| Leviathan | |
|---|---|
 Cartoonist's rendering of the Leviathan | |
| Title | The great beast of the sea |
| Born | 0 AC (After Creation) |
| Died | N/A |
| Gender | N/A |
| Religion | N/A |
| Family | Great animals |
| Spouse | N/A |
| Residence | Worldwide |
The Leviathan is a creature mentioned in the Tanakh in the books of Job, Psalms, and Isaiah.
Pslams[]
In Psalms (74:14) it says: "You crushed the head of Leviathan; You will serve him as food to the people destined for the desolate wilderness."
Job[]
In the book of Job (40:25-41:26), it gives a lot longer description on the appearance of the Leviathan: "Can you pull the Leviathan with a hook, can you embed a line in his tongue? Can you put a curved hook in its nose, or pierce its cheek with a barbed hook? Will he beset you with entreaties, or speak ingratiatingly to you? Would he forge a covenant with you? Could you take him as a lifetime servant? Could you sport him like a bird, or tether him for your maidens? Could friends make a feast of him, can they divide among the merchants? Can you riddle his skin with barbs, or put his head in a fish bucket? If you put your hand on him, you will no longer remember warfare! How disillusioned his ambition must be; he is felled by its very appearance! No person is rash enough to stir him up. Who, then, would dare stand up to Me? Whoever anticipated Me, I can reward him, for whatever is under all the heavens is mine! I would not suppress his boastings, the story of his might, nor the stateliness of his standing! Who can strip off his outer coat? Who would approach him with a bridle? Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his fearsome teeth? His back has rows of shields tightly sealed together; Each is so close to the next that no air can pass between. They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted. His snorting throws out flashes of light; his eyes are like the rays of dawn. Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds. His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth. Strength resides in his neck; dismay goes before him. The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable. His chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone. When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his thrashing. The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin. Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood. Arrows do not make him flee, sling stones are like chaff to him. A club seems to him but a piece of straw, he laughs at the rattling of the lance. His undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing-sledge. He makes the depths churn like a boiling cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment. Behind him he leaves a glistening wake; one would think the deep had white hair. Nothing on earth is his equal—a creature without fear. He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud."
Isaiah[]
In the book of Isaiah (27:1) it says: "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"
References[]
- The Wikipedia article on the Leviathan.