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What is Leviathan in the Bible? Leviathan appears in Psalms 74:14 as a multiheaded sea serpent that is killed by God and given as food to the Hebrews in the wilderness. In Isaiah 27:1 , Leviathan is a serpent and a symbol of Israel’s enemies, who will be slain by God.
You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
The Bible refers to it as a fearsome beast having monstrous ferocity and great power. The Hebrew word for “Leviathan” has the root meaning of “coiled” or “twisted.” Isaiah 27:1 speaks of “Leviathan the fast-moving serpent, Leviathan the squirming serpent; . . . the sea monster” (NET).
In the Bible, Leviathan is often depicted as a chaotic sea creature or monster that symbolizes God’s power over creation and the forces of chaos. It appears in texts such as Job 41, where it illustrates God’s sovereignty and the limits of human understanding.
Five different times in the Hebrew Bible it speaks of “leviathan” (Job 3:7 & 41:1, Psalm 74:14 & 104:26, Isaiah 27:1). In each case, the Hebrew word employed is the same, and essential means as...
The Leviathan (/ lɪˈvaɪ.əθən / liv-EYE-ə-thən; Hebrew: לִוְיָתָן, romanized: Līvyāṯān; Greek: Λεβιάθαν) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch.
Because it is merely poetic imagery, there is no absolute consistency in the OT use of Leviathan. Yahweh is the defeater of chaos in Psalm 74:14, a passage uniting God’s power at the creation and in the Exodus. Chaos and its forces are God’s creation, amenable to His will (Ps 104:26).