Leviathan
These are notes for an incomplete "Concept" page.
- Information is being added as the Bible Pages are added. In the end, everything will be compiled, further information added (as necessary), broken links connected, etc.
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An animal mentioned a few times in the Bible. It appears to be extinct.
- A subcategory of: Extinct Animals.
The earliest mention of leviathan, in the book of Job, is a description of the animal, given by God (using poetic imagery).
In a later references to leviathan, Psalm 74:14, the creature is described with what appears to be mythical characteristics - such as multiple heads. However, the nature of the verse shows that it is not intended to be an "anatomical explanation" of what the creature looked like. (In this verse, the sea monster is being given as food to desert creatures!)
- Psa 74:14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.
It may be that the creature had become extinct, and stories about it had grown to mythical proportions. For the purposes of the verse, it would be completely acceptable to use such a creature to communicate what was being said. (However, "multiple heads" could also be a description of the visible (above water) part of a group of such animals.)
Eventually, the word "leviathan" may have become a generalized term that could represent a variety of species that might be called "sea monsters."
Scripture Pages that Link to Here
- A description of leviathan (41:1-34).
- In later centuries, after leviathan had become extinct, its description "grew" to mythical proportions. But these later exaggerations do not nullify the earlier description that was given while it was still a living creature that Job could personally observe - from a distance, of course! (Psalm 74:14 refers to the mythical description, with leviathan being a sea monster with multiple heads - unlike the Job account, 41:7.)
- Psa 104:25-26 There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals. There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.
Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.
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