February 16, 2006

Starts with the letter "N"

In between meetings at the church building last Sunday, I had sat down with a copy of one of the publications we mail out once a month. (Also the source for the "Fifty Dollar" joke from earlier in the week.) I don't like to call it "trivia," (being that I think that, well, trivializes, Scripture) but it has a feature each month where you test your knowledge of the Good Book with a series of fill-in-the-blank questions. The questions can get a bit obscure, so I was pleased that I had only failed to figure out 3 of the 20 or 25 questions without looking anything up. They give you a list of verses to consult if you have trouble, and so I managed to get two more of the answers with some reference.

But, there was one that was giving me a fit--'What was the name of the brazen serpent Moses made?' I couldn't ever remember it even having a name, and I looked at what I thought should be the normal place to find it--Exodus--but it turns out my problem was in not looking at all the references listed in the fine print. I kept looking for the references to the Pentateuch, but it wasn't in those.

One of the ladies at church had come and sat down while I was busily working the puzzle, and she was stumped, too. It got time for my next meeting, so I promptly forgot about it until last night when she came up to me and asked me if I had ever gotten around to naming my snake.

Of course, the reference flew right on by me and it took a minute or two of her coaxing my memory before the lightbulb ever lit up. Anyway, she gave me a sticky note with the reference verse on it, and I went and looked it up.

Well, I'll be!

So THAT'S what it is!

Since we're all about competitions today, the first person to correctly identify this "Starts With N" name 1) without looking on the Internet, and 2) without asking anyone else, gets a PRIZE! (Just don't be disappointed when you find out it is a virtual pat on the back.)

Posted by Terry Oglesby at February 16, 2006 11:54 AM
Comments

Near as I recall, the Hebrew (still the first version, still the best) gives no name for it.

Given the Hebrew for snake is Nahash (add the guttural in the middle, please), that's my guess. [ed. For the record, BTW, the relevant verses are actually in Numbers, not Exodus.]

Posted by: skinnydan at February 16, 2006 12:11 PM

Well, I didn't look in Numbers, because it wasn't one of the listed references.

Anyway, you're close, but Moses doesn't seem to have called it a proper name, but Hezekiah did.

Posted by: Terry Oglesby at February 16, 2006 12:31 PM

Nazgul, right? Oh, wait, no. That's the guy from Samwise and Chuck Norris and that 24 program you keep going on about.

Posted by: skinnydan at February 16, 2006 01:18 PM

Nictitating Nigel?

Posted by: LittleA at February 16, 2006 01:37 PM

I knew that the symbol has transmogrified to the Caduceus that physicians are associated with these days, but I didn't realize that Hezekiah gave a name for it.

After cheating (google and gospelcom.net are your friends...), I did find it interesting that the word "sounds like the Hebrew for bronze and snake and unclean thing."

Posted by: Byron Todd at February 16, 2006 01:40 PM

For the life of me I can't remember the name of the thing, but the Israelites ended up making it an object of worship, if I remember correctly. Pretty ironic.

Posted by: Diane at February 16, 2006 01:50 PM

Nazgul? Isn't that the nasal spray stuff with the bee?

And no, LittleA, Winky the Snake isn't it, although I have to give you tremendous props for working the work "nictitating" into a comment thread. Bravo!

And Byron, thank you for not yet spilling the beans, and for offering another useful clue.

And yes, Diane, the Israelites got to loving the snake a bit much and started offering incense to it, which is A Very Bad Thing.

Posted by: Terry Oglesby at February 16, 2006 02:16 PM

I know!

(but I ... had to look it up ...)

Posted by: Kenny at February 16, 2006 03:03 PM

Don't feel bad, Kenny.

Posted by: Terry Oglesby at February 16, 2006 03:05 PM