Commentators on the Bible say that leviathan is a whale or a crocodile. Below I point out why it is neither, but probably a fire breathing dragon as many stories indicate.
Job 41:1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? Defenders Study Bible notes: Leviathan was evidently the greatest of the marine reptiles, or dinosaurs, something like a plesiosaur, perhaps, although modern commentators tend to call it a crocodile. Isaiah says that leviathan was “the dragon in the sea” (Isaiah 27:1), and the psalmist said that leviathan “played” in the “great and wide sea” (Psalm 104:25,26). (Personally I don’t agree that it is a plesiosaur, but probably an extinct kind of dinosaur.)
2 Canst thou put a hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant forever?
5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?
7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed iron? or his head with fish spears?
8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me? Defenders Study Bible notes: Although no man could overcome the leviathan, God could do so, just as He could overcome the behemoth.
11 Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
12 I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.
13 Who can discover the face of his garment? of who can come to him with his double bridal?
14 Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about. (Whales have terrible teeth?)
15 His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. (Whales have scales?)
16 One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they can not be sundered.
18 By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyelids are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or cauldron.
21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. Defenders Study Bible notes: Whatever the leviathan was, it was not a crocodile. Many of the dragon legends indicate they could breath fire, and there are indications that at least certain dinosaurs may have been able to produce and expel combustible gases which, upon coming in contact with oxygen, could have ignited.
22 In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy for him. (Please show me the neck on a whale.)
23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves. (The mighty fear when the crocodile rises up?)
26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee: sling-stones are turned with him into stubble.
29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
30 Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
34 He beholdeth all high things: he is king over all the children of pride. (Here God is comparing leviathan to Satan.)
This is Ken Ham’s idea of what leviathan looked like. We can’t make a picture that is %100 accurate, but I’d say that this is pretty close.
Creation, Dinosaurs, and the Bible 
June 15, 2007 at 10:17 pm
You believe that fire breathing dragons once existed?
June 15, 2007 at 11:21 pm
Ever heard of the bombardier beetle? It mixes chemicals that explode. I’m not saying that it is 100% for sure that there were fire breathing dragons, but I believe a certain type of dinosaur may have been able to. But don’t you think that the legends had to come from somewhere?
June 17, 2007 at 3:06 am
The only place it had to come from are the imaginations of people.
July 3, 2007 at 12:38 am
I wonder where evolution came from??
July 3, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Same place, however they were inspired and supported by physical evidence. The ideas that aren’t should be abandoned.
Gravitation, calculus, relativity, Newtonian mechanics; all these things came from the imaginations of people too and are supported by evidence. Why aren’t you blogging against those? Why do you focus only on evolution?
October 9, 2007 at 3:00 pm
I think that their were dinosars’s back in biblical days. New evidence strongly agrees. The discriptions of the fire breathing dragon’s are of like dinosar’s it is just we use differn’t words for names of species today. All the awnsers to life’s mysteries and evolution are in the bible. Read it and then you will have the awnsers. I do.
October 10, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I read in the bible about leviathans and it said it might be a crocadile. How it was described sounded like a dragon to me and I believe in the bible 100%. So I’m wondering what the actual definition for leviathan is.
October 11, 2007 at 2:53 am
i see you did alot of reasearch ont his. you didnt look into how the satanic bible discribes him though. im a wiccan so reading a bunch of stuf from your bible means little if at all to me. but i do admire the fact you spent a good deal of time on reasearch so for that i give you credit. overall 7/10 stars cause im kind
October 12, 2007 at 5:57 pm
“So I’m wondering what the actual definition for leviathan is.”
Most definitions refer to it as something large, a sea monster/creature, or a whale.
“you didnt look into how the satanic bible discribes him though.”
Thanks for the insight. Do you know where exactly in the satanic bible it describes him? That could be an interesting piece of info.
December 4, 2007 at 7:39 pm
The leviathan did really exist, the reason I say that is cause its mentioned seven times in the bible. The first time (I believe that is was mentioned) the bible mentions it is when God is talking to Noah while he was either on the ark or while he was on land when the waters was receeding. God said “look even the levianthan can breathe fire.” I dont remember the verse but look for it in the old testament towards the end othe the store about Noah and the flood. I also remember it mentioned in Psalms.
January 9, 2008 at 7:43 pm
i tink you guys need to put facts about this animals!!!
thank you
February 7, 2008 at 12:59 am
I think it’s pretty clear Leviathan had to be some kind of dragon, or what the people of that time would have called a dragon anyway. It couldn’t be anything else.
February 18, 2008 at 3:26 am
Guys he’s making a perfectly good point, the leviathan is described exactly as a fire breathing dragon. In Hebrew mythology, it says that Leviathan is the only animal to fight against god. God created two and killed the female to see that they would never reproduce. Christianity,Judaism,the Nordic religion, and the Mesopotamian religions all believe in an animal just like Leviathan that put up a fight against god, the God and creature had various names according to each religion of course but that is just a common translation between truth. If this isn’t enough for you then I’m sorry,just do some research.
February 29, 2008 at 12:30 am
Levi The Leviathan!
February 29, 2008 at 1:47 am
No one can say the Leviathan doesn’t exist. Sense there is always the possibility of its existence. All you can do is choose not to believe it. Joe I think we have to assume that it is at very least a possibility because of the endless storys, from around the globe that all speak of dragons. Sense the Bible talks about them I believe it. Remember the giant squid? People have been laughed at for decades for believing in it. But yet now, at the turn of the century we can prove that they do indeed exist. I just think it would be awesome if someone did find a real life, fire breathing dragon, or dinosaur. Wouldn’t that be awesome?? ;-D
March 2, 2008 at 3:21 am
what man finds are NOT always “FACTS”
God only knows EVRYTHING
about ANYTHING
.
thats why the Bible is the only book that gives a 100,0000 percent of ALL truth, because it is Gods Word, and don’t forget, God Knows AlL
all these scientists try to look for truths in life as do transcendentalist thinkers of olden days,man is NOT physically cappable of knowing all things, but God is. The Bible was written by Gods use of His people, as he breathed his words into them through the Holy Spirit.
big bang theory??– well where the hell did those particles that exploded come from?
OUT OF NO WHERE?
March 2, 2008 at 11:18 pm
I’ve just read Dante’s ‘Purgatory’.I believe there must have been a leviathan and I’m a believer
March 4, 2008 at 11:23 pm
My name is Laser Les…I research small stone artifacts that yield photographic images from prehistory. This is a fact!
I have been conducting this rock art archaeological research since 1994. I discovered this sample of photographic etched stone artifacts in SE Missouri. The petroglyphs become holograms that reflect photographic details of events, places and individuals known to humanity through our knowledge of the ancient mythology (their religions). The artifacts also reflect images in photographic detail of the events, places and individuals known to us through modern day religions.
For example…this petroglyph image I posted on Wikipedia photographically reflects the image of a creature described in detail within the old testament of the bible (KJV). In the oldest book of the bible…the creature is described by name in JOB 39: 9,10 (Unicorn) and in specific detail in JOB 41: 1-34 (Leviathan). The creature is the most elusive known throughout human history and has been the subject of myth, religion and conjecture since the earliest of civilizations. This photographic projection is the only one known to exist and is quite real:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Image-Unicorn-petroglyph-2.JPG#Summary
If you read the my posting in the discussion tab…you will see the significance of this photographic image with respect to the religions of today.
I also have an extensive publication of my research posted online…including a 50 page technical report detailing my discoveries over a 12 year period…this is my research website that contains no advertisements…nothing for sale!
http://www.impactoptics.com/
I just thought a real photograph of something others can only read or imagine might set the records straight!
laser
March 13, 2008 at 4:00 am
I like this kind of article anytime I hear the crocodile or whale thing it puts me off.
“however they were inspired and supported by physical evidence.” -Joe-
the theory of evolution was formed over time by several people, most notably charles darwin, however the theory of evolution has no current proof of the slow or spontanious change of one creature to another creature. Thus evolution is still considered a theory.
Also the accounts of evolution theory are so many and so vastly different from one another. Now couple that fact with the rate at which people are taught at schools and colleges that evolution is a fact, and compare it to the standard model of religion… the only logical classification for evolution is as a belief.
March 13, 2008 at 9:29 pm
If dinosaurs were alive in biblical days and these creatures were in fact as aggressive as the bible describes them, how come there is now factual evidence or theory in the bible stating that these creatures attacked anybody? I have a solution, Christianity was created as a means of keeping children in line. Parents created this imaginary being, God, who can see what we are doing at all times(much like santa claus), brings us gifts(much like claus and the easter bunny) and when we die, we will go to a place with great rewards.
March 21, 2008 at 4:46 am
someone mentioned the bombardier beetle. if we were to find the remains of an electric eel in several thousand years, would we be able to tell simply from its skeletal structure that it was capable of mixing together 2 chemicals to create an electrochemical reaction that produces a voltage and amperage through the water to essentially ‘zap’ it’s prey? I would assume no. So it’s possible that yes the leviathan (possibly a dinosaur, or sea creature) was capable of producing an extremely combustible chemical reaction and ‘breathe’ fire. we do have a lot of dinosaur skeletons around. the evidence is there. and if you read that passage in job where the lord speaks to job, it becomes pretty clear, how little we really do know.
March 22, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Hail Satan!
April 2, 2008 at 2:43 am
WILL YOU THINK LEVIATHAN CUT BE A DIABOLIC SPIRIT THAT IS ATAKING CRISTIAN PEOPLE ON THIS DAYS???
April 9, 2008 at 6:35 pm
the bible already says that the fool says in his heart there is no God ,critics of God’s existence should tell me if computers came into existence through evolution .What would you say if you created something and they told you that you didn’t exist.
April 15, 2008 at 1:58 am
The leviathan mirrors near exact the story of Thor and Jormungand(midgard seprent). Whats far more probable is just like the Norse Gods defeat of the Giants/Ettins and the Greek Gods defeat of the Titans, is that Ettins and Titans where probably the divinity of the race the people conquered and turned their Gods into monsters. Its human nature to demonize. The Leviathan is the embodiment of the wild and powerful ocean, to ancient man it was infinate. Who ever it was the Jews conquered(the Leviathen is mentioned in the talmud first), took the name of one of their dieties and demonized it for all of history as an ocean demon.
April 24, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Maybe all those knights in shining armor killed off the dinosaurs who were said to be dragons.
May 24, 2008 at 6:08 am
Well, all I know is that there is only one God, He is everywhere, He created the world, the universe, the heavens, EVERTHING! and He stands by those who put their faith into Him, and punishes those who scorn Him and His word. Just like Jesus once said to his desciples, “If your faith is even as small as a mustard seed, you’ll get ont heaven.” Beacaue a mustard seed grows into something HUGE! You never realize that God is there until you’ve witnessed a miracle!
May 24, 2008 at 6:11 am
Oh and about the evolution question God guided the world as it changed, it was all a part of His plan for everything to turn out the way it did!
June 18, 2008 at 12:39 am
Our Lord is our God, whether you like Him or not, whether you believe Him or not, He is the God of ALL gods, of ALL people, of ALL animals, of ALL that was EVER created.
the leviathan was described in Job chapter 41. He was described as the strongest of all THINGS that was ever created. BUT, what? Why did God use the leviathan as an example? I’ll tell you… no one…NO-ONE, could defeat this leviathan, not even 1,000 dinosaurs together… but only God can.
Job 41:10-11
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse him.
Who then is able to stand against me?
11 Who has a claim against me that I must
pay? Everything under heaven belongs to
me.
EVERYTHING UNDER HEAVEN it is belongs to our Lord. Even the almighty leviathan.
If you haven’t read Job chapter 41 when God describes the leviathan, I HIGHLY recommend it. Then, you will be able to see and imagine, just how POWER our Lord our God is.
Here is a link to read Job 41:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=22&chapter=41&version=31
God is good, ALL the time. AMEN!
June 24, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Would you be excited about the dinoglyf figures made by the ancient man as shown in here:
http://www.helsinki.fi/~pjojala/dinosaur.htm
June 28, 2008 at 5:40 pm
That drawing shows what looks like a pliosaur. It is a very probable idea. I remember hearing from somewhere that some types of dragons were nearly hunted to extinction by humans, so they took refuge in the deepest part of the oceans.
July 5, 2008 at 5:24 am
THANK YOU! Amd AMEN to that!The world is a better place already!
July 8, 2008 at 5:00 am
I believe that the Leviathan was a
kronoasauras i dont know if i spelled it right
July 14, 2008 at 11:34 am
[…] sea. I love dinosaurs. I love mystery monsters, especially sea monsters. I have all three with the Leviathan. What was […]
July 21, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Everyone seems to have covered all the areas. The only one that’s true is from God’s word. The Leviathan and Behemoth were both created by God. Satan, also called Lucifer and the Devil, chose to turn away from God and go his own way. God also gives people the freedom to believe or not to believe. Poor Lucifer, created by God, actually thought he could be as great as God. “Lucifer fell from heaven for his rebellion, because he had challenged God by saying in his heart, “I will elevate my throne above the stars of God: I will be like the most High God.”
Lucifer, known also in the Bible as the Devil or Satan, desires worship which belongs only to God. Satan deceives people in order to obtain that worship, even masquerading as a beautiful angel of light, but his lies and his false religions cause pain—and suffering—and destruction.”
Those who have been deceived by Satan, stop and think…What if I’m wrong? Hell is the total separation of anything good (i.e. comfort, sunshine, happiness, a cool breeze when you’re really hot, a cool glass of water). God IS good. Without God there is no good. Is that how you really want to spend eternity? SELAH…
Read Revelation…Satan loses…
July 22, 2008 at 6:22 am
…For a long time, I have come across those who claim to know, yet little is what they know or no thing… There are those that pretend… And there are those that know, and say no thing… They know better than be subjected to ridicule…
…Many are so desperate to find an other to tell them truth, that they go willing, with the one who promises them what they seek…
…Undeniably, there are those that are sincere and truthful still, though numbered they are… But the hand of the anthropoid is rather articulate, and it can craft any thing… And with remarkable intelligence, little is out of reach… The bible, with all the wisdom in its content, was written through the hand of man… And countless variations have emerged…
…No god came to write a book, a book that would make good profit from those willing to accept it as the only truth…
…The wisdom in the book is undeniable, but the word of god is only spoken of, never heard… the knowledge and understanding of what would be the great architect is beyond the understanding of any living thing encased in a vessel, is my thought…
…And I have heard many speak of not wanting to believe what science does not prove in truth… What science does any one possess, that reveals all the secrets..? There is all ways some thing more… Do you pups honestly believe your science to be that far in advancement..? There is much upon this earth still, that your science is much too primitive to reveal, to a far more primitive mind… A man once said to me; ‘There is no more blind a man, than he that covers his eyes with his own hands’…
Is there a greater fool than the one who willingly refuses to be with reason..? The field dominated by possibility reaches to infinity… And what do you “homosapiens” know of infinity..? And possibility..?
Many creatures are out of sight still, and magnificent ones… The fact that one thing can not be seen or proven to exist, does not place it upon the non existent at that…
It is all made in the design of a balance of all things…
-Leviathan: Coiled/twisted-
…The only proven science, is in mathematics…
August 1, 2008 at 2:03 am
for those who dont believe that Leviathan breathes fire, it very clearly says so that it does in Job 41, which has been mentioned multiple times
September 14, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Thank you for your explanation. I do believe in the Bible and you didn’t try to put your own words into it. I think the big bang theory goes fine with the Lord creating the world and everything out of nothing. As far as evolution goes, I can see that things have changed over time, but what about things that haven’t (that would work better if changed) like the giraff? You have to have more faith to believe solely in evolution than the Bible as things have been repeatedly proven thoughout time. Where does it say the leviathan fought God and he killed the female? Never heard this. By the way, when it is mentioned in your bible that they think God was referring to a crocodile, it’s added with a footnote to indicate it’s not part of God’s word, but what a person thinks it might mean. Don’t take any man’s words as God’s. Have an open mind to learn, but know what is true. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one gets to the Father except through Him.
September 17, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I agree with Lu, In the begining Mathematics created the heavens and the earth. Mathematics knows the way to the dwelling of light and Mathematics formed the foundations of the earth. Mathematics can loosen the belt of Orion and Mathematics knows by which way light difuses. I’m sure you all remember when Mathematics breathed into the nostrils of man and man became a living being ? How about when Mathematics formed the atom, or the cell, what about DNA and chromosomes .. Oh yeah and it gets better. I’m truly sorry Lu, knowledge Puffs up, and the Bible says in the last days “knowledge would increase” do not mistake knowledge for wisdom. I am convinced that if a man or woman can look at the night sky, observe the human eye, study the complexity of DNA, and understand the way a cell works and still does not believe in God, it is simply because God has not opened their eyes. The Bible speaks very clearly about God placing a veil over peoples eyes so that they can’t see the truth. If you believe in the Bible, Jesus Christ, and God the creator of all the Heavens and the Earth.. Congrats !! You’re one of the lucky ones. .. PS. If you’re human mind can fathom Mathematics .. Please don’t ever make the mistake of comparing it to God.. The author and finisher of all Mathematics ..
– Good Luck, and God Bless .. Pray that the Lord opens your eyes to truth before you breath your last breath .. – I’m serious.
September 21, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I agree, the imagination of people can be alittle over the top, like evolution and fire breathing dragons, but they could be real (fire breathing dragons)! The REAL and exact answer that is and is the only right anwser is when we meet Jesus, IN PERSON!! So, I guess well just have to wait and see!
October 13, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I believe that Leviathan was indeed a real creature in the Scripture, but in Isaiah 27, in this context, do you think that Leviathan is representative of satan, the serpent from Genesis 3 and the dragon mentioned in Revelation? In Isaiah and Revelation this serpent, dragon and satan is and will be defeated. What is your opinion?
November 26, 2008 at 2:26 am
Finally! A place where the majority believes in God.Evolution can not exist without an intelleigent force behind it to direct and drive it, give to it, the capability to choose by means of natural selection, a specific species and transform it into another psecias, within a period of perennial or countless of years.As far as Leviathan is concerned, I do believe that it was a dinosuar/dragon and not a crocodile/whale.Read the discription carefully, slowly and open your mind!
November 26, 2008 at 2:38 am
I agree that the theory of the big bang goes good with God’s creation of the world.Back to Leviathan and the behemoth,if you read the second book of Esdra, chapter 6 and I believe verse 53 to the end of the chapter 6, you will see that God is talking about dinosaurs, he created them on the 5th day.
November 26, 2008 at 2:48 am
Finally! A place where the majority believes in God.Evolution can not exist, because evolution needs an intelligent force behind it, to direct and drive it,give it the capability to choose, by means of natural selection, a specific species and transform it into another form of species in a period of perennial or countless of years.How did evolution know of man? How did evolution know that earth needed humans to inhabit it’s grounds? As far as Leviathan, I believe that God was talking about dinosaura/dragons and not crocodiles/whales.Read the discriptions carefully, slowly and open your mind!!!
December 13, 2008 at 9:34 am
God is referencing Leviathan to Satan, not a crocodile, dinosaur, whale, or any other thing man has tried to come up with.
January 3, 2009 at 1:45 am
Well I’d believe that fire breathing dragons once existed, since they taught us how we were once specks.
March 23, 2009 at 3:03 am
I am a christian too and i was interested in the leviathan and was wondering, could it be a liopleurodon?!?!
May 13, 2009 at 9:03 pm
No. It can’t be a liopleurodon. Liopleurodons do not have scales. The bible says there were only two of them one of which GOD killed so the wouldn’t breed and destroy the earth. There are probably more than two skelotons of liopleurodons. So that is why it can’t be one of those. It reminds me of a dragon. This could be what almost every country in the world has had rumors, stories, and drawing of(the “dragon”). And it is not satan because like I said, there where two and GOD killed one. There was and is only one satan. Evolution isn’t possible for the reason that GOD didn’t make it so and there is no possible way for anything to obtain enough information to be able to evolve. There is such thing as devolution though I do belive. (Me comming from a monkey is just f***ing bulls*** strait from satan himself to get us further away from GOD.) The leviathan is not a croc or aligator or whale because they can be killed and peirced by spears, and there are more than just two including the skeleton. I have also seen discovery shows that explain how if dragons were real that breathing fire would be very possible. I have read about the leviathan strait from my bible. I haven’t read what it says in the wiki though.
July 1, 2009 at 6:26 am
There are legends of dragons all through history . I am sure what GOD described to Job was indeed a dragon . Why is this so hard to accept for some people ? GOD is all truth , & the Bible remains all true .
July 2, 2009 at 6:11 am
Josh is wrong . The leviathon was the only creature made without fear . The Bible clearly states that the devil thinks of GOD & trembles in fear .