Proverbs 23:32 - Exposition

At the last it biteth like a serpent. Wine is like the subtle poison of a serpent, which affects the whole body, and produces the most fatal consequences (comp. Ecclesiasticus 21:2). Nachash is the generic name for any of the larger tribe of snakes ( Genesis 3:1 , etc.); the poisonous nature of its bite was, of course, well known ( Numbers 21:9 ). Stingeth like an adder. The Hebrew word is tsiphoni , which is usually rendered "cockatrice" in the Authorized Version, hut the particular species intended has not been accurately identified. There was some confusion in men's minds as to the organ which inflicted the poisonous wound. Thus a psalmist says, "They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent" ( Psalms 140:3 ). But the verb "sting" is to be taken in the sense of puncturing, making a wound. Vulgate, Sicut regulus venena diffundet, "It will diffuse its poison like a basilisk:" Septuagint, "But at the last he stretches himself like one stricken by a serpent, and the venom is diffused through him as by a horned snake ( κεράστου ) . "