Dinosaurs in the Bible: Existence and Mention
The Bible does not directly mention dinosaurs, but it does describe creatures that some interpret as being similar to them. The book of Genesis describes the creation of various kinds of animals, including "great sea monsters" and "winged birds" (Genesis 1:21, [2]). Some interpretations suggest that these creatures could be similar to dinosaurs.
One of the most commonly cited biblical references related to dinosaurs is the description of Behemoth in Job 40:15-41:34. Behemoth is described as a massive creature with a tail like a cedar tree and bones like bronze. Some traditions interpret Behemoth as a dinosaur, possibly a sauropod [1].
The biblical account of creation in Genesis includes the instruction to Noah to take two of every kind of animal onto the ark (Genesis 6:20, [2]). This has led some to speculate about the possibility of dinosaurs being on the ark. However, the biblical text does not explicitly mention dinosaurs.
John Gill, a Baptist/Reformed commentator, interprets the "great whales" in Genesis 1:21 as referring to large sea creatures, possibly including the Leviathan [4]. Calvin, one theologian, also comments on the creation account in Genesis, but does not directly link it to dinosaurs [3].
The absence of explicit references to dinosaurs in the Bible is not surprising, given the historical and cultural context in which the biblical texts were written. The concept of dinosaurs as we understand it today is a relatively modern development, dating back to the 19th century.
Sources
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Behemoth — beasts”
- Genesis “Genesis 6:20 (BSB) — Two of every kind of bird and animal and crawling creature will come to you to be kept alive.”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 28.1: Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:1-6 1:1-31 1:2 1:28 1:29-30 2:1 2:1-25 2:15 2:19 3:1 3:1-24 3:7 3:16 4:1 4:1-26 4:7 5:1 5:1-32 6:1 6:1-22 6:11-16 7:1-24 7:11 8:1-22 9:1 9:1 9:1-29 9:2 9:24 10 10:1 10:1 10:1-32 10:21 11:1 11:1 11:1-32 11:28 12:1 12:1 12:1 12:1-20 12:4 12:4 12:6 13:1 13:1-20 14:1-24 15:1-21 15:7 16:1-16 16:2 16:8 17:1 17:1 17:1 17:1 17:1-27 18:1 18:1 18:1-33 18:19 19:1-38 20:1 20:1 20:1-18 21:1-34 21:15 22:1-24 22:18 23:1-20 24:31 25:1 25:13-16 35:7 48:1 Exodus 6:3 12:40 Leviticus 7:18 17:4 18:25 Numbers 6:2”
- Genesis (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Genesis 1:21: And God created great whales,.... Which the Targums of Jonathan and Jarchi interpret of the Leviathan and its mate, concerning which the Jews have many fabulous things: large fishes are undoubtedly meant, and the whale being of the largest sort, the word is so rendered. Aelianus, from various writers, relates many things of the extraordinary size of whales; of one in the Indian sea five times bigger than the largest elephant, one of its ribs being twenty cubits (r); from Theocles, of one that was larger than a galley with three oars (s); and from Onesicritus and Orth”