The Serpent of Eden

It was very common in the ancient Near East to describe the divine dwelling and the divine council headquarters as a lush luxuriant garden like Eden, or a majestic mountain. The choice for the two options are in a culture that is accustomed to desert living and subsistence living. Surely the gods must live at the best place of the most abundance where there’s never a concern for water or for food or anything like that. Just a perpetual oasis.

The garden imagery was chosen for the divine dwelling. The mountain would appeal to them because it was high to the sky. It was remote from human existence. It wasn’t like today where you had people that had equipment and that would be able to scale mountains or even be interested in doing so.

Follow the entire podcast: The Nachash in the Garden of Eden – Michael S. Heiser (Feb. 8, 2016)

What Happened in the Garden?

A divine being (not an animal) associated with the divine council freely chose to oppose God’s plan for humanity by prompting the humans to disobey God so they would either be killed and removed from God’s council and family.

A divine being perhaps masquerading as an animal, not a member of the animal kingdom. Or perhaps the term has been misunderstood, being a symbol for chaos (the “old dragon”).

What does nachash mean?

The Hebrew root is the basis for a noun, verb, and adjective in Hebrew

If you take it in its normal NOUN meaning, the word here would mean “serpent”
If you take it in its normal VERB meaning, the word here would mean “deceiver” or “diviner”
If you take it as a substantivized ADJECTIVE, the word here would mean “Shining one”

CONTEXT and INNER-BIBLICAL parallels clarify this.

Comparing Genesis 3 with Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28

Ezekiel 28:11-19; Isaiah 14:12-15

Both passages are about evil tyrant kings, whose pride is described in terms of an ancient story about a divine being who fell from paradise due to rebellion against God.
This tale references Eden directly in Ezekiel’s case, and indirectly (though clearly) in Isaiah’s case.

Parallels: Genesis 3, Isaiah 14, and Ezekiel 28

Table 1

Genesis 3:
- the nachash (“shining one”) was in the garden of Eden where “God walked”
Ezekiel 28:
- Every precious stone was your adornment (elsewhere these jewels describe the brightness of God’s throne); “anointed cherub” assumes mashach means “anointed” – but it may come from a Semitic homonym “to shine” (and so “shining cherub”)
- “seal of perfection” = hwtm tknyt; in Semitic, at times “m” at end is silent = hwt[m] tknyt (“serpent of perfection”)
Isaiah 14:
- “O shining one” (= Helel ben Shachar)

Table 2

Genesis 3:
- He was in Eden.
- knew that when Adam and Eve ate they would become “like one of the gods” (reference to the council setting of Eden)
- Eden was the place of the council; snakes not members
Ezekiel 28:
- On Eden … the holy mountain of God; walked among the stones of fire = divine council
- “stones of fire” are in Eden / on the cosmic mountain (Ezek 28:13; cf. 1 Enoch 18; Nickelsburg); note the frequent mention of fire on the divine mountain in Sinai descriptions.
- The cherub (serpent) figure is in “the seat of God/the gods” fancying himself as God.
Isaiah 14:
- “O shining one” (= Helel ben Shachar)
- Wanted to set is throne on the mountain of God, the mountain of the divine assembly (council), above the stars of El/God

Table 3

Genesis 3:
- 14 And the Lord God said unto the nachash, Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle and every created beast … Upon your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of thy life:
- Serpents do not actually ingest dirt, and not all women / humans fear them; they also don’t all die by head wounds!
- POINT: The nachash is cast down to the ground; he wanted to override the divine decision to make humankind God’s representative on earth; now his domain is outside the council – “under the earth” in Sheol, which is, in Israelite cosmology, beneath every creature.
Ezekiel 28:
- So I have struck you down From the mountain of God, And I have destroyed you, O shielding cherub,
- From among the stones of fire
- POINT: [he’s kicked out of the life: council] and sent to Sheol
- I have cast you to the ground [a critical word: ‘erets;
- The word usually means “earth” [as in the ground], but in Ugaritic (much of Ezekiel 28 tracks Ugaritic religious texts), it means “netherworld” – a synonym for Sheol, the place of the dead (see next phrase: the Underworld).
- Used this way in the OT elsewhere (Jonah 2:6 – compare 2:2)
Isaiah 14:
- 9 Sheol below was astir To greet your coming – Rousing for you the Rephaim.
- 11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
- 12 How are you fallen from heaven, O Shining One, son of Dawn! How are you cast down to earth [)rs]…
- 15 Instead, you are brought down to Sheol, To the bottom of the Pit.
- 16 They who behold you stare; They peer at you closely.
- Job 26:
  - 5 The Rephaim tremble beneath the waters and their denizens.
  - 6 Sheol is naked before Him; Abaddon has no cover.