There is a strange incident related in the Book of Numbers concerning a bronzed or brazen serpent which raises many questions that are never fully addressed by Biblical scholars.
As the story goes - In the second year of the Exodus, after they had left the comforts of Mount Sinai and were struggling across the wasteland, the tribes had a skirmish with the King of Arad in the Negeb and prevailed after much difficulty. The incident of the Brazen Serpent happened then:
"They set out from Mount Hor by the road to the Red Sea to skirt the land of Edom. But the people grew restive on the journey, and the people spoke against the Lord and against Moses. ’Why did you make us leave Egypt to die in the Wilderness? There is no bread and water, and we have come to loathe this miserable food.’
The Lord sent seraph serpents among the people. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ’We sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord to take away the serpents from us.’
And Moses interceded for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, ’Make a seraph figure and mount it on a standard. And if anyone who is bitten looks at it, he shall recover.’ Moses made a brazen serpent and mounted it on a standard; and when anyone was bitten by a serpent, he would look at the brazen serpent and recover."
It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the meaning of the incident is obviously idolatry, an activity stringently forbidden in the Scriptures. The Hebrew word "seraph" is an unusual one and appears only a few times in the books of the Old Testament.
In Isaiah 14 and 30, the "seraph" is referred to as "me ofef seraph" or literally "flying serpent" and is associated with Philistia and the Negeb, lands which were traditionally the home of the descendants of the Nefilim after the Deluge. The Brazen Serpent which was made by Moses at God’s command was revered in the Temple sanctuary until the Eighth Century BC when, according to II Kings 18, King Hezekiah, angry over idol worship, "broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made."
It is doubtful if this was the original "seraph" made by Moses about 1450 BC and that it survived till this time. In either case, it demonstrates that the worship of serpent-gods was well established among the Israelites during the period of the Judges and Kings, and it suggests that Yahweh had at least at one time been identified with the serpent-god.
The term "seraph" has worried Biblical translators and commentators over the years. It is translated as "fiery serpent" in the King James version; however, the modern tendency is not to translate it at all but to render the Hebrew word as given. "Seraph" does not fit any convenient classification or translation. It seems more probable that it is a borrowed word from the Canaanites who acquired it from their Mesopotamian heritage.
The roots of the term may well be Mesopotamian. The "flying or fiery serpent" atop a pole worshiped for its healing properties symbolically represents the Sumerian god of healing, who was often associated with the snake symbol. There is also a curious resemblance of the snake wrapped around a pole, with the later caduceus of the Greeks.
There is a little known ancient religious document which not only refers to the serpent-gods but also cryptically to the gods of the Sumerian pantheon. As such, this Christian hymn probably has its origins in a Sumerian prayer. Called the Prayer of Joseph, it is of a group called magical papyri, of Greek origin and dated to the Second Century AD. It starts out as a hymn of praise:
"Father of the Patriarchs, Father of all things, Father of all the powers of the Cosmos, Creator of all, Creator of the angels and archangels, the Creator of the redeeming names, I invoke you."
After a few more invocations, the prayer continues dramatically:
"You who sit upon the mountain of Holy Sinai, You who sit upon the sea, You who sit upon the serpent-gods, the God who sits upon the sun god."
This paean is interesting and pertinent for a number of reasons. Besides the tacit reference to the serpent-gods, it also refers to the god who sits upon the sea. Although the line is incomplete (suspiciously so - all the missing words are in critical places!), it appears to be a veiled reference to a water god and his water palace.
Serpent-gods are not just found in the history or mythology of the ancient Middle East. Dragons, flying serpents, and serpent-gods appear in the mythology of people throughout the world and everywhere are the creators and benevolent ancestors of man. In some cultures there also remains the lingering memory of a serpent-race that was cruel and barbaric.
As the story goes - In the second year of the Exodus, after they had left the comforts of Mount Sinai and were struggling across the wasteland, the tribes had a skirmish with the King of Arad in the Negeb and prevailed after much difficulty. The incident of the Brazen Serpent happened then:
"They set out from Mount Hor by the road to the Red Sea to skirt the land of Edom. But the people grew restive on the journey, and the people spoke against the Lord and against Moses. ’Why did you make us leave Egypt to die in the Wilderness? There is no bread and water, and we have come to loathe this miserable food.’
The Lord sent seraph serpents among the people. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ’We sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord to take away the serpents from us.’
And Moses interceded for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, ’Make a seraph figure and mount it on a standard. And if anyone who is bitten looks at it, he shall recover.’ Moses made a brazen serpent and mounted it on a standard; and when anyone was bitten by a serpent, he would look at the brazen serpent and recover."
It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the meaning of the incident is obviously idolatry, an activity stringently forbidden in the Scriptures. The Hebrew word "seraph" is an unusual one and appears only a few times in the books of the Old Testament.
In Isaiah 14 and 30, the "seraph" is referred to as "me ofef seraph" or literally "flying serpent" and is associated with Philistia and the Negeb, lands which were traditionally the home of the descendants of the Nefilim after the Deluge. The Brazen Serpent which was made by Moses at God’s command was revered in the Temple sanctuary until the Eighth Century BC when, according to II Kings 18, King Hezekiah, angry over idol worship, "broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made."
It is doubtful if this was the original "seraph" made by Moses about 1450 BC and that it survived till this time. In either case, it demonstrates that the worship of serpent-gods was well established among the Israelites during the period of the Judges and Kings, and it suggests that Yahweh had at least at one time been identified with the serpent-god.
The term "seraph" has worried Biblical translators and commentators over the years. It is translated as "fiery serpent" in the King James version; however, the modern tendency is not to translate it at all but to render the Hebrew word as given. "Seraph" does not fit any convenient classification or translation. It seems more probable that it is a borrowed word from the Canaanites who acquired it from their Mesopotamian heritage.
The roots of the term may well be Mesopotamian. The "flying or fiery serpent" atop a pole worshiped for its healing properties symbolically represents the Sumerian god of healing, who was often associated with the snake symbol. There is also a curious resemblance of the snake wrapped around a pole, with the later caduceus of the Greeks.
There is a little known ancient religious document which not only refers to the serpent-gods but also cryptically to the gods of the Sumerian pantheon. As such, this Christian hymn probably has its origins in a Sumerian prayer. Called the Prayer of Joseph, it is of a group called magical papyri, of Greek origin and dated to the Second Century AD. It starts out as a hymn of praise:
"Father of the Patriarchs, Father of all things, Father of all the powers of the Cosmos, Creator of all, Creator of the angels and archangels, the Creator of the redeeming names, I invoke you."
After a few more invocations, the prayer continues dramatically:
"You who sit upon the mountain of Holy Sinai, You who sit upon the sea, You who sit upon the serpent-gods, the God who sits upon the sun god."
This paean is interesting and pertinent for a number of reasons. Besides the tacit reference to the serpent-gods, it also refers to the god who sits upon the sea. Although the line is incomplete (suspiciously so - all the missing words are in critical places!), it appears to be a veiled reference to a water god and his water palace.
Serpent-gods are not just found in the history or mythology of the ancient Middle East. Dragons, flying serpents, and serpent-gods appear in the mythology of people throughout the world and everywhere are the creators and benevolent ancestors of man. In some cultures there also remains the lingering memory of a serpent-race that was cruel and barbaric.