" The Serpent As A Symbol"
Submitted by Dinghy53 on 06/30/2008 05:21 PM
- Category: Social Issues
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" The Serpent As A Symbol"
Through out the entirety of my prior education of the bible the "serpent" has always been presented as a representation of the devil. Yet, now that I have had a chance to read and analyze the work in a more literary sense, I have come to an entirely opposite opinion. It seems as though the serpent is not the antagonist, Satan, but instead it is the protagonist God. It seems as though the serpent is an implement used by God in order carry out his bidding. The idea that the serpent represents or is a symbol of Satan falls short, due to the inconsistency of this representation later on into Genesis and at the beginning of Exodus. It is this inconsistency seen in Jacob's description of Dan and the use of Mose's staff that forces the reader to reconsider the serpent's role in the Garden of Eden.
The first time this idea struck me was upon reading Genesis chapter fortynine. In line one, Jacob summons his sons, "Come near and I shall tell you what is to happen to you in days to come." It is here, in lines sixteen and seventeen that Jacob speak of his son Dan, "Dan- his people will be as strong as any tribe in Israel! Let Dan be a viper on the road a horned snake on the path, that bites the horse's fetlock so that the rider is thrown of backwards." By no means is Dan being described as an antagonistic, evil, or Satanic figure, to the contrary he is a protector of the people of God, the Israelites. Cleary, Dan will be an implement used by the Lord to protect his people. Thus, Dan and more importantly the serpent become symbols for the Lord.
These same implementation of the serpent as a symbol for the lord, or at least reapers of his will is further solidified, in Exodus chapter three. Upon, giving Moses the power to turn his staff into a serpent, the lord tells him in line five "This is to convince the people the Lord the God of their forefathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob did appear to you." Here it is clear and undeniable...
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