Changes

Is the serpent really Satan?  Genesis 3:1 says that the serpent was a "wild beast" "that the Lord God had made".  This reflects the words of Genesis 1:24-5, with the stipulation that "God saw that this was good".  The Hebrew word for serpent used here is nachash, and it appears in many places in the Bible, where it is not equated with Satan.  In Genesis 49:17, we are told that Dan, "one of the tribes of Israel", "shall be a serpent by the road, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider is thrown backward". (JPS translation)  Its difficult to imagine one of the tribes of Israel "who shall judge his people" (KJV) being equated with Satan.  In Numbers 21:9, we are told that Moses "made a serpent of brass", that would cure any man if he had been bitten by a serpent.  Again, its difficult to imagine this as being somehow satanic, when the allusion to the nachash is as a "beast of the field".  While the serpent in Genesis 3 may be "subtil" or cunning - the Hebrew word is arum - equating this "beast of the field" with Satan is not supported by the text.  Danielitld

Is the serpent really Satan?  Genesis 3:1 says that the serpent was a "wild beast" "that the Lord God had made".  This reflects the words of Genesis 1:24-5, with the stipulation that "God saw that this was good".  The Hebrew word for serpent used here is nachash, and it appears in many places in the Bible, where it is not equated with Satan.  In Genesis 49:17, we are told that Dan, "one of the tribes of Israel", "shall be a serpent by the road, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider is thrown backward". (JPS translation)  Its difficult to imagine one of the tribes of Israel "who shall judge his people" (KJV) being equated with Satan.  In Numbers 21:9, we are told that Moses "made a serpent of brass", that would cure any man if he had been bitten by a serpent.  Again, its difficult to imagine this as being somehow satanic, when the allusion to the nachash is as a "beast of the field".  While the serpent in Genesis 3 may be "subtil" or cunning - the Hebrew word is arum - equating this "beast of the field" with Satan is not supported by the text.  Danielitld

:It would seem to be entirely plausible that ''all'' animals could talk before the fall. After all, we know that, for instance T Rex was vegetarian and used its teeth for opening coconuts. So it requires no great stretch of the imagination to suggest that apart from being entirely herbivorous the animals were also capable of speech.  This would explain the fact that Eve is in no way recorded as being surprised by being accosted by a talking snake.  It would also make the punishment which the snakes received as a group a lot more fair - as if it was only an unwilling tool of Satan then the permenant cursing would seem rather harsh - but if the snake was acting of its own violation then the punishment is more reasonable.--[[User:British_cons|British_cons]] [[User_talk:British_cons|(talk)]] 12:57, 9 November 2009 (EST)

:It would seem to be entirely plausible that ''all'' animals could talk before the fall. After all, we know that, for instance T Rex was vegetarian and used its teeth for opening coconuts. So it requires no great stretch of the imagination to suggest that apart from being entirely herbivorous the animals were also capable of speech.  This would explain the fact that Eve is in no way recorded as being surprised by being accosted by a talking snake.  It would also make the punishment which the snakes received as a group a lot more fair - as if it was only an unwilling tool of Satan then the permenant cursing would seem rather harsh - but if the snake was acting of its own violation then the punishment is more reasonable.--[[User:British_cons|British_cons]] [[User_talk:British_cons|(talk)]] 12:57, 9 November 2009 (EST)