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 serpents, and the cruel venom of asps (cobras).
I am a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.
In that day Jehovah will punish with his sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword. He will slay Leviathan the fleeing, coiling serpent, the monster of the sea.
Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of Jehovah. Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through?
The people of Jerusalem say: King Nebuchadnezzar made us panic. That monster (big snake) filled up with our treasures, leaving us empty. He gobbled down what he wanted and spit out the rest.
Even the jackals of the wasteland have full breasts and give milk to their young ones. The daughter of my people has become cruel like the ostriches in the wasteland.
Say this, 'The Lord Jehovah says: I am against you Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great monster (Egypt) (Psalm 74:13,14) that lies in the midst of his rivers. You have said: 'My Nile is mine! I have made it!'
I [Micah] will lament and wail. I will go barefoot and naked. I will make a howling like the jackals, and a lamentation like 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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God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves in the waters after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
Pharaoh will say: 'Give me a sign to prove that God has sent you.' Tell Aaron: 'Take your shepherd's staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh. It will become a large snake.'
I am a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.
You crushed us in a place for jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.
You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters (Egypt's Army) in the waters.
Wild beasts will howl in her fortified towers and jackals in her luxurious temples. Her time also will soon come and her days will not be prolonged.
Its palaces are covered with thorns. Its fortresses have nettles and thistles. It will become a home for jackals and a place for ostriches.
Wild animals, jackals, and ostriches will honor me. I will provide water in the desert. I will make rivers on the dry land for my chosen people to drink.
The report has arrived. Listen! An incredible uproar is coming from the land of the north. Its army will destroy Judah's cities and make them homes for jackals.
The people of Jerusalem say: King Nebuchadnezzar made us panic. That monster (big snake) filled up with our treasures, leaving us empty. He gobbled down what he wanted and spit out the rest.
Say this, 'The Lord Jehovah says: I am against you Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great monster (Egypt) (Psalm 74:13,14) that lies in the midst of his rivers. You have said: 'My Nile is mine! I have made it!'
I [Micah] will lament and wail. I will go barefoot and naked. I will make a howling like the jackals, and a lamentation like the ostriches.
And yet I hated Esau and his descendants. I devastated Esau's hill country and abandoned his inheritance to the desert jackals.
Another sign appeared in heaven. It was a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars of heaven, and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered. He was ready to devour her child as soon as it was born.
War broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels.
The great dragon was thrown down, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was hurled down to the earth, and his angels with him.
But the earth rescued the woman, and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed up the flood that the dragon spewed out of his mouth. The dragon was furious with the woman and waged war with the remnant of her seed. These are the ones who obey 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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves in the waters after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
Their wine is the poison of serpents, and the cruel venom of asps (cobras).
You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters (Egypt's Army) in the waters.
In that day Jehovah will punish with his sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword. He will slay Leviathan the fleeing, coiling serpent, the monster of the sea.
Its palaces are covered with thorns. Its fortresses have nettles and thistles. It will become a home for jackals and a place for ostriches.
Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of Jehovah. Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over?
Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills. They sniff the wind like jackals. Their eyesight fails because they have no green plants.
Hazor will be a place where only jackals live. It will become a permanent wasteland. No one will live there. No human will stay there.
Even the jackals of the wasteland have full breasts and give milk to their young ones. The daughter of my people has become cruel like the ostriches in the wasteland.
Another sign appeared in heaven. It was a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Hastings
(1) tann
See Verses Found in Dictionary
God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves in the waters after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
Pharaoh will say: 'Give me a sign to prove that God has sent you.' Tell Aaron: 'Take your shepherd's staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh. It will become a large snake.' Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They did as Jehovah commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials. It became a large snake. read more. Then Pharaoh sent for his wise men and sorcerers. These Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic spells. Each of them threw his staff down. They all became large snakes. But Aaron's staff swallowed theirs.
Am I a sea monster that you place a guard on me?
I am a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.
You crushed us in a place for jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.
You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters (Egypt's Army) in the waters.
Wild beasts will howl in her fortified towers and jackals in her luxurious temples. Her time also will soon come and her days will not be prolonged.
Its palaces are covered with thorns. Its fortresses have nettles and thistles. It will become a home for jackals and a place for ostriches.
The parched ground will become a lake, and dry land will be filled with springs. Marsh grass and reeds will grow where jackals used to live.
Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of Jehovah. Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through?
The report has arrived. Listen! An incredible uproar is coming from the land of the north. Its army will destroy Judah's cities and make them homes for jackals.
Hazor will be a place where only jackals live. It will become a permanent wasteland. No one will live there. No human will stay there.
The people of Jerusalem say: King Nebuchadnezzar made us panic. That monster (big snake) filled up with our treasures, leaving us empty. He gobbled down what he wanted and spit out the rest.
Say this, 'The Lord Jehovah says: I am against you Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great monster (Egypt) (Psalm 74:13,14) that lies in the midst of his rivers. You have said: 'My Nile is mine! I have made it!'
Son of man, take up a cry of sorrow and grief over Pharaoh king of Egypt. Say to him: 'You compared yourself to a young lion of the nations. 'You are really like the monster in the seas. You burst forth in your rivers and muddied the waters with your feet and fouled their rivers.'
And yet I hated Esau and his descendants. I devastated Esau's hill country and abandoned his inheritance to the desert jackals.
Another sign appeared in heaven. It was a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon 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 Jehovah from the earth. Praise him, large sea creatures and all the ocean depths.
Its palaces are covered with thorns. Its fortresses have nettles and thistles. It will become a home for jackals and a place for ostriches.
The parched ground will become a lake, and dry land will be filled with springs. Marsh grass and reeds will grow where jackals used to live.
I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins. It will be a gathering place of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolation, without inhabitant.
The report has arrived. Listen! An incredible uproar is coming from the land of the north. Its army will destroy Judah's cities and make them homes for jackals.
Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.
Say this, 'The Lord Jehovah says: I am against you Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great monster (Egypt) (Psalm 74:13,14) that lies in the midst of his rivers. You have said: 'My Nile is mine! I have made it!'
Another sign appeared in heaven. It was a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
The beast I saw looked like a leopard. His feet were like the feet of a bear. His mouth was like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority.
Men worshiped the dragon that gave power to the beast. They worshiped the beast, saying: Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?
Then I saw another wild beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon.
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.
He seized the dragon, the old serpent that is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him for 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."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Pharaoh will say: 'Give me a sign to prove that God has sent you.' Tell Aaron: 'Take your shepherd's staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh. It will become a large snake.' Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They did as Jehovah commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials. It became a large snake.
Each of them threw his staff down. They all became large snakes. But Aaron's staff swallowed theirs.
Their wine is the poison of serpents, and the cruel venom of asps (cobras).
I am a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.
You crushed us in a place for jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.
You will step on lions and cobras. You will trample underfoot young lions and snakes.
Its palaces are covered with thorns. Its fortresses have nettles and thistles. It will become a home for jackals and a place for ostriches.
Wild animals, jackals, and ostriches will honor me. I will provide water in the desert. I will make rivers on the dry land for my chosen people to drink.
I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins. It will be a gathering place of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolation, without inhabitant.
Another sign appeared in heaven. It was a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars of heaven, and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered. He was ready to devour her child as soon as it was born.
War broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels.
The great dragon was thrown down, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was hurled down to the earth, and his angels with him.
But the earth rescued the woman, and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed up the flood that the dragon spewed out of his mouth. The dragon was furious with the woman and waged war with the remnant of her seed. These are the ones who obey 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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves in the waters after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of Jehovah. Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through?
Say this, 'The Lord Jehovah says: I am against you Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great monster (Egypt) (Psalm 74:13,14) that lies in the midst of his rivers. You have said: 'My Nile is mine! I have made it!'