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Giants, Dragons, and Unicorns? A Bible Monster Bestiary

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The Bible is full of towering wisdom, humbling reflection, intricate history, and magnificent poetry. But one aspect of Scripture that often gets overlooked? It’s fun.

In the spirit of “spooky season,” let’s take a look at some of the stranger elements of Bible lore: its monsters. From giants and dragons to unicorns and chaos monsters, the Bible features a menagerie of mysterious and sometimes terrifying creatures.

Scholars debate on the origins and meaning of some of these figures (and you can read more about those conversations in the bottom section on Bible Monsters in Context). But one thing’s for sure: they are intriguing, and can serve as another entry point to the wild and wonderful world of the Bible.

Here’s a list of the Bible’s fantastic beasts — and where to find them.

Giants in the Bible (Nephilim)

Giants are a common object of fascination in the Bible, as they appear often both in the Bible and in extrabiblical writings. The Book of Enoch, an influential book before and around the time of Jesus, puts them in central focus.

The Nephilim — traditionally understood as giants but probably more accurately translated as “fallen ones” — are described as a race of giants born from the union of “the sons of God” and “the daughters of men.” They are often portrayed as mighty and fearsome warriors.

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There is some speculation that Goliath may have been a descendant of the Nephilim, though the Bible never makes explicit any such connection. Likewise, some have drawn a connection to the Nephilim when Paul insists women should keep their heads covered “because of the angels” (1 Cor. 11:10) but this enigmatic phrase remains heavily disputed.

Scriptural Passages

Lilith: The Mother of Demons

Lilith does not technically appear in the Bible, although she is referenced variously in the Talmud (an important, early Jewish commentary on the Hebrew Bible) and other ancient rabbinic and extrabiblical sources. She is also a common fixture of Babylonian and Assyrian mythology.

Described as the first wife of Adam who was banished (or fled) from Eden for disobedience to him, Lilith is often portrayed as a promiscuous woman, and is frequently seen with snakes representing the serpent in Genesis 3. Sometimes known as the “Mother of Demons” or simply a night demon, she is also associated with witches and succubae.

Scriptural Passages

  • Isaiah 34:14 is the only place in the Bible where the word “Lilith” is used. Its meaning is debated, though: In some Bible versions, it’s translated with its basic Hebrew meaning of “night creature” rather than as the Mother of Demons herself.

Leviathan: A Creature Without Equal

Possibly the best-known “monster” in the Bible, Leviathan has an entire chapter centered around it (Job 41), and shows up in several other places as well.

Leviathan is a massive sea monster, undefeatable by any earthly power, which breathes fire and is protected by shieldlike scales and a jagged underbelly. It bears similarity to other Near Eastern myths such as the Canaanite Lotan and Mesopotamian Tiamat, and is closely associated with another enormous “chaos monster,” Behemoth.

Scriptural Passages

Behemoth: First Among the Works of God

Like Leviathan, Behemoth is a massive, primeval “chaos monster” created by God at the beginning of time (cf. Gen. 1:21). He is mentioned only once in the Hebrew Bible, immediately before Leviathan, though he is described in detail there (if less than the latter).

Behemoth and Leviathan, probably because of their proximity in the Book of Job, later became closely associated in Jewish folklore such as the Book of Enoch and the apocryphal 2 Esdras. The latter tells us that when God separated the land, there was no longer enough room for both monsters under the water, so Behemoth was placed in a mountainous desert, while Leviathan remained in the ocean.

Scriptural Passages

Rahab: The Arrogant Abyss

Not to be confused with the woman of Jericho who received Joshua’s spies (Josh. 2:1), this Rahab is another chaos monster. Like Leviathan, Rahab lives underwater, and it’s sometimes unclear whether the two names actually refer to the same beast. As time went on, though, Rahab seems to have taken on her own legend.

Her name became synonymous not only with arrogance, pride, and insolence, but also with the Abyss itself, and is often translated with those words in English Bibles.

Scriptural Passages

Ziz: All That Moves

When it comes to chaos monsters of the Bible, Ziz often flies under the radar. He is actually mentioned twice in the Bible, but you wouldn’t know it; like Rahab, his name has taken on a more general meaning as “all that moves” (although, frankly, it’s hard to get a more epic monster name than “All That Moves”).

Though little known today, in traditional Jewish mythology Ziz was considered the third counterpart of Leviathan and Behemoth, ruling the air as they ruled the water and land, respectively. It was said that his wingspan could blot out the sun and darken the sky.

Scriptural Passages

Pit Locusts: Abaddon’s Chimeras

Perhaps the most frightening description of any creature in the Bible is actually a lesser-known one: the “pit locusts” from the Book of Revelation.

Emerging from the smoke arising from a bottomless pit with a sound like horses and chariots rushing to battle, these creepy critters have human faces, women’s hair, lions’ teeth, scales like iron, and tails like scorpions that can torment people for months without killing them. They are led by Abaddon, the angel of the Abyss.

Not your average honey-dippers.

Scriptural Passages

Unicorns: Wait, Unicorns?

Are there unicorns in the Bible?

Not exactly.

The translators of the King James Version were unfamiliar with the Hebrew word re’em and followed Jerome’s Vulgate by interpolating “unicorn.” In fact, the term — which occurs six times in the Bible, usually as a simile illustrating God’s strength — simply means a “horned animal” and probably refers to the aurochs or wild ox, a large, bovine land mammal that’s now extinct.

Scriptural Passages (KJV only)

Dragons: Serpents, Sea Monsters, and Satan

Dragons appear very frequently in the Bible — or only in a single book, depending on which version you’re reading. It’s a bit convoluted, but serves as an instructive example of how theology influences Bible translation.

The English word “dragon” comes from the Greek drakon. The word originally meant simply “snake” or “serpent” but became associated specifically with large, mythical serpents — both in pagan Greek writers and, in the Septuagint, as a translation for the Hebrew word tannîn (which can also mean “serpent” as well as “sea monster”).

Then, because of its use in the Book of Revelation, drakon became associated with Satan and/or the Antichrist — which was then read back into many of the Hebrew references to serpents throughout the Old Testament.

Today, some English Bible versions (e.g., KJV, NRSVUE, NLT, NABRE) still translate tannîn as “dragon” to solidify those Old Testament connections and possibly identify them with Satan. Others stick with a more literal “sea monster” or “serpent” to reflect the original meaning of the word, leaving their relationship to Satan ambiguous.

Either way, the dragon(s) of the Bible are much more varied than the scaled, fire-breathing monsters that they inspired, and which have become common in modern fantasy. Depending on your interpretation, they can be anything from snakelike serpents to chaos monsters to fallen angels and more.

Scriptural References: Tannîn

Scriptural References: Drakon

Angels and Demons

Angels and demons in the Bible deserve an article all their own, but they’re worth mentioning here because their descriptions are typically awesome, fearsome, or both. In fact, the line between angels and demons (and dragons) isn’t always clear, since many (if not all) demons apparently began as angels.

Want to get to know some of the wildest ones? There’s a board game for that.

Scriptural References

  • So many, but Ezekiel 1 is a good place to start

Bible Monsters in Context: Comparisons with Ancient Mythologies

Aside from entertainment value, it can be difficult for modern readers to know what to make of all these strange creatures. Did they actually exist? Do they still? If not, why are they in the Bible? Most importantly — whether real or symbolic — what purpose do they serve?

While there are a lot of different theories and approaches to those questions that we don’t have space to go into, one of the best ways to understand the inclusion of these creatures is in the context of ancient Near Eastern mythology, which the writers of the Hebrew Bible were very much aware of.

To understand ancient mythology, though, requires a dramatic shift in perspective.

What Is Mythology?

Today we often understand “myth” to mean something that fundamentally isn’t true. But in the ancient world, where the unseen spiritual realm was much more urgent and palpable, it wasn’t that simple.

The question of whether something was “literally” true didn’t enter into their thinking in the way it does our own, which has been heavily influenced by an empirical, scientific worldview.

For the ancients, the much more important question was: what does it tell us about God (or in many societies, the gods), the world, and ourselves?

So instead of asking if these monsters are “real,” let’s put ourselves in the place of the ancients and ask, what do they tell us about God’s order?

What’s a Chaos Monster?

Leviathan, Behemoth, Rahab, Ziz, and in most cases dragons all belong to a mythological class of being called a “chaos monster.” All of these creatures existed in some form in Near Eastern (e.g., Babylonian, Sumerian, or Assyrian) mythology — sometimes with the same name, sometimes slightly different.

In most of these cultures, chaos monsters represented the most unhinged parts of reality: those fearsome, destructive forces completely beyond our understanding or control — and possibly even beyond the gods’. (Compare Godzilla or H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu, for modern examples.)

Chaos Monsters in the Bible

In the Bible, of course, chaos monsters are not beyond God’s control: Genesis specifies that he created them. But this too serves an important purpose: it shows how great and mighty God is. If these incomprehensible cosmic forces were themselves created by God, how much greater must he be?

This is in fact how the chaos monsters appear in the Bible. Nearly every verse listed above refers either to God creating or destroying the monster. In the long passages from Job, God explicitly uses Behemoth and Leviathan as examples of his unfathomable power.

Such passages are meant doubly to inspire humility in the face of our own insignificance before God — and to provide comfort that, as both Job and the Psalmist express in wonder, “What are human beings that you care for them?” (Job 7:17; Psalm 8:4, 144:3)

Conclusion: Giants, Monsters, and Demons — Oh My

Bible monsters provide a fun and different way to engage with God’s Word — and a valuable reminder that Scripture is full not only of practical wisdom and important theology — but also of strange, unfathomable mysteries.

Whatever you might personally believe about these creatures, their presence in the Bible is no accident. Like Job, considering beasts like Behemoth and Leviathan can give you a compelling backdoor to appreciating the wonder and majesty of God and his creation that we inhabit.

Research for this post came mostly from the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, a behind-the-scenes tour of the ancient world of the Bible, available in hardcopy and included as part of Bible Gateway Plus. Try Bible Gateway Plus free for 14 days and find dozens of resources to deepen your knowledge and engagement with the Bible — all for less than a pack of highlighters.

Jacob Edson headshot

Jacob is Editorial Director of Bible Gateway. He holds a Master of Theological Studies in Early Christian Thought from Harvard Divinity School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious History from Memorial University of Newfoundland, though with most of his coursework from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. His work has appeared in Ekstasis and in Geez Magazine's "Embracing Darkness" Advent devotional.

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