Serpent, brazen

Made by Moses at God’s command to be a sacramental means of healing for the Israelites in the wilderness (Num. 21:9). It seems to have been carefully preserved and became an object of superstitious worship (2 Kgs. 18:4); it was accordingly destroyed by Hezekiah, who called it “Nehushtan.” The “lifting up” of the serpent in the wilderness is referred to by the Lord as a type of His own “lifting up” upon the cross (John 3:14–15). Latter-day revelation confirms the episode of the fiery serpents and the healing properties associated with looking upon Moses’ brazen serpent (1 Ne. 17:41; 2 Ne. 25:20; Alma 33:19–22; 37:46).