Leviathan

August 14, 2016

Oracle on the desert animals (Isa 30:6-30:7)

“An oracle concerning

The animals of the Negeb.

Through a land

Of trouble,

Of distress,

Of the lioness.

Of the roaring lion,

Of the viper,

Of the flying serpent,

They carry their riches

On the backs of donkeys.

They carry their treasures

On the humps of camels,

To a people

That cannot profit them.

Egypt’s help is worthless.

Their help is empty.

Therefore I have called her

‘Rahab who sits still.’”

This seems to be an oracle by Yahweh about the animals in the Negeb desert, south of Israel. The messengers of the King of Judah were going to pass by these animals as they went with their riches on the backs of donkeys and treasures on the camel humps on their way to Egypt. Along the way, they would suffer trouble and distress. They would see many animals, like lioness, lions, vipers, and flying serpents. However, Isaiah says that their mission was worthless and empty. It was a waste of time since the Egyptians could not help them. In fact, Isaiah calls Egypt a useless sitting still ‘Rahab,’ a mythological sea monster like the Leviathan monster.

August 8, 2016

Leviathan (Isa 27:1-27:1)

“On that day,

Yahweh,

With his hard sword,

With his great sword,

With his strong sword,

Will punish

Leviathan,

The fleeing serpent.

Leviathan was

The twisting serpent.

Yahweh will kill

The dragon

That is in the sea.”

Leviathan was a mythical personified sea serpent that was also mentioned predominately in the Book of Job, chapters 40-41, so that this oracle may be from the same milieu. Isaiah says that Yahweh will take his hard, great, and strong sword to punish the fleeing serpent Leviathan. Yahweh was going to kill this twisting serpent dragon of the sea. Later in medieval Christianity, the Leviathan was considered to be the devil in popular works. For the philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), Leviathan was a symbol of big government that came from a social contract.

June 17, 2016

The seas (Sir 43:23-43:26)

“By the Lord’s plan,

He stilled the great deep sea.

He planted islands in it.

Those who sail the sea

Tell of its dangers.

We marvel at

What we hear.

In the sea

Are strange creatures.

In the sea

Are marvelous works.

There are

All kinds of living things.

There are

Huge sea-monsters.

Because of him,

Each of his messengers succeeds.

By his word

All things hold together.”

Next Sirach explains how the Lord controls and stills the seas. The Lord planted the islands in these seas. Many sailors tell of their dangerous adventures on the high seas, mostly on the Mediterranean Sea. Within these waters, there are many strange and marvelous creatures. Among the many living things in the sea are the sea monsters, in particular Leviathan that played a major role in biblical stories, particularly in the book of Job, chapter 41. All these things stay together because of the power of the Lord.

November 28, 2015

Yahweh controls the seas (Ps 104:24-104:26)

“Yahweh!

How manifold are your works!

In wisdom,

You have made them all.

The earth is full of your creatures.

Yonder is the great wide sea.

Innumerable creeping things are there.

There are living things,

Both small and great.

There go the ships!

There is Leviathan

That you formed to play sport with it.”

The works of Yahweh are marvelous. Yahweh created all these things out of wisdom. The earth is full of all Yahweh’s creatures. Then the psalmist turned to the seas and how great and wide they are. However, he then talked about the innumerable living things, both great and small in the sea. Even today, we are still just beginning to understand all the living creatures in the seas. Of course, there were the ships that transported goods and people around. However, there also was the great sea monster Leviathan. Interesting enough here it is considered some kind of sport rather than a menace as outlined in Job, chapter 41.

October 29, 2015

The power of God (Ps 74:12-74:17)

“Yet God!

My King is from of old.

He is working salvation in the earth.

You divided the sea by your might.

You broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.

You crushed the heads of Leviathan.

You gave him as food

For the creatures of the wilderness.

You cut openings for springs and torrents.

You dried up ever-flowing streams.

Yours is the day.

Yours also is the night.

You have established the luminaries.

You have established the sun.

You have fixed all the bounds of the earth.

You have made summer and winter.”

This is a prayer to God about his creative power. God had been an old fashioned king for a long time. He brought salvation to the earth. He divided the seas to produce the earth. He had to defeat the sea monsters, particularly the mythical Leviathan, the great beast that was so important in Job, chapter 41. However, God was able to defeat Leviathan and feed his body to the wild animals. God definitely controlled the water ways, big and small. He was in charge of day and night as well as all the heavenly lights, including the sun. He set up the boundaries of the earth. He had control of the seasons of the year with its various climate changes of summer and winter. God was the powerful creator of heaven and earth as well as the water and the land.

August 4, 2015

The power of Leviathan (Job 41:30-41:34)

“It’s under parts are like sharp potsherds.

It spreads itself like a threshing sledge on the mire.

It makes the deep boil like a pot.

It makes the sea like a pot of ointment.

It leaves a shining wake behind it.

One would think that the deep to be white-haired.

On earth it has no equal.

It is a creature without fear.

It surveys everything that is lofty.

It is king over all that are proud.”

The Leviathan is powerful. Yahweh reminded Job that the Leviathan was the king of the proud. Its underbelly had sharp ceramic pieces that come from the breaking of pots. It is like sledge as it is so big it makes the sea seem like a bottle of ointment. Somehow it has control of the waters since there is nothing equal to it on earth. It has no fear since it is in charge of all the proud folks as it leader king. So ends this long description of the Leviathan, as Yahweh explained it to Job.

August 4, 2015

It is hard to kill the Leviathan (Job 41:25-41:29)

“When it raises itself up

The gods are afraid;

At the crashing they are beside themselves.

Although the sword reaches it,

It does not avail.

Although the spear reaches it,

It does not avail.

Although the dart reaches it,

It does not avail.

Although the javelin reaches it,

It does not avail.

It counts iron as straw.

It counts bronze as rotten wood.

The arrow cannot make it flee.

Sling stones are turned to chaff.

Clubs are counted as chaff.

It laughs at the rattle of javelins.”

Even the gods are afraid of the Leviathan. No matter what you use, you cannot kill the Leviathan. The sword, the spear, the dart, and the javelin are useless against it. Iron is like straw, while bronze is like rotten wood. Arrows have no effect. Stones and clubs are turned into useless dried out grain. The Leviathan laughs at spears and javelins.

August 4, 2015

A description of Leviathan (Job 41:12-41:24)

“I will not keep silence concerning its limbs.

I will not keep silence concerning its mighty strength.

I will not keep silence concerning its splendid frame.

Who can strip off its outer garment?

Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?

Who can open the doors of its face?

There is terror all around its teeth.

Its back is made of shields of rows.

Its back is shut up closely as with a seal.

One is so near to another.

No air can come between them.

They are joined one to another.

They clasp each other.

They cannot be separated.

Its sneezes flash forth light.

Its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.

From its mouth go flaming torches.

Sparks of fire leap out from its mouth.

Out of its nostrils comes smoke,

It is like from a boiling pot and burning rushes.

Its breath kindles coals.

A flame comes out of its mouth.

In its neck abides strength.

Terror dances before it.

The folds of its flesh cling together.

It is firmly cast and immovable.

Its heart is as hard as stone.

It is as hard as the lower millstone.”

Yahweh then presented a graphic description of Leviathan. Leviathan has a mighty frame so that you cannot take off its skin with its double coat of protective armor. It has ferocious teeth. Its back has rows of shields sealed closely together so that no air comes between them. When it sneezes light comes out. Flames come out its mouth that can light fires. Smoke comes out its nostrils. It has folds of flesh around its neck. Its heart was as hard as stone. This is one mean looking terrifying dude.

August 4, 2015

How to handle the Leviathan (Job 41:3-40:11)

“Will it make many supplications to you?

Will it speak soft words to you?

Will it make a covenant with you?

Will it be taken as your servant forever?

Will you play with it as with a bird?

Will you put it on a leash for your girls?

Will traders bargain over it?

Will they divide it up among the merchants?

Can you fill its skin with harpoons?

Can you fill its head with fishing spears?

Lay hands on it!

Think of the battle!

You will not do it again!

Any hope of capturing it will be disappointed.

The gods were even overwhelmed at the sight of it.

No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up.

Who can stand before it?

Who can confront it?

Who can be safe?

Who?

No one under the whole heaven can confront it?”

Like the popular children’s movie series, How to Train a Dragon, how are you to handle this big sea monster? However, this is not a play thing. Yahweh asks who can confront this Leviathan. Will it pray softy for him? Will it make a treaty with him? Would you play with it or put it on a leash? Do the traders buy and sell it? Could you put spears and harpoons into it? Leviathan cannot be captured because even the gods are overwhelmed seeing it. No one under the heavens could confront it or stand up to it. The Leviathan was the original bully since it did whatever it wanted to do.

August 4, 2015

Leviathan (Job 41:1-41:2)

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?

Can you press down its tongue with a cord?

Can you put a rope in its nose?

Can you pierce its jaw with a hook?”

In the Bible of Jerusalem this is the end of chapter 40 and not the beginning of chapter 41. However, the text is exactly the same so I am using the Oxford Bible numbering until the end of chapter 41, where the 2 works once again coincide. The Leviathan was the sea monster personified. If anything it might have been a large crocodile or a water dragon of some kind. Later in medieval Christianity, the Leviathan was considered to be the devil in popular works. For philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) the Leviathan was a big government that came from a social contract. You obviously could not catch this monster with a fish hook, a cord, or a rope. This biblical author spends a long time explaining the Leviathan in this part of Yahweh’s speech.