Search the encyclopedia
1000 articles found for “the serpent”
Fiery Serpents
The fiery serpents were venomous snakes that bit the Israelites, killing many, after the people murmured against God in the wilderness, as recorded in Numbers 21. The episode forms the background to the account of the bronze serpent that Moses made.
Numbers 21:8–9
This passage records how God commanded Moses to set a bronze serpent on a pole for the Israelites who had been bitten by fiery serpents in the wilderness; whoever looked at it lived. It is frequently cited because in John 3:14 Jesus compared his own crucifixion to this event.
Genesis 3:15
Genesis 3:15 is God's declaration to the serpent that the seed of the woman "shall bruise thy head." The church has called this verse the Protoevangelium, the first announcement of Christ's victory, and interpreters differ over the identity of the seed.
Eating of the Forbidden Fruit
The eating of the forbidden fruit is the event recorded in Genesis 3 in which Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden, and were driven out of the Garden of Eden. Christianity understands it as the beginning of the fall of humanity.
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the tree in the midst of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2–3 whose fruit God commanded Adam not to eat, but which Adam and Eve ate. In Korean it is commonly called the seonakgwa, "the fruit of good and evil."
Nehushtan
Nehushtan is the name applied to the bronze serpent that Moses made in the wilderness, at the time King Hezekiah of Judah broke it in pieces. The name appears only once, in 2 Kings 18:4, which records that Hezekiah destroyed the serpent to put an end to idolatry because the people had been burning incense to it.
Genesis 3:17–19
The sentence God pronounced on Adam after the Fall, declaring that the ground is cursed, that man must eat by toil and the sweat of his face, and that he will finally return to the dust. The passage is frequently cited in discussions of sin, death, and the meaning of work, and is often read at funerals.
John 3:16
John 3:16 declares that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should have everlasting life. It is the best-known verse in the Bible and is widely regarded as a summary of the gospel. Calvinism and Arminianism interpret the scope of "the world" and "whosoever believeth" differently.
Genesis 3
Genesis 3 recounts how the woman, tempted by the serpent, and her husband eat the fruit of the forbidden tree, hear God's word to them, and are driven out of the Garden of Eden.
Eve
Eve (Korean: Hawa) is the first woman recorded in the Book of Genesis and the wife of Adam. She is known for the account of her eating the forbidden fruit after being tempted by the serpent and as the mother of Cain, Abel, and Seth.
Genesis 3:16
Genesis 3:16 records God's words to the woman after the Fall, in which He increases her pain in childbirth and declares that her husband "shall rule over thee." In discussions of the relationship between men and women, interpreters disagree over whether the verse establishes an order ordained by God or describes a distortion produced by sin.
Messianic Prophecy
Messianic prophecy refers to Old Testament passages understood to point to the anointed deliverer who was to come, the Messiah. The New Testament regards these prophecies as fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Coats of Skins
The coats of skins are the garments that God made to clothe Adam and Eve after they ate the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:21). They stand in contrast to the aprons of fig leaves and have been interpreted both as a sign of God's care and as a foreshadowing of atonement.
2 Corinthians 11
2 Corinthians 11 is the chapter in which Paul defends his apostleship against the false apostles who had entered the Corinthian church, boasting of himself "as a fool." He lists the hardships he has endured and declares that he will glory in his infirmities.
Bronze Serpent
The bronze serpent was a serpent that Moses, at God's command, made of bronze and set on a pole to save the Israelites who had been bitten by fiery serpents in the wilderness. It appears in Numbers 21, and in John 3 it becomes an image pointing to the cross of Jesus.
Leviathan
Leviathan is a great sea creature mentioned in Job, Psalms, and Isaiah. The name serves as a symbol of a power beyond human control or of the chaos and evil that stand against God.
Revelation 12:9
In the vision of war in heaven in Revelation 12, the great dragon is cast down to the earth and identified as "that old serpent," the Devil, and Satan. The verse is frequently cited in discussions of the Devil's identity and origin and of when Satan was cast out.
Numbers 21
Numbers 21 records Israel's defeat of the king of Arad, the plague of fiery serpents and the bronze serpent, the journey toward the plains of Moab, and the victories over Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan.
Mount Hor
Mount Hor is a mountain in the Book of Numbers. Located on the border of Edom, it is where Aaron died and the place from which Israel set out just before the episode of the bronze serpent. A mountain of the same name also marks the northern boundary of the Promised Land.
John 3:17–18
A passage stating that God sent his Son not to condemn the world but to save it, and that whoever believes is not condemned, while whoever does not believe is condemned already. Together with John 3:16, it is frequently cited to explain the relationship between salvation and judgment.