In Genesis, why did Satan decide to speak to Eve as a serpent and not as himself or a different creature?

 

Spiritual opposition led Eve astray.

Sin incarnated into the Serpent for a few important reasons. The first is a reference to its agileness, hiding and scheming. It was actually a beautiful creature before it was cursed to slither on its stomach through mud forever. This is a metaphorical way to understand the cunningness of sin as it shrouds its truer intentions, slithering to its victims.

Later in the Book of Job, Satan also seeks victims as he strides up and down the world. The very same behaviour exhibited by the Serpent is a manifestation of how evil often appears.

In a similar way to how Eve was tempted by the Serpent, we also engage with it when confronted by sin. We willingly let it hold sway over us. Sin dresses beautifully which is how it lures us into ruin.

2 Corinthians 11:14

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

The danger of sin is that we do not want to recognise it. That was the failure of Eve who knew God’s command, but fell for the false beauty of sin.

This deception is one of the immediate reasons why Satan incarnated into a Serpent because he hid his true intentions. But there are also very important etymological roots in the Hebrew language that make a Serpent extremely relevant for the origin of human sin.

Etymology helps us understand the parallels between the mesmerising Archangel who led the heavenly rebellion against God and the wry Serpent who appears in Eden to instigate the human rebellion.

Both the Archangel and Serpent are the same incarnation of spiritual opposition, but in different contexts. In our own lives, spiritual opposition might manifest as an alcoholic bottle or playing cards that will gamble our fortune away. The Serpent is one of many manifestations of spiritual opposition.

The word Serpent in the Book of Genesis is נָחָשׁ or nāḥāsh. This word is a literal term for snake and without any other context, it is just a typical snake. The word Satan appears later and is שָׂטָן or śāṭān which means opposer or accuser. Both hold a central idea of accusation and opposition.

Now the names do actually share two letters of -shin ש and -nun נ. The connection between serpent (nāḥāsh) and śāṭān is etymologically suggestive. It appears to be a wordplay which can be utilised to share a meaning of craftiness and nakedness.

Of course, these links are not directly established in the Book of Genesis, but they are used when describing the terrifying Archangel of Light who challenged God’s power in heaven. This was an Archangel of such monumental ferocity that a third of heaven believed it was greater than God. I don’t think any human can properly comprehend its terrible power.

Genesis places the word crafty or cunning next to the Serpent which gives us an idea about its traits. This word is עָרוּם or ʿārūm and also has a meaning of shrewdness. Next to the word ʿārūm for cunning is also עֲרוּמִּים or ʿărummīm which means nakedness. Genesis therefore places two similar words together in the context of paradise and sin.

Humans emerge in Eden within a state of עֲרוּמִּים or naked innocence, but the Serpent uses עָרוּם to undermine this innocence. This means ʿārūm and ʿărummīm for cunning and nakedness both share a similar linguistic root that reflect different directions for human morality, but they derive from the same source. Now the first instance of nakedness is actually associated with lacking shame.

Genesis 2:25

Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

After the Serpent convinces Eve to sin and Adam follows the example of his wife, perhaps instigating an even greater sin because God was the one who directly gave him the command, nakedness is no longer described as innocence. An important etymological turn now takes place.

Genesis 3:7

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Within this context, nakedness has a sense of shame as the word changes. This new word for naked is עֵירֹם or ʿērōm and is similar to ʿārūm for cunning. The new naked state of human innocence has become their shame as sin enters into their being.

God then pronounces a curse on humanity with ʾārūr or אָרוּר and casts hostility into the human condition with אֵיבָה or ʾēvāh. All of these words share a trait with cunning or עָרוּם that the Serpent deploys against humanity. This implies that the sin instigated by the Serpent becomes part of the human condition.

Clearly the Serpent is no ordinary snake, but has definitive qualities of craftiness. It also has an objective to spread rebellion against God which mirrors Satan’s objectives in heaven. Its grand aim in the world is to cast God as a liar and have humanity disobey him. Within the allegory of Genesis, this is a very crafty being who seeks to overthrow God’s good works.

Genesis 1:31

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

It not only seeks to subvert the good world, but destroy the creature made in God’s image.

Genesis 1:27

So God created mankind in his own image.

Unlike any other creature in the world, the Serpent aims to destroy the goodness of the created order and lead the very beings made in God’s image into eternal rebellion. This is no ordinary snake, but an antagonist who seeks to destroy God’s order.

There are many links between the Serpent and Satan because they are the same spiritual force. Both seek to subvert God’s designs and aim for godhood by giving out false laws that oppose God. This is an example of false divinity and their usurpation of the divine hierarchy.

The most important link between Satan and the Serpent are their lying natures. The very first sin in scripture was uttered by the Serpent. He is the originator of worldly sin, but it also implies that lying originated outside of humanity.

False witness therefore emerges before the development of humanity. God created the heavens and the earth, but Genesis mostly focuses on what takes place upon our own world. We do not yet know what happens in heaven before humanity existed.

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The first two chapters of the Bible actually unfold in a world without sin. This means the entire Biblical narrative begins in a state of sinlessness. There is a real moment in history when there was not merely an absence of sin, but no implication of its existence.

Only in the third chapter of Genesis does sin appear as a force in the world. It incarnates in the form of a Serpent who is gendered, has personality and opposes God’s laws.

Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

God had one law in paradise, but the Serpent subverts it.

Genesis 2:15-17

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Not only does the Serpent undermine that law, but lies about it. This is why Jesus describes the ruler of those who oppose him as the Father of Lies. This lie takes place when Eve responds to the Serpent by repeating the instructions of God.

Genesis 3:2-3

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.

But the Serpent undermines God’s command and calls him a liar.

Genesis 3:4-5

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Lying to Eve, the Serpent promises that she will gain equality with God. This is important to remember because later scriptures parallel this desire with the original sin of the fallen Archangel. Finding sin delicious, Eve follows the Serpent’s deception and spreads her sin to Adam.

Sin suddenly enters as a real force in the human condition. This is symbolic for the original sin in humanity itself. That sin emerged when a human separated instinct from morality and understood what it truly meant to be a moral person in the world.

That morality was violated when the first human decided to morally hurt somebody else. They did not need to inflict that sin, but for selfishness, they engaged in an immoral action against their neighbour. Sin has not left the world since these events which Genesis allegorises.

Humanity is subsequently punished by its own foolish sin just as we are today. Adam and Eve realised that God was not lying when he told them that they would die because of their error.

Genesis 3:19

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.

Some people refuse to realise how their sin destroys them, but redemption only comes when we recognise it. Think about gamblers, alcoholics and angry individuals.

Only if these people confront their sin can it be overcome. This is why God prevents humanity from eating the Tree of Life’s fruit because otherwise we would live forever in sin that has not been overcome nor can be undone. We would exist like the fallen angels, living forever in eternal sin.

Genesis 3:24

After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

This parallel between the Serpent and Satan are implicit from the beginning of Genesis and are later explicitly developed. The force which unifies both of them is spiritual opposition. Some may call it evil for short, but its precise term is spiritual opposition to God’s order.

God himself is spirit which means he is an immaterial force. The New Testament merely describes the fundamental spirit of God as love. This force even incarnates into a human called Jesus. In other words, Jesus is the immortal spirit of God with finite flesh formed around it.

John 4:24

God is spirit.

1 John 4:8

God is love.

In the same way God incarnates into a physical form, the spirit of opposition can also incarnate into similar forms. This is why the world not only witnesses the power of Satan and the Serpent everywhere, but also drug addiction, alcoholism, gambling and adultery.

This incarnation into a fallen angel took place before the creation of the world. This is why the Serpent was able to appear in Genesis as a liar because the original cosmic sin took place in heaven. A great war in the heavens is even implied in the Book of Ezekiel when a human king is compared to the archangel who led that very rebellion against God.

Ezekiel 28:12-14

You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

This narration makes a typical parallelism between a human figure and spiritual opposition. In this case, the disgraceful fall of Tyre’s king is being likened to the fall of an archangel who was ranked near the top of all the other angels.

One of the principle causes for this angel’s fall from heaven was the corruption found within him. This corruption came out of his vanity.

Ezekiel 28:15–17

You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendour. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

An excerpt from the Book of Isaiah further clarifies the sin of this archangel which is even given the title of Morning Star or Lucifer. It is a very beautiful title which suggests it was the brightest of all the angels and only solidifies its position as one of the highest ranked heavenly beings.

Isaiah 14:12-14

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.

This angelic being tried to ascend into the heavens and raise his throne above God.

Just like the Serpent from Eden, this spiritual being desired not just equality with God so it could dictate law to other heavenly beings, but sought even greater power. The last line tells us how it sought to be like God in an echo from the Serpent.

Genesis 3:5

For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

The fundamental sin of the Morning Star and Serpent is therefore the same. Both seek to be obeyed as lawgivers by rivalling God. Both seek to be followed by angels or humanity. Both are corrupted from vanity or lies. Both are beautiful, but are heralds of destruction.

Revelation 12:4

Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.

This parallel is made directly explicit in the Book of Revelation which is the culmination of everything set down in Genesis. Just as the Serpent led humanity astray, the fallen angel led a third of heaven in rebellion before they were all cast to their doom. Humanity was only spared from destruction because God blocked the way to the Tree of Life.

Jesus says how he watched the archangel fall.

Luke 10:18

I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

He goes onto imply that this spirit manifests in many other forms.

Luke 10:19–20

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

This is an accurate reflection of how spiritual opposition appears in all of us, but the ultimate embodiment was the fallen archangel who rebelled against God. This was later mirrored by the second rebellion on earth that sought to destroy humanity and lead it away from God.

There is an obvious parallel between Satan and the Serpent. Spiritual opposition simply incarnated into different forms, but it is the same force that rebels against God.

Satan as a name directly appears in a few places across the Old Testament as a persecutor, accuser and even a force that is used by God for his grander purposes. The name śāṭān first appears in the Book of Numbers in the Torah.

Numbers 22:22

And the anger of God burneth because he is going, and a messenger of Jehovah stationeth himself in the way for an adversary to him, and he is riding on his ass, and two of his servants are with him.

The Hebrew text uses שָׂטָן or śāṭān for adversary, but as a common noun. This is the first time a word called śāṭān is associated with an adversarial nature.

Whilst this is not Satan, it shows how God’s own angels can embody oppositional forces. In many ways, God is using an oppositional force as a way to pour his own wrath against those who disobey him. With the Book of Revelation, Satan is even locked up by God before he is intentionally released.

Isaiah 45:7

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.

The next time Satan appears as more of a proper noun is with the Book of Job when an angel is given a title of the accuser. This is the הַשָּׂטָן or ha-śāṭān which tests Job’s piety with a series of disasters. This spiritual force seeks to humiliate God by proving that people only worship him if they’re rich and successful. God asks where this angel has been and the adversarial spirit replies in spiteful pride that it has been striding up and down the world.

Job 1:7

And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, `Whence comest thou?' And the Adversary answereth Jehovah and saith, `From going to and fro in the land, and from walking up and down on it.'

The ha-śāṭān challenges God and hurls Job through trials on account of God’s authority. Job ultimately succeeds and proves his devotion to God.

The purpose of this story is to show how a pious man worships God no matter his fortune, but adversarial spirits test that devotion not because God wants to hurt his believers for the sake of it, but because the adversarial spirit seeks to undermine God. Rather than give this spirit doubt, God is so confident in his believers that he permits this trial to take place. At the end, ha-śāṭān is himself humiliated by Job’s piety.

Ha-śāṭān or the accuser appears in the Book of Zechariah when he accuses Joshua who was a High Priest of God. In this instance, God directly rebukes ha-śāṭān.

Zechariah 3:1–2

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”

The final instance of ha-śāṭān in Hebrew scriptures takes place in the First Book of Chronicles where Satan is now a full noun for a spiritual being. In this example, he directly accuses and opposes the people of God who are called Israel from the Book of Genesis.

1 Chronicles 21:1

Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.

Satan appears fully personified throughout the New Testament. He is the force that tempts Jesus with all the kingdoms of the world when he is in the wilderness. Satan even seeks for Jesus to worship him and test God by false means. Just as the Serpent and Satan sought to be worshiped as gods, Satan tries to get Jesus to kneel before him.

Matthew 4:9

"All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me."

Satan is also referred to as the ruler of demons. These demons are spiritual forces that infest a human and devour them like with Adam and Eve. The New Testament even parallels the prowling of Satan up and down the world from the Book Job and even the idea of a slithering serpent.

1 Peter 5:8

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Jesus gives Satan a title which refers back to his lie in the Book of Genesis. In this scene, he is confronting the religious elite who try to prevent the common people from overcoming their sin. In the same way that the Serpent brought sin into the world, the religious elites are trying to stop people from recognising the Messiah who takes away those sins.

John 8:44

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The spirit of opposition finally personifies into a roaring dragon at the end of days. This dragon is the ultimate incarnation of opposition as it leads its armies against God. Those who survive the war have overcome its spirit of opposition. God lowers the flaming sword for them which guards the way to the Tree of Life. Revelation concludes the narrative of sin and redemption in a biblical finale.

Revelation 22:14

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

Spiritual opposition manifests everywhere in the Bible and sometimes incarnates into physical and angelic beings, but the fundamental force of that spirit is the same thing. Whether it is a Serpent or Archangel, that spirit is trying to destroy God.

This force also appears in all of our lives on a daily basis, but we must rebuke sin in the same way that Jesus rebuked the devil in the wilderness. We must triumph over it and seek the only sure path that leads to salvation and redemption. There is no other path that original sin can be overcome by.

This path is through Jesus the Messiah who is prophesied in the Torah and Tanakh. He is the Word of God that was spoken at the creation of the universe. He was the force that walked through the Garden of Eden and spoke to Moses on the mountaintop.

Jesus came to put an end to sin.

Hebrews 9:26

He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.