Greek word · G3789

ὄφις

ophis

snake

Snake, serpent. In the Greek Old Testament it is the standard word for the serpent of Genesis 3 and for the snakes of Numbers 21. With archaios ('ancient, primeval, from the beginning') it becomes a title.

Appears 13 times in 13 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ὄφις, -εως, ὁ

[in LXX chiefly for נָחָשׁ ;]

a serpent, snake: Matthew 7:10 Mark 16:18, Luke 10:19 11:11, John 3:14, 1 Corinthians 10:9, Revelation 9:19; as typical of wisdom and cunning, Matthew 10:16 23:23, 2 Corinthians 11:3 (cf. Genesis 31:1-55); of Satan (cf. Genesis 3:1, Wisdom of Solomon 2:23-24, 4Ma.18:8), Revelation 12:9, 14 12:11 20:2.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Revelation 12:9

Range of meaning

Snake, serpent. In the Greek Old Testament it is the standard word for the serpent of Genesis 3 and for the snakes of Numbers 21. With archaios ('ancient, primeval, from the beginning') it becomes a title.

Against the English

KJV 'that old serpent' now sounds as if the snake is elderly. Archaios means primeval, from the beginning: the serpent who was there at the start. Modern versions say 'ancient serpent'.

How it drifted

In 1611 'old' could still mean 'of long standing, from of old'. Today it mostly means aged.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 3:1 LXX: 'the serpent (ophis) was the most cunning of all the beasts'. Wisdom of Solomon 2:24 (1st century BC): 'through the envy of the devil (diabolou) death entered the world'. This is one of the earliest texts to identify the Eden serpent with the devil. Paul makes a similar link in 2 Corinthians 11:3 and Romans 16:20. Revelation 20:2 repeats the full title.

From the study of Revelation 12:14

Range of meaning

Snake or serpent. In Jewish and Christian writings it was the classic image of the deceiver of Genesis 3.

Against the English

English 'serpent' preserves the link to Genesis well. Readers may not notice that John switches from 'dragon' (12:13) to 'serpent' at just this point.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 3:1, 14–15 (LXX ὄφις). Wisdom 2:24: 'through the devil's envy death entered the world'. Rev 12:9 and 20:2: 'the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan'.

From the study of John 3:14

Range of meaning

Snake, serpent; any of various snakes. Figuratively it can stand for cunning or danger (Matthew 10:16; 23:33), and later for Satan as 'the ancient serpent' (Revelation 12:9).

Against the English

'Serpent' (KJV, WEB, ESV) and 'snake' (BSB, NIV) mean the same. NLT adds 'bronze snake on a pole', which is correct from Numbers 21 but not in John's Greek.

Used elsewhere in the period

Numbers 21:6–9: God sends 'burning serpents' (Hebrew nechashim seraphim) among the complaining people. Moses is told to 'make a saraph (burning one) and set it on a pole (nes, a signal-pole or standard)'. He makes a nechash nechoshet, a 'serpent of bronze', a sound-play in Hebrew. LXX: 'make for yourself a serpent and set it upon a sign/standard (sēmeion)… a bronze serpent (ophin chalkoun)'. 2 Kings 18:4: Hezekiah later smashed it because Israel had been burning incense to it as 'Nehushtan'. Wisdom of Solomon 16:6–7 calls it 'a symbol of salvation' and insists the one who turned to it 'was saved not by what he saw but by you, the Saviour of all'. Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 3:8: 'Does a serpent kill or give life? Rather, when Israel looked upward and submitted their hearts to their Father in heaven they were healed.'

Where it appears

Matthew · 3

  1. Matthew 7:10 ὄφιν a serpent

    Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

  2. Matthew 10:16 ὄφεις serpents

    Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

    Here: Snakes were proverbial for being wary and hard to catch. In the Greek of Genesis 3:1 the serpent is called 'the most phronimos' of the animals, the same word used here. Jesus takes over only the alertness, not the evil.

  3. Matthew 23:33 ὄφεις Serpents

    You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?

    Here: Said directly to the scribes and Pharisees, as an insult. In Jewish ears 'the snake' meant the cunning deceiver of Genesis 3 (Septuagint Gen 3:1, ho ophis). The word labels them as clever, deceptive and dangerous.

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 10:19 ὄφεων serpents

    Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.

    Here: A real and deadly hazard in Palestine. It is also the creature of Genesis 3, the age-old picture of the deceiver and of hostility to humanity.

  2. Luke 11:11 ὄφιν a serpent

    What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?

    Here: A snake. It is dangerous, it is unclean under the Torah's food laws, and in Luke it is linked with hostile powers (10:19). It may also look a little like a scaleless fish or an eel. The gift would be useless and harmful.

John · 1

  1. John 3:14 ὄφιν serpent

    Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

    Here: The bronze serpent Moses made at God's command (Numbers 21:8–9). Paradoxically, an image of the very thing that was killing the people became the means of their healing.

1 Corinthians · 1

  1. 1 Corinthians 10:9 ὄφεων serpents

    We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.

    Here: Points to the 'fiery serpents' sent among the people in Numbers 21:6. The Greek Old Testament calls them 'death-dealing serpents'.

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:3 ὄφις serpent

    I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.

    Here: The serpent of Genesis 3 (the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, uses ophis there). In vv. 13–15 Paul links the false teachers to Satan, who 'disguises himself as an angel of light', so the serpent stands for Satan's deceiving work.

Revelation · 5

  1. Revelation 9:19 ὄφεσιν as serpents

    For the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; indeed, their tails were like snakes, having heads with which to inflict harm.

    Here: Snakes. In Israel's scriptures snakes were a familiar instrument of God's judgment (Numbers 21:6; Jeremiah 8:17). In Revelation the word also prepares for "the ancient serpent" of 12:9.

  2. Revelation 12:9 ὄφις serpent

    And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

    Here: This is the word used for the serpent of Eden in the Greek Genesis 3. John is telling the reader that the dragon is that same serpent.

  3. Revelation 12:14 ὄφεως. serpent.

    But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.

    Here: The dragon is now called 'serpent', 'the ancient serpent' of 12:9. This recalls Genesis 3:15, where God puts hostility between the serpent and the woman.

  4. Revelation 12:15 ὄφις serpent

    Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent.

    Here: The dragon is called 'serpent' here, recalling the snake of Genesis 3 (v.9 calls him 'the ancient serpent'). In v.16 the same figure is called 'dragon' again; the two names alternate for one enemy.

  5. Revelation 20:2 ὄφις serpent

    He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

    Here: The ordinary word for snake. It is also the word the Greek Old Testament uses for the serpent in Eden (Genesis 3:1), and here it points straight there.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.