the nehushtan (hebrew: "nəḥuštān" [nə.ħuʃ.taːn]) is the bronze serpent on a pole first described in the book of numbers. god told moses to make it. this was to cure the israelites. those who saw the nehushtan would be cured from the deathly bites of the "fiery serpents". god initially sent the fiery serpents to punish them for speaking against him and moses ().