Nehushtan

Moses lifts up the brass snake, curing the Israelites of snake bites. Hezekiah called the snake Nehushtan.

The Nehushtan (or Nehustan, Hebrew: נחושתן or נחש הנחושת) is a sacred object in the form of a bronze snake upon a pole. It is most well known for its mention in the Bible where it was used by Moses to save the Israelites from snake bites. The Bible also records that it was worshipped for a period of time in the Kingdom of Judah and incense was offered to it. It was therefore destroyed by King Hezekiah as idolatrous.

Origin

According to sources, in the Torah, the creation of a bronze snake (the Nehustan) is attributed to Moses. The story of the copper serpent Nehushtan, as described in Numbers xxi. 5-9, may safely be given the authorship from the writing which gives the sanction of Moses to this image.^[1] The story states that the Israelites were complaining about their problems in the desert somewhere near Punon. God, angered at their lack of faith and ungratefulness, sent poisonous snakes among them as punishment. It then goes on to describe Moses, who had prayed in order to intercede on their behalf, being told by God to make a brass snake so that the Israelites merely had to look upon it to be cured from the snake bites. (Numbers 21:4–9) The Book of Numbers provides an origin for an archaic bronze serpent associated with Moses, with the following account:

The documentary hypothesis attributes these passages to the Elohist source recounting a folk tradition concerning a northern cult object.

A bronze serpent has been found by archaeologists associated with Midianite ware at the ruins of Seti II's temple to Hathor at Timna in Edomite Seir^[2].

Destruction

in 1508 Michelangelo Buonarroti, commissioned by Pope Julius II, painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel an image of the plague of serpents sent upon the Israelites and their deliverance by the creation of the bronze serpent.

Nehushtan was possibly set up in Jerusalem by Ahaz.^[3] However, the Bible says that King Hezekiah instituted a religious iconoclastic reform and destroyed the Nehustan. The destruction of the Nehustan was encouraged by the priests of the first temple who favoured a centralised monotheistic religion and did not entertain other religious places. The name "Nehushtan" may indicate the Hezekiah meant to disparage the image as a brazen thing, a mere piece of brass (2 Kings 18:4). This, however, may be a subtle play on words: heb. נחש (nachash) means serpent while נחשת (nachoshet) means brass or bronze.

When the young reforming king came to the throne of Judah in the late 8th century BC:

"He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan." 2 Kings 18:4.^[4]

An 18th-century Protestant image: The Brazen Serpent, by Benjamin West; among the overthrown, an unmistakable reference to the Laocoön

The dual -an ending perhaps signifies that the idol was actually of two snakes upon the pole, leading some to see a similarity with the familiar entwined snakes on the staff that survived in Hermes' caduceus and the single snake on the Rod of Asclepius.

According to historical criticism, the destruction would have been a blow to those originally from the northern kingdom, where Moses was considered a hero. Many who greatly respected Moses' heroism and cherished Hebrew history and tradition regarded Hezekiah's destruction of the bronze serpent, through which their God Yahweh performed a saving miracle, as an attack on the unique history and heritage of the Hebrews. ^{[citation needed]} They felt that idolatry and incense burning to the bronze serpent could have been deterred without destroying it.

The Aaronid priesthood reacted differently toward the bronze serpent's destruction. The Aaronid priests, seeing the bronze serpent as a constant reminder of Moses' ascendency over Aaron, were not unhappy at its destruction ^{[citation needed]}. Archaeological excavations at Midianite sites such as Timna have unearthed copper statues of serpents. Whether these were cult objects similar to the Nehushtan is unknown.

It has also been suggested that Hezekiah's destruction of the Nehushtan was a result of the balance of power moving towards Assyria, who permitted him to remain on the throne of Judah as a puppet ruler. Hezekiah demonstrated his loyalty to the new regime by the destruction of an important symbol with Egyptian associations.^[5]

Nehushtan in Milano

Some believe that Hezekiah did not destroy Nehushtan.^{[citation needed]} At one of the most ancient churches in Italy, there allegedly exists the relic of Moses. According to the parishioners, Nehustan sits today in the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio. In 1000 A.D., Archbishop Arnolfo is said to have brought it to Milan, Italy. The object is located on top of a column on the left side of the central nave. It has reportedly been attributed with healing powers and a role in Judgment Day.^{[citation needed]}

Significance to Christianity

In the Bible Jesus compared His own person and the crucifixion to Nehushtan, probably to show how he would sacrifice Himself for the world. Referring to his forthcoming crucifixion, Jesus said "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:14-15). Amongst conservative Christians and Jews, the healing is not attributed to the snake itself. The snake is thought to have been a representation of the punishment and the repentance of the Children of Israel.

Hezekiah destroyed the brazen serpent, calling it Nehushtan, or a lump of brass. From this it was argued that the rulers in Church and State have authority to prohibit, in the public worship of God, the use of things that have been abused to Idolatry.^[6]

Miscellaneous

Nehushtan also played a role in one of Tim LaHaye's latest books, Babylon Rising, a story about a modern-day archaeologist who sets out to search for the three long-forgotten pieces of the snake.

See also

Moses

Moses in rabbinic literature, Moses

Lists

List of Biblical names

Religious

Ark of the Covenant, Idolatry, Ophites, Seraphim

Other

Caduceus, Rod of Asclepius, Serpent symbolism, Uraeus

External references

Citations

1. ^ Sharpe, S. (1890). The history of the Hebrew nation and its literature: with an appendix on the Hebrew chronology. London: Williams and Norgate. Page 157.
2. ^ Magnusson, Magnus, "Archaeology of the Bible Lands" (BBC Books)
3. ^ Sharpe, S. (1890). The history of the Hebrew nation and its literature: with an appendix on the Hebrew chronology. London: Williams and Norgate. Pages 170.
4. ^ Hastings, J., Selbie, J. A., Davidson, A. B., Driver, S. R., & Swete, H. B. (1898). A dictionary of the Bible: dealing with its language, literature, and contents, including the Biblical theology. New York: C. Scribner's sons. Page 510.
5. ^ "The Mystery of the Nechushtan", Hershel Shanks, Biblical Archaeology Review, p58-63, March/April 2007.
6. ^ Hunt, J. (1870). Religious thought in England from the reformation to the end of the last century.

Further reading

• B., L. (1908). What is truth? London: E. Stock. Pages 118 - 131.

Websites

• Naassian". The Mystica.
• Nehushtan: Despising The Grace of God by Gregory S. Neal

Donate to Wikimedia