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{{Short description|Biblical sea monster}}
{{About|the biblical creature|other uses of the term|Leviathan (disambiguation)|the prehistoric whale|Livyatan{{!}}''Livyatan''|the book by Thomas Hobbes|Leviathan (Hobbes book){{!}}''Leviathan'' (Hobbes book)}}
{{Distinguish|Lævateinn}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
[[File:Destruction of Leviathan.png|thumb|upright=1.1|''The Destruction of Leviathan'' by [[Gustave Doré]] (1865)]]
[[File:Babylon's world view.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The circular salt sea [[Tiamat]] (green) and sphere of cosmic freshwater ocean [[Abzu]] are pre-existent deities in [[Sumerian literature|Sumerian]] myths, from whose mating Earth was created, so the sketch's side view shows the same as [[Babylonian Map of the World|Babylon's map]]. Referring to the [[Atra-Hasis]] epic, Abzu is the celestial reservoir from which an organisation of younger gods triggers the Flood in order to consume humanity – also a source for the dangerous cosmic sea monster Leviathan.]]

'''Leviathan''' ({{IPAc-en|l|ɪ|ˈ|v|aɪ|.|ə|θ|ən|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-leviathan.wav}} {{respell|le|VIE|ə|thən}}; {{langx|he|לִוְיָתָן|Livyāṯān}}; {{langx|el|Λεβιάθαν}}) is a [[sea serpent]] [[demon]] noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in  the [[Hebrew Bible]], as a metaphor for a powerful enemy, notably [[Babylon]]. It is referred to in [[Psalms]], the [[Book of Job]], the [[Book of Isaiah]], and the [[Pseudepigrapha|pseudepigraphical]] [[Book of Enoch]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Robert D. |editor1-last=Grafius |editor1-first=Brandon R. |editor2-last=Morehead |editor2-first=John W. |title=The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Monsters |date=2025 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780197565087 |pages=174–185 |chapter=Leviathan |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197565056.013.0009}}</ref> Leviathan is often an embodiment of chaos, threatening to eat the damned when their lives are over. In the end, it is annihilated. Christian theologians identified Leviathan with the demon of the [[seven deadly sins|deadly sin]] ''[[envy]]''. According to [[Ophite Diagrams]], Leviathan encapsulates the space of the material world.

In [[Gnosis]], it encompasses the world like a sphere and incorporates the souls of those who are too attached to material things, so they cannot reach the [[Pleroma|realm of God's fullness]] beyond, from which all good emanates. In [[Thomas Hobbes|Hobbes]], Leviathan becomes a metaphor for the omnipotence of the state, which maintains itself by educating children in its favour, generation after generation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goff |first=Graham |date=2022-04-01 |title=Transforming Leviathan: Job, Hobbes, Zvyagintsev and Philosophical Progression |url=https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol26/iss1/53 |journal=Journal of Religion & Film |volume=26 |issue=1 |doi=10.32873/uno.dc.jrf.26.01.53 |issn=1092-1311|doi-access=free }}</ref> This idea of eternal power that 'feeds' on its constantly self-produced citizens is based on a concept of conditioning that [[Imprinting (psychology)|imprints]] the human's conscience in a mechanical manner. It deals in a good and evil dualism: a speculative [[natural law]] according to which man should behave towards man [[Homo homini lupus|like a ravenous wolf]], and the pedagogically transmitted laws of the state as Leviathan, whose justification for existence is seen in containing such frightening conditions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hobbes |title=Leviathan |chapter=Chapter 30}}</ref>

Leviathan in the Book of Job is a reflection of the older [[Canaanite religion|Canaanite]] ''[[Lotan]]'', a primeval monster defeated by the god [[Baal Hadad]].<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Charles F. |last=Pfeiffer |url=https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/1960-4_208.pdf |title=Lotan and Leviathan |magazine=The Evangelical Quarterly |volume=34 |issue=2 |year=1960 |pages=208–211 |via=Theology on the Web}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Mark R. |last=Sneed |chapter=The Israelite Reconfiguration of the Canaanite Combat Myth: Leviathan |title=Taming the beast: a reception history of Behemoth and Leviathan |publisher=De Gruyter |location=Berlin |year=2022}}</ref> Parallels to the role the primeval Sumerian sea goddess [[Tiamat]], who was defeated by [[Marduk]], have long been drawn in [[comparative mythology]], as have been comparisons to [[dragon]] and [[cosmic serpent|world serpent]] narratives, such as [[Indra]] slaying [[Vritra]] or [[Thor]] slaying [[Jörmungandr]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Dictionary of Symbols |last=Cirlot |first=Juan Eduardo |publisher=Dorset Press |year=1971 |edition=2nd |page=186 |author-link=Juan Eduardo Cirlot}}</ref> Some 19th-century scholars pragmatically interpreted it as referring to large aquatic creatures, such as the [[crocodile]].<ref name=Gesenius>{{cite book|author-first=Wilhelm |author-last=Gesenius |author-link=Wilhelm Gesenius |translator-first=Samuel Prideaux |translator-last=Tregelles |date=1879 |title=Hebrew and Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament}}</ref> The word later came to be used as a term for ''great [[whale]]'' and for [[sea monster]]s in general.

==Etymology and origins==
{{See also|Lotan|Tannin (monster)|Tiamat|Tehom|Chaoskampf}}[[File:Baylonianmaps.JPG|thumb|300px|Babylon's world map. The belt shows the salt sea serpent ''Tiamat'' surrounding the earth. The triangles indicate mountains at the edge of the world, including the [[Mount Ararat|Ararat]] near the island of [[Dilmun]], where the babylonian Noah was stranded.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUxFzh8r384 |title=The Babylonian Map of the World with Irving Finkel {{!}} Curator's Corner S9 Ep5 |date=2024-08-01 |last=The British Museum |access-date=2024-09-01 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Cf. [[Epic of Gilgamesh|epic Gilgamesh]].]][[Wilhelm Gesenius|Gesenius]] (among others) argued the name {{lang|he|לִוְיָתָן|rtl=yes}} was derived from the root {{lang|he|[[:wikt:לוה|לוה]]|rtl=yes}} ''lwh'' "to twine; to join", with an adjectival suffix {{lang|he|ן-|rtl=yes}}, for a literal meaning of "wreathed, twisted in folds".<ref name="Gesenius" /> If it exists, the adjectival suffix {{lang|he|ן-|rtl=yes}} (as opposed to -ון) is otherwise unattested except perhaps in [[Nehushtan]], whose etymology is unknown; the ת would also require explanation, as Nechushtan is formed from ''neḥošeṯ'' and Leviathan from ''liveyah''; the normal-pattern f.s. adjective would be לויון, ''liveyon''. Other philologists, including [[August Leskien|Leskien]], thought it a foreign loanword.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Landes |first1=George M. |last2=Einspahr |first2=Bruce |date=1978 |title=Index to Brown, Driver and Briggs Hebrew Lexicon |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3265844 |journal=[[Journal of Biblical Literature]] |volume=97|issue=1 |pages=108 |doi=10.2307/3265844 |jstor=3265844 |issn=0021-9231|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A third school considers it a proper noun.<ref>{{cite book|last=Suchard |first=Benjamin |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004390263|title=The Development of the Biblical Hebrew Vowels |date=24 September 2019 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/9789004390263 |hdl=1887/43120 |isbn=978-90-04-39025-6|s2cid=181866874 }}</ref> [[Georg Lorenz Bauer|Bauer]] proposed לוית+תן, for "wreath of serpent."<ref>{{cite book|last=Schulz |first=Johann Christoph F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V4MUAAAAQAAJ |title=Io. Christ. Frid. Schulzii ... Scholia in Vetus Testamentum (continuata a G. L. Bauer). |date=1792 |language=la}}</ref>

Both the name and the mythological figure are a direct continuation of the [[Ugaritic]] sea monster ''[[Lotan|Lôtān]]'', one of the servants of the [[sea god]] [[Yammu]] defeated by [[Hadad]] in the ''[[Baal Cycle]]''.{{sfnp|Uehlinger|1999|p=514}}{{sfnp|Herrmann|1999|p=133}} 
The Ugaritic account [[lacuna (MS)|has gaps]], making it unclear whether some phrases describe him or other monsters at Yammu's disposal such as Tunannu (the biblical [[Tannin (monster)|Tannin]]).{{sfnp|Heider|1999}} Most scholars agree on describing Lôtān as "the fugitive serpent" (''bṯn brḥ''){{sfnp|Herrmann|1999|p=133}} but he may or may not be "the wriggling serpent" (''bṯn ʿqltn'') or "the mighty one with seven heads" (''šlyṭ d.šbʿt rašm'').{{sfnp|Uehlinger|1999|p=512}} His role seems to have been prefigured by the earlier serpent '''Têmtum''' whose death at the hands of Hadad is depicted in Syrian seals of the 18th–16th century&nbsp;BC.{{sfnp|Uehlinger|1999|p=512}}

<nowiki> </nowiki>[[Sea serpents]] feature prominently in the [[religions of the ancient Near East|mythology of the ancient Near East]].<ref name="DDD"/> 
They are attested by the 3rd millennium&nbsp;BC in [[Sumer]]ian iconography depicting the god [[Ninurta]] overcoming a [[seven-headed serpent]]. It was common for Near Eastern religions to include a ''[[Chaoskampf]]'': a cosmic battle between a [[sea monster]] representing the forces of [[chaos (cosmogony)|chaos]] and a [[creator god]] or [[culture hero]] who imposes [[order (virtue)|order]] by force.<ref name=Gunkel>Hermann Gunkel, Heinrich Zimmern; K. William Whitney Jr., trans., ''Creation And Chaos in the Primeval Era And the Eschaton: A Religio-historical Study of Genesis 1 and Revelation 12''. (Grand Rapids: MI: Eerdmans, 1895, 1921, 2006).</ref> The [[Babylonian religion|Babylonian]] [[Enuma Elish|creation myth]] describes [[Marduk]]'s defeat of the serpent goddess [[Tiamat]], whose body was used to create the [[heaven]]s and the [[earth]].<ref>Enuma Elish, Tablet IV, lines 104–105, 137–138, 144 from Alexander Heidel (1963) [1942], ''[https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/misc_genesis.pdf Babylonian Genesis]'', 41–42.</ref>
Recent scholarship has explored these sea-serpent traditions within the broader serpent symbolism of the ancient Mediterranean.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sannino |first=Stefano |title=The Serpent in Mediterranean and Near Eastern Religious Thought|url=https://zenodo.org/records/17621035 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.17621034 |website=Zenodo |date=2025 |access-date=16 November 2025}}</ref>

== Tanakh ==
Leviathan specifically is mentioned six times in the [[Tanakh]].<ref>{{multiref|{{Bibleverse|Job|3:8|HE}}|{{Bibleverse|Job|40:25–41:26|HE}}|{{Bibleverse|Psalm|74:14|HE}}|{{Bibleverse|Psalm|104:26|HE}}|Twice in {{Bibleverse|Isaiah|27:1|HE}}}}</ref>

{{Bibleverse|Job|41:1–34|HE}} is dedicated to describing it in detail: "Behold, the hope of him is in vain; shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?"<ref>Jewish Publication Society translation (1917).</ref> Included in God's lengthy description of his indomitable creation is Leviathan's [[fire-breathing monster|fire-breathing ability]], his impenetrable scales, and his overall indomitability in {{Bibleverse|Job|41|HE}}.In {{Bibleverse|Psalm|104|HE}}, God is praised for having made all things, including Leviathan, and in {{Bibleverse|Isaiah|27:1|HE}}, he is called the "tortuous serpent" who will be killed at the end of time.<ref name="DDD">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&q=Leviathan |editor-last=van der Toorn|editor-first=K.|editor-last2=Becking|editor-first2=Bob|editor-last3=van der Horst|editor-first3=Pieter Willem|title=Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible |pages=512–14 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=9780802824912|access-date=13 July 2012}}</ref>

The mention of the Tannins in the [[Genesis creation narrative]]<ref>{{bibleref|Gen.|1:21|HE}}.</ref> (translated as "great whales" in the [[King James Version]]),<ref>{{bibleref|Gen.|1:21|KJV}} ([[King James Version|KJV]]).</ref> in Job, and in the [[Book of Psalms|Psalm]]<ref>{{bibleref|Ps.|104|HE}}.</ref> do not describe them as harmful but as ocean creatures who are part of God's creation. The element of competition between God and the sea monster and the use of Leviathan to describe the powerful enemies of Israel<ref>For example, in {{Bibleverse|Isaiah|27:1|HE}}.</ref> may reflect the influence of the Mesopotamian and Canaanite legends or the contest in [[Egyptian mythology]] between the [[Apep]] snake and the [[sun god]] [[Ra]]. Alternatively, the removal of such competition may have reflected an attempt to naturalize Leviathan in a process that demoted it from deity to demon to monster.<ref>Hermann Gunkel, Heinrich Zimmern; K. William Whitney Jr., trans., ''Creation And Chaos in the Primeval Era And the Eschaton: A Religio-historical Study of Genesis 1 and Revelation 12''. (Grand Rapids: MI: Eerdmans, 1895, 1921, 2006). p. 37-38.</ref><ref name=watson>Watson, R.S. (2005). ''Chaos Uncreated: A Reassessment of the Theme of "chaos" in the Hebrew Bible''. Walter de Gruyter. {{ISBN|3110179938}}, {{ISBN|9783110179934}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=August 2018}}

== Judaism ==
[[File:Lev-Beh-Ziz.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Leviathan the sea-monster, with [[Behemoth]] the land-monster and [[Ziz]] the air-monster. "And on that day were two monsters parted, a female monster named Leviathan, to dwell in the abysses of the ocean over the fountains of the waters. But the male is named Behemoth, who occupied with his breast a waste wilderness named [[Duidain]]." (1 Enoch 60:7–8)]]
[[File:מיכאל סגן-כהן, לויתן, 1983.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''Leviathan'' (1983), a painting by [[Michael Sgan-Cohen]], the [[Israel Museum]] Collection, Jerusalem]]

Later Jewish sources describe Leviathan as a [[dragon]] who lives over the sources of the [[tehom|deep]] and who, along with the male land-monster [[Behemoth]], will be served up to the righteous at the end of time.
The [[Book of Enoch]] (60:7–9) describes Leviathan as a female monster dwelling in the watery abyss (as [[Tiamat]]), while [[Behemoth]] is a male monster living in the desert of Dunaydin ("east of Eden").<ref name=DDD/>

In the Jewish [[midrash]] (explanations of the Tanakh), it is stated that God originally produced a male and a female leviathan, but lest in multiplying the species should destroy the world, he slew the female, reserving her flesh for the banquet that will be given to the righteous on the advent of the [[Jewish Messiah|Messiah]].<ref>''Babylonian Talmud'', tractate ''Baba Bathra'' 74b.</ref><ref name=JewishEncyclopedia/> A similar description appears in [[Book of Enoch]] (60:24), which describes how the Behemoth and Leviathan will be prepared as part of an eschatological meal.

[[Rashi]]'s commentary on {{Bibleverse|Genesis|1:21|HE}} repeats the tradition:

<blockquote>'''the ... sea monsters''': The great fish in the sea, and in the words of the Aggadah (B.B. 74b), this refers to the Leviathan and its mate, for He created them male and female, and He slew the female and salted her away for the righteous in the future, for if they would propagate, the world could not exist because of them. הַתַּנִינִם is written.{{efn|
The "הַתַּנִינִם is written" reference is to a ''missing'' final letter 'י‎' ("[[yodh|yud]]"), which would denote a plural, if used. [[Rashi]] uses this to infer that the ''leviathans'' did not remain two, but were reduced to just one ''leviathan'', hence [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]] [[grammatical number|grammatical singular]] spelling.
}}<ref>Gen. Rabbah 7:4, Midrash Chaseroth V'Yetheroth, Batei Midrashoth, vol 2, p. 225</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Chabad |title=Rashi's Commentary on Genesis |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/8165/showrashi/true |access-date=25 October 2012}}</ref></blockquote>

In the [[Talmud]] ''[[Baba Bathra]] [https://www.sefaria.org/Bava_Batra.74b.9?lang=bi 75]'' it is told that Leviathan will be slain and its flesh served as a feast to the righteous in [the] "time to come" and its skin used to cover the tent where the banquet will take place. Those who do not deserve to consume its flesh beneath the tent may receive various vestments of Leviathan varying from coverings (for the somewhat deserving) to amulets (for the least deserving). The remaining skin of Leviathan will be spread onto the walls of Jerusalem, thereby illuminating the world with its brightness. The festival of [[Sukkot]] (Festival of Booths) therefore concludes with a prayer recited upon leaving the ''sukkah'' (booth):
: "May it be your will, Lord our God and God of our forefathers, that just as I have fulfilled and dwelt in this sukkah, so may I merit in the coming year to dwell in ''the sukkah of the skin of Leviathan''. Next year in Jerusalem."<ref>{{cite book |last=Finkel |first=Avraham |title=The Essence of the Holy Days: Insights from the Jewish sages |year=1993 |publisher=J. Aronson |location=Northvale, NJ |oclc=27935834 |isbn=0-87668-524-6 |page=99 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BpCOAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

The enormous size of Leviathan is described by [[Johanan bar Nappaha]], from whom proceeded nearly all the [[Aggadah|aggadot]] concerning this monster:
: "Once we went in a ship and saw a fish which put his head out of the water. He had horns upon which was written: 'I am one of the meanest creatures that inhabit the sea. I am three hundred miles in length, and enter this day into the jaws of the Leviathan'".<ref name="Baba Bathra 74a">Babylonian Talmud, ''Baba Bathra'' 74a.</ref><ref name=JewishEncyclopedia/>

When Leviathan is hungry, reports Rabbi Dimi in the name of Rabbi Johanan, he sends forth from his mouth a heat so great as to make all the waters of the deep boil, and if he would put his head into [[Paradise]] no living creature could endure the odor of him.<ref name="Baba Bathra 75a">Babylonian Talmud, ''Baba Bathra'' 75a.</ref> His abode is the [[Mediterranean Sea]].<ref>Babylonian Talmud, ''Bekorot'' 55b; ''Baba Bathra'' 75a.</ref><ref name=JewishEncyclopedia/>

In a legend recorded in the midrash called ''Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer'' it is stated that the fish which swallowed [[Jonah]] narrowly avoided being eaten by Leviathan, which eats one whale each day.{{efn|
The dragon is often represented in the act of partially wrapping itself on itself, with an apparent link with the commonly known snake; the combination of the dragon with the orbits of the constellations is evident, it also represents the incorruptible laws of creation and in this case the laws of the stars, as mentioned in the [[Book of Psalms]] and in particular in the [[kiddush levana]], thereby indicating the ethical balance of who, being [[tzadik]], would never allow himself to be tempted by sin.
:
The correlation with the fish Leviathan, as mentioned, thus concerns the attempt not to let oneself "be submerged by the sins of the world", so much so that in the same [[Pirkei Avot]] it is explicitly taught that God has mercy on His creatures and on Creation when the merits in the World exceed in quantity the sins of men.
:
Thus the principle of stability in the world together with "detachment from sin", while balanced by involvement in the good things that it presents to us, is sanctioned with what God says to [[King David]], warning him about "the fundamental stone of the world in correspondence with [[Jerusalem]]": It is explained that God tells King David not to insist ... because
: "otherwise the fundamental stone would have risen to the surface ... and the waters would have invaded the world again&nbsp;...".

This is precisely the messianic struggle already prophesied about Leviathan.
}}{{Cn|date=September 2024}}

The body of Leviathan, especially his eyes, possesses great illuminating power. This was the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer, who, in the course of a voyage in company with Rabbi Joshua, explained to the latter, when frightened by the sudden appearance of a brilliant light, that it probably proceeded from the eyes of Leviathan. He referred his companion to the words of [[Book of Job|Job]] 41:18:
: "By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning".<ref>Bava Batra l.c.</ref>

However, in spite of his supernatural strength, Leviathan is afraid of a small worm called "kilbit", which clings to the [[gill]]s of large fish and kills them.<ref>Shabbat 77b</ref><ref name=JewishEncyclopedia>{{Jewish Encyclopedia |title=Leviathan and Behemoth |inline=1 |first1=Emil G. |last1=Hirsch |first2=Kaufmann |last2=Kohler |first3=Solomon |last3=Schechter |first4=Isaac |last4=Broydé |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=275&letter=L |access-date=3 September 2009}}</ref>

In the eleventh-century [[piyyut]] (religious poem), ''[[Akdamut]]'', recited on ''[[Shavuot]]'' (Pentecost), it is envisioned that, ultimately, God will slaughter Leviathan, which is described as having "mighty fins" (and, therefore, a kosher fish, not an inedible snake or crocodile), and it will be served as a sumptuous banquet for all the righteous in heaven.

In the [[Zohar]], Leviathan is a metaphor for enlightenment. The Zohar remarks that the legend of the righteous eating the flesh of Leviathan at the end of the days is not literal, and merely a metaphor for enlightenment.<ref>Zohar 1:140b. See also Zohar 3:279a</ref> The Zohar also specifies in detail that the Leviathan has a mate.<ref>Zohar 1:4b</ref> The Zohar also associates the metaphor of the leviathan with the "tzaddik" or righteous in Zohar 2:11b and 3:58a. The Zohar associates it with the "briach" the pole in the middle of the boards of the tabernacle in Zohar 2:20a. Both, are associated with the [[Sefira]] of Yesod.<ref>Matuk Midvash on Zohar 2:11b</ref>

According to [[Abraham Isaac Kook]], Leviathan – a singular creature with no mate, "its tail is placed in its mouth" ([[Zohar]]) "twisting around and encompassing the entire world" ([[Rashi]] on [[Baba Batra]] 74b) – projects a vivid metaphor for the universe's underlying unity. This unity will only be revealed in the future, when the righteous will feast on Leviathan.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morrison |first1=Chanan |last2=Kook |first2=Abraham Isaac |year=2013 |title=Sapphire from the Land of Israel: A new light on weekly Torah portion from the writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook |publisher=Chanan Morrison |isbn=978-1490909363 |page=91 }}</ref>

==Christianity==
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Leviathan can also be used as an image of the [[Devil in Christianity|devil]], endangering both God's creatures — by attempting to eat them — and God's creation — by threatening it with upheaval in the waters of chaos.<ref>{{cite book |last=Labriola |first=Albert C. |year=1982 |chapter=The Medieval view of history in ''Paradise Lost'' |editor-first=John | editor-last=Mulryan |title = Milton and the Middle Ages |publisher=[[Bucknell University Press]] |pages=127 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0YX1AKt4gn0C&pg=PA127 |isbn=978-0-8387-5036-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Thomas |last=Aquinas |author-link=Thomas Aquinas |title=Commentary on Job |lang=en |url=https://isidore.co/aquinas/english/SSJob.htm#403 }}</ref> A "dragon" (''drakon''), being the usual translation for the leviathan in the [[Septuagint]], appears in the [[Book of Revelation]]. Although the Old Testament nowhere identifies the leviathan with the devil, the seven-headed dragon in the [[Book of Revelation]] explicitly is.<ref>{{cite book |last=Giblett |first=Rod |year=2019 |title=Environmental Humanities and the Uncanny: Ecoculture, literature, and religion |place=Vereinigtes Königreich, DE |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=19 }}</ref> By this the battle between God and the primordial chaos monsters shifts to a battle between God and the devil.<ref name="auto1">{{cite journal |last=Wallace |first=Howard |date=1948 |title=Leviathan and the Beast in Revelation |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/3209231 |journal=The Biblical Archaeologist |language=en |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=61–68 |doi=10.2307/3209231|jstor=3209231 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Only once, in the Book of Job, the leviathan is translated as "sea-monster" ({{math|κῆτος}}, ''ketos'').<ref name="auto1"/>

In the following chapter, a seven-headed [[The Beast (Revelation)|beast]], described with the same features as the dragon before, rises from the waters endowing a Beast of the Earth with power. Dividing the beasts into monster of water and one of dry earth is probably a recalling of the monstrous pair Leviathan and Behemoth.<ref name="auto">Bauckham,&nbsp;R.&nbsp;(1993).&nbsp;The Theology of the Book of Revelation.&nbsp;Vereinigtes Königreich:&nbsp;Cambridge University Press. p. 89</ref> In accordance with {{Bibleverse|Isaiah|27:1}}, the dragon will be slain by God on the last day and cast into the abyss.<ref name="auto1" /><ref name="auto"/> The annihilation of the chaos-monster results in a new world of peace, without any trace of evil.<ref name="auto1" />[[File:Liber floridus-1120-Leviathan-p135.jpg|thumb|''[[Antichrist]] on Leviathan'', [[Liber floridus]], 1120]]

[[Jerome]] comments on [[wikisource:Bible_(King_James)/Psalms#Psalm_104|Psalm 104]]:26 that "this is the dragon that was cast out of Paradise, that beguiled Eve, and is permitted in this world to make sport of us. How many monks and clerics has it dashed headlong! "They all look to you to give them food in due time," for all the creatures of God live at His bidding."<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0020964319896308?journalCode=intc | doi=10.1177/0020964319896308 | title=Leviathan to Lucifer: What Biblical Monsters (Still) Reveal | date=2020 | last1=Murphy | first1=Kelly J. | journal=Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology | volume=74 | issue=2 | pages=146–158 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Peter Binsfeld]] classified Leviathan as the demon of envy, as one of the [[seven Princes of Hell]] corresponding to the seven deadly sins. Leviathan became associated with, and may originally have been referred to by, the visual motif of the [[Hellmouth]], a monstrous animal into whose mouth the damned disappear at the [[Last Judgment]], found in [[Anglo-Saxon art]] from about 800, and later all over Europe.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Devil: A Mask Without a Face |last=Link |first=Luther |year=1995 |publisher=Reaktion Books |location=London |isbn=0-948462-67-1 |pages=75–6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EU7Qt5HSmHAC&pg=PA76 }}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |title=Infernal Imagery in Anglo-Saxon Charters |last=Hofmann |first=Petra |year=2008 |publisher=St Andrews |pages=143–44 |hdl=10023/498}}</ref>

The [[Revised Standard Version]] of the Bible suggests in a footnote to Job 41:1 that Leviathan may be a name for the [[crocodile]], and in a footnote to Job 40:15, that Behemoth may be a name for the [[hippopotamus]].<ref>{{cite book | title = The Holy Bible Revised Standard Version | url = https://archive.org/details/holybiblerevised00roub | url-access = registration | publisher = Thomas Nelson and Sons | year = 1959 | location = New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/holybiblerevised00roub/page/555 555]–56}}</ref>

==Satanism==
[[File:Sigil of Baphomet.png|thumb|right|The [[Sigil of Baphomet]], which features the Hebrew name for Leviathan, לויתן]]
[[Anton LaVey]] in ''[[The Satanic Bible]]'' (1969) has Leviathan representing the element of [[water (classical element)|water]] and the direction of west, listing it as one of the [[Four Crown Princes of Hell]]. This association was inspired by the demonic hierarchy from ''[[The Book of Abramelin|The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage]]''. The [[Church of Satan]] uses the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew letters]] at each of the points of the [[sigil of Baphomet]] to represent Leviathan. Starting from the lowest point of the pentagram, and reading counter-clockwise, the word reads "לויתן": (Nun, Tav, Yod, Vav, Lamed) Hebrew for "Leviathan".<ref>{{cite web |title=The History of the Origin of the Sigil of Baphomet and its Use in the Church of Satan |url=http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/BaphometSigil.html |work=Church of Satan website |access-date=3 September 2009}}</ref>

==Gnosticism==
[[File:Leviatan.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Hellmouth]] in the fresco ''[[Last Judgment]]'', by [[Giacomo Rossignolo]], c. 1555]]

The [[Church Father]] [[Origen]] accused a [[Gnosticism|Gnostic sect]] of venerating the [[Serpents in the Bible|biblical serpent]] of the [[Garden of Eden]]. Therefore, he calls them [[Ophites]], naming after the serpent they are supposed to worship.<ref name="ReferenceA">Tuomas Rasimus ''Paradise Reconsidered in Gnostic Mythmaking: Rethinking Sethianism in Light of the Ophite Evidence'' BRILL 2009 {{ISBN|9789047426707}} p. 68</ref> In this belief system, the Leviathan appears as an [[Ouroboros]], separating the [[Pleroma|divine realm]] from humanity by enveloping or permeating the material world.<ref>Kurt Rudolph ''Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism'' A&C Black 2001 {{ISBN|9780567086402}} p. 69</ref><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>April DeConick, Gregory Shaw, John D. Turner Practicing Gnosis: Ritual, Magic, Theurgy and Liturgy in Nag Hammadi, Manichaean and Other Ancient Literature. Essays in Honor of Birger A. Pearson BRILL 2013 {{ISBN|9789004248526}} p. 48</ref> It is unknown whether or not the Ophites actually identified the serpent of the Garden of Eden with Leviathan.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> However, since Leviathan is basically connoted negatively in this Gnostic cosmology, if they identified him with the serpent of the Book of Genesis, he was probably indeed considered evil and just its advice was good.<ref>Tuomas Rasimus ''Paradise Reconsidered in Gnostic Mythmaking: Rethinking Sethianism in Light of the Ophite Evidence'' BRILL 2009 {{ISBN|9789047426707}} p. 69</ref>

According to the cosmology of this Gnostic sect, the world is encapsulated by Leviathan, in form of a dragon-shaped archon, biting its own tail (''ouroboros''). Generating the [[Intrinsic and extrinsic properties (philosophy)|intrinsic]] [[evil]] in the entire universe, the Leviathan separates the [[Kenoma|lower world]], governed by the [[Archon (Gnosticism)|Archons]], from the realm of [[Monad (Gnosticism)|God]].<ref>Silviu Lupaşcu. "In the Ninth Heaven – the Gnostic Background of the Romanian Folklore tradition of the "Heaven's Custom Houses"". Danubius 1:309-325.</ref> After death, a soul must pass through the [[Celestial spheres|seven spheres]] of the [[seven heavens|heavens]]. If the soul does not succeed, it will be swallowed by the Leviathan, who holds the world captive and returns the soul into an animal body.<ref>{{cite book|author-first=Tuomas |author-last=Rasimus |title=Paradise Reconsidered in Gnostic Mythmaking: Rethinking Sethianism in Light of the Ophite Evidence |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |date=2009 |isbn=9789047426707 |pages=70}}</ref>

In [[Mandaeism]], Leviathan is regarded as being coessential with a demon called [[Ur (Mandaeism)|Ur]].<ref name="jonas-gnostic">{{cite book|author-first=Hans |author-last=Jonas |author-link=Hans Jonas |title=The Gnostic Religion |edition=3rd |location=Boston |date=2001 |pages=117}}</ref>

In [[Manichaeism]], an ancient religion influenced by Gnostic ideas, Leviathan is killed by the sons of the [[fallen angel]] [[Shemyaza]]. This act is not portrayed as heroic, but as foolish, symbolizing the greatest triumphs as transient, since both are killed by archangels in turn after boasting about their victory. This reflects Manichaean criticism on royal power and advocates [[asceticism]].<ref>{{cite book|author-first=Michel |author-last=Tardieu |title=Manichaeism |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |date=2008 |isbn=9780252032783 |pages=46–48}}</ref>

==Secular use==
{{See also|Leviathan in popular culture}}
The word "leviathan" has come to refer to any [[sea monster]], and from the early 17th century has also been used to refer to overwhelmingly powerful people or things,<ref>Steve Dundas, [https://padresteve.com/2019/05/29/sinking-leviathan-the-death-of-the-bismarck/ 'Sinking Leviathan: The Death of the Bismarck']. Padre Steve, 29 May 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2024</ref> comparable to Behemoth, also a biblical term as noted by [[Leviathan (Hobbes book)|Hobbes' book (1651)]].

As a term for sea monster, it has also been used of [[great whale]]s in particular, e.g. in [[Herman Melville]]'s ''[[Moby-Dick]]'' – although in the first Hebrew translation of the novel, translator Elyahu Burtinker chose to translate "whale" to "[[tannin (monster)|tanin]]" (intending to refer to another sea monster although in modern Hebrew usage tanin more commonly translates to "crocodile"), and leave the word "leviathan" as it is, nodding to the ambiguity of the word "לויתן" in modern Hebrew – in which the word now simply means "whale".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://milog.co.il/לויתן/e_66961|website=מילוג: המילון העברי החופשי ברשת|title=לִוְיָתָן}}</ref>

An extinct genus of [[Physeteroidea|sperm whales]] bears the name ''[[Livyatan]]''. A major [[cryovolcano|cryovolcanic]] feature on [[Neptune]]'s largest moon [[Triton (moon)|Triton]] has been named [[Leviathan Patera]].<ref name=gpn>{{gpn|3368|Leviathan Patera}} (center latitude 17.00°, center longitude 28.50°)</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col begin|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Aspidochelone]]
* [[Apalala]]
* [[Bahamut]]{{efn|
The name ''[[Bahamut]]'' is thought to derive from the biblical ''[[Behemoth]].<ref name="ency-islam-kaf">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Streck |first=Maximilian |author-link=:de:Maximilian Streck |year=1936 |title=Ḳāf |encyclopedia=The Encyclopaedia of Islām |publisher=E.J. Brill |isbn=9004097902 |volume=IV |pages=582–583 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CP7fYghBFQC&pg=PA615 }}</ref>
}}
* [[Bakunawa]]
* [[Book of Job in Byzantine illuminated manuscripts]]
* [[Cetus (mythology)]]
* [[Devil Whale]]
* [[Falak (Arabian legend)]]
* [[Ikuchi]]
* [[Jörmungandr]]
* [[Ladon (mythology)]]
* [[Gaasyendietha]]
* [[Nyami Nyami]]
* [[Imugi]]
* [[Sisiutl]]
* [[Tiamat]]
* [[Ouroboros]]
* [[Rahab (term)]]
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|25em}}

== Cited sources ==
* {{Cite book |last=Heider |first=George C. |year=1999 |chapter=Tannîn |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA834 |editor-last=Toorn |editor-first=Karel van der |editor-link=Karel van der Toorn |editor2-last=Becking |editor2-first=Bob |editor3-last=Horst |editor3-first=Pieter Willem van der |editor3-link=Pieter Willem van der Horst |display-editors=0 |title=Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible |title-link=Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible |edition=2nd |location=Grand Rapids |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |pages=834–836 |isbn=9780802824912 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Herrmann |first=Wolfgang |year=1999 |chapter=Baal |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA132 |editor-last=Toorn |editor-first=Karel van der |editor-link=Karel van der Toorn |editor2-last=Becking |editor2-first=Bob |editor3-last=Horst |editor3-first=Pieter Willem van der |editor3-link=Pieter Willem van der Horst |display-editors=0 |title=Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible |title-link=Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible |edition=2nd |location= Grand Rapids |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |pages=132–139 |isbn=9780802824912 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Uehlinger |first=C. |year=1999 |chapter=Leviathan |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA511 |editor-last=Toorn |editor-first=Karel van der |editor-link=Karel van der Toorn |editor2-last=Becking |editor2-first=Bob |editor3-last=Horst |editor3-first=Pieter Willem van der |editor3-link=Pieter Willem van der Horst |display-editors=0 |title=Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible |title-link=Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible |edition=2nd |location=Grand Rapids |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |pages=511–515 |isbn=9780802824912 }}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|leviathan}}
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=job%2041:1-41:34&version=KJV Job 41:1–41:34 (KJV)]
* [https://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8322000/8322629.stm The fossilised skull of a colossal "sea monster" has been unearthed along the UK's Jurassic Coast.] 27 October 2009
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10461066 'Sea monster' whale fossil unearthed] 30 June 2010
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/enuma.htm Enuma Elish (Babylonian creation epic)]

{{Book of Job}}
{{Psalms}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Leviathan| ]]
[[Category:Book of Amos]]
[[Category:Book of Isaiah]]
[[Category:Book of Job]]
[[Category:Demons in Gnosticism]]
[[Category:Demons in Mandaeism]]
[[Category:Fire-breathing monsters]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases in the Hebrew Bible]]
[[Category:Sea serpents]]
[[Category:Serpents in the Bible]]
[[Category:Babylon]]
[[Category:Jewish legendary creatures]]