Why do people think the serpent in genesis was 'the devil'?

In Genesis, the serpent tempts Eve. Nothing in the book suggests that the serpent was 'the devil' in disguise, nor does it imply 'the devil' was controlling the serpent. Further, when it was all over, God punished the serpent and it's offspring to...

crawl on their bellies and 'eat dust' - which would obviously make no sense if it was really the devil in disguise.

Why then, when the story clearly states it was a serpent, and never makes any mention of Satan or any devil, do so many people equate the serpent with 'the devil'?

Yes, the serpent in Genesis chapter 3 was Satan. Satan was either appearing as a serpent, possessing the serpent, or deceiving Adam and Eve into believing that it was the serpent who was talking to them. Serpents / snakes do not possess the ability to speak. Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 both describe Satan as a serpent. “He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:2). “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him” (Revelation 12:9).

While the Bible is not clear as to whether or not the serpent stood up or walked before it the curse, it appears likely that like other reptiles it probably did walk on four legs. That would seem to be the best explanation of Genesis 3:14, "So the LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.’” The fact that the serpent was cursed to crawl on his belly and eat the dust of the earth forever is also a way if indicating that the serpent would be forever despised and looked upon as a vile and despicable creature and an object of scorn and contempt. Why did God curse the serpent when He knew that it was actually Satan who had led Adam and Eve into sin? The fate of the serpent is an illustration. The curse of the serpent will one day be the fate of Satan himself (Revelation 20:10; Ezekiel 28:18-19).
Quoted from:
http://www.gotquestions.org/Satan-serpent.html

I believe that 'the Satan' is a name meaning 'the tempter', so there's a logical match in roles, there...

On earth before the fall of man, everything was perfect. The only thing or should I say person who wasn't perfect was Satan. He turned from God and was cast out of heaven to the earth. All evil and temptation comes from him. So, even if it wasn't the devil in that serpent, it was his doing.

The word 'satan' is not used anywhere in that genesis story. Further, 'satan' literally means 'adversary', not 'tempter'.

If the fate of the serpent is an illustration, the why is the rest of the story not also an illustration (aka allegory)?

snakes dont talk there for ythe evil ness was the devil because nothing else was evil at the time

If the "serpent" was the devil and not a real snake, then God's curse on the snake that he "walk on his belly and eat dust" either makes no sense or can't be taken literally. And if it can't be taken literally, then you don't really know what parts of the Bible to take literally.

The Serpent was not Satan at all it was Lilith. The estranged first wife of Adam that would not submit as he wanted and so she left. God cursed her to become the mother of Demons. Lilith came back to the Eden valley and found a way into the garden. She found Eve and tempted her with carnal knowledge, then when she was satisfied that Eve had an understanding of sex she told her to seek out Adam. When Eve performed sex with Adam he was suddenly aware of a use for his genitals that he had not known before. When God came to Adam and asked him why he was ashamed of his nakedness, Adam told God the reason. In his anger that his prized creations had been tainted he cast them out of the Garden and pushed them out of the Eden Valley. He sent the Angel Gabriel to find and destroy Lilith yet she was unable to locate her.

You have to wonder why god would give Adam and Eve genitals if he didn't want them to use them.

What make you think He didn't want them to use them. . .
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them: and God said unto them, BE FRUITFUL, and MULYIPLY, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
What religion are you saint?

No, the serpent in the Bible is not Satan, or the devil as he has come to be known. If it was Satan, why does the Bible refer to the serpent as a "beast of the field" in Genesis 3:1? In every other mention of Satan in the Bible, the language is very clear who it is, but why call him a serpent in this case? No, it was a serpent, a creature of the field, just like all the others.

It's also pretty clear that during the Old Testament, Satan was still a member of the heavenly court, and he frequently does God's dirty work. See , Job 1 and 2, Zechariah 3:1-7, and especialy 1 Chronicles 21:1, where Satan acts under God's influence to tempt David.

Nowhere in the Old Testament is Satan portrayed as the archenemy of God, who opposes God. He is an angel of God who clearly does God's bidding, no matter how ugly it is. It isn't until the New Testament do we see Satan, or the devil, referred to as an opponent of God who is out to subvert.

The God of the Old Testament is clearly the personification of both good and evil.

Isaiah 45:6-7 "...I am the LORD and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace an create evil. I the LORD do all these things."

or in Job 9:22-23: "He destroys both the blameless and the wicked. When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent." (here Job is clearly frustrated and angry at God).

Lamentations 3:37-38: "Who has commanded and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and evil come?"

The God, and Satan, of the New Testaments and Old Testaments are not the same beings. That is clear for anyone who seriously reads the Bible to see.

semi1900... satan had asked permission to try and destroy job's life. God allowed it because he know Job was a follower of Him and no matter what Job would glorify God in the midst of his trials because He knows that God is sovereign. Satan did everything he could to bring Job down and yes, Job did suffer but never once did he let his love for God leave him.

eleni -toadaly-

The carnal mind cannot discern the things of the spirit. The bible is spirit inspired, and has to be understood thru the power of that same spirit. That is where the confusion comes from. The mind of reason.

katydid747...The story of Job illustrates that God is both good AND evil; he is involved in a debate with Satan about the faithfulness of humanity, and Job, one of his most devoted followers, is the pawn in that debate. He allows Satan to take everything away from Job all for a test of faith. It's the same reason he brought Abraham to the brink of murdering his son. The God of the Old Testament clearly enjoys toying with humanity, simply to see how far people will go to carry out his orders.

Silverwings,

That's one of the lamest excuses believers offer. It's answers no question has no substance. If something can't be understood by reason then that's because it is UNREASONABLE and IRRATIONAL. I capitalize these words in hopes that you will understand how silly it sounds from a logical perspective and not to imply any sort of shouting. I also do not mean to imply anything about you personally - just your answer.

satan Like the serpent are Decievers . Saten Is a enemy he wants to steal kill and destroy , he is a deciever a lier and he wants to fool people and lead people away from God.

Why all this talk of Satan, when he isn't mentioned in the story I referenced?

Truthlyfully its all symbolic and since the snake is the closest to the dirt thats who he related him to just like in revelations he describes the downfall of all men the root of all evil a women with writing on her forhead it actually represents money!!

silverwings, reason causes confusion? Would you make that same claim in any other aspect of life, or do you agree you are making a special exception in this case (aka, special pleading)?

*** Nowhere in the Old Testament is Satan portrayed as the arch-enemy of God,
Actually if you would read it you would find that Satan is Challanging God in the book of Job. Not doing his dirty work and if you read the whole story you will find tat job never once curses God.

Eve wasn't surprised that a serpent was speaking to her, right? If she was we might of read that she asked Adam about an animal speaking. So this must of been normal. If my dog spoke to me, I would be shocked and would ask others about this, however, if my dog always spoke then it would be normal. So the serpent must of been tempted by the promise of power by Satan like Jesus was or the serpent was just curious, but the serpent seemed to know more about it than Eve so I would assume an outside influence. The serpent is cursed by God and we have evidence of this by looking at the skeleton of a serpent having the arm and leg sockets but they do not grow. Most importantly read Romans 10:13 and by your decision my the Holy Spirit lead the way.

neal, in Job, Satan asks God for permission to test Job, and God gives it. That hardly sounds like the behavior of two enemies. Satan (literally 'the adversary') is the adversary of MEN in the OT, including in Job, not the adversary of God.