The serpent's motivation is not stated, but a clue may lie in the characterization of him as one of the wild animals that "the Lord God had made" (3:1a), perhaps a reference to God's creation of all the animals as possible partners for the man (2:18-20). Since the serpent was "more crafty" than all the rest, he must have been the most likely candidate as a helping partner [עֵזֶר כְּנֶגְדּוֹ] for the man, which may further explain the serpent's ability to speak, reason, and engage the woman in dialogue (she did not seem surprised). As the animal most like the man and therefore the best candidate as his companion, the serpent may therefore be motivated by resentment of the woman. He has been rejected as companion to the man, while the woman is the perfect fulfillment of the man's and God's desires. This may also explain why the serpent approaches the woman instead of the man; he is attacking his competition.
Bill T. Arnold,
Genesis (NCBC; Cambridge: CUP, 2009), 63-64, with reference to L. G. Stone, "
The Soul: Possession, Part, or Person?" in
What About the Soul? Neuroscience and Christian Anthropology (2004), 58-59.
