H3882 H3882
Leviathan: a great sea creature (crocodile, whale); a mythological chaos-serpent defeated by God; an eschatological dragon.
Livyatan is one of the most evocative words in Hebrew Scripture — a creature that straddles the boundary between natural history and cosmic mythology. In Job 40:25-41:26, it appears to be a real animal, most likely the crocodile, described with awe-inspiring physical detail: armored scales, fiery breath, and invulnerability to human weapons. Psalm 104:26 places it in the sea as something God made 'to play in,' suggesting a whale or great sea creature. But in Job 3:8, Psalm 74:14, and Isaiah 27:1 the creature takes on mythological and eschatological dimensions — a multi-headed chaos dragon crushed by God at creation (Ps 74:14) or a 'twisting serpent' to be slain at the end of days (Isa 27:1). Spanish and French both simply transliterate as Leviatan/Leviathan, while German similarly borrows the name, acknowledging that no native word captures this fusion of zoology and myth.
1. Leviathan — Leviathan as a specific mighty creature in theophanic and mythological contexts — the multi-headed chaos monster crushed by God (Ps 74:14, 'you crushed the heads of Leviathan'), the primordial dragon whose rousing terrifies creation (Job 3:8, 'those who curse the day, who are ready to rouse Leviathan'), and the awe-inspiring beast whom only God can subdue (Job 41:1). Spanish Leviatan, French Leviathan, and German Leviathan all transliterate, treating the name as irreducible. These passages share a tone of cosmic confrontation between divine power and chaotic monstrosity. 3×
AR["لوياثانَ","لِوياثانَ","لِوَيَاثَانَ"]·ben["লিবিয়াথনকে","লিব্যাথানের"]·DE["Leviathan"]·EN["Leviathan"]·FR["à-Léviathan","לויתן"]·heb["לוויתן","לויתן","ליוויתן"]·HI["लिव्यातान","लिव्यातान-को"]·ID["Lewiatan"]·IT["Leviatan","Leviatano"]·jav["Liwiatan","Léwiatan"]·KO["레비아단을","레비아탄을","리와야탄-의"]·PT["Livyatan","do-Leviatã"]·RU["Левиафана","Ливьятана"]·ES["Leviatán","a-Leviatán"]·SW["Lewiathani","vya-Lewiathani"]·TR["Livyatan'ı","Livyatan'ın"]·urd["لویتان","لویتان-کو","لویتان-کے"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. twisting — Leviathan as a sea creature in creation-praise and eschatological prophecy — God's handiwork 'playing' in the ocean (Ps 104:26, where it appears alongside ships, suggesting a whale or great marine animal) and the 'twisting serpent, the fleeing serpent' of Isaiah 27:1, whom the LORD will punish with his great sword on the day of reckoning. Isaiah's double description — nachash bariach ('fleeing serpent') and nachash aqallaton ('twisting serpent') — maps onto ancient Near Eastern dragon imagery. Some translations render the Isaiah passage as 'Livyatan' to preserve the prophetic name, while others use 'serpent' or 'dragon,' reflecting the tension between natural and supernatural readings. 3×
AR["لَوياثان","لَوِيَاثَانَ"]·ben["লিবিয়াথন"]·DE["Livyatan","[לויתן]"]·EN["Livyatan","serpent","twisting"]·FR["[לויתן]","à-Léviathan"]·heb["לוויתן","לויתן"]·HI["लिव्यातान"]·ID["Lewiatan"]·IT["Leviatan","[לויתן]"]·jav["Liwiatan","Léwiatan"]·KO["레비아단을","레비야탄-이"]·PT["Livyatan","o-leviatã"]·RU["Левиафан","левиафана"]·ES["Leviatán"]·SW["Lewiathani"]·TR["Livyatan"]·urd["لویاتان","لِویاتان"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† לִוְיָתָן n.m. Jb 40:25 serpent, dragon, leviathan, poet. and rare (on format. from לוה c. fem. ת + ָן v. Thes and cf. Ges§ 85, 54 Köii, p. 99 BaNB § 207 c; LagBN 205 (thinks foreign loan-word);—sea-monster = crocodile Jb 40:25; whale ψ 104:26 (v. Che); dragon producing eclipses (mythol.) Jb 3:8; fig. of Egypt as all-engulfing ψ 74:14 (‖ תַּנִּינִים v 13); cf. Is 27:1(×2) (‖ נָחָשׁ בָּרִחַ,…