A very poisonous snake with a hooded neck.
About Cobra
A poisonous snake mentioned in the Bible. Most biblical references to the asp seem to be to the Egyptian cobra (Naja haje), as in Deuteronomy 32:33. It hides in holes, walls, and rocks. It can expand its neck by raising its front ribs, making its breast flat and disc-shaped. Its potent poison can cause death in 30 minutes. It grows to about two meters (80 inches) long. The fangs are always raised, unlike vipers, which are common in North America. Only the coral snake in America has fangs that are always raised. Cobra poison attacks the nervous system, causing the muscles to become paralyzed.
The Egyptians considered the asp sacred. They viewed it as a protector since it fed on the rodents that ate their crops. The “venomous snakes” in Numbers 21:6 and Deuteronomy 8:15 may have been cobras. The flying serpent in Isaiah 14:29 and 30:6 may refer to the hood of the cobra.
Key References
The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.
“For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.
“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”
All Scripture References (13)
Deuteronomy (1)
Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.
Job (2)
Psalms (2)
refusing to hear the tune of the charmer who skillfully weaves his spell.
You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and serpent.
Proverbs (1)
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
Isaiah (3)
The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.
Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.
They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
Jeremiah (1)
“For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.
Matthew (1)
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
Acts (1)
Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand.
Romans (1)
“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”