Hi friends,
Simon and I thought it would be a good idea to start sharing some of the behind the scenes work that is done for each of these pieces. Here is a gallery of all of the sketches that lead up to the finished work. Additionally, I wanted to comment a bit on the inspiration for the decisions we made for this scene.
Typically, the serpent in Genesis 3 is pictured as a literal snake which is the simplest reading of the passage. While it may have been a literal snake conversing with Eve in the Garden, the Hebrew word for snake “nachash” has several implications based upon its use. For instance, in one sense it means “snake”, but it also could mean “shining one” or “divination”. Michael Heiser goes into this more in his book “Unsean Realm” for those who are interested. For these reasons, it seemed fitting to depict the “serpent” as a divine humanoid being, who perhaps might have been the Devil himself.
The Devil is given the title of the serpent later in the Bible (Rev 12:9, 20:2), and we also are given some physical descriptions of him as well. He is said to masquerade as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14) and is also said to be beautiful and as powerful as the guardians of Eden (Eze 28:12-17).
One last detail we included in this scene was based upon the Apostle Paul’s comment on Adam and Eve in 1 Timothy 2:13-14. Paul notes that it was Eve who was deceived by the serpent and that Adam was not. This is why we pictured Adam trying to dissuade Eve for believing the serpent.
I hope you all find this little commentary on our process interesting and thought provoking. Yahweh Bless you!
Luke & Simon.
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