Considering the authority God gave the humans over the animals according to Gen 1:28:
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.
Is it possible to consider the snake as a wayward animal, like a wayward sheep that the shepherd goes out to find it? Moreover, could we affirm that humans were the guardians of the animals?
Genesis 3:1 (NIV) Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The Bible has no mention of the waywardness of the serpent, but says it was crafty. We have no proof that the serpent was wayward or not. One thing is certain, the snake was completely under the control of Adam and Eve. The serpent did not force the woman nor was not in a position to do so, but was having a normal conversation with her with crafty approach. The craftiness of the serpent was not detected by Eve. We may presume that the serpent was possessed by Satan in order to deceive Eve with all his craftiness. Eve knew very well that she had the power to rebuke the serpent but instead, she was listening to the serpent who was inferior to her. This left Eve without any excuse to defend herself for breaking the command of God that she should not eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of Eden.
