Genesis 3:1

Who was the tempter? Among evangelicals there are two major views regarding the identity of the serpent.

It was a literal snake.

a. Moses called it a beast of the field (Genesis 3:1).

b. Though snakes do not speak, Satan could have spoken through a snake. He did this through demoniacs in Jesus’ day. Also, a spirit being spoke through Balaam’s donkey (Numbers 22:21-30).

c. God judged a snake in this case (Genesis 3:14). [Note: See Jacqueline Tabick, "The Snake in the Grass: The Problems of Interpreting a Symbol in the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic Writings," Religion 16 (April 1986):155-67, who traced the symbolic use of the snake as a servant of God, a symbol of rebellion against God, and a creature independent of God.]

2. It was Satan himself described here as a snake.

a. God called Satan a serpent elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Revelation 20:2).

b. Satan can and does speak as recorded elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Job 1).

c. What he said here is in character for Satan who is the "father of lies" (John 8:44).

Probably the tempter was Satan who possessed and controlled a literal snake. Temptation came to Eve disguised, unexpectedly, and from a subordinate, as is still often true.

The pattern of temptation observable here is one Satan has used often and still uses (cf. the temptations of Achan, David, and Jesus Christ).

Satan’s first step was to plant a seed of doubt in Eve’s mind concerning God’s ways (Genesis 3:1-3). The key phrase is "from any" (Genesis 3:1). Satan focused Eve’s attention on God’s one prohibition. He suggested that God did not really want what was best for Adam and Eve but rather was withholding something from them that was essentially good. He hinted that God’s line of protection was actually a line that He drew because He was selfish. Satan still tempts women to believe that God’s role for them is primarily for His benefit rather than for their welfare. [Note: Family Life . . ., p. 99.]

The Hebrew word translated "crafty" (’arum) does not mean wicked as much as wise. Eve’s sin was not so much an act of great wickedness as it was an act of great folly. She already had all the good she needed, but she wanted more. She wanted to glorify self, not God.