THROUGH the centuries, the question has been raised as to whether it was a serpent that deceived Eve, or whether it was Satan who spoke through and used the serpent as the medium of approach.
Some maintain that as the serpent was perhaps the most intellectual of animals, and as it had the power of speech and could stand erect, it was the serpent as such that was responsible for the fall of our first parents.
One Jewish writer maintains that— according to Rabbinic legend, the serpent in its original state had the power of speech, and its intellectual powers exceeded those of all other animals, and it was envy of man that made it plot his downfall.—J. H. Hertz, Pentateuch and Haftorahs, on Genesis 3.
Others, on the other hand, admit that the serpent played a part, that he was the tool of Satan, the accuser, the archdeceiver.
Some, however, might further contend, and with some reason, that the serpent is a symbol of two opposite concepts; that, in one case, it represents the wicked (Ps. 58: 4; 140:3) and, in the other, one who can save from sin and its consequences. In this case they could refer to Numbers 21:8, 9 where the Lord instructed Moses to make a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole, so that everyone who had been bitten in the camp might look upon it and live. Jesus Himself made reference to this illustration when He declared, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up" (John 3:14).
In the light of these considerations it must be admitted that there is little or no direct evidence in the Old Testament to give guidance on the matter, and little, if any, indirect evidence either.
The New Testament, on the other hand, does give clear evidence that it was Satan who caused the fall of Adam and Eve. We might note the following passages of Scripture: "The serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty" (2 Cor. 11:3); "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (verse 14); "That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan" (Rev. 12:9); "Ye are of your father the devil. . . . For he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44).
We are still faced with the problem of proving this to our Jewish friends, for their Bible is what we have learned to call the Old Testament. They do not accept the New Testament. We can, however, appeal to their ancient writings, and to the writings of others, in an endeavor to show that actually it was Satan who used the serpent for his nefarious purpose.
First of all, however, let us look at Genesis 3:15 where the curse is pronounced upon the serpent. "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thv
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." At this point it might be well to get a clear picture of what this verse really means. Observe the pronouns that are used. Concerning the serpent, we have "thee" and "thy." Concerning the woman, we have "her." Concerning the seed of the woman, we have "it" and "his." The "thy," "thee," and "her" in relation to the serpent and the woman appear quite consistent, but when it comes to the seed, this is spoken of in one instance as "it" and in the other as "his." For the sake of clarity we should recognize the "it" as "he" and thus bring it into harmony with the later reference to "his." Actually, this is the way the passage is rendered in the Septuagint and in the Leeser, Young, and Rotherham translations.
The "thee" in the expression "I will put enmity between thee and the woman" refers to the serpent, and the "woman" refers to the church. The "seed" of the woman would reach its more complete fulfillment in the Messiah. The ancient Jewish Targums on this verse recognize this, for we read:
There shall be a remedy for the heel in the days of the King Meshila (Messiah).—J. W. Etheridge, Jerusalem and Palestine Targums, Vol. I,, p. 336.
Observe also other expressions in the text. "Thou shalt bruise his heel." This was accomplished at the cross.
"It shall bruise thy head." It (he) the Messiah, shall bruise thy (the serpent's or Satan's) head. This was fulfilled in part at the cross, but its complete fulfillment will be in the close of the millennial period (Revelation 20).
Let us now see what the ancient Jewish writings taught concerning the meaning of the "serpent."
From the Zohar we quote:
R. Isaac said: "This is the evil tempter." R. Judah said that it means literally the serpent.
They consulted R. Simeon, and he said to them: Both are correct. It was Samael, and he appeared on a serpent, for the ideal form of the serpent is the Satan.—Zohar (Soncino Press, 1931), Vol. I:35b.
From Rabbi Eleazer, we note: Sammael [Satan] was the great prince in heaven . . . he . . . saw all the creatures which the Holy One, Blessed be He, had created . . . and he found among them none so skilled to do evil as the serpent ... he mounted and rode upon it. . . . All the deeds which it [the serpent] did, and all the words which it spake, it did not speak except by the intention of Sammael.—Pirke de Rabbi Eleazer, Ch. XIII, The Serpent in Paradise, pp. 92, 93.
Dr. Kalisch comments:
Almost throughout the East the serpent was used as an emblem of the evil principle, of the spirit of disobedience and contumacy . . . and in the Egyptian symbolical alphabet the serpent represents subtlety and cunning, lust and sensual pleasure.— M. M. Kalisch, Commentary on the Old Testament, p. 117, col. 1.
From the Jewish Encyclopaedia: Satan was the seducer ... of Eve, and was hurled from heaven together with other angels because of his iniquity.
From the apocryphal writings:
The devil . . . entered and seduced Eve.—Book of the Secrets of Enoch, 31:4-6, R. H. Charles, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, Vol. II, pp. 450, 451.
By the envy of the devil death entered into the world.—Wisdom of Solomon, 2:24 (ibid., p. 538).
From The Soncino Chumash:
According to S (Sforno) the serpent is a symbol of the tempter (Satan).—A. Cohen, The Soncino Chumash, on Gen. 3:1, p. 12.
From the non-Jewish writers: In the account of the creation it [the serpent] is also described as "the serpent of night," "the serpent of darkness," "the wicked serpent," and "the mighty strong serpent." ... It is not difficult to compare the serpent of Genesis with this serpent of Babylonian mythology. ... In the British Museum ... a tree is represented with a human figure seated on either side of it, with the hands stretched out towards the fruit, and a serpent standing erect behind one of them.—George Smith, The Chaldean Account of Genesis (London, 1880), pp. 88, 89.
This identification of the Serpent and Satan is the ever-recurring feature of Judaism and Christianity alike.—"Satan," Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, p. 409.
Ellen G. White has clear and definite word on this:
Satan assumes the form of a serpent, and enters Eden. The serpent was a beautiful creature, with wings; and while flying through the air, his appearance was bright, resembling burnished gold. He did not go upon the ground, but went from place to place through the air, and ate fruit like man. Satan entered into the serpent.—The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 35. (Italics supplied.)
In the light of these evidences there can be no doubt that the serpent in Genesis 3 refers to Satan, the great accuser of the church of God. He manifested his subtlety then; he does the same today. We need to be on our guard continually. Let us heed the warning of the apostle to the Gentiles:
"I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. . . . But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Cor. 11:2, 3).
Shall we not say with Paul: "We don't want Satan to win any victory here, and well we know his methods!" (2 Cor. 2:11; from The New Testament in Modern English, by J. B. Phillips. Copyright 1958, by J. B. Phillips. Used by permission of the Macmillan Company).
