• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

Stephen M. Miller

Award-Winning, Bestselling Christian Author

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Blog Features
  • Bible
  • Contact
Painting/photo of Jerusalem Temple-Casual English Bible

Was Eden’s snake the devil?

Stephen M. Miller
cobra
“HELLO, EVE.” Was the snake in the Garden of Eden the devil, or just another talking snake? Some Bible experts exorcize the devil from the story. Satan be gone. Photo by JC Winkler/flickr.

IT WASN’T THE DEVIL that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Not according to the story’s anonymous writer—which ancient Jewish tradition says was Moses.

It was just a snake with a vocabulary.

Another Bible writer does, however, ID the talking critter as a Devil of a Snake: “That old serpent…is the devil, Satan” (Revelation 20:2).

On the other hand, scholars say they aren’t sure which John wrote that last book of the Bible. So the source is uncertain. But John, whoever he was, wrote about 1,500 years after Moses could have written the original story without mentioning the devil.

Also, John wrote in a style called apocalyptic, featuring wild and crazy poetic symbolism. So some students of the Bible don’t know how literally to take some of his words.

One theory is that the Genesis writer wasn’t thinking about the devil at all. Instead, he was thinking about snakes in other Creation stories popular at the time.

There were at least two that sounded like the Genesis snake, which robbed humanity of immortality because it got Adam and Eve banished from the Garden of Eden and “the tree of life” that lets people who eat the fruit “live forever!” (Genesis 3:23).

  • Babylonian snake. At least 300 years before Moses could have written Genesis, someone in what is now Iraq wrote the Epic of Gilgamesh. There, a snake robbed the hero Gilgamesh of immortality. Gilgamesh was hunting a plant that gave immortality to anyone who ate it. The snake got to it first.
  • Sumerian snake. In a south Iraq story as old as Moses, possibly older, a god with the body of a snake and the head of a man offered a sage named Adapa some bread of immortality. Adapa refused to take it because he thought it was a trick and it would kill him. The god’s name sounds a little like “tree of life.” It’s “Lord of the Good Tree,” ( Ningishzida).

Perhaps, some scholars speculate, the Genesis writer was spinning a parable-like tale as a metaphor to make a point. The point is anyone’s guess. One guess: God’s the boss. No snake or snake god anywhere can tell God where to go.

God tells them.

“Crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live” (Genesis 3:14).

Other Christian scholars, perhaps most, read the story as more history than metaphor.

Amazon’s #1 Christian Bible Handbook

Surprise. Amazon has identified The Complete Guide to the Bible as the #1 Christian Bible Handbook.

Shocked me. Good shock.

Bible Gateway Blogger Grid

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Like this:

Like Loading...
View All Posts - Ordered by Most Recent First
« Previous
Next »

About Stephen M. Miller

STEPHEN M. MILLER is an award winning bestselling Christian author of easy-reading books about the Bible and Christianity and author of the Casual English Bible® paraphrase. His books have sold over two million copies and include The Complete Guide to the Bible and Who’s and Where’s Where in the Bible.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wayne Sacchi

    December 1, 2014 at 9:23 am

    Thank you Steve for your historical background – I hate to be the “Devil” of your theory, but you have Satan mentioned in Zechariah, the Apostle Peter, Paul, and Jesus seem to believe that Satan is a literal spirit being. It makes no sense to me why there is a Satan, but the writers of Scripture seem to hold that view. This belief does help to explain why there is evil in the world and the origin of the corruption of humanity. Of course, it is sometimes hard to distinuish what should be interpretive as literal and what are part of figures of speech. I let the New Testament give me a clearer understanding on this subject because so much of Paul’s theology is based on the opening of Genesis.

    Reply
    • Stephen M. Miller

      December 1, 2014 at 9:48 am

      Hi there, Wayne. I wasn’t trying to say that there is no Satan. I was talking about only the snake in the Creation story. I was reporting that many scholars say the Genesis writer never describes the snake as anything but a snake.

      The New Testament writers certainly do present a literal Satan as a real spiritual entity. And a nasty one at that.

      Reply
  2. Tom Fowler

    December 1, 2014 at 9:32 am

    I believe it is safe to assume that the snake was influenced by Satan, if not literally Satan in snake form. Anything tempting you to break God’s will and separate you from Him is, I believe, of Satan.

    I’m setting myself up for ridicule now, because what I will say next bucks current theology and modern scholarship, particularly within Methodism. IMO, we are in danger of over-analyzing our traditional beliefs, to the point where we do not know what to think or believe anymore. If we do not know what we believe, how can we bring others to Christ, especially after we have been commanded to hold to a childlike faith?

    Reply
  3. Stephen M. Miller

    December 1, 2014 at 9:52 am

    Thanks, Tom. Your tradition-minded approach to the Bible is a healthy one, I believe. There’s a reason that a tradition became a tradition.

    I also think there’s value to taking a fresh look at traditions from time to time. We need to believe something for more than the fact that others believed it and passed it on to us. We need to own the faith. And we need to think about it.

    Reply
  4. Wayne Sacchi

    December 1, 2014 at 1:18 pm

    Thanks Steve for this blog….I want you to know that I appreciate you and what a blessing you are…thanks for the open forum. I hope someday to meet both you and Tom! Keep us on our toes…you make me a better thinker and with God’s grace, a better Christian!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sidebar

Casual English Bible Website

Featured Book

Complete Guide to the Bible

Complete Guide to the Bible
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Books-A-Million
Buy from Christian Book Distributor
Buy from Google Play

Latest Posts

  • When our faith glitches May 5, 2025
  • Job is the right book for me now April 16, 2025
  • Q for AI: “Do most scholars say Jesus never existed?” April 3, 2025

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog Features
  • Books
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 · Stephen M. Miller · All Rights Reserved

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Reject AllAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
%d