The snake in the Garden of Eden is often believed to be Lucifer, AKA the devil. This is because the snake in the Garden of Eden is referred to as satan. You’ll notice I did not capitalize satan. This is because it is a general Hebrew term meaning enemy or opposer. It is not a proper name, rather a description. The snake in the Garden of Eden was an opposer and therefore an enemy.
The snake in the Garden of Eden opposed God keeping knowledge from Adam and Eve. By tempting Eve, the snake in the Garden of Eden became the enemy of God. Or, perhaps the snake in the Garden of Eden was ALREADY an enemy of God. Who was this snake, this enemy, this satan?
Biblical History
To answer that question requires a bit of research into biblical texts. For starters, the history of The Holy Bible. Today one of the most commonly found publications of this ancient sacred tomb is that of The King James version. If this is the version, you are most familiar with it may shock you to learn that it is severely lacking in content compared to its predecessors.
Over the years many versions of the Bible have been transcribed. There have also been numerous translations and, due to some language barriers, mistranslations. The biblical text has been translated from Hebrew to Latin to English. Entire chapters have been removed or redacted to fit the religious or political agendas of the time.
Without delving too deeply into all the many translations, adaptations, and motives the biblical text has endured throughout the ages suffice to say some of the original has been lost and/or forgotten. Many outside of the Hebrew community are unaware that before Eve, Adam had another wife named Lilith. This is who I believe was most likely the snake in the Garden of Eden.
The Seraphim
Due to a lack of surviving text, some of her story is a bit unclear. Lilith is described as being one of the Seraphim, yet she is also said to have been made from the same clay as Adam. This is conflicting due to the fact that the Seraphim were not constructed of clay. They were higher beings.
Lucifer is most often considered one of the Seraphim, but at least in one text referred to as a “beloved cherub”. Samael was said to be of the highest order above the Seraphim before his fall. He may have Seraphiel, the Prince of the Seraphim and for this argument let’s go with that.
The Seraphim are celestial beings described as being made of light and fire. In biblical texts there are different beings before humans, some celestial and some spiritual, of different rankings. Celestial (coming from the sky) is most often interpreted as angels, which makes the Seraphim the highest-ranking angels. The term seraph also often refers to snakes or in some cases to the Seraphim. They are also considered to be wise, unbiased, and even ‘above God’. They are among the highest ranking of angels along with Cherubs.
Unlike the Cherubs who were infatuated with God and worshipped him, the Seraphim had free will and God could not control them. This is important. Both Lucifer and Samael opposed God and sided with humans. They were both Seraphim and both wanted humans to have free will and knowledge. Both were also later referred to as satan, for having become enemies of God.
Lilith in the Garden of Eden
The snake in the Garden of Eden is never specifically named, only referred to as satan. The story of the snake in the Garden of Eden takes place before either Lucifer or Samael opposed God. Remember, both did so on behalf of humans long after Adam and Eve had been banished from Eden. However, Lilith’s story takes place before the creation of Eve and is the reason why Eve was created from Adam.
Since Lilith had free will, be it due to having been created equal to Adam from the same clay or having been one of the Seraphim, God could not command and control her. When he ordered her to kneel before Adam she refused. Lilith saw herself as equal to her husband and would not be subservient. God sent angels to negotiate with her three times, but they were unable to convince her.
For her refusal to be subservient to her husband Lilith was banished from Eden. She and her descendants were condemned by God. It is said that she became a monster. She is also accused of crimes against mothers and infants. However, these stories came about later. Originally, she was banished and condemned and did not appear in biblical text again until much later.
When she did appear again it was as the wife of Samael, the Prince of the Seraphim. For her to be the wife the Prince of the Seraphim suggests that she too was in fact one of the Seraphim. This would explain her free will and why she refused to put herself beneath Adam. Remember Lucifer was also one of the Seraphim. He also refused to kneel before Adam when God ordered him to stating that Adam was made of clay while he (Lucifer) was made of light and fire.
Goddesses and Independent Women
I said earlier that some biblical text was adapted to the agendas of certain time periods. One reason for why Lilith was either omitted entirely or became known as a harper or monster that harmed women and infants was likely due to husbands asserting dominance over their wives.
Biblical texts has been used for centuries as a means for men to control and subjugate women. Lilith has been making a comeback in modern times as more people learn of her history. She is now starting to be seen as a strong independent woman who refused to submit. I mention this because I do think she may have been exactly that.
If the biblical texts are historically accurate representations of interactions between people of ancient times, she may have been a woman who stood her ground. Even if she was merely a fictional character created as part of a religious mythology, she may have been created to represent an ideology. That ideology being that women should be subservient to their husbands or face condemnation by God. If Lilith were a monster, she would not have become the wife of the prince of the Seraphim. However, that is another debate entirely.
The Snake in the Garden of Eden
Regardless of whether Lilith herself actually existed, her story did. Although her initial story of her refusal to submit to Adam was omitted from later versions of the Bible, her appearance as Samael’s wife remains. If she was Adam’s first wife, she is the most likely candidate to be the snake in the Garden of Eden, the first opposer/enemy, the first satan.
In ancient cultures snakes almost always represented beautiful, strong, wise, mother deities. So Lilith may have chosen to take the form of a snake to infiltrate the Garden of Eden. This may also be the reason for why the term seraph became associated with snakes, especially after other Seraphim opposed God. Lilith may have been the first.
Some interpreted the snake approaching Eve to mean that Eve was weaker than, and inferior to, Adam. However, if the snake in the Garden of Eden was Lilith, she may have simply been trying to free Eve from God’s control. Eve in turn freed Adam. Remember knowledge is power. Perhaps Eve never consumed a fruit, but instead learned from Lilith and obtained forbidden knowledge which she then shared with Adam.
Satan
Once Eve and Adam obtained awareness and understanding, God could no longer control them. Perhaps Lilith gifted them with free will by awakening their awareness and inciting their curiosity with knowledge. This is what Lucifer and Samael did later on, gave humans forbidden knowledge. They became opposers/enemies of God because they disagreed with God wanting to keep humans ignorant and enslaved.
Lilith may have simply been the first to oppose God and become his enemy. She may have been the mother of the Seraphim, the Bible’s version of the mother snake goddess revered in so many ancient cultures, and the being who gave humanity awareness, free will, and defiance. Perhaps we will learn more about her as scientists work to safely uncover the texts of the dead sea scrolls.
Thanks for readin all the way to the end! If you like this blog check out my epic poem telling Lilith’s story from her perspective. https://alienanatomytheorycrafting.com/the-new-epic-poem-i-am-lilith-special-release/
For additional biblical reference on the term seraph visit https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/serpents-and-seraphim/
