The Big Questions About the BibleSample

Are There Monsters in the Bible?

The answer to this question is yes, there are many monsters in the Bible, but they’re not necessarily the monsters you might think. The monsters people in Biblical times were afraid of were mainly ones in the natural world around them. They didn’t need to create too many make-believe monsters with lions and bears nearby! However, the Bible does talk about two monstrous creatures, and no one agrees on what they were.

The first is called the “leviathan,” mentioned in Job, Psalms, and Isaiah. From the description given of the leviathan, it seems to have lived in the sea. It appears to have been like a big serpent with sharp teeth. Its description even includes having many heads and being able to spit fire from its mouth. It sounds rather fanciful to me.

The problem we have is that all the passages where it is mentioned are highly poetic and not literal. Many people think the leviathan might have been a crocodile, with some poetic license thrown into the descriptions.

The other monstrous creature is called the behemoth, and we read about it in Job 40. This animal is very strong, with a long tail, and eats grass. It lived in or near waterways and had tough skin. Some people think this might have been a hippo, though I’m unsure how the long tail fits in.

Some Christians think dinosaurs survived the flood, and the creatures I’ve just mentioned could be dinosaurs. They would say in subsequent literature they are called “dragons,” and even phenomena like the Loch Ness monster could be a surviving dinosaur.

There are dragons in the Bible, too, but not as literal creatures but symbols in prophecy. A dragon in the Bible was considered to be a huge serpent. In the sense that the devil first appears in the book of Genesis as a serpent, the dragon in prophecy comes to represent the devil. The greatest monster of all is the devil.

We don’t have to get spiritual to find monsters. There are many monsters much closer to home. Think of Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. Think of those who prey on our children in our neighborhoods, those who are abusive in relationships, or those who use others for their benefit, callously uncaring of the pain and hurt they cause?

In the annals of history, we see many examples of the monstrous deeds human beings are capable of when we forget God and who He created us to be. We find that in the Bible, too. We, ourselves, are the worst of monsters apart from God.

– Eliezer Gonzalez