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The bronze serpent, a perplexing remedy : an analysis of Num. 21:4-9 in the light of Near Eastern serpent emblems, archaeology and inner Biblical exegesis

In Num. 21: 4-9, after complaining against God, the Israelites were punished with a plague of venomous serpents. Following their apology, God commanded Moses to fashion a bronze serpent and mount it on a standard; the bitten were to look at it to recover. The use of the serpent form is striking, as it seems to boldly negate the fundamental Torah law, which prohibits the use of any images or statues. To gain better insight into the narrative, the first section of this work explores a possible context for it, based on archaeological findings. The second section focuses on the two prominent Egyptian elements contained in the narrative, the serpent and the standard, whose local symbolism is evaluated. The third section explores whether there are ancient Near Eastern parallels for the healing serpent. The narrative, in the fourth section, is examined according to its inner-Biblical interpretation. As the episode is the last of the ten wilderness complaint sequences, each is analyzed for a comprehensive understanding of Num. 21: 4-9; what elements, if any, are unique to it, and might have contributed the narrative's use of this peculiar remedy?

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.82684
Date January 2005
CreatorsBirkan, Amy
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Arts (Department of Jewish Studies.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 002227109, proquestno: AAIMR12698, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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