Bible Myth: Dinosaurs?
I have come across some very insistent but unlikely claims by some intelligent people. They claim that in the Bible there are dinosaurs! I was shocked the first time I heard it... but it was intriguing... then I came across it again. So here is what the bible says and my comments. -- NOVO
Claim by a Creationist (a Baptist pastor in Ontario, Canada on the internet):
"I do not know whether you evolutionist think that we creationist just simply ignore dinos or what? But I want to say here dinosaurs are in the Bible. Three of them as a matter of fact:
1. T-rex (Leviathan)
2. Brontosaurus (spelling off here, sorry)Behemoth
3. Some kind of dragon such as a hissing dragon of Easter Island (Dragon)
(He probably means the Komodo Dragon)
God made them in the six days of Creation.
(Referring to the 6 day creation story with the 7th as rest for God... Question here: if Yahweh is almighty then why does he need 6 days? or even why does he need to rest?)
Leviathan (most likely t-rex) - (notice his description matches scientist picture of the t-rex). Behemoth (most likely Brontosaurus, again by description)"
Job 41:1
NIV: "Can you pull in the leviathan [1] with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope? 1 Possibly the crocodile
RSV: "Can you draw out Levi'athan with a fishhook, or press down his tongue with a cord?
KJV : Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
DBY: Wilt thou draw out the leviathan with the hook, and press down his tongue with a cord?
YLT : Dost thou draw leviathan with an angle? And with a rope thou lettest down -- his tongue?
My comment:--The description here is very limited... it is impossible to draw any conclusion as the dinosaur claims. The closest we can GUESS is that the passage is talking about some water creature (angle/hook)... NIV conjectures that it might be a crocodile... but that too is a conjecture in the air.
Now they question that Mr. Leviathan (the guy in question) can't be caught with a hook... well that makes it open ended: one can ask the question in the passage about anything... you don't catch a tiger with hook... u don't catch a cow with a hook... you don't catch a bird with a hook... Or it could be a fish that is hard to catch... or a very clever man that is hard to convert (hook). So that leads nowhere.
The 2nd part says ... tie/press down his tongue. (??!!!) Now what does that mean? Whose tongue would one want to tie? (May be some "human" with differing opinion?"... the one that could not be hooked needs to be silenced?) Anyway it does not give us anything either...So to conclude that it describes our famous king of the tyrants, Mr. T-Rex is totally unfounded.
Psalms 74:14
NIV: It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert.
RSV: Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan, thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
KJV: Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
DBY: *Thou* didst break in pieces the heads of leviathan, thou gavest him to be meat to those that people the desert.
YLT: Thou hast broken the heads of leviathan, Thou makest him food, For the people of the dry places.
My comment:--
This too is very vague... Here it says "heads" ... how many heads does T-Rex have? Also which animal has "heads" instead of head... other than freaks (exceptions) of nature? And in two translations: those who are fed are "the creatures" and in others "people" or "inhabitants of the dry places/wilderness"... I wonder what the original says...
PS: For those who think that vegetarianism is supported by the Bible, guess why your God crushes the heads of some animal to feed some other "creatures".
Psalms 104:26
NIV: There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
RSV: There go the ships, and Leviathan which thou didst form to sport in it.
KJV: There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
DBY: There go the ships; [there] that leviathan, which thou hast formed to play therein.
YLT: There do ships go: leviathan, That Thou hast formed to play in it.
My comment:--
Now this indicates that Mr. Leviathan is a sea creature... T-Rex was a land lubber. Therefore this dismisses the claim that it was T-Rex. The psalm gives no other description to allow some other conclusion.
Isaiah 27:1
NIV: In that day, the LORD will punish with his sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword, Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.
RSV: In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
KJV: In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
DBY: In that day Jehovah, with his sore and great and strong sword, will visit leviathan the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.
YLT: In that day lay a charge doth Jehovah, With his sword -- the sharp, and the great, and the strong, On leviathan -- a fleeing serpent, And on leviathan -- a crooked serpent, And He hath slain the dragon that [is] in the sea.
My comment:--
Hmmm sounds more like the myth of sea dragons... or maybe even a sea snake, gliding, coiling and twisting... an eel maybe? Ofcourse "serpent" is a snake or some reptile and sometimes the Bible uses the term to call its villain, "Satan". The description in the Bible sounds more like some fairy tale... starring Jehova as the sword wielding hero slaying his "dragon". Hmm so unique and original!!! :�
Job 40:15
NIV: "Look at the behemoth, [1] which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.
RSV: "Behold, Be'hemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox.
KJV: Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
DBY: See now the behemoth, which I made with thee: he eateth grass as an ox.
YLT: Lo, I pray thee, Behemoth, that I made with thee: Grass as an ox he eateth.
My comment:--
A grass eater... a herbivore. Hmmm... I could think of so many species... How can one infer that Behemoth is definitely a bronto or even that it is a dino? Also an interesting thing to note is the "...I made with thee..." part. Is "thee" a specific human or Israelites or humanity? Who is being addressed? And what is the significance of making Behemoth at the same time as "thee" was made?
Conclusion:--
All these claims are baseless. One can imagine anything... on a long train journey... one can imagine the train to "say" anything one wants... "hot dog hot dog hot dog choo choo" or "Cheese Burger Cheese Burger Home Fries... OR anything else. To say that these descriptions in the bible refer to Monsieur T-rex, or Brontoburger, or Mr. Komodo ... is just childish imagination. There is not definite description in the Bible to warant such claims.
To the Pastor:
Are you sure that the bible did not describe aliens? Or may be Behemoth and Leviathan are other names for some genie, troll, orc, or Goblin or Raksmyash, Or is Behemoth a Bohemian Moth? ... oh by the way ... is the Komodo (not Easter) dragon a dinosaur? And wow it took your God 6 days to make the world? I bet "my" God would make them in less time. :�
NOVO
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