Fiery Serpents

Biblical Text and Narrative

The fiery serpents appear in Numbers 21:4–9. After setting out from Mount Hor, the Israelites grew weary on the journey around the land of Edom and spoke against God and Moses. They complained that there was no food and no water, and they disparaged the manna as "light bread." The LORD then sent fiery serpents among the people; the serpents bit them, and many died. When the people confessed their sin, Moses prayed for the people. The LORD commanded him to make a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole, declaring that "every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." Moses made a serpent of brass and set it upon the pole (see Numbers 21:8–9 and Bronze Serpent).

In addition, Deuteronomy 8:15 recalls the route of the forty years in the wilderness as a land "wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water." Isaiah 14:29 and 30:6 use the expression "fiery flying serpent."

Background and Terminology

The Hebrew word rendered "fiery serpent" is saraph (plural seraphim). It is generally understood to derive from the same root as a verb meaning "to burn." Explanations differ as to why the term "fiery" was applied. Some attribute it to the burning pain and inflammation caused by the bite; others attribute it to the snakes' reddish coloring. Venomous snakes inhabit the Arabah and the Sinai Peninsula, the regions through which the narrative passes, and scholars have therefore proposed identifications with local vipers, but the species cannot be determined.

In Isaiah 6:2 the same word designates the seraphim, beings who stand around the throne of God (see Seraphim and Cherubim). Various views have been offered on the relationship between the two, but the text does not directly connect them.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The episode of the fiery serpents follows a sequence of judgment on murmuring, confession of sin, and deliverance provided by God. 1 Corinthians 10:9 cites the event as a warning against putting the Lord to the test. John 3:14–15 states that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, and that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. In this way the New Testament links the serpent on the pole with Jesus Christ on the cross. According to 2 Kings 18:4, the bronze serpent was later called Nehushtan and became an object to which incense was burned, and King Hezekiah broke it in pieces.

Interpretations and Debates

• Typological interpretation: Following John 3, many Protestant traditions generally read the bronze serpent as a type of Christ. Typology is an interpretive approach that regards Old Testament events or persons as foreshadowing New Testament realities. In this reading, "looking" is likened to faith.
• Jewish tradition: The Mishnah explains that the serpent itself did not give life; rather, the people were healed because, as they looked upward, they directed their hearts to their Father in heaven.
• Distinguishing extrabiblical traditions: Some accounts identify the fiery serpents with the serpent of Genesis 3 or with Satan, but the text makes no such statement; it says only that the LORD sent the fiery serpents. The serpent-entwined staff used as a medical symbol originates with Asclepius of Greek mythology, and stories connecting this symbol with the bronze serpent have no basis in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Both the New Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Standard Version render the word as bulbaem ("fire serpent"). Korean churches commonly preach Numbers 21 together with John 3:14–16 on the theme "Look and live." Such sermons are especially frequent during Lent and Holy Week and at evangelistic meetings. The passage is also often cited in warnings against murmuring and complaining and in teaching on repentance.