LEVIATHAN

Admin Thu 16 Sep 2010 - 13:16

LEVIATHAN

From lewiy "joined" (referring to its joined, plate armour like scales) and than
a monster drawn out, i.e. long; or else Arabic lavah "to twist." So Job
41:15-17. The crocodile. The whale having a smooth skin and no scales cannot be
meant. The crocodile's teeth, 30 on each side of each jaw, lock into each other.
Lips are wanting, so that the teeth are seen even when the mouth is closed,
illustrating Job 41:14, "who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are
terrible round about." As behemoth is the hippopotamus, so leviathan is the
crocodile, both found in Egypt along the Nile. The term elsewhere is used for
any large monster of the "sea" or water. Ps 104:26; 74:13-14: "Thou breakest the
heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting
the wilderness." The king of Egypt is symbolized by the "dragons" and
"leviathan" (compare Ezek 32:2; 29:3); he and his host at their overthrow in the
Red Sea became a spoil to Israel (compare "bread for us," Num 14:9) "in the
wilderness." The context shows that it is the benefits of God to Israel that are
here recounted. In Job 3:8 translated "let them curse it (my day of birth) ...
who are ready to raise up a leviathan," i.e. necromancers who rouse and control
wild beasts at will (compare Ps 58:5). In Isa 27:1, "leviathan the piercing
serpent, even leviathan that crooked (wriggling) serpent," "the dragon in the
sea," literally refers to the crocodile in the sea or Nile, or else to the great
rock snakes. Spiritually every foe of Israel and the church. Antitypically and
finally Satan "the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil" (Rev 20:2,10),
whom finally "Jehovah with His sore, great, and strong sword shall punish." For"
piercing" (bariach) translated "darting from side to side." Foiled on one side
he tries to gain on the other side (Job 26:13; 2 Cor 11:14; 2:11). Typhon, the
destroyer, was worshipped in Egypt under the form of a crocodile.
(from Fausset's Bible Dictionary, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1998, 2003 by
Biblesoft)
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Job 41:1
1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which
thou lettest down?
KJV
Psalms 74:14
14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to
the people inhabiting the wilderness.
KJV
Psalms 104:26
26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play
therein.
KJV
Isaiah 27:1
1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish
leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he
shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
KJV
Isaiah 27:1
1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish
leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he
shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
KJV
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Ps 74:18-23
18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, O LORD, how foolish people have
reviled your name. 19 Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; do
not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever. 20 Have regard for your
covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land. 21 Do not
let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day
long. 23 Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your
enemies, which rises continually. NIV