Original Word: אֶפְעֶה
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: eph`eh
Pronunciation: eh-feh
Phonetic Spelling: (ef-eh')
KJV: viper
NASB: snake, viper, viper's
Word Origin: [from H659 (אֵפַע - Ephah) (in the sense of hissing)]

1. an asp or other venomous serpent

viper

From epha' (in the sense of hissing); an asp or other venomous serpent -- viper.

see HEBREW epha'

Word Origin
from paah
Definition
(a kind of) viper
NASB Translation
snake (1), viper (1), viper's (1).

אֶפְעֶה noun [masculine] a kind of viper (Thes 'a flando et sibilando;' compare Arabic viper, Ethiopic id.); — ׳א Isaiah 30:6; Isaiah 59:5, ׳לְשׁוֺן א Job 20:16.

Entry: Ephae (Strong’s Hebrew 660)

Physical Identity and Habitat

The term describes a highly venomous desert serpent. Zoologically it most closely matches the saw-scaled viper that still inhabits the arid regions of the Negev, Sinai, and Arabian deserts. This small, sandy-colored snake is known for its lethal hemotoxic venom and for the rasping sound it makes by rubbing its coils together—an apt emblem of hidden danger in the wilderness settings in which Israel often traveled.

Occurrences in Scripture

1. Job 20:16 – “He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.”
2. Isaiah 30:6 – “Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and roaring lion, of viper and flying serpent….”
3. Isaiah 59:5 – “They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave a spider’s web; whoever eats their eggs will die, and crack one open—and a viper is hatched.”

Exegetical Insights

• Job 20:16 portrays the viper as an instrument of swift, inescapable judgment. Zophar’s speech warns that the wicked who greedily “suck” iniquity will find it turning to deadly venom within them. The viper’s fang becomes a poetic picture of God’s retributive justice.
• Isaiah 30:6 lists the viper among the perils of a fruitless diplomatic mission to Egypt. Judah’s leaders, seeking help apart from the LORD, must literally haul their treasures through viper-infested wastes—an ironic reminder that self-reliance exposes them to mortal danger.
• Isaiah 59:5 uses the viper’s egg as an image of sin’s generative power. Unrepentant hearts “incubate” evil; the moment the shell breaks, fully formed destruction emerges. The metaphor underscores corporate guilt: Israel’s social injustices give birth to communal ruin.

Theological and Symbolic Significance

Serpents in Scripture trace back to Genesis 3, where the tempter appears as a crafty snake. Later passages build on that association, casting the viper as:
• An emblem of concealed hostility (Psalm 140:3; Romans 3:13).
• A sign of divine curse and judgment (Deuteronomy 32:24; Jeremiah 8:17).
• A foil against which messianic hope shines; the promised Seed will crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15).

Ephae in Isaiah 59:5 anticipates the chapter’s climactic promise of a Redeemer who will “come to Zion” (Isaiah 59:20). Humanity’s brood of vipers necessitates a Savior able to neutralize the venom of sin.

Historical Background

Ancient Near Eastern texts and iconography frequently depict venomous snakes as guardians of forbidden spaces and agents of divine wrath. Egyptian uræus symbolism, for example, placed a rearing cobra on the pharaoh’s brow as a mark of lethal authority. Israel, surrounded by such imagery, would readily grasp the connotations of lethal serpents when the prophets employed the figure.

Intertextual Connections

Numbers 21:6–9 records the plague of fiery serpents and the bronze serpent lifted up for healing—an event Jesus applies to His own crucifixion in John 3:14. The viper thus forms part of a larger biblical motif: deadly serpent → God-given antidote → typological fulfillment in Christ, “who knew no sin” yet became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Ministry and Pastoral Application

• Sin’s sweetness masks deadly poison (Job 20:16). Preaching that image presses believers toward genuine repentance.
• Self-devised solutions that bypass God expose the church to spiritual vipers (Isaiah 30:6). Leaders must weigh alliances and strategies in prayerful dependence on the Lord.
• Congregational life can incubate either life-giving fruit or viper’s eggs (Isaiah 59:5). Discipleship practices should aim to break cycles of bitterness and deceit before they hatch.

Summary

Ephae embodies hidden but lethal danger, God’s righteous judgment, and humanity’s need for divine deliverance. The motif culminates in Christ, who crushes the serpent and offers the only antidote to the venom of sin.

אֶפְעֶֽה׃ אֶפְעֶה֙ אפעה אפעה׃ ’ep̄‘eh ’ep̄·‘eh efEhInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts