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NASB | Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the LORD God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, "Can it really be that God has said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" [Rev 12:9-11] |
Bible Question: In Genesis 3:1 "Now the serpent.." Is that referring to the snake or the devil? If the snake, could snakes talk? If Satan, was he a beast of the field? |
Bible Answer: Hi Jordan, These questions and more, my friend! The Bible speaks of this creature only as a serpent, a snake. Because it is cursed to live on its belly we can only imagine what it was like originally. Could serpents talk? Eve didn't seem surprised, but then, Balaam didn't seem surprised when his donkey talked to him. The Bible doesn't tell us much more than that. Jewish tradition is that the animals once could talk. We'll know more following the regeneration, and we can find out by talking to them and seeing if they answer back. Was this serpent the devil? From what the Bible says later, it would seem so. Rev 20:2 "And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years," Other times also the devil is refered to as the serpent, so our understanding is that this was the devil working through the serpent. That the serpent was cursed may even mean that it was complicit. This is getting pretty speculative, though, so I will end here. Love in Christ, Mark |