Ezekiel 32:2

32:2 “Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:

“‘You were like a lion ¹  among the nations,

but you are a monster in the seas;

you thrash about in your streams,

stir up the water with your feet,

and muddy your ²  streams.

Psalms 74:13-14

74:13 You destroyed ³  the sea by your strength;

you shattered the heads of the sea monster ⁴  in the water.

74:14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; ⁵ 

you fed ⁶  him to the people who live along the coast. ⁷ 

Isaiah 27:1

27:1 At that time ⁸  the Lord will punish

with his destructive, ⁹  great, and powerful sword

Leviathan the fast-moving ¹⁰  serpent,

Leviathan the squirming serpent;

he will kill the sea monster. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 51:9

51:9 Wake up! Wake up!

Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! ¹² 

Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!

Did you not smash ¹³  the Proud One? ¹⁴ 

Did you not ¹⁵  wound the sea monster? ¹⁶ 

Revelation 12:3-4

12:3 Then ¹⁷  another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. ¹⁸  12:4 Now ¹⁹  the dragon’s ²⁰  tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then ²¹  the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.

Revelation 12:16-17

12:16 but ²²  the earth came to her rescue; ²³  the ground opened up ²⁴  and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 12:17 So ²⁵  the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, ²⁶  those who keep ²⁷  God’s commandments and hold to ²⁸  the testimony about Jesus. ²⁹  (12:18) And the dragon ³⁰  stood ³¹  on the sand ³²  of the seashore. ³³ 

Revelation 13:2

13:2 Now ³⁴  the beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The ³⁵  dragon gave the beast ³⁶  his power, his throne, and great authority to rule. ³⁷ 

Revelation 13:4

13:4 they worshiped the dragon because he had given ruling authority ³⁸  to the beast, and they worshiped the beast too, saying: “Who is like the beast?” and “Who is able to make war against him?” ³⁹ 

Revelation 13:11

13:11 Then ⁴⁰  I saw another beast ⁴¹  coming up from the earth. He ⁴²  had two horns like a lamb, ⁴³  but ⁴⁴  was speaking like a dragon.

Revelation 16:13

16:13 Then ⁴⁵  I saw three unclean spirits ⁴⁶  that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

Revelation 20:2

20:2 He ⁴⁷  seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years.

[32:2]  ¹ tn The lion was a figure of royalty (Ezek 19:1-9).

[32:2]  ² tc The Hebrew reads “their streams”; the LXX reads “your streams.”

[74:13]  ³ tn The derivation and meaning of the Polel verb form פּוֹרַרְתָּ (porarta) are uncertain. The form may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “break, shatter,” though the biblical Hebrew cognate of this verb always appears in the Hiphil or Hophal stem. BDB 830 s.v. II פָּרַר suggests a homonym here, meaning “to split; to divide.” A Hitpolel form of a root פָּרַר (parar) appears in Isa 24:19 with the meaning “to shake violently.”

[74:13]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has the plural form, “sea monsters” (cf. NRSV “dragons”), but it is likely that an original enclitic mem has been misunderstood as a plural ending. The imagery of the mythological sea monster is utilized here. See the note on “Leviathan” in v. 14.

[74:14]  ⁵ sn You crushed the heads of Leviathan. The imagery of vv. 13-14 originates in West Semitic mythology. The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon [Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַּנִין (tanin), translated “sea monster” in v. 13] vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling [Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן (’aqallaton), translated “squirming” in Isa 27:1] serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (note the use of the plural “heads” here and in v. 13). (See CTA 3.iii.38-39 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 50.) (2) “For all that you smote Leviathan the slippery [Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ (bariakh), translated “fast moving” in Isa 27:1] serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5.i.1-3 in G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 68.) In the myths Leviathan is a sea creature that symbolizes the destructive water of the sea and, in turn, the forces of chaos that threaten the established order. In the OT, the battle with the sea motif is applied to Yahweh’s victories over the forces of chaos at creation and in history (see Pss 74:13-14; 77:16-20; 89:9-10; Isa 51:9-10). Yahweh’s subjugation of the waters of chaos is related to his kingship (see Pss 29:3, 10; 93:3-4). Isa 27:1 applies imagery from Canaanite mythology to Yahweh’s eschatological victory over his enemies. Apocalyptic literature employs the imagery as well. The beasts of Dan 7 emerge from the sea, while Rev 13 speaks of a seven-headed beast coming from the sea. Here in Ps 74:13-14 the primary referent is unclear. The psalmist may be describing God’s creation of the world (note vv. 16-17 and see Ps 89:9-12), when he brought order out of a watery mass, or the exodus (see Isa 51:9-10), when he created Israel by destroying the Egyptians in the waters of the sea.

[74:14]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite in this narrational context.

[74:14]  ⁷ sn You fed him to the people. This pictures the fragments of Leviathan’s dead corpse washing up on shore and being devoured by those who find them. If the exodus is in view, then it may allude to the bodies of the dead Egyptians which washed up on the shore of the Red Sea (see Exod 14:30).

[27:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).

[27:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “hard, severe”; cf. NAB, NRSV “cruel”; KJV “sore”; NLT “terrible.”

[27:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fleeing” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Some translate “slippery” or “slithering.”

[27:1]  ¹¹ tn The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon (Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַנִּין [tannin, translated “sea monster” here]) vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling (Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן [’aqallaton, translated “squirming” here]) serpent, the tyrant with seven heads (cf. Ps 74:14).” (See CTA 3 iii 38-39.) (2) “for all that you smote Leviathan the slippery (Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ [bariakh, translated “fast-moving” here]) serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5 i 1-3.)

[51:9]  ¹² tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.

[51:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text has ַהמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”

[51:9]  ¹⁴ tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).

[51:9]  ¹⁵ tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”

[51:9]  ¹⁶ tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.

[12:3]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:3]  ¹⁸ tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadhma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.

[12:4]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.

[12:4]  ²⁰ tn Grk “its”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:16]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

[12:16]  ²³ tn Grk “the earth helped the woman.”

[12:16]  ²⁴ tn Grk “the earth opened its mouth” (a metaphor for the ground splitting open).

[12:17]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.

[12:17]  ²⁶ tn Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).

[12:17]  ²⁷ tn Or “who obey.”

[12:17]  ²⁸ tn Grk “and having.”

[12:17]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the testimony of Jesus,” which may involve a subjective genitive (“Jesus’ testimony”) or, more likely, an objective genitive (“testimony about Jesus”).

[12:17]  ³⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:17]  ³¹ tc Grk ἐστάθη (estaqh, “he stood”). The reading followed by the translation is attested by the better mss (Ì⁴⁷ א A C 1854 2344 2351 pc lat sy^h) while the majority of mss (051 Ï vg^mss sy^ph co) have the reading ἐστάθην (estaqhn, “I stood”). Thus, the majority of mss make the narrator, rather than the dragon of 12:17, the subject of the verb. The first person reading is most likely an assimilation to the following verb in 13:1, “I saw.” The reading “I stood” was introduced either by accident or to produce a smoother flow, giving the narrator a vantage point on the sea’s edge from which to observe the beast rising out of the sea in 13:1. But almost everywhere else in the book, the phrase καὶ εἶδον (kai eidon, “and I saw”) marks a transition to a new vision, without reference to the narrator’s activity. On both external and internal grounds, it is best to adopt the third person reading, “he stood.”

[12:17]  ³² tn Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).

[12:17]  ³³ sn The standard critical texts of the Greek NT, NA²⁷ and UBS⁴, both include this sentence as 12:18, as do the RSV and NRSV. Other modern translations like the NASB and NIV include the sentence at the beginning of 13:1; in these versions chap. 12 has only 17 verses.

[13:2]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the parenthetical nature of the following description of the beast.

[13:2]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:2]  ³⁶ tn Grk “gave it”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:2]  ³⁷ tn For the translation “authority to rule” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:4]  ³⁸ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:4]  ³⁹ tn On the use of the masculine pronoun to refer to the beast, see the note on the word “It” in 13:1.

[13:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[13:11]  ⁴¹ sn This second beast is identified in Rev 16:13 as “the false prophet.”

[13:11]  ⁴² tn Grk “and it had,” a continuation of the preceding sentence. On the use of the pronoun “he” to refer to the second beast, see the note on the word “It” in 13:1.

[13:11]  ⁴³ tn Or perhaps, “like a ram.” Here L&N 4.25 states, “In the one context in the NT, namely, Re 13:11, in which ἀρνίον refers literally to a sheep, it is used in a phrase referring to the horns of an ἀρνίον. In such a context the reference is undoubtedly to a ‘ram,’ that is to say, the adult male of sheep.” In spite of this most translations render the word “lamb” here to maintain the connection between this false lamb and the true Lamb of the Book of Revelation, Jesus Christ.

[13:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[16:13]  ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:13]  ⁴⁶ sn According to the next verse, these three unclean spirits are spirits of demons.

[20:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.