(יד) וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֥ים ׀ אֶֽל־הַנָּחָשׁ֮ כִּ֣י עָשִׂ֣יתָ זֹּאת֒ אָר֤וּר אַתָּה֙ מִכׇּל־הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה וּמִכֹּ֖ל חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה עַל־גְּחֹנְךָ֣ תֵלֵ֔ךְ...
(14) The Divine said to the serpent, "Because you did this, you are more cursed than all cattle and every animal of the field. Upon your belly, you shall walk..."
Is it inherently a curse to walk in a way that differs from our own or others' expectations? The serpent's change from walking "upright like a human" (Genesis Rabbah 20:5) to walking on its belly may at first appear to be a physical degradation from our human perspective. However, unlike many English translations suggest, the serpent is not cursed to "crawl" on the ground in a walking world. Rather, it will embody a new way of walking.
Interestingly, the Divine uses the word תלך. The same root ה-ל-כ, "to walk," occurs in several nonstandard walking movements throughout Genesis:
(ח) וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֞וּ אֶת־ק֨וֹל יְהֹוָ֧ה אֱלֹהִ֛ים מִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ בַּגָּ֖ן...
(8) [Adam and Eve] heard the voice of the Divine walking in the garden...
(יח) וַיִּגְבְּר֥וּ הַמַּ֛יִם וַיִּרְבּ֥וּ מְאֹ֖ד עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַתֵּ֥לֶךְ הַתֵּבָ֖ה עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
(18) The waters strengthened and greatly increased upon the earth, and the ark walked upon the waters.
(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃
(1) The Divine said to Avram, “Walk to your Self, from your native land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
These cases illustrate respectively how different ways of walking can manifest divinity, preserve life in the face of disaster, and bring one to new ways of relating to oneself and one's location. The serpent's walking is thus situated in a network of instances of "nonstandard" walking that suggest the serpent may yet yield meaning from what is initially framed as a curse.