Herps in Society and Culture: Serpent in the Bible

Although many of us like snakes and some even have them as pets, the fact is that the majority of people have animosity toward or fear of snakes. Where does this fear come from? Well, if we take a look at the most widely sold book in the world, the Bible, the answer becomes clear. A number of bible versus refer to snakes (or serpents) as cunning and evil and establish the disdain many feel toward snakes.

The story of the fall of man Genesis 3:1-24 is a perfect example of why people fear and dislike snakes:

"3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You^[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³ but God said,‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” ⁴  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,^[b] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. ^7"

This passage blames snakes for man's loss of paradise and makes it clear why people hate snakes. Who wouldn't be mad at whatever (or whoever) caused them to lose perfection? But the hate between people and snakes goes further than that, God actually establishes the animosity between snakes and people.

"14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,

 cursed are you above all livestock

 and above all beasts of the field;

on your belly you shall go

and dust you shall eat

all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,

    and between your offspring^[e] and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.”

Since the bible is so widely sold, and these passages occur within the first book, it is possible that the majority of world has at least heard of some version of this story. In households that regularly read the bible or adhere to it verbatim, the animosity toward snakes may be even greater; they may think since God created the enmity, it is their duty to continue it. 

A number of biblical scholars have related the serpent in Genesis to the devil. If that is the case, then snakes are truly evil in the eyes of strict bible readers. I certainly would hate (and fear) an evil entity that can be found so commonly around us. These passages set-up snakes as the bad guy from day one and they have had to combat that stereotype ever since.

These viewpoints can potentially have implications for snake conservation. If we get a large number of bible-based snake-fearers in place as policy-makers, then we could potentially see decline in efforts to preserve these species. Sometimes we need to make judgments based on our own experiences rather than what is stated in the Bible.

Other verses regarding snakes in the Bible can be found here: http://www.openbible.info/topics/snakes

Below are images depicting the fall of man, notice the snakes.

http://www.access-jesus.com/define-deceit.html

http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/node/5726

http://www.scienceofcorrespondences.com/the-fall-of-man-the-serpent.htm

An image of Mary stepping on a serpent (the devil) because she was without the original sin that the serpent caused in the Genesis story.

http://maryvictrix.wordpress.com/category/motherhood/