Here are the promised links.
A fire-breathing monster in oriental myths is much less surprising if you know that spitting cobras are native to Northern Africa, that in Ancient Egypt, the protective wrath of the Sun was represented by a cobra (the Uraeus) spitting a fiery breath, and that actually, most traditional dragons are closer to oversized serpents than to our current pop-culture image of dragons.
From the Article:
"In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; and He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.” (Isa. 27:1)"
So the Bible says that Leviathan is a sea serpent. It is not clear whether or not he is supposed to be identical to the dragon.
"So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.
How interesting that the Jews would use the term “dragon” to name a landmark in the city of Jerusalem. This is more confirmation of how real these animals were."
1. Dragon is not a Hebrew word, but the English derivate of a Greek word. Also, apparently, the original Hebrew uses the less common term.
2. Many landmarks, especially mysterious or important ones (such as wells) have their legends, but this does not make those myths true. We also know the grotto Zeus was born and raised in (two of them, actually), so spread your legs for His lightning bolt!
"When he raises himself up, the mighty fear; because of the crashing they are bewildered.
Down through the ages, dragons have been sketched and painted as winged creatures who can fly about. The description here of Leviathan raising himself up with a loud ruckus easily fits the image of a dragon hoisting himself into the air with a thunderous flapping of wings."
No, many dragons lack wings. And to me, that either sounds like rearing up, the threat display of a cobra (see above), or simply the awakening of the great monster.
"His undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge."
So Leviathan slithers instead of walking. While that is consistent with traditional dragons, it does not fit with the pop-cultural dragon she wants to invoke.
