1, "Now the serpent was more subtle," etc., evidently points to something beyond the natural subtlety of the serpent, as the result of which the subsequent words cannot be understood, but behind which we may discover the intimation: let him who reads, understand. The view, that the serpent was the sole independent agent in this transaction, is thus refuted by internal reasons. It is set aside by the testimony of tradition also. It was an opinion universally prevalent among the Jews, that Satan himself had been active in the temptation of the first man. It is found in _Philo_; and in the Book of Wisdom, ii. 24, it is said, "By the envy of _Satan_, death came into the world." In the later Jewish writings, _Sammael_, the head of the evil spirits, is called הנחש הקדמוני "the old serpent," or simply נחש "serpent," because in the form of a serpent he tempted Eve. (See the passage in _Eisenmenger's entdecktes Judenthum_ i. S. 822.) In the sacred books of the Persians also, the agency of Satan in the fall of our first parents is taught. According to the _Zendavesta_ (ed. by _Kleuker_, Th. 3, S. 84, 85), the first men, Meshia and Meshianeh, were created by God in a state of purity and goodness, and destined for happiness, on condition of humility of heart, obedience to the requirements of the law, and purity in thoughts, words, and actions. But they were deceived by Ahriman, "this mischievous one who from the beginning sought only to deceive, were induced to rebel against God, and forfeited their happiness by the eating of fruits." According to the same book (Th. iii. [Pg 17] S. 62), Ahriman in the form of a serpent springs down from heaven to earth; and another evil spirit is called (Th. ii. S. 217) the serpent--_Dew._ (Compare _Rhode_, _die heilige Sage des Zendvolkes_, S. 392.) These facts prove that at the time when the Persian religion received Jewish elements (compare _Stuhr_, _die Religionssysteme des Orientes_, S. 373), and hence, soon after the captivity, the doctrine of Satan's agency in the temptation of our first parents was prevalent among the Jews. But of decisive weight upon this point is the evidence furnished by the New Testament. We must here above all consider the important testimony supplied by the fact of the history of the first and second Adam being parallel (Rom. v. 12 sqq.; 1 Cor. xv. 45 sqq.),--a testimony, the weight and importance of which have, in modern times, been again pointed out by _Hahn_ in his _Dogmatik_. The necessity of Christ's temptation by the prince of this world, in order that He, by His firm resistance, might deprive him of his dominion over mankind, indicates that Adam was assailed by the same tempter, and, by being overcome, laid the foundation of that dominion.