The Serpent's Curse: What Science Says About the Biblical Tale

The Jewish tradition from 3,300 years ago recounts the curse of the serpent after Adam's sin. The curse includes the words "dust you shall eat":

"And Hashem God said to the serpent,
because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals.
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust"
(Genesis 3:14)

The Book of Isaiah, around 2,700 years ago, also refers to this:

"The serpent's food shall be dust"

(Isaiah 65:25)

The Talmud, from about 1,700 years ago, explains:

"Even if the serpent eats all the delicacies of the world,
it tastes like dust to him"

(Yoma 75a)

In other words, the serpent was cursed with a lack of taste; it experiences all food as if it were dust.

What Does Science Say?

Well, it turns out that modern research into snakes has revealed just that. Apparently, snakes' tongues do not have taste buds, nor taste receptors, and indeed, snakes do not sense taste.

These discoveries are from the modern era, achieved through advanced knowledge, equipment, and research. How could the Torah, followed by the Talmud, specify and accurately describe this scientific fact thousands of years ago?

Indeed, the serpent's curse holds true.

The text is excerpted from the book "Intertwined Worlds." To download and read the chapter in PDF format, click here.

The author holds a B.Sc in Physics, with honors, from the Technion.