Leviathan
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This article is about the biblical creature. For appearances of the creature in
popular culture, see Leviathan in popular culture. For other uses of the term,
see Leviathan (disambiguation). For the book, see Leviathan (Hobbes book).
For the Arabian cosmological creature, see Kujata.
For the prehistoric whale, see Livyatan.
The Destruction of Leviathan by Gustave Doré (1865)
Leviathan (/lɪˈvaɪ.əθən/; ִלוְי ָָתן, Līvəyāṯān) is a mythical creature with the form of
a sea serpent in Judaism. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible,
including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the Book of Amos; it
is also mentioned in the apocryphal Book of Enoch.
The Leviathan of the Book of Job is a reflection of the older Canaanite Lotan, a
primeval monster defeated by the god Baal Hadad. Parallels to the role of
Mesopotamian Tiamat defeated by Marduk have long been drawn in comparative
mythology, as have been wider comparisons to dragon and world
serpent narratives such as Indra slaying Vrtra or Thor slaying Jörmungandr.
[1]
Leviathan also figures in the Hebrew Bible as a metaphor for a powerful enemy,
notably Babylon (Isaiah 27:1). Some 19th century scholars pragmatically
interpreted it as referring to large aquatic creatures, such as the crocodile.[2] The
word later came to be used as a term for great whale, and for sea monsters in
general.
Contents
1Etymology and origins
2Tanakh
3Judaism
4Christianity
5Gnosticism
6Modern usage
o 6.1The Satanic Bible
7See also
8References
9Bibliography
10External links
Etymology and origins[edit]
See also: Lotan, Tannin (monster), Tiamat, Tehom, and Chaoskampf
Antichrist on Leviathan, Liber floridus, 1120
Gesenius (among others) argued the name ִלוְי ָתָ ןwas derived from the
root לוה lvh "to twine; to join", with an adjectival suffix ן- ָ, for a literal meaning of
"wreathed, twisted in folds".[2] If it exists, the adjectival suffix ן- ָ (as opposed to -)ון
is otherwise unattested except perhaps in Nehushtan, whose etymology is
unknown; the תwould also require explanation, as Nechushtan is formed
from nechoshet and Leviathan from liveyah; the normal-pattern f.s. adjective
would be לויון, liveyon. Other philologists, including Leskien, thought it a foreign
loanword.[3] A third school considers it a proper noun.[4] Bauer proposed תן+לוית,
for "wreath of serpent."[5]
Both the name and the mythological figure are a direct continuation of
the Ugaritic sea monster Lôtān, one of the servants of the sea
god Yammu defeated by Hadad in the Baal Cycle.[6][7] The Ugaritic account has
gaps, making it unclear whether some phrases describe him or other monsters at
Yammu's disposal such as Tunannu (the biblical Tannin).[8] Most scholars agree
on describing Lôtān as "the fugitive serpent" (bṯn brḥ)[7] but he may or may not be
"the wriggling serpent" (bṯn ʿqltn) or "the mighty one with seven heads" (šlyṭ
d.šbʿt rašm).[9] His role seems to have been prefigured by the earlier
serpent Têmtum whose death at the hands of Hadad is depicted in Syrian seals
of the 18th–16th century BC.[9]
Sea serpents feature prominently in the mythology of the ancient Near East.
[10]
They are attested by the 3rd millennium BC in Sumerian iconography depicting
the god Ninurta overcoming a seven-headed serpent. It was common for Near
Eastern religions to include a Chaoskampf: a cosmic battle between a sea
monster representing the forces of chaos and a creator god or culture hero who
imposes order by force.[11] The Babylonian creation myth describes Marduk's
defeat of the serpent goddess Tiamat, whose body was used to create
the heavens and the earth.[12]
Tanakh[edit]
The Leviathan specifically is mentioned six times in the Tanakh, in Job 3:8, Job
40:15–41:26, Psalm 74:14, Psalm 104:26 and twice in Isaiah 27:1.
Job 41:1–34 is dedicated to describing him in detail: "Behold, the hope of him is
in vain; shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?" [13] Included in God's
lengthy description of his indomitable creation is Leviathan's fire-breathing ability,
his impenetrable scales, and his overall indomitability in Job 41.In Psalm 104,
God is praised for having made all things, including Leviathan, and in Isaiah 27:1,
he is called the "tortuous serpent" who will be killed at the end of time. [10]
The mention of the Tannins in the Genesis creation narrative[14] (translated as
"great whales" in the King James Version),[15] in Job, and in the Psalm[16] do not
describe them as harmful but as ocean creatures who are part of God's creation.
The element of competition between God and the sea monster and the use of
Leviathan to describe the powerful enemies of Israel [17] may reflect the influence
of the Mesopotamian and Canaanite legends or the contest in Egyptian
mythology between the Apep snake and the sun god Ra. Alternatively, the
removal of such competition may have reflected an attempt to naturalize
Leviathan in a process that demoted it from deity to demon to monster. [18][19][page needed]
Judaism
