“Serpent” in the Bible

　　In the “Bible”, there are many records and types of “snake”. In the Chinese version of the “Bible”, there are more records of “snake” and “虺” (in ancient Chinese books, it is called a poisonous snake such as viper, or it is generally called a small snake, or refers to lizard animals, etc.) or “venomous snake”. The category is not clear enough. In the English version of the “Bible”, there are Snake (for snakes, reptiles), Serpent (for big snakes, poisonous snakes), Adder (for wide snakes), Asp (for Asp snakes), Viper (for vipers), etc. . Among them, Snake and Serpent have more records and richer content. This article compares the English New Revised Standard Version (NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION) with the Chinese version.
　　Snake is a snake, a reptile. There are more than 20 records in the “Bible”, mostly referring to common snakes or snakes. But there are two more famous records, both in the “Bible Exodus”.
　　”Exodus” (Exodus) is translated into the Chinese Hehe version, while the Chinese Sigao version is translated into “Exodus” (because Egypt is called “the valley of weeping”). The second volume of the Old Testament. Also known as the “Pentateuch” [ie “Genesis”, “Exodus” (also translated as “Exodus”), “Leviticus” (also translated as “Leviticus”), “Numbers” (also translated as ” Household Registration”), “Deuteronomy”] Volume II. It got its name because the first half of the book narrates the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. The title of the Chinese translation is based on the Greek translation. The book consists of 40 chapters, with prose as the main body, interspersed with some poems and a large number of legal provisions. Jewish tradition believes that the book was written by Moses in the 15th century BC, such as the Jewish historian Josephus and the philosopher Philo in the 1st century AD. But later, many scholars raised objections through research, believing that this book and other volumes of the “Pentateuch” were written by many people, and that several documents were continuously collected over hundreds of years, and the final compilation was dated BC. Age of Ezra in the 5th century. The book has important documentary value for the study of the history of the early Jewish nation. The volume concerned with snakes is famous for:
　　One is to turn a stick into a snake (Snake). Chapters 3-4 of Exodus: Jehovah God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Say, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their wailing because they are under the bondage of their taskmasters. I know their pain. I have come down to deliver them from land (Egypt), to a good and wide land flowing with milk and honey (Palestine)…I will send you to Pharaoh (King of Egypt) so that you may bring my people Israel out of Egypt.” When Moses worried When the Israelites would not believe him, the LORD said to Moses, “What is in your hand?” He said, “It’s a rod.” The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” As soon as he threw it down, he became a snake (Snake) and Moses ran away. The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and take its tail, and it will become a staff in your hand. So that they may believe in the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. has appeared to you.” Moses did as the LORD had commanded, and the snake became a rod again. Moses took the shepherd’s rod and threw it on the ground and it turned into a snake. Moses picked up the snake by faith and turned it back into a rod. Later, it became a tool for leading the Israelites out of Egypt, and became the “scepter of God”. At that time, the snake players in Egypt could make the snake stand up like a staff; but the miracle performed by Moses was to turn the staff into a snake and back into a staff. According to Jewish tradition, the rod is a sign of “power”. God wanted Moses to believe that he could overcome the obstacles of Egypt by faith. Later, he used this rod to bring disasters to Egypt. With the power of God, the staff can display its divine power.
　　The second is to swallow the stick with a stick. “Exodus” chapter 7 records: Jehovah God instructed Moses to replace God, so that his brother Aaron said to Pharaoh: “Let the Israelites come out of his land (Egypt).” But Pharaoh did not listen to them. Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron and said: “If Pharaoh says to you, ‘Do a miracle!’ you tell Aaron to say, Throw the staff before Pharaoh, and make the staff become a ‘snake’.” Moses, Aaron went in to Pharaoh again and did as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and the staff turned into a snake. So Pharaoh called for the wise men and magicians, who were magicians of Egypt, and they did the same with magic. Each of them threw down his rod, and it became a serpent, but Aaron’s rod swallowed their rods. After Aaron turned the rod into a snake at the request of Pharaoh, the snake did not turn back into a rod, but swallowed the snake transformed by the Egyptian magician with the rod. According to Jewish tradition, this proves that God gave Aaron more power than magicians. The Egyptian sorcerers turned their rods into snakes, either by witchcraft or by the devil, but in any case they were ultimately subject to theocracy. The rod of Aaron was changed to “snake”. The original Hebrew word for “serpent” is “tannin”, which refers to a large reptile, such as a “dragon” or “giant monster” in mythology. The other word for “snake” is “nahas”, which refers to the common snake. The two “snakes” before and after are different. In Egypt at that time, as in Babylon, religion and magic were not distinguished. These warlocks are also those who preside over religious ceremonies, and their work includes reciting spells and drawing symbols. Among the magicians who resisted Moses were Jannes and Jambres. Warlocks can also use sticks to change into snakes. Some people explained that the sticks in the hands of warlocks are originally straightened snakes, and they can be thrown on the ground to resume action. In Egypt today, snakes are still used by warlocks as a juggling tool.
　　Serpent is a big snake and a poisonous snake. There are more than 30 records in the “Bible”, mostly referring to poisonous snakes. But there are two records that are more famous. One is in Genesis and the other is in Revelation.
　　Genesis is the first volume of the Old Testament. The first volume of the “Pentateuch” is also the beginning of the entire “Bible”. The original Hebrew title is “in the beginning”. Taken from the first word of the first sentence of the original text (“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”). The Greek “Septuagint” translates it as “origin”, which means origin, origin, generation, occurrence, etc. All show that: “Genesis” talks about the beginning of the formation of the world. The book is divided into 50 chapters, written in prose. The content mainly talks about the origin of all things in the universe and human beings, as well as marriage, family, language, family and the origin of the Israeli nation. The purpose is to explain that God created the heaven and earth and all things, and to record the origin of the Hebrew nation to the history of the patriarch Joseph in Egypt. The famous contents of this volume involving snakes are as follows:
　　One is to tempt people to commit crimes. Chapter 2-3 of “Genesis” records: After Jehovah God created the heaven and the earth and everything on earth, he made man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed life into his nostrils, and he became a living soul named Adam. And planted a garden in Eden in the east, and put the man whom he had formed there, to work it and take care of it. And told him, “You may eat from any tree in the garden as you please, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you must not eat, for the day you eat of it you will surely die.” Then he saw that it was not good for the man to live alone, And he made a woman out of the rib which he had taken from the man, and the husband and wife were not ashamed to be naked. Of all the creatures of the LORD God, only the snake is more cunning than all the living creatures of the field. The serpent first tampered with the word of God and tempted the woman. God said: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you are not allowed to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” The snake changed it to: “Did God really say that you are not allowed to eat from all the trees in the garden? the fruit that you eat?” God said, “For the day you eat of it, you will surely die.” The serpent changed it and said, “You will not surely die.” And said, “For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knows good and evil.” Then the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes, and that it was pleasing to the eyes, and it made a man wise; so she took some fruit, ate it, and gave it to her husband. , her husband also ate. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made aprons for themselves. According to Jewish tradition, “snake” represents Satan, the devil. From this we can see that Satan implants doubt and unbelief into people’s hearts, tempts people to deny God’s words, doubts God’s motives, and causes people to disobey God’s commands and fall into sin.

　　The second is to curse for God. “Genesis” chapter 3 records: After the snake (Serpent) tempted Adam and Eve to sin, the Lord said to the snake: “Since you have done this, you will be cursed more than all livestock and wild animals. You will walk on your belly, You will eat dust all your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and the offspring of the woman. The offspring of the woman will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” Some scholars believe that: It is the earliest notice of God’s willingness to redeem man after man sinned, and it is also the earliest promise of man’s salvation. “Snake” represents Satan and the devil. The redemption of Jesus Christ is to crush Satan’s “head” (a fatal wound) and destroy Satan’s power over human beings. Because Jesus Christ was the incarnation of the virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ is the offspring of the woman. Jesus Christ was crucified without sin, bearing the sins of all mankind, and died to save the world. This will be the end of the war between God and the evil one in the heart and history of mankind.
　　”Apocalypse” (Revelatjon) is translated into Chinese Hehe edition, while Chinese Sigao edition is translated as “Apocalypse”. The last book of the New Testament. It is also the last volume of the entire Bible. It is the only apocalyptic literary work in the New Testament. Visions, symbols, and allegories are used extensively in the book, especially when it comes to future events. According to legend, it was made by Jesus’ beloved disciple John when he was exiled on the island of Patmos (now translated as Patmos). It may also be a compilation of several independent chapters collected by a believer in the 1st century. On the surface, the book is abstract religious fables and predictions about the end of the world, but it is actually written in response to the crisis of faith caused by the persecution of Christianity by the ancient Roman authorities. The book emphasizes that God will eventually defeat the mighty enemy. The book has 22 chapters. Over the years, although there have been different annotations on the book, the fundamental purpose of the book is to strengthen the faith of believers, and the message that Christ will surely return can best strengthen the faith of believers. The center of the “New Testament” is Christ, and the center of “Revelation” is the second coming of Christ. The volume concerned with snakes is famous for:
　　One is called the devil. Chapter 12 of “Revelation” contains: Another vision appeared in the sky. There was a big red dragon (dragon), with seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on the seven heads. Its tail dragged a third of the stars in the sky and fell to the ground. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth (God’s chosen one), and when she gave birth, he was going to devour her child. The woman bears a son (Jesus Christ) who will rule the nations with a rod of iron: her child is caught up to the throne of God. There is war in heaven, Michael (the angel) fights with his angels and the dragon, and the dragon fights with his angels. There is no victory, there is no place for them in heaven. The dragon is that ancient serpent, called the devil, or Satan, who deceived the world; he was cast down to the ground, and his angels were cast down with him. When the dragon saw that he was thrown to the ground, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the man-child. Then two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness, to her own place, from the serpent; and there she was fed for a time, a time, a time. The snake was right behind the woman and spit out water from its mouth like a river to wash her away. But the earth helped the woman and swallowed the water that spewed out of the dragon’s mouth. The dragon was angry with the woman and went to fight with the rest of her sons and daughters, who kept the commandments of God and testified for Jesus, and the dragon was standing on the sand by the sea. The book particularly emphasizes: “The dragon (dragon) is the ancient serpent (ancient serpent), called the devil, also known as Satan, who confuses the world”; and the first volume of the “Bible” “Genesis” contains: “The Lord God created, Only the Serpent is more cunning than any other creature of the field.” He tempted people to commit crimes and set a precedent for crimes. Make the “Bible” echo from beginning to end. Although the biblical dragon and the Chinese dragon are similar in appearance and image, and both evolved from snakes, their nature and ending are quite different. In Western culture (that is, Hebrew and Greek cultures), “dragon” is mainly a negative symbol such as devil, Satan, evil, violence, etc. Although it was rampant for a while, it was eventually eliminated; while “Chinese dragon” is mainly a sacred, Positive symbols such as auspiciousness, talent, and good deeds are also symbols of the national spirit. The Chinese nation is the descendant of the dragon, and the dragon coexists with humans. This is the difference between Chinese and foreign cultures. It would be ridiculous to treat them equally.
　　The second is eternal pain. “Revelation” chapter 20 reads: “I saw an angel come down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He caught the dragon (dragon), which is the ancient serpent (ancient serpent), It is also called the devil, also called Satan, and binds it for a thousand years. Throws it into the bottomless pit, closes the bottomless pit, and seals it with a seal so that it can no longer deceive the nations. After the thousand years are over, it must be released temporarily It…. When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison, and he will go out to deceive the nations of the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, and gather them together for war, and they will be as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They will come up and overwhelm and surrounded the whole earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city; and fire came down from heaven and consumed them. The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were places; they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”