'Does a Serpent Give Life?'

First; Congratulations to James H. Charlesworth who has passed his 65th Birthday, and who received a great Festschrift on that occasion:Ian H. Henderson and Gerbern S. Oegema (eds), The Changing Face of Judaism, Christianity, and Other Greco-Roman Religions in Antiquity. Studien zu den Jüdischen Schriften aus hellenistisch-römischer Zeit Band 2 (Gütersloh; Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2006).
Second, I would like to point attention to a brief article in that volume related to our studies of Philo:Amy Birkan-Shear, "Does a Serpent Give Life?" Understanding The Brazen Serpent According to Philo and Early Rabbinic Literature, pp. 416-426.The author of this study want to focus on some interpretations of Num 21:4-9 from Jewish scholars of the first centures CE. In light of the first commandment, one might wonders how one managed to cope with the issue of this brazen serpent figure, an image that even became the object of worship at one particular time by the israelites (2 Kgs 18:4).

The author deals first with Philo's version of Num 21 as given in Leg. All. 2,76-81, then with Mishnah Rosh HaShanah 8, and Mekilta of Rabbi Yishmael, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and the 'Jerusalem Fragment'.

Her conclusions runs like this (p. 425): Most of the sources analysed deviate from the literal reading of Num 21:8-9; the role of the serpent is minimized to various degrees. Philo and the Mishnah alike remove the serpent from the role of healing the Israelites. To Philo the serpent becomes a means of observing God, and it is this observation that brings healing. According to m.Rosh Hash. 8, the Israelites looks 'upwards' for healing, not at the serpent. The Mekilta, Pseudo-Jonathan, and the JF do not remove the serpent, but this is accompanied by another action; by looking at the serpent, they believed in Him who commanded Moses to make it.
Thus it seems to be an uneasiness shared by the sources, each modifying the text's very straightforward meaning. The main change or addition is an emphasis on 'intention of mind' or 'belief' to accompany the act of looking at the serpent.

This study is interesting in and by itself, but also because one also meets the brazen serpent in the Gospel of John (3:14-15), and here too faith is emphasized. The author of this article, does not, however, comment on this passage.