Monsters. They may be waiting around the next corner ready to rend and tear. They have the power to leap on us from the deepest recesses of dreaming sleep and wake us screaming. But what are they? Are they real or are they incarnations of unknown fears projected from the dark corners of the human psyche. Whatever they are, every mythology in every age has them, names them and describes them. The Chinese, for instance, have Xing Tian, "the punished one". He's a headless giant with his face on his torso. They also have Kun, a monster fish, and Juifeng, a nine-headed bird. The Norse have the world-girdling Midgard Serpent, Fenrir, the giant wolf, and the mara, dark elves who cause bad dreams and are part of the root for our word, nightmare. Greek mythological monsters like the Cyclops, the Minotaur and Medusa are too well-known to require description here.
Christians and Jews should not feel left out though. They have a rich and varied monster tradition described, sometimes in loving detail, in a very authoratitive source: the Bible. Among these are Behemoth, who is described as follows (Job 40:1-24):"Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about. Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares."
Behemoth sounds a lot like a dinosaur; a brontosaurus perhaps? It's not a dragon though. The Bible speaks of them by name elsewhere. Here, along with the satyr, a half-man, half-goat that also appears in Greek mythology, the Bible speaks of dragons (Isaiah 13:21-22):
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"But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and SATYRS shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and DRAGONS in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged."The satyr also appears in Isaiah 34:14. Garnering even more biblical mentions is the cockatrice, a chicken-headed flying serpent that can kill with a glance. Here, in quick succession, are four appearances of the cockatrice:
Jeremiah 8:17:
"For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD."
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Isaiah 11:8:"And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den."
Isaiah 59:5:
"They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper."
"They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper."
Isaiah 14:29:
"Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent."
"Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent."
Leviathan is a giant sea-monster. It too is mentioned no less than four times in the Bible (Book of Job 3:8; Book of Job 41:1-34; Psalms 74:14; Isaiah 27:1). Job 41:1-34 gives the fullest description:
"Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn? Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee? ...Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me? ...His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. One is so near to another, that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered. By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him. The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved. His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone. When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves. The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble. Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear. Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire. He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment. He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary. Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride."The unicorn, a one-horned horse-like creature, receives nine mentions in the Bible (Numbers 23:22, Numbers 24:8, Deuteronomy 33:17, Job 39:9-10, Psalms 22:21, Psalms 29:6, Psalms 92:10, Isaiah 34:7). Some scholars say though that this is a mistranslation and that "wild ox" is the correct interpretation of the text.
Not named as such but sounding suspiciously like zombies, are these revenants from Matthew 27:52-53:
"And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."
There are a lot of giants in the Bible besides Goliath. There are also the Nephalim ("those causing others to fall"), the Emim ("the fearful ones"), the Rephaim ("the dead ones") and the Anakim ("the long-necked ones").
Last, but certainly not least, is the beast from Revelation. Sounding a lot like the mythological Greek hydra, it has 7 heads and 10 horns.
Revelation 13:1:
"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."
Revelation 17:3:
"So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."
"So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."
As you can see, the Bible is no slouch when it comes to providing monsters. It probably has more of them than a weekend Sci-Fi Channel marathon (and with slightly better storylines too). So turn off your tv set, shelve that Bullfinch's Mythology and that Brothers Grimm. All you the monsters you really need can be found in the Bible!
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Note: While a lot of sources were consulted for this essay, one stands out and deserves the most thanks- FreeThoughtPedia.
Photo Credits:
1) Jesus riding his brontosaurus (from FreeThoughtPedia)
2) Behemoth
3) Satyr balancing a wine goblet on his... um, anyway, this is from an ancient Greek vase
4) cockatrice (from FreeThoughtPedia)
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Comments
Hi, Hugh, (Hi, Hugh, it's off to work we go) ((Sorry, but I couldn't resist.))
I enjoyed reading about the biblical monsters. (Did you intentionally omit God as one of the scariest?) I was wondering about the alignment with monsters mentioned in Hellenistic cultures. Is the translation from Hebrew or Aramaic exact or did some translator decide that the monster spoken of 'seemed' like a monster from another culture?
Hi ho, Harold! Here's what Wikipedia says about satyrs in the Bible:
In the King James Version of the Bible, Isaiah 13:21 and 34:14, the English word "satyr" is used to represent the Hebrew ??????, hairy ones. In Hebrew folklore, ?????? are a type of demon or supernatural being which inhabits waste places. There is an allusion to the practice of sacrificing to the ?????? (often translated as "devils") in Leviticus 17:7. They correspond to the "shaggy demon of the mountain-pass" (??? ?????) of old Arab legend.
As to God, yeah, I purposely left Him out. I don't believe hitting people on the head with a hammer is the most productive way to get them to think along new pathways. Just showing them that there ARE other ways to think about things they take for granted without insulting or disrespecting them in the process seems better to me... and makes for better relations with the neighbors!
:)
All these exotic beasties mentioned multiple times in the Bible, and yet the "Trinity" is not mentioned even once.
Hugh, this is where I'd suggest using more accurate translations than the good ol' KJV.
"Several mythical animals that appear in older translations are no longer supported by current scholarship. For example, the translators of the KJV, apparently unaware of the existence of a wild ox (the aurochs or Bos primigenius, now extinct) around the Mediterranean, rendered the Hebrew re’?m as “unicorn.” For this they relied on the LXX monoker?s (single-horned) even though the Bible describes it as a clean (edible) animal with horns (Deut 33:17). The aurochs, a truly powerful (Num 23:22; 24:8) and untamable beast (Job 33:9–10), had existed in Palestine from prehistoric times and had acquired a reputation of mythic proportions. It had two horns that it tossed in triumph, offering Hebrew poets a vivid image of power (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1; Ps 92:10) and boundless energy (cf. Ps 29:6, where “calf” translates the Heb ben re’?mîm, “young one of the wild ox”)...
Basilisk, an archaic designation for snakes, has a mythological aura. Words once rendered as basilisk under the influence of the LXX are now translated adder (Is 59:5; Ps 91:13). The cockatrice, a common symbol in heraldry, was believed to be the product of a rooster’s egg being incubated by a snake and resulting in a dragonlike hatchling (Is 59:5). Older versions used cockatrice for several related Hebrew words designating serpents (Prov 23:32; Is 11:8; 14:29). Its listing with the flying serpents no doubt enhanced its mythic reputation (Is 14:29). Because of the snake’s desert habitat, the prophet Isaiah uses it as a label for desert peoples, suggesting desolation, uselessness and a connection with the dark side of creation (Is 30:6)...
Cited from "Dictionary of Biblical Imagery" article entry on "Mythical Animals". Leland Ryken, ed. InterVarsity Press
Thanks for offering another interpretation, James-Michael. One thing though; if a cockatrice is just another word for serpent, then why, in Isaiah (59:5), does it mention cockatrices and vipers in the same sentence? If there was no difference, it could just as easily have used the generic serpent word for both.
translation and context are king. If you read something and want it to say something than it will.
I would suggest Hebrew and Greek word studies next time.
Also. the Bible is a book written to a group of people in specific time and situations. Examine why the letters (because the book are really letters..)were written, what kind of genre they are and Why they were written.
this is a sad examination of what the Bible is actually saying.
There are accounts of beast and monsters in the Bible, but this is inaccurate in a lot of ways.
Parents shouldn't read the Bible to children --- they'll get nightmares!
So inaccurate, you know the fabulous beasts described all correspond to real animals (some maybe extinct.)
Only dragons are unaccountable for.
You are using the King James version, which chose some bad ways of translating everyday animals.
So inaccurate, you know the fabulous beasts described all correspond to real animals (some maybe extinct.)
Only dragons are unaccountable for.
You are using the King James version, which chose some bad ways of translating everyday animals.
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