Instead of identifying the serpent, Moses tells us two things about him: (1) he is crafty; (2) he is a beast (animal) made by the Lord God.
The serpent is compared to one of the beasts of the field that the Lord God had made (Genesis 1:25, 2:19), so he is identified as being part of the animal kingdom.
The serpent is compared to one of the beasts of the field that the Lord God had made (Genesis 1:25, 2:19), so he is identified as being part of the animal kingdom.
The serpent was a part of God’s “very good” creation (Genesis 1:31). Yet the serpent is described as “crafty.”
The Hebrew word here (ʿārûm) is an ambiguous term because it can
have a positive meaning “prudent” (Proverbs 12:16, 23, 13:16, 14:8) but it can also have a negative meaning “crafty” (Job 5:12, 15:5). The negative meaning “crafty” fits the context of Genesis 3 as the serpent’s speech distorts the Word of God (Genesis 3:1–5; 2:16–17). The description of the serpent as “crafty” (ʿārûm) is also a play on the word “naked” (ʿārôm) in Genesis 2:25: Adam and Eve are “nude,” but the serpent is “shrewd.” The serpent’s shrewdness causes Adam and Eve to experience the shame of their nakedness (Genesis 3:7).
Q: Does the fact that the serpent can speak mean he is a mythological creature?
Q: Does the fact that the serpent can speak mean he is a mythological creature?
A: No, the garden in Eden is not the magical land of Narnia. The garden in Eden is a part of God’s very good creation that had real trees with real fruit, a real river, real animals, and real people (see Genesis 2:4–25). Moreover, the New Testament always treats Genesis 3 as real history (1 Timothy 2:13–14; 2 Corinthians 11:3).
Q: How then should we understand the talking serpent?
A: The only other time in the Bible when an animal speaks is in the account of Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22:28).
In that account, God opens the mouth of the donkey so it can speak. Moses was not trying to depict a world in which animals can speak but was describing what was in fact a supernatural act.
*So the only other example of a talking animal in Scripture implies that it was through supernatural intervention.
*The fact that the serpent’s speech directly distorts God’s Word and calls into question the trustworthiness of his character suggests there is an evil force behind the serpent (John 8:44).
Although Genesis never calls the serpent Satan, in the progression of revelation the New Testament states that the serpent was Satan (Revelation 12:9, 20:2; 2 Corinthians 11:3, 14).
The serpent was not acting on its own but was in fact used by Satan to be his mouthpiece in the temptation of Eve. This is why both the serpent and Satan are judged by God for their part in the fall of mankind."
AIG
