Another thing I noticed about the human-animal relationship that goes along with what you describe here is in Gen. 3:1 and 3:7. There's a wordplay on עָר֔וּם, "aroom" (describing the serpent) and עֵֽירֻמִּ֖ם, "ayromim" describing the humans after they eat from the tree.
With these words, the serpent is described in English translation as "shrewd" and the humans as "naked." A quick visit to Brown-Driver Briggs indicates that as similar as these two words sound, they indeed indicate different things. I think a Hebrew reader would recognize these descriptive words as wordplay, though, especially in such proximity within the same story.
So I think what the text says is that serpents and humans are similar -- both shrewd and more "naked" than other animals, i.e., without a furry covering. This in the context of a story that tells us human positioning in creation is not due to innate qualities but is, rather, conditional!
God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food.
Then in Gen. 3:18, after the humans eat from the Tree of Knowledge, G-d reassigns food like this:
Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you (the ground they till)
But your food shall be the grasses of the field...
It seems to me as though the change in diet shows G-d reminding the humans of their status, which is the same as the status of nonhuman animals, who, in Gen. 31, are assigned food this way:
And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.” And it was so.
With this change, humans are no longer assigned agricultural produce, seed bearing trees and plants ... but the grasses of the field like other animals.
Another thing I noticed about the human-animal relationship that goes along with what you describe here is in Gen. 3:1 and 3:7. There's a wordplay on עָר֔וּם, "aroom" (describing the serpent) and עֵֽירֻמִּ֖ם, "ayromim" describing the humans after they eat from the tree.
With these words, the serpent is described in English translation as "shrewd" and the humans as "naked." A quick visit to Brown-Driver Briggs indicates that as similar as these two words sound, they indeed indicate different things. I think a Hebrew reader would recognize these descriptive words as wordplay, though, especially in such proximity within the same story.
So I think what the text says is that serpents and humans are similar -- both shrewd and more "naked" than other animals, i.e., without a furry covering. This in the context of a story that tells us human positioning in creation is not due to innate qualities but is, rather, conditional!
Two or three years ago when I was working on a post, I noticed something. In Gen. 1:30, G-d assigns food to the humans this way:
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֗ים הִנֵּה֩ נָתַ֨תִּי לָכֶ֜ם אֶת־כׇּל־עֵ֣שֶׂב ׀ זֹרֵ֣עַ זֶ֗רַע אֲשֶׁר֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י כׇל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאֶת־כׇּל־הָעֵ֛ץ אֲשֶׁר־בּ֥וֹ פְרִי־עֵ֖ץ זֹרֵ֣עַ זָ֑רַע לָכֶ֥ם יִֽהְיֶ֖ה לְאׇכְלָֽה׃
God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food.
Then in Gen. 3:18, after the humans eat from the Tree of Knowledge, G-d reassigns food like this:
וְק֥וֹץ וְדַרְדַּ֖ר תַּצְמִ֣יחַֽ לָ֑ךְ וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ אֶת־עֵ֥שֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃
Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you (the ground they till)
But your food shall be the grasses of the field...
It seems to me as though the change in diet shows G-d reminding the humans of their status, which is the same as the status of nonhuman animals, who, in Gen. 31, are assigned food this way:
וּֽלְכׇל־חַיַּ֣ת הָ֠אָ֠רֶץ וּלְכׇל־ע֨וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֜יִם וּלְכֹ֣ל ׀ רוֹמֵ֣שׂ עַל־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ֙ נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֔ה אֶת־כׇּל־יֶ֥רֶק עֵ֖שֶׂב לְאׇכְלָ֑ה וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃
And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.” And it was so.
With this change, humans are no longer assigned agricultural produce, seed bearing trees and plants ... but the grasses of the field like other animals.
Love your posts! So interesting and well-written!
I’ll add my thanks to the wise king.