What is the Biblical basis for identifying the serpent who tempted Eve as Satan?

Question

I was taught that the serpent of Eden was Satan, and this seems to be commonly accepted by Christians, but the actual text is pretty clearly just talking about serpents.

Is there a Biblical basis for calling the snake "Satan" in this context?

Answer 1

Revelations makes reference to the "serpent" and Satan being the same person (?).

Answer 2

Well here goes my attempt.

Okay it sounds like you are clear on the fact the Bible says that the serpent tempted Eve and told her lies (Reference Genesis 3:1-5). Now sometimes with the Bible you have to look at more than one scripture to truly reason and get the sense of what is being said.

So now if you go and look at Revelations 12:9, it says "So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth..." There is more but that's all you need.

So the Bible itself refers to Satan as the spirit creature who was behind the original serpent and that event. So that's how Christians know...those that really follow the bible, that is...

BTW, there are other examples in the bible where angels (which Satan is...just a wicked one) spoke through animals. Let me know if you want to know them

Hope this helps

Answer 3

While revelation identifies Satan as the original serpent, it is important to realize that the old testament and new testament are very different. Jews don't believe in Satan, but they do believe in an adversary to God. This being's purpose is to turn people away from Him. This is what the serpent does. Back when the text was concieved it was meant to undermine certain religions already in existence, particularly those that use the serpent in its symbology, (ever notice the cadeusus has 2 serpents, are we not supposed to seek medical help?) So while the text may have originally meant serpents, the basic premise is adversarial to God, calling his word into question, same thing as Satan does. Note to that the serpent told Eve she wouldn't die if she ate the fruit, he actually spoke the truth.

Answer 4

I have seen an interpretation that serpent was human like and propagated with Eve and beget Cain. There are many other interpretations. There is so little info there it is impossible to come up with any solid conclusion. There is only the vague comparisons to Satan, but I don't believe this to be true since Satan was present with God later in Job (edit) and had not yet fallen from heaven (end edit) Who knows really. I don't think any of it should be taken literally.

Answer 5

Revelations says that the serpent is a Satan, but if you really think about it, revelations was written by John or Peter and given to John, one of those things. If you really think about it, God would have had to be the serpent. If God really didn't want Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge, then logic would dictate that he not put it there in the fist place. So there you have it, Adam and Eve who would have had the mind of children, God didn't give them the ability to know the difference between good or evil, of yeah, he said that you will surly die if you eat the fruit, but they had not see death before, so how could they have really known that would have really sucked. So I think if the story be true then either God is not as smart as we give him credit for or it was a set up, planned and executed by him. God was the serpent.

Answer 6

Actually, the oldest representations of Yhwh found show him as a man with serpents for feet

Portraying the serpent as satan emerged during the first millennium BCE as the religion became more orthodox and patriarchal as a sort of turnabout of portrayals of a snake as the husband/offspring of a mother goddess figure that is nearly universal in all of older world mythology.
In Buddhism, for example a cobra sheltered the Buddha while he was meditating under the bodi tree -- it's the same sort of tree of knowledge -- tree of life motif, but in this case the serpent is good. (Jesus shares many characteristics of the good serpent in fact, but that takes too long to get into...see sources)

Answer 7

Actually from the text in Revelations, and Satan that old serpent, etc.
But tempted it does not say, it says the serpent deceived me and I did eat she said.
Actually the most of scripture is metaphorical, allegorical, but
"the law of the Lord is perfect enlightening the eyes"

Answer 8

Because God makes a direct threat to the serpent that from Eve will come someone that will crush him. This means that whoever is this serpent is evil, in power, and eternal. This very likely is Lucifer.

Answer 9

i think what the serpent was doing was he was hitting on Eve and seducing her in2 eating the apple. it's strange how this part reminds me of Snow White when the evil witch was seducing her in2 taking a bite of the apple. anybody ever thought how similar these 2 stories r? although the witch wasn't making a pass at her, she was just trying 2 kill her. Eve was just minding her own business when that snake came n the rest is history.

Answer 10

Good question.

At Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 God’s principal opposer, Satan, is referred to as “the original serpent,” evidently because of his employing the literal serpent in Eden as his means of communication with the woman. (Genesis 3:1-15) As “the original serpent,” he is also the progenitor in a spiritual sense of other opposers; hence Jesus’ classification of such ones as “serpents, offspring of vipers.”—Matthew 23:33; compare John 8:44 and 1John 3:12.

Hope this helps.