ARROW SNAKE

[Heb., qip·pohzʹ].

A snake so called from its darting and springing on its prey, in the manner of the rattlesnake. The Hebrew root from which the name is derived means “to jump” or “leap.” The arrow snake is mentioned in the prophecy of Isaiah (34:15) as one of the creatures to inhabit Edom. This would emphasize the fact that Edom was to become such a desolate ruin that it would become a safe place for the arrow snake to ‘make its nest and lay eggs and hatch them and gather them together under its shadow.’ Most snakes lay eggs, and this text may refer to the practice of some snakes of coiling around their eggs. Says H. W. Parker in his book Snakes (pp. 105, 106): “Coiling around the eggs which is also practiced by several cobras and kraits and some pit-vipers assists incubation by interposing a thermal insulation layer and so maintaining a more uniform temperature, but its major advantage undoubtedly lies in the protection it gives against marauders.”

Albert Barnes says: “Bochart in Hieroz. t. ii. lib. iii. c. xi. pp. 408-419, has examined the meaning of the word [qip·pohz’] at length, and comes to the conclusion that it means the serpent which the Greeks called acontias, and the Latins jaculus:—the arrow-snake.”—The Book of the Prophet Isaiah, pp. 339, 340.