See on Job 41:1; Ps. 74:13, 14. In ancient Canaanite mythology “leviathan” was regarded as a seven-headed serpent that fought against the gods and the forces of right, and was itself thus considered a personification of the forces of evil. Ancient Canaanite texts from Ras Shamrah (see Vol. I, pp. 128, 129) speak of a seven-headed monster “Lotan,” which is believed to be the same name as the Biblical word “leviathan” (Heb. liwyathan). In the ancient Mesopotamian creation myth there was a tradition of a primeval conflict between the gods and a dragon of chaos.

 These and other legends among the heathen appear to indicate a confused but prevalent and persistent concept of Satan as a serpent engaged in a death struggle with the Seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15; cf. Rev. 12:3, 4). Job’s “leviathan” is, evidently from the context, a literal animal (Job 41), generally believed to be the crocodile. The psalmist, referring to the destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, speaks of the Lord as breaking “the heads of leviathan in pieces” (Ps. 74:13, 14). A many-headed crocodile would be a symbolic monster quite appropriate as a designation for Egypt. The crocodile flourished in the River Nile. Repeatedly in Isa. 27; 30; 31 Egypt is mentioned, and this tends to confirm the idea that “leviathan” here stands, first of all, as a symbol of Egypt.

 Compare also the “dragon” of Isa. 27:1 with that of Eze. 29:3; cf. ch. 32:2, 4.

 Revelation pictures Satan as “a great red dragon, having seven heads” (Rev. 12:3), and declares that “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon” and that “the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev. 12:7, 9). “That day” when the Lord slays “leviathan” appears to be the day when “the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity” (Isa. 26:21). Whether Isaiah’s words may be applied to Satan is uncertain.