(Heb. pethen), Deut. 32:33; Job 20:14, 16; Isa. 11:8. It was probably the Egyptian cobra (Naja haje), which was very poisonous (Rom. 3:13; Gr. aspis). The Egyptians worshipped it as the uraeus, and it was found in the desert and in the fields. The peace and security of Messiah’s reign is represented by the figure of a child playing on the hole of the asp. (See ADDER.)

(Heb. pethen), translated (adder in) (Psalms 58:4; 91:13) Probably the Egyptian cobra, a small and very poisonous serpent, a dweller in the holes of walls, (Isaiah 11:8) and a snake upon which the serpent-charmers practiced their art.