Hebrew word · H6848
צִפְעוֹנִי
tzif'oni
serpent
A venomous snake, probably a viper (often suggested: the Palestinian viper, Daboia palaestinae, the most common dangerous snake in the land and one that frequents fields, walls and houses). Isa 14:29 uses the shorter form ṣepaʿ: 'from the serpent's root will come a viper'.
Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
A venomous snake, probably a viper (often suggested: the Palestinian viper, Daboia palaestinae, the most common dangerous snake in the land and one that frequents fields, walls and houses). Used of a snake whose bite is deadly (Prov 23:32), which no charm can control (Jer 8:17), and whose eggs symbolise evil schemes (Isa 59:5). Isa 14:29 uses the shorter form ṣepaʿ: 'from the serpent's root will come a viper'.
- Against the English
KJV renders it 'cockatrice', a mythical creature of medieval legend. Modern versions ('viper', 'adder') restore it to a real animal.
- How it drifted
The Latin Vulgate translated it regulus ('little king'), the classical name for the basilisk, a legendary serpent said to kill with a glance. Medieval bestiaries merged the basilisk with the 'cockatrice', a creature hatched from a cock's egg. The KJV translators inherited that tradition. To a modern reader 'cockatrice' sounds like fantasy, which moves the verse into a world of monsters.
- Used elsewhere in the period
LXX here renders the line as 'the bed of the offspring of asps', not distinguishing species. The Vulgate's regulus is the source of the basilisk/cockatrice line in English.
From the study of Isaiah 14:29
- Range of meaning
A venomous snake, probably a viper. The exact species cannot be identified. Related forms: tsiphʿoni (Isaiah 11:8, 59:5; Jeremiah 8:17; Proverbs 23:32). The root may imitate a hiss.
- Against the English
BSB "viper" and WEB "adder" are reasonable. KJV "cockatrice" brings in a medieval monster (see drift). Its translators drew on a Latin tradition that rendered such snakes as regulus or basilisk.
- How it drifted
The Latin Vulgate rendered this snake word as regulus ("little king," the basilisk). Medieval and Renaissance English equated the basilisk with the "cockatrice," a fabulous creature hatched from a cock's egg whose glance could kill. Older English Bibles inherited that word.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Isaiah 11:8: a child puts its hand on the tsiphʿoni's den. Isaiah 59:5: "they hatch vipers' (tsiphʿoni) eggs." Proverbs 23:32: wine "stings like a tsiphʿoni." Jeremiah 8:17: snakes that cannot be charmed.
Where it appears
Proverbs · 1
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Proverbs 23:32 וּֽכְצִפְעֹנִ֥י and like a viper
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
Isaiah · 3
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Isaiah 11:8 צִפְעוֹנִ֔י a viper
The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.
Here: A second kind of deadly snake, probably a viper. The same word appears in Isa 14:29, 59:5, Jer 8:17 and Prov 23:32 ('stings like a viper'). It is a real, everyday danger, not a creature of legend.
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Isaiah 14:29 צֶ֔פַע a viper
Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.
Here: A venomous snake, more dangerous than the plain "snake." This is the second step up.
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Isaiah 59:5 צִפְעוֹנִי֙ a viper
They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
Jeremiah · 1
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Jeremiah 8:17 צִפְעֹנִ֔ים vipers
“For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.