Our attempt in the January Testimony to explain in simple terms the temptation of our first parents in Eden is freely criticized by an Australian reader, A.R.D.M. He writes: You endow the serpent with “human” intelligence. That, to me, is contrary to Scripture, and is far too superficial, and subject to ridicule. You will certainly say that the Scriptural record plainly states that the serpent and Eve “spoke” to each other, but that does not necessarily mean that the dialogue between them was literal, any more than the record in 2 Kings 14:9 about the “thistle” and the “cedar.”
It is expressly laid down in Ecclesiastes that “beasts” (and that would include reptiles) cannot have any notions whatever of God.
The Hebrew word for “subtil” is arum. It is translated “crafty” twice, and “prudent” eight times in Scripture. The root idea is to be “bare” or “naked.”
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Author: P. H. Adams
Keywords: serpent, Eve and serpent, forbidden fruit, Serpent in Garden of Eden, Serpent tempts Eve, Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Garden of Eden, Eden, Paradise, Garden Paradise, Paradise of God, Garden of God, Garden, Temptation, Temptation of Eve, Eve was tempted by the devil, Eve and the serpent, Eve's temptation, Eve, Eve ate of the fruit, Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, serpent subtile, serpent subtle, serpent's lie, serpent's deception, serpent deceived Eve
Bible reference(s): Gen 3:1-6, Gen 3:13-14, 2 Corinthians 11:3
Source: “Problems: The Serpent Was More Subtil Than Any Beast,” The Testimony, Vol. 20 No. 234, June 1950, pp. 266-7.
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