Dragons & Dinosaurs

Baffling Beasts of the Bible

The Hebrew word for dragon in the Old Testament is tannin or tannim, and in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible at No. 8577 the definition given reads in part, “a marine or land monster…dragon.” All scientists, both evolutionists and creationists know that dinosaurs were real creatures which once lived on the face of this earth. The evidence from the fossil record clearly reveals that at one time there were great numbers of these creatures living on earth.

The major difference between creationist scientists and evolutionary scientists lies in the interpretation of the dinosaur fossils. The question remains: Were they really living millions of years ago, or were they part of a recent 6,000-year history within the biblical time frame? Unfortunately, there are many Christians who are either confused and at a loss to answer this question definitively, or else have acquiesced to the prevailing evolutionary idea that dinosaurs died out about 65 million years ago.

The Bible does not go into great detail in describing all the animals that God created, but there are a few exceptions. Remarkably enough these exceptions relate to animals that appear to be descriptions of dinosaur-type-creatures! In the Book of Job chapters 40 and 41 (it is generally believed that Job lived some time after the Flood) there are two enormous creatures described by God to Job which are named behemoth and leviathan. The descriptions of these powerful and massive creatures do not satisfactorily match any known living creature in today’s world. Regarding behemoth the Bible says:

“Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox. See now, his strength is in his hips, and his power is in his stomach muscles. He moves his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. His bones are like beams of bronze, his ribs like bars of iron. He is the first of the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword . . . Indeed the river may rage, Yet he is not disturbed; he is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth” (Job 40:15-19, 23).

Note that whatever this creature was God made it at the same time as man, “behemoth, which I made along with you”—that is, on the sixth day of the creation week. This statement alone totally invalidates the geologic time scale that posits humans and dinosaurs as being over 60 million years removed from each other. Also, note that part of the description refers to this creature’s tail as worthy of special mention—that it “moves his tail like a cedar”—I don’t think the tail of the hippopotamus would warrant special mention, but some Bibles include a marginal note suggesting that “behemoth” might refer to a hippopotamus or an elephant.

The Cedar trees of Lebanon were renowned for their size and quality. They could grow over 100 feet tall and reach a girth or circumference of 30 feet or more! First Kings chapter five describes the contract King Solomon made with King Hiram of Tyre in order to obtain cedar wood to build his palace and the Lord’s temple. Solomon wanted the highest quality of material available, and the massive cedar trees of Tyre (Lebanon) were the best. The point is that no land animal known living today has such a powerfully large tail that would bring to mind these great cedar trees. But a large sauropod-type dinosaur such as an Ultrasaurus or an Apatosaurus fits the description perfectly. Some Christians still attempt to match the hippopotamus or the elephant with behemoth, but the description of this creature also says that “he is the first of the ways of God.” Hebrew scholars tell us this expression indicates that behemoth was the largest and most awesome of the land animals that God made, and this would definitely exclude the hippopotamus. Thus from the description of behemoth it seems clear that the Bible specifically mentions a particular type of land-dwelling dinosaur.

Job chapter 41 mentions another massive animal called leviathan, which was apparently primarily an oceangoing creature and therefore not technically a dinosaur according to modern classification. Part of the description reads:

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook? . . . Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you leash him for your maidens? . . . Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears? Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle—Never do it again! Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false; Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?” (Job 41:1,2,5,7-9).

It is evident from the description of this creature that the natural tough outer body covering was not anything like the familiar whale whose hide is quite susceptible to harpoons and spears. This creature, which is presumed to be extinct today, had an impenetrable armor that made it impossible to subdue it with the weapons of the day. The description of this armor reads: 

“His rows of scales are his pride, shut up tightly as with a seal; one is so near another that no air can come between them; They are joined one to another, they stick together and cannot be parted . . . Strength dwells in his neck, and sorrow dances before him. The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved. His heart is as hard as stone, even as hard as the lower millstone . . . Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; Nor does spear, dart, or javelin. He regards iron as straw, And bronze as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones become like stubble to him.” (Job 41:15-17, 22-24, 26-28). 

This tends to make one think of an alligator or crocodile-type creature only on a much larger scale. The teeth of leviathan are described as “fearsome” (v.14), and horns or spikes protected the underside area (v. 30), which eliminates today’s crocodiles and alligators as candidates. God compares leviathan with other creatures by saying, “On earth there is nothing like him, which is made without fear” (v. 33). Some large fossils have been discovered in Australia that might be candidates for a creature such as leviathan. These indicate a creature considerably larger than the largest crocodile or alligator fossils found, and are believed to have been over 50 feet long, and may have weighed up to 50 tons. However, there is something else about leviathan that is quite intriguing and distinctive: 

His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go burning lights; Sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke goes out of his nostrils, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth. Job 41:18-21). 

Could there really have been fire-breathing dragons? There actually are legends of fire-breathing dragons that have been passed down through history, so the question needs to be asked: Why did such legends originate? There may certainly be a variety of reasons, and like most legends there is generally a mixture of truth and fiction plus exaggeration. Since the legends of fire-breathing dragons are so widespread it would give credence to believe that some sort of creature capable of producing fiery breath could actually have existed.

Many secular scholars have concluded that the huge creature described in Job 41 cannot be real. Instead, leviathan must simply be a mythical exaggeration of some common animal. However, the detailed biblical description of leviathan appears to be very literal, and personally I would rather put my faith in the untarnished record of the Bible. For a more exhaustive study of this subject please see my book “Did God Really Say That” at: drrodbutterworth.com. God bless you.