Serpents in the Land of Milk and Honey
Out of all the animals man has ever seen, none has as many contradictory features as the serpent does.
It was the serpent that left us without Eden. Serpents and humanity share the taste of punishment. They walk on their bellies; we have to work hard for a living. Nevertheless, we prize them as possessors of the power of healing, sex, happiness and death. But we're in a continuous struggle: we step on it to claim our superiority it delivers a fatal bite.
There is no place where it seems as real as in the Holy Land, home to nine kinds of venomous snakes.
As the children of Israel were crossing the wilderness during their 40 year-long journey from the land of Egypt to the land of Canaan, not always did they fulfill promises given and obey commandments received. The serpents were sent to guard the Israelite's morality.
"Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit the Israelites so that many of them died." (Numbers 21:6)
Today, there is no place in Israel that is free from a venomous snake.
Throughout the ages, the high mountains of the Golan were the battlefield for many armies, all observed by the Mt. Hermon viper (Vipera bornmulleri). During the winter its land is covered by deep snow which slowly melts until mid-May. Within large patches of snow still present, the mountain viper craw out from deep holes to look for its mate. Then it is gentle, no fangs, and no bites but sweethearts'.
As the altitude lowers, the Mt. Hermon viper doesn't go any further down the hill. Here there passes an unobserved never the less respected border line that divides the two tribes:
Mt. Hermon and Palestine viper (Daboia palaestinae).
The later dominates the Golan Plateau, the Jordan River Valley, and west to the Mediterranean Sea shore and to the western slope of the Judea and Samaria and south to Beer Sheba. In short, most of the fertile land of Israel.
The Jordan River slowly moves from the North to the South; it curves itself into the shape of a bizarre serpent, the Sea of Galilee its belly, the Dead Sea being its head. In the Land of Milk and Honey the Palestine viper is everywhere. It's it that inflicts more death and injuries than all the eight kinds of venomous snakes combined. In some areas, it so frequently penetrates bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms and backyards that the residents are afraid to walk around their houses.
The Judean Desert spreads itself from the East of Jerusalem to the Dead Sea and south to the city of Hebron- all the Biblical monuments. Here, the history of human race and the life of the serpents are still carrying on in a distinct way.
Imbedded in a bone-dry soil, water holes witnesses of ancient times. Those are formed in the shape of a bottle several meters deep, used to collect and to preserve water by the nomads of the desert. An underground system of tunnels collects the water during the short winter. As the desert dries up, those water holes are the only place where water remains. Snakes penetrate into the water- collection system and often get trapped on the bottom of the bottle. Here is the land of the silent three: carpet viper (Echis coloratus), black desert cobra (Walterinnesia aegyptia) and burrowing asp (Atractaspis engaddensis). The later was unknown to science until it bit onto a finger of an astonished expert who inspected the unseen specimen. A worm-like body, smoothly scaled, eyes barely distinguishable and a sharp snout are perfectly suited to the underground life.
In a narrow tunnel there is no space to strike with an open mouth. As it touches its prey, a long fang is exposed on the side of its mouth. It moves the fang backward and presses its body on the victim; the worm-like venomous gland is being squeezed and the venom injected.
The carpet viper, much more prevalent than the burrowing asp, holds the largest territory
among the venomous snakes in the Holy Land: from the Mt. Gilboa in the eastern Galilee, along Jordan River Valley, Arava-Negev to the Red Sea. Most of its land is desert and arid except for oases. During the spring there is a lot of food, especially young green toads and small migratory birds. Delicacies are being shared with black desert cobras- the only
members of its well respected family that lives here.
Leaving the city of Beer Sheba to the west, we step on a loose land. Now, we're at the eastern end of the Sahara Desert, with two of its vipers. Saharan horned viper (Cerastes cerastes), distinguished by a spine like scale above its eyes and a smaller, common sand viper (Cerastes vipera). They're the lords of this sandy habitat. Where shade is a rarity, vipers need to penetrate deep into the sand. They crawl out after the sun set. Covered in part be the sand; remain still. The popping out eyes and the tongue sent out insure full control over an unaware victim.
Going south the elevation steeply arises, Mitzpe Ramon being its top.
Many of the Biblical events, still relevant today, occurred here. The false horned viper (Pseudocerastes fieldi) watched the Israelites moving across this desert when they left the thirsty Land of Canaan for the Land of plentiful Egypt.
And it was here greeting them when descendents of these people returned as a nation, led by the Prophet Moses on their journey to the Promised Land in Canaan.
The false horned viper is not alone here. Serpents of the continents meet along the Great Rift Valley: carpet viper and burrowing asp and black desert cobra are all here up to the Golf of Eilat-Aqaba.
Towards the east the landscape opens up- a great valley of Arava leads to the Red Sea.
Hills of sand extend from here to the Arabia Peninsula.
To ensure existence in an unstable ground, vegetation has to develop long roots to hold themselves against strong winds and to reach deep water source. The extensive roots prevent the sand from moving and for the time being the sand accumulates around the tree. Meanwhile, the free to go sand is being washed away. The sand on which the tree grows looks like an island in the sea of sand. Slowly, the roots are left in the air and they dry up. The dead trees with theirs exposed roots remain standing, slowly decaying under the burning sun. The wind disperses its parts across the sands.
A viper found in Arabia comes along with its sand. Arabian sand viper (Cerastes gasparettii) is marvelously adapted. In fast motion it slides, only touching it with a small part of its flexible body. The night is for him to be out searching for rodents and lizards. The sand bears witness to every move of the snake. The jumps of the gerbil dragging its long tail are frequently crisscrossed by the Arabian sand viper.
The land of the State of Israel ends at the Red Sea, its water provides a relief- no serpents.
The Land of Milk and Honey is the home to nine tribes of venomous serpents and people.
The latter dispute over this land. As they bend down to hurl stones at each other, snakes that hide beneath strike. Today, as in Biblical times we wonder why there're so many of them in the land of Milk and Honey.
Naftali Primor
July 2013