The Dragon Stone

Introduction

This essay is an overview of the major themes of dragons and serpents in the Bible. For the purposes of this essay, dragons and snakes are considered to be virtually one and the same. In many of the Biblical contexts, the two species are interchangeable (and will appear as different creatures in different translations of the Bible). This is hardly surprising as in many cultures snakes and dragons are interchangeable and share the same symbolism. There are a few differences though. Dragons did not seem to share the punishment of the snake in the garden of Eden (Gen 3:13-15)¹. Biblical dragons are water dwelling, sometimes with legs, so evidently do not crawl on their belly. They swim or walk. This fact does not seem to have a great effect on the later symbolism. Also, snakes are venomous, whereas dragons are not attributed as having venom. This leads to more snake metaphors involving biting. However, as a general rule, snakes and dragons appear more on a sliding scale of snakeness versus draconity rather than solely one or the other.

Power

The major appearances of a dragon relate to Leviathan². This dragon appears to be a huge sea-dwelling creature with possible associations with crocodiles.

Leviathan is an exceptionally powerful creature, but is not described as evil at any point in the Bible. In Job, God uses Leviathan as an example of the weakness of humans; humans can never hope to defeat a creature as powerful as Leviathan (Job 41:1-34). This symbolism of an undefeatable monster appears to have been extended to describe Egypt. At one point God is described as defeating Leviathan (Psalms 74:13-24). This is repeated again later except that the monster being defeated is Egypt (Ezekiel 29:3-5). Possibly the earlier account of God defeating Leviathan is also the metaphor of Egypt's defeat.

Justice

There are some species of snake which have their own specific symbolism. The one which appears most in the Bible is the viper. The viper is a bringer of justice (Gen 49:16-17). The theme of the viper appears in both old and new testaments. In the new testament, Paul is bitten by a viper. The watchers assume he has committed a terrible crime and will die. When he does not die it is considered he must be innocent or the viper's venom would have killed him (Acts 28:3-5). The idea of venom bringing justice is extended to becoming drunk. Alcohol is symbolised by the venom and the bad after effects the punishment (Deut 32:33; Proverbs 23:32).

Healing

Serpents of healing are common in many cultures, such as the serpents of Asclepios, the Greek god of healing. In the Bible, there is one major appearance of a healing serpent.When the Israelites are being bitten by snakes, Moses makes a bronze snake. When the Israelites look at this snake, God heals their bites (Num 21:6-9). This snake has the additional symbolism of being made of bronze, a symbol of strength.

One thing that differentiates this healing snake to most cultures is that the snake is not what causes the healing. The Bible is very clear that it is God healing the people, not the snake. This can be attributed to the strong beliefs against idols among the Jews (and later the Christians).

Evil and the Devil

The first appearance of the Devil as a dragon or serpent is in the book of Revelation (Rev 12:3-4). Revelation is full of unusual creatures which symbolise the devil and evil works. Scorpions, cats and bizarre hybrids are just a few. The symbolic dragons have many heads and wear crowns (Rev 12:3-4). There is little to connect them to older Biblical dragons.

One of the most widely known stories is that of the serpent in the garden of Eden. The serpent tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit (Gen 3:1-5) and so is punished to crawl on its belly for the rest of its days (Gen 3:13-15). Some say that this serpent is a metaphor for the Devil. The fact that the Devil does not crawl on his belly suggests that it really was a snake in the story. Also there are signs of the serpent being forgiven in the future; serpents appear in the New Heaven and New Earth after judgment has come (Isa 65:25). The Devil on the other hand is not attributed with being forgiven in any way.

Conclusions

It is considered 'general knowledge' that the Bible portrays dragons and serpents in a very negative way. For someone who had read Genesis and then the New Testament, this would seem an accurate conclusion. However, taking the Bible as a whole, the portrayal is not so negative. Themes such as the viper bringing justice and the dragon symbolising strength are far more common than the dragon symbolising the Devil. The portrayal of dragons and serpents is as variable as the appearance of Angels (who appear in both good and evil roles).

If this is true, why has such a negative opinion of dragons and serpents arisen? Possibly this is because of the emphasis of the stories. The serpent in the garden of Eden is right at the beginning, making it is a very prominent story. Another aspect is the power of imagery. The strength symbolism of dragons can make them seem very frightening. Leviathan was too powerful for humans to subdue which must have seemed like a great threat. It is easy imagine why the early Church would have chosen such as powerful and vivid symbol to represent evil things.

Further Reading in The Dragon Stone

1 - Biblical references are from the NIV (New International Version) Bible. All dragon and serpent references can be found in the Dragon and Serpent Bible Quotations reference list.

2 - African Dragons - Leviathan