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God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea: Echoes of a Canaanite Myth in the Old Testament
The Old Testament contains a number of interesting poetic references to God's conflict with a dragon, called by names such as Leviathan, Rahab or the twisting serpent, and with the sea. In this original contribution to the background and understanding of the Old Testament Dr Day undertakes a detailed and thorough examination of these allusions. Building on the discovery of the Ugaritic texts, he demonstrates a source for these references within Canaanite mythology. His study further explores the associations of the imagery. Sometimes in the Old Testament the dragon is associated with the creation of the world, or it becomes a symbol of a foreign nation, and in some references it is associated with divine conflict at the end of time.
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First published January 24, 1985
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May 1, 2021
This book, which was a reworking of part of John Day’s PhD dissertation, was interesting and thorough. Day finds the origin of these Hebrew ideas about God’s conflict with chaos monsters in Canaanite mythology, rather than Babylonian mythology. I especially enjoyed chapters 3 and 4, in which Day examines the “historicization” and “eschatologization” of God’s primordial conflict with the Sea and the Dragon (e.g., Leviathan, Rahab). Fascinatingly, throughout the course of Israel’s history, they applied this longstanding tradition of God battling and defeating chaos monsters to God’s current conflict with empires and kingdoms, such as Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, because of their tyrannical and oppressive rule. This ultimately was picked up by the apocalyptic work of Daniel, specifically in Daniel 7.
August 12, 2017
This book had it's moments, but it was not as well put together as "Slaying the Dragon" by Bernard Batto. I am not convinced that the Mesopotamian myth of Marduk/Tiamat has no influence on the creation stories in Genesis. John Day works to convince the reader that the Dragon stories/scriptures in the Bible are all influenced from the Canaanites and not Babylon.
I agree with John Day on page 72 when he says, "I conclude that Leviathan in Job 40:25-41:26 is the mythical sea serpent Leviathan/Rahab/dragon mentioned elsewhere in the book of Job and in other books of the Old Testament as having been defeated at the creation, and is not to be equated with a mere crocodile or any other known living creature."
Some good dragon verses in the Hebrew Bible:
Isaiah 27:1
In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
Psalms 74:12-15
For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
Psalms 104:24-26
O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
Job 41:1
Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?
Sometimes the authors of the Hebrew Bible use the dragon as a symbol for certain nations, as John Day discussed in chapter 3 on page 88. One such nation personified as a dragon is Egypt:
Ezekiel 29:1-6
In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt:
Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.
And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of areed to the house of Israel.
Ezekiel 32:2-6 uses the dragon as a symbol for Egypt again, where "whale" is actually תַּנִּין which can be translated as "dragon":
2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
3 Thus saith the Lord God; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.
4 Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.
6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
John Day discussed the ancient tradition that Baal (the storm god of the Canaanite pantheon) fought with the dragon and the sea. He then showed how there were traditions of this happening in the Hebrew Bible, using Psalms 77 as an example of this tradition from Canaanite religion influencing the traditions about Yahweh.
Psalms 77:16-20 says:
The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.
The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.
The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.
Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Exodus 15 has some interesting things happening in the text, with God fighting the waters of the Sea as well as a reference to monolatry. From Exodus 15:8-11
And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Isaiah 30 refers to Rahab, or the dragon, identifying this dragon with Egypt:
Isaiah 30:7
Egypt's promises are worthless! Therefore, I call her Rahab--the Harmless Dragon. (New Living Translation)
Even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty. Therefore, I have called her "Rahab who has been exterminated." (New American Standard Bible)
Isaiah 51 discusses Rahab as well in Isaiah 51:9-11:
Awake, awake, arm of the Lord,
clothe yourself with strength!
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of old.
Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces,
who pierced that monster through?
Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in the depths of the sea
so that the redeemed might cross over?
Those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (NIV)
The author writes, "Rahab is both the monster defeated at creation and Egypt at the time of the Exodus and also, by implication, it may be argued, the thought is extended to Babylon at the time of the prophet himself. The return from exile in Babylon is both a new creation and a new Exodus." (p. 92)
John Day discussed how the chaotic sea is a designation for Babylon in Habakkuk 3:8-10, 15:
Were you angry with the rivers, Lord?
Was your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the sea
when you rode your horses
and your chariots to victory?
9 You uncovered your bow,
you called for many arrows.
You split the earth with rivers;
10 the mountains saw you and writhed.
Torrents of water swept by;
the deep roared
and lifted its waves on high.
You trampled the sea with your horses,
churning the great waters. (NIV)
Commenting on Habakkuk 3, John Day writes, "the fact that Hab. 3 has musical notations indicates that it was sung in the cult, and there can be no doubt that this was the Feast of Tabernacles, since this was where the theme of the divine conflict with the chaotic waters had its Sitz im Leben." (p. 105)
The dragon is also a designation for Babylon. We read in Jeremiah 51:34
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured us,
he has thrown us into confusion,
he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent (tannin- or a dragon) he has swallowed us
and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
and then has spewed us out.
Day talks about Zion and Zaphon and how these two mountains are interchangeable... I want to study this out more to see how the cult of Baal influenced scriptures that relate to Zion. (see page 127 and 132)...
Probably the most interesting part of this book to me was what Day calls the "eschatological banquet" of Isaiah 25:6-8. The reason this interests me is that we read something similar to this banquet in Revelation 19:6-9 and Doctrine and Covenants 27. Day's point regarding Isaiah 25 is that it has roots in Baal worship. I like that he actually shows the text relating to Baal so that the reader can decide for him/herself whether this text relates to Isaiah 25:6-8. From my reading of CTA 4.VI44-59 (the Baal text) this does relate to Isaiah 25:6-8. You can read all of this on pages 148-149, but to me it was fascinating to see the relationship between this older Baal text and Isaiah's reworking of this passage.
Regarding this passage, Day writes:
"It is wholly in keeping with the view that the eschatological banquet in Judaism (to which Is. 25:6-8 is the first reference) had its origin in the banquet following Yahweh's and ultimately Baal's victory over the unruly sea and the chaos monster that in 2 Esdras 6:52, 2 Baruch 29:4, 1 Enoch 60:24 and Baba bathra 74, it is specifically the chaos monster Leviathan and Behemoth which are to be devoured at the Messianic banquet. We recall too the reference to the slaying of the Leviathan in Is. 27:1." (p. 150)
After comparing the Baal text to Isaiah's writings, I am still working through the implications of both these texts. I still have many questions. But I appreciate John Day's working on this subject, and will read more of his works.
I agree with John Day on page 72 when he says, "I conclude that Leviathan in Job 40:25-41:26 is the mythical sea serpent Leviathan/Rahab/dragon mentioned elsewhere in the book of Job and in other books of the Old Testament as having been defeated at the creation, and is not to be equated with a mere crocodile or any other known living creature."
Some good dragon verses in the Hebrew Bible:
Isaiah 27:1
In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
Psalms 74:12-15
For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
Psalms 104:24-26
O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
Job 41:1
Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?
Sometimes the authors of the Hebrew Bible use the dragon as a symbol for certain nations, as John Day discussed in chapter 3 on page 88. One such nation personified as a dragon is Egypt:
Ezekiel 29:1-6
In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt:
Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.
And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of areed to the house of Israel.
Ezekiel 32:2-6 uses the dragon as a symbol for Egypt again, where "whale" is actually תַּנִּין which can be translated as "dragon":
2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
3 Thus saith the Lord God; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.
4 Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.
6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
John Day discussed the ancient tradition that Baal (the storm god of the Canaanite pantheon) fought with the dragon and the sea. He then showed how there were traditions of this happening in the Hebrew Bible, using Psalms 77 as an example of this tradition from Canaanite religion influencing the traditions about Yahweh.
Psalms 77:16-20 says:
The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.
The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.
The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.
Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Exodus 15 has some interesting things happening in the text, with God fighting the waters of the Sea as well as a reference to monolatry. From Exodus 15:8-11
And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Isaiah 30 refers to Rahab, or the dragon, identifying this dragon with Egypt:
Isaiah 30:7
Egypt's promises are worthless! Therefore, I call her Rahab--the Harmless Dragon. (New Living Translation)
Even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty. Therefore, I have called her "Rahab who has been exterminated." (New American Standard Bible)
Isaiah 51 discusses Rahab as well in Isaiah 51:9-11:
Awake, awake, arm of the Lord,
clothe yourself with strength!
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of old.
Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces,
who pierced that monster through?
Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in the depths of the sea
so that the redeemed might cross over?
Those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (NIV)
The author writes, "Rahab is both the monster defeated at creation and Egypt at the time of the Exodus and also, by implication, it may be argued, the thought is extended to Babylon at the time of the prophet himself. The return from exile in Babylon is both a new creation and a new Exodus." (p. 92)
John Day discussed how the chaotic sea is a designation for Babylon in Habakkuk 3:8-10, 15:
Were you angry with the rivers, Lord?
Was your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the sea
when you rode your horses
and your chariots to victory?
9 You uncovered your bow,
you called for many arrows.
You split the earth with rivers;
10 the mountains saw you and writhed.
Torrents of water swept by;
the deep roared
and lifted its waves on high.
You trampled the sea with your horses,
churning the great waters. (NIV)
Commenting on Habakkuk 3, John Day writes, "the fact that Hab. 3 has musical notations indicates that it was sung in the cult, and there can be no doubt that this was the Feast of Tabernacles, since this was where the theme of the divine conflict with the chaotic waters had its Sitz im Leben." (p. 105)
The dragon is also a designation for Babylon. We read in Jeremiah 51:34
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured us,
he has thrown us into confusion,
he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent (tannin- or a dragon) he has swallowed us
and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
and then has spewed us out.
Day talks about Zion and Zaphon and how these two mountains are interchangeable... I want to study this out more to see how the cult of Baal influenced scriptures that relate to Zion. (see page 127 and 132)...
Probably the most interesting part of this book to me was what Day calls the "eschatological banquet" of Isaiah 25:6-8. The reason this interests me is that we read something similar to this banquet in Revelation 19:6-9 and Doctrine and Covenants 27. Day's point regarding Isaiah 25 is that it has roots in Baal worship. I like that he actually shows the text relating to Baal so that the reader can decide for him/herself whether this text relates to Isaiah 25:6-8. From my reading of CTA 4.VI44-59 (the Baal text) this does relate to Isaiah 25:6-8. You can read all of this on pages 148-149, but to me it was fascinating to see the relationship between this older Baal text and Isaiah's reworking of this passage.
Regarding this passage, Day writes:
"It is wholly in keeping with the view that the eschatological banquet in Judaism (to which Is. 25:6-8 is the first reference) had its origin in the banquet following Yahweh's and ultimately Baal's victory over the unruly sea and the chaos monster that in 2 Esdras 6:52, 2 Baruch 29:4, 1 Enoch 60:24 and Baba bathra 74, it is specifically the chaos monster Leviathan and Behemoth which are to be devoured at the Messianic banquet. We recall too the reference to the slaying of the Leviathan in Is. 27:1." (p. 150)
After comparing the Baal text to Isaiah's writings, I am still working through the implications of both these texts. I still have many questions. But I appreciate John Day's working on this subject, and will read more of his works.
November 1, 2021
This was an interesting and helpful read, though ultimately I did have several issues with it. The most helpful point was Day's demonstration that the Leviathan motif is almost certainly based on Ugaritic literature, and is most likely unrelated to Babylonian myths such as Enuma Elish. Unfortunately, he has a difficult time with what I see as a natural conclusion from this fact: The Leviathan motif is not a creation myth. There is only one biblical text that seems strongly to indicate that it is (Ps 74), but I'm not exactly convinced from there either.
He offers decent exegesis of a number of texts, though not infrequently coming to conclusions that my commitment to verbal plenary inspiration won't permit me to entertain (such as that the "one like a son of man" in Dan 7 is Michael the Archangel). Nevertheless, it was still interesting to read.
He offers decent exegesis of a number of texts, though not infrequently coming to conclusions that my commitment to verbal plenary inspiration won't permit me to entertain (such as that the "one like a son of man" in Dan 7 is Michael the Archangel). Nevertheless, it was still interesting to read.
August 8, 2018
Very nice examination of pre-biblical mythology.
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