REPTILES

A reptile is a cold-blooded, vertebrate, air-breathing animal. The Hebrew verb za·hhalʹ means “to glide away,” “to crawl away.” From this root is drawn the word designating reptiles generally. (The same verb was used at Job 32:6 by Elihu when he spoke of ‘drawing back.’) As stated at Deuteronomy 32:24, among the things bringing trouble upon idolatrous Israel was to be “the venom of reptiles of the dust,” evidently referring there to poisonous snakes. (Compare Jeremiah 8:17.) At Micah 7:17, the nations that are overwhelmed by God’s power are spoken of as coming out of their defensive positions like excited reptiles.

In addition to serpents, other reptiles mentioned in the Bible are the chameleon, the gecko and other lizards, and the newt, which see under their individual names.