What Is This Leviathan Anyway?

[AVBunyan]

What Is This Leviathan Anyway?

Greetings in the name of the Saviour. The purpose of this post is to show the power of the scriptures. There has been much talk about what the “leviathan” is of Job 41. There have been al sorts of ideas on what this creature is such as: dinosaurs, hippos, crocodiles, whales, etc. Many go to the Hebrew and play around a bit to come up wit hwhat they believe this creature to be. What I will show is the the scriptures tell us what this creature is. Some of you may know this already but to some this may be new.

But I want us to see that the scriptures are more enough to shade light on the ancient Hebrew and modern commentators and…Christian scientists. The common teaching by the Christian scientists (and good men at that) is that leviathan is a dinosaur.

I will let the scriptures speak without any reference to Hebrew or science.

Alright – enough of the introductions – let’s see the scriptures speak.

First I will run the references of the word leviathan through the scriptures of Paul teaches us to compare spiritual things with spiritual things. The scriptures give us four but I will use only the three:

Psa 104:26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

First – leviathan can have access to the sea or use the sea as part of his domain. Some dinosaurs were sea creatures so this verse doesn’t prove this is a dinosaur. Of course, which sea? We are assuming that the sea here is the sea here on earth. There is another sea you know. We’ll chat later.

Psa 74:14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

This one is more interesting – either the verse is referencing several “leviathans” or alone “leviathan” with “several heads”. Also, there is a reference to feeding Israel in the wilderness. In the wilderness journeys of the past there is no reference that they ate “dinosaur” meat or “rhino” meat or other large creature meat. I believe this is a prophetic reference to God feeding Israel in the future during the last half of the tribulation:

Micah 7:14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old..

Since I believe the verse is prophetic I doubt Israel will be fed by “dinosaur” meat. Plus I believe that the heads there are of a multi-headed beast which God will use to feed Israel in the wilderness after they are scattered abroad – James. 1:1. But…we still don’t have enough to identify what this “leviathan” is.

Isa 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.

Now, we have something!. Leviathan is now associated with a “serpent” and a “dragon”. I believe this leviathan is a serpent and a dragon. When you run “serpent” and “dragon” through the scriptures you come up with some strange things.

I find a serpent in Gen. 3 – we know who that is. We find a “crooked serpent” in Job 26:13 (note the 13’s – I just noticed this myself). This crooked serpent is associated with creation and is singular.

In Rev. 12:9 we have a serpent called the Devil and Satan. (And this large creature is able to hold a bunch of water like Job 40:23.).

Finally - Rev. 20:2 – we have this serpent called the dragon.

Now let’s go to Job 41 and see if leviathan is a dinosaur or whatever else people say it is.

Job 41:1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which
thou lettest down?


Of course not – not a dinosaur or whatever this thing is.

Job 41:2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?

Ditto

Job 41:3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?

Dinosaurs can’t speak but it hints that this creature might be able to.

Job 41:4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?

A dinosaur won’t or can’t make a covenant but there is a creature that can and covenants are associated with the nation of Israel.

Job 41:6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?

A dinosaur won’t but a beast is associated with merchants in Rev. 18 – yes a stretch here! LOL!!!

Job 41:7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?

Maybe with a dinosaur but this creature – probably not.

Job 41:9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

Does a dinosaur hope? I don’t think so. But there is a creature that does.

Job 41:10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?

I would think dinosaurs have been killed by men before but not this guy!

Job 41:12 I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.

This creature’s power will be made manifest.

Job 41:14 Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.

Dinosaur here? – could fit but so can a croc!

Job 41:15 His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.

I wouldn’t think dinosaurs are prideful but there is a creature that is.

Job 41:18 By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

I didn’t think dinosaurs could do this. – I may be wrong – no expert on dinos. Some say that some beetles can and maybe some dinos have. Maybe but science is not my authority here.

Job 41:19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.

Ditto – but a creature in Rev. 11 is associated with bringing fire down from the sky to counterfeit the signs and wonders of God.

Job 41:20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.

Ditto on the above

Job 41:21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.

Ditto

Job 41:24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.

Are dinosaurs’ hearts fixed – fixed? On what? – Sounds like this creature has motive.

Job 41:26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.

No worldly weapon will take him.

Job 41:27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.

Associated with iron – has the power to break iron.

Job 41:29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.

Dinosaurs didn’t laugh I don’t think they did?

Job 41:31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.

Is the deep here the oceans – I believe the deep here is the water above the earth – and no dinosaur has ventured there.

Job 41:32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.

The deep again – I believe is not the oceans but THE deep above the heavens.

Job 41:33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.

I’m willing to bet even dinosaurs had some fear – again, may be wrong.

Job 41:34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

Oh boy, he is a king and he is over children of pride – a king? Rev. 9:11

So, I guess you figured where I was going. I believe the Holy Spirit is giving us a detailed, behind-the-scenes look at the beast and Satan in Job 40 and 41.

Folks, I don’t see any other being fitting the description. Dinosaurs can fit some of Job 41 but you have to spiritualize a bit and do more stretching than I have done. The devil will make a covenant with Israel in the tribulation. The devil will hold a lot of water as he swallows up Jordan and then spews it out to try and drown out Israel – like In Exodus. The devil is associated with iron – Dan. 2.

And, why would the Holy Spirit spend one whole chapter on a dinosaur?

Summary - Look at what we did – we took the word, leviathan, and ran it through the scriptures – looked at words associated with it and ran the references on them and came up with the Devil himself.

Your thoughts?!?!?!?!
May God bless.

 

[tansy]

Hm, interesting...but I can't really comment..I've always found those passages in Job beyond my understanding

 

[Fireinfolding]

Kool thread, I like the name LEVIathan ...anything in that maybe?

 

[Jpark]

Never mind.

 

[ThrillBilly]

Isn't it obvious what was meant?

 

[lucaspa]

I believe the Holy Spirit is giving us a detailed, behind-the-scenes look at the beast and Satan in Job 40 and 41.

You did this by raping scripture. You started with an idea and then went thru the Bible taking individual verses out of context so that they support what you already decided was true. The Bible is not a single unified work. It is a collection of works by different authors spread out over 700 or so years. There are some general commonalties because teh works are trying to describe a single theological truth. But you simply can't cut and paste from one book to another over details like "leviathan" that is only mentioned in Job.

BTW, what are "Christian scientists"? Do you mean creationists? BTW, creationists think behemoth was a dinosaur. They think leviathan was a plesiosaur or mososaur. Those weren't dinos.

Instead, leviathan was a commonly known mythological beast.

And, why would the Holy Spirit spend one whole chapter on a dinosaur?

Are you thinking the Holy Spirit wrote Job? Picked up stylus and parchment and wrote Job? If you think this is about an animal, or even about Satan, you are sadly mistaken. We know Satan's place in Job: as a confidant of God! Read the first chapter of Job! Satan has the job of "district attorney" or "prosecutor" for God. They are friendly enough that they engage in friendly wagers. The particular wager is that, if God takes away the blessings of Job, then Job will curse God.

If all you got out of chapters 40 and 41 is that either behemoth or leviathan are Satan, then you missed the entire point of those chapters! Read them again, all of them. And read the chapters before and after. What is God trying to tell Job?

That it's God's bat, ball, and backyard and Job has no means to complain of any treatment he gets from God.

Your thoughts?!?!?!?!
May God bless.

Read the first chapter of Job. Leviathan cannot possibly be "the Devil himself".

 

[AVBunyan]

You did this by raping scripture.
Instead, leviathan was a commonly known mythological beast.

At least I went thru the book to support what I believe - you on the other hand just ripped off an opinion with absolutely no support.

Please explain why God would spend all that time on your "mythological beast"?

 

[angelmom01]

Just adding:

Eze 29:1-6 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt: Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

Another good thread!!

 

[AVBunyan]

Just adding:

Eze 29:1-6 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt: Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

Another good thread!!

Nice work - thanks..

 

[Wirraway]

which dinosaurs were sea creatures?

 

[RevKidd]

At least I went thru the book to support what I believe - you on the other hand just ripped off an opinion with absolutely no support.

Please explain why God would spend all that time on your "mythological beast"?

My friend, your the one with a "ripped off opinion".

Studying scripture is more than just taking a single word, and running a search on it. Your taking pieces of many different puzzles and trying to put together a picture from it.

I see a pattern in your posts... and you obviously are obstinate and refuse to listen to sound reason.

 

[dcyates]

Leviathan is a sea monster. In ancient Near Eastern cosmology, creation began with a primeval watery chaos--usually taking the form of a serpentine goddess--which a god has to battle against. After this god wins victory over this chaos-monster, he then begins to create the world and everything in it. E.g. in Babylonian mythology, Marduk battles against Tiamat, who he finally defeats. Afterwards, Marduk divides her watery body into freshwater rivers & lakes and saltwater seas. He then creates the rest of the world and eventually humanity, who are to act as slaves to the gods.

 

[granpa]

most likely 'leviathan' refers to the nile crocodile but you might want to consider the possibility of megalodon too.