VIPER
Translation of two Hebrew terms. and one Gr., possibly designating two classes of poisonous snakes (Heb. “sh’phiphon”, “eph’eh”; Gr. “echidna”).
(a) «Sh’phiphon» (creeping). It is probably the cerasta viper, the horned snake of the sands of Arabia and Egypt. It was considered a sacred animal in Thebes (cf. Herodotus 2:74).
It is a dangerous viper, with a length between 0.90 and 1.80 m, gray in color. It has a horn above each eye; hides under the sand. It is possible that this is the snake that Jacob was referring to, which, by biting the horse’s heels, causes the rider to fall back (Gen. 49:17).
(b) “Eph’eh” (hissing), poisonous serpent inhabiting the lands of the south (Negev) (Jb. 20:16; Is. 30:6). It is not known with certainty what species of snake the text refers to.
In Is. 11:8 it appears in the King James Version, and the term “pethen” is translated as viper (see SERPENT). (c) Gr. “echidna”, a poisonous reptile found on the island of Malta (Acts 28:3).
This snake, well known to the Jews (Mt. 3:7), was undoubtedly the common viper (“Vipera communis” or “Pelias berus”), widespread along the Mediterranean coast. The term “viper” is used in the NT to denote evil people.
John the Baptist called the crowd of Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his baptism a “brood of vipers” (Mt. 3:7), and the Lord Jesus applied the same epithet to the scribes and Pharisees, thereby denoting the deadly character of their opposition (Mt. 12:34; 23:33).
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