By about last Tuesday, I was wondering what I might post about in this week's blog. Nothing was really standing out to me. Then by Saturday, I had learned so many interesting things, I didn't know what to choose for my post. An obvious area of focus is the story of the brazen serpent. It is a small side story in the Numbers narrative, but it is mentioned at least twice in the Book of Mormon. Because of that story, I decided to pick Numbers 21 as my chapter to read in Hebrew this week, and made an interesting translation discovery. I would also like to mention, briefly, a passage, Number 6: 24-26 which wasn't included in our readings.
The Firey Serpent:
As the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, they started to complain about the lack of food and water. They had manah, but they were tired of it. The Lord then sends "firey serpents" to bite them, and many died. The people begged Moses to advocate for them before the Lord, asking him to take the serpents out of their midst. The Lord did one better. He removed the serpents, and asked Moses to make an image of a serpent and put it on a pole. Anyone who would look at the serpent would live. That is the end of the story in Old Testament. In the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 17:41, Alma 33:18-22) we learn that some people refused to look, and died. Alma saw the serpent as a type of Christ. My questions were, why would a serpent be a symbol of both Satan (Genesis) and Christ. So here is what I came up with.
1. The serpent wasn't just a serpent, it was a "firey" serpent. When I was reading in Hebrew I came to that term "firey serpents" and it was הנחשׂים חשׂרפים, or the seraphim serpents. Of course, my mind went to Isaiah when in vision he saw Seraphim near the throne of God. (Isaiah 6:2). The word Seraph just means firey, so there may not be any association here to Isaiah's vision. One commentator said the serpents were probably called firery because their bite caused a burning sensation. But fire has been a symbol of the presence of God all through the narrative of the Exodus. It was a pillar of fire that indicated that God was in the tabernacle, a Moses first met God in a burning bush. In Egypt at the time of the captivity of Israel, Pharoah would wear a Ureus, or cobra, on his crown as a sign of his power and right to rule. In later Egyptian iconography, the Ureus was displayed as having wings. I am not sure how or if these symbols relate, but one symbol was clearly mentioned in Alma, that the serpent being lifted up symbolized Jesus being lifted up on the Cross. If a flying firey serpent was a symbol the Israelites would have associated with divine power and right to rule, and then that symbol was lifted on a cross, that is a strong Christian symbol. Some have claimed that a serpent could represent Jesus in another way as well, because just as a snake sheds its skin but emerges alive, Jesus shed his mortality but lives on in a renewed body. It is all a bit muddy, but maybe a little bit interesting.
The other thing I wanted to comment on is Number's 6:24-26. This is known as the Aaronic Blessing or Priestly Blessing. It is familiar to Christians, and a very important prayer to Jews, perhaps equivalent to the Lord's prayer to Christians. I have heard that this is the ending prayer in a Jewish service each week.
25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
There is a lovely musical version of this on youtube that I have memorized. So if you want to learn a passage in Hebrew, this song is a good way to do it.
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