Based on the presented sources, one might suggest that the role of the serpent as a tempter was foreseen in God’s broader plan, where its deed served a dual purpose: firstly, it led people, through their act of disobedience, to understand the true nature of good and evil; and secondly, it provided a foundation for establishing principles of retribution and mercy.

Divine Duality: The Serpent’s Role in Unveiling Human Choice

Based on the presented sources, one might suggest that the role of the serpent as a tempter was foreseen in God’s broader plan, where its deed served a dual purpose: firstly, it led people, through their act of disobedience, to understand the true nature of good and evil; and secondly, it provided a foundation for establishing principles of retribution and mercy. In other words, instead of permanently destroying or banishing the entity responsible for deception, God decided to apply a measure of punishment that was both corrective and exemplary.

As noted in one of the sources, the serpent was not interrogated because God already knew of its guilt, and this very fact served as the justification for its punishment—not so much out of a desire to expel it as to pronounce a curse: “For God hated him who seduced the man, yet gradually showed mercy to the seduced. Therefore, He expelled him from Paradise and removed him from the Tree of Life…” ( link txt). This shows that the serpent’s punishment was a curse intended to diminish its influence through a reduction in status, rather than through complete destruction or immediate expulsion as originally planned.

Another source emphasizes that the serpent’s actions were significant in triggering an entire process: “And the serpent heralded idololatry, polytheism, and a deceit-filled mindset; yet the culprit of this was not solely...” ( link txt). Thus, the serpent’s deed was perceived not as a random occurrence, but as a precursor to a certain development of the spirit of the age, in which the testing of humankind through disobedience became a necessary element of the divine plan.

Moreover, the serpent’s status as marked by the curse (as seen in the source “Cursed are you among all livestock…” ( link txt)) indicates that the punishment was symbolic—it pointed to its diminished status and ongoing enmity with humanity, serving as a constant reminder of the consequences of deceit. Perhaps it was precisely this function—the maintenance of an element symbolizing evil within the cosmic order—that led God not to destroy it completely, but to leave it in the world as part of the eternal struggle between good and evil.

Thus, it can be said that God did not completely expel the tempter-serpent, since its deed played a specific role in revealing the nature of human choice and served as a turning point in the establishment of divine justice and mercy. By altering its fate through a curse, God simultaneously lessened its influence (for example, by removing it from the Tree of Life) while retaining its presence as an element through which people could learn to distinguish truth from error.