Pt1 Dealing with Dangerous Snakes: Swallowing, Bites, Pursuits, and Attacks (Shabbat 109b-110a)
This is the first part of a two-part series. The outline is below.1
Outline
Treatment for Swallowing a Snake
Snake Encirclement (constriction?)
Being Pursued by a Snake
A Woman Being Sexually Pursued by a Snake
A Woman Being Raped by a Snake
Appendix - Hyperbolic Vows and the Giant Snake in the time of King Shapur (Nedarim 25a)
The Passage
Treatment for Swallowing a Snake
Scenario: Someone swallows a snake.
Remedy: Feed the person hops (כשותא) with salt and make them run three mil to expel the snake in pieces.
Stories:
Rav Shimi bar Ashi (רב שימי בר אשי) witnessed a person swallow a snake. He appeared to him as a horseman (פרשא) and fed them hops with salt, made them run, and the snake came out of him in pieces (גובי).
Alternative version: Rav Shimi himself swallowed a snake. Elijah appeared as a horseman,2 administered the remedy, and saved him.
האי מאן דבלע חיויא —
לוכליה כשותא במילחא,
ולירהטיה תלתא מילי.
רב שימי בר אשי חזייה לההוא גברא דבלע חיויא.
אידמי ליה כפרשא.
אוכליה כשותא במילחא
וארהטיה קמיה תלתא מילי,
ונפק מיניה גובי גובי.
איכא דאמרי:
רב שימי בר אשי בלע חיויא,
אתא אליהו אידמי ליה כפרשא.
אוכליה כשותא במילחא
וארהטיה קמיה תלתא מילי
ונפק מיניה גובי גובי.
[...]
One who swallowed a snake
should be fed hops in salt,
and then he should be made to run a distance of three mil.
The Gemara relates: Rav Shimi bar Ashi saw a person who swallowed a snake,
and Rav Ashi appeared to that person as a horseman.
Rav Shimi fed him hops with salt
and made him run in front of him for three mil,
and the snake came out of him in pieces.
Some say that
Rav Shimi bar Ashi was the one who swallowed a snake,
and Elijah came and appeared to Rav Ashi as a horseman.
He fed him hops with salt
and made him run in front of him for three mil,
and the snake came out of him in pieces.
[...]
Snake Encirclement (constriction?)
Scenario: A snake encircles (כרכיה) someone.3
Remedy: The person should descend into water, place a basket (דיקולא) on their head, and remove the snake into the basket.4 Then throw the basket (containing the snake) into the water, then exit the water.
האי מאן דכרכיה חיויא —
לינחות למיא
וליסחוף דיקולא ארישיה
ולהדקיה מיניה,
וכי סליק עילויה — לישדיה למיא
וליסלוק וליתי.
The Gemara cites additional information about the dangers posed by snakes and how to deal with them.
One whom a snake encircled
should descend into water
and place a basket on his head
and remove the snake slowly from him into the basket.
And once the snake goes into the basket, let him throw it into the water
and climb and emerge.
Being Pursued by a Snake
Scenario: A snake is pursuing5 someone.
Remedies:
Ride on someone else's back for four cubits (גרמידי), if possible.
If alone, jump over (לישואר) a ditch (נגרא) or cross a river to escape.
If at night, sleep with these precautions:
Place the bed (פריה) on four jugs6
The bed should be outside (“beneath the stars”)
Surround it with four cats tied to the bed's legs.
Scatter twigs and branches (שחפי) nearby to alert the cats when the snake approaches, so they can attack it and eat it.7
The Talmud then adds that “one who is being pursued (רהיט אבתריה) by a snake should run in sand.”8
האי מאן דמיקני ביה חיויא,
אי איכא חבריה בהדיה —
לירכביה ארבע גרמידי,
ואי לא —
לישואר נגרא,
ואי לא —
ליעבר נהרא,
ובליליא —
לותביה לפריה אארבע חביתא
וניגני בי כוכבי,
ולייתי ארבעה שונרי,
וליסרינהו בארבעה כרעי דפורייה,
וליתי שחפי, ולישדי התם,
דכי שמעי קליה, אכלי ליה.
האי מאן דרהיט אבתריה —
לירהוט בי חלתא.
One at whom a snake is angry and is being pursued by a snake,
if he has another with him,
let him ride him four cubits.
And if not,
let him jump over a ditch.
And if not,
let him cross a river.
And at night
let him place his bed on four barrels
and sleep outside beneath the stars.
And let one bring four cats
and let one tie them to the four legs of the bed.
And let one bring twigs and branches and throw them there
so that when the cats hear the sound of the snake crawling they will eat it.
One who is being pursued by a snake,
let him run in sand because a snake cannot move as quickly in sand as a person can.
A section of this sugya was already discussed in my recent piece here, section “A Snake of the Rabbis: Punishment for Defying Rabbinic Decrees (Shabbat 109b-110a)”, hence I elide it in this series.
See the first note in that piece for other pieces of mine on Talmudic passages that discuss the dangers of snakes.
See my piece on incarnation of heavenly beings in the Talmud: ““He appeared to him as a [X]”: Talmudic Stories of Incarnations of God, Eliyahu, Satan, and Demons“.
This is likely referring to “constriction”. See Wikipedia, “Constriction“:
Constriction is a method used by several snake species to kill or subdue their prey. Although some species of venomous and mildly venomous snakes do use constriction to subdue their prey, most snakes which use constriction lack venom. The snake strikes at its prey and holds on, pulling the prey into its coils or, in the case of very large prey, pulling itself onto the prey. The snake then wraps one or two loops around the prey, forming a constriction coil. The snake monitors the prey's heartbeat to ascertain it is dead.
This can be a physically demanding and potentially dangerous procedure for the snake, because its metabolism is accelerated up to sevenfold and it becomes vulnerable to attack by another predator.
Contrary to myth, the snake does not generally crush the prey, or break its bones. However, wild anacondas have been observed to cause broken bones in large prey. Also contrary to prior belief, the snake does not suffocate the victim. Instead, a study of boa constrictors showed that constriction halts blood flow and prevents oxygen from reaching vital organs such as the heart and brain, leading to unconsciousness within seconds and cardiac arrest shortly thereafter.
Parts of this seem fully practical. For example, the use of a basket provides a physical barrier to safely remove and contain the snake without provoking it to bite.
In this section and the next, it is evident that water is viewed as a barrier to snakes. However, most snakes are in fact excellent swimmers. See Wikipedia, Aquatic locomotion, section “Reptiles“:
Terrestrial snakes, in spite of their 'bad' hydromechanical shape with roughly circular cross-section and gradual posterior taper, swim fairly readily when required, by an anguilliform propulsion (see Fish locomotion#Anguilliform).
The Talmudic advice might reflect a belief that water acts as a psychological or physical barrier to snakes, but this does not align with modern zoological understanding.
It’s possible that the water suggestion in the Talmud served more to immobilize the snake temporarily or reduce its ability to strike, rather than an assumption that snakes cannot swim.
For another mention in the Talmud of cats eating snakes, see Pesachim.112b.10, where Rav Pappa offers advice regarding houses and safety from snakes (each piece of advice is a different version of what Rav Pappa may have said):
In a house with a cat, avoid walking barefoot, as the cat may eat snakes, and their small bones could pierce the skin, causing danger.
In a house without a cat, avoid entering in the dark, as snakes might be present without a cat to hunt them, risking an unnoticed encounter (and “will wrap itself - מיכריך - around him”, as in the previous section, which likely means constriction, see my previous footnote).
Here’s the passage:
אמר רב פפא:
ביתא דאית ביה שונרא
לא ניעול בה איניש בלא מסני.
מאי טעמא —
משום דשונרא קטיל לחיויא ואכיל ליה,
ואית ביה בחיויא גרמי קטיני,
ואי יתיב לה גרמא דחיויא אכרעיה —
לא נפיק, ואסתכן ליה.
איכא דאמרי:
ביתא דלית ביה שונרא —
לא ניעול ביה איניש בהכרא,
מאי טעמא —
דילמא מיכריך ביה חויא
ולא ידע, ומסתכן.
Rav Pappa said:
With regard to a house in which there is a cat,
a person should not enter there barefoot.
What is the reason?
Because the cat might kill a snake and eat it,
and the snake has small bones (גרמי),
and if a small bone gets into one’s foot
it cannot be removed, and he will be in danger.
Some say that Rav Pappa said:
With regard to a house in which there is no cat,
a person should not enter there in the dark.
What is the reason?
Since there is no cat to hunt snakes, perhaps a snake will wrap itself (מיכריך) around him
without him knowing and he will be in danger.
Comparing Rav Pappa’s advice with modern scientific understanding reveals a blend of practical observation and misconceptions:
Houses with Cats (Barefoot Warning):
Talmudic View: Rav Pappa warns that cats might eat snakes, and leftover small snake bones could pose a hazard by piercing the skin.
Modern Understanding: Cats are effective predators of small snakes and other vermin (see Wikipedia, “Cat predation on wildlife“). However, the idea that snake bones would remain sharp enough to pierce skin and cause harm is somewhat questionable. Snake bones are generally fragile and unlikely to retain such properties. (Even fish bones are generally sharper, more durable, and more likely to cause harm compared to snake bones.) The advice might reflect a general caution about stepping on sharp objects.
Houses without Cats (Darkness Warning):
Talmudic View: In the absence of a cat, snakes may roam freely in the house, and entering in the dark increases the risk of an unnoticed encounter.
Modern Understanding: Snakes, particularly in warm climates, can indeed inhabit homes seeking shelter or prey. Darkness indeed increases the likelihood of accidental encounters with snakes.
Steinsaltz: “because a snake cannot move as quickly in sand as a person can“.
However, from a modern understanding, this holds true only for snakes that are not adapted for sand, such as terrestrial snakes relying on lateral undulation. However: sidewinders and other sand-adapted snakes can move faster than humans on sand. For non-sand-adapted snakes, locomotion in sand is inefficient and indeed slower than human movement.
So the advice may be valid for non-sand-adapted snakes like many colubrids or vipers. For sand-adapted snakes, humans would likely be outpaced due to the efficiency of sidewinding.