Saturday, May 05, 2007

Leviathan

Leviathan is certainly one of the most fascinating and awesome monsters of biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies. He is mentioned in Bible in such places as Isaiah 27:1; Psalm 74:14 (with multiple heads as in Ugaritic!; see the image below, and others in Pritchard, Pictures, 670, 671, 691); Ps 104:26; Job 3:8; 41. And Leviathan is alluded to elsewhere in Bible as well, such as at Gen 1:21.

Lothan

New on YouTube: "Father Matthew Presents: Leviathan." What do you think?


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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousSat May 05, 02:07:00 PM EST

    One older interpretation of Jonah is that Leaviathan is the "great fish" (דג גדול) of chapter 2 that swallows Jonah up after he has been thrown into the sea. There are two little clues that have led to this reading. First, God appoints (וימן) this great fish. Some suggest that the Hebrew here means to have set in place from the beginning, rather than simply directing in the moment. Leviathan had been around since the beginnings of creation. Second, the fish becomes a symbol for death. Leviathan is a symbol of death.

    -RBP

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  2. The Bosom SerpentThu May 10, 10:58:00 PM EST

    Professor,

    Am I correct in giving my latest entry the title "Leviathan?"
    Is the Leviathan the creature refered to in Jonah? I would appreciate any comment you could make.

    I found your blog through Fr. Frank Logue.

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  3. S and CSat May 12, 03:11:00 PM EST

    Your poem from the perspective of Jonah's great fish is really neat. Readers should check it out click here. Is the great fish Leviathan? No one knows, but it is interesting that the Greek of Matthew 12:40 speaks not of a fish or a whale, but of a sea-monster like Leviathan...

    Oh, yes, in the Septuagint Greek of Job 3:8, this same Greek term is in fact used for the Hebrew "Leviathan." Interesting, no? ---SLC

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