The Punishment of the Serpent
Genesis 3:14-15
The serpent’s punishment has three aspects: (1) consignment to crawling on its belly, (2) the eating of dust “all the days of your life” (v. 14), and (3) its ultimate destruction by the wounded “seed” of the woman (v. 15). Several elements in the oracle echo the temptation (3:1–5). “Cursed” (ʾārûr) is another wordplay on the earlier “crafty” (ʿārûm; cf. 3:1). Both verses describe the serpent’s distinction within the animal world. Ill-use of his shrewdness resulted in divine censure. “Eating” dust reflects Eve’s temptation to “eat” of the tree and the couple’s subsequent fall by eating.
Also the retaliation of the woman’s seed over against the viper’s offspring (v. 15) answers the snake’s first triumph. His triumph will not be the last word.
These punishments are related to the snake’s life of humiliation and subjugation in the natural world. God’s condemnation is not directed against the reptile per se but the adversary that it represents. While some Jewish interpreters surmised that the serpent must have originally been four-legged, there is no compelling reason for this conclusion. It is enough to describe the present characteristics of the snake, which indicate by themselves the disgrace of the beast. As mentioned earlier (v. 1), the food laws of the Mosaic covenant declare that animals whose locomotion is on the ground are abhorred as unclean and to be avoided (Lev 11:42).
Eating dust is a common figure for personal humiliation elsewhere in Scripture. Moreover, by “dust” there is an anticipation of God’s pronouncement of Adam’s death (3:19). The reptile is responsible for the demise of the man, who returns to the “dust,” and as the serpent’s diet it will be a perpetual reminder of its crime. “All the days of your life” speaks to the ultimate end of the serpent and its offspring. “Your life” (ḥayyêkâ) may be an allusion to the snake’s false promise, “You will surely not die” (v. 4), made to Eve, who ironically is later recognized as the source of “all the living” (ḥay; 3:20). Hence, the snake brought about his own death by his treachery, but ultimately Eve through her seed will outlive her adversary.
Mathews, K. A. Genesis 1-11:26. Vol. 1A. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996. Print. The New American Commentary.
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