cobra

There is general agreement among modern scholars that the word pethen refers to the cobra, since the word is closely associated with snake charming, which requires a snake that can raise the front part of its body vertically, something a viper cannot do. The words tsif‘oni and tsefa‘ are also probably references to a type of cobra. This can be well supported by the contexts in which the word occurs, in which reference is made to the fact that it lives in holes and lays eggs. These contexts would rule out any of the vipers.

There is some evidence that pethen was the earlier name for the cobra, and tsefa‘ and tsif‘oni were later names. Something similar is the case with English, where “cobra” has been in use only for the last one hundred years, and previously “asp” was used.

“Adder” is used as the name for some of the subspecies of viper and is probably not the best word to translate these three Hebrew words.

Cobras are characterized by their ability to spread the ribs in their neck area, so as to form a broad flat profile called the hood. This makes the snake look much thicker than it really is. Cobras also have short fixed fangs in the front of their mouths. The cobra that is found in the land of Israel is the Desert Cobra or Walter Innes’s snake (Walterinnesia aegyptia), while the cobra found in Egypt is the Egyptian Cobra Naja haje. The cobra is a large snake, reaching 2 meters (6 feet) in length, and about 50 millimeters (2 inches) in diameter. It is dark brown with a yellowish underside. In some areas where it is found it has broad yellowish bands, which give it its alternative English name, banded cobra. When it rears up and spreads its hood, the hood has a yellowish background, but displays a broad dark brown horizontal stripe.

Its bite is very poisonous, and it takes quick effect, acting on the nervous system. The cobra feeds on mice, gerbils, birds, bird’s eggs, lizards, frogs, and other snakes. It hunts by following scent trails, which it senses with its tongue. When within range of its prey, it raises its head slowly vertically, and suddenly strikes at the unsuspecting victim. It lives mainly in grassland and where the vegetation is fairly thick. It takes cover in rat holes, holes in eroded banks, hollow trees, under logs, and among exposed roots. It may lay its eggs in any of these sheltered places. In cold weather it coils itself up to preserve its body heat.

The cobra, besides being a symbol of lurking danger, was also closely associated with Egypt. In some poetic passages, therefore, it is a metaphor for the enemies of Israel, Egypt in particular.

The Egyptian cobra is found all over Africa, and a local word should not be difficult to find. In South and Southeast Asia a word for the King Cobra Naja hannah or one of the other cobras would be a good equivalent. In areas where these cobras are symbols of good luck and the presence of a deity, the Hebrew symbolism might need to be explained in a footnote. In other parts of the world, if cobras are unknown, the name of a local long poisonous snake of a type different from vipers and adders is a possible choice.

In passages where snakes are referred to as “stinging”, it is not necessary to use a verb meaning literally “to sting”. This is just the Hebrew way of referring to the bite of a snake. In many languages the verb used for a snake’s bite is different from the one used to refer to the bite of something else, such as a dog.

Desert cobra, Wikimedia Commons
Egyptian cobra, Wikimedia Commons

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

See also flying fiery serpent, adder / serpent / asp / viper, and serpent.

adder / viper

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “adder,” “asp,” “viper,” or “serpent” in English is translated in Lambya as chipili or “puff adder “, a highly poisonous local snake species. (Source: project-specific notes in Paratext)

 

There are a large number of snake species belonging to the viper family in Israel. From the contexts it is possible in one or two places to identify the particular species, and it is possible that the various Hebrew words actually refer to particular species. However, associating the various words with the corresponding species is largely conjecture, even though based on careful deduction.

The most common vipers in Israel are the Palestinian Viper Viper palaestina, the Carpet Viper Echis coloratus, the Sand Viper Cerastes vipera, and the Horned Viper Cerastes cerastes cerastes. The Palestinian viper is the largest of these vipers and is found in a variety of habitats, from the woods of the north to the desert’s edge. Since this is the most inhabited area, people are bitten by this snake more than any other. The other four vipers mentioned are found in desert areas, but in slightly different habitats. The sand viper and the horned viper live in the sand, while the carpet viper lives in gravelly areas and among rocks. It often camouflages itself among dried leaves.

The desert vipers, when moving in sand, cannot move in the normal way, so they adopt a movement known as “sidewinding”. They do this by moving a coil sideways to a position in front of the head, then the snake moves its head and the front part of its body in the air, arching over the sand as far as it can reach before falling back onto the sand. Then it repeats the movement again. This is done at some speed, and the snake moves diagonally across the sand surprisingly quickly, although not as quickly as another snake moving normally. The parallel elongated S-shaped marks it leaves in the sand look as though it has moved in a series of jumps, since they seem not to be connected. It is generally accepted that this motion caused the biblical writers to refer to these snakes as “flying” (see flying fiery serpent).

Vipers are different from other snakes mainly in that they give birth to live offspring. The females retain their eggs in a special sac in their bodies, and when the eggs hatch the small snakes emerge from the mother. The larger vipers produce as many as sixty young snakes at a time, while the smaller sand vipers have smaller broods of about twelve to fifteen. This is what John the Baptist refers to by his well-known phrase “brood of vipers”.

The vipers have long hinged fangs located in the front of their mouths. These fangs fold back as they close their mouths. When striking, vipers have to open their mouths very wide in order to get these fangs into the required position.

The carpet viper (also known as the saw-scaled viper) was very numerous in biblical Israel, and in most other areas of its range (it is found in a broad continuous band from West Africa to South and Central Asia). It is likely that this was the saraf, a name derived from a finite verb meaning “to burn something,” a reference to the burning effect of its poisonous bite.

Vipers have the same basic significance in the Bible as other snakes, with one additional feature. Since the young are carried alive inside the female viper, which then gives birth to large numbers of well-developed young, all at the same time, the viper was associated with fertility. This was also their significance in the Egyptian and Canaanite religious systems.

Although vipers are found widely all over the world, not all languages distinguish them from other types of snake. As mentioned above, the carpet viper is found across Central Africa, from the west to east coasts, and into Central and South Asia. In these areas the name for this snake can be used in all the verses that refer to vipers. In southern Africa the Puff Adder Bitis arietans is probably the best equivalent.

In order to retain the relationship of the word saraf with the verb “to burn something,” translators often try to use expressions such as “vipers that burn [people]” or “fiery serpents”. This is only possible where the word used for “burn” means “to cause a wound with something hot.” One should not convey the idea of “a viper that sets people on fire” or “a viper that is burning.” Often it is better to use a phrase meaning simply “poisonous vipers”.

See also vipers, You brood of vipers!, and cobra.

complete verse (Isaiah 11:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 11:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “An infant shall be playing
    where there is a snake, and nothing shall go wrong.
    A child shall put a hand into the hole of a snake
    and that grass animal shall not bite (it).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A child who drinks milk will be playing near a cobra hole,
    and a child recently weaned from milk will put its hand into the hole of a very poisonous serpent.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Even-if an infant will-play near the hole of a venomous snake, or even-if a child puts his hand into the hole of a snake, he will- not -be-harmed.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 11:8

The prophet adds more examples of harmony. This time he describes the absence of danger for very young children. He implies this since he does not state explicitly what may happen if children play where there are poisonous snakes. The readers know, of course. Translators may include the sense of “not being harmed” (or, “not being bitten”), as Good News Translation has done.

The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp: A sucking child is a newborn baby of up to a year or so, still being breast-fed. The parallel expression, weaned child, refers to someone who is now eating solid foods and probably a year or two old. These children often play outside on the ground, so snakes could well harm them. Although the English verb form shall play suggests an event that is certain, this verse refers more to a situation that could possibly happen. Good News Translation conveys that sense with the use of “if.” It is implied that no harm will come to the child. We may say “A little baby [or, Little babies] can play safely near….” The hole refers to where the snake lives. Snakes can live in various nesting places, so translators may use an appropriate term here. Asp is a species of poisonous snake. A number of English translations say “cobra” (New International Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible).

And the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den is parallel to the previous line, using a slightly older child and a different type of poisonous snake. The sense of these two lines is identical; Good News Translation collapses both lines into one. Instead of shall put, translators may say “can put [safely].”

In the rare cases where (poisonous) snakes are not known to the target community, this verse may be rendered with a general sense, for example, “A little baby will be able to play where it is now very dangerous [or, near the holes of dangerous animals].” It needs to be clear that danger no longer exists.

For this verse we may say:

• Even a tiny baby can play safely near a cobra’s nest; even near a snake’s hole a young child will be safe.

• If a tiny baby were to play near the cobra’s hole or a young child put its hand into a snake’s nest, it will not be harmed.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .