The prophet Isaiah informs us that a cockatrice, a mythical creature able to kill its victim ....?

Question

... with a casual glance, will arise from a serpent (Isaiah 14:29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.)

What tangible evidence do we have to believe that a creature with this incredible ability has ever existed?

Or is this all part of a larger fairytale?

Hellooo??


Christians??

Answer 1

LOL... you know you can't take all of it literally, but feel free to make fun of those that do.

Answer 2

Depends on what translation you are using:

Isaiah 14:29 - NASB
"Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For from the serpent's roTsepha`ot a viper will come out, And its fruit will be a flying serpent.

Isaiah 14:29 - KJV
Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

Tsepha` - cockatrice - simply means serpent, viper, or adder.

King Jame's crew was creative huh? I'm not sure how far back the myth goes but it's not that old.

from an unused root meaning to extrude; a viper (as thrusting
out the tongue, i.e. hissing):-adder

Thumbs down? I guess someone wanted to read - uh yeah, like it's all a myth... OR someone who don't like it when the KJV is picked on... I wonder which one?

So much for intelligent answers eh?

Answer 3

Cockatrice
the medieval name (a corruption of "crocodile") of a fabulous serpent supposed to be produced from a chicken's egg

It is generally supposed to denote the cerastes, or "horned viper," a very poisonous serpent about a foot long. Others think it to be the yellow viper (Daboia xanthina), one of the most dangerous vipers, from its size and its nocturnal habits (Isa. 11:8; 14:29; 59:5; Jer. 8:17; in all which the Revised Version renders the Hebrew tziph'oni by "basilisk"). In Prov. 23:32 the Hebrew tzeph'a is rendered both in the Authorized Version and the Revised Version by "adder;" margin of Revised Version "basilisk," and of Authorized Version "cockatrice."

A cockatrice is a legendary creature, "an ornament in the drama and poetry of the Elizabethans" (Breiner). The cockatrice was first described in the late twelfth century based on a hint in Pliny's Natural History, as a duplicate of the basilisk or regulus, though, unlike the basilisk, the cockatrice has legs.

The passage is figurative and the King James translators just used a common term from their era.

Answer 4

"Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, for the rod of your striking is broken, because a viper comes forth from the root of a snake, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent."

Try a modern translation. And the entire verse is using figurative language anyway.

Answer 5

He was using hyperbole.
It's like I said to you; If you start acting up again, I'm gonna drop a bomb on you.
Since I don't have a bomb, nor could I pick one up, I was simply letting you know that I will put you back in your place. Most stories are full of such things. Hope this helped.

Answer 6

Sounds like the basilisk from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Answer 7

I can't offer tangable evidence, except for the fact that Isaiah was an accredited prophet of the living God... and the words he spoke were by God's authority; which give quite a bit of credibility to what is to come... however strange it may sound to us in the 21st century.

Answer 8

This is a symbolic description of someone or something that is destructive to mankind , not always to be taken literally

Answer 9

Cockatrice is an ancient term for viper.

Answer 10

Yea, pretty much another chapter in the big 'ol fairy tale.

Kinda sounds very Lord of the Rings though huh?