How long is a snake pregnant?
The sages determined the length of time various animals are pregnant and matched them up with trees which produce fruit at similar intervals. Thus, for example, they determined that the female wolf, the lioness, and the female bear gestate for three years and the coordinating tree, the date, bear fruit every three years as well. The snake’s gestation last seven years, and no coordinating tree was found; there is no tree which bears fruit once every seven years. As they put it, “For that evil one we did not find a partner.” There are those who say that there is a tree like this, a specific date which bears fruit once every seven years, matching the gestation time of a snake. The scholars asked: Is there a Scriptural source that the gestation period of a snake is seven years? Answer: In the following verse — “So the Lord G-d said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, and more than every beast of the field” (Genesis 3:14). This is how the verse
