Leviathan: Legend, Croc, or Something Else? | The Institute for Creation Research

Leviathan: Legend, Croc, or Something Else?

In Job 41, God points Job’s attention to a terrifying animal called leviathan. It’s clear this was a real creature, but what was it?

Bible commentaries often call leviathan a crocodile. However, swords, hooks, and spears can pierce crocs but not leviathan, as verses 1 and 2 state. Author Peter Booker identifies the extinct super-croc Sarcosuchus [sahr-coe-SUE-cuss] as the biblical beast. It grew over 30 feet long.1 Now, that’s more like it.

ICR scientist Dr. Tim Clarey highlighted similarities between leviathan and a huge, amphibious theropod dinosaur called Spinosaurus.2 This fits the Job 41 description of an enormous animal that took to the waters but also walked on the shore. But a new study puts the extinct North American alligator-like creature named Deinosuchus center stage.

Although Spinosaurus was longer, Deinosuchus specimens approached 40 feet. For perspective, “it was so enormous, almost everything in its habitat was on the menu.”3

 
Image credit: Copyright © 2011 Smokeybjb. Used in accordance with federal copyright (fair use doctrine) law. Usage by ICR does not imply endorsement of copyright holder.

Job 41:15 says that “his rows of scales are his pride.” The word translated “scales” literally means “shields.” Deinosuchus had bony plates called osteoderms embedded in its skin, many as large as an adult human’s palm. Verse 17 says that leviathan’s scales “stick together and cannot be parted.” Similarly, Deinosuchus’ osteoderms came riddled with deep pits where connective tissue was tightly tied.3 God also calls Job’s attention to leviathan’s “terrible teeth” (v. 14). Deinosuchus had “teeth the size of bananas.”4

Job 41:25 refers to leviathan’s “crashings” or thrashings, reminiscent of an alligator feeding. Then verse 31 says that “he makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.” One stirs a pot of ointment. Modern alligators are famous for their death-roll maneuver, when they spin in the water to break apart large prey in their mouths. One study estimated that Deinosuchus could do death rolls although Sarcosuchus probably could not.5

What about those verses that refer to fire and smoke from leviathan’s mouth and nostrils (vv. 20-21)? Smoke doesn’t fossilize, but nostrils do. Deinosuchus had an enlarged chamber at the tip of its snout, and “the reason for its enlarged nose is unknown.”2 Could this extra space have housed a fire-making biochemistry setup?

In addition, “it had two large holes...at the tip of the snout in front of the nose. These holes are unique to Deinosuchus, and we do not know what they were for.”4 One set of nostrils on top were for breathing, and a second set of nostrils aimed forward.

How could American fossils tie to Job’s land of Uz? Genesis 7:22 notes creatures with nostrils died in the Flood. A young Deinosuchus could have survived the Flood either on board the Ark since it had nostrils and legs, or among the fish outside the Ark since waters were its main habitat. After the Flood, these supermassive, alligator-like monsters would have produced generations that migrated to suitable habitats around the world, possibly including Job’s homeland where he witnessed the beast.6 Afterward, they went extinct like Job’s behemoth.

From crocodile to Spinosaurus to Deinosuchus, fossil matches to leviathan keep improving. They put Job and the Bible where they belong—in real history.

References

  1. Booker, P. 2005. A New Candidate for Leviathan? TJ. 19 (2): 14-16.
  2. Clarey, T. 2015. Tracking Down Leviathan. Acts & Facts. 44 (7): 14. See also Thomas, B. Spinosaurus Swam! How a Swimming Spinosaurus Fits Scripture. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org May 26, 2020, accessed August 12, 2020.
  3. New study confirms the power of Deinosuchus and its ‘teeth the size of bananas.’ Taylor & Francis Group press release. Posted on newsroom.taylorandfrancisgroup.com August 10, 2020, accessed August 12, 2020.
  4. Cossette, A. P. and C. A. Brochu. 2020. A systematic review of the giant alligatoroid Deinosuchus from the Campanian of North America and its implications for the relationships at the root of Crocodylia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: e1767638.
  5. Blanco, R. E., W. W. Jones, and J. Villamil. 2014. The ‘death roll’ of giant fossil crocodyliforms (Crocodylomorpha: Neosuchia): allometric and skull strength analysis. Historical Biology. 27 (5): 514-524.
  6. Eventually they went extinct. See Thomas, B. 2019. What Happened to Dinosaurs after the Flood? Acts & Facts. 48 (6): 20.

* Dr. Thomas is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research and earned his Ph.D. in paleobiochemistry from the University of Liverpool.

Cite this article: Brian Thomas, Ph.D. 2020. Leviathan: Legend, Croc, or Something Else?. Acts & Facts. 49 (10).

The Latest
CREATION PODCAST
Homo Naledi: The Lies Behind Evolution's Rising Star | The Creation...
Homo naledi, once evolution's 'rising star,' was considered to be a prime example of human evolution. But is it really proof? Or...

NEWS
A Subsurface Ocean on Mimas?
Scientists have analyzed data obtained from the Cassini spacecraft and concluded that irregularities in the orbit of Saturn’s moon Mimas indicate...

NEWS
In Theaters March 20 & 21: The Ark and the Darkness
Is Genesis true? What about Noah’s Flood? How did Noah fit the animals on the ark? Wasn’t it a local flood? Have you asked these questions? Though...

NEWS
Enigmatic Fossil Plants
The pre-Flood world thousands of years ago was unlike the world of today.1 Unfamiliar animals and plants were common, and there were a lot...

NEWS
Surprisingly Colorful Fossil Snail Shells
Finding organic compounds such as flexible dinosaur collagen and complete bone cells1,2 is becoming common, much to the shock and consternation...

NEWS
March 2024 ICR Wallpaper
"He is not here; for He is risen, as He said." (Matthew 28:6 NKJV) ICR March 2024 wallpaper is now available for mobile, tablet,...

CREATION PODCAST
Homo Erectus: The Shocking Truth About the "Ape Man"...
Homo erectus, or "Upright Man," has been upheld as a piece of mankind's "evolutionary history" since its discovery in 1891....

NEWS
Mystery of Moths' Warning Sound
Insects of all types continue to amaze entomologists with their design and physiology. Cleveland Hickman, Jr., et al. stated, “insect ears are...

NEWS
Geneticist Fired for Affirming Humans Once Lived 900 Years?
Geneticist Alexander Kudryavtsev, the head of the Russian Academy of Science’s Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, has been fired, reportedly...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Solar Eclipses
Designed by Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover fun facts...