Lassoing the Biblical Leviathan
A spell back, we discussed the biblical creature known as behemoth and how liberal Bible scholars try to find excuses to support long ages — and sometimes evolution. Another hotly debated critter mentioned in the Old Testament is leviathan.
So, what is it? Biblical creationists believe it was probably a now-extinct companion of dinosaurs or something similar. Darwin's acolytes wave off any possible historical references to dinosaurs (called dragons before the word dinosaur was coined) because evolution. Dinosaurs died out millions of Darwin years before humans evolved. That's the narrative, despite many accounts of dragons (dinosaurs and the like) in history.
Liberal scholars say it's a mythological creature. I'll allow that there are some uses of the name in the Psalms and the book of Isaiah, but those are poetic devices. When I call dishonest evolutionists "sidewinders" or "weasels", that does not mean those creatures are nonexistent. Also, the mythology claim doesn't fit with the text in the book of Job. God goes into detail about this fearsome creature. Can you lasso it and put it into the corral, Job, old son? That'll be the day! Not you nor your ranch hands dare face this critter. God says that he made it, so he is its master.
Something else to consider is that there is nothing like it living today. Is that a reason to say that the leviathan never existed? Highly illogical, Captain. Scientists can only learn so much from the external appearances of fossils. (Would you like to wager that if all we had were fossils of the frilled lizard, nobody would figure out its comedic escape routine?) Fossils of leviathan may not have been found. Or perhaps they do exist but its described characteristics are not apparent. Savvy?
But again, what is it? There have been several possibilities put forward (some of these are linked earlier in this post), including some kind of crocodile relative. Sure, there are some things that may give that impression that it has some things in common with crocodiles, such as body armor. However, the greater part of the leviathan's description does not support this idea. It's time to give some serious examination of the biblical text.
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| Modified segment of "Carta marina" by Olaus Magnus, 1539 |
Liberal scholars say it's a mythological creature. I'll allow that there are some uses of the name in the Psalms and the book of Isaiah, but those are poetic devices. When I call dishonest evolutionists "sidewinders" or "weasels", that does not mean those creatures are nonexistent. Also, the mythology claim doesn't fit with the text in the book of Job. God goes into detail about this fearsome creature. Can you lasso it and put it into the corral, Job, old son? That'll be the day! Not you nor your ranch hands dare face this critter. God says that he made it, so he is its master.
Something else to consider is that there is nothing like it living today. Is that a reason to say that the leviathan never existed? Highly illogical, Captain. Scientists can only learn so much from the external appearances of fossils. (Would you like to wager that if all we had were fossils of the frilled lizard, nobody would figure out its comedic escape routine?) Fossils of leviathan may not have been found. Or perhaps they do exist but its described characteristics are not apparent. Savvy?
But again, what is it? There have been several possibilities put forward (some of these are linked earlier in this post), including some kind of crocodile relative. Sure, there are some things that may give that impression that it has some things in common with crocodiles, such as body armor. However, the greater part of the leviathan's description does not support this idea. It's time to give some serious examination of the biblical text.
God challenges Job by questioning his ability to capture Leviathan and make it his servant (Job 41:1–4). Leviathan is not a creature that little children can play with (Job 41:5) and is too large for traders to sell (Job 41:6).To read all of this extremely interesting article, click on "Drawing Out the Biblical Leviathan". In addition, something else needs to be considered. Generally speaking, biblical creationists agree to uphold the Bible as the inerrant, written Word of God, and agree that models come and go. Another article presents a case for Deinosuchus. For this rather short article, click on "Leviathan: Legend, Croc, or Something Else?"
God reminds Job that if he is even thinking of capturing Leviathan with harpoons or fishing spears, then he needs to consider the battle that will take place (Job 41:7–8). If Job does engage in battle with Leviathan, it will be the first and only time he does battle with this mighty creature. Leviathan cannot be subdued by any man: this is a false hope, as he “is laid low even at the sight of him” (Job 41:9). In other words, Leviathan is a creature who brings fear into the heart of man; whereas, he is afraid of no one (Job 41:33).
This brings God to state the most important issue: