CLAIM: This passage makes reference to the seven-headed, Ugaritic, mythological creature Leviathan (cf. 42:1). Does the Bible purport a belief in mythological creatures such as the Leviathan?

RESPONSE: A number of observations can be made regarding this passage:

First, this could be the same NAME for a different CREATURE. Geisler and Howe note, “This type of expression is often used today, as when someone refers to an adversary as a ‘monster.’ This is not a claim that monsters actually exist. It is merely the application to the person or thing of the fearsome characteristics that are usually associated with a monster.”^[1]

Second, Job was written in the poetic genre—not the historical genre. Therefore, we shouldn’t press the language too literally, unless we want to be guilty of misusing the text.

OPTION #1: These are real beasts in the animal kingdom

Advocates of this view point out that God claims to have made “Behemoth” (Job 40:15) and “Leviathan” (Ps. 104:26). If these are just metaphors, then why claim that God made them?

In his commentary on Job, Roy Zuck speculates that the Behemoth (which means “beast”) could be an elephant, a hornless rhinoceros, or a hippopotamus, noting that the Behemoth is a herbivore (Job 40:15). He writes, “The hippopotamus, the animal traditionally identified with Behemoth, seems as likely as the others or more so, because it was known in the ancient Near East and because Egyptian records picture hippos being hunted with harpoons and barbed hooks.”[2] Job 40:23 states, “If a river rages, he is not alarmed; he is confident, though the Jordan rushes to his mouth.” However, Zuck writes, “The Hebrew word for ‘the Jordan’ (40:23) is literally ‘a Jordan’ and is therefore simply an illustration of a swift running current.”[3] However, Walton notes that the description of the tail cannot be a hippopotamus (Job 40:17). Walton notes however, “Some have argued that the Hebrew word here does not refer to the tail but to the male member.”[4]

Likewise, Zuck notes that Leviathan was not a prehistoric dinosaur, because it was known to Job. Because of the detailed description and desire to hunt it. Zuck believes this is the crocodile.[5] The Leviathan’s eyes rise out of the water like the sun (41:18).

Job 41:19 states, “Out of his mouth go burning torches; sparks of fire leap forth.” He argues that the light refers to “the spray forced through his nostrils appears to flash light in the bright sun.”[6] He adds, “Those fiery phenomena may also be explained as the poet’s way of depicting the expelling of the crocodiles’s pent-up breath together with water in a hot stream from its mouth which looks like a stream of fire in the sunshine.”[7]

While we appreciate Zuck’s attempt to reconcile these poetic descriptions with beasts in the animal kingdom, this view seems to torture the text of Scripture too much. This isn’t our view.

OPTION #2: These are creative depictions of Canaanite deities that God smashes and controls

In his commentary on Job, John Walton notes that Leviathan is elsewhere described as having multiple heads (Ps. 74:14). Thus this wouldn’t fit with any animal known on Earth. Walton writes, “Most of the ancient world believed that chaos creatures were outside of the established order and often viewed them as a threat to that order. In contrast, the Hebrew Bible consistently expresses God’s control of chaos creatures and merges them into the ordered cosmos.”[8]

Why does God mention mythical figures? His point is that Job can’t control creation or the created order. He brings up the most terrifying Canaanite deity: Leviathan. He does this to make an analogy. The point is that you can’t put Leviathan on a leash or control him. If you can’t control Leviathan, then how can you control Yahweh?! Walton writes, “Yahweh presents Behemoth as an illustration for Job to emulate and Leviathan as an illustration of how Job should think about Yahweh… The point is not that God can subdue Leviathan and therefore he can subdue Job—that was never in question. Rather, the passage indicates that since Job cannot bring Leviathan to heel, he cannot expect to domesticate Yahweh.”[9] Geisler and Howe conclude:

Even if it is assumed that this is a reference to the same mythological creature of the Ugaritic tales, its use in this poetic text is not necessarily a claim that it really exists. It could be simply a poetic figure employing the image of an untamable sea monster to illustrate a point. Whereas Job is merely a man incapable of taming such a fearsome beast, God is all-powerful, and it is He who sets the bounds of both man and beast. As such, it would be like someone today saying “Jesus (whom they believe is historical) is stronger than Superman (whom they believe to be mythical).” Poetic expressions often employ symbolic figures in an effort to heighten the emotional impact of the literal message being conveyed. This does not, however, mean that the author accepts the pagan mythology that has given rise to this figure.^[10]

^[1] Geisler, Norman L.; Howe, Thomas A.: When Critics Ask : A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992. In location.

[2] Zuck, Roy B. Job: Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1978. 178-179.

[3] Zuck, Roy B. Job: Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1978. 179.

[4] Walton, John H. Job: NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012. 407 (see footnote).

[5] Zuck, Roy B. Job: Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1978. 180-181.

[6] Zuck, Roy B. Job: Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1978. 182.

[7] Zuck, Roy B. Job: Everyman’s Bible Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1978. 182.

[8] Walton, John H. Job: NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012. 406.

[9] Walton, John H. Job: NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012. 408, 410.

^[10] Geisler, Norman L.; Howe, Thomas A.: When Critics Ask : A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992. See Job 41:1.