The Bible mentions a sea monster named leviathan, is this a sea monster, or a demon?

Question

If this Sea monster is a myth, how come its mention many times in the bible? could the first explorers that came to America see this creature? since old sea maps have sea serpents. Could the sea monster be living today? could the lochness monster be related? or could he just be a dino?Job 41:1-34

Answer 1

The biblical mention of Leviathan raises many interesting questions related to the mythological imagery found in the Bible. In dealing with passages in which Leviathan is mentioned it is useful to keep in mind ancient Near Eastern ideas. They will not determine the meaning of the text, but they will certainly help to clarify its meaning.

In Canaanite mythology Lotan (or Litanu) is a snakelike creature that threatens the order of the world, making it necessary for Baal or his sister to attack and defeat it. The noun means "the twisted one." Leviathan, together with Mot, the god of death, and Yamm, the god of the sea, represented the forces of chaos. Mesopotamian myths describe a seven-headed monster that is defeated by Nabu (a wisdom god).

Scholars tend to associate the mythological conflict among the gods with the creation of the universe. The conflict-with-chaos motif describes the rise of a hostile monster, a god who defeats it, and the creation of the world.

1. Leviathan as God's Creature: Over against ancient mythology, Leviathan in the Bible is described as one of God's creatures. According to Psalm 104:26, God formed it, and it dwells in the sea together with many other "living things both large and small" (verse 25, NIV). The text does not provide enough information for us to identify it with any known animal; we can only say that it designates a large sea creature.

2. Leviathan as an Invisible Enemy: In His dialogue with Job God asked him a series of questions about Leviathan. The description of the animal includes characteristics of a crocodile (Job 41:13-17, 30) and those of a whale (verses 19, 20). Yet the rest of the description does not fit any known creature. The poetic description of the animal is thus transformed into a symbol of an evil power over which humans have no control and who threatens their very existence (verse 25).

3. Leviathan as a Defeated Power: The mythological image of Leviathan as a many-headed monster is used in the Bible as a symbol of the historical and spiritual powers that God has defeated on behalf of His people. In a passage that refers to the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites the psalmist writes: "It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert" (Ps. 74:13, 14, NIV). The myth is historicized, and Leviathan becomes a symbol for the Egyptian armies.

However, the reference to a spiritual power behind Leviathan is not eradicated. The powers of chaos and destruction, represented by the sea and Leviathan, cannot overcome the Lord. The deliverance of God's people means the defeat of these powers. The biblical writer acknowledges that behind the pagan mythology lies an element of truth: There is in the world an evil spiritual power that opposes God and His people and that only Yahweh can overcome.

4. Leviathan as a Power That God Will Destroy: The language of Isaiah 27:1 is very similar to the language of a Canaanite text in which Lotan is called "the fleeing serpent," "the twisted" one. That does not mean that the prophet was copying from that text, but that the language was common. The evil power represented by a snakelike animal will be destroyed forever, not by Baal but by the Lord. Now Leviathan has become a symbol of God's apocalyptic enemies, whom He will confront at the end.

We find this same imagery in Revelation 12 and 20, where the ancient serpent Leviathan is identified as the dragon Satan.

Mythological language is used because it preserved a nugget of truth: there was a primeval enemy whom God confronted and defeated before the creation of the world. That power is not a god but one of God's creatures, now a demon (cf. Job 3:8). History is the arena where that evil power displays his hatred toward God and His people, where he has been defeated again and again, and where he will finally be destroyed by the Lord.

Answer 2

Sea Monster In The Bible

Answer 3

The Leviathan of the Bible is portrayed as a monstrous creature. The name "Leviathan" comes from the Hebrew word meaning "twisted, coiling" --thus the image that comes to mind is the serpentine creatures of both reality and the mythic creatures you mention. In the Bible, Leviathan is mentioned in Psalms 74:13-14; Job 41; Isaiah 27:1.

Later on in secular literature, such as Milton, Leviathan is used to portray the demonic.

Some Bible scholars have tried to fit the Biblical description to a known creature such as the dinosaur, the giant squid or the crocodile. For me, these attempts fail to capture the description of the Biblical creatures.

In the anceint world, both in its mythology and real-life, the sea was a terrifying place of chaos and danger. Many went out and never returned. Some scholars feel that Leviathan fits in as a symbolic representation of the watery chaos (tohuvobohu, in Genesis) that God separtated and subdued. From Wikipedia:

"Some biblical scholars considered Leviathan to represent the pre-existent forces of chaos. In Psalm 74:13-14 it says "it was You who drove back the sea with Your might, who smashed the heads of the monsters in the waters; it was You who crushed the heads of Leviathan, who left him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. "

Actually, the Wikipedia article is pretty good --I'll paste the link below.

Answer 4

This is a mythological sea monster that is here a symbol of the ferociousness of nature that is beyond man's ability to master. Some compare it to a dragon or a giant crocodile although as a symbol this detail is less important.

In Isaiah 25:6-10 & 27:1 this creature is the food of a banquet of the righteous on Mt. Zion after the Ressurection of the Dead. This represents the final sanctification of the 'red tooth and claw' aspect of nature and the ultimate unity of body and soul in the harmony of the Good.

Answer 5

Read the description of leviathan in Job 41, and think about a volcano while you read it. I think you'll find the description perfectly matches.

Other references to leviathan in the Bible sound like a mythical sea creature, or possibly a giant squid (isaiah 27:1, psalm 74:14, psalm 104:25).

Answer 6

all serpant or reptilian myths or legends are based on the Anunaki who were a reptilian extraterestrial race.
they were big and powerfull with a great technolegy and used energy rays
they are also connected to the creation of hunanoids.
the story of Adam was a story that came from the anunaki-

you will find serpants ,dragons ,devils all over the place with all cultures and civilizations all over the world
all based on the Anunaki and most of them exaerated to accomodate their advanced powers .like saying bolts of lightning or breathing fire ,instead of energy weapons

the Dragons on the shields of English knights
and of china,the feathered serpant of the central americas ,the serpant in the bible,the rainbow snake of the aborigenees,the earth mother snake of the Amazon.etc

lochness ismost probably related to a dinosaur that continued to live in human times

as far as sea monsters goes .their have been many real ones ,in the jurasic age and onwards
there are still some today

although strange happenings that swallow ships in the bermuda triangle (for example)can be blamed on exploding gas on the sea bottom although it was blamed on sea monsters and later space warps ,they have found a lot of wrecks on the bermuda triangle sea bottom and their are freak currents that take wrecks far away from the point where they went down.

Answer 7

Since the word "Dinosaur" was not in existance till the mid 1800's, this is the Bible's way of saying Dinosaur

Yes, I believe there were sea serpents. Look at the Chinese calendar, all the animals are in existance today (monkey, rat, horse, ox, sheep, tiger, rabbit, rooster, dog, snake, pig) the only one that isn't "real" is the dragon. Why would all the animals be real, except one? Maybe it was real also, just died off.....

Answer 8

Believe it or not, but dinosaurs are mentioned in the Bible and what you mentioned is one of them that lived many years after the rest died in. Also, dragons existed. There are biblical references to the devil being a dragon, but also for the real thing. It's amazing, like the story about the bald prophet who put a curse on children who made fun of him and a bear mauled them. Intriguing!!!

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Answer 9

The word leviathan has become synonymous with any large monster or creature. In Modern Hebrew, it simply means "whale".

Answer 10

I don't believe any such mythological creature existed in reality, and I doubt if the author did either. Neither do I believe that he expected any of his contemporaries to do so. There is such a thing as poetic licence. Contrary to what atheists appear to believe, people were not as thick as two short planks back then.