Fiery flying serpent

The fiery flying serpent (Hebrew: שָׂרָף מְעוֹפֵף‎ sārāf mə‘ōfēf; Greek: ὄφεις πετόμενοι; Latin: draco volans) is a creature mentioned in the Book of Isaiah in the Tanakh.

References to "fiery serpents" lacking a mention of flight can be found in several places in the Hebrew Bible.

This, coupled with the fact that these cobras diverge from the typical Egyptian iconography which depicted them with only 2 wings, have been connected by some to the "fiery flying serpents" mentioned in Isaiah, or even to the more specific seraphim seen elsewhere in the text.

Assuming the fiery flying serpent to have a biological identification, Ronald Millett and John Pratt identify it with the Israeli saw-scale viper or carpet viper (Echis coloratus)[4][5] based on several clues from the written sources, such as that the serpents inhabit the Arava Valley, prefer rocky terrain, and are deadly venomous.

[6] A Roman account dated 22 AD about the deserts of Arabia indicates the presence of the saw-scale viper, reporting that "there are snakes also of a dark red color, a span in length, which spring up as high as a man's waist, and whose bite is incurable.