When the Israelites complain in Numbers 21, God sends נחשים שרפים as agents of judgment (v. 6). Usually translated “fiery serpents,” the Hebrew terms here seem to blur the line with angel-like creatures, as seraphim also means burning ones. This paper will explore the relationship between snakes, humans, and seraphim in this passage. The Old Testament holds a tension between positive and negative views of snakes and serpents. The snakes in Numbers 21 listened to God and acted as his agents, in contrast to Genesis 3, where the serpent is acting against God. Snakes bite (נשׁך) the people in Numbers 21, a word play on the word for serpent (נחשׁ), and the people beg God to take them away. This passage is filled with sibilants and word-plays, highlighting the connections between serpents and seraphs.
In the law, God had made very clear that the people were not to make any images of any created thing, and yet here he tells Moses to make a שׂרף, without the word נחשׁ, perhaps hinting again at a snake/angel creature (v. 8). Many other passages in the Old Testament connect serpents with supernatural creatures (cf. Isa 27:1; Job 26:13). Moses then makes a נחשת נחשׁ (“bronze serpent”), with a further play on words (v. 9). Thus, if a serpent (נחשׁ) had bitten (נשׁך) and the people looked (נבט) at the bronze serpent נחשת נחש, then they would live. The snake moved from a figure of judgment to a figure of salvation. The people even then choose to worship the bronze serpent, calling it Nehushtan, further hinting at the supernatural connections they saw in it (2 Kgs 18:4). Ultimately, Jesus compares himself to the serpent in John 3:14, in order to describe his substitutionary role in salvation.