The Destruction of Leviathan by Gustave Dore, 1865
The Leviathan is a biblical sea dragon from Jewish and Christian traditions. It is mentioned in the Book of Job, the Book of Psalms, and the Book of Issiah. The creature's role in each religion was expanded upon by later Jewish and Christian sources in the medieval era.
Etymology[]
Attempts by scholars generally translate the word Leviathan as "the twisting one" or "the wreath-like"/"the circular". This wording has led some scholars to suggest the Leviathan could've been seen as world serpent to the ancient Israelites with the cultures surrounding them during those times seemingly having their own version of the world serpent motif.[1] An additional note is the word is comparable with Canaanite Ltn (can be constructed as Litan or Lotan), the name of a multi-headed sea serpent from Canaanite mythology.[2]
Description[]
Jewish Sources[]
In Jewish sources, the Leviathan is thought to be a large fish or serpent. In the Book of Job, he is described to have a scaley body, emits light from his nostrils, and breathes fire.[3] In the Book of Psalms, he is said to be multi-headed.[4] According to rabbinical sources, the Leviathan was created on the fifth day and was assigned as the ruler of all sea animals. In addition, the Leviathan along with the Behemoth originally had both male and female variants. However, in order to stop the two species from procreating, the Hebrew God destroyed the female version of both species in order to secure them "for the righteous in the world to come". In general, it was believed that the Leviathan, along with the Behemoth and the bird Ziz, would end up served as food for the righteous at the Messianic banquet at the end of time.[5]
In addition, rabbinical sources also describe the physical form of the Leviathan to encompass the entire world, the rabbinical commentator Eleazar of Worms writing the Leviathan of which "whose fins the entire world rests..." while separating the Leviathan from the tannin.[6]
Christian Sources[]
In the Septuagint, the original Greek translation of the Bible, the name Leviathan is omitted entirely, the creature and other named biblical sea monsters only simply being referred to as ancient Greek drakon ("dragon"), ketos ("sea monster"), or ophis ("snake").[2]
Medieval Christian texts transform the Leviathan from a deific being into a demonic entity. The influential medieval theologian St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) declares the Leviathan the demon of envy and the first demon a sinner comes across in their punishment in his Summa Theologia. Old English art starting in the seventh century also depicted the Leviathan as a demon of whom was represented with massive jaws that consumed transgressors into the depths of hell. The Leviathan would proceed to be identified as one of the "seven princes of damnation", representing the sin of envy.[7]
Mythology[]
The Book of Job gives a full description of the Leviathan, the Hebrew God telling of the Leviathan's strength to Job and how no mere human can overpower it, only he can. The Hebrew God tells Job this in response to Job's challenging of his authority after the Hebrew God had gradually dismantled his livelihood as a test of faith.[3] According to the Book of Psalms, the Hebrew God will slay the Leviathan and give to the Hebrews in the wilderness as food.[4] In the Book of Issiah, the Hebrew God slays the Leviathan with a "great" sword after the Israelites lament to him of their sorrows.[8]
Non-Canonical Sources[]
The Book of Enoch describes the Leviathan as a female monster that lives in the abysses of the oceans.[9] According to the Book of Giants, when not all the giants where killed by the Hebrew God's flood, the Hebrew God sends the Leviathan to dispose of the remaining giants. The giant Ohyah is the sole survivor of the onslaught and kills the Leviathan.[10]
Analysis[]
The Leviathan is often compared to Rehab, a specific sea creature mentioned in the Hebrew Bible that bears many similarities and is often used interchangeably with the term Leviathan in the scripture. Overall, the term Rehab was probably just another term for Leviathan.[1] Another word conflated with Leviathan is tannin, which is essentially the Hebrew word for dragon and is in the Bible used interchangeably with the word nahash, the Hebrew word for snake. From ancient sources to medieval rabbinical ones, the dragon in Jewish literature was regarded as a celestial being.[6]
Comparative Mythology[]
The myth of the Leviathan being slain by the Hebrew God could be creative versions of early Ugaritic/Cannanite myths, most notably the goddess Annat slaying a seven-headed serpent named Tunnan and the god Bal slaying the previously mentioned Litan. It's important to note though that scholars argue these earlier myths were not direct inspirations for the Israelite myth, rather it comes from a shared cultural tradition of the Levantine cultures. The Levantine myths may have also influenced later myths such as the mythical conflict between Heracles and the Lernaean Hydra in ancient Greek mythology as evident by a recent seal dubbed "The Hercules Seal" depicting a warrior slaying a seven-headed serpent. [11]
Overall, the Leviathan myth fits firmly within the Chaoskampf motif in world myth where a heroic figure slays a serpent or dragon associated with chaos [1] The Leviathan myth as described in the Book of Psalms could arguably fit the Chaoskampf motif as it was originally thought as and used in Near Eastern studies more so than compared myths such as the Babylon Creation Epic, which have a heavier focus on divine kingship then the process of creation emerging from chaos.[12]
Modern Word Usage[]
Since the pre-modern era, the word Leviathan has come to be used as a title or name for ideas, objects, or fictional sea creature or monster rather then used to describe a singular mythological entity..[7]
In Popular Culture[]
- English philosopher Thomas Hobbes titled his political work The Leviathan. It can be assumed the Leviathan in this symbolic usage represents the "omnipotent political force" that is the state of which is necessary for social stability according to Hobbes.[7]
- The Leviathan and it's role in The Book of Job is alluded to in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. The book overall serves as a commentary on pride with Melville using the Leviathan allegory to represent the primordial chaos of the sea. [7]
- The Leviathan appears in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series as a massive sea serpent.
- The Leviathan appears in the television show Supernatural as a demon that is fought in multiple episodes.
- The Leviathan appears as the eponymous mutant entity in the sci-fi horror film Leviathan.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 TREY the Explainer (June 19, 2018) What is the Leviathan? and What can it tell us about Ancient Religions? YouTube
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Daniel Ogden (2013) Dragons, Serpents, and Slayers in the Classical and Early Christian Worlds: A Sourcebook Oxford University Press pp.188-189, 259
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Job 41:7-41:26
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Psalm 74:14
- ↑ Lois Drewer (1981) Leviathan, Behemoth, and Ziz: A Christian Adaptation Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes Vol. 44 pp.148-156 https://www.jstor.org/stable/751056
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Marc Micheal Epstein (1996) Harnessing the Dragon: A Mythos Transformed in Medieval Jewish Literature and Art in ed. Laurie L. Patton, Wendy Doniger Myth & Method University Press of Virginia pp.382-389
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Lyndsey Campball The Leviathan: A Transformation Arizona State University pp.4-8
- ↑ Issiah 27:1
- ↑ The Complete Book of Enoch Chapter 3
- ↑ Reconstructed Summary of the Book of Giants in The Complete Book of Enoch
- ↑ Eyal Green (July 11, 2024) Newly discovered link between Hercules, Israel suggests cultural exchange in region The Jerusalem Post
- ↑ Rossana Rackley (2014) Kingship, Struggle, and Creation: The Story of Chaoskampf (Unpublished Master's thesis) Birmingham University pp.20-25