Biblical Hebrew Forum

["George Athas" <george.athas AT moore.edu.au>]

Doug wrote:
 
> God finishes His dissertation to
> Job that Leviathan is indeed Satan,
>"king over of all the sons of pride."
>  I don't feel this makes Leviathan a
> mythical god or a dragon.  
 
Doug, I think there are two very distinct ways of reading here. My view
would say that this literature (and indeed so much other biblical
literature) employs metaphor, simile, and an entire armoury of images
(there's one right now) to convey its message in poetic contexts. That is,
poetry uses poetic conventions. Thus, "king over all the sons of pride" I
take as a statement that this Leviathan creature (whether real or mythical
doesn't matter) is so frightening that it can humble even the stoutest and
most magnificent of people. That is, "king" is a metaphor to say that the
Leviathan can make cowering messes of everyone. Your reading seems to be
that such metaphor, simile and imagery does not occur, and that the text is
more black and white. Thus, for you "king" means literally "king", such that
Leviathan can be thought of as an actual ruler of some kind.
 
I hope I'm not misrepresenting or caricaturing your reading perspective.
Forgive me if I am.
 

Best Regards,

GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College
1 King St, Newtown 2042, Australia
Ph: (+61 2) 9577 9774