Revelation 20 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

2264
Earlier John has mentioned the "dragon"--see Revelation 12:3 (with its footnote), 4,
7, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17; 13:2, 4, 11; 16:13 and here, 20:2. The noun äñÜêïí, drakon is used in
the Greek translation of the Jewish Bible as a translation of rypiK., kephiyr ("young lion"),
!t"åy"w>li, liwyathan ("serpent," "sea-monster," "crocodile," "whale," perhaps a mythological
creature, used figuratively for Egypt); vx'n", nachash ("serpent," “viper”); dWT[;, (attudh ("hegoat,"
sometimes used symbolically of princes and chieftains); !t,Pñ,, pethen (“venemous serpent,”
perhaps "cobra"); !yNIT;, tanniyn ("jackals") and tanniyniym ("serpents," "seamonsters,"
“dragons”).
All of these Hebrew nouns are normally used for actual creatures, even though mysterious,
dangerous, little-known creatures that evoke both wonder and fear. It is a temptation to
the translator and student to try and read much more into these words, finding in them connotations
of "a fabulous monster represented as a gigantic reptile having a lion's claws, the tail of
a serpent, wings, and scaly skin," such as we commonly encounter in mythological materials.
Such language is obviously highly symbolical in nature, and can only be interpreted literally in
a very misleading way.
2265
The phrase öéò ñ÷áïò, ho ophis ho archaios, the serpent, the old one,” an
obvious allusion to Genesis 3:1-14, is changed from a nominative phrase to an accusative
phrase to.n ov,fin to.n avrcai/on, ton ophin ton archaion, with the same meaning. The nominative
phrase is read by Alexandrinus and a few other Greek manuscripts. The accusative
phrase, which is a grammatical correction of the original text, is read by Sinaiticus, Uncial
Manuscript 051 and the Majority Text. As this variant reading makes obvious, John's grammar
is once again faulty at this point–and makes obvious the human fallibility of the author.
For the occurrences of ov ,fij, ophis, "serpent," in Revelation, see 9:19 (horses with
snake-like tails); 12:9 (closely similar to 20:2, the great dragon, hurled down from heaven, the
ancient serpent, called the devil or satan), 14, 15 (the woman is flown away into the wilderness,
away from the serpent’s reach; but the serpent spews out water like a river to drown her,
unsuccessfully) and here, 20:2 (closely similar to 12:9 for the names). The symbolical nature
of the language is emphasized: the "dragon" / the "serpent" / the "accuser," / the "adversary."
It stands for the vicious enemies of human beings. John warns readers that there are “poisonous
snakes” in their environment that can bite and destroy them, obviously not referring to literal,
physical snakes, but to enemies of the Christian faith that are intent on their destruction.
Elsewhere in the Greek Bible, see Genesis 3:1, 1, 2, 4, 13, 14 (the serpent that the
Lord God made, one of His “good” creatures, but who lied to the humans, who listened to his
voice, bringing a divine curse on the serpent and on themselves); 49:17 (the dying Jacob
predicts that his son Dan will be “a serpent along the pathway”); Exodus 4:3, 17 (only in the
Greek translation); 7:15 (all concerning Aaron’s staff that is miraculously turned into a serpent
as a sign to Pharoah; Pharaoh’s magicians can do the same); Numbers 21:6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9
(the Lord sends poisonous snakes to bite the complaining Israelites; Moses makes a bronze
(continued...)
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