The term "sea-monster" in the Bible often refers to large and mysterious creatures of the sea, which are sometimes depicted as symbols of chaos and opposition to God's order. These creatures are mentioned in various contexts throughout the Scriptures, often highlighting God's sovereignty over creation and His power to subdue all forces of chaos.

Biblical References:

1. Genesis 1:21 : "So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good." In this creation account, the "great sea creatures" are part of God's good creation, emphasizing His authority over all living beings, including those that dwell in the depths of the sea.

2. Job 7:12 : "Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that You must keep me under guard?" Here, Job uses the imagery of a sea-monster to express his feeling of being restrained and watched by God, drawing on the cultural understanding of sea-monsters as powerful and untamable.

3. Job 41:1 : "Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope?" Leviathan is one of the most famous sea-monsters mentioned in the Bible, depicted as a formidable creature that only God can control. This passage underscores God's unmatched power and the futility of human attempts to dominate such a creature.

4. Psalm 74:13-14 : "You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea; You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert." This poetic imagery portrays God's victory over chaotic forces, represented by sea-monsters, as part of His redemptive acts for His people.

5. Isaiah 27:1 : "In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan, the fleeing serpent—Leviathan, the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea." This prophecy speaks of God's ultimate triumph over evil, symbolized by the defeat of Leviathan, a sea-monster representing chaos and opposition.

6. Ezekiel 32:2 : "Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: 'You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas, thrashing about in your streams, churning the water with your feet, and muddying the streams.'" Here, the sea-monster imagery is used metaphorically to describe Pharaoh's destructive power and the turmoil he causes, which God will ultimately judge.

Cultural and Theological Significance:

In the ancient Near Eastern context, sea-monsters were often associated with chaos and disorder, opposing the divine order established by the gods. The biblical narrative, however, reinterprets these creatures within the framework of monotheism, where Yahweh, the one true God, is depicted as having complete control over all creation, including the most fearsome sea-monsters. This serves to reassure the faithful of God's supreme power and His ability to bring order out of chaos.

The sea-monster imagery also carries eschatological significance, as seen in prophetic literature where the defeat of these creatures symbolizes the ultimate victory of God over evil and the establishment of His eternal kingdom. This theme resonates with the broader biblical message of hope and redemption, affirming God's promise to restore creation to its intended harmony.SEA-MONSTER

se'-mon-ster: Genesis 1:21 (tanninim), "sea monsters," the King James Version "whales," Septuagint (ta kete), "sea-monsters," "huge fish," or "whales." Job 7:12 (tannin), "sea-monster" the King James Version "whale," the Septuagint drakon, "dragon." Psalm 74:13 (tanninim), the American Standard Revised Version and the English Revised Version margin. "sea-monsters," the King James Version and the English Revised Version "dragons," the King James Version margin "whales" Septuagint drakontes, "dragons" Psalm 148:7 (tanninim), "sea-monsters" the King James Version and the English Revised Version "dragons," the English Revised Version margin "sea-monsters" or "water-spouts," Septuagint drakontes, "dragons." Lamentations 4:3 (tannin) "jackals," the King James Version "sea monsters" the King James Version margin "sea calves," Septuagint drakontes. Matthew 12:40 (referring to Jonah) (ketos), English Versions of the Bible "whale," the Revised Version margin "sea-monster." In the Apocrypha, the Revised Version (British and American) changes the King James Version "whale (ketos) into "sea-monster" in Sirach 43:25 but not in So of Three Children verse 57.

See DRAGON; JACKAL; WHALE.

Alfred Ely Day

2785. ketos -- a huge fish
... a huge fish. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: ketos Phonetic Spelling:
(kay'-tos) Short Definition: a sea monster, huge fish Definition: a sea ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2785.htm - 6k8577. tannin -- serpent, dragon, sea monster
... serpent, dragon, sea monster. Transliteration: tannin Phonetic Spelling: (tan-neen')
Short Definition: monster. ... dragon, sea-monster, serpent, whale. ...
/hebrew/8577.htm - 6k

3882. Livyathan -- "serpent," a sea monster or dragon
... 3881, 3882. Livyathan. 3883 . "serpent," a sea monster or dragon. Transliteration:
Livyathan Phonetic Spelling: (liv-yaw-thawn') Short Definition: Leviathan ...
/hebrew/3882.htm - 6k

7293. Rahab -- "storm," a sea monster
... 7292, 7293. Rahab. 7294 . "storm," a sea monster. Transliteration: Rahab
Phonetic Spelling: (rah'-hab) Short Definition: Rahab. ...
/hebrew/7293.htm - 6k

"Am Ia Sea, or a Whale?"
... and he cries at last, "I am watched, and checked, as if I were a great sea needing
always to be held in bounds or a terrible sea-monster wanting always a hook ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 37 1891/am i a sea or.htm

The Adventures of Saint Anthony of Italy.
... Now his ship was tossed by storms, now pursued by a huge sea monster, with jaws
so wide that the affrighted mariners believed that it was about to swallow up ...
/.../kingston/the seven champions of christendom/chapter seven the adventures of.htm

Symbol of the Creature; and of Spirit; and of the Different Orders ...
... Footnotes: [306] ie, literally a sea-monster (Cicero's Pistrix); Arat., Ph??nom.,
v. 353 et seq. [307] pros autois ede tois termasi genomenon tou biou. ...
/.../the refutation of all heresies/chapter xlix symbol of the creature.htm

Sign Seekers, and the Enthusiast Reproved.
... 27:63, 64. The Greek word here translated "whale" is "sea monster." It
is called in Jonah "a great fish" (Jonah 1:17). Because of ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xlix sign seekers and the.htm

Death.
... formed by a cruel and destroying deity, such as the old Canaanites imagined,
when"so the legend ran"they offered up Andromeda to the sea-monster, upon that ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/westminster sermons/sermon xviii death.htm

Historical Criticism of Medi??val Amplifications.
... that drove them into disastrous flight"the Angel sent to call him back to Edessa
when he had fled thence"the storm hushed and the sea-monster slain by his ...
/.../v historical criticism of mediaeval amplifications.htm

Letter ccxlii. To the Westerns.
... On the contrary, we are still holding out with all possible earnestness, remembering
how even he who was swallowed by the sea monster, because he did not ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/letter ccxlii to the westerns.htm

Letter ccxxxi. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
... persons. [2942] Doara [2943] is in a state of agitation, for the fat sea
monster [2944] is throwing everything into confusion. My ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/letter ccxxxi to amphilochius bishop.htm

'Deliver us from Evil'
... If that root were grubbed up, all would fall. It is like some huge sea monster
'floating many a rood,' but there is only one life in it. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/deliver us from evil.htm

Vision Fourth. Concerning the Trial and Tribulation that are to ...
... 3, 4, xiii. 1, xvii. 8, xxii. 2. [The beast was "like a whale" in size and proportion.
It was not a sea-monster. This whole passage is Dantesque. ...
/.../the pastor books first second third/vision fourth concerning the trial.htm

Seamonster
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia SEA-MONSTER. se'-mon-ster: Genesis 1:21
(tanninim), "sea monsters," the King James Version "whales ...
/s/seamonster.htm - 8k

Sea-monster (1 Occurrence)
Sea-monster. Seamonster, Sea-monster. Sea-'monster . Int. ... (See JPS ASV DBY).
Seamonster, Sea-monster. Sea-'monster . Reference Bible.
/s/sea-monster.htm - 8k

Sea-'monster (2 Occurrences)
Sea-'monster. Sea-monster, Sea-'monster. Sea-monsters .
Multi-Version Concordance Sea-'monster (2 Occurrences). Job ...
/s/sea-'monster.htm - 6k

Sea-monster's (1 Occurrence)
Sea-monster's. Sea-monsters, Sea-monster's. Seams . Multi-Version
Concordance Sea-monster's (1 Occurrence). Matthew ...
/s/sea-monster's.htm - 6k

Whale (2 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary The Hebrew word tan (plural, tannin) is so rendered
in Job 7:12 (AV; but RV, "sea-monster"). It is rendered ...
/w/whale.htm - 13k

Monster (10 Occurrences)
... MONSTER. mon'-ster. See DRAGON; SEA-MONSTER. Multi-Version Concordance ... (YLT). Job
7:12 Am Ia sea, or a seamonster, that you put a guard over me? ...
/m/monster.htm - 10k

Bel (3 Occurrences)
... Hebrew or Aramaic words: chatham, "to seal"; zepha', "pitch"; za`apha', "storm,"
"wind"; nachash, "snake"; tannin, "serpent," "seamonster"): I. INTRODUCTORY II ...
/b/bel.htm - 39k

Dragon (20 Occurrences)
... An exception to the rendering of "dragon" or "serpent" or "sea-monster" for tannin ...
suck to their young ones." the King James Version has "seamonster," the King ...
/d/dragon.htm - 56k

Jackal (3 Occurrences)
... jak'-ol: (1) tannim, "jackals," the King James Version "dragons"; compare Arabic
tinan, "wolf"; and compare tannin, Arab tinnin, "seamonster" or "monster" the ...
/j/jackal.htm - 15k

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