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Leviathan

In several places the Bible mentions a sea creature called Leviathan, which has been identified from the great sea serpent to the whale. The translation of the word is unclear, but it has often been rendered as 'tortuous monster," a phrase that certainly makes one think of some sort of serpent. But the most complete description of Leviathan, that given in Chapter 41 of the Book of Job, presents a rather unserpentlike picture.

"Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook?... I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.... Who can open the doors of his face? His teeth are terrible round about. His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. One is so near to another, that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they can not be sundered. By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the mourning... In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him. The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid..."

The description gives many more details of leviathan's power, such as his ability to brethe fire, deflect spears, and perform other miraculos feats.

It has generally been assumed that leviathan is not an imaginary creature, but it is not at all obvious what animal served as inspiration for the description. Some of the statements like 'the flakes of his flesh are joined together," which has been taken to mean that leviathan was a creature with webbed feet, and the referance to closefitting scales and a mouth filled
with "terrible" teeth, have led many commentators to the conclusion that the inspiration for Leviathan was a large crocodile, a creature which the ancient Hebrews would have been well acquainted.

If that were the only mention of leviathan, we might be able to content ourselves with the crocodile identification. There is, however, a briefer but much more famous reference in psalm 104, verses 25-26.

"So is the great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumberable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there is that leviathan , whom thou hast made to play therein."

Here the reference clearly is to a creature of the deep sea, but crocodiles are river and swamp dwellers. It is the statement in psalms which has led to the identification of leviathan with the great whales. But is it likely that the ancient Hebrew would known about the great whale? The celebrated Jonah and the "whale" story is really the result of mistranslation. The original reference is to a "big fish" of unspecified variety. Later translators addes the word whale because it was the biggest 'fish" they could thibk of. Besides, whales just do not fit with the description given in Job; they do not have scales or necks, and the largest don't even have teeth.

Possibly the same word, leviathan, is being used to refer to two different creatures. The leviathan of Job is a crocodile, while the leviathan of Psalms is something else, a whale or some genuinely unknown sea creature.

See also: Behemoth

If I had to type thou on more time.... stressed

Not always the legends, stories and myths have changed through the years.