Leviathan

[[File:Destruction of Leviathan.png|thumb|165px|The imaginary beast as imagined by the imaginative Gustave Doré.]]{{biblenav}}
The '''Leviathan''' was a [[myth]]ical sea monster that is mentioned in the [[Bible]] that [[creationists]] believe to have been a real animal.
Most creationists claim that the Leviathan was a {{wpl|Sarcosuchus|''Sarcosuchus'',}}<ref>[http://creationwiki.org/Leviathan#Leviathan_Suspects CreationWiki: Leviathan Suspects]</ref> a giant relative of crocodiles that did in fact exist, but died out 112 million years ago. Some creationists believe Leviathan could have been a [[dinosaur]], such as a ''Parasaurolophus'' or ''Corythosaurus'', or a pliosaur such as ''Kronosaurus''.<ref>Gish, Duane, 1977. Dinosaurs: Those Terrible Lizards. El Cajon, CA: Master Books, pp. 30,51-55</ref>

One main trait of the supposed Leviathan was that it could breathe out fire ({{bible|Job|41|1|34}}). Amazingly, creationists have started to suggest that ''Sarcosuchus'' and even the hadrosaur ''Parasaurolophus'' could breathe fire!<ref>[http://creation.com/was-leviathan-a-parasaurolophus WARNING! Clicking on this link may result in uncontrollable laughter]</ref>

[[Thomas Hobbes]] used the term to refer to a strong, absolute sovereign in his writings on [[social contract]] theory.

==Couldn't be true==
It might be argued that Leviathan could conceivably have been an extinct aquatic reptile such as a ''Liopleurodon'' — except for a single issue: pliosaurs such as ''Liopleurodon'' became extinct some 150 million years ago.

As for the fire-breathing argument presented by creationists, if dinosaurs could breathe fire, they would have had adaptations around their mouths to protect themselves from radiant heat. Nothing resembling such an adaptation has ever been seen. Furthermore, in order to fuel its fire breath, the animal would need to have an impossibly high caloric intake, since in order to expel energy in the form of flames it would first have to go into the animal in the form of food. Another question is what use an aquatic ''Sarcosuchus'' would have for breathing fire; it would have to be concluded that [[God]] gave them this purpose in anticipation that millennia later, a few [[crank]]s would use it as [[proof]] that the [[Bible]] is true in all particulars.

==In religion==
The Leviathan is equated with the [[Sin#The seven deadly sins|Sin of Envy]]; however, it is also described as being king over all the sons of Pride. As such, some Biblical scholars argue that the Leviathan is a metaphor for [[Satan]]. That, at least, is plausible.

In the [[Book of Job]], God is described as having "crushed the heads of the Leviathan" and in [[Jewish]] tradition, it is believed that the Leviathan will be served alongside [[Behemoth]] as the main course at a banquet for the righteous at the [[end of the world]]. Let's just hope "the righteous" like seafood, [[God Hates Shrimp|or not]].

The Fertile Crescent [[Mythology|mythologies]] that ultimately lead into the Bible frequently involve a primordial [[chaos]] (the "waters" that God moved over and parted into [[Earth]] and sky), which in turn may be represented by a water-dwelling serpentine beast. In a motif termed {{wpl|Chaoskampf}} by folklorists, the serpent is destroyed by a deity who represents order, thus allowing the world to be created (sometimes from the remains of this beast). The Bible's offhand reference to God crushing Leviathan's head is one artifact of this trope; another, much more recent ''Chaoskampf'' is the story of St. George and the [[Dragon]].

==See also==
*[[Behemoth]]
*[[Human-dinosaur coexistence]]
*[[Social contract]]

==External links==
*[http://www.stupiddinosaurlies.org/the-truth-about-leviathan/ The Truth about Leviathan]
*[http://www.stupiddinosaurlies.org/what-leviathan-isn-t What Leviathan Isn't]

==References==
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===Further reading===
* {{cite book | last=Cho | first=Paul Kang-Kul | title=Myth, history, and metaphor in the Hebrew Bible | publisher=Cambridge University Press | publication-place=Cambridge | date=2019 | isbn=978-1-108-56799-2}}

[[ru:Левиафан из книги Иова был динозавром]]
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[[Category:Creationism]]
[[Category:Old Testament]]
[[Category:Political theory]]
[[Category:Cryptozoology]]

Categories: Creationism, Old Testament, Political theory, Cryptozoology