Abstract: The curse of the serpent in Genesis 3:15 is presented as an archetype for the battle between good and evil. An ancient Hebrew literary form that ties together multiple stories through a common set of images, situations, repeated words, and phrases, is termed a leitmotif. A biblical leitmotif based on the curse of the serpent in Genesis 3 and the curse of Cain in Genesis 4 is found throughout both the Old and New Testaments and is referred to as the seed of the serpent leitmotif. Hebrew prophets, early Christians, and protestant reformers all found the seed of the serpent leitmotif to be a compelling theme containing prophecies about the coming of the Messiah and the ultimate destruction of the wicked. Writers in the Book of Mormon and other Restoration scriptures appear to have used the same seed of the serpent leitmotif to clearly identify the protagonist of a given story as the true seed of the woman and to brand the antagonist of the story as the seed of the serpent. The paper begins with a discussion of the leitmotif in Genesis. It then extends to the rest of the Bible, using the story of Abimelech as an archetype. Following this foundation, it then shows how the leitmotif occurs in a variety of sermons and stories throughout the standard works and, in particular, the Book of Mormon. The paper concludes with a discussion of the explanatory power of this literary device for the understanding and edification of modern-day readers.
There is a brief story found in Genesis 3 whose fantastical elements such as a talking snake may seem so incredible to some that it has often been dismissed as a simple-minded, pre-scientific explanation for the origin of snakes, similar to what is found in Aesop’s fables or [Page 2]the “Just So Stories” from Rudyard Kipling. Others see in this story nothing more than an etiological explanation of the natural human horror of serpents. We might term these points of view the “naturalistic” explanations of the story of the serpent. A school of thought that is consistent with the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints suggests that the story of the serpent contains both literal and allegorical elements that include essential theological lessons and applications for us. The ancient Hebrews found this story so compelling that for them it became a pervasive representation of the battle between good and evil being fought across the ages, with the wicked minions of the seed of the serpent arrayed against the righteous followers of the seed of the woman.
Among those who accept the story as scriptural, there has been nearly as much disagreement as with those who dismiss the story as simple mythology. Some believe it requisite with their faith to accept the story literally,
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