Viper: 1. In
(Job 20:16; Isaiah 30:6; 59:5) the Heb. word eph'eh is thus
rendered. The Hebrew word, however, probably denotes a species of
poisonous serpents known by the Arabic name of 'el ephah. Tristram
has identified it with the sand viper, a species of small size
common in sandy regions, and frequently found under stones by the
shores of the Dead Sea. It is rapid in its movements, and highly
poisonous.
2. In the New Testament echidne is used
(Matthew 3:7; 12:34; 23:33) for
any poisonous snake. The viper mentioned in
(Acts 28:3) was
probably the vipera aspis, or the Mediterranean viper.
