Numbers 21:4-9, to heal the Hebrews' snake bites, Moses makes a bronze serpent on a stick, as per God's instructions. They don't worship it, but they are to look at it in order to live. Isn't this sort of like an idol, or a graven image? Or could it be a reference to something learned from Egypt, like possible Hermetic disciplines?  Is it related to the image of a serpent coiled around a staff, seen commonly today in the medical field?