As a child, the story in Genesis of how the serpent spoke with the woman, intrigued men. Why wasn’t the woman surprised with the fact that a serpent could speak, and how did it know man’s language? After all, how many serpents have a history of being able to speak with man (cp. Genesis 3:1)? None that I know of! Such a thing is an impossibility. Therefore, if, as a child, I was astonished with the idea of a serpent speaking, why wasn’t the woman taken aback with the idea? Of course, God could cause such a thing to occur (cp. Numbers 22:21-30), but why would he tempt mankind to do the very thing he forbad them of doing? Could anyone else, even an angelic being, as many presume Satan to be, cause serpents to speak? While angelic beings are noted for their strength, none, that I know of, are able to perform miracles! So, if serpents can’t speak, and if no one but God could change that, what or who spoke with the woman in Genesis 3:1-5?
Paul tells us that the serpent beguiled Eve (2Corinthians 11:3), and he feared that, just as this was so, the minds of the Corinthians might have been corrupted as Eve’s was. How were the believers minds corrupted? The very next verse implies that someone was preaching another Jesus and another gospel to the church at Corinth (2Corinthians 11:4). In other words, Jesus was being slandered and a false Gospel was being preached there. Thus, Paul used the comparison of how Eve’s mind was corrupted in the beginning. Yet, if serpents don’t talk, and to believe so, would be trusting in a make-believe myth (cp. 1Corinthians 13:11), who could have corrupted Eve’s mind and led her astray?
The account begins with, “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field…” (Genesis 3:1). Most commentaries that I own claim this phrase means the serpent was a beast of the field. However, does the text really say that? If I said, “Joe, the trapper, is more cunning than any of the wild animals in the forest,” am I saying that Joe might be a wild animal? The power of suggestion is the father of lies. If a person begins a story by, first, suggesting something about the story, then it is easier for that one to use the story to paint the wrong image for the listener, whose mind he has now corrupted to believe what is really not so.
Does this sound a little farfetched? Consider how this word, serpent is used to describe a certain type of people. Psalm 58:1-4 mentions the heart and work of the wicked, saying they are liars from the womb, and “their poison (plans, verse-2) is like the poison of a serpent” (Psalm 58:4). The Psalmist also asks to be saved from the evil plans of the wicked, who have laid a trap for him. He says, “they have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips” (cp. Psalm 140: 1-5).
In the Gospel narratives the Pharisees and Sadducees were referred to as a generation of vipers (serpents) by John the Baptizer (Matthew 3:7). Jesus, himself, speaking to the Pharisees, who had just accused Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Matthew 12:24), referred to them as vipers (serpents), saying they were evil and couldn’t speak good, because their hearts were evil (Matthew 12:34). Moreover, during the week of his crucifixion, Jesus chastised the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23:29), calling them serpents and a generation of vipers (Matthew 23:34).
Therefore, in the context of how the phrase is metaphorically used throughout the Bible, who could possibly be the one who was corrupting Eve’s mind (cp. 2Corinthians 11:3) in Genesis 3:1? It is absolutely clear that the only other human on the planet at this time was Adam, and he was there, with his wife (Genesis 3:6). What happened? Could it be true that Adam was, himself the tempter? This seems to be the only possibility, and the only logical way to read the scripture (cp. 1Corinthians 13:11). But, more about this in our next study!
Smoodock's Blog 