This month’s Chinese New Year celebrations will usher in 2012 as the year of the dragon. These legendary beasties have been a favorite fairytale and mythology staple for eons. But are dragons really just figments of our imaginations? Or are they evidence of ancient humans’ encounters with living dinosaurs?
The timing of dinosaurs’ existence is a point of disagreement between young- and old-earth creationists. Based on their interpretation of the Genesis creation days as 24 hours long and their belief that animals did not die before Adam’s fall, young-earth creationists insist that dinosaurs and humans must have coexisted for a time. Worldwide dragon lore—including biblical references to dragons, leviathans, and behemoths—is used as support of this coexistence. (See Answers in Genesis and the Institute for Creation Research for details on the young-earth perspective.)
However, scientific research does not support the idea of a dinosaur-human coexistence. Paleontologists estimate that the last wave of dinosaurs went extinct around 65 million years ago—well before humans, and even most mammals, showed up. Furthermore, dinosaur fossils were not recognized for what they really were until the 1800s, making dinosaurs a relatively modern discovery.
Based on these two facts, Reasons To Believe believes it unlikely that the biblical authors make any mention of dinosaurs whatsoever. How, then, do we reconcile the biblical references to behemoths, leviathans, and dragons with the scientific and historic data?
- Passages in the book of Job describing the behemoth and leviathan are likely referring to the hippopotamus and crocodile, respectively. This is not a new interpretation. As RTB founder Hugh Ross points out in his book Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job, prior to the nineteenth-century discovery of dinosaurs most Bible scholars accepted the hippo and croc interpretation. (Even some more recent Bible versions include this view in their footnotes.)
- In English Bibles, the word “dragon” appears most notably in Revelation 12–13 and usually refers to Satan. (Other instances of use vary from translation to translation.) In a March 2011 episode of I Didn’t Know That!, RTB scholars Fuz Rana and Dave Rogstad suggest that—given the fact that Revelation’s author, John, was totally ignorant of dinosaurs—it’s more probable that he drew upon well-known mythological imagery to help his readers grasp the strange visions he described than that he referred to a real animal.
So how did we think up dragons? Inspiration for the Chinese dragon did indeed come from dinosaurs—fossilized bones, that is. Whale bones may have also contributed to the stories. Historians believe other reptiles—like the Nile crocodile, spitting cobras, and monitor lizards—also influenced dragon lore.
Thinking about God’s colorful description of the terrifying leviathan in Job 41, it doesn’t surprise me that such relatively modern beasts inspired tall tales and epic mythologies. I can just picture the campfire stories now…
— Maureen
Resources: It’s an undeniable fact that dinosaurs fascinate us. We’ve dedicated an RTB 101 page to helping people understand these monstrous animals and their place in God’s creation.
January 21, 2012 at 12:23 pm
As I mentioned in the section on Leviathan, Job 28:19 suggests trade with the land of Cush. I believe that this mention of Cush can give us insight as to the identity of the Behemoth as well. The Nile River was one of the most important ancient trade routes. It flows through both Sudan and Ethiopia (these were the land of Cush), and elephants can still be found in both nations. Out of all land animals, the African elephant seems to be the best match for this creature.
One of the most often mentioned verses is Job 40:17
17. “He bends his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are knit together.”
(The text mentions the tail’s movement not its size, it sways back and forth like a cedar tree.) This is just like the movement of an elephant’s tail.
19 “He is the first of the ways of God; Let his maker bring near his sword.”
“First,” seems to refer to it being the mightiest land animal. Re’shit is the word translated “first.” It is often used to refer to power (Gen. 49:3; Nun. 24:20; Deut. 21:17; Amos 6:1). African elephants are the largest land animals. Measuring up to 13 feet at its shoulders and weighing up to 24,000 lbs., the elephant fits Behemoth’s description better than any other land animal. Some suggest the hippo, but it ranks third, in size, behind rhinos and elephants. Likewise, the hippo’s tail is more of a stub and doesn’t really move much at all.
All of the other verses also fits the habits and habitats of African elephants.
January 21, 2012 at 1:01 pm
Job chapter 41 describes a very fierce creature, but what was it? I believe that its description most closely fits a Nile crocodile. Some helpful information comes from the areas of trade mentioned by Job (Job 6:19, 28:16, 19). The one that seems most important to this discussion is in Job 28:19 where he speaks of Cush (included modern Sudan and Ethiopia). This suggests the ancient trade route of the Nile River. I believe that this mention of Cush can give us insight as to the identity of both the Leviathan and the Behemoth (Job 40:15-24).
Now let us take a closer look at Leviathan. Verses 1-11 and 24-29 deal with man’s attempt to battle this creature and how useless his weapons were against it. This leaves verses 12-23 and 30-32 to determine what Leviathan looked like and where it lived.
The first thing that we must determine is the meaning of verses 18-21 and 24. These lead to great difficulty if read as absolutely literal. It says that the creature breathed fire (vs. 19 and 21), had eyes like the eyelids of the morning (vs. 18), had smoke coming from its nostrils (vs. 20), and had a heart as hard as stone (vs. 24). Obviously a literal reading of verse 24 would leave us with a dead creature, because its heart could not have functioned.
The description of the eyes as “eyelids of the morning” (`aph`aph shachar) is a phrase used earlier in Job 3:9 as a description of the rising sun. With respect to Leviathan it may refer to the eye’s ability to reflect light, but more likely has to do with the way they open (the upper eyelid raises while the lower lid drops down) and/or the fact that when the crocodile wants to secretly observe its surroundings, it raises just its eyes above the water. Both of these simulate the rising of the sun above the horizon.
Smoke coming from Leviathan’s nostrils (Job 41:20), mirrors descriptions of alligators given by William Bartram in 1791. The smoke was just a watery mist blown from its nostrils when it surfaced. “Clouds of smoke issue from his dilated nostrils.” “…and the clouds of vapour issuing from their wide nostrils…” “…and the vapour ascending from his nostrils like smoke.”
The fire breathing probably refers to its wrath which is not tempered by mercy (Ps. 57:3-4; Is. 30:27, 33; 33:10-12). Fire breathing (vs. 19 and 21) may also come from the color of the inside of a crocodile’s mouth. A hard heart often refers to being uncaring, angry and irreverent (Ex. 14:4, 17; Deut. 15:7; Is. 63:17; Ez. 11:19-21; Zech. 7:11-12).
More evidence, that Leviathan was a crocodile, comes from two of its five occurrences in the O.T. (Ps. 74:14; Is. 27:1). In these it is used as a symbol for Egypt. The crocodile was a symbol for the pharaoh’s power. http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/sobeka.htm
I’ll stop here. In my papers, I include pictures which show exactly what is being described, but they wont post.
January 21, 2012 at 1:06 pm
One last thing. The word dragon (tanniyn), used in the KJV, is a Hebrew word meaning reptile. It is used of Nile crocodiles, a symbol for Egypt (Psalm 74:12-14; Isaiah 27:1, 12-13, 51:9-10; Ezekiel 29:3, 32:2) and snakes (Ex. 7:12; Deut. 32:33). Desert dwelling snake seems to be its main meaning.
January 23, 2012 at 9:51 am
Hi Kenny!
Thanks for jumping in and sharing your thoughts.
January 21, 2012 at 1:13 pm
I re-read the passages in Job this mornng. Those descriptions could easily have been an animal we don’t know about. Nor can I dismiss the findings of human footprints next to those of dinosaurs in Paluxy, Texas several years ago. God’s Word is either accurate or it is not. Changing it to fit modern scientific theory is unacceptable in my camp. Pat Lee
January 23, 2012 at 9:42 am
Hi Pat,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. RTB agrees with you that changing the Bible to suit one’s theories is not a good idea–and our creation model also upholds the Bible as inerrant. Our scholars simply do not agree that Job 40-41 is talking about dinosaurs. I would like to note that the accuracy of the Paluxy, TX fossil finds is questionable. Answers in Genesis–with whom we disagree on many other points–includes this find on their list of “Arguments to Avoid” (http://www.answersingenesis.org/get-answers/topic/arguments-we-dont-use).
Blessings!
Maureen
January 23, 2012 at 11:26 am
Hello Pat,
Since the Job text only mentions the motion of Behemoth’s tail, not its size, where do you find evidence for it being a dinosaur? What about the trade with Cush? Why does an elephant not fit?
Be sure to check out the link Maureen provided.
January 22, 2012 at 6:22 pm
we should also be open to the Possibility that ancient pagan culture’s involvement in demon worship makes it possible that dragons etc are depictions of devils and demons.
January 23, 2012 at 9:49 am
Hi Abdool,
That’s an interesting thought! It certainly seems like the Bible authors associated dragons with Satan–possibly based on the pagan imagery around them?