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לִוְיָתָן

𐤋𐤅𐤉𐤕𐤍

livyâthân

H3882 noun

SILEX Entry

Root לוה to twist, join, entwine

Definition

A large, powerful aquatic creature, often depicted as a sea monster or dragon-like being in poetic texts; used both literally and metaphorically to signify chaos, primordial power, or a formidable adversary. Semantic range includes mythical sea monster, crocodile, aquatic serpent, and symbolic representations of hostile powers or chaos.

Semantic Range

mythical sea monster, coiling or entwined serpent, crocodile, formidable aquatic beast, symbolic adversary, embodiment of primordial chaos, constellation (dragon/Draco), poetic symbol for empires or hostile forces

Root / Etymology

From the root לוה ('to twist, coil, join together'), reflecting the creature's sinuous, twisting nature. The name is formed with a noun pattern suggesting 'one that is wreathed, coiled, or entwined.' The lexical meaning refers to a great coiling or twisting creature; the root meaning focuses on the concept of entwining or joining.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In Israelite literature (e.g., Job 3:8; 41:1; Isaiah 27:1; Psalm 74:14; 104:26), לִוְיָתָן appears as a powerful sea creature or monster, often connected to ancient Near Eastern mythologies of primordial chaos (cf. Ugaritic Lotan, the multi-headed sea serpent). The term is sometimes associated with real animals (the crocodile, possibly large aquatic serpents), but most often is a poetic or mythological figure embodying chaos, threat, or divine opposition. In some passages, Leviathan is personified as YHWH's adversary, representing opposition to creation or cosmic order. Later tradition extends its association to the constellation Draco or to eschatological foes (see Isaiah 27:1). English translations sometimes transliterate as 'Leviathan' or attempt descriptions such as 'dragon,' 'sea monster,' or 'crocodile,' but these often fail to capture the mythological and symbolic depth of the term.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from לָוָה; 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 Babylon; leviathan, mourning.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

לוה (l-w-h) — to twist, coil, entwine, join

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3867 לָוָה the self-joined one
H3878 לֵוִי the Joined-one
H3879 לֵוִי and the joined-ones
H3880 לִוְיָה encircling garland-of
H3881 לֵוִיִּי Joined-One

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3882-01 לִוְיָתָן֙ liveyatan HNcmsa Leviathan coiled sea-dragon 6

Occurrences in Scripture

6 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3882-01 Isaiah 27:1 לִוְיָתָן֙ liveyatan HNcmsa Leviathan coiled sea-dragon
H3882-01 Isaiah 27:1 לִוְיָתָ֔ן liveyatan-2 HNcmsa Leviathan coiled sea-dragon
H3882-01 Psalms 74:14 לִוְיָתָ֑ן liveyatan HNcmsa Leviathan coiled sea-dragon
H3882-01 Psalms 104:26 לִ֝וְיָתָ֗ן liveyatan HNcmsa Leviathan coiled sea-dragon
H3882-01 Job 3:8 לִוְיָתָֽן liveyatan HNcmsa Leviathan coiled sea-dragon
H3882-01 Job 40:25 לִוְיָתָ֣ן liveyatan HNcmsa Leviathan coiled sea-dragon
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