"The Lord said to Moses, 'Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.' So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived."
— Numbers 21:8-9 (NIV)
People who search bible verses about the brazen serpent want Scripture on the bronze / Nehushtan lifted serpent and the look-and-live type — not only the salvation gospel hub alone, the Jesus Jesus hub alone, or the Christ Christ hub alone. This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about salvation, Bible verses about Jesus, Bible verses about Christ, Bible verses about faith, Bible verses about hope, Bible verses about passover, Bible verses about covenant, Bible verses about worship, Bible verses about living God, Bible verses about providence, Bible verses about manna, and Bible verse of the day. Brazen serpent here means the lifted bronze snake and its New Testament fulfillment — distinct from dwelling Presence and kabod-filling inventories. Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, and Bible verses about Moses gathers the Scriptures on his life.
Word study (lead theme). In Hebrew, נָחָשׁ nachash (Strong's H5175; Bible Hub H5175) — serpent / snake; and נְחֹשֶׁת nechosheth (Strong's H5178; Bible Hub H5178) — bronze / copper / brass. In Numbers 21 the Lord tells Moses to make a snake and put it on a pole — look and live. Later the object is called Nehushtan and destroyed when it becomes an idol (2 Kings 18:4). Jesus applies the type in John 3:14–15. This list tracks that lifted-serpent inventory — not the general salvation twelve alone.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 21 presses the bronze serpent as the remedy by looking (Bible Hub MHC Numbers 21; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Numbers 21). See also MHC on John 3 for the lifted-up Son (Bible Hub MHC John 3; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on John 3). (Shekinah and shekinah-glory pages live elsewhere; this list centers the serpent type.)
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What was the bronze serpent?
In Numbers 21:4-9 Israel is going around Edom. The people grow impatient and speak against the Lord and against Moses. The Lord sends venomous snakes among them, and many Israelites die. They come to Moses, say they have sinned, and ask him to pray. The Lord tells Moses to make a snake and put it on a pole, so that anyone who is bitten can look at it and live. Moses makes a bronze snake, sets it on a pole, and the people who look at it live.
In 2 Kings 18:4 Hezekiah breaks that bronze snake into pieces. Up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. The verse says it was called Nehushtan.
In John 3:14-15 Jesus says that just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
12 Bible verses about the brazen serpent
Numbers 21:6. "Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died." Venomous snakes among them — the judgment that sets up the remedy. See Bible verses about living God.
Numbers 21:7. "The people came to Moses and said, 'We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.' So Moses prayed for the people." We sinned — pray that the Lord will take the snakes away. See Bible verses about faith.
Numbers 21:8. "The Lord said to Moses, 'Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.'" Make a snake — look and live. See Bible verses about salvation.
Numbers 21:9. "So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived." The bronze snake on a pole — looked and lived. See Bible verses about hope.
2 Kings 18:4. "He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)" Hezekiah breaks Nehushtan — the type must not become an idol. See Bible verses about worship.
John 3:14. "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up," Just as Moses lifted up the snake — so the Son of Man. See Bible verses about Jesus.
John 3:15. "that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." Everyone who believes may have eternal life. See Bible verses about Christ.
John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." The next line after the serpent type — believe and live. See Bible verses about salvation.
John 8:28. "So Jesus said, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.'" When you have lifted up the Son of Man. See Bible verses about Jesus.
John 12:32-33. "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die." Lifted up from the earth — the kind of death. See Bible verses about Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:9. "We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes." Do not test Christ — as some were killed by snakes. See Bible verses about faith.
Isaiah 45:22. "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other." Turn to me and be saved — the look motif without inventing a second serpent. See Bible verses about providence.
How to use these verses
Pick one verse when you need the brazen serpent — not twelve as a grind. If you need look-and-live, start at Numbers 21:8–9. If you need Jesus applying the type, open John 3:14–15. If you need the warning against idolizing the object, open 2 Kings 18:4. For general gospel without the serpent type, open Bible verses about salvation. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.
Questions people ask
What is a good Bible verse about the brazen serpent?
Numbers 21:8–9 is the clear starting place; John 3:14–15 presses the New Testament fulfillment.
How do Bible verses about the brazen serpent differ from salvation alone?
Salvation pages gather gospel and deliverance speech broadly. This list centers the bronze snake on a pole and Jesus' "lifted up" application.
What Hebrew words sit under brazen serpent?
Nachash (H5175) — serpent; nechosheth (H5178) — bronze / copper. Nehushtan is the later name for the object in 2 Kings 18:4.
Why isn't Exodus 25:8 or 2 Chronicles 7:1 on this page?
Those exclusive dwelling-promise and kabod-filling leads stay on their hubs so the lists stay distinct (this page owns the serpent-type inventory above).
How is the brazen serpent different from Jesus alone?
Jesus pages gather titles and gospel about him. This list centers the Numbers 21 type that Jesus himself cites in John 3:14.
Why did God tell Moses to make a bronze serpent?
Numbers 21:4-9 says the people spoke against the Lord and against Moses, and the Lord sent venomous snakes so that many Israelites died. The people confessed that sin and asked Moses to pray. The Lord then told Moses to make a snake and put it on a pole, so that anyone bitten could look at it and live. Moses made a bronze snake, and those who looked lived. The passage states that command as the way the bitten would live.
What does the bronze serpent have to do with Jesus?
John 3:14-15 records what Jesus says to Nicodemus: just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. The connection is the one Jesus states there, between the lifted snake and the lifted Son of Man. John 3:16 goes on to say that God gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
