Can anyone please tell me anything about the biblical creature known as Leviathan? All perspectives welcome.?

Answer 1

Leviathan was a Biblical sea monster referred to in the Old Testament (Psalms 74:13-14; Job 41; Isaiah 27:1).

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan
hope this helps :)

Answer 2

Leviathan ("Twisted; coiled", Standard Hebrew Livyatan, Tiberian Hebrew Liwyāṯān) was a Biblical sea monster referred to in the Old Testament (Psalms 74:13-14; Job 41; Isaiah 27:1).

Answer 3

Isaiah 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

Defination of Leviathan-From H3867; a wreathed animal, that is, a serpent (especially the crocodile or some other large sea monster); figuratively the constellation of the dragon; also as a symbol of Babylon: - leviathan, mourning.

Answer 4

The Bible refers to many the common animals we know today. The list includes lions, wolves, bears, sheep, cattle and dogs along with various kinds of birds, rodents, reptiles, and insects. What is interesting is that this extensive list includes three animals that we no longer recognize. These three are (in the original Hebrew language) tanniyn, bahemowth and livyathan.We alter the spelling of behemoth and Leviathan. Leviathan before 1400 BC kronosaurus(scientific name) 1901 AD.
Reading the Bible carefully, you will realize that no living creature matches the descriptions of behemoth and Leviathan.
Behemoth has the following attributes according to Job 40:15-24
It “eats grass like an ox.”
It “moves his tail like a cedar.” (In Hebrew, this literally reads, “he lets hang his tail like a cedar.”)
Its “bones are like beams of bronze,
His ribs like bars of iron.”
“He is the first of the ways of God.”
“He lies under the lotus trees,
In a covert of reeds and marsh.”
Some bibles and study bibles will translate the word “behemoth” as “elephant” or “hippopotamus.” Others will put a note at the edge or bottom of the page, stating that behemoth was probably an elephant or a hippopotamus. Although an elephant or hippopotamus can eat grass (or lie in a covert of reeds and marsh), neither an elephant or a hippopotamus has a “tail like a cedar” (that is, a tail like a large, tapered tree trunk).

Answer 5

The creatures of Job (read ch.39+) exsisted & Leviathan may still exist in the depth of the seas (these are NOT crocodiles or hippos as SUGGESTED in some bible notes). The best place to go for info like this is to Ken Ham who has researched it his whole life and explains it beautifully. Check out AnswersInGenesis.org. God bless you! ~Nise~

Answer 6

The word leviathan has become synonymous with any large monster or creature. In Modern Hebrew, it simply means "whale.
Though comprehensive info can be found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan

Answer 7

Leviathan (לִוְיָתָן "Twisted; coiled", Standard Hebrew Livyatan, Tiberian Hebrew Liwyāṯān) was a Biblical sea monster referred to in the Old Testament (Psalms 74:13-14; Job 41; Isaiah 27:1).

The word Leviathan is also mentioned in Rashi's commentary on Genesis 1:21: "God created the great sea monsters - Taninim." Jastrow translates the word "Taninim" as a "sea monster, crocodile or large snake". Rashi comments: "According to legend this refers to the Leviathan and its mate. God created a male and female Leviathan, then killed the female and salted it for the righteous, for if the Leviathans were to procreate the world could not stand before them."

The Christian interpretation of Leviathan is often considered to be a demon or natural monster associated with Satan or the Devil, and held by some to be the same monster as Rahab (Isaiah 51:9).

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. (JPS edition)" God drove back the waters of the pre-existent Earth (Genesis 1:2 "And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters." ([NAS])

Some interpreters suggest that Leviathan is a symbol of mankind in opposition to God, claiming that it and beasts mentioned in the books of Daniel and Revelation should be interpreted as metaphors. The usage of Leviathan in the Old Testament books (Isaiah 27:1) would seem to be a reference to a Semitic mythological beast mentioned in Ugaritic literature (of Ugarit, a city-state in North Syria). According to Canaanite myth, the Leviathan was an enemy of order in Creation and was slain by the Canaanite god Baal. The word Leviathan to the ancient Jews became synonymous with that which warred against God's kingdom. This especially included nations warring against Israel such as Assyria and Egypt. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament,1985, SP Publications Inc.)

In the book of Job, both Behemoth and Leviathan are listed alongside a number of other animals that are clearly mundane, such as goats, eagles, and hawks, leading many Christian scholars to surmise that Behemoth and Leviathan may also be mundane creatures. The animal most often proposed for Leviathan is the Nile crocodile.

Like the Leviathan, the Nile crocodile is aquatic, scaly, and possesses fierce teeth. Job 41:18 states that Leviathan's eyes "are like the eyelids of the morning". Some have compared this verse to a crocodile's eyes, which rise out of the water before the rest of its head, invoking the image of the sun rising over the horizon. Major difficulties of this view are that in Job chapter 41 Leviathan is described as breathing fire like a dragon, and that the crocodile does not seem to fit the descriptions of Leviathan given in other Bible passages, e.g. it does not have multiple heads.

Others suggest that the Leviathan is an exaggerated account of a whale. This view faces some difficulty, however, as early Jewish people in the Near East would not have likely encountered whales in such a warm region.

Other theories, often cited by cryptozoology and creation science, is that Leviathan was an aquatic reptile, such as a Plesiosaurus, or a member of the Hadrosaur family - specifically the Parasaurolophus. The theory about the Parasaurolophus is intriguing and different than others presented because it attempts to explain the Biblical prose regarding fire-breath. Essentially, the idea is that through a chemical reaction similar to the one that occurs in the Bombardier beetle, a Parasaurolphus combines elements located in different parts of its crest to create a combustible gas.[1]

During sea-faring's Golden Age, European sailors saw Leviathan as a gigantic whale-like sea monster, usually a sea serpent, that devoured whole ships by swimming around the vessels so quickly as to create a whirlpool.

Answer 8

Job 41:1.. Leviathan is a large sea creature, but its identity is unknown.

Answer 9

it wasnt a crocodile because the book of job chapter 41 says it lived in the sea amongst ships crocodiles dont live in the sea ,it could have been a dinasaur because we all know they lived but there again it could have been a large whale or shark look at the way the teeth are described and his power for killing, god is actually saying here is the creature was powerful over man but could do nothing over god , god had full control over the creature so where man feared the leviathon the leviathone feared god

Answer 10

They live in the ocean, Not on land, & it is Not a prehistoric Creature, they were all Killed off during the great ice age, It very well can be a big whale, I know some whales grow to be 50 ft. plus. I have not look up the definition yet, but I can, I have the books, but not with me right now.