Reference: Dragon
American
Answers, in the English Bible, the Hebrew word signifying a sea-monster, huge serpent, etc. Thus in De 32:33; Jer 51:34; Re 12, it evidently implies a huge serpent; in Isa 27:1; 51:9; Eze 29:3, it may mean the crocodile, or any large sea-monster; while in Job 30:29; La 4:3; Mic 1:8, it seems to refer to some wild animal of the desert, most probably the jackal. The animal known to modern naturalists under the name of dragon, is a harmless species of lizard, found in Asia and Africa.
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Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel gall of asps.
But now I am a companion of dragons, and a fellow of ostriches.
In that day, the LORD with his heavy, great, and long sword shall visit Leviathan that fugitive serpent: even Leviathan that crooked serpent, and shall slay the dragon in the sea.
Wake up, wake up, and be strong: O thou arm of the LORD: wake up, like as in times past, ever, and since the world began.
'Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured and destroyed me, he hath made me an empty vessel. He swallowed me up like a dragon, and filled his belly with my delicates: he hath cast me out.
{Gimel} The Dragons give their young ones suck with bare breasts: but the daughter of my people is cruel, and dwelleth in the wilderness like the Ostriches.
Speak, and tell him, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Behold, O Pharaoh thou king of Egypt, I will upon thee, thou great dragon that liest in the waters; thou that sayest, 'The water is mine; I have made it myself.'
Wherefore I will mourn and make lamentation, bare and naked will I go: I must mourn like the dragons, and take sorrow as the ostriches:
Easton
(1.) Heb tannim, plural of tan. The name of some unknown creature inhabiting desert places and ruins (Job 30:29; Ps 44:19; Isa 13:22; 34:13; 43:20; Jer 10:22; Mic 1:8; Mal 1:3); probably, as translated in the Revised Version, the jackal (q.v.).
(2.) Heb tannin. Some great sea monster (Jer 51:34 it may denote the crocodile. In Ge 1:21 (Heb plural tanninim) the Authorized Version renders "whales," and the Revised Version "sea monsters." It is rendered "serpent" in Ex 7:9. It is used figuratively in Ps 74:13; Eze 29:3.
In the New Testament the word "dragon" is found only in Re 12:3-4,7,9,16-17, etc., and is there used metaphorically of "Satan." (See Whale.)
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And God created great whales and all manner of creatures that live and move, which the waters brought forth in their kinds, and all manner of feathered fowls in their kinds. And God saw that it was good:
"When Pharaoh speaketh unto you and sayeth, 'Show a wonder,' then shalt thou say unto Aaron, 'Take the rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall turn to a serpent.'"
But now I am a companion of dragons, and a fellow of ostriches.
no, not when thou hast smitten us into the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death
Thou dividest the sea through thy power, thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
the little owls shall cry in the palaces, one after another, and Dragons shall be in their pleasant parlors. And as for Babylon's time, it is at hand, and her days shall not be prolonged.
Thorns shall grow in their palaces, nettles and thistles in their strongholds; that the dragons may have their pleasure therein, and that they may be a court for Ostriches.
The wild beasts shall worship me: the dragon, and the Ostrich. For I shall give water in the wilderness, and streams in the desert: that I may give drink to my people, whom I choose.
Behold, the noise is hard at hand, and great sedition out of the north: to make the cities of Judah a wilderness, and a dwelling place for dragons.
'Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured and destroyed me, he hath made me an empty vessel. He swallowed me up like a dragon, and filled his belly with my delicates: he hath cast me out.
Speak, and tell him, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Behold, O Pharaoh thou king of Egypt, I will upon thee, thou great dragon that liest in the waters; thou that sayest, 'The water is mine; I have made it myself.'
Wherefore I will mourn and make lamentation, bare and naked will I go: I must mourn like the dragons, and take sorrow as the ostriches:
and hated Esau: Yea I have made his hills waste, and his heritage a wilderness for dragons."
And there appeared another wonder in heaven, for behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads: and his tail drew the third part of the stars, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman, which was ready to be delivered: for to devour her child as soon as it were born.
And there was great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and the dragon fought and his angels,
And the great dragon, that old serpent called the devil and Satan; Was cast out. Which deceiveth all the world. And he was cast into the earth, and his angels were cast out also.
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman: and went and made war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Fausets
Tannin, tan. Tan in Jer 14:6, "dragons" "snuffing up the wind" is translated by Henderson jackals; rather the great boas and python serpents are meant, which raise their body vertically ten or twelve feet high, surveying the neighborhood above the bushes, while with open jaws they drink in the air. They were made types of the deluge and all destructive agencies; hence the dragon temples are placed near water in Asia, Africa, and Britain, e.g. that of Abury in Wiltshire. The ark is often associated with it, as the preserver from the waters. The dragon temples are serpentine in form; dragon standards were used in Egypt and Babylon, and among the widely-scattered Celts.
Apollo's slaying Python is the Greek legend implying the triumph of light over darkness and evil. The tannin are any great monsters, whether of land or sea, trans. Ge 1:21 "great sea monsters." So (La 4:3) "even sea monsters (tannin) draw out the breast," alluding to the mammalia which sometimes visit the Mediterranean, or the halichore cow whale of the Red Sea. Large whales do not often frequent the Mediterranean, which was the sea that the Israelites knew; they apply "sea" to the Nile and Euphrates, and so apply "tannin" to the crocodile, their horror in Egypt, as also to the large serpents which they saw in the desert. "The dragon in the sea," which Jehovah shall punish in the day of Israel's deliverance, is Antichrist, the antitype to Babylon on the Euphrates' waters (Isa 27:1).
In Ps 74:13, "Thou brokest the heads of the dragons in the waters," Egypt's princes and Pharaoh are poetically represented hereby, just as crocodiles are the monarchs of the Nile waters. So (Isa 51:9-10) the crocodile is the emblem of Egypt and its king on coins of Augustus struck after the conquest of Egypt. "A habitation of dragons" expresses utter desolation, as venomous snakes abound in ruins of ancient cities (De 32:33; Jer 49:33; Isa 34:13). In the New Testament it symbolizes Satan the old serpent (Genesis 3), combining gigantic strength with craft, malignity, and venom (Re 12:3). The dragon's color, "red," fiery red, implies that he was a murderer from the beginning.
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And God created great whales and all manner of creatures that live and move, which the waters brought forth in their kinds, and all manner of feathered fowls in their kinds. And God saw that it was good:
Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel gall of asps.
Thou dividest the sea through thy power, thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
In that day, the LORD with his heavy, great, and long sword shall visit Leviathan that fugitive serpent: even Leviathan that crooked serpent, and shall slay the dragon in the sea.
Thorns shall grow in their palaces, nettles and thistles in their strongholds; that the dragons may have their pleasure therein, and that they may be a court for Ostriches.
Wake up, wake up, and be strong: O thou arm of the LORD: wake up, like as in times past, ever, and since the world began. Art not thou he, that hast wounded that proud Egypt, and hewn the dragon in pieces? Art not thou even he, which hast dried up the deep of the sea, which hast made plain the sea ground, that the delivered might go through?
The wild Asses shall stand in the Moss, and draw in their wind like the Dragons, their eyes shall fail for want of grass."
Hazor also shall be a dwelling for Dragons, and an everlasting wilderness: so that nobody shall dwell there, and no man shall have there his habitation."
{Gimel} The Dragons give their young ones suck with bare breasts: but the daughter of my people is cruel, and dwelleth in the wilderness like the Ostriches.
And there appeared another wonder in heaven, for behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads:
Hastings
(1) tann
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And God created great whales and all manner of creatures that live and move, which the waters brought forth in their kinds, and all manner of feathered fowls in their kinds. And God saw that it was good:
"When Pharaoh speaketh unto you and sayeth, 'Show a wonder,' then shalt thou say unto Aaron, 'Take the rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall turn to a serpent.'" Then went Moses and Aaron in unto Pharaoh, and did even as the LORD had commanded. And Aaron cast forth his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it turned to a serpent. read more. Then Pharaoh called for the wise men, and enchanters of Egypt did in like manner with their sorcery. And they cast down every man his rod, and they turned to serpents; but Aaron's rod ate up their rods.
Am I a sea, or a whalefish, that thou keepest me so in prison?
But now I am a companion of dragons, and a fellow of ostriches.
no, not when thou hast smitten us into the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death
Thou dividest the sea through thy power, thou breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
the little owls shall cry in the palaces, one after another, and Dragons shall be in their pleasant parlors. And as for Babylon's time, it is at hand, and her days shall not be prolonged.
Thorns shall grow in their palaces, nettles and thistles in their strongholds; that the dragons may have their pleasure therein, and that they may be a court for Ostriches.
The dry ground shall turn to rivers, and the thirsty to springs of water. Whereas dragons dwelt afore, there shall grow sweet flowers and green rushes.
Wake up, wake up, and be strong: O thou arm of the LORD: wake up, like as in times past, ever, and since the world began.
Behold, the noise is hard at hand, and great sedition out of the north: to make the cities of Judah a wilderness, and a dwelling place for dragons.
Hazor also shall be a dwelling for Dragons, and an everlasting wilderness: so that nobody shall dwell there, and no man shall have there his habitation."
'Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured and destroyed me, he hath made me an empty vessel. He swallowed me up like a dragon, and filled his belly with my delicates: he hath cast me out.
Speak, and tell him, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Behold, O Pharaoh thou king of Egypt, I will upon thee, thou great dragon that liest in the waters; thou that sayest, 'The water is mine; I have made it myself.'
"Thou son of man, take up a lamentation upon Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and say unto him, 'Thou art reputed as a Lion of the Heathen, and as a whalefish in the sea. Thou castest thy waters about thee, thou troublest the waters with thy feet, and stampest in their floods.
and hated Esau: Yea I have made his hills waste, and his heritage a wilderness for dragons."
And there appeared another wonder in heaven, for behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads:
Morish
tannin, ??????. It may signify any great serpent or sea monster, symbolical of a huge destructive creature. Nations doomed to destruction and desolation, including Jerusalem, are said to become habitations of dragons. Isa 34:13; 35:7; Jer 9:11; 10:22; 51:37. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is called the great dragon. Eze 29:3. As one of God's creatures the dragon is called upon to praise Jehovah. Ps 148:7. In the N.T. the dragon is a type of Satan and those energised by him. In Re 12:3 the "great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns," is symbolical of Satan's power in the form of the Roman empire: it endeavoured, in the person of Herod, to destroy Christ when born. In Re 13:2,4 it is Satan who gives the resuscitated Roman empire in a future day its throne and great authority. In Re 13:11 the Antichrist, who has two horns like a lamb, speaks as a dragon. In Re 16:13 it is Satan, and in Re 20:2 he is described as "that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan."
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Praise the LORD upon earth, ye dragons, and all deeps;
Thorns shall grow in their palaces, nettles and thistles in their strongholds; that the dragons may have their pleasure therein, and that they may be a court for Ostriches.
The dry ground shall turn to rivers, and the thirsty to springs of water. Whereas dragons dwelt afore, there shall grow sweet flowers and green rushes.
I will make Jerusalem also a heap of stones, and a den of venomous worms. And I will make the cities of Judah so waste, that no man shall dwell therein."
Behold, the noise is hard at hand, and great sedition out of the north: to make the cities of Judah a wilderness, and a dwelling place for dragons.
Babylon shall become a heap of stones, a dwelling place for dragons, a fearfulness and wondering, because no man dwelleth there.
Speak, and tell him, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Behold, O Pharaoh thou king of Egypt, I will upon thee, thou great dragon that liest in the waters; thou that sayest, 'The water is mine; I have made it myself.'
And there appeared another wonder in heaven, for behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads:
And the beast which I saw, was like a cat of the mountain, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his seat, and great authority:
and they worshipped the dragon, which gave power unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, "Who is like unto the beast? who is able to war with him?"
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as did the dragon.
And I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
And he took the dragon, that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and he bound him a thousand years:
Smith
Dragon.
The translators of the Authorized Version, apparently following the Vulgate, have rendered by the same word "dragon" the two Hebrew words tan and tannin, which appear to be quite distinct in meaning.
1. The former is used, always in the plural, in
Job 30:29; Ps 44:19; Isa 34:13; 43:20; Jer 9:11
It is always applied to some creatures inhabiting the desert, and we should conclude from this that it refers rather to some wild beast than to a serpent. The syriac renders it by a word which, according to Pococke, means a "jackal."
2. The word tannin seems to refer to any great monster, whether of the land or the sea, being indeed more usually applied to some kind of serpent or reptile, but not exclusively restricted to that sense.
Ex 7:9-10,12; De 32:33; Ps 91:13
In the New Testament it is found only in the Apocalypse,
etc., as applied metaphorically to "the old serpent, called the devil, and Satan."
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"When Pharaoh speaketh unto you and sayeth, 'Show a wonder,' then shalt thou say unto Aaron, 'Take the rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall turn to a serpent.'" Then went Moses and Aaron in unto Pharaoh, and did even as the LORD had commanded. And Aaron cast forth his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it turned to a serpent.
And they cast down every man his rod, and they turned to serpents; but Aaron's rod ate up their rods.
Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel gall of asps.
But now I am a companion of dragons, and a fellow of ostriches.
no, not when thou hast smitten us into the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death
Thou shalt go upon the Lion and Adder, the young Lion and the Dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet.
Thorns shall grow in their palaces, nettles and thistles in their strongholds; that the dragons may have their pleasure therein, and that they may be a court for Ostriches.
The wild beasts shall worship me: the dragon, and the Ostrich. For I shall give water in the wilderness, and streams in the desert: that I may give drink to my people, whom I choose.
I will make Jerusalem also a heap of stones, and a den of venomous worms. And I will make the cities of Judah so waste, that no man shall dwell therein."
And there appeared another wonder in heaven, for behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads: and his tail drew the third part of the stars, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman, which was ready to be delivered: for to devour her child as soon as it were born.
And there was great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and the dragon fought and his angels,
And the great dragon, that old serpent called the devil and Satan; Was cast out. Which deceiveth all the world. And he was cast into the earth, and his angels were cast out also.
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman: and went and made war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Watsons
DRAGON. This word is frequently to be met with in our English translation of the Bible. It answers generally to the Hebrew ??, ????, ????; and these words are variously rendered dragons, serpents, sea- monsters, and whales. The Rev. James Hurdis, in a dissertation relative to this subject, observes, that the word translated "whales," in Ge 1:21, occurs twenty-seven times in Scripture; and he attempts, with much ingenuity, to prove that it every where signifies the crocodile. That it sometimes has this meaning, he thinks is clear from Eze 29:3: "Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers." For, to what could a king of Egypt be more properly compared than the crocodile? The same argument he draws from Isa 51:9: "Art thou not he that hath cut Rahab, [Egypt,] and wounded the dragon?" Among the ancients the crocodile was the symbol of Egypt, and appears so on Roman coins. Some however have thought the hippopotamus intended; others, one of the larger species of serpents.
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And God created great whales and all manner of creatures that live and move, which the waters brought forth in their kinds, and all manner of feathered fowls in their kinds. And God saw that it was good:
Wake up, wake up, and be strong: O thou arm of the LORD: wake up, like as in times past, ever, and since the world began.
Speak, and tell him, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Behold, O Pharaoh thou king of Egypt, I will upon thee, thou great dragon that liest in the waters; thou that sayest, 'The water is mine; I have made it myself.'