He spent a great deal of time talking about two different animals, leviathan and behemoth see job 40. Ministry magazine what does the bible say about dinosaurs. He was also a consultant to tyndale house for the immerse bible, an edition of the new living translation nlt that similarly presents the scriptures in their natural literary forms, without chapters and verses or section headings. In order to set the record straight, lets examine this passage of scripture, and see what the possibilities are. Are dinosaurs mentioned in the bible, like in the book of job. The bible says that in the beginning god created the heaven and the earth. In fact, many bibles have marginal notes that state the behemoth is a. Its a collection of writings revered by jews and christians. The topic of dinosaurs in the bible is part of a larger ongoing debate within the christian community over the age of the earth, the proper interpretation of genesis, and how to interpret the physical evidences we find all around us. Someone on here told me that dinosaurs are mentioned in the bible. Not only does the bible use the word dragon repeatedly, 21 times in the old testament and 12 times in the book of revelations, the book of job describes creatures called behemoth and leviathan, which seem to indicate large, reptilian beasts, like dinosaurs. Leviathan sea dwelling aquatic reptiles dinosaurs in the. Job, chapter 41 king james version christian answers.
When interpreting the bible, i take the stance that we should always interpret what it. In his second speech to job at the end of the book of job, the lord mentions two powerful and fearsome creatures, behemoth and leviathan. See the section on experimental versus historical science in chapter 1. If behemoth was a dinosaur see earlier section, then a behemoth type must have been on the ark, because the lord used the behemoth as an illustration in teaching job. It is commonly taught that the bible an science are incompatible with one another. Many christians are amazed to learn that dinosaurs, as well as dragons, are mentioned in gods word. It would be nice to either believe in god or dont, but the arguments put forth in support of the bible actually make it easier not to. Look inside what does the bible say about dinosaurs. However, the word dinosaur was not invented until 1842, thus they are often referred to by other common names from ancient times such as dragons, serpents, cockatrice, or basilisks in some translations. Job is probably the oldest book of the bible outside of the first 11 chapters of genesis.
This area extended both southwest and southeast of the dead sea, in an area that is. Since then, many commentaries have simply accepted this and done little to investigate the matter. Does the bible have anything specifically to say about dinosaurs. Leviathan is described as living in the sea and breathing fire and smoke. The book of job is very old, written after the worldwide flood of noahs time and probably about 2,000 years before jesus was born. Here god describes a great king of the land animals like some of the biggest dinosaurs. By jack kelley friday january 15th, 2010 about 1 minutes to read. New international version niv translations of tannim. If the earth is only six to ten thousand years old, as yecs claim, and if dinosaurs were created on the same 24hour day as adam and eve, and if noah took two of each kind of animal that.
Job 41 and other passages in the bible mentioning leviathan also do not clearly refer to any dinosaur, and could as well refer to a crocodile or an allegorical beast. In the last chapters of job chapters 38 through 41 god, as he answers, and encourages, job, shows job. It is the most dramatic and important opening of any chapter of any book. For further study, see our book dealing with this theme jackson, 2003. Ive been on the net studying dinosaurs in the bible and it appears that the kronosaurus leviathan is talked about in job 41, isiah 27.
Theres been a number of questions about the two, and the answers are almost comically different from each other. The bible mentions two dinosaurs by name and describes them in great detail. In the book of job, one of the oldest books of the bible, there is an excellent description of a very large animal that can easily be described as a large dinosaur. The book of job is that oldest book in the old testament and gives us information about living conditions in the ancient times that we do not find anywhere else in scripture. In jewish apocrypha and pseudepigrapha such as the 2nd century bce book of enoch, behemoth is the primal unconquerable. In the past, however, there have been dinosaurs that can be considered. Behemoth and leviathan in the book of job creation ministries. A close reading of the first few chapters of the bible reveals not one, but two different and contradictory stories of creation. This article will inspect the historical evidence for this fact, beginning with a very controversial description of an animal from one of the bibles oldest books. It is almost universally conceded by bible scholars that the historical background for the. The bibles best description of a dinosaurlike animal is recorded in job chapter 40. The words that we see are behemoth, dragon, leviathan, and serpent, which can be a number of dinosaurs.
Bible verses related to dinosaurs from the king james version kjv by relevance sort by book order job 40. Dinosaurs and the bible ebook christian book distributors. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link. The book of job, presumably written in the second millennium bc, details the events. Putting god on trial the biblical book of job contains a major section on the literary use of behemoth.
Even though the word dinosaur is not used, scripture does indeed talk about them. The book of job includes descriptions of great land and water creatures called behemoth job 40. These passages are found in the book of job and they refer to creatures known as the behemoth and the leviathan. Some interpreters have taken these to be dinosaurs.
Well, if he made everything in six days, then adam must have seen dinosaurs. Scientists have been able to reconstruct many of their skeletons, so we know much about how they may have looked. The exact location of uz is not known, however the most likely location was northeast of palestine in the land of aram modern syria. Dinosaurs and the bible free article for kids paper. Read my page on dragons for more descriptions of dinosaurs in the bible. The institute for creation research calls leviathan a dragon, and equates it to other passages in isaiah and revelation. Prior to 1841 they were called a number of different things, but the words you will see in your english version bible are behemoth and leviathan.
None of the verses in job 40 refer unambiguously to a sauropod or other dinosaur, and on balance a hippopotamus or elephant fits the entire passage at least as well as a sauropod. Not all animals are mentioned by name in the bible cats, tigers, elephants, etc, but if god created the dinosaurs on day six of the creation week, its possible that hey might be mentioned somewhere in the bible and i believe this. Have you ever wondered how dinosaurs fit into the bible. Even more dramatic is the book of job, where the author describes the great land creature, behemoth job 40, and the great water creature, leviathan job 41. Although the latest bible translations use the words elephant, hippo or crocodile instead of behemoth and leviathan, the original hebrew and the context of the descriptions do not allow. Furthermore it is contented that the bible abandons all pretences of containing anything even remotely resembling science. There is another creature described in job chapter 41, however, in this. His understanding the books of the bible study guide series is keyed to this format. For if its identity is uncertain, then the lesson in the book of job is not learned. Job lived in the land of uz, which was in or near the land of edom. Dinosaur in the bible creationwiki, the encyclopedia of. Lengthy descriptions of two creatures called the leviathan and behemoth are given in the biblical book of job. This chapter states that behemoth is the first in rank of all of gods. In those closing chapters of job, god is confronting jobs selfrighteous attitude and displaying his own glory in order to humble job.
In the bible, no other animal is singled out as often, or is spoken of in such great detail as the dinosaursdragons. The bible also says that in six days the lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is. God made many, many animalsbig and smallall after their own kind. It is almost universally conceded by bible scholars that the historical background for the book of job is in the postflood period of the patriarchal era. Truthquests dinosaurs and the bible childrens church series includes five weeks of bible lessons to show kids that the existence of dinosaurs not only doesnt disprove the bible, but actually fits quite well with gods word. Creation science and biblical interpretation, job 4041, dinosaurs. Ken ham, in his book the answers book, states that it may have been something like kronosaurus or liopleurodon page 243. I have heard creationists claim that dinosaurs are mentioned in the bible.
Dinosaurs in the bible ancient creatures in scripture. Dinosaurs certainly did roam the earth in the ancient past. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. Does the bible job 40 describe a sauropod dinosaur. The bible is a book that some laugh at, some swear on, and some leave on a shelf to gather dust.
In his fascinating book, history begins at sumer, the professor has an entire chapter titled, slaying of the dragon. It does a fantastic job of helping children to understand just how catastrophic the genesis flood event really must have been using great examples from. Look at the behemoth, which i made along with you and which feeds on. These are from two of the at least four traditions that are interweaved in the first books of the bible, the priestly and yahvist traditions, out of the set that includes the elohist and deuteronomist traditions. Job chapter 40 describes behemoth the chief of all of gods creative works. The bible was very difficult to translate at in the 1500s when the king james version was. Dinosaurs are mentioned in the bible on a number of occasions. Some years ago, after i had lectured to adventist university students and young professionals, a pastor approached me and asked, could you please talk to my wife and convince her that dinosaurs really did exist. Dinosaurs and the bible explores the historical, scriptural, and fossil evidence about dinosaurs, and shares what we can know after many years of thoughtful, careful research. Those who believe in an older age for the earth tend to agree.
Fossils of dinosaurs have been found all over the world, and their bones are displayed in museums for all to see. This description is about twice as long as that for the animals in chapter 39. In 1663, a man named samuel bochart published a twovolume book that declared that these passages job 40. If the book of job doesnt describe dinosaurs, what animals are being referred to. Are dinosaurs described in the bible, in the book of job. Read through our collection of bible verses that could be interpreted as referencing dinosaurs and decide for yourself. God did not intend for the identity of the behemoth to be a mystery. It may surprise you that there has been much speculation into whether there were actually dinosaurs in the bible. There are mentions in the scripture of serpents and dragons, which some have explained as possibly implying dinosaurs.
God made dinosaurs as part of his very good creation. With bible gateway plus, you gain instant access to a digital bible study library, including complete notes from the niv cultural backgrounds study bible and the new bible commentary. Creation science and biblical interpretation, job 4041. But if the bible is correct when it talks about gods creation of the world and universe, then dinosaurs and people both lived on the earth at the same time. Leviathan sea dwelling aquatic reptiles dinosaurs in the book of job leviathan dinosaur bible kronosaur plesiosuar the biblical book of job speaks of a fierce creature called. Dinosaurs in the bible old testament book form frequency lxx nehemiah tannin 1 greek for fig job tannim 1 psalms tannim 1 not in lxx isaiah thannim 4. Therefore, the events and descriptions within the book of job are over 4000 years old, i. A question that almost always comes up when christians talk about dinosaurs is. Job is shown two huge creatures, behemoth and leviathan.
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