The Serpent & Eve

[musicworld]

How was it that Eve was deceived by the serpent snake? I know the bible tells us of satan being able to appear in many different forms, but snakes don't talk,

Comments please.

 

[mjrhealth]

Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Things where very different in teh Garden of Eden

 

[Dan57]

"Serpent" in Hebrew is "Nachash" meaning "a shining one". So I don't believe it was a literal snake, but Satan himself transformed as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11: 14). Serpent is just one of Satan's descriptive nicknames, as pointed out in Revelation 20:2 "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years"

 

[mjrhealth]

One must get this in perspective. it is not the devil doing teh talking, satan doesnt crawl arouind on teh floor nipping at mens feet, it is teh serpents that do. There is a lot of detail missing from te hbible.

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Its not talking of teh devil, in fact if you read, the book of Adam and Eve, i beleie you will find satan cohersing teh serpent to do this.

 

[Mungo]

"Serpent" in Hebrew is "Nachash" meaning "a shining one". So I don't believe it was a literal snake, but Satan himself transformed as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11: 14). Serpent is just one of Satan's descriptive nicknames, as pointed out in Revelation 20:2 "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years"

According to Scott Hahn "Nachash" - has a wide range of meanings. Whilst it is used most commonly to refer to snakes (see Num 21:6-9) it is also used with reference to evil dragons like Leviathan (see Is 27:1) and the legendary sea monsters (see Jb 26:13). Across this wide spectrum of usage the word generally refers to something that bites (see Prv 23:32), often with venom (see Ps 58:4).

The word is Strong 5175

[SIZE=12pt]From [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]H5172[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]; a snake[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] (from its [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]hiss[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]):—serpent.[/SIZE]​

​

[SIZE=12pt]Strong 5172[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=12pt]A primitive root; properly to hiss[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt], that is, [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]whisper[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] a (magic) spell; generally to [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]prognosticate:—[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt] X certainly, divine, enchanter, (use) X enchantment, learn by experience, X indeed, diligently observe.[/SIZE]​

​

[SIZE=12pt]Nothing to do with shining one or angel of light.[/SIZE]​

 

[Stranger]

How was it that Eve was deceived by the serpent snake? I know the bible tells us of satan being able to appear in many different forms, but snakes don't talk,

Comments please.

(Num.22:28) " And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?"

So, do asses talk?

Stranger

 

[The Good Path]

Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Okay, the first thing to understand is that many times throughout the Bible, the word “trees” is symbolic of people or beings. The trunk is the backbone which supports the body while the branches are the limbs (arms, legs). There are many examples, but here are just a few – Judges 9:8-15,Mark 8:24, Ezekiel 17:24, Hosea 14.

tree = Hebrew word # 6086: `ets (ates); a tree (from its firmness) from # 6095:`atsah (aw-tsaw’); a primitive root; properly, to fasten (or make firm), ie: to close the eyes. figuratively: The spine giving firmness to the body.

We are introduced to two specific “trees” in the Garden. One, the Tree of Life, is Jesus Christ. The other, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, is symbolic for Satan himself.

The serpent mentioned in Gen 3:1 is no snake. It is simply another one of Satan’s names as he takes on many roles/titles throughout God’s Word. We know that snakes do not speak. Revelation 12:9 mentions several of Satan’s names -“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world”

serpent = Hebrew word # 5175: nachash (naw-khawsh’); a snake (from its hiss). From # 5172: nachash(naw-khash’); a primitive root; properly, to hiss, ie: whisper a (magic) spell; generally, to prognosticate: to practice divination, to divine, enchanter, to observe signs, to learn by experience, to diligently observe, to practice fortune telling, to take as an omen.

So we understand who we are talking about when the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the serpent are both mentioned.

Genesis 3:14
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

People will say that this is why a snake slithers around on its belly. But, we are not talking about a snake – we are talking about Satan. If someone applies this verse to the animal, it can only be symbolic for what/who is really being addressed.
The phrases, “upon thy belly shalt thou go” and “dust shalt thou eat” are Hebraisms, or figures of speech of the Hebrew language that both mean “utter defeat” or a state of degradation. Check out Psalms 72:9,Psalms 44:25 or Isaiah 49:23for examples.

 

[101G]

GINOLJC, to all. I must agree with stranger when it comes to natural animals. but here, in this setting, serpent is not what is being identified, but "WHO" it identifies. serpent is an identification of character, or moral characteristics. example, Matthew 3:7 "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?". John the Baptist called the Pharisees and Sadducees vipers, not to identify them physically, but spiritually. for viper is a kind of serpent. Matthew 23:33 "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?". what the Lord Jesus here are saying to these scribes and Pharisees is this, their way, or character, or moral characteristics was evil, they was hypocrites. so serpent, just as lion, as well as dragon, describe the character of the devil, who is evil. and as a serpent here, it identified him, satan, as a deceiver, and a liar.

this is how we identify good from evil, (character). a son of God, (good character), or a son of the devil (evil character). character is based on the way one ACTS, GOOD or EVIL. just look up the word "son" and see what it means metaphorically, or Spiritually. my source Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, G5207, "son".

hope this help.

 

[mjrhealth]

We know that snakes do not speak.

We are talking about the garden of Eden here, remember the donkey that spoke to teh prophet Balam.satan doesnt crawl on His belly neither does he eat dust as snakes do.

 

[JesusIsFaithful]

How was it that Eve was deceived by the serpent snake? I know the bible tells us of satan being able to appear in many different forms, but snakes don't talk,

Comments please.

Neither does the donkey but it did at one time in warning a prophet from cursing Israel.

 

[Guestman]

How was it that Eve was deceived by the serpent snake? I know the bible tells us of satan being able to appear in many different forms, but snakes don't talk,

Comments please.

The "serpent", perhaps being used like a ventriloquist does a "dummy", first called into question God's command to not eat from the "tree of knowledge of good and bad" (Gen 2:17), by asking: "Did God really (Heb aph that implies opposition to something required) say that you must not eat from every tree of the garden ?"(Gen 3:1) This placed some doubt into Eve's mind, though she replied: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But God has said about the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden: ' You must not eat from it, no, you must not touch it; otherwise you will die".(Gen 3:2, 3)

This also showed that "the tree of knowledge of good and bad" was a real tree, for she mentioned it in relation to the other fruit trees of the garden that her and Adam could eat as opposed to the one tree she and Adam were restricted from even touching. The "serpent" then called God a liar by saying: "You certainly will not die".(Gen 3:4)

The "serpent" (who is identified as Satan the Devil at Rev 12:9 and Jesus called him "the father of the lie" at John 8:44) now provided something that Eve liked, appealing to her pride, to be like God in deciding for herself what is right and wrong, by saying: "For God knows that in the very day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and bad".(Gen 3:5)

She now was "hooked", and decided then and there to reach out and take fruit from the "tree of knowledge of good and bad". Then, later, when Adam came to her, she offered him some of the fruit, perhaps reasoning with him that they could "be like God, knowing good and bad" for themselves.

But Adam was not deceived as Eve was, but ate some of the fruit anyway.(1 Tim 2:14) So what really happened in the garden of Eden ? Satan challenged God's right to rule, his universal sovereignty, to place moral boundaries on us as his creation. Satan effectively said that each of us can decide for ourselves what is right and wrong without any interference from God.

As a result, this set off a chain of events whereby sin and death was introduced to mankind, whereby the vast majority of mankind has rejected God's guidance and decided for themselves what they feel is right and wrong, creating political, religious and commercial empires. And at that time, Jehovah turned the "world" (Adam's offspring; see Luke 11:50, 51 in which Jesus speaks of Abel as the "founding of the world") over to Satan to rule over.

Hence, Jesus told his eleven faithful apostles just before his death: "I will not speak with you much more, for the ruler of the world is coming (to have me put to death), and he has no hold on me".(John 14:30) The issue of God's universal sovereignty that has been challenged for some 6,000 years, will soon be settled. Satan's reign over the "world" will come to an end at Armageddon.(Rev 16:14, 16)

Only a small number over the course of human history has not "bent the knee" to Satan but to Jehovah God in worshipful obedience to him.(compare 1 Kings 19:18) The apostle Paul called such ones "a great cloud of witnesses".(Hen 12:1) Down to our time in these "last days", only a very small number of people in relation to all those born, has subjected themselves in loyal obedience to Jehovah God.

All others have symbolically "eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and bad", deciding for themselves what they want to do without any regard for God's guidance.

 

[101G]

GINOLJC, to all. the question asked, "How was it that Eve was deceived by the serpent snake?". the mechanism or means that was used. answer, she was deceived by a lie, the fruit of this tree which is "EVIL". that's how she was deceived. the fruit of EVIL is deception, meaning to lie. supportive scripture, Hosea 10:13 "Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men". lying is a "FRUIT" of evil. as said before, serpent here is not an actual serpent. nor the tree of evil is an actual tree. we're speaking spiritual here.

 

[buddyt]

What happened between Satan and Eve is not what is commonly thought. Our children are more often thought that Eve ate an apple and that was the sin. If man would read the word and use common sense he can see clearly what happened.

First you have to understand what is meant in Genesis 2:17 and again in Genesis 3:3 But of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said Ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye TOUCH it least ye die. Why was Eve told not to touch the tree. The KJV translates Strong's G680—A to touch ----B of carnal intercourse with a women or cohabitation. Look it up for your self.

You can further understand why Adam and Eve covered there privet parts with Fig leaves and not there mouths. Genesis 3:15-16 God tells eve: And I will put enmity (translates hate) between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed it shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shall bring fourth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee.

I have been BANNED from another so called Christian Forum because of my belief and what the Bible says about this subject. I pray this Forum is truly one for opinions and discussions.

 

[101G]

The KJV translates Strong's G680—A to touch

Not saying that you're right or wrong, but consider this.
#1. G680 is Greek and not Hebrew. touch here is the Hebrew word,
H5060 נָגַע naga` (naw-gah') v.
1. (properly) to touch.
2. to lay the hand upon (for any purpose).
3. (by euphemism) to lie with a woman.
4. (by implication) to reach.
5. (figuratively) to arrive, acquire.
6. (violently) to strike a blow (i.e. punish, defeat, destroy, etc.).

I suggest one take notice of definition #6. because what she acquire was information. why? answer, Genesis 3:6 "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat". the reason why she touch/ate the fruit was to "MAKE herself WISE". so she acquired knowledge, but without understanding. this is why the tree is rightly called, the tree of the "KNOWLEDGE", but what kind of knowledge? answer, GOOD and EVIL. but the tree is not called the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil with "UNDERSTANDING". big difference.

so the touch here is not sexual, but figuratively, meaning to acquire information, and to arrive at a conclusion.

hope this helped.

 

[7angels]

you what is funny? if you look at a skeleton of a snake you will find near age back of the tail that there was a time it could of walked upright. scientist use it to show evolution of snakes but it fits in with the story of adam and eve if the snake actually did walk upright then lost it's legs and now crawls on it belly.

also the Word tells us that adam had authority over all the creatures of the earth. it was not until after the flood that the animals started to fear man. i wonder if at one point the animals could understand adam. there are books that tell of people who have gone to heaven and talked to animals telepathically. why could it not be possible that according to science we use only 10% of our brains so it could be that we were able to use 100% of our brains before our fall into sin. thinking like this would make talking animals possible.

God bless

 

[buddyt]

101G
It's good to discuss these things. I would further offer

In Genesis 3:13 And the Lord God said unto the woman What is this that thou has done ? And the woman said The serpent BEGUILED me and I did eat. This word Beguiled in the Strong's From EK and APATAO = to seduce wholly – beguile deceive. We look at the book of 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 For I am Jealous over you with Godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 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.

 

[101G]

To buddyt, first thanks for the post. second you gave the answer to support I have been saying all along.

2 Corinthians 11:2-3 For I am Jealous over you with Godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 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.

I suggest you read that bold and underline segment again. "YOUR MINDS". this is spiritual.

second let's put to rest this talking serpent. as i have said before, the Devil is not an actual "serpent". if one thinks that's the case i suggest you consider these verses.
Matthew 23:33 "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" who was our Lord referring to? answer, verse 27 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness". now was these scribes and Pharisees actual serpents/snakes slithering on the ground?. was not our Lord Jesus talking to these scribes and Pharisees and they was talking back, just as Eve was with the serpent/Satan.
understand, the devil is called a serpent because he deceives, but he's not snake. the devil is called a roaring lion, because he inject fear, but he's no cat. the devil is called a dragon, because he devour, but he's no reptile. snake, lion, and dragon are description of the devil character. character determines who you are, Good or Evil. as in the case with the scribes and Pharisees .

I hope this helped.

 

[epostle1]

(Num.22:28) " And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?"

So, do asses talk?

Stranger

Maybe that one time, but they know how to use a computer.

 

[epostle1]

In most editions of the Douay-Rheims Bible, Genesis 3:15, in which God is addressing the serpent, reads like this:

"I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel."

In the New American Bible, as in all other modern Bibles, it reads like this:

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel."

The essential difference between these two renderings -- or at least the one people always ask about -- concerning who will crush the serpent's head and who the serpent is trying to strike. The Douay-Rheims uses feminine pronouns -- she and her -- implying that the woman is the person being spoken of in this part of the verse. All modern translations use masculine pronouns -- he and his -- implying that the seed of the woman is the of that part of the verse.

The reason for the difference in the renderings is a manuscript difference. Modern translations follow what the original Hebrew of the passage says. The Douay-Rheims, however, is following a manuscript variant found in many early Fathers and some editions of the Vulgate (but not the original; Jerome followed the Hebrew text in his edition of the Vulgate). The variant probably originated as a copyist error when a scribe failed to take note that the subject of the verse had shifted from the woman to the seed of the woman.

People notice this variant today because the expression found in the Douay-Rheims has been the basis of some popular Catholic art, showing a serene Mary standing over a crushed serpent.

This is because Christians have recognized (all the way back to the first century) that the woman and her seed mentioned in Genesis 3:15 do not simply stand for Eve and one of her righteous sons (either Abel or Seth). They prophetically foreshadow Mary and Jesus. Thus, just as the first half of the verse, speaking of the enmity between the serpent and the woman, has been applied to Mary, the second half, speaking of the head crushing and heel striking, has also been applied to Mary due to the manuscript variant, though it properly applies to Jesus, given the original Hebrew.

This does not mean that the idea cannot be validly applied to Mary as well. Through her cooperation in the incarnation of Christ, so that the Son of God (who, from the cross, directly crushed the head of the serpent) became her seed, Mary did crush the head of the serpent. In the same way, the serpent struck at Christ on the cross, and indirectly struck at Mary's heart as well, who had to witness the death of her own Son (cf. John 19:25-27). As the holy priest Simeon had told her years before:

"Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against -- and a sword will pierce through your own soul also -- that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34-35).

Thus Jesus crushed the serpent directly and was directly struck by the serpent; Mary, through her cooperation in the incarnation and her witnessing the sufferings and death of her Son, indirectly crushed the serpent and was indirectly struck by the serpent.

This has long been recognized by Catholics. The footnotes provided a couple of hundred years ago by Bishop Challoner in his revision of the Douay state, "The sense [of these two readings] is the same: for it is by her seed, Jesus Christ, that the woman crushes the serpent's head."
INFO: Mary and the saints

 

[Helen]

I don't think that the fruit was what we think of with fruit...I believe that it was the 'spoken word' (KNOWLEDGE of good and evil) from the serpent, that Eve believed in , received, and 'ate'= took into herself. I see no real literal 'tree', but maybe..it doesn't matter.
I also agree with whoever said , that the serpent probably didn't look much like a snake. I also believe it was beautiful before the Fall. If the curse upon it was to 'go upon it's belly', then very obviously it had legs or at the very least it had wings before the curse. If as is said " Satan transformers himself into an angel of light...he probably looked glorious in the garden.

As an aside...Some of the things that we think of ( or are told) that are good, are very often from the Tree of the Knowledge of good AND Evil. ( I used to picture it with one side evil, and one side 'good'..I am sure both side looked just as tempting to Eve! Yet it is still the wrong tree to be eating from!! ) Not everything that appears as good in this world is from God,in the tree Satan was dishing out both!! That is why God gave us the Holy Spirit to lead us into all Truth, and sidestep eating what appears as good, from the wrong tree.