Snakes in the Bible

• Genesis: the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the fieldGen 3:1
  The verses

  Gen 3:1Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”
• Genesis: the serpent is to go on its belly and eat dustGen 3:14
  The verses

  Gen 3:14So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.
• “The way of a snake on a rock” — one of four things too wonderfulProv 30:18–19
  The verses

  Prov 30:18–19There are three things too wonderful for me, four that I cannot understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a maiden.
• Snakes in walls: whoever breaks through or leans on one may be bittenEccl 10:8, Amos 5:19
  The verses

  Eccl 10:8He who digs a pit may fall into it, and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.

  Amos 5:19It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.
• Snake charmers: no profit if the snake bites before it is charmedEccl 10:11
  The verses

  Eccl 10:11If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.
• A cobra that shuts its ears to the tune of the charmerPs 58:4–5
  The verses

  Ps 58:4–5Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears, refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell.
• Vipers that cannot be charmedJer 8:17
  The verses

  Jer 8:17“For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.
• A viper by the road bites the horse’s heels, and the rider tumblesGen 49:17
  The verses

  Gen 49:17He will be a snake by the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
• The wilderness had venomous snakes and scorpionsDeut 8:15
  The verses

  Deut 8:15He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.
• The Negev: a land of lion, viper and flying serpentIsa 30:6
  The verses

  Isa 30:6This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.
• Crack a viper’s egg, and a viper is hatchedIsa 59:5
  The verses

  Isa 59:5They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

In the stories

• Moses’ staff became a snake; he ran from it, then caught it by the tailExod 4:3–4
  The verses

  Exod 4:3–4“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
• Aaron’s staff became a serpent and swallowed the magicians’ staffsExod 7:10–12
  The verses

  Exod 7:10–12So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts. Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.
• Venomous snakes bit the Israelites in the wilderness, and many diedNum 21:6
  The verses

  Num 21:6So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died.
• Moses made a bronze snake on a pole; the bitten who looked at it livedNum 21:8–9
  The verses

  Num 21:8–9Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live.
• Hezekiah broke up that bronze snake, Nehushtan, because incense was burned to it2 Kgs 18:4
  The verses

  2 Kgs 18:4He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.
• On Malta a viper, driven out by the fire’s heat, fastened on Paul’s handActs 28:3–4
  The verses

  Acts 28:3–4Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand. When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
• Paul shook it off; the islanders waited for him to swell upActs 28:5–6
  The verses

  Acts 28:5–6But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The islanders were expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
• Jesus gives his disciples authority to tread on snakes and scorpionsLuke 10:17, Luke 10:19
  The verses

  Luke 10:17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.”

  Luke 10:19Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.

Sayings

• “Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves”Matt 10:16
  The verses

  Matt 10:16Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
• What father gives his son a snake when he asks for a fish?Matt 7:10, Luke 11:11
  The verses

  Matt 7:10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

  Luke 11:11What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
• Wine “bites like a snake and stings like a viper”Prov 23:31–32
  The verses

  Prov 23:31–32Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
• “They sharpen their tongues like snakes”Ps 140:3
  The verses

  Ps 140:3They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah
• “They will lick the dust like a snake”Mic 7:17
  The verses

  Mic 7:17They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will crawl from their holes in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of You.
• Egypt “will hiss like a fleeing serpent”Jer 46:22
  The verses

  Jer 46:22Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent, for the enemy will advance in force; with axes they will come against her like woodsmen cutting down trees.