…was the serpent in the garden. So says Walter Brueggemann in his Interpretation: Genesis commentary (from p. 47-48):

The serpent is a device to introduce the new agenda…it is a player in the dramatic presentation. This is the first theological talk in the narrative. The new mode of discourse here warns that theological talk which seeks to analyze and objectify matters of faithfulness is dangerous enterprise…the prohibition which seemed a given is now scrutinized as though it were not a given but an option. The serpent engages in a bit of sociology of law in order to relativize even the rule of God. Theological-ethical talk here is not to serve but to avoid the claims of God…God is treated as a third person. God is not a party to the discussion but is the involved object of the discussion. This is not speech to God or with God, but about God. God has been objectified. The serpent is the first in the Bible to seem knowing and critical about God and to practice theology in the place of obedience.

Calvin and I both agree: that’s just brilliant!