Why this story matters

(commentary on Numbers 20-21)

(Page 4 of 4)

A medical explanation

It may be difficult for conservative Christians today to accept that a serpent wrapped around a pole would have healing power, but it wasn't difficult or unusual for people of that time. In the article, The Magic Wands of Medicine, Anna Hinek and Rich Backstein offer a more rational explanation:

In ancient times parasitic infections involving the worm Dracunculus medinensis or "the fiery serpent” were common. In order to extract the parasite from the patient’s body, doctors would cut the victim’s skin just in front of the worm’s path and as the parasite crawled out they would wind it around a stick a few segments at a time until it was completely removed. It is believed that this parasitic infection was so common that physicians advertised their technique by means of a sign depicting a worm wound around a stick.

Now that makes more sense. And, of course, the idea of a using the symbol of a worm or snake wrapped around a stick to symbolize healing is still common today. 

The symbol in medicine

People will be familiar with a symbol taken from Greek mythology. It's known as the  staff of Aesculapius. Aesculapius was the god of healing. His staff came to be widely used as a symbol of medicine and can be seen on emblems like that of the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association. Some organizations, like the US Army Medical Corps, have used a similar symbol called the caduceus, which has two snakes wrapped around the pole. But this is actually the magic wand of another Greek god, Hermes. He is said to have stopped two snakes from fighting by throwing his staff between them. Hermes was, in fact, the protector of merchants and thieves. The origin of the double snake as s symbol of medicine is dubious, but it may refer to the Sumerian god Ningishzida, the god of healing.

Conclusion

For Middle and Far East cultures of the time, the serpent was a symbol of wisdom, healing, and long life. The association with wisdom is also shown in the Bible. In the garden of Eden, the serpent convinces Eve that if she bites the apple she will gain wisdom, knowing good and evil: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it” (Genesis 3:6). The serpent also symbolized healing because of its ability to renew itself when it shed its skin. It’s easy to see, then, why the author of Numbers thought it perfectly reasonable to have Moses construct a symbolic snake to cure the people’s snake bites. The author wouldn't have foreseen the confusion this would cause among those trying to maintain certain rigid beliefs about the Christian god. From an anthropological perspective, the story is quite intriguing. From a 21st Century Christian perspective, it's a nightmare.

END OF COMMENTARY

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