Topical Encyclopedia
The term "cockatrice" appears in several passages of the King James Version of the Bible, though it is not found in more modern translations, including the Berean Standard Bible. The word is traditionally understood to refer to a mythical creature, often depicted as a serpent or dragon with lethal powers. In biblical contexts, the cockatrice is associated with danger, evil, and judgment.
Biblical References:1.
Isaiah 11:8 : "The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest." In this passage, the Berean Standard Bible uses "cobra" and "viper" instead of "cockatrice," reflecting a more accurate translation of the Hebrew word "צִפְעֹנִי" (tsiphoni), which refers to a venomous serpent. The imagery here is part of a prophetic vision of peace and harmony in the Messianic age, where natural enemies coexist without harm.
2.
Isaiah 14:29 : "Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken, for a viper will spring from the root of a snake, and its fruit will be a flying serpent." The Berean Standard Bible translates the Hebrew word as "viper" and "flying serpent," emphasizing the continuation of danger and threat despite apparent relief. The "flying serpent" is sometimes associated with the cockatrice in older translations.
3.
Isaiah 59:5 : "They hatch viper’s eggs and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched." This verse uses the imagery of vipers to describe the wickedness and deceit of the people, with the cockatrice being a traditional interpretation of the deadly offspring.
4.
Jeremiah 8:17 : "For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you, declares the LORD." The Berean Standard Bible uses "vipers" to convey the sense of unavoidable judgment and punishment, which older translations might have rendered as "cockatrice."
Symbolism and Interpretation:In biblical literature, the cockatrice symbolizes evil, danger, and divine judgment. Its mythical nature underscores the severity of the threat it represents. The creature's lethal gaze or venom is often interpreted as a metaphor for sin and its destructive consequences. The use of serpentine imagery in these passages aligns with the broader biblical theme of the serpent as a symbol of Satan and sin, beginning with the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3).
The cockatrice, as a symbol, serves to illustrate the pervasive and insidious nature of sin and the need for divine intervention and redemption. The prophetic visions in Isaiah, for instance, contrast the current state of danger with the future peace brought by the Messiah, where even the most dangerous creatures pose no threat.
Historical Context:The term "cockatrice" entered the English language through medieval bestiaries, which often included fantastical creatures. The translators of the King James Version, working in the early 17th century, used "cockatrice" to convey the sense of a deadly and fearsome creature, drawing on contemporary understandings of mythical beasts. Modern translations, informed by advances in Hebrew scholarship, opt for more precise terms like "viper" or "serpent."
Theological Implications:The presence of the cockatrice in biblical texts highlights the themes of judgment and redemption. It serves as a reminder of the consequences of sin and the hope of restoration through God's intervention. The imagery of dangerous creatures living peacefully in the Messianic age points to the transformative power of God's kingdom, where creation is restored to its intended harmony.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The mediaeval name (a corruption of "crocodile") of a fabulous serpent supposed to be produced from a cock's egg. It is generally supposed to denote the cerastes, or "horned viper," a very poisonous serpent about a foot long. Others think it to be the yellow viper (Daboia xanthina), one of the most dangerous vipers, from its size and its nocturnal habits (
Isaiah 11:8;
14:29;
59:5;
Jeremiah 8:17; in all which the Revised Version renders the Hebrew tziph'oni by "basilisk"). In
Proverbs 23:32 the Hebrew tzeph'a is rendered both in the Authorized Version and the Revised Version by "adder;" margin of Revised Version "basilisk," and of Authorized Version "cockatrice."
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A fabulous serpent whose breath and look were said to be fatal. See Basilisk.
2. (n.) A representation of this serpent. It has the head, wings, and legs of a bird, and tail of a serpent.
3. (n.) A venomous serpent which cannot now be identified.
4. (n.) Any venomous or deadly thing.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
COCKATRICEPliny (see Oxford Dictionary, under the word "Cockatrice") relates that the ichneumon darts down the open mouth of the crocodile, and destroys it by gnawing through its belly. In the course of time, as the story underwent changes, the animal was metamorphosed into a water snake, and was confused with the crocodile itself, and also with the basilisk. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, the cockatrice was believed as late as the 17th century to be produced from a cock's egg and hatched by a serpent, and "to possess the most deadly powers, plants withering at its touch, and men and animals being poisoned by its look. It stood in awe however of the cock, the sound of whose crowing killed it.. The weasel alone among animals was unaffected by the glance of its evil eye, and attacked it at all times successfully; for when wounded by the monster's teeth it found a ready remedy in rue, the only plant which the cockatrice could not wither." The real ichneumon does kill the most deadly snakes, and has been supposed to resort to a vegetable antidote when bitten. It actually dies however when bitten by a deadly snake, and does not possess a knowledge of herbs, but its extraordinary agility enables it ordinarily to escape injury. It is interesting to see how the changing tale of this creature with its marvelous powers has made a hodge-podge of ichneumon, weasel, crocodile, and serpent.
The Biblical references (the King James VersionIsaiah 11:8;Isaiah 59:5Jeremiah 8:17) are doubtless to a serpent, the word "cockatrice," with its medieval implications, having been introduced by the translators of the King James Version.
SeeSERPENT.
Alfred Ely Day
Strong's Hebrew
6848. tsepha' -- a serpent... adder,
cockatrice From an unused root meaning to extrude; a viper (as thrusting
out the tongue, ie Hissing) -- adder,
cockatrice. 6847, 6848.
...Library
The Universal Chorus
... Here they have, with much industry, hatchedcockatrice eggs (Isaiah 59:5) ; and
their labours have been not only fallacious, but mischievous....
First, for Thy Thoughts.
... to suppress every sin in the first motion; dash Babylon's children, whilst they
are young, against the stones; tread, betimes, thecockatrice's egg, lest it...
Going Out and Going In
... enough. So it toys with leviathan, and 'lays its hand on thecockatrice
den,' and my text is an instance of this. 'My decease ......
The Millennium in Relation to Creation.
... ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of an asp, and the weaned
child shall put his hand on thecockatrice's den. They...
The Sucker from the Felled Oak
... lion shall eat straw like the ox.8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole
of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on thecockatrice's den.9...
Flimsy Garments
... He has been pouring out swift, indignant denunciation on the evil-doers in Israel;
and, says he, 'they hatchcockatrice's eggs and spin spiders' webs,' pointing...
Would You See when and Where the Kingdoms of this Fallen World are...
... The suckling child shall put his hand on thecockatrice's den." For, (NB) "they
shall not HURT or DESTROY in all my holy mountain," that is, through all holy...
Cliii. Report of the Same to the Empresses Pulcheria and Eudoxia.
... As the prophet says "They hatchcockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web; and
he that would eat of their eggs when he breaks them findeth rottenness, and...
Jericho; Or, the Waters Healed. 2Ki 2:19-22
... For sin has infected his blood,. And poisoned the streams of his heart: Though
cockatrice eggs he can hatch, Is 54:5. Or, spider-like, cobwebs can weave;...
On the Mission of the Seventy Disciples, and Christ's Charge to...
... Happily the Creator has promised by Isaiah to give this power even to little children,
of putting their hand in thecockatrice den and on the hole of the young...
Thesaurus
Cockatrice (3 Occurrences)... a is rendered both in the Authorized Version and the Revised Version by "adder;"
margin of Revised Version "basilisk," and of Authorized Version "
cockatrice.".
...Basilisk (3 Occurrences)
... Probably the yellow snake is intended. (seeCOCKATRICE.).... SeeCockatrice. 2. (n.)
A lizard of the genus Basiliscus, belonging to the family Iguanidae....
Cock (12 Occurrences)
Serpent (40 Occurrences)
... (7) tsepha`, occurs only in Isaiah 14:29 where it is translated "adder" (the King
James Version "cockatrice," the English Revised Version "basilisk...
Egg (3 Occurrences)
... Eggs deserted (Isaiah 10:14), of a bird (Deuteronomy 22:6), an ostrich (Job 39:14),
thecockatrice (Isaiah 59:5). In Luke 11:12, an egg is contrasted with a...
Palestina (3 Occurrences)
... 14:29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee
is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth acockatrice, and his...
Cockatrices (1 Occurrence)
Asp (3 Occurrences)
... (See JPS YLT). Isaiah 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on thecockatrice' den....
Adder (9 Occurrences)
... (3.) Tziphoni ("hissing") (Proverbs 23:32); elsewhere rendered "cockatrice," Isaiah
11:8; 14:29; 59:5; Jeremiah 8:17, as it is here in the margin of the...
Sucking (7 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned
child shall put his hand on thecockatrice' den. (KJV JPS ASV DBY RSV)....
Resources
Are any mythological creatures mentioned in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgCockatrice: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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