248 The Spiritual World (2) Problems in Paleo Paradise

"There was a serpent in the garden of Eden." What does that mean? First? I erase some glosses that get overlaid onto the text. Then, we work through both some historical-cultural and textual framing of the story of the serpent. What would ancient readers immediately have recognized about that creature, that story? How does the notion of divine oracles play into the story? Come laugh and think with me.