Fiery flying serpent

Common card · No. 430173

The fiery flying serpent (Hebrew: שָׂרָף מְעוֹפֵף sārāf mə‘ōfēf; Greek: ὄφεις πετόμενοι; Latin: draco volans) is a creature mentioned in the Book of Isaiah in the Tanakh. The term translated as "fiery serpent", saraph, appears elsewhere in the Book of Isaiah to signify the seraphim, the singular form of which is also saraph. Etymologically, the origin for this word is likely derived from a root meaning "to burn", referencing the venomous bite of such creatures, before it became a standard noun. Parallels are mentioned outside of the Bible by an account involving the Assyrian king Esarhaddon in the 7th century BC, as "snake with deadly breath, and yellow flying serpents". As well as by Herodotus in the 5th century BC, where winged serpents were said to inhabit the areas of Arabia and Egypt.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Philip De Vere, CC BY-SA 3.0