclesiastes to indicate that death will come to any who breaks the hedge, probably the boundaries of the Torah: