Job Chapter 41
God, Job, and Leviathan
A. Contending with Leviathan
1. Job 41:1–7, Mankind is helpless against Leviathan
“Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?
Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?”
The Lord now turns Job’s attention from Behemoth in Job 40 to another creature of overwhelming strength and terror, Leviathan. The structure of the passage is a series of rhetorical questions, designed not to solicit information, but to expose limitation. God does not argue with Job philosophically, He confronts him with reality. The interrogation is relentless. Can you capture him, restrain him, domesticate him, negotiate with him, commercialize him, or destroy him? The answer to each is self evident, no.
The mention of Leviathan is not new in this book. Earlier Job had spoken of those “that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning” in Job 3:8. There the imagery assumes that Leviathan was regarded as a terrifying sea creature whose agitation symbolized chaos and dread. Yet in Job 41, the Lord speaks of Leviathan not as myth, but as a real and fearsome creature within His created order. The tone is concrete, not poetic fantasy. God presents Leviathan as an objective demonstration of human weakness.
The name Leviathan means twisting one. The term appears in several other significant passages of Scripture. Psalm 74:12–14 declares, “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.” This connects Leviathan with a sea serpent subdued by divine power.
Psalm 104:26 states, “There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.” Here Leviathan is described as a creature formed by God and subject to Him.
Isaiah 27:1 looks forward prophetically and declares, “In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.” The language unmistakably identifies Leviathan with a serpent and dragon figure that will ultimately be judged by God.
Isaiah 51:9 says, “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?” Likewise Psalm 89:8–10 proclaims, “O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.” Rahab in this context is not the woman of Jericho, but a poetic name meaning proud one, associated with a sea dragon subdued by divine might.
Job 26:12–13 earlier affirmed, “He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.” These passages together establish a biblical pattern. Leviathan is portrayed as a mighty, serpent like sea creature, and in prophetic contexts it becomes emblematic of rebellious cosmic evil that only God can defeat.
Interpretations of Leviathan have varied. Some identify him with a powerful crocodile, which fits certain physical descriptions later in the chapter. Others suggest a now extinct reptilian creature remembered in early human history. Whatever the zoological identification, the theological function remains fixed. Leviathan represents a realm of strength and terror completely beyond human mastery.
The repeated question, can you, exposes the frailty of man. Can you draw him out with a hook? Can you pierce his jaw? Can you make him submit, negotiate, serve, entertain, or be sold in the marketplace? The answer is uniformly negative. This is not a creature that can be domesticated or commercialized. He cannot be reduced to a pet, a slave, or a commodity.
The spiritual implications are weighty. Scripture consistently portrays Satan as a serpent and dragon. Genesis 3 introduces him as the serpent. Revelation 12:9 declares, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” Revelation 13 continues that dragon imagery. While Job 41 does not explicitly name Satan, the serpent and dragon symbolism throughout Scripture makes the association theologically suggestive.
Job could not conquer Leviathan. He could not restrain him or defend himself against him by his own strength. In the same way, Job could not defend himself against Satan when God allowed him to be tested. The adversary was beyond his ability to manage. Only the Lord can subdue such power.
The Lord’s method is direct and humbling. He does not explain the heavenly council scene of Job 1 and 2. He does not reveal the dialogue between Himself and Satan. Instead, He confronts Job with reality. You are not sovereign. You are not omnipotent. You cannot even control a single creature within My creation.
Thus the lesson presses upon Job’s conscience. If he cannot master Leviathan, how can he contend with the Creator of Leviathan? The issue is not merely zoological curiosity. It is theological perspective. God alone possesses the power to create, govern, and ultimately destroy such forces.
This section therefore establishes two foundational truths. First, man is limited, finite, and powerless before certain realities within God’s creation. Second, God alone is sovereign over forces that terrify humanity. Leviathan is not autonomous. He exists because God made him, and he is subject to God’s authority.
Job is being brought, not to humiliation for humiliation’s sake, but to reverent submission. The repeated divine challenge, can you, is intended to bring Job to the only safe conclusion, I cannot, but God can.
2. Job 41:8–11, If mankind cannot overpower Leviathan, it cannot hope to overpower God
“Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?
Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.”
The Lord now presses the argument further. The earlier questions exposed man’s inability to capture or domesticate Leviathan. Here the command is almost ironic, lay thine hand upon him. Go ahead, engage him, if you think yourself capable. Remember the battle. You will not attempt it again. The implication is unmistakable. The confrontation would be so decisive and so humiliating that the lesson would be permanent.
“Behold, the hope of him is in vain.” Any expectation of subduing Leviathan is false hope. The mere sight of him is enough to overwhelm a man. This is not a creature to be trifled with. He is beyond human intimidation. “None is so fierce that dare stir him up.” Even the boldest warrior would hesitate.
Then comes the decisive theological turn. “Who then is able to stand before me?” If no man can stand before Leviathan, how much less before the Creator of Leviathan. The argument moves from the lesser to the greater. Leviathan is only a creature. God is the sovereign Lord. If Job cannot contend with a creature, he certainly cannot contend with the Creator.
The Lord adds another dimension. “Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him?” The word prevented here carries the idea of preceding or obligating. Who has given to God first, placing Him under obligation? This anticipates the later apostolic declaration in Romans 11:35, “Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?” God is never indebted to man. He owes nothing.
This addresses the underlying issue in Job’s complaint. Job had desired a hearing with God, almost as though he might press a case against Him. But God reminds him that divine justice does not operate on human indebtedness. The Lord is not accountable to His creatures in the way creatures are accountable to Him. “Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.” Absolute ownership implies absolute sovereignty.
Psalm 24:1 affirms the same truth, “The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Likewise Psalm 50:10–12 declares, “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.”
God’s dominion over Leviathan is therefore not merely physical but moral. If Leviathan in the broader scriptural symbolism reflects chaotic or even satanic power, then God’s mastery over him demonstrates that evil itself is not autonomous. It is permitted, limited, and ultimately judged by divine authority. Job could not overpower Leviathan, and he certainly could not overpower God. The proper posture is reverent submission, not litigation.
B. The Description of Leviathan
1. Job 41:12–17, The limbs and skin of Leviathan
“I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.
Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle?
Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.
His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.”
Having established the theological point, the Lord now elaborates the physical description. “I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.” God openly displays the creature’s strength and symmetry. Leviathan is not a deformed accident of nature. He possesses proportion and design. Even in his terror, there is order.
“Who can discover the face of his garment?” This refers to his outer covering, his protective layer. No man can strip away his armor. “Who can come to him with his double bridle?” The image is of restraint, like placing a bridle in a horse’s mouth. Leviathan cannot be harnessed.
“Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.” The language is vivid. The mouth is described as doors, guarded by terrible teeth. Approaching him means facing a ring of destructive power. The imagery fits well with a massive reptilian predator.
“His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.” The armor like scales are interlocked. “One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.” This is defensive perfection. The scales form an impenetrable barrier. “They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.” No separation, no weak point, no vulnerable seam.
Many interpreters identify this description with a crocodile, whose armored hide and fearsome jaws fit the imagery. Whether crocodile or a more ancient reptilian creature, the emphasis is not taxonomy but invincibility. Leviathan is constructed with defensive integrity.
There is also a practical spiritual application in the imagery of joined scales. Strength comes from unity. Just as the scales are inseparably joined, so the people of God are called to stand fast together. Ecclesiastes 4:12 teaches, “And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” The interlocking scales illustrate collective strength.
Yet the primary purpose remains theological. The more formidable Leviathan appears, the more evident Job’s weakness becomes. If this creature is so well defended, so fearsome, so unapproachable, then what folly it would be for a man to presume to challenge the God who designed him.
2. Job 41:18–21, Fearful emanations from Leviathan
“By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.”
The imagery now intensifies beyond naturalistic description. “By his neesings a light doth shine.” The creature is depicted as radiating brilliance. His eyes are “like the eyelids of the morning,” suggesting blazing brightness like the first rays of dawn piercing darkness. This is not merely strength, it is terrifying splendor.
“Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.” The language unmistakably evokes fire breathing. “Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.” The comparison is to a boiling vessel sending up vapor and heat. “His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.” The repetition reinforces the point. This is a creature associated with combustion, heat, and destructive energy.
For those who interpret Leviathan strictly as a crocodile, this section presents difficulty. The imagery appears to exceed ordinary zoology. Some conclude the description is poetic exaggeration. Others suggest that the Lord is drawing from ancient memory of reptilian creatures whose appearance inspired dragon traditions across cultures. The universality of dragon imagery in ancient civilizations is at least suggestive that something in early human experience gave rise to such motifs.
Regardless of precise identification, the theological function is clear. Leviathan embodies overwhelming and destructive power. He is not only armored and strong, he is fearfully radiant and consuming. The fire imagery also deepens the symbolic association with Satan. Revelation 12:3 describes “a great red dragon,” and Revelation 20:2 identifies him as “that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan.” The dragon motif in Scripture is not incidental.
Leviathan’s fiery emanations therefore serve both as a vivid description and as a theological pointer. Job is confronted with a being whose presence alone is overwhelming. The creature does not merely resist attack, he radiates destructive force. If Job cannot master such a being, he certainly cannot challenge the One who formed him.
3. Job 41:22–34, The might of Leviathan
“In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.”
The Lord now completes the portrait. “In his neck remaineth strength.” Power is centralized and evident. “Sorrow is turned into joy before him.” The phrase suggests devastation in his wake, yet he advances undisturbed. The folds of his flesh are immovable, his structure unyielding.
“His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.” The lower millstone was massive and durable. This imagery conveys hardness, insensitivity, and impenetrability. The mighty are afraid when he rises. Even warriors recoil.
Weapons are useless. Sword, spear, dart, armor, iron, brass, arrows, slingstones, javelins, all are ineffective. He “laughs” at the shaking of a spear. The language is almost personal. Leviathan appears to mock human aggression. He is depicted as functionally invulnerable.
“He maketh the deep to boil like a pot.” His movement disturbs the waters violently. He leaves “a path to shine after him,” perhaps a foaming wake. “Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.” Among terrestrial creatures he is unmatched.
The final statement is decisive. “He is a king over all the children of pride.” Here the description moves unmistakably into moral symbolism. Pride is the defining sin of Satan. Isaiah 14:13–14 records the ambition of the fallen one, “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God… I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Pride is his essence.
Leviathan as “king over all the children of pride” aligns with this spiritual reality. Satan rules over the proud, those who resist God. The apostle Paul calls him “the prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2. The moral parallel is too strong to ignore.
This does not require that Leviathan be exclusively symbolic. He may well be a literal creature described in elevated poetic language. Yet the inspired text allows the symbolism to deepen. Leviathan represents overwhelming, proud, destructive power that no man can defeat.
The connection to the broader context of Job is profound. Satan afflicted Job under divine permission. Job felt abandoned and alone. Yet the Lord’s discourse implies that even the most terrifying force in existence is under divine sovereignty. Leviathan cannot act independently of God.
God does not explain the heavenly contest of Job 1 and 2. He does not reveal the dialogue between Himself and Satan. Instead, He reveals His supremacy over every force symbolized by Leviathan. Job is not given the reason for his suffering, but he is given something greater, a vision of God’s unrivaled sovereignty.
If Leviathan is king over the children of pride, he is not king over the humble. James 4:6 declares, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” Job’s pathway out of confusion is not intellectual explanation, but submission before the sovereign Lord.
This final description therefore accomplishes several things. It magnifies the terror and invincibility of Leviathan, underscores human impotence, hints strongly at the spiritual adversary behind Job’s suffering, and above all exalts the absolute dominion of God.
