In this post I will seek to prove that the serpent was actually Satan himself according to God’s revelation, instead of it being an animal possessed by the Devil. All emphasis will be mine.
THE WITNESS OF SCRIPTURE
The inspired Scriptures clearly attest that the serpent was the Devil himself:
“for God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it.” Wisdom of Solomon 2:23-24
“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” Hebrews 2:14-15
“I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit which you did not receive, or a different gospel which you did not accept, you bear this beautifully… For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” 2 Corinthians 11:1-4, 13-15
“And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” Revelation 12:9
“And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;” Revelation 20:2
JEWISH TRADITION
The following Jewish sources depict the serpent as either some malevolent spiritual being, namely the Devil, or as possessed by one:
“The mother of seven sons expressed also these principles to her children:“I was a pure virgin and did not go outside my father’s house; but I guarded the rib from which woman was made. No seducer corrupted me on a desert plain, nor did the destroyer, the deceitful serpent, defile the purity of my virginity.” 4 Maccabees 18:6-8
“The devil is of the lowest places … and he became aware of his condemnation and of the sin which he had sinned previously. And that is why he thought up the scheme against Adam. In such form he entered paradise and corrupted Eve.” 2 Enoch 31:4-6
“The devil said to him [the serpent]: ‘Do not fear, only become my vessel, and I will speak a word through your mouth by which you will be able to deceive.’… [Later, Eve recalls:] ‘The devil answered me through the mouth of the serpent.’” Apocalypse of Moses 16:4, 17:4
“Satanel, when he took the serpent as a garment…” 2 Baruch 9:7 (Greek)
“The tree is sinful desire which is Satanel [a wicked angel] spread over Eve and Adam, and because of this God has cursed the vine because Satanel had planted it, and by that which he deceived the first-formed Adam and Eve.” 3 Baruch 4:8 (Slavonic)
“[God says]: However, he [Adam] disobeyed my commandment and, having been deceived by the devil, he ate from the tree.” Apocalypse of Sedrach 4:5
“And the woman said, ‘The serpent is the one who instructed me.’ And He cursed the serpent and called him ‘devil.’” Testimony of Truth 47:3-6
וַיִּקַּח אַחַת מִצַּלְעֹתָיו (בראשית ב, כא), רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן אָמַר מִן סִטְרוֹהִי, הֵיךְ מַה דְּאַתְּ אָמַר (שמות כו, כ): וּלְצֶלַע הַמִּשְׁכָּן. וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר עִלְעָא חָדָא מִבֵּין שְׁתֵּי צַלְעוֹתָיו נָטַל, תַּחְתֶּיהָ אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא (בראשית ב, כא): תַּחְתֶּנָּה. אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַב אִידֵי מִתְּחִלַּת הַסֵּפֶר וְעַד כָּאן אֵין כְּתִיב סַמֶּ”ךְ, כֵּיוָן שֶׁנִּבְרֵאת נִבְרָא שָׂטָן עִמָּהּ, וְאִם יֹאמַר לְךָ אָדָם (בראשית ב, יא יג): הוּא הַסּוֹבֵב, תֹּאמַר לוֹ בִּנְהָרוֹת הַכָּתוּב מְדַבֵּר. אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בַּר יִצְחָק, עָשָׂה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא נוֹי לְתַחְתִּיתוֹ כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹא יְהֵא מִתְבַּזֶּה כִּבְהֵמָה. רַבִּי אַמֵּי וְרַבִּי יַנַּאי חַד אָמַר עָשָׂה לוֹ מִנְעָל וַאֲפִיפּוֹרִין כָּבוּשׁ עָלָיו כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹא יִצְטָעֵר כְּשֶׁהוּא יוֹשֵׁב. וְחָרָנָא אָמַר עָשָׂה לוֹ כְּסָתוֹת. רַבִּי לֵוִי וְרַבִּי אַמֵּי חַד אָמַר עָשָׂה לוֹ קְבוּרָה, וְחַד אָמַר עָשָׂה לוֹ תַּכְרִיכִין.
“He took one of his sides [mitzalotav]” *Mitzalotav can mean either “one of his ribs” or “one of his sides.” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: “One of his sides” – as it says: “For the side [tzela] of the Tabernacle” (Exodus 26:20). Shmuel said: He took one rib from between two [other] ribs [tzalotav]. *Mitzalotav thus means “from the midst of his ribs.” It is not written here, “in its place [taḥteha],” but rather, “in their place [taḥtena].”
Rabbi Ḥanina son of Rav Idi: From the beginning of the book until this point the letter samekh *Here it appears in the word vayisgor, “and He closed it”. is not written. [The allusion is this:] When she was created, Satan was created with her. *Satan begins with the letter sin, which is pronounced like samekh. With the creation of Eve, a course of events was set into action, culminating in Eve’s committing of the first sin, and Satan is the source of all sin. If a person will say to you [in objection]: “It is that which encircles [hasovev]” (Genesis 2:11, 13), say to him [in response]: ‘Those verses are referring to the rivers.’
Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He made an enhancement for his bottom so that he would not be disgraced like an animal. *His anus is concealed. The Midrash interprets taḥtena as “[He closed with flesh] his bottom.”
Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Yannai: one said: He made an enclosure and a seat attached to him, so that he would not be uncomfortable when he sits. The other said: He made cushions for him. *All these refer to the buttocks, which are unique to humans.
Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Ami: one said: He made burial for him.He understands the phrase to mean, “And He closed the flesh underneath [taḥtena],” that is, underground. And one said: He made shrouds for him. *He understands the phrase to mean, “And He covered up the flesh underneath [taḥtena],” that is, after death man is covered with shrouds and placed underground. (Bereshit (Genesis) Rabbah 17 https://www.sefaria.org/Bereshit_Rabbah.17.6?lang=bi&with=Yefeh%20To%27ar&lang2=en)
III. And the serpent was wiser unto evil than all the beasts of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Is it truth that the Lord God hath said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, From the rest of the fruits of the trees of the garden we have power to eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden the Lord hath said, You shall not eat of it, nor approach it, lest you die. In that hour the serpent spake accusation against his Creator, and said to the woman, Dying you will not die; for every artificer hateth the son of his art: for it is manifest before the Lord, that in the day that you eat of it, you will be as the great angels, who are wise to know between good and evil.
And the woman beheld Sammael, the angel of death, and was afraid; yet she knew that the tree was good to eat, and that it was medicine for the enlightenment of the eyes, and desirable tree by means of which to understand. And she took of its fruit, and did eat; and she gave to her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of both were enlightened, and they knew that they were naked, divested of the purple robe in which they had been created. And they saw the sight of their shame, and sewed to themselves the leaves of figs, and made to them cinctures. [JERSULAEM. And they made to them vestments.] And they heard the voice of the word of the Lord God walking in the garden in the repose of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from before the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, Is not all the world which I have made manifest before Me; the darkness as the light? and how hast thou thought in thine heart to hide from before Me? The place where thou art concealed, do I not see? Where are the commandments that I commanded thee?
[JERUSALEM. Walking in the garden in the strength of the day……And the Word of the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, Behold, the world which I have created is manifest before Me; and how thinkest thou that the place in the midst whereof thou art, is not revealed before Me? Where is the commandment which I taught thee?]
And he said, The voice of Thy Word heard I in the garden, and I was afraid, because I am naked; and the commandment which Thou didst teach me, I have transgressed; therefore I hid myself from shame. And He said, Who showed thee that thou art naked? Unless thou hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded that thou shouldst not eat. And Adam said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said to the woman, What hast thou done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me with his subtilty, and deceived me with his wickedness, and I ate. And the Lord God brought the three unto judgment; and He said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou of all the cattle, and of all the beasts of the field: upon thy belly thou shalt go, and thy feet shall be cut off, and thy skin thou shalt cast away once in seven years; and the poison of death shall be in thy mouth, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between the seed of thy son, and the seed of her sons; and it shall be when the sons of the woman keep the commandments of the law, they will be prepared to smite thee upon thy head; but when they forsake the commandments of the law, thou wilt be ready to wound them in their heel. Nevertheless for them there shall be a medicine, but for thee there will be no medicine; and they shall make a remedy for the heel in the days of the King Meshiha.
[JERUSALEM. And it shall be when the sons of the woman consider the law, and perform (its) instructions, they will be prepared to smite thee on thy head to kill thee; and when the sons of the woman forsake the commandment of the law, and perform not (its) instructions, thou wilt be ready to wound them in their heel, and hurt them. Nevertheless there shall be a medicine for the sons of the woman, but for thee, serpent, there shall be no medicine: but it is to be that for these there shall be a remedy for the heel in the days of the king Meshiha.]
… And the Lord God removed him from the garden of Eden; and he went and dwelt on Mount Moriah, to cultivate the ground from which he had been created. And He drave out the man from thence where He had made to dwell the glory of His Shekina at the first between the two Kerubaia. Before He had created the world, He created the law; He prepared the garden of Eden for the righteous, that they might eat and delight themselves with the fruit of the tree; because they would have practised in their lives the doctrine of the law in this world, and have maintained the commandments: (but) he prepared Gehinnam for the wicked, which is like the sharp, consuming sword of two edges; in the midst of it He hath prepared flakes of fire and burning coals for the judgment of the wicked who rebelled in their life against the doctrine of the law. To serve the law is better than (to eat of) the fruit of the tree of life, (the law) which the Word of the Lord prepared, that man in keeping it might continue, and walk in the paths of the way of life in the world to come.
[JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord God said, Behold, Adam whom I have created is sole in my world, as I am sole in the heavens above. It is to be that a great people are to arise from him; from him will arise a people who will know how to discern between good and evil. And now it is good that we keep him from the garden of Eden before he stretch forth his hand and take also of the fruit of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever……And He cast out Adam, and made the glory of His Shekina to dwell at the front of the east of the garden of Eden, above the two Kerubaia. Two thousand years before He had created the world, He created the law, and prepared Gehinnam and the garden of Eden. He prepared the garden of Eden for the righteous, that they should eat, and delight themselves with the fruit of the tree, because they had kept the commandments of the law in this world. For the wicked He prepared Gehinnam, which is like the sharp, consuming sword with two edges. He prepared in the depth of it flakes of fire and burning coals for the wicked, for their punishment for ever in the world to come, who have not kept the commandment of the law in this world. For the law is the tree of life; whoever keepeth it in this life liveth and subsisteth as the tree of life. The law is good to keep in this world, as the fruit of the tree of life in the world that cometh.] (J. W. Etheridge, M.A., The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee, First Published 1862, Gen. 1-6)
And they heard the voice of the Word of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening of the day;[21] and Adam and his wife hid themselves from before the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where art thou? And he said, The voice of Thy Word heard I in the garden, and I was afraid, because I (was) naked, and I would hide. And He said, Who showed thee that thou wast naked? Of the tree of which I commanded that eating of it thou shouldst not eat, hast thou eaten? An Adam said, The woman whom Thou gavest (to be) with me, she gave to me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent led me astray, and I did eat. And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, more accursed art thou than all cattle, and than all the beasts of the held; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and the dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and between the woman, and between thy son and her son. He will remember thee, what thou didst to him (at) from the beginning, and thou shalt be observant unto him at the end. (Etheridge, The Targum of Onkelos, Gen. 1-6)
THE SERPENT IN PARADISE
“ENVY, cupidity, and ambition remove man (Adam) from the world.” The ministering angels spake before the Holy One, blessed be He, saying: Sovereign of all Worlds! “What is man, that thou shouldst take note of him?” (Ps. 144:3). “Man (Adam) is like unto vanity” (Ps. 144:4), upon earth there is not his like. (God) answered them: Just as all of you praise Me in the heights of heaven so he professes My Unity on earth, nay, moreover, are you able to stand up and call the names for all the creatures which I have created? They stood up, but were unable (to give the names). Forthwith Adam stood up and called the names for all His creatures, as it is said, “And the man gave names to all cattle” (Gen. 2:20). When the ministering angels saw this they retreated, and the ministering angels said: If we do not take || counsel against this man so that he sin before his Creator, we cannot prevail against him.
והיה סמאל שר גדול בשמים והחיות מארבע כנפים ושרפים משש כנפים וסמאל משנים עשר כנפים מה עשה סמאל לקח כת שלו וירד וראה כל הבריות שברא הב”ה בעולמו ולא מצא בהם חכם להרע כנחש שנ’ והנחש היה ערום והיה דמותו כמין גמל ועלה ורכב עליו והתורה היתה צועקת ואומרת מה סמאל עכשו נברא העולם עת למרוד במרום בעת במרום תמידייא רבון כל העולמים תשחק לסוסו ולרכבו.
Sammael was the great prince in heaven; the Chajjôth had four wings and the Seraphim had six wings, and Sammael had twelve wings. What did Sammael do? He took his band and descended and saw all the creatures which the Holy One, blessed be He, had created in His world and he found among them none so skilled to do evil as the serpent, as it is said, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field” (Gen. 3:1). Its appearance was something like that of the camel, and he mounted and rode upon it. The Torah began to cry aloud, saying, Why, O Sammael! now that the world is created, is it the time to rebel against the Omnipresent? Is it like a time when thou shouldst lift up thyself on high? The Lord of the world “will laugh at the horse and its rider” (Job 39:18).
משל למה הדבר דומה, לאדם שיש בו רוח רעה כל מעשים שהוא עושה וכל דברים שהוא מדבר מדעתו הוא מדבר והלא אינו עושה אלא מדעת רוח רעה שיש עליו כך הנחש כל מעשים שעשה וכל דברים שדבר לא דבר אלא מדעתו של סמאל עליו הכתוב אומר ברעתו ידחה רעה.
A parable, to what is the matter like? To a man in whom there was an evil spirit. All the deeds which he does, or all the words which he utters, does he speak by his own intention? Does he not act only according to the idea of the evil spirit, which (rules) over him? So (was it with) the serpent. All the deeds which it did, and all the words which it spake, it did not speak except by the intention of Sammael. Concerning him, the Scripture says, “The wicked is thrust down in his evil-doing” (Prov. 14:32).
משל למה הדבר דומה, למלך שנשא אשה והשליטה על כל מה שיש לו אמ’ לה הרי כל מה שיש לי בידך חוץ מן הבית הזה שהיא מלאה עקרבים ובא זקן אחד אצלה כגון שואל חומץ אמר לה נהוג עמך אמרה לו יפה תלמיד נהוג עמי שהשליטני על כל מה שיש לו אמר לי הרי כל מה שיש לי בידך חוץ מן הבית הזה שהיא מלאה עקרבים אמר לה והרי כל קוזמיא של המלך הרי הן בחבית הזה אלא שהוא מבקש לישא אשה אחרת וליתנם לה המלך הזה הוא אדם הראשון והאשה זו חוה שואל חומץ זו הנחש ועליהם הכתוב אומ’ שם נפלו פועלי און דוחו ולא יכלו קום.
A parable, to what is the matter like? To a king || who married a woman and made her supreme over all that he had. He said to her: All that I have shall be in thy hands, except this house, which is full of scorpions. A certain old man visited her; he asks, for instance, for vinegar. He said to her: Wilt thou argue that he deals kindly with thee? He deals with me (thus): over all that he possesses has he made me supreme. Thus said he to her: Behold, all that I have is given into thy hands except this house, which is full of scorpions. (The old man) said to her: Is not all the jewellery of the king indeed in this house? But he wishes to marry another woman, and to give them to her. The king is the first man (Adam), the woman is Eve, and the one who asked for vinegar is the serpent; and concerning them (the text) says, “There are the workers of iniquity fallen, they are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise” (Ps. 36:12).
דן דין נחש בינו לבין עצמו ואמ’ אם הולך אני ואומ’ לאדם יודע אני שאינו שומע לי שהאיש לעולם קשה שנ’ והאיש רע מעללים אלא הולך אני ואומר לחוה שהאשה שאני יודע שהיא שומעת לי שהנשים נשמעית לכל הבריות שנ’ פתיות ובל ידעה מה והלך הנחש ואמר לאשה וכי אתם מצווים על פירות האילן אמר להן הן שנ’ ומפרי העץ אשר בתוך הגן כיון ששמע הנחש דבריה של חוה מצא לו פתח להכנס אמ’ לה אין צווי זה אלא עין הרע כי בשעה שאתם אוכלים ממנו תהיו כמהו אלהים מה הוא בורא יחיד שני עולמות אף אתם יכולים לבראות עולמות ולהחריב עולמות מה הוא ממית ומחיה אף אתם יכולים להמית ולהחיות שנ’ כי יודע אלהים כי ביום אכלכם ממנו ונפקחו עיניכם.
The serpent argued with itself, saying: If I go and speak to Adam, I know that he will not listen to me, for a man is always hard (to be persuaded), as it is said, “For a man is churlish and evil in his doings” (1 Sam. 25:3); but behold I will speak to Eve, for I know that she will listen to me; for women listen to all creatures, as it is said, “She is simple and knoweth nothing” (Prov. 9:18). The serpent went and spake to the woman: || Is it (true that) you also have been commanded concerning the fruit of the tree? She said (to him): Yes, as it is said, “Of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden” (Gen. 3:8). And when the serpent heard the words of Eve, he found a way through which he could enter (to approach her), so he said to her: This precept is nought else except the evil eye, for in the hour when ye eat thereof, ye will be like Him, a God. Just as He creates worlds and destroys worlds, so will ye be able to create worlds and to destroy worlds. Just as He slays and brings to life, so also will ye be able to kill and to bring to life, as it is said, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened” (Gen. 3:5). (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezar, Chapter 13 https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_DeRabbi_Eliezer.13.1?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en)
EATING DUST
The serpent’s crawling on its belly and eating dust do not necessarily prove that it is an animal since the same/similar expressions are used elsewhere in respect to the humiliation, subjugation and/or punishment inflicted on all those who oppose God and his people:
“O God, give the king Your judgments, And Your righteousness to the king’s son… Let the desert creatures kneel before him, And his enemies lick the dust. Let the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands bring a present; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer tribute. And let all kings bow down to him, All nations serve him.” Psalm 72:1, 9-11
“Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am Yahweh; Those who hope in Me will not be put to shame.” Isaiah 49:23
“They will lick the dust like a serpent, Like crawling things of the earth. They will come trembling out of their fortresses; To Yahweh our God they will come in dread, And they will be afraid before You.” Micah 7:17
“‘And you will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,’ says Yahweh of hosts.” Malachi 4:3
WILD BEASTS
Scripture often depicts hostile kingdoms and/or spiritual forces as beasts:
“In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ‘Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.Speak and say, “Thus says Lord Yahweh,
“‘”Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
The great dragon that lies in the midst of his canals of the Nile,
That has said, “My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.”
“‘“I will put hooks in your jaws
And make the fish of your canals of the Nile cling to your scales.
And I will bring you up out of the midst of your canals of the Nile,
And all the fish of your canals of the Nile will cling to your scales.
“‘“I will abandon you to the wilderness, you and all the fish of your canals of the Nile;
You will fall on the open field; you will not be brought together or gathered.
I have given you for food to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the sky.
“‘‘“Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh
Because they have been only a staff made of reed to the house of Israel.
“‘“When they seized you with the hand,
You tore and split open all their shoulders;
And when they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their loins quake.”’
“‘Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I will bring upon you a sword, and I will cut off from you man and beast. The land of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”’” Ezekiel 29:1-9
“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his head as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and said the following summary of the matter.Daniel answered and said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; and a heart of a man was given to it.And behold, another beast, a second one in the likeness of a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, fearsome and terrifying and extraordinarily strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great boasts.
“I kept looking
Until thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days was seated;
His clothing was like white snow
And the hair of His head like pure wool.
His throne was ablaze with fire,
Its wheels were a burning fire.
“A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The court sat,
And the books were opened.
“Then I kept looking because of the sound of the great boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was killed, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for an appointed season of time.
“I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And came near before Him.
“And to Him was given dominion,
Glory, and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not be taken away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions of my head kept alarming me.I came near to one of those who were standing by and began seeking out from him the exact meaning of all this. So he said it to me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’
“Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, extraordinarily fearsome, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet, and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth speaking great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates.I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overcoming themuntil the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the season arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.
“Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it.As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will make low three kings.He will speak words against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make changes in seasons and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. Then the reign, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’
“At this point the matter of this revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me, and the splendor of my face changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.” Daniel 7:1-28
“And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain fatally, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth marveled and followed after the beast. And they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?’And there was given to him a mouth speaking great boasts and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
“And it was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear.If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.
“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and he was speaking as a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.And he does great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which were given to him to do in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, that they be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,and that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of man; and his number is 666.” Revelation 13:1-18
“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; having a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself,and being clothed with a garment dipped in blood, His name is also called The Word of God.And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the wrath of the rage of God, the Almighty. And He has on His garment and on His thigh a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’
“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God,so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of strong men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.’
“Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war with Him who sits on the horse and with His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who did the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sits on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.” Revelation 19:11-21
SATAN’S PHYSICAL OFFSPRING?
There have been specific Jewish and Christian writers who believed that Cain was literally sired by Satan or some evil angelic being. As the following biblical scholar notes:
Son of the Devil
But another explanation existed. In view of the wicked turn that his life was to take, some interpreters thought Cain might have been evil from birth, in fact, an offspring of the devil or some wicked angel. Indeed, this might be the cryptic point of the very beginning of Gen. 4:1, “And Adam knew his wife Eve”–Adam did not “know” his wife in the biblical sense, he knew something about her:
By this it may be seen who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil; whoever does not do right is not of God, nor he who does not love his brother. For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning [that is, the book of Genesis]: that we should love one another and not be like Cain, who was of the Evil One [that is, the devil] and murdered his brother. – 1 John 3:10-12
Having been made pregnant by the seed of the devil … she brought forth a son. –Tertullian, On Patience 5:15
First adultery came into being, afterward murder. And he [Cain] was begotten in adultery, for he was the child of the serpent. So he became a murderer, just like his father, and he killed his brother. –(Gnostic) Gospel of Philip 61:5-10
And Adam knew about his wife Eve that she had conceived by Sammael the [wicked] angel of the Lord, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. He resembled the upper ones [angels] and not the lower ones, and she [therefore] said, “I have acquired a man, indeed an angel of the Lord.” –Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Gen. 4:1
The serpent came into her and she became pregnant with Cain, as it says, “And the man knew his wife Eve.” What did he know? That she was already pregnant [from someone else]. –Pirqei deR. Eliezer 21
The idea that Cain was the offspring of Eve and the devil may also be reflected elsewhere:
[A heroic mother recalls]: I was a pure virgin and did not go outside my father’s house; I guarded the rib that [Eve] was built [from] … nor did the Destroyer, the deceitful serpent, defile the purity of my virginity. – 4 Macc. 18:7-8
If Cain’s true father was the devil, this would provide another explanation for Eve’s cryptic words at the baby’s birth, “I have gotten a man with the Lord.” For, if Cain had in fact been engendered by one of God’s angels–however wicked that particular angel might have been–then “with the Lord” could be a shorthand way of saying “with an angel of the Lord.” Likewise, this divinely begotten child could appropriately be called a man (rather than a “baby”) because angels are frequently called “man” in the Bible (Gen. 18:2, 32:24, and elsewhere). Thus, some ancient interpreters concluded that Cain had in fact been a half-human, half-angelic creature begotten by the devil. (James L. Kugel, The Bible As It Was [The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge Massachusetts/London, England 1997], 4. Cain and Abel, pp. 86-87)
I include a few more references:
Chapter 21
כתיב ומפרי העץ אשר בתוך הגן תנא רבי זעירא אומר מפרי העץ אין העץ הזה אלא אדם שנמשל כעץ שנאמ’ כי האדם עץ השדה וגו’ אשר בתוך הגן, אין בתוך הגן אלא לשון נקייה מה שבתוך הגוף אשר בתוך הגן אשר בתוך האשה ואין גן אלא האשה שנמשלה לגן שנאמ’ גן נעול אחותי כלה זו מה הגנה כל מה שנזרעה היא צומחת ומוציאה כך האשה הזאת כל מה שנזרע הרה ויולדת מבעלה.
CAIN AND ABEL
“BUT of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden” (Gen. 3:3). It was taught in a Baraitha, Rabbi Ẓe’era said: “Of the fruit of the tree”—here “tree” only means man, who is compared to the tree, as it is said, “For man is the tree of the field” (Deut. 20:19). “Which is in the midst of the garden”—”in the midst of the garden” is here merely an euphemism. “Which is in the midst of the garden”—for “garden” means here merely woman, who is compared to a garden, as it is said, “A garden shut up is my sister, a bride” (Cant. 4:12). Just as with this garden whatever is sown therein, it produces and brings forth, so (with) this woman, what seed she receives, she conceives and bears through sexual intercourse.
בא אליה (ורוכבת נחש) [רוכב הנחש] ועברה את קין ואחר כך עברה את הבל שנא’ והאדם ידע את חוה אשתו מהו ידע שהיתה מעוברת וראתה דמותו שלא היה מן התחתונים אלא מן העליונים והביטה ואמרה קניתי איש את יי’, רבי ישמעאל אומ’ משם עלו ונתייחסו כל דורות הרשעים המורדים והפושעים במרום ואומ’ אין אנו צריכין לטיפת גשמיך שנאמר ויאמרו לאל סור ממנו.
(Sammael) riding on the serpent came to her, and she conceived; afterwards Adam came to her, and she conceived Abel, as it is said, “And Adam knew Eve his wife” (Gen. 4:1). What is the meaning of “knew”? (He knew) that she had conceived. And she saw his likeness that it was not of the earthly beings, but of the heavenly beings, and she prophesied || and said: “I have gotten a man with the Lord” (ibid.). (Ibid., Chapter 21 https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_DeRabbi_Eliezer.21.2?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en)
WHO DID EVE CONCEIVE?
The literal translation of Genesis 4:1 has Eve believing that she had given birth to YHWH as a Man:
“And Adam knew (‘et) Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore (‘et) Cain, and she said, ‘I have gotten a man, (‘et) Yahweh.’ And again, she bore his brother (‘et) Abel. Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground.” Genesis 4:1-2
I include the Hebrew phrase ‘et to show the inconsistency of the translators for rendering this particle as “with”/”by” in respect to what Eve said after birthing Cain, i.e., that she birthed a man “with/by YHWH.” And yet they do not even translate the particle in the rest of its occurrences. Here are several more cases where they left the particle untranslated:
“Then they heard (‘et) the voice of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God in the midst of the trees of the garden.” Genesis 3:8
“And he said, (‘et) ‘Your voice I heard in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid’.” Read full chapter Genesis 3:10
“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat (‘et) the plants of the field;” Genesis 3:18
“therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate (‘et) the ground from which he was taken. So He drove (‘et) the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed (‘et) the cherubim and (wa’et) the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard (‘et) the way to the tree of life.” Genesis 3:23-24
“And now, cursed are you from the ground, which has opened (‘et) its mouth to receive (‘et) the blood of brother from your hand. When you cultivate (‘et) the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.” Genesis 4:11-12
“Then Cain knew (‘et) his wife, and she conceived and bore (‘et) Enoch; and he built a city and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son. Now to Enoch was born (‘et) Irad, and Irad begat (‘et) Mehujael, and Mehujael begat (‘et) Methushael, and Methushael begat (‘et) Lamech. And Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah. And Adah bore (‘et) Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock… As for Zillah, she bore (‘et) Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.” Genesis 4:17-20, 22
“Then Adam again knew (‘et) his wife; and she bore a son and named (‘et) him Seth, for she said, ‘God has set for me another seed in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.’ And to Seth, to him also, a son was born; and he named (‘et) him Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of Yahweh.” Genesis 4:25-26
The following quotations illustrate that there have been Jewish authorities/rabbis, which were aware that there is something unusual about how Eve is said to have acquired Cain:
וְהָאָדָם יָדַע וגו’, רַבִּי הוּנָא וְרַבִּי יַעֲקֹב בְּרַבִּי אָבִין בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אַבָּא בַּר כַּהֲנָא אָמַר, לֹא שִׁמְשָׁה בְּרִיָּה קֹדֶם לְאָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, וַיֵּדַע אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ, הוֹדִיעַ דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ לַכֹּל. דָּבָר אַחֵר, וְהָאָדָם יָדַע, יָדַע מֵאֵיזוֹ שַׁלְוָה נִשְׁלָה, יָדַע מָה עָבְדַת לֵיהּ חַוָּה. אָמַר רַב אַחָא חִיוְיָא חִיוְיִךְ וְאַתְּ חִיוְיָא דְאָדָם. וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד אֶת קַיִן, אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה שְׁלשָׁה פְּלָאִים נַעֲשׂוּ בְּאוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם, בּוֹ בַּיּוֹם נִבְרְאוּ, בּוֹ בַּיּוֹם שִׁמְּשׁוּ, בּוֹ בַּיּוֹם הוֹצִיאוּ תּוֹלָדוֹת. אָמַר לֵיהּ רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קָרְחָה עָלוּ לַמִּטָּה שְׁנַיִם וְיָרְדוּ שִׁבְעָה, קַיִּן וּתְאוֹמָתוֹ, וְהֶבֶל וּשְׁתֵּי תְאוֹמוֹתָיו, וַתֹּאמֶר קָנִיתִי אִישׁ אֶת ה’, חָמַת לָהּ הָא אִיתְּתָא בְּנִין, אָמְרָה הָא קִנְיַן בַּעֲלִי בְּיָדִי. רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל שָׁאַל אֶת רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אָמַר לוֹ בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁשִּׁמַּשְׁתָּ נַחוּם אִישׁ גַּם זוֹ עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנָה, אַכִין וְרַקִּין מִעוּטִים, אֶתִין וְגַמִּין רִבּוּיִים, הַאי אֶת דִּכְתִיב הָכָא מַהוּ, אָמַר אִלּוּ נֶאֱמַר קָנִיתִי אִישׁ ה’, הָיָה הַדָּבָר קָשֶׁה, אֶלָּא אֶת ה’. אָמַר לֵיהּ (דברים לב, מז): כִּי לֹא דָּבָר רֵק הוּא מִכֶּם, וְאִם רֵק הוּא מִכֶּם, שֶׁאֵין אַתֶּם יוֹדְעִים לִדְרשׁ, אֶלָּא אֶת ה’, לְשֶׁעָבַר אָדָם נִבְרָא מֵאֲדָמָה, וְחַוָּה נִבְרֵאת מֵאָדָם, מִכָּאן וְאֵילָךְ (בראשית א, כו): בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ, לֹא אִישׁ בְּלֹא אִשָּׁה וְלֹא אִשָּׁה בְּלֹא אִישׁ, וְלֹא שְׁנֵיהֶם בְּלֹא שְׁכִינָה.
“And the man was intimate [vehaadam yada]” – Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yaakov bar Avin said in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana: No creature engaged in cohabitation before Adam the first man – vayeda is not written here, but rather, “vehaadam yada Eve his wife” – he taught the means of cohabitation to all.
Another matter, “[He banished the man…] and the man was intimate [yada] [with Eve [ḥava]]” (Genesis 3:23–4:1) – he realized [yada] from what tranquility he had been displaced, and he realized [yada] what Eve had done to him. Rav Aḥa said [of Eve]: The serpent was your serpent and you were Adam’s serpent [ḥivia].
“She conceived and gave birth to Cain” – Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said: Three miracles occurred on that day. On that day they were created, on that day they cohabited, and on that day they produced offspring
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said: Two people went up into the bed and seven descended: Cain and his twin sister and Abel and his two twin sisters.
“And said: I have acquired a man with [et] the Lord” – when a woman bears children, she says: I have now acquired my husband *Ish (translated in the verse as “man”) can also mean husband. into my possession.
Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Akiva, saying to him: Because you studied under Naḥum of Gam Zo for twenty-two years, [who taught:] The words akh and rak are restrictive expressions, et and gam are inclusive expressions, [I ask you:] What is the meaning of the et that is written here? He said: Had it been written: Kaniti ish Hashem it would have been difficult, *Omitting et, It would have implied that she had acquired the Holy One blessed be He. so instead, it stated “with God” [et Hashem]. He said to him: “For it is not an empty matter for you [mikem]” (Deuteronomy 32:47) – if it is empty, it is because of you [mikem], because you do not know how to expound. Rather, et Hashem – previously, Adam was created from earth and Eve was created from Adam. But from now on, [Eve said,] offspring will come about in our image and in our likeness – a man will not [produce offspring] without woman, nor will a woman without a man, nor both of them without the Divine Presence. *Kaniti ish et Hashem means: I have acquired this child through a man and through God. (Bereshi (Genesis) Rabbah, 22 https://www.sefaria.org/Bereshit_Rabbah.22.2?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en)
This next one is quite remarkable:
IV. And Adam knew Hava his wife, who had desired the Angel; and she conceived, and bare Kain; and she said, I have acquired a man, the Angel of the Lord. And she added to bear from her husband Adam his twin, even Habel. (J. W. Etheridge, The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee, Gen. 1-6)
Eve is depicted as thinking that she had just conceived the Angel of the Lord himself!
Even the following Evangelical translation has to acknowledge that ‘et YHWH can and has been interpreted as foreshadowing the human birth of Yahweh God from a woman, despite trying to rejecting such a view:
tn Heb “with the Lord.” The particle אֶת (ʾet) is not the accusative/object sign, but the preposition “with” as the ancient versions attest. Some take the preposition in the sense of “with the help of” (see BDB 85 s.v. אֵת; cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV), while others prefer “along with” in the sense of “like, equally with, in common with” (see Lev 26:39; Isa 45:9; Jer 23:28). Either works well in this context; the latter is reflected in the present translation. Some understand אֶת as the accusative/object sign and translate, “I have acquired a man—the Lord.” They suggest that the woman thought (mistakenly) that she had given birth to the incarnate Lord, the Messiah who would bruise the Serpent’s head. This fanciful suggestion is based on a questionable allegorical interpretation of Gen 3:15 (see the note there on the word “heel”). New English Translation (NET Bible https://netbible.org/bible/Genesis+4)
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