Leviathan

Leviathan, in the bible, one of the names of the primeval dragon subdued by Yahweh at the outset of creation: "You crushed Leviathan's heads, gave him as food to the wild animals "(Psalm 74:14; see also Isaiah 27:1; Job 27:1; and Amos 9:3). Biblical writers also Rahab (Job 9:3; Psalm 89:10) or simply as the Abyss (Habakkuk 3:10). The biblical references to the battle between Yahweh and Leviathan reflect the Syro-Palestinian version of a myth, creation is represented as the victory of the creator-God over a monster of claos. The closest parallel to the biblical versions of the story appears in the Canaanite Texts from Ra's Shamrah (14th century BCE), in which Baal defeats a dragon-like monster: "You will crush Leviathan the fleeing serpent, you will consume the twisting serpent, the mighty one with seven heads ." ( The wording of Isaiah 27:1 draws directly on this text.) A more ancient version of the myth occurs in the Babylonian Creation Epic, in which the storm god Marduk defeats the sea monster Tiamat and creates the Earth and the Sky by cleaving her corpse in two (see Assyro-Babylonian Literature). The Latter motif is reflected in a few biblical passages that extol Yahweh's military valor: "Was it not you who split Rahab in half, who pierced the dragon through?" (Isaiah 51:9; see also Job 26:12; Psalm 74:13, 89:10). The basic pattern of the Leviathan myth recurs in the Greek story of the battle between Zeus and the many-headed dragon Typhon, recounted by Hesiod in the Thogony. It may also lie behind the much later legend of Saint George and the dragon, which is set in northern Syria. In the Jewish Apocalyptic Writings it is foretold that Leviathan will break out of captivity at the end of present era, but will suffer a second and final defeat at the hands of God (2 Esdras 6:52; 2 Baruch 29:3-8). The apocalyptic version was probably influenced by parallel Iranian beliefs. In the New Testament, the many-headed dragon of Revelation chapter 12 shares a number of characteristics with Leviathan-- particular, it functions as an embodiment of the forces hostile to God. In later Christian lore, Leviathan came to be identified with the "Great Fish" in which Jonah spent three days and three nights (Jonah 2:1), and subsequently with hell.