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Sea-Monsters in the Hebrew Bible Associated with Leviathan

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Sea-Monsters in the Hebrew Bible Associated with Leviathan i ABSTRACT Leviathan and the other sea-monsters in the Hebrew Bible have been a source of dissension amongst biblical scholars. Evidently, no consensus exists amongst them on how to translate the Hebrew words referring to these mythical monsters. Therefore, a tendency developed amongst exegetes to transfigure these mythical beasts into ordinary animals, to translate them in a vague and general way or to interpret them as mere symbols. This study, therefore, investigates ways in which the assumed existence of mythical creatures in the OT are denied, identified, or rejected. To gain a better understanding of the nature and function of these mythical creatures in the OT, similar creatures in the Ancient Near East (ANE) have been examined with a focus on sea-monsters and dragons associated with the primeval sea. These findings propose not only a more distinct epitome of Leviathan, but also of other monsters associated with the primeval waters as דָ ג גָד֔ ֹול tanninim), behemoth and the) תַּ נִּינִּ ִ֖ם ,depicted in the OT. These are Rahab (Jonah’s big fish). It was concluded that when these beasts are interpreted in the light of the magico-mythical cosmology of the ANE and the OT, they should be seen as mythical creatures, assumed to be real by the ancient audience of the biblical text. When striving for fidelity to and loyalty with regard to both the text and the current reader, any translation should, therefore, present the foreignness of these monsters or dragons to the contemporary reader. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 – THE PROBLEM OF SEAMONSTERS IN THE OT ....................... 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1.2 REASONS FOR MISIDENTIFYING MYTHICAL CREATURES IN THE OT 2 1.2.1 Fundamentalist reasons ........................................................................ 2 1.2.2 Insufficient appreciation of the magico-mythical cosmology of the OT .. 3 1.2.3 A specific view of monotheism .............................................................. 3 1.3 WAYS OF DENIAL OF MYTHICAL CREATURES IN THE OT ................... 4 1.3.1 Identifying the animal as a real and known animal ................................ 4 1.3.2 Interpreting the description as mytho-poetic .......................................... 5 1.4 PURPOSE AND AIMS................................................................................. 5 1.4.1 How large sea-monsters should be interpreted ..................................... 6 1.4.2 To investigate of the nature of mythical creatures in ANE ..................... 6 1.4.3 To examine the fidelity of translations and interpretation ....................... 6 1.5 CHAPTER DIVISION................................................................................... 6 1.5.1 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................... 7 1.5.2 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................... 7 1.5.3 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................... 7 1.5.4 Chapter 5 ............................................................................................... 7 1.5.5 Chapter 6 ............................................................................................... 8 1.5.6 Chapter 7 ............................................................................................... 8 1.5.7 Chapter 8 ............................................................................................... 8 1.5.8 Chapter 9 ............................................................................................... 9 1.5.9 Chapter 10 ............................................................................................. 9 CHAPTER 2 - METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 10 iii 2.1 OVERVIEW OF APPROACH .................................................................... 10 2.1.1 Gadamer’s fusion of horizons .............................................................. 13 2.1.2 Scholarly reflections on Gadamer’s fusion of horizons ........................ 17 2.1.3 Expanded views on Gadamer’s hermeneutics .................................... 18 2.2 PROBLEMS WHEN TRANSLATING PROBLEMATIC SECTIONS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT .......................................................................................... 20 2.2.1 Formal equivalence ............................................................................. 21 2.2.2 Functional equivalence ........................................................................ 21 2.3 PROBLEMS WITH TRANSLATIONS ........................................................ 23 2.3.1 Formal equivalence ............................................................................. 23 2.3.2 Functional equivalence ........................................................................ 24 2.3.3 Translation as “falsification” ................................................................. 26 2.3.4 Translatorial gatekeeping .................................................................... 27 2.4 POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO TRANSLATIONAL OBSTACLES ................ 31 2.4.1 Skopos theory ..................................................................................... 31 2.4.2 Principle of necessary precision .......................................................... 33 2.4.3 The concept of ‘translatorial action’ ..................................................... 34 2.4.4 Relevance theory................................................................................. 34 2.4.5 Foreignisation ...................................................................................... 34 2.4.6 Fidelity ................................................................................................. 36 2.4.7 Loyalty ................................................................................................. 37 2.4.8 Other insights into translational obstacles ........................................... 37 2.5 TYPE OF DATA USED.............................................................................. 39 2.6 LIMITATIONS TO THIS STUDY ................................................................ 39 2.7 DELIMITATIONS ....................................................................................... 40 2.8 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................... 41 iv IN THE OT ....................... 43 יָם CHAPTER 3 - PRIMEVAL SEA IN THE ANE AND 3.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 43 3.2 THE PRIMEVAL SEA/WATERS IN THE ANE ASSOCIATED WITH SEA MONSTERS .................................................................................................... 44 3.2.1 Mesopotamia ....................................................................................... 45 3.2.2 Egypt ................................................................................................... 46 3.2.3 Greek mythology ................................................................................. 49 3.2.4 Ugarit ................................................................................................... 50 3.2.5 Concluding remarks on the primeval waters in the ANE ...................... 51 3.3 THE PRIMEVAL SEA/WATERS IN THE HEBREW BIBLE ....................... 53 sea) ................................................................................................ 55) יָם 3.3.1 tehom) ....................................................................................... 59) תְ הֹום 3.3.2 3.4 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................... 60 CHAPTER 4 - SEA-MONSTERS IN THE ANE ................................................... 62 4.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 62 4.2 DEMONS ................................................................................................... 63 4.3 MONSTERS .............................................................................................. 66 4.3.1 Monsters in Greek mythology .............................................................. 66 4.3.2 Monsters in Egyptian mythology .......................................................... 69 4.3.3 Monsters in Mesopotamia ................................................................... 69 4.3.4 Monsters in Ugarit ............................................................................... 71 4.4 SEA-MONSTERS IN THE ANE ................................................................. 71 4.4.1 Extraordinarily large in size and paranormally (and godly) powerful ... 71 4.4.2 Serpent-like bodies with multiple monstrous heads ............................. 72 4.4.3 Fashioned in strange combinations ..................................................... 72 v 4.5 DRAGONS ................................................................................................ 72 4.6 SERPENTS ............................................................................................... 74 4.7 SEA-MONSTERS IN THE ANE ................................................................. 76 4.7.1 Sea-monsters in Egypt ........................................................................ 76 4.7.2 Sea-monsters in Greece ...................................................................... 78 4.7.3 Sea-monsters in
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