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The Mystery of Leviathan
Leviathan is a peculiar word that appears six times in the Old Testament. It’s generally understood meaning is “dragon, serpent, huge sea animal,” according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary. The word is used both literally and figuratively in scripture. In this short examination of the word, we will briefly explore it’s etymology as well as the different ways it appears in scripture.
“Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.
Job 41 (New American Standard Bible)
1 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord?
2 “Can you put a rope in his nose Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3 “Will he make many supplications to you, Or will he speak to you soft words?
4 “Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him for a servant forever?
5 “Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you bind him for your maidens?
6 “Will the traders bargain over him? Will they divide him among the merchants?
7 “Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears?
8 “Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle; you will not do it again!
9 “Behold, your expectation is false; Will you be laid low even at the sight of him?
10 “No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him; Who then is he that can stand before Me?
11 “Who has given to Me that I should repay him? hatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
12 “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, Or his mighty strength, or his orderly frame.
13 “Who can strip off his outer armor? Who can come within his double mail?
14 “Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth there is terror.
15 “His strong scales are his pride, Shut up as with a tight seal.
16 “One is so near to another That no air can come between them.
17 “They are joined one to another; They clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 “His sneezes flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 “Out of his mouth go burning torches; Sparks of fire leap forth.
20 “Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 “His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes forth from his mouth.
22 “In his neck lodges strength, And dismay leaps before him.
23 “The folds of his flesh are joined together, Firm on him and immovable.
24 “His heart is as hard as a stone, Even as hard as a lower millstone.
25 “When he raises himself up, the mighty fear; Because of the crashing they are bewildered.
26 “The sword that reaches him cannot avail, Nor the spear, the dart or the javelin.
27 “He regards iron as straw, Bronze as rotten wood.
28 “The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones are turned into stubble for him.
29 “Clubs are regarded as stubble; He laughs at the rattling of the javelin.
30 “His underparts are like sharp potsherds; He spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31 “He makes the depths boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
32 “Behind him he makes a wake to shine; One would think the deep to be gray-haired.
33 “Nothing on earth is like him, One made without fear.
34 “He looks on everything that is high; He is king over all the sons of pride.”
Psalm 74:14 (New American Standard Bible)
You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
Psalm 104:25-26 (New American Standard Bible)
There is the sea, great and broad, In which are swarms without number, Animals both small and great.
There the ships move along, And Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
Isaiah 27:1 (New American Standard Bible)
In that day the LORD will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.
Leviathan is a transliterated word, meaning that it is not an English word and has been borrowed, from the Hebrew word liwyatan. (Although, there is some discussion as to whether liwyatan is actually a Hebrew word.) According to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, it is assumed to derive from the Arabic root lwy, meaning ‘to twist.’ Here we get the image of a coiled serpent.
We first encounter this word in Job 3:8 (See to the right for scripture). Job is cursing the day of his birth. Job is asking those who “curse the day,”who are prepared to rouse Leviathan” to curse the day he was born (NAS). Job is referring to magicians who practice dark arts and may have the ability to charm snakes or other creatures. Job, then, is likely saying that his birth day should be called a day that brings about evils (leviathan as figurative for evil or Satan).
Later in Job 41, God is revealing his majesty and power to Job through a poetic description of his terrible creation, the leviathan. It is clear that God is describing a literal creature, though the description is quite poetic and makes use of several literal devices, including imagery, hyperbole, metaphor, and simile. Most scholars believe that God is describing the giant Nile crocodile. There is good evidence to support this in the verses, mainly verse 30, which gives the image of a crocodile leaving a trail in the mud as it emerges from the water. However, certain scholars believe this chapter to be proof that dinosaurs (or dragons) once lived at the same time as humans. They particularly point to verses 18-21 to do this. Yet, critics chalk these verses up to hyperbole.
In the Psalms we encounter leviathan twice. The first time is Ps. 74:14. Here it is thought to symbolize Egypt. The imagery depicts the exodus where God crushed the Egyptians and Pharaoh in the Red Sea. The second time is in Ps. 104:25-26. Here, again, creation is being described in detail, so it can be presumed that leviathan is referring literally to a large aquatic creature. Many bible translations state this creature to be a whale of some sort. Yet,
there are commentaries that suggest a serpent-like sea creature that may have since become extinct.
Lastly, leviathan is found twice in Isaiah 27:1. Isaiah is also written in a poetic fashion, thus leviathan is used figuratively. From the previous chapter we read that God will come from his dwelling and punish the people for their sins. Leviathan in this case symbolizes the sinful men that will be destroyed by God. This is similar to the symbolic representation elsewhere as general evils.
Though there is considerable mystery surrounding leviathan and it’s definitive meaning, it’s purpose is clear. We do not need to completely understand if leviathan is the Nile crocodile, a whale, or some extinct giant serpent in order to understand the scripture. Where leviathan is used figuratively, it can usually be summed up to symbolize some sort of evil. Though it is certainly nice to discover the particular evil, it is not necessary. Where
leviathan is used literally, it is clear that it was a mighty, fearsome creature that non could wrestle with, and our God created it. Who, then, could possibly wrestle with God?
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