Inquiry:
Genesis 3:14 reads, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” Snakes, while built low, do not eat dirt. Is there a contradiction?
Response:
The curse spoken of by the Lord in Genesis 3:14 doesn’t condemn the serpent to a life of eating dirt. Though the serpent slithers upon the dirt, and thus could possibly inadvertantly ingest dust, the text bears a more symbolic / figurative meaning. It is a statement signifying the detestable nature and low esteem that the serpent now has. Snakes (for the most part) are branded as disgusting and avoided with horror.
In Micah 7:16-17 we read, “The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might; they shall lay their hands upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth; they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.” Are we to understand that these people will literally eat dust just as serpents literally eat dust? No, rather, they shall be detestable and despised, even as the serpent is (also see Isaiah 65:25).
Years ago, I recall children in school saying from time to time, “Eat dirt!” Literally? No, but the point was understood.
There is no contradiction.
This article is a response to Skeptic’s Annotated Bible, but original article is no longer listed
UPDATE! Thanks to Paul D. Miller who pointed me to Answers In Genesis Ministries, where the writer mentions that snakes do indeed pick up particles of dirt with their tongues, bringing this dirt to what is called “Jacobson’s organ,” which aids the snake in smelling.
Links: YouVersion | GROW magazine
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