Read The Good and Evil Serpent Online
Authors: James H. Charlesworth
Theis a species of spitting cobra.
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It etymologically derives its name from the habit of spitting sincemeans “to spit.”
This is a kind of snake whose venomous bite causes putrefaction sincemeans fundamentally “decay” and “putrefaction.”
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This snake derives its name from two possible meanings. The name may have arisen because the snake, when it bites a human, causes a putrid sore (from) [or
(N.B. the Future:
) which means “to be rotten” or “to be putrid”]).
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It is less likely that the name was given to the snake because it arouses intense thirst (from, which means “thirst”).
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This noun signifies a serpent that is like a round stick,
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since fundamentallydenotes a “baton,” “staff,” or “stick.”
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Sincespecifies someone who is “blind,” the name was probably given to a snake that seemed blind (some small snakes are blind). The compilers of LSJM suggest that
denotes a “blind snake” and perhaps
Pseudopus pallasi.
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