Job 3:8 — Word Study
WLCיִקְּבֻ֥הוּ אֹרְרֵי־ י֑וֹם הָ֝עֲתִידִ֗ים עֹרֵ֥ר לִוְיָתָֽן׃
BSAMay it be cursedʼârar [utterly condemned, put under a divine ban] the dayyôwm [a period of time, a season of life] those preparedʻâthîyd [ready, skilled] to rouseʻûwr [stir up, awaken] Leviathanlivyâthân [a massive sea creature]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| יִקְּבֻ֥הוּ | let them curse it | Verb qal imperfect third person masculine plural, suffix |
| אֹרְרֵי־ | cursers of | Verb, Qal, participle (active) masculine plural common |
| י֑וֹם | a day | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
| הָ֝עֲתִידִ֗ים | the [ones] ready | Particle |
| עֹרֵ֥ר | to rouse | Verb, Piel, infinitive construct common |
| לִוְיָתָֽן׃ | Leviathan | Noun |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | May it be cursed by those who curse the day — those prepared to rouse Leviathan. |
| KJV | Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. |
| ASV | Let them curse it that curse the day, Who are ready to rouse up leviathan. |
| YLT | Let the cursers of day mark it, Who are ready to wake up Leviathan. |
| WEB | Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up leviathan. |
| BBE | Let it be cursed by those who put a curse on the day; who are ready to make Leviathan awake. |
Where they part company is יִקְּבֻ֥הוּ — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence consists of a main clause followed by a participial phrase that describes the subjects involved in the action.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbאָרַר
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Job 3:8
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — Job's Lamentgenerated
Job 3:8 captures Job's profound sorrow as he wishes for the day of his birth to be cursed. This verse is part of a larger lament where Job expresses his despair over the circumstances of his life. He longs for the day that brought him into existence to be marked by cursing rather than joy, indicating his deep emotional turmoil and sense of hopelessness.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Chronicles 35:25 | Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the choirs of men and women sing laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Book of Laments. |
| 2 | Jeremiah 9:17–18 | This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Take note, and summon the wailing women; send for the most skillful among them. |
| 3 | Amos 5:16 | Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says: “There will be wailing in all the public squares and cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets. The farmer will be summoned to mourn, and the mourners to wail. |
| 4 | Matthew 11:17 | ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ |
| 5 | Mark 5:38 | When they arrived at the house of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw the commotion and the people weeping and wailing loudly. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 6 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — יִקְּבֻ֥הוּ, yi.ke.Vu.hugenerated
The verb יִקְּבֻ֥הוּ (yi.ke.Vu.hu) is a third person masculine plural imperfect form of the root קָבַב (qabab), meaning 'to curse'. This word emphasizes the act of speaking harmfully about something, often with the intent of invoking divine judgment or condemnation.
In this context, Job is expressing a desire for the day of his birth to be cursed by those who can bring about such a curse. The use of the plural form suggests a collective action, as if Job is calling upon a group of cursers to join in his lament.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The finite verb יִקְּבֻ֥הוּ governs the main clause, expressing Job's wish. The structure is straightforward, with the subject being implied and the action of cursing directed toward the day.
The syntax indicates a poetic form typical in Hebrew literature, where the emotional weight is carried through the verb and the phrases that follow describe the subjects involved in the cursing.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates יִקְּבֻ֥הוּ as αὐτὴν (autēn), meaning 'it'. This choice reflects a more general approach, focusing on the object of the curse rather than the specific act of cursing.
This translation indicates a narrowing of the emphasis from Job's desire for a collective curse to a more passive reference to the day itself.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Job 3:8 expresses Job's wish for the day of his birth to be cursed by those who are ready to awaken Leviathan. This reflects his deep sorrow and desire for that day to be marked by condemnation rather than joy.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Job is expressing his profound despair and wishing that the day of his birth, which brought him into suffering, be marked by curses instead of blessings.
The 'cursers' refer to those who have the power to invoke curses, possibly indicating a group of people skilled in such practices.
Leviathan symbolizes chaos and destruction, and its mention underscores the depth of Job's anguish and the powerful forces he feels are at play in his suffering.
This verse encapsulates Job's feelings of hopelessness and his desire for the world to acknowledge the depth of his pain.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What emotions do you think Job is experiencing in this verse, and how do they relate to his overall lament?
- How might the concept of cursing be understood in today's context?
- What does the mention of Leviathan reveal about Job's view of his struggles?
- In what ways can we relate Job's feelings of despair to our own experiences of suffering?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early commentators have reflected on Job's lament, interpreting his words and the symbolism of Leviathan in various ways, as seen in the quotations from Julian of Eclanum and Gregory the Dialogist.
May this night or day of detestation become what the horrible and cruel dragon that is led from the sea to the earth deserves.Early Church Fathers on Job 3 →
HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION. Let them curse it that curse the day, that are ready to rouse up Leviathan. In the old translation it is not so written, but, Let him curse it that hath cursed the day, even him who shall take the great whale.Early Church Fathers on Job 3 →
MORAL INTERPRETATION. Let them curse it that curse the day. As if he said in plain words; 'Let them strike the darkness of this night by truly repenting,Early Church Fathers on Job 3 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Job 3:8 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleLet them curse it that curse the day,.... Their own day, either their birthday, or any day on which evil befalls them; and now such as are used to this, Job would have them, while they were cursing
Read John Gill on Job 3 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryLet them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. Them ... that curse the day.
Read Robert Jamieson on Job 3 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleThat curse the day, i.e. their day, to wit, their birthday; for the pronoun is here omitted for the metre’ s sake; for this and the following chapters are written in verse, as all grant. So the sense is, when their afflictions move them to curse their own birthday, let them remember mine also, and bestow some curses upon it. Or the day of their distress and trouble, which sometimes is called simply the day, as . Or the day of the birth or death of that person, whose funerals are celebrated by the hired mourners, who in their solemn lamentations used to curse the day that gave them such a person, whom they should so suddenly lose; and therefore it had been better never to have enjoyed him…
Read Matthew Poole on Job 3 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsJob 3:8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.Ver. 8. Let them curse it, that curse the day] As those atri et tetri Atlantes (before spoken of) curse the rising sun for scorching them, Non tam cute, quam corde Not so much skin as heart, (Aethiopici); as despairing persons, and malefactors led to execution, use to curse the time that ever they were born. The help of all such Job here calleth in against the harmless night he banneth with so much bitterness. Like as that desperate wretch mentioned by Mr Bolton, who being upon his death bed, albeit he swore as fast and as furiously as he could, yet desired he the bystandersy to help him with oaths, and…
Read John Trapp on Job 3 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(8) That curse the day—i.e., Let those who proclaim days unlucky or accursed curse that day as pre-eminently so; or let them recollect that day as a standard or sample of cursing. “Let it be as cursed as Job’s birth day.” These people are further described as being ready to arouse leviathan (Authorised Version, “raise up their mourning”), or the crocodile—persons as mad and desperate as that. Let the most hopeless and reckless of mankind select that day as the one which they would choose to curse. This seems to be Job’s meaning.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Job 3 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 8. Let them curse it that curse the day] This translation is scarcely intelligible. I have waded through a multitude of interpretations, without being able to collect from them such a notion of the verse as could appear to me probable. Schultens, Rosenmuller, and after them Mr. Good, have laboured much to make it plain. They think the custom of sorcerers who had execrations for peoples, places, things, days, c., is here referred to such as Balaam, Elymas, and many others were: but I cannot think that a man who knew the Divine Being and his sole government of the world so well as Job did, would make such an allusion, who must have known that such persons and their pretensions were…
Read AdamClarke on Job 3 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges8. The most probable sense of this verse is, Let them that curse days curse it, Them that are skilled to rouse up the Dragon. They that curse days or the day are enchanters and magicians, who were believed to have power to cast their spells upon a day and overwhelm it with darkness and misfortune. Perhaps, however, the first half of the verse is explained by the second, and only one species of enchantment referred to, namely, rousing up the Dragon. The Heb. word is leviathan. This name is given in ch. 41 to a sea or river monster, probably, the crocodile, but it is difficult to find any logical connexion between rousing up the crocodile and cursing days. The word leviathan means twisted or…
Read Cambridge on Job 3 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleLet them curse it who curse the day - This entire verse is exceedingly difficult, and many different expositions have been given of it.
Read Albert Barnes on Job 3 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
May it be cursed by those who curse the day — those prepared to rouse Leviathan.
Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
May it be cursed by those who curse the day—those prepared to rouse Leviathan.
Let those who curse the day curse it – those who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.
Tyndale line
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
Let them curse it that curse the day, Who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
Let them that curse the day, (being readie to renue their mourning) curse it.
Strictly literal
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to rouse Leviathan;
Let the cursers of day mark it, Who are ready to wake up Leviathan.
Let the cursers of day mark it, || Who are ready to wake up Leviathan.
Let those denounce it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning cry.
May they curse that day, those who know how to wake up Leviathan.
From the Latin
Let them curse it who curse the day. who are ready to raise up a leviathan:
Simplified
Those who place curses on certain days should curse it, those who have the power to raise Leviathan.
Let it be cursed by those who put a curse on the day; who are ready to make Leviathan awake.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint show some agreement, with three of the six words matched. However, the Septuagint's word order and articles differ, indicating a different interpretative approach to the text.
יִקְּבֻ֥הוּ אֹרְרֵי־ י֑וֹם הָ֝עֲתִידִ֗ים עֹרֵ֥ר לִוְיָתָֽן׃
3 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Job 3:8
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
קָבַב (qabab) is a primitive root meaning to curse or malign. The entries indicate that it primarily refers to the act of uttering a curse, often with a figurative sense of harming through words. There are no significant disagreements among the lexicons regarding its meaning.
[קָבַב] vb. utter a curse against, curse
base
H6895 קָבַב
6895 qabab kaw-bab'
a primitive root; to scoop out, i.e. (figuratively) to malign
or execrate (i.e. stab with words):--X at all, curse.
קָבַב (qa.vav) — to curse.
1) to curse, utter a curse against
1a) (Qal) to curse
HVqi3mp/Sp3ms — Verb qal imperfect third person masculine plural · suffixHVqi3mp/Sp3ms
אָרַר (arar) is a Hebrew verb meaning to curse. It encompasses various forms, including the act of cursing (Qal), being cursed (Niphal), and putting a curse on someone (Piel). The entries indicate that it can also imply being made a curse (Hophal). There is a consistent focus on the concept of cursing throughout the definitions.
[אָרַר] vb. curse
Qal curse
Niph. cursed
Pi. curse, lay under a curse
Hoph. be cursed
base
H779 אָרַר curse .curse
. cursed
. curse, lay under a curse
. be cursed
779 'arar aw-rar'
a primitive root; to execrate:--X bitterly curse.
אָרַר (a.rar) — to curse.
1) to curse
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to curse
1a2) cursed be he (participle used as in curses)
1b) (Niphal) to be cursed, cursed
1c)(Piel) to curse, lay under a curse, put a curse on
1d) (Hophal) to be made a curse, be cursed
V-Qal — Verb · Qal · participle (active) masculine plural commonHVqrmpc
ov:
(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.
OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]
1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
Lamentations 3:1.
The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.
Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.
That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.
Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…
יוֹם (yowm) means 'day' and refers to a division of time, contrasting with night. It can denote a literal 24-hour period, a general time span, or even a year. The term is used in various contexts, including the 'day of Yahweh,' which signifies a time of divine judgment. It also appears in phrases indicating temporal references like today, yesterday, and tomorrow.
יוֹם 2285 n.m. day
day, opp. night
Day as division of time
יוֹם י׳ day of Yahweh, chiefly as time of his coming in judgment, involving often blessedness for righteous
Pl. days of anyone
Days
יוֹם = time
Phrases
base
H3117 יוֹם day . day, opp. night
. Day as division of time
. יוֹם י׳ day of Yahweh, chiefly as time of his coming in judgment, involving often blessedness for righteous
. Pl. days of anyone
. Days
. יוֹם = time
. Phrases
3117 yowm yome
from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm
hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one
sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by
an associated term), (often used adverb):--age, + always, +
chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to)
day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, +
(for) ever(-lasting, -more), X full, life, as (so) long as
(... live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually,
presently, + remaineth, X required, season, X since, space,
then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble,
weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole
(+ age), (full) year(-ly), + younger.
יוֹם (yom) — day.
: day/when/time/period
1) day, time, year
1a) day (as opposed to night)
1b) day (24 hour period)
1b1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1
1b2) as a division of time
1b2a) a working day, a day's journey
1c) days, lifetime (pl.)
1d) time, period (general)
1e) year
1f) temporal references
1f1) today
1f2) yesterday
1f3) tomorrow
יוֹם (yom) — day: old.
: old/(full/many)[days]
1) day, time, year
1a) day (as opposed to night)
1b) day (24 hour period)
1b1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1
1b2) as a division of time
1b2a) a working day, a day's journey
1c) days, lifetime (pl.)
1d) time, period (general)
1e) year
1f) temporal references
1f1) today
1f2) yesterday
1f3) tomorrow
יוֹם (yom) — day: year.
: year[of_days]
1) day, time, year
1a) day (as opposed to night)
1b) day (24 hour period)
1b1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1
1b2) as a division of time
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa
da (yom; hemera): This common word has caused some trouble to plain readers, because they have not noticed that the word is used in several different senses in the English Bible. When the different uses of the word are understood the difficulty of interpretation vanishes. We note several different uses of the word:
(1) It sometimes means the time from daylight till dark. This popular meaning is easily discovered by the context, e. g. Ge 1:5; 8:22, etc. The marked periods of this daytime were morning, noon and night, as with us. See Ps 55:17. The early hours were sometimes called "the cool of the day" (Ge 3:8). After the exile the day. or daytime was divided into twelve hours and the night into twelve (see
Day
The Jews reckoned the day from sunset to sunset (Lev. 23:32). It was originally divided into three parts (Ps. 55:17). “The heat of the day” (1 Sam. 11:11; Neh. 7:3) was at our nine o’clock, and “the cool of the day” just before sunset (Gen. 3:8). Before the Captivity the Jews divided the night into three watches, (1) from sunset to midnight (Lam. 2:19); (2) from midnight till the cock-crowing (Judg. 7:19); and (3) from the cock-crowing till sunrise (Ex.…
The variable length of the natural day at different seasons led in the very earliest times to the adoption of the civil day (or one revolution of the sun) as a standard of time. The Hebrews reckoned the day from evening to evening, (Leviticus 23:32) deriving it from (Genesis 1:5) "the evening and the morning were the first day." The Jews are supposed, like the modern Arabs, to have adopted from an early period minute specifications of the parts of the natural day. Roughly, indeed, they were content to divide it into "morning, evening and noonday," (Psalms 55:17) but when they wished for greater accuracy they pointed to six unequal parts, each of which was again subdivided. These are held to have been -- "the dawn." "Sunrise."…
The day is distinguished into natural, civil, and artificial. The natural day is one revolution of the earth on its axis. The civil day is that, the beginning and the end of which are determined by the custom of any nation. The Hebrews began their day in the evening, Le 23:32; the Babylonians at sunrise; and we begin at midnight. The artificial day is the time of the sun’s continuance above the horizon, which is unequal according to different seasons, on account of the obliquity of the equator. The sacred writers generally divide the day into twelve hours. The sixth hour always ends at noon throughout the year; and the twelfth hour is the last hour before sunset. But in summer, all the hours of the day were longer than in winter, while those of night were shorter. See HOURS, and THREE.
עָתִיד (athiyd) means ready or prepared, with implications of skillfulness and future events. It can also refer to treasures or things that are stored up. The word is built from a root meaning to prepare and has connections to its Aramaic equivalent, עֲתִיד.
עָתִיד, [עָתוּד] ready, prepared
base
H6264 עָתִיד, [עָתוּד] ready, prepared
6264 `athiyd aw-theed'
from 6257; prepared; by implication, skilful; feminine plural
the future; also treasure:--things that shall come, ready,
treasures.
see HEBREW for 06257
עָתִיד (a.tid) — ready.
1) ready, prepared
1a) ready
1b) ready, skilled
1c) prepared, impending
1d) prepared, stored up, treasure
Aramaic equivalent: a.tid (עֲתִיד "ready" H6263)
Art | Adj — ParticleHTd/Aampa
עוּר (uwr) is a Hebrew verb meaning to rouse or awaken. It encompasses various forms, including to rouse oneself, be incited, or act in an excited manner. The entries suggest a range of uses from literal waking to figurative stirring up of emotions or actions, with different grammatical forms indicating nuances in meaning.
[עוּר] vb. rouse oneself, awake
Qal rouse oneself to activity
Niph. be roused; be incited to activity
Pō‛l. rouse, incite to activity
Pilp. rouse (i.e. raise ?) a cry of destruction
Hithpō‛l. and I was (joyfully) excited, triumphant
Hiph.
rouse
declarative or exhibitive sense, act in an aroused manner, awake
base
H5782 [עוּר] rouse oneself, awake
5782 `uwr oor
a primitive root (rather identical with 5783 through the idea
of opening the eyes); to wake (literally or
figuratively):--(a- )wake(-n, up), lift up (self), X master,
raise (up), stir up (self).
see HEBREW for 05783
עוּר (ur) — to rouse.
1) to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite
1a) (Qal) to rouse oneself, awake
1b) (Niphal) to be roused
1c) (Polel) to stir up, rouse, incite
1d) (Hithpolel) to be excited, be triumphant
1e) (Hiphil)
1e1) to rouse, stir up
1e2) to act in an aroused manner, awake
V-o-Inf-a — Verb · Piel · infinitive construct commonHVpcc
לִוְיָתָן (livyathan) refers to a serpent or dragon, often interpreted as a sea monster like a crocodile. It may also symbolize a constellation or represent a mythical creature. The term is derived from a root meaning 'wreathed animal' and carries connotations of mourning, though its exact meaning remains uncertain.
לִוְיָתָן n.m. serpent, dragon, leviathan, poet. and rare
base
H3882 לִוְיָתָן serpent, dragon, leviathan, poet. and rare
3882 livyathan liv-yaw-thawn'
from 3867; a wreathed animal, i.e. a serpent (especially the
crocodile or some other large sea- monster); figuratively, the
constellation of the dragon; also as a symbol of
Bab.:--leviathan, mourning.
see HEBREW for 03867
לִוְיָתָן (liv.ya.tan) — Leviathan.
a sea monster, dragon
1a) large aquatic animal such as crocodile
1b) perhaps the extinct dinosaur, plesiosaurus, exact meaning unknown,
1c) a mythical or proverbial creature
N-ms — NounHNtmsa
le-vi'-a-than (liwyathan (Job 41:1-34), from [~lawah, "to fold"; compare Arabic name of the wry neck, Iynx torquilla, abu-luwa, from kindred lawa, "to bend"):
(1) The word "leviathan" also occurs in Isa 27:1, where it is characterized as "the swift serpent .... the crooked serpent"; in Ps 104:26, where a marine monster is indicated; also in Ps 74:14 and Job 3:8. The description in Job 41 has been thought by some to refer to the whale, but while the whale suits better the expressions denoting great strength, the words apply best on the whole to the crocodile. Moreover, the whale is very seldom found in the Mediterranean…
Leviathan
A transliterated Hebrew word (livyathan), meaning “twisted,” “coiled.” In Job 3:8, Revised Version, and marg. of Authorized Version, it denotes the dragon which, according to Eastern tradition, is an enemy of light; in 41:1 the crocodile is meant; in Ps. 104:26 it “denotes any large animal that moves by writhing or wriggling the body, the whale, the monsters of the deep.” This word is also used figuratively for a cruel enemy, as some think “the Egyptian host, crushed by the divine power, and cast on the shores of the Red Sea” (Ps. 74:14). As used in Isa. 27:1, “leviathan the piercing [R.V. ‘swift’] serpent, even leviathan that crooked [R.V. marg. ‘winding’]…
(jointed monster) occurs five times in the text of the Authorized Version, and once in the margin of (Job 3:8) where the text has "mourning." In the Hebrew Bible the word livyathan , which is, with the foregoing exception, always left untranslated in the Authorized Version, is found only in the following passages: (Job 3:8; 41:1; Psalms 74:14; 104:26; Isaiah 27:1) In the margin of (Job 3:8) and text of (Job 41:1) the crocodile is most clearly the animal denoted by the Hebrew word. (Psalms 74:14) also clearly points to this same saurian. The context of (
Ps 74:14 104:26, an aquatic monster described in the book of Job, Job 41:1-34. Probably the animal denoted is the crocodile, the terror of the Nile; as BEHEMOTH, in Job 40:1-24, is the hippopotamus of the same river.
The crocodile is a native of the Nile, and other Asiatis and African rivers; in some instances even thirty feet in length; of enormous voracity and strength, as well as fleetness in swimming; attacks mankind and the largest animals, with most daring impetuosity; when taken by means of a powerful net, will often overturn the boats that surround it; has proportionally the largest mouth of all monsters whatever; moves both its jaws alike, the upper of which has not less than thirty-six, and the lower thirty sharp, but…