Did God Create Evil?
If everything that the LORD God made was good (טֹ֖וב), beneficial and helpful to humanity, evaluated as such by His own mind (Genesis 1:31), then how are we to understand that one of His creatures was crafty? The term “crafty” is naturally understood as a negative trait. How, then, can we evaluate something negative as positive, as “good”? Did a good God create evil?
“Now the serpent was crafty as none other of the wild animals the LORD God had made.” Genesis 3:1.
It appears that the serpent (הַנָּחָשׁ֙; ὄφις, Greek LXX) was the exception to the good God had made (Genesis 1:31). So, did God actually make a crafty creature, a creature with inherent, negative traits? Is God, then, the author of evil? And, what was a crafty creature doing in the land the LORD had made for Adam and Eve? Why would God place a crafty creature into His presence in the Garden, the first Holy of Holies?
To make the issue more intriguing, the Hebrew term translated as “crafty” in Genesis 3:1 is used predominantly in a positive sense (“prudent,” “wise”) throughout the Old Testament.[1]
And, then, to thicken the plot, we discover that Jesus understood the serpent’s “prudence” as a positive quality. He exhorted his disciples to become like serpents. The single characteristic of the serpent his disciples were to emulate was being φρόνιμοι, the exact same word used in Genesis 3:1(in the LXX). Observe Jesus’ words:
γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις.
“Therefore, become prudent/wise as serpents.” Matthew 10:16
So, Jesus interpreted the serpent’s trait in a positive light, not negative. Jesus used the exact same Greek word for “serpent” and for “crafty.” But rather than viewing the serpent’s trait as “crafty” (as negative), Jesus evaluated it as positive. Become wise as serpents.
This means, of course, that God did not make a “crafty” creature, an evil creature, but a particular creature that was wise, prudent as none of the other animals. God made an exceptionally wise creature.
This view implies that God was not responsible for creating evil. And, it also means that God did not place a crafty creature into His presence, but rather, a creature marked by His special favor. But that unique creature abused his[2] special favor (wisdom, prudence) from God for evil intentions.[3] The serpent abused his God-given favor, his wisdom, for his own selfish intentions. And the tragic result was humanity’s estrangement from God’s presence, guilt before God, a life of pain and sorrow, ending in death.
So, is God the author of evil? I would say no. This brings up the logical question: So, when did Satan fall?
Thank you for reading.
[1] Proverbs 12:16,23; 13:16; 14:8, 15,18; 22:3; 27:12. “The prudent see danger and take refuge; but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” “Prudent” and “simple” are contrastive.
[2] I use “he” to refer to the creature without specifying gender.
[3] Using wisdom for evil intentions sounds very much like King Solomon, who also was exceptionally wise, but who used God’s favor, his wisdom, for evil purposes. Is it a coincidence that Solomon is the author of many of the Proverbs where we find the word “prudent?”