Adder

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ADDER.—See Serpent.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909

Five times in the Old Testament KJV, and thrice in margin for "cockatrice" (Isa_11:8; Isa_14:29; Isa_59:5 ). Four Hebrew terms stand for it. (1) Akshub, (2) Pethen, (3) Tziphoni, and (4) Shephiphon.
(1) Akshub, ("one that lies in ambush"), swells its skin, and rears its head back for a strike. Psa_140:3 quoted in Rom_3:13, "the poison of asps."
(2) Pethen, Psa_58:4; Psa_91:13, "adder" (compare margin), but elsewhere translated "asp"; from a Hebrew root "to expand the neck." The deadly haje naja, or cobra of Egypt, fond of concealing itself in walls and holes. Serpents are without tympanic cavity and external openings to the ear. The deaf adder is not some particular species; but whereas a serpent's comparative deafness made it more amenable to those sounds it could hear, in some instances it was deaf because it would not hear (Jer_8:17; Ecc_10:11). So David's unrighteous adversaries, though having some little moral sense yet left to which he appeals, yet stifled it, and were unwilling to hearken to the voice of God.
(3) Tziphoni, translated adder only in Pro_23:32; "at the last wine biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder," In Jer_8:17 "cockatrices," from a root "to dart forward and hiss." The Greek basilisk, fierce, deadly; distinct from the "serpent" (Hebrew, nachash), Isa_14:29; oviparous (Isa_59:5); subterranean in habits (Isa_11:8).
(4) Shephiphon, from a root "to creep"; Jacob's image of Dan (Gen_49:17), lurking on the road, and biting at the horses' heels; the Coluber cerastes, a small and very venomous snake of Egypt. The charmers, by a particular pressure on the neck, can inflate the animal so that the serpent becomes rigid, and can be held out horizontally as a rod. The Egyptian magicians perhaps thus used the haje species as their rod, and restored life to it by throwing it down; at least, so the serpent charmers do at the present day. Shrill sounds, as the flute, are what serpents can best discern, for their hearing is imperfect. Music charms the naja (cobra di capello, hooded snake) and the cerastes (horned viper). Moses' really transformed rod swallowed their pretended rod, or serpent, so conquering the symbol of Egypt's protecting deity. That the naja haie was the "fiery serpent," or serpent inflicting a burning bite, appears from the name Ras-om-Haye (Cape of the haje serpents) in the locality where the Israelites were bitten (Num_21:6).
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.

Ad'der. This word is used for any poisonous snake, and is applied in this general sense by the translators of the Authorized Version. The word adder occurs five times in the text of the Authorized Version (see below), and three times in the margin as synonymous with cockatrice, namely, Isa_11:8; Isa_14:29; Isa_59:5 It represents four Hebrew words:
1. Acshub is found only in Psa_140:3 and may be represented by the Toxicoa of Egypt and North Africa.
2. Pethen. See Asp.
3. Tsepha, or Tsiphoni, occurs five times in the Hebrew Bible. In Pro_23:32 it is it is translated adder, and in Isa_11:8; Isa_14:29; Isa_59:5; Jer_8:17 it is rendered cockatrice. From Jeremiah, we learn that it was of a hostile nature, and from the parallelism of Isa_11:8, it appears that the 'Tsiphoni' was considered even more dreadful than the 'Pethen'.
4. Shephipon occurs only in Gen_49:17 where it is used to characterize the tribe of Dan. The habit of lurking in the sand and biting at the horse's heels here alluded to suits the character of a well-known species of venomous snake, and helps to identify it with the celebrated horned viper, the asp of Cleopatra (Cerastes), which is found abundantly in the dry sandy deserts of Egypt, Syria and Arabia. The cerastes is extremely venomous. Bruce compelled a specimen to scratch eighteen pigeons upon the thigh as quickly as possible, and they all died in nearly the same interval of time.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863

a venomous serpent, more usually called the viper. In our translation of the Bible we find the word adder five times; but without sufficient authority from the original.
שפיפון , in Gen_49:17, is probably the cerastes; a serpent of the viper kind, of a light brown colour, which lurks in the sand and the tracks of wheels in the road, and unexpectedly bites not only the unwary traveller, but the legs of horses and other beasts. By comparing the Danites to this artful reptile, the patriarch intimated that by stratagem, more than by open bravery, they should avenge themselves of their enemies and extend their conquests.—פתן , in Psa_58:4; Psa_91:13, signifies an asp. We may perhaps trace to this the Python of the Greeks, and its derivatives. (See Asp.)—עכשוב , found only in Psa_140:3, is derived from a verb which signifies to bend back on itself. The Chaldee Paraphrasts render it עכביש , which we translate elsewhere, spider: they may therefore have understood it to have been the tarantula. It is rendered asp by the Septuagint and Vul gate, and is so taken, Rom_3:13. The name is from the Arabic achasa. But there are several serpents which coil themselves previously to darting on their enemy; if this be a character of the asp, it is not peculiar to that reptile צפע , or צפעני , Pro_23:32; Isa_11:8; Isa_14:29; Isa_59:5; and Jer_8:17, is that deadly serpent called the basilisk, said to kill with its very breath. See COCKATRICE.
In Psa_58:5, reference is made to the effect of musical sounds upon serpents. That they might be rendered tame and harmless by certain charms, or soft and sweet sounds, and trained to delight in music, was an opinion which prevailed very early and universally.
Many ancient authors mention this effect; Virgil speaks of it particularly, AEn. vii, v. 750.
Quin et Marrubia venit de gente sacerdos, Fronde super galeam et felici comptus oliva, Archippi regis missu fortissimus Umbro; Vipereo generi, et graviter spirantibus hydris
Spargere qui somnos cantuque manuque solebat, Mulcebatque tras, et morsus arte levabat.
“Umbro, the brave Marrubian priest, was there, Sent by the Marsian monarch to the war.
The smiling olive with her verdant boughs Shades his bright helmet and adorns his brows; His charms in peace the furious serpent keep; And lull the envenom'd viper's race to sleep: His healing hand allay'd the raging pain,
And at his touch the poisons fled again.” — Pitt.
Mr. Boyle quotes the following passage from Sir H. Blunt's Voyage into the Levant:—
“Many rarities of living creatures I saw in Grand Cairo; but the most ingenious was a nest of serpents, of two feet long, black and ugly, kept by a Frenchman, who, when he came to handle them, would not endure him, but ran and hid in their hole. Then he would
take his cittern and play upon it. They, hearing his music, came all crawling to his feet, and began to climb up him, till he gave over playing, then away they ran.”
The wonderful effect which music produces on the serpent tribes, is confirmed by the testimony of several respectable moderns. Adders swell at the sound of a flute, raising themselves up on the one half of their body, turning themselves round, beating proper time, and following the instrument. Their head, naturally round and long like an eel, becomes broad and flat like a fan. The tame serpents, many of which the orientals keep in their houses, are known to leave their holes in hot weather, at the sound of a musical instrument, and run upon the performer. Dr. Shaw had an opportunity of seeing a number of serpents keep exact time with the Dervishes in their circulatory dances, running over their heads and arms, turning when they turned, and stopping when they stopped. The rattlesnake acknowledges the power of music as much as any of his family; of which the following instance is a decisive proof: When Chateaubriand was in Canada, a snake of that species entered their encampment; a young Canadian, one of the party, who could play on the flute, to divert his associates, advanced against the serpent with his new species of weapon: on the approach of his enemy, the haughty reptile curled himself into a spiral line, flattened his head, inflated his cheeks, contracted his lips, displayed his envenomed fangs, and his bloody throat; his double tongue glowed like two flames of fire; his eyes were burning coals; his body, swollen with rage, rose and fell like the bellows of a forge; his dilated skin assumed a dull and scaly appearance; and his tail, which sounded the denunciation of death, vibrated with so great rapidity as to resemble a light vapour. The Canadian now began to play upon his flute, the serpent started with surprise, and drew back his head. In proportion as he was struck with the magic effect, his eyes lost their fierceness, the oscillations of his tail became slower, and the sound which it emitted became weaker, and gradually died away. Less perpendicular upon their spiral line, the rings of the fascinated serpent were by degrees expanded, and sunk one after another upon the ground, in concentric circles. The shades of azure, green, white, and gold, recovered their brilliancy on his quivering skin, and slightly turning his head, he remained motionless, in the attitude of attention and pleasure. At this moment, the Canadian advanced a few steps, producing with his flute sweet and simple notes. The reptile, inclining his variegated neck, opened a passage with his head through the high grass, and began to creep after the musician, stopping when he stopped, and beginning to follow him again, as soon as he moved forward. In this manner he was led out of their camp, attended by a great number of spectators, both savages and Europeans, who could scarcely believe their eyes, when they beheld this wonderful effect of harmony. The assembly unanimously decreed, that the serpent which had so highly entertained them, should be permitted to escape. Many of them are carried in baskets through Hindostan, and procure a maintenance for a set of people who play a few simple notes on the flute, with which the snakes seem much delighted, and keep time by a graceful motion of the head, erecting about half their length from the ground, and following the music with gentle curves, like the undulating lines of a swan's neck.
But on some serpents, these charms seem to have no power; and it appears from Scripture, that the adder sometimes takes precautions to prevent the fascination which he sees preparing for him: “for the deaf adder shutteth her ear, and will not hear the voice of the most skilful charmer.” The threatening of the Prophet Jeremiah proceeds upon the same fact: “I will send serpents” (cockatrices) “among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you.” In all these quotations, the sacred writers, while they take it for granted that many serpents are disarmed by charming, plainly admit that the powers of the charmer are in vain exerted upon others.
It is the opinion of some interpreters, that the word שחל , which in some parts of Scripture denotes a lion, in others means an adder, or some other kind of serpent. Thus, in the ninety-first Psalm, they render it the basilisk: “Thou shalt tread upon the adder and the basilisk, the young lion and the dragon thou shalt trample under foot.” Indeed, all the ancient expositors agree, that some species of serpent is meant, although they cannot determine what particular serpent the sacred writer had in view. The learned Bochart thinks it extremely probable that the holy Psalmist in this verse treats of serpents only; and, by consequence, that both the terms שחל , and בפיר mean some kind of snakes, as well as פתן and תנין ; because the coherence of the verse is by this view better preserved, than by mingling lions and serpents together, as our translators and other interpreters have commonly done; nor is it easy to imagine what can be meant by treading upon the lion, and trampling the young lion under foot; for it is not possible in walking to tread upon the lion, as upon the adder, the basilisk, and other serpents.
To ADJURE
to bind by oath, as under the penalty of a fearful curse, Jos_6:26; Mar_5:7. 2. To charge solemnly, as by the authority, and under pain, of the displeasure of God, Mat_26:63; Act_19:13.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.

ad?er (עכשׁוּב, ‛akhshūbh (Psa_140:3); פּתן, pethen (Psa_58:4); צפעוני, ciph‛ōnı̄ (Pro_23:32); שׁפיפן, shephı̄phōn (Gen_49:17); צפע, cepha‛ (King James Version margin; Isa_14:29)): This word is used for several Hebrew originals. In each case a poisonous serpent is clearly indicated by the context. It is impossible to tell in any case just what species is meant, but it must be remembered that the English word adder is used very ambiguously. It is from the Anglo-Saxon noedre, a snake or serpent, and is the common English name for Vipera berus, L, the common viper, which is found throughout Europe and northern Asia, though not in Bible lands; but the word ?adder? is also used for various snakes, both poisonous and non-poisonous, found in different parts of the world. In America, for instance, both the poisonous moccasin (Ancistrodon) and the harmless hog-nosed snakes (Heterodon) are called adders. See SERPENT.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.

Adder, the English name of a kind of serpent. It occurs several times in the English version of the Bible, and is there used not for a particular species, but generally for several of this dangerous class of reptiles. We have before us a list, far from complete, of the herpetology of Palestine, Arabia, and Egypt, in which there are, among forty-three species indicated, about eight whose bite is accompanied with a venomous effusion, and therefore almost all very dangerous. In our present state of knowledge we deem it best to discuss, under the words Serpent and Viper all the Hebrew names not noticed in this article, and to refer to them those occurring in our version under the appellations of 'asp,' 'cockatrice,' etc.; and likewise to review the allusions to colossal boas and pythons, and, finally, to notice water-snakes and muraenidae, which translators and biblical naturalists have totally overlooked, although they must exist in the lakes of the Delta, are abundant on the north coast of Africa, and often exceed eight feet in length.
In this place we shall retain that genus alone which Laurenti and Cuvier have established upon characters distinguished from the innocuous coluber, and the venomous vipera, and denominated naja.

Fig. 5?Naja Haje and the form of Cneph from the Egyptian Monuments
The genus Naja?Haridi (?) of Savary?is distinguished by a plaited head, large, very venomous fangs, a neck dilatable under excitement, which raises the ribs of the anterior part of the body into the form of a disk or hood, when the scales, usually not imbricated, but lying in juxtaposition, are separated, and expose the skin, which at that time displays bright iridescent gleams, contrasting highly with their brown, yellow, and bluish colors. The species attain at least an equal, if not a superior, size to the generality of the genus viper; are more massive in their structure; and some possess the faculty of self-inflation to triple their diameter, gradually forcing the body upwards into an erect position, until, by a convulsive crisis, they are said suddenly to strike backwards at an enemy or a pursuer. With such powers of destroying animal life, and with an aspect at once terrible and resplendent, it may be easily imagined how soon fear and superstition would combine, at periods anterior to historical data, to raise these monsters into divinities, and endeavor to deprecate their wrath by the blandishments of worship; and how design and cupidity would teach these very votaries the manner of subduing their ferocity, of extracting their instruments of mischief, and making them subservient to the wonder and amusement of the vulgar, by using certain cadences of sound which affect their hearing, and exciting in them a desire to perform a kind of pleasurable movements that may be compared to dancing. Hence the nagas of the East, the hag-worms of the West, and the haje, have all been deified, styled agathod?mon or good spirit; and figures of them occur wherever the superstition of Pagan antiquity has been accompanied by the arts of civilization.

Fig. 6?Naja Tripudians and Cobra di Capello; or, Hooded and Spectacled Snakes
The most prominent species of the genus at present is the naja tripudians, cobra di capello, hooded or spectacled snake of India, venerated by the natives; even by the serpent-charmers styled the good serpent to this day, and yet so ferocious that it is one of the very few that will attack a man when surprised in its haunt, although it may be gorged with prey. This species is usually marked on the nape with two round spots, transversely connected in the form of a pair of spectacles; but among several varieties, one, perhaps distinct, is without the marks, and has a glossy golden hood, which may make it identical with the naja haje of Egypt, the undoubted Ihh-nuphi, ceneph, or agathod?mon of Ancient Egypt, and accurately represented on the walls of its temples, in almost innumerable instances, both in form and color. This serpent also inflates the skin on the neck, not in the expanded form of a hood, but rather into an intumefaction of the neck. As in the former, there is no marked difference of appearance between the sexes; but the psilli, or charmers, by a particular pressure on the neck have the power of rendering the inflation of the animal, already noticed as a character of the genus, so intense, that the serpent becomes rigid, and can be held out horizontally as if it were a rod. This practice explains what the soothsayers of Pharaoh could perform when they were opposing Moses. That the rods of the magicians of Pharaoh were of the same external character with the rod of Aaron, is evident from no different denomination being given to them: therefore we may infer that they used a real serpent as a rod?namely the species now called haje?for their imposture; since they no doubt did what the present serpent-charmers perform with the same species, by means of the temporary asphyxiation, or suspension of vitality, before noticed, and producing restoration to active life by liberating or throwing down. Thus we have the miraculous character of the prophet's mission shown by his real rod becoming a serpent, and the magicians' real serpents merely assuming the form of rods; and when both were opposed in a state of animated existence, by the rod devouring the living animals, conquering the great typical personification of the protecting divinity of Egypt.
This species of serpent may be regarded as extending to India and Ceylon; and probably the naja tripudians is likewise an inhabitant of Arabia, if not of Egypt, although the assertion of the fact (common in authors) does not exclude a supposition that they take the two species to be only one. We are disposed to refer the 'winged' or 'flying' serpent to the naja tripudians, in one of its varieties, because?with its hood dilated into a kind of shining wings on each side of the neck, standing, in undulating motion, one-half or more erect, rigid, and fierce in attack, and deadly poisonous, yet still denominated 'good spirit,' and in Egypt ever figured in combination with the winged globe?it well may have received the name of saraph, swallowing or devouring, and may thus meet all the valid objections, and conciliate seemingly opposite comments (see Num_21:6; Num_21:8; Deu_8:15; Isa_14:29; Isa_30:6).
Achsub is another name of a serpent which may be considered as specifically different from the former, though it is most probably one more of this group of terrible creatures. The root of the name implies bending back, recurving, but not coiling up, for all snakes have that faculty. The syllable ach, however, shows a connection with the former denominations; and both are perfectly reconcilable with a serpent very common at the Cape of Good Hope, not unfrequent in Western Africa, and probably extending over that whole continent, excepting perhaps Morocco. It is the 'poff-adder' of the Dutch colonists, about three feet in length, and about six inches in circumference at the middle of the body; the head is larger than is usual in serpents; the eyes are large, and very brilliant; the back beautifully marked in half circles, and the colors black, bright yellow, and dark brown; the belly yellow; the appearance at all times, but chiefly when excited, extremely brilliant; the upper jaw greatly protruding, somewhat like what occurs in the shark, places the mouth back towards the throat, and this structure is said to be connected with the practice of the animal when intending to bite, to swell its skin till it suddenly rises up, and strikes backwards as if it fell over. It is this faculty which appears to be indicated by the Hebrew name achsub, and therefore we believe it to refer to that species, or to one nearly allied to it. The Dutch name (poff-adder, or spooch-adder) shows that, in the act of swelling, remarkable eructations and spittings take place, all which no doubt are so many warnings, the bite being fatal. The poff-adder usually resides among brushwood in stony places and rocks, is fond of basking in the sun, rather slow in moving, and is by nature timid [SERPENT; VIPER].
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.

Psa_58:4 (b) This serpent is used to describe a wicked person who injures the souls and damages the lives of' others by that which comes out of his mouth.

That which such a person says poisons the hearts and the minds of those who hear. By this means the listeners are deceived by Satan and are led astray from GOD's path. False teachers who invent false religions and preach false doctrines are "adders" (See also Psa_91:13, the open enemy and the secret foe).
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.

Adder
in the general sense of a venomous serpent. SEE SERPENT, is the rendering in the Auth. Vers. of the following Hebrew words in certain passages: עִכְשׁוּב (akshub', perhaps so called from coiling and lying in wait), an asp, or other venomous reptile, only found in Psa_140:3; פֶּתֶן (pe'then, probably from twisting itself), an equally indefinite term for a viper or venomous serpent, Psa_58:4; Psa_91:13 (elsewhere “asp,” Deu_32:33; Job_20:14; Job_20:16; Isa_11:8); צַפְעוֹנַי (tsiphoni', so called from hissing), a basilisk, or other poisonous serpent, Pro_23:32 (elsewhere “cockatrice,” Isa_11:8; Isa_59:5; Jer_8:17; like the kindred צֶפִע, tse'pha, Isa_14:29); שְׁפַיפוֹן(shephiphon', so called from creeping), apparently an adder, or small speckled venomous snake, occurs only in Gen_49:17. Few, if any, of these terms are descriptive of a particular species of serpent, although special traits are given in connection with some of them that enable us to make an approximation toward their identification with those described by modern naturalists. SEE SNAKE. The terms adder and viper are nearly interchangeable in modern science, the latter being strictly the name of a genus of serpents having the head covered with scales. SEE VIPER. The true adders are classed under the sub-genus Berus, and are of several species, properly distinguished by the granular scales of the head, sometimes with larger scales intermixed, and having nostrils of a moderate size. SEE ASP.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.

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