Seraiah and the others of his rank supported Gedaliah’s appointment as governor, warned him of Ishmael’s threat on his life and later endeavored to avenge his death. Fearing the Babylonians, however, Seraiah and the other chiefs led the remaining Jews into Egypt.—2 Ki. 25:23, 26; Jer. 40:8, 13-16; 41:11-18; 43:4-7.

8. One of those apparent leaders listed with Zerubbabel as returning from exile in 537 B.C.E. (Ezra 2:1, 2) He is called Azariah in the parallel list at Nehemiah 7:7.

9. A priest who returned from exile with Zerubbabel. In the following generation, Meraiah represented his paternal house. (Neh. 12:1, 12) The Seraiah included among the signers of the covenant in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah may also have been a representative of the same family, or another priest of this name. (Neh. 10:1, 2, 8) Seraiah, again possibly one of this paternal house or a priest of the same name, lived in Jerusalem after the walls were rebuilt.—Neb. 11:1, 10, 11.

SERAPHS

[Heb., s^era·phimʹ].

There is some difference of opinion on the part of scholars as to the meaning of this word. The root verb from which it is drawn is sa·raphʹ. According to Professor William Gesenius, this root may mean, basically, “to suck or drink in, to swallow, to absorb,” and therefore, of fire, “to suck up, to devour,” that is, “to consume, to burn up.” Also, it may have a different meaning, in that it may be related to the Arabic word meaning “to be noble.” One word taken from this Arabic root thus means “a noble, prince.”

Gesenius goes on to comment on the first-mentioned meaning, referring to Numbers 21:6 and Isaiah 14:29; 30:6. The first two texts speak of “poisonous serpents [n^ehha·shimʹ s^era·phimʹ]” and connect them with a “fiery snake [sa·raphʹ]” (Num. 21:8), also referred to at Isaiah 30:6. These are thought to be so called from the burning inflammation caused by their bite. Then, referring to Isaiah 6:2, 6, Gesenius says of seraphs: “an order of angels who attend upon Jehovah, furnished with six wings. The Rabbins, as Abulwalid and Kimchi, render it by burning i.e. shining angels, . . . but the word . . . has the signif[icance] of burning up, not of shining; and it is therefore better . . . to understand by it princes, nobles of heaven, who are also elsewhere called [sar·imʹ].” Later he says of the Hebrew word s^era·phimʹ that, though it might be rendered winged serpents (at Isaiah 6:2, 6, as some would), the former sense, namely, princes, nobles, is to be preferred, for the word is elsewhere used only of a poisonous serpent.—Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, pp. 977, 978.

The prophet Isaiah describes his vision (Isa. 6:1-7) for us, saying: “In the year that King Uzziah died I, however, got to see Jehovah, sitting on a throne lofty and lifted up, and his skirts were filling the temple. Seraphs were standing above him. Each one had six wings. With two he kept his face covered, and with two he kept his feet covered, and with two he would fly about. And this one called to that one and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of armies. The fullness of all the earth is his glory.’ . . . And I proceeded to say: ‘Woe to me! For I am as good as brought to silence, because a man unclean in lips I am, and in among a people unclean in lips I am dwelling; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of armies, himself!’ At that, one of the seraphs flew to me, and in his hand there was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs off the altar. And he proceeded to touch my mouth and to say: ‘Look! This has touched your lips, and your error has departed and your sin itself is atoned for.’”

No description is given of the Divine Person. However, the skirts of his majestic garment are said to have filled the temple, leaving no place for anyone to stand. His throne did not rest upon the ground but, besides being “lofty,” was “lifted up.” The seraphs “standing” may mean “hovering,” by means of one of their sets of wings, just as the cloud was “standing” or hovering by the entrance of Jehovah’s tent in the wilderness. (Deut. 31:15) Professor Franz Delitzsch comments on the position of the seraphs: “The seraphim would not indeed tower above the head of Him that sat upon the throne, but they hovered above the robe belonging to Him with which the hall was filled.” (Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah, p. 191) The Vulgate, instead of saying “seraphs were standing above him,” says they were standing above “it.”

OF HIGH RANK

These mighty heavenly creatures are angels, evidently of very high position in God’s arrangement, since they are shown in attendance at God’s throne. The cherubs seen in Ezekiel’s vision corresponded with runners that accompanied the celestial chariot of God. (Ezek. 10:9-13) This idea of positions of rank or authority in the heavens is in harmony with Colossians 1:16, which speaks of things “in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities.”

THEIR FUNCTION AND DUTY

The number of seraphs is not mentioned, but they were calling to one another, evidently meaning that some were on each side of the throne and were declaring Jehovah’s holiness and glory in antiphonal song, one (or one group) repeating after the other or responding to the other with a part of the declaration: “Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of armies. The fullness of all the earth is his glory.” (Compare the reading of the Law and the people’s answering, at Deuteronomy 27:11-26.) With humility and modesty in the presence of the Supreme One, they covered their faces with one of their three sets of wings, and being in a holy location, they covered their feet with another set, in due respect for the heavenly King.

The cry of the seraphs concerning God’s holiness shows that they have to do with seeing that his holiness is declared and his glory acknowledged in all parts of the universe, including the earth. One of the seraphs touched Isaiah’s lips to cleanse away his sin and his error by means of a glowing coal from off the altar, which action may give us an indication that their work includes cleansing away sin from among God’s people, such cleansing being based on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on God’s altar.

THEIR VISIONARY FORM

The description of the seraphs as having feet, wings, and so forth, must be understood to be symbolic, their likeness to the form of earthly creatures being only representative of abilities they have or of functions they perform, just as God often speaks symbolically of himself as having eyes, ears and other human features. Showing that no man knows the form of God, the apostle John says: “Beloved ones, now we are children of God, but as yet it has not been made manifest what we shall be. We do know that whenever he is made manifest we shall be like him, because we shall see him just as he is.”—1 John 3:2.

SERED

(Seʹred) [frightened].

First-named son of Zebulun and founder of the Seredites, a Zebulunite tribal family.—Gen. 46:14; Num. 26:26, 27.

SEREDITES

(Serʹe·dites).

Zebulunite family founded by Sered.—Num. 26:26.

SERGIUS PAULUS

(Serʹgi·us Pauʹlus).

The proconsul of Cyprus when Paul visited there on his first missionary journey, about 47 C.E. Luke is correct in calling him “proconsul,” since the administration of Cyprus was at that time under the Roman Senate rather than the emperor. Cyprus was formerly an imperial province, but in 22 B.C.E. was placed under control of the Senate by Augustus. On this island an inscription from around 55 C.E. was found which includes the words “in the proconsulship of Paulus.”—See PROCONSUL.

The name has also been found elsewhere in the Roman world, for example, as that of the curator of the Tiber under Claudius Caesar, but any connection of such others with the Sergius Paulus mentioned in the Bible is uncertain.

Sergius Paulus resided in Paphos, on the western coast of the island. He was “an intelligent man,” and earnestly seeking to hear the word of God, he summoned Barnabas and Paul. As they spoke to the man, Elymas (Bar-Jesus), a Jewish sorcerer, “began opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.” But Paul, filled with holy spirit, told this opposer of the good news that he would be struck with temporary blindness. He was. On observing this powerful work of God’s spirit, the proconsul became a believer, “as he was astounded at the teaching of Jehovah.”—Acts 13:6-12.

SERPENT, SNAKE

[Heb., na·hhashʹ, tan·ninʹ, tseʹphaʽ, tsiph·ʽohniʹ; Gr., oʹphis].

The term “serpent” describes a long, scaly, limbless reptile. Serpents travel on their belly or rib cage, and due to the proximity of their head to the ground their flickering tongue appears to be licking the dust. (Gen. 3:14) Some thirty-six kinds of snakes have been found in Palestine.

The Hebrew word na·hhashʹ is evidently a generic or general term applying to all snakes or serpentlike creatures, and it is often used along with other Hebrew words that denote a particular kind of snake. (Ps. 58:4; 140:3; Prov. 23:32) Thus the tribe of Dan is likened first simply to a “serpent [na·hhashʹ]” and then specifically to a “horned snake [sh^ephi·phonʹ]” lying by the roadside and striking out at Israel’s enemies. (Gen. 49:17) This Hebrew term corresponds to the Greek oʹphis, which is also generic. While many snakes in Palestine today are of the nonvenomous types, Biblical references to snakes are mainly with regard to those that are dangerous or venomous.

The Hebrew words tseʹphaʽ and tsiph·ʽohniʹ are understood by lexicographers to refer to poisonous snakes, the Hebrew pronunciation perhaps representing in sound the hissing noise made by such snakes when approached. Both may refer to some variety of viper, but identification is uncertain. The Authorized Version incorrectly translated these words as referring to the mythical “cockatrice,” at Isaiah 11:8; 14:29; 59:5; Jeremiah 8:17.

In the account about the converting of Moses’ rod into a snake (Ex. 7:9-13), the Hebrew word tan·ninʹ is used, evidently referring to a “big snake” in view of the use of the word in other texts as describing a monstrous creature of the sea. (Gen. 1:21; Job 7:12; Ps. 74:13; 148:7; Isa. 27:1; 51:9) Other texts where the term clearly applies to venomous snakes are Deuteronomy 32:33 and Psalm 91:13, where cobras are also mentioned. A fountain located by certain of the city gates of postexilic Jerusalem was known as the “Fountain of the Big Snake.”—Neh. 2:13.

The well-known characteristics of a serpent are referred to in various texts: its gliding motion (Job 26:13), its bite and its hiding place in stone walls (Eccl. 10:8, 11; Amos 5:19), also its being cautious (Gen. 3:1). This latter characteristic was used by Jesus as an example in admonishing his disciples as to their conduct when among wolfish opposers.—Matt. 10:16.

Such ‘caution’ is referred to by an eminent British zoologist, H. W. Parker, in his book Snakes (chap. VI, p. 94): “There is often, however, an apparent reluctance to endangering their teeth, so that in the initial stages of an attack, when the creatures are more frightened than angry, they may lunge as if intending to bite, but without actually doing so. Whilst making these feints it is not unusual for them to uncoil themselves, almost imperceptibly, so that they can suddenly draw back and dash off swiftly to one side in an endeavour to escape. If such manoeuvres are unsuccessful they then strike in earnest and often with greater force than would be employed in catching food.”

FIGURATIVE USE

The serpent is used figuratively in many texts: the lies of the wicked are likened to its venom (Ps. 58:3, 4), the sharp tongue of evil schemers to that of the serpent (Ps. 140:3), and wine in excess is said to bite as they do. (Prov. 23:32) The freedom from violence and hurt amid Jehovah’s restored people is illustrated by the ‘serpent’s food being dust.’—Isa. 65:25.

The symbolic figure of the serpent or snake is also used in God’s denunciations of judgment against certain nations, as against Philistia (Isa. 14:29), unfaithful Judah (Jer. 8:17), and Egypt, whose voice is likened to that of a serpent, doubtless referring either to a hissing retreat in defeat or to the lowness of her national voice due to the disaster she suffers. (Jer. 46:22) This latter reference was probably also an expression designed to contrast with the practice of the Egyptian pharaohs of wearing the uraeus, a representation of the sacred snake on the front of their headdress as a sign of protection by the serpent-goddess Wadjet. At Micah 7:17 all the nations opposing God’s people are foretold to be obliged to “lick up dust like the serpents.”—See also Amos 9:3.

At Jeremiah 51:34 the inhabitress of Zion likens King Nebuchadnezzar to a “big snake” who has swallowed her down.

Satan the Devil

At Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 God’s principal opposer, Satan, is referred to as “the original serpent,” evidently because of his employing the literal serpent in Eden as his means of communication with the woman. (Gen. 3:1-15) As the “original serpent” he is also the progenitor in a spiritual sense of other opposers; hence Jesus’ classification of such ones as “serpents, offspring of vipers.”—Matt. 23:33 compare John 8:44; 1 John 3:12.

In false religion

The serpent was a frequent symbol among pagan religions and was often an object of adoration. In Mesopotamia, Canaan and Egypt the serpent was the symbol of fecundity and of sex goddesses; the symbol of two serpents intertwined was used to denote fertility through sexual union, and the repeated shedding of the serpent’s skin also caused it to be used as a symbol of continuing life.

King Hezekiah acted to eradicate any serpent worship among his subjects by crushing to pieces the copper serpent that had been used in Moses’ time during an attack by venomous snakes in the wilderness.—Num. 21:6-9; 2 Ki. 18:4; see FIERY SNAKE.

SERUG

(Seʹrug) [perhaps, twig].

A descendant of Shem, son of Reu and great-grandfather of Abraham, therefore an ancestor of Jesus. Serug lived 230 years (2207-1977 B.C.E.) and had a number of children, becoming father to Nahor at the age of thirty.—Gen. 11:10, 20-23; 1 Chron. 1:24-27; Luke 3:35.

SETH

[appointed, substituted].

The son of Adam and Eve born when Adam was 130 years old. Eve named him Seth because, as she said, “God has appointed another seed in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.” Seth may not have been the third child of Adam and Eve. According to Genesis 5:4, Adam had “sons and daughters,” some of whom may have been born before Seth. Seth is worthy of note because Noah, and through him the present-day race of mankind, descended from him, not from the murderous Cain. At the age of 105 years Seth became father to Enosh. Seth died at the age of 912 years (3896-2984 B.C.E.).—Gen. 4:17, 25, 26; 5:3-8; 1 Chron. 1:1-4; Luke 3:38.

SETHUR

(Seʹthur) [hidden].

The Asherite chieftain appointed with representatives of the other tribes to spy out Canaan; son of Michael.—Num. 13:2, 3, 13.