שָׂרַף Fiery serpent (saraf)
Every verse in which this word stands — 7 places, in canonical order, first appearance to last. These are the places the lexicon carries under this word's own entry, counting every form the text writes it in, which is the number on the list.
The saraf — the burning serpents of Bamidbar 21 and the flying saraf of Yeshayahu's oracles. The seraphim of Yeshayahu 6, standing above the Throne, are written with the same word and are counted in this number; what is serpent and what is angel there is the tradition's own discussion, and this row claims nothing beyond the letters.
וַיְשַׁלַּח יְהוָה בָּעָם אֵת הַנְּחָשִׁים הַשְּׂרָפִים וַֽיְנַשְּׁכוּ אֶת־הָעָם וַיָּמָת עַם־רָב מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל
And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה עֲשֵׂה לְךָ שָׂרָף וְשִׂים אֹתוֹ עַל־נֵס וְהָיָה כָּל־הַנָּשׁוּךְ וְרָאָה אֹתוֹ וָחָֽי
And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live.’
הַמּוֹלִיכֲךָ בַּמִּדְבָּר הַגָּדֹל וְהַנּוֹרָא נָחָשׁ שָׂרָף וְעַקְרָב וְצִמָּאוֹן אֲשֶׁר אֵֽין־מָיִם הַמּוֹצִיא לְךָ מַיִם מִצּוּר הַֽחַלָּמִֽישׁ
who led thee through the great and dreadful wilderness, wherein were serpents, fiery serpents, and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
שְׂרָפִים עֹמְדִים מִמַּעַל לוֹ שֵׁשׁ כְּנָפַיִם שֵׁשׁ כְּנָפַיִם לְאֶחָד בִּשְׁתַּיִם יְכַסֶּה פָנָיו וּבִשְׁתַּיִם יְכַסֶּה רַגְלָיו וּבִשְׁתַּיִם יְעוֹפֵֽף
Above Him stood the seraphim; each one had six wings: with twain he covered his face and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
וַיָּעָף אֵלַי אֶחָד מִן־הַשְּׂרָפִים וּבְיָדוֹ רִצְפָּה בְּמֶלְקַחַיִם לָקַח מֵעַל הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ
Then flew unto me one of the seraphim, with a glowing stone in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar;
אַֽל־תִּשְׂמְחִי פְלֶשֶׁת כֻּלֵּךְ כִּי נִשְׁבַּר שֵׁבֶט מַכֵּךְ כִּֽי־מִשֹּׁרֶשׁ נָחָשׁ יֵצֵא צֶפַע וּפִרְיוֹ שָׂרָף מְעוֹפֵֽף
Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, Because the rod that smote thee is broken: For out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a basilisk, And his fruit shall be a flying serpent.
מַשָּׂא בַּהֲמוֹת נֶגֶב בְּאֶרֶץ צָרָה וְצוּקָה לָבִיא וָלַיִשׁ מֵהֶם אֶפְעֶה וְשָׂרָף מְעוֹפֵף יִשְׂאוּ עַל־כֶּתֶף עֲיָרִים חֵֽילֵהֶם וְעַל־דַּבֶּשֶׁת גְּמַלִּים אֽוֹצְרֹתָם עַל־עַם לֹא יוֹעִֽילוּ
The burden of the beasts of the South. Through the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the lioness and the lion, the viper and flying serpent, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the humps of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.
Quick answers
What is the Hebrew word for fiery serpent?
Fiery serpent in Hebrew is שרף, with a gematria of 580 in the standard method.
How many times is the fiery serpent mentioned in the Tanakh?
The word stands 7 times in the Tanakh, first at Numbers 21:6.
A spelling is not a word. The bare letters שרף stand 20 times in the corpus, which is a different question and often a different number: the same letters can spell a name or another word entirely, and the creature written with a particle attached is a spelling that search never returns. It is here, as itself.
See all 20 occurrences of the spelling שרף →