Thursday 15 January 2015

Whence the Serpent? A Slightly Rambling Reflection on Genesis 3:1

Regardless of whether it’s an embodiment of Satan or a personification (ophidianification?) of that which is anti-the-Lord-God, the serpent of Genesis 3:1 shouldn’t be in the garden of Eden. If we accept that Eden is the primeval temple (where Eden equates to the holy of holies, the garden to the holy place, and the world outside Eden to the outer court), then the serpent, as an unclean animal (Leviticus 11:42), presumably shouldn’t be inside the garden. So already, the man and the woman have failed in their mandate to ‘till’ and ‘keep’ the garden (Genesis 2:15), because they have not policed the proper boundaries but have entertained something unclean (the serpent) and allowed it to pollute the holy (the garden).

2 comments:

  1. Or is it something to do with wisdom as you once pointed out? As in wisdom in some way defiling the sacred act because wisdom cannot access it as much as it tries

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  2. There may be a connection, especially if wisdom in this case is linked with created wisdom (because the serpent is created) rather than divine wisdom.

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