Nachash

Gnosticism became a significant heresy in the church of the second century. Its false, dualistic spirituality created a theological justification for blaming the God of the Old Testament for evil because He had created matter. One group of Gnostics was the Ophites (ophis means serpent).

The Ophites regarded the Jehovah of the Old Testament as the source of man’s spiritual life. However, they saw the prohibition against eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Eden as intended to keep man from true gnosis (knowledge) and confined to a material realm. In other words, they believed Satan was telling the truth and that challenging the Creator-God as per his suggestion was the source of true gnosis. The serpent was seen as the liberator of mankind! The worst characters of the Old Testament were held in high esteem as those who understood the true struggle. Jesus was said to be the agent of Jehovah, so some Ophites required members to curse Jesus Christ.

These Ophites saw the betrayal by Judas as done with the best of motives. One group, called Cainites, developed a spurious gospel called “The Gospel of Judas.” Referred to by Irenaeus in the second century, it was long lost until a later Coptic (Egyptian) copy was found and published in 2006. In December of 2006 U.S. News and World Report had a cover story that heaped sympathy on the ancient Gnostics, which it called “the other Christians” who had been harshly denounced by the orthodox.

Over the course of the last week or so, I was able to garner some basic information concerning various tribes that were mentioned in the scriptures. Tribes such as the Anakim, Emim, Zamzummim, Zophim, and the Zuzim. You’ll find these various posts in the navigation area.

What all these tribes have in common is that they are the physical seed of the Nehpilim, and that they were slated for destruction by God, as commanded to Joshuah, upon entering the promised land. They were all “devoted to destruction.”

Jos 6:21 Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

The nephilim were the offspring of the union of the Sons of God and earthly women, who were later (after the flood) shiddim or demons, and these giant clans were descendants of the nephilim, and demonic by nature. In order to avoid any possible contamination of the messianic blood line, all of these clans were “devoted to destruction.”

Isaiah 27:1

(ASV) In that day Jehovah with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.

(BBE) In that day the Lord, with his great and strong and cruel sword, will send punishment on Leviathan, the quick-moving snake, and on Leviathan, the twisted snake; and he will put to death the dragon which is in the sea.

(Bishops) In that day the Lord with his sore, great, and mightie sworde, shall visite Leuiathan the fugitiue serpent, euen Leuiathan that crooked serpent, and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

(CEV) On that day, Leviathan, the sea monster, will squirm and try to escape, but the LORD will kill him with a cruel, sharp sword.

(Darby) In that day Jehovah, with his sore and great and strong sword, will visit leviathan the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.

(DRB) In that day the Lord with his hard, and great, and strong sword shall visit leviathan the bar serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent, and shall slay the whale that is in the sea.

(ESV) In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

(Geneva) In that day the Lorde with his sore and great and mightie sword shall visite Liuiathan, that pearcing serpent, euen Liuiathan, that crooked serpent, and he shal slay the dragon that is in the sea.

(GLB) Zu der Zeit wird der HERR heimsuchen mit seinem harten, großen und starken Schwert beide, den Leviathan, der eine flüchtige Schlange, und den Leviathan, der eine gewundene Schlange ist, und wird den Drachen im Meer erwürgen.

(GNB) On that day the LORD will use his powerful and deadly sword to punish Leviathan, that wriggling, twisting dragon, and to kill the monster that lives in the sea.

(GW) On that day the LORD will use his fierce and powerful sword to punish Leviathan, that slippery snake, Leviathan, that twisting snake. He will kill that monster which lives in the sea.

(HOT+) ביום3117 ההוא1931 יפקד6485 יהוה3068 בחרבו2719 הקשׁה7186 והגדולה1419 והחזקה2389 על5921 לויתן3882 נחשׁ5175 ברח1281 ועל5921 לויתן3882 נחשׁ5175 עקלתון6129 והרג2026 את853 התנין8577 אשׁר834 בים׃3220

(JPS) In that day the LORD with His sore and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the slant serpent, and leviathan the tortuous serpent; and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

(KJV) In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

(KJV+) In that1931 day3117 the LORD3068 with his sore7186 and great1419 and strong2389 sword2719 shall punish6485, 5921 leviathan3882 the piercing1281 serpent,5175 even leviathan3882 that crooked6129 serpent;5175 and he shall slay2026 (853) the dragon8577 that834 is in the sea.3220

(KJV-1611) In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sworde shall punish Leuiathan the piercing serpent, euen Leuiathan that crooked serpent, and hee shall slay the dragon that is in the Sea.

(KJVA) In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

(KJVR) In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

(LITV) In that day Jehovah shall visit the sea monster, the darting serpent, with His great and fierce and strong sword; even on the sea monster, the twisting serpent; and He shall slay the monster that is in the sea.

(LXX) Τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐπάξει ὁ θεὸς τὴν μάχαιραν τὴν ἁγίαν καὶ τὴν μεγάλην καὶ τὴν ἰσχυρὰν ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα ὄφιν φεύγοντα, ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα ὄφιν σκολιὸν καὶ ἀνελεῖ τὸν δράκοντα.

(MKJV) In that day Jehovah with His great and fierce and strong sword shall punish the sea-monster, the darting serpent, the sea-monster, that twisting serpent; and He shall kill the monster in the sea.

(RV) In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

(Vulgate) in die illo visitabit Dominus in gladio suo duro et grandi et forti super Leviathan serpentem vectem et super Leviathan serpentem tortuosum et occidet cetum qui in mari est

(Webster) In that day the LORD with his keen and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

(YLT) In that day lay a charge doth Jehovah, With his sword–the sharp, and the great, and the strong, On leviathan–a fleeing serpent, And on leviathan–a crooked serpent, And He hath slain the dragon that is in the sea.

ZOPHIM. This place-name comes from Heb. ṣōp̱ı̂m, ‘watchers’. The location of ‘the field of the watchers’ (Nu. 23:14, av) is difficult to determine. It must have been on a high part of the Pisgah Mts, from which Balaam could see the encampment of the Israelites at Shittim. Some propose to take the Heb. śāḏeh here in the meaning of the Akkad. šâdû ‘mountain’ (‘the mountain of the watchers’). The word ‘watcher’ is sometimes used in the sense of prophet (cf. Is. 52:8; 56:10) and is thus especially applicable to Balaam (cf. Ramathaim-zophim; Ramah, 1 Sa. 1:1).