Bronze Serpent

Excerpt from the Lexham Bible Dictionary, the most advanced Bible dictionary.

A name given to the bronze serpent in 2 Kgs 18:4. Refers to the same bronze serpent that Moses fashioned in the wilderness in order to cure the Israelites from a plague of poisonous snakes.

Lexham Bible Dictionary

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The Lexham Bible Dictionary

Nehushtan

Nehushtan (נְחֻשְׁתָּן‎, nechushtan). A name given to the bronze serpent in 2 Kgs 18:4. Refers to the same bronze serpent that Moses fashioned in the wilderness in order to cure the Israelites from a plague of poisonous snakes.

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary

Serpent, Bronze

SERPENT, BRONZE. Serpent figures crafted from copper alloy or bronze have been found throughout the ANE. Some fine examples have been recovered on plaques with deities or as independent figurines (Yadin et al. 1960:117, pl. 181; Macalister 1912:399, fig. 488; Speiser 1935:111–12, pl. 50; Loud 1948: pl.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible

Bronze Serpent

Bronze Serpent. Piece of sculpture that God commanded Moses to make when the Israelites were being bitten by “fiery serpents” (Nm 21:4–9). The serpents had been sent as a judgment because the people were grumbling against God and against Moses. When the people repented, God ordered the replica made;

Fiery Serpent

Fiery Serpent. Brazen symbol made by Moses on God’s instruction to save the Israelites.Deadly snakes sent by God to punish the Israelites for their rebellious grumblings, many of whom died from the poisonous bites (Nm 21:4–9). Recognizing their sin they cried out to God for deliverance and he instructed

Nehushtan

Nehushtan. Name given to the bronze serpent that Moses made during the wilderness wanderings. At the time of King Hezekiah’s reforms, it was destroyed (2 Kgs 18:4).See Bronze Serpent; Wilderness Wanderings.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised

Nehushtan

Nehushtan nə-hoo̅shʹtän [Heb n^eḥuštān] (2 K. 18:4). Scholars have suggested two possible derivations of this name: (1) from n^eḥōšeṯ, “copper” or “bronze,” with afformative ān; (2) from nāḥāš, “serpent.” (Some scholars point to a play on words with the verb nāḥaš, “practice sorcery”

Tyndale Bible Dictionary

Bronze Serpent, Bronze Snake

BRONZE SERPENT, BRONZE SNAKE Piece of sculpture that God commanded Moses to make when the Israelites were being bitten by “fiery serpents” (Nm 21:4–9). The serpents had been sent as a judgment because the people were grumbling against God and against Moses. When the people repented, God ordered the replica

Fiery Serpent

FIERY SERPENT* Bronze symbol of a snake made by Moses on God’s instruction to save the Israelites.Deadly snakes were sent by God to punish the Israelites for their rebellious grumblings, many of whom died from the poisonous bites (Nm 21:4–9). Recognizing their sin, they cried out to God for deliverance,

Nehushtan

NEHUSHTAN Name given to the bronze serpent that Moses made during the wilderness wanderings. At the time of King Hezekiah’s reforms, it was destroyed (2 Kgs 18:4). See Bronze Serpent, Bronze Snake.

The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated)

Nehushtan

Nehushtan (ni-hoosh´tuhn), the name of the bronze serpent destroyed during the religious reforms of King Hezekiah (715–687/6 bce; 2 Kings 18:4). It most likely stood in the temple court in Jerusalem for the people who assembled there. The account in Num. 21:8–9 states that its form was that of a “poisonous

The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia

Brazen Serpent

BRAZEN SERPENT. During the period of the wilderness wanderings, Israel murmured against the Lord. As a disciplinary measure, God sent “fiery serpents” among them (Num 21:5–9). Probably these were cobras, whose bite produced a burning fever. When the stricken people imploringly turned to Moses, he at

Nehushtan

NEHUSHTAN. The bronze serpent destroyed by King Hezekiah during his reform of the temple worship (2 Kgs 18:4). It had been made by Moses centuries earlier. The name can mean “a piece of bronze” (NASB marg.), and it was probably so named by Hezekiah in contempt. See Brazen Serpent; Animals, IV.30.K.

Serpent, Fiery

SERPENT, FIERY. During Israel’s fortieth year in the wilderness, they journeyed toward the Promised Land in the barren Arabah (between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, Akaba). When they complained about the food and water, God sent a plague of fiery serpents so that many Israelites died (Num 21:8; Deut

The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition

Serpent, Bronze

SERPENT, BRONZE. On the borders of Edom, rebellious Israel suffered deadly snakebite as a punishment and begged Moses to intercede with God for them, to save them from the serpents. God then commanded Moses to make a bronze figure of a serpent and set it up on a pole, so that anyone bitten by a serpent

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible

Nehushtan

Nehushtan (Heb. nĕḥuštān)A proper name or a pun based on Heb. nĕḥōšeṯ, “bronze/copper,” and nāḥāš, “serpent” (i.e., “only a bit of brass”; cf. Heb. “serpent of bronze,” Num. 21:9). Such crafted creatures were common in the ancient Near East. During Hezekiah’s reforms aimed at the removal

Eerdmans Bible Dictionary

Bronze Serpent

Bronze Serpent. When at the end of their wilderness wanderings the Israelites became impatient about their daily provisions and complained to Moses and the Lord (Num. 21:5), the Lord punished them by sending fiery serpents by whose poisonous bites many died (v. 6). Listening to their request, and at

Nehushtan

Nehushtan [nə hŏoshˊtən] (Heb. n^eḥuštān “made of copper”). The bronze serpent destroyed during Hezekiah’s reform (2 Kgs. 18:4). It had been fashioned by Moses at Yahweh’s command, in response to a plague of fiery serpents sent upon the Israelites as punishment for their impatience during the wilderness

Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible

Nehushtan

NEHUSHTAN נחשׁתןI. The word nĕḥuštān occurs once in MT, in 2 Kgs 18:4, where it is the name of the bronze (or copper) serpent (nĕḥaš hannĕḥōšet) that →Moses had made in the wilderness (as related in Num 21:8–9) and that King Hezekiah destroyed. The word is a compound of *nuḥušt (Hebrew

Catholic Bible Dictionary

Bronze Serpent

BRONZE SERPENT A bronze image, made to look like a serpent, constructed by Moses at the command of God. According to Num 21:4–9, the bronze image was hoisted up on a tree, and when those who were bitten by fiery serpents in the desert looked at the bronze serpent they were cured. The serpent became a

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