What was the Leviathan, and is it significant? (Some say crocodile, I'm not so sure.)—Ric (Boston)
Right, Ric, croc it is! Or, better said, the crocodile is a sort of picture of the cosmic dragon slain by Yahweh (allusions to ancient mythology, appropriated and rewritten for Hebrew monotheism—For more, listen to the podcast on Dragobns).
This beast appears in Job 3:8; 41:1; Psalms 74:14; 104:26 (where the term may well refer to the whale), and (speaking of the heathen nations) Isaiah 27:1. For more
The description at the end of Job is especially poetic; maybe the picture of fire coming out of Leviathan's mouth made you hesitate. Amazingly, some believers think this is speaking of dinosaurs, or even fire-breathing dragons! That's the sort of thing that happens when we confuse literary genres. I.e., we are to read poetry with an eye for the figurative, and narrative in its straightforward, literal sense.
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