Job 20:12-16 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth, he hides it under his tongue, though he fondles it and does not forsake it, but still keeps it in his mouth, his food is turned in his stomach, the bitterness of cobras is in him. He has swallowed down riches, then vomits them up – El drives it out of his stomach. He sucks the poison of cobras; the tongue of the poisonous snake slays him.”

There are quite a few Hebrew words for snake throughout the Scriptures:

• peten H6620 – peṯen : (as used in this verse in Job 20:16). A venomous serpent, perhaps the cobra, adder, or viper
• nahas H5175 – nāḥāš : (like the bronze snake on the pole in Numbers 21, click here to read more). A serpent, snake, or in the likeness of a snake. Also used to describe divination, practice of signs and omens, fortunetelling, learning/experience by observing
• seraph/sepa H6848 – ṣep̄aʿ : A poisonous serpent, a viper snake or adder – perhaps more the action of thrusting out the tongue, i.e. hissing
• tannin H8577 – tannîn : The dragon, serpent, sea or river monster, dinosaurs
• ophis G3789 – ophis : The greek word for serpent, also used for the emblem of cunning and wisdom, the idea of sharpness of vision, artful in being malicious

Interestingly, in the Book of Exodus, the staves of Moses and Aaron are turned into serpents, a nahas for Moses, and a tannin for Aaron. The “devil” or ha-satan have also be said to be a serpent, from the beginning to the end of Scriptures. Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent H5175 was more subtil than any beast of the field”. And in Revelation 20:2 “He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”

The serpent, or snake, is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols used in most other cultures and religions. The greatest characteristic of the serpent, is its deception. In the Scriptures we are shown it be careful for its’ bite, its’ lies – the tongue – much as describes in Job 20:12-16. Genesis 3:1 says the serpent was the most cunning, clever in being deceitful with its tongue. Other religions will hold the snake high in regard for fertility, healing, rebirth, guardianship, etc. The snake, its body structure and movement represents sexual passion, “dormant energy in a coiled serpent”, and the belief in the symbolic “umbilical cord, joining heaving with earth”. In Numbers 21 where the people were healed looking at the bronze snake, YHWH placed the snake there to remind them of their sins, a test – whether they would repent, or turn their belief towards the snake. Which is exactly what many did for years, until eventually Hezekiah destroyed the snake which the people worshipped.

When we look at Moses and Aaron’s staffs turned into snakes, why did YHWH chose snakes for symbols? Each plague that YHWH sent on the egyptians was an assault on one of their gods, it was something the egyptians would recognize and understand. The main egyptian god was the sun god Ra and his arch enemy was Appepa, the water snake of the Nile. So when the staff turned into a snake and ate the magicians’ snakes, Yahweh could have been sending a very powerful message that Ra’s enemy was now in their house.

Serpent and Dragon
Occasionally, serpents and dragons are used interchangeably, having similar symbolic functions – like the venom from the serpent and the fire from the dragon. The greeks, german (norse) and the chinese all interchange the serpent and dragon, and some cultures add dragon-like wings to their serpents, or call them “feathered serpent”. In many myths and legends, dragons are depicted as intelligent creatures capable of speech, particularly in Asian and some European traditions. In Asian mythology, dragons are also credited with teaching humans to speak, highlighting their wisdom and close relationship with humanity. This speaking and wise capability of a serpent-dragon confirms exactly what the devil was in the garden of Eden.

For some reason, some translations rather exchanged the word dragon or serpent for whales! Genesis 1:21, “And YHWH created great whales, H8577 and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly”. YHWH is still the Creator of Everything, even the snake and dragon! Job in his distress twice refers to the dragon (where some translators refer whale again). Job 7:12, Am I a sea, or a whale (rather a dragon), H8577 that thou settest a watch over me?” – why would YHWH set watch over a whale?. Job 30:29, “I am a brother to dragons, H8577 and a companion to owls.”

Yeshua talking about serpents
There are actually quite a few references to serpents in the new testament, but one of the most famous is calling out the Pharisees and Sadducees in Matthew 23:33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”. This was because of their wickedness, hypocrisy, and adding their own laws to the Torah, the Laws of YHWH – causing confusing and deceit.

But just before this, Yeshua acknowledges the cunningness of the serpent breed – and that we should be very aware and awake. Matthew 10:16, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves”, emphasizing the need to navigate the world with wisdom and caution while maintaining a gentle and innocent spirit, not just when facing opposition or persecution, because the serpent will pretend to be your friend.

• Pro 23:31-32 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.
• Psalm 91:13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon H8577 shalt thou trample under feet.
• Psalm 148:7 Praise YHWH from the earth, ye dragons, H8577 and all deeps
• Jeremiah 51:37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, H8577 an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
• Micah 1:8 Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, H8577 and mourning as the owls.
• Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to fight with the remnant of her seed, those guarding the commands of Elohim and possessing the witness of Yeshua Messiah.