Did you know that there is a mythical sea monster hiding in the Bible? Its name is Leviathan, and it lurks in the Old Testament.
Is it still alive or did God slay it? Let’s investigate.
“There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.”
Psalms 104:25-26 NIV
Here we see Leviathan as a sea beast who frolics, who was created *on purpose* by God to dwell in the sea. Is this verse referring to whales or something more sinister?
“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook? Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words? Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life? Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house? Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants? Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears? If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again! Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering.”
Job 41:1-9 NIV
Here, God is talking to Job and explaining his power and dominion over all beings on earth.
He is letting Job know that no human could have taken on Leviathan. Only God has the power to defeat this enemy. And this verse implies how this defeat went down (/will go down?) This makes it sound like Leviathan begged for mercy when God came to slay it, and offered to be a servant of God if God would just let it live. Fascinating!
“I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form.
Who can strip off its outer coat?
Who can penetrate its double coat of armor?
Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth?
Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together;
each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.
They are joined fast to one another;
they cling together and cannot be parted.
Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.
Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.
Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.
Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it.
The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.
Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.
When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing.
The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin. Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood. Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones are like chaff to it. A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.
Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge. It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair. Nothing on earth is its equal— a creature without fear.”
Job 41:12-33 NIV
Here we find a very detailed description of Leviathan. Let’s sum up what we learned:
- Double coat of armor
- Rings of fearsome teeth
- Terrifying even to the mightiest of humans
- Rows of shields like scales down its back
- Fire and smoke comes out of its mouth
- Impervious to human weapons
- Underside is jagged like broken pottery
- It churns up the sea
- Leaves a white wake behind it
This paints a picture of a terrifying swimming dragon! A sea serpent who can breathe fire and is immune to all physical weapons? Eek!
“It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.”
Psalms 74:13-14 NIV
Here we learn that Leviathan has multiple heads. Also, this makes it sound like Leviathan was defeated in the past, that it no longer lives. Maybe it was alive in Job’s day but was dead by the time King David wrote his Psalms?
“In that day, the Lord will punish with his sword— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.”
Isaiah 27:1 NIV
Here we have a promise that one day, God will kill Leviathan, the monster of the sea. This verse seems like it is referring to the end times, when evil will be overthrown.
When Job curses the day of his birth in anguish, Leviathan is there:
“May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.”
Job 3:8-9 NIV
This verse implies that by cursing, people might awaken Leviathan. So this is a demon who comes alive in the presence of cursing.
That’s it for references to Leviathan specifically, but then we see a new name for this sea dragon: Rahab.
They seem to be used interchangeably to refer to the same monster:
“By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces. By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent.”
Job 26:12-13 NIV
“You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them. You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.”
Psalms 89:9-10 NIV
“Awake, awake, arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through?”
Isaiah 51:9 NIV
These 3 verses make it sound like God defeated Rahab a long time ago. Perhaps it was a demonic sea creature who terrorized ships. Or perhaps it symbolizes a demonic entity who attacks people even today.
In Hebrew, the word Rahab refers to the Abyss – the pit of hell. It is also a Hebrew word that is translated in the Bible as pride, or insolence. Sometimes, Rahab in the Bible refers to Egypt. Finally, Rahab is a mythical water demon associated with chaos and darkness, associated with the Red Sea.
Another name for Leviathan might be Tannin, who comes from an ancient pagan religion but was adopted into Hebrew folklore.
In some parts of the Bible, Tannin is used as another name for Egypt, like Rahab. In other parts, it seems to denote the mythical beast we are studying.
Tannin is found in this passage of Job:
“Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep [tannin], that you put me under guard?”
Job 7:11-12 NIV
Does God have control of this sea monster? Does he have it under guard? Interesting!
It is also found in the book of Psalms in the following verse:
“You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent [tannin].”
Psalms 91:13 NIV
This passage speaks of the end times – when God’s people will trample on the wicked, who are defeated for good.
It also appears in the book of Ezekiel:
“Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“ ‘I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great monster [tannin] lying among your streams. You say, “The Nile belongs to me; I made it for myself.”
“But I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales. I will pull you out from among your streams, with all the fish sticking to your scales. I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and not be gathered or picked up. I will give you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.”
Ezekiel 29:3-5 NIV
Here, tannin is compared to Pharaoh, as Ezekiel is prophesying against Egypt. What a picture of slimy scaliness this passage paints! So we get a hint that Leviathan, or tannin, is an evil spirit that can “infect” a person such as a Pharaoh. That means it is a very high level demon.
Tannin even appears in Genesis – it has been translated as “great whale” in the creation story (in the King James Version.)
The origin of tannin is *likely* the Canaanite mythology or paganism, as they had a mythical sea dragon, associated with chaos and darkness, and its name was Tunnanu. When the people of Israel took Canaanites as slaves, some of the Canaanite mythology was transferred to the Hebrew people (specifically their worship of Baal, the Canaanite “god” who supposedly defeated Tunnanu.)
So what does the Leviathan hidden in the Bible truly represent?
In Bible symbolism, the sea can represent a multitude of people, or a nation, or a language. A sea serpent, then, would be a villainous serpent who makes its way through that multitude of people, bringing darkness and chaos with it.
Who makes his way through the multitudes of people on earth, bringing chaos and darkness?
None other than Satan and his demons. Leviathan is a specific, high level demon, or unclean spirit, who causes “shipwrecks” in your life. A demon who shipwrecks your marriage. Or your life’s work. Or your health. Or your life itself. Leviathan is a twisting serpent, twisting words to cause arguments, twisting scripture, twisting relationships, twisting minds. This demon has one job: to rip you away from God and mess up your life. And cursing, we learned, awakens Leviathan. So watch what you say!
From what we read in this article, then, we know that this is a spirit you cannot hope to subdue yourself — only God is strong enough to defeat it. If you suspect this spirit is at work in your life, you might want to look into deliverance ministry to set you free from it. Another option is to figure out what you did to give Leviathan legal permission to interfere with your life. Usually a specific sin invites it in, such as pride (or cursing others). Find the sin or the lie that allowed it to enter, and repent/renounce. They pray to God for protection from this evil spirit.
What do you think? Leave a comment!
Happy swimming all! 😉