Dragons in the Bible. Do you believe they are real or a myth?

Der Alte

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Not really, I posted on that aspect of this conversation in the beginning of this thread, but you apparently missed it.
Oh and Unicorns are in the Bible also
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Most versions including the 1917 Jewish Publication Society English translation and the 225 BC LXX translate the word translated "unicorn" as "wild ox."
 
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gordonhooker

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Most versions including the 1917 Jewish Publication Society English translation and the 225 BC LXX translate the word translated "unicorn" as "wild ox."

Don't tell the KJV onlyists that though :)
 
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Marvin Knox

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I believe dragons mentioned in the Bible like the Leviathan in Job is a real creature. .....What do you say?
Yes - I believe they were real creatures.

But then (as a believer in a young earth) I believe all kinds of creatures walked the earth, swam in the sea, and flew in the air at the same time man existed which are extinct now.

I believe that that includes dinosaurs, pterodactyls, plesiosaurs and the like.

Many creatures perhaps were not able to long cope with the earth as they found it after the flood and quickly died out - perhaps even a few days after leaving the ark from starvation.

Perhaps the "serpent" in the garden was quite a bit different than serpents are now that they have been cursed to crawl on the ground by God. Perhaps that old "dragon" even had wings in the original form of the serpent.

We just don't know these things for sure. But those are the kinds of things I believe are a possibility.

I put watching videos of the earth, the animals, and the civilizations prior to the flood near the top of things I want God to show me.
 
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Dan the deacon

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No need to be insulting or condescending by telling me it would be easier for me to read the definition. Anyways, if you were to look at the context it says this creature (the Leviathan) breathed actual fire like a dragon.

19 "Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth."
(Job 41:19-21).​

Also, the Leviathan also had scales (which dragons have) (Job 41:15); For his scales are so tough that harpoons and fishing spears cannot penetrate them (See Job 41:7) and his scales are like many shields fit together that cannot be parted (Job 41:15-17). It is suggested that this creature (Leviathan) can fly because God can play with this creature as if it was like a bird whereas Job cannot (See Job 41:5).
And just where do we suppose people of a different region who have not read the book of Job came up with this idea. Perhaps it is simply the truth. We do not actually know when Job lived. Perhaps pre-flood. The creature is being spoken of by God so saying it is a myth is saying God speaks untruthes.
 
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mark kennedy

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Nowhere does the Bible suggest that the dragon (Leviathan) is a myth or symbol for evil. God actually talked about other creatures in the line up along with this creature. That is gross misinterpretation of Job 41 to assume that this creature is a myth. Is it because you cannot believe that such a creature could exist in real life? Can you not accept that dragons could be real? Is that the problem?
As usual your exposition is careless and your retort utterly unprovoked. I was just pitching into to what had the promise of an interesting thread. The immediate context it could be a crocodile or some other fearsome predator. What I was pointing out was the term was often used to speak of sea monsters. As far as it representing evil that's largely a matter of interpretation so don't scold me like a child, I don't appreciate the condescending tone. I never said this was a myth, only that the image was mythic, Phonecians were a sea faring people and their myths often included mythic monsters.

Once the dragon refers to Satan, once the Leviathan is specifically Pharoah. Maybe you think God is talking about a crocodile, its certainly consistant with the context and probably makes more sense then a fire breathing dragon. The commentary Ive seen over the years generally say rousing the leviathan is invoking a curse, I've seen it several times. I think the admonition here is to avoid it giving the over all context of the use of the term in Job. But if you want to jump to pedantic conclusions and torture the text to fit your preconceived notions fine, but your missing out on a vintage Hebrew literary feature.
 
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Jude1:3Contendforthefaith

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Leviathan Is Satan:



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.
• Isaiah 27:1



Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook,
Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?
put a reed through his nose,
Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Will he make many supplications to you?
Will he speak softly to you?

Will he Make A Covenant With you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?

• Job 41:1-4
 
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Neogaia777

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I believe dragons mentioned in the Bible like the Leviathan in Job is a real creature. In fact, Satan is compared to a dragon. If a dragon was mythological, then God would have compared our adversary to something that was a myth or a lie. But I do not believe God would do that. Hence, why I believe dragons mentioned in the Bible are real creatures (or mentioned as a way of comparison).

What do you say?
They are symbolic or metaphorical to a spirit, or spirits...

God Bless!
 
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gordonhooker

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Hey, I resemble that remark. :tutu:

You had me there for a moment I had a little trouble working out what the emoticon was :) it looks a toss-up between a crazy unicorn and a human helicopter...... :oldthumbsup:
 
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Neogaia777

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Leviathan Is Satan:



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.
• Isaiah 27:1



Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook,
Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?
put a reed through his nose,
Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Will he make many supplications to you?
Will he speak softly to you?

Will he Make A Covenant With you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?

• Job 41:1-4
The sea is symbolic of something as well...

God Bless!
 
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mark kennedy

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Leviathan Is Satan:



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.
• Isaiah 27:1



Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook,
Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?
put a reed through his nose,
Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Will he make many supplications to you?
Will he speak softly to you?

Will he Make A Covenant With you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?

• Job 41:1-4
Thats the concensus, it fits the narrative perfectly. Job wants to know why God is doing this to him, little did he know God had been bragging about him. In the context of Job it might be a crockodile, it depends on how you, 'rouse the leviathan'.
 
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Bible Highlighter

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O bother - now I am sorry I responded even though it was an attempt at humour....

You believe it is humorous that the word "unicorns" is used in some translations. I do not find that humorous, my friend. I believe "unicorns" is the correct rendering in our Bibles but the word "unicorns" is not talking about the horse with one horn (even though you will see them pictured in history), but the Bible is talking about the extinct auroch (large cattle) with one horn. Scientists have brought back a certain breed of extinct auroch that does not have one horn. But the Bible describes this unicorn as like a super huge cow or bull like animal.
 
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Bruce Carr

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Yes; created on the same day as man-Adam, two days after the sun; living together with men since that time; vegetarian until the fall and flood. Job knew of them; most world nations have tradition of dragons and men interacting; there is no such thing as 'prehistoric' in the sense of evolution and millions of years.
It is scriptural; it is true. Some folks in the Congo say they have seen similar creatures to this day; + Lochness etc.

https://creation.com/behemoth-and-leviathan

https://answersingenesis.org/dinosaurs/could-behemoth-have-been-a-dinosaur/

https://www.gotquestions.org/creation-days.html
 
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Probably because like Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs etc. Job is among the books that are classed as poetry, prose, and wisdom literature. They are used to provide a message not necessarily a historical event.

I am just reading the text plainly and believing it. I am not making any assumptions that something is not true because it is beyond my imagination.

God's Word is truth.

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:17).

God's Word is not based on myths or lies or fantasies.

Yes, the Bible uses lots of metaphors, but those metaphors are based upon something that is real or true.

Also, while it is true that Job is listed among the Poetic books, it is not technically poetry like we would understand it today. The book of Job is describing a real life story of a man and his up close experience with God after he had suffered greatly. You cannot right it off as fiction, my friend. Nowhere does the story itself suggest that it is fiction.
 
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Job is regarded as one of the oldest books in our Biblical canon and is dated to 1000 BC or earlier. At that time in human history literacy was limited to probably no more than 5% of the population --- the very rich and powerful classes.

We cannot make assumptions about the past. Even man made history can be corrupted to color our thinking of how things might have been. I trust God's Word. Man made history is untrustworthy in my opinion. If man made history happens to line up with the Bible, then that is great. But to put my trust in men who can lie is not where I place my trust. It is God and what He says. Everything God says is true and that would include even the dragons and unicorns mentioned in His Word. For with God, nothing is impossible. I mean, the very fact that a person believes in an all powerful supreme being means He can do anything.
 
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hedrick

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In my view, Job uses a traditional story as a framework for a reflection on evil and suffering. We have a fairly brief story at the beginning, told as a straight narrative, a long poetic book, and then a brief conclusion. If anything is historical (which I doubt) it would be the narrative, certainly the introduction and maybe even the conclusion. There's no reason to think that the images in the poetry have to be literal.

Since I don't think God actually lets Satan torment people to win a bet, I assume the narrative is a traditional story and not a history. But that doesn't really affect the status of the poetic section. Even if you believe in Biblical inerrancy, it doesn't mean that the whole Bible has to be history. There can be various forms of literature in it. Another example is Jonah, which is an obvious satire.
 
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AnnaDeborah

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As for the beast of the Earth in Job: Which verse are you referring to?
Is this referring to Behemoth in Job 40?

Remember there was a point to the leviathan metaphor, will you tame him.and make him a pet for your children. If you try you will remember the experience for a very long time and you will never do it again. Rousing the leviathan is a curse, it's toying with the powers of the occult. The figurative language is meant to be dramatic, nothing indicating an actual sea monster, it's either the devil or in one passage, pharaohs and the context indicates exactly that.

I'd argue that Leviathan is a description of a physical creature. If you ignore the chapter divisions, the description of Leviathan follows immediately after the description of Behemoth "which I made along with you" (Job 40 v 15)

.
Could you show just where in the Creation narrative this wondrous beast could reside, it isn't mentioned in Genesis, as being something special of note.

Leviathan would have been created along with the other sea creatures (Genesis 1 v 20-22) and Behemoth with the land creatures (Genesis 1 v 24-25) No other animals are mentioned by name, so I don't see why these two should be mentioned by name either.

The most straightforward reading of the text is that it is a poetical description of real animals. We are discovering new animals all the time and many others have become extinct. I don't see any issue with Leviathan being a genuine large animal (perhaps similar to a giant crocodile) that is now extinct.
 
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