................................................................................................

(quoting from gilgy07b.html):

“Although we will deal with non-Genesis material in the next piece (“Residual Cosmogonic literary data”), let me at least describe HOW the scholars make this leap from 'battle only' to 'battle = cosmogony'. The logic goes something like this:

1. Some ANE cosmogonic texts, such as Enuma Elish, describe creation in cosmic-battle images (the theory of Chaoskampf, order out of chaos). Battle-event and Creation-event are explicitly and narratively linked in the text itself.

2. Some biblical texts (outside of Genesis) are assumed to describe creation in cosmic-battle images too. Under this understanding of those texts, Battle-event and Creation-event are explicitly linked in the text itself, also.

3. (Assumption: therefore, the cosmogonic interpretation of the Chaoskampf-as-creation 'myth' was shared throughout the ANE, including Ugarit).

4. The Ugaritic Baal Cycle records only the Battle-event.

5. (Assumption: the Baal Cycle is an accurate/adequate expression/version of this Chaoskampf-as-creation myth, with all the implied aspects.)

6. Therefore, the Baal Cycle Battle-event implies a Creation-event (cosmogony).

But notice how 'fragile' this argument is: the assumptions are contradicted by the textual data in several MAJOR ways

A. War and Storm Imageries

B. Destruction Motif

C. Personification and Metaphor

Eighth. It is of major importance to recognize that EVEN IF Leviathan, Rahab, Sea, whatever are 'mythic figures, shared with the Canaanites' that this still has nothing to do with cosmogony--our subject here! We have already seen that these figures are battle-themed, not cosmogonic-themed items. And EVEN IF these figures show up in non-Hebrew mythic contexts, this fact does NOT support a borrowing notion--they appear as 'stock in trade' figures EVERYWHERE (e.g., do you KNOW of a culture without a literary image of 'fighting a dragon'?!). This is a good bit like the Flood story, which is present in all cultures--there are dragons, sea monsters, evil beasts in every culture, with a surprising degree of 'similar traits'. Hence, the presence of one of these figures in Israel and simultaneously in Canaan no more means Israel borrowed from Canaan than that he presence of the 'shepherd seeking lost sheep' motif in both the biblical Good Shepard stories and in Little Bo Peep means that “Mother Goose” borrowed from the bible...(smile... but not my comparison; it showed up in BAR, a letter responding to some myth-seeing by Batto). So, it's no big deal to find 'monsters' in the bible--even if there are monsters in Canaan--because there are 'monsters' everywhere. So, conservative/moderate commentators on these names (and the passages in which they occur) do not shy away from allowing some level of identification with 'generic', pan-cultural, mythic-foe images. For example,

“Continuing the theme of human inability to capture and control the most imposing creatures, Yahweh draws Job's attention to Leviathan, often identified as the crocodile. Crocodiles were numerous in Egypt, and there is evidence of crocodiles in Israel, e.g., along the coastal streams such as the Yarkon and the Kishon. According to Strabo (6.27), a town north of Caesarea bore the name Crocodilopolis. ... Another view interprets Leviathan as a serpentine sea monster, the embodiment of the chaotic forces of evil. In the OT Yahweh defeated the sea monster in the deliverance of his people from Egypt (cf. Ps. 74:14), and he will defeat Leviathan again in the final apocalyptic battle (Isa. 27:1). In Ugaritic literature this same creature, known as Lotan, is a sea monster hostile to Baal. In fierce combat Baal, the ruling deity, defeated this creature, described as a twisting serpent or a seven-headed dragon. The poetic description reveals that the author skillfully weaves into the portrait of an earthly serpentine animal the features of a mythical dragon. The implication of Yahweh's questioning is that Job could not master this earthly creature, let alone its cosmic counterpart.” [NICOT, Job]

and

“It is not unusual, of course, to find imagery used in the Bible, especially in biblical poetry. But when that imagery seems to make use of mythological allusions, as does Psalm 74, we may wonder what it means. Is the Bible implying the reality of the mythological world? Or perhaps the imagery was already remote in time and function from its original connotations, so that the psalmist used it as casually as we use mythological names for the days of the week and for certain holidays, such as Easter.

In Psalm 74 the psalmist is attempting to convince God that he should intervene on behalf of his city Jerusalem, just as he had done in his victory over evil—perhaps, as some think, at the creation of the universe.

As he makes his appeal, the poet adopts language parallel to that used in mythical texts from Ugarit (a Canaanite language whose vocabulary and spelling are similar to those of Hebrew). Heavily influenced by the Ugaritic mythological parallels, many modern scholars assume that the allusion to splitting (or “dividing”) the sea refers to some primordial powers. But actually it could well refer to the division of the Red Sea (or better, “Reed Sea”) at the exodus. The name for “sea” is yām in Hebrew and Ugaritic, and thus the real and the mythological share the same word. Only context and usage can determine the difference.

Given the context of Psalm 74, with its references to multiple heads and to Leviathan, it may well be that the poet has borrowed the terms from their Canaanite and mythological background without in any way endorsing the myth. If God could part the waters at the exodus, think of what he could do for Israel in this time of need! This is the psalmist’s point.

In verse 13, God also is said to have “broke[n] the heads of Tannim,” another name for “sea[monster]” (yām). According to the Ugaritic text 67:3 (approximately 1400 BC.), this monster had seven heads. Earlier Mesopotamian cylinder seals depict seven-headed dragons being attacked by the gods of that land.

God also “crushed the heads of Leviathan” (Ps 74:14). Leviathan appears only six times in the Old Testament, often as a figure for Egypt. In Ugaritic this monster was known under the name of Lotan, but it appears here in Psalm 74:13–14 with other beasts such as Yam and Tannin (Tannim).

If Leviathan must be made to correspond with a known creature, then the large aquatic animal known as the crocodile (Job 41) would probably be correct. Leviathan swims in God’s great and wide sea (Ps 104:25–26). He has a scaly hide (Job 41:7, 15–17) and fearsome teeth (Job 41:14). But whether the multiheaded Leviathan of Psalm 74 is one of the mythological creatures or a name from old myths for the contemporary crocodile is difficult to say. If the imagery is not from pagan sources, then the references to the “heads of Leviathan” may well be a historical allusion, an image for the corpses of the Egyptian troops that washed ashore after the Reed Sea closed over them.

I lean toward the view that these are words that originally had mythological associations but in their biblical context have been purged of all such overtones. They now function as words of hyperbolic force to suggest the kinds of powers that God is capable of dealing with, and they particularly remind us of God’s marvelous deliverance at the exodus and the Reed Sea. The Bible makes reference to these images from the dead world of myth without giving the slightest hint of approval to this mythology, and without implying that the authors believed in it.” [HSOB, at Ps 74]

Ninth. Tsumura has already pointed out that these figures are not really references/borrowings from Canaanite myth, since they are more obviously simple metaphors and personifications. But this can also be seen by the OTHER uses of these metaphors, for things UNRELATED TO Chaoskampf-type motifs. When these images can easily be identified with historical (and not allegedly cosmogonic mythic figures), it becomes harder to maintain they that are derived from Ugarit. The proof remains upon the would-be 'borrowing advocate' to show a passage was NOT simple metaphor or personification. Consider some of this data, starting with “dragons”:

“Some interpreters distinguish two layers of meaning in the respective OT passages, namely, an older stratum in which tannîn is a mythical chaos monster and a later one in which it is a creature among creatures (Gunkel, Schöpfung, p. 120). New evidence no longer supports such a twofold distinction. Tannîn appears only once parallel to Rahab (Isa. 51:9), and only twice parallel to Leviathan (Ps. 74:13; Isa. 27:1). Its appearance with the article (Isa. 27:1 [Ezk. 29:3; 32:2, emended]) and in plural form (Gen. 1:21; Dt. 32:33; Ps. 74:13; Ex. 7:12) suggests that it is never used as a proper noun (in poetic passages the absence of the article is no safe guide), but always as a generic term. Thus tannîn, unlike Rahab and Leviathan, is properly a generic term and not a personal name.

“In eight of the fourteen tannîn passages, this term refers to an animal such as a serpent or snake (Ex. 7:9f, 12 [in 4:3 and 7:15 the “serpents” produced from Aaron’s rod are nāḥāš, the regular OT generic word for “serpent, snake”]; Dt. 32:33, where “poison of serpents” is in synonymous parallelism to “venom of asps [peṯānîm]”; Ps. 91:13, where “serpent” is in synonymous parallelism to “adder [peṯen]”; also Ps. 58:5 [MT 6]; Prov. 23:32), crocodile, or another mighty river creature (Ezk. 29:3; 32:2; Jer. 51:34). Two tannîn passages are found in clearly “non-mythological” contexts. In Ps. 148:7 the tannînîm are created beings called to praise Yahweh, as is all creation. Gen. 1:21 speaks of the creation of the tannînim, here a generic designation of large aquatic creatures contrasted with the small aquatic creatures (cf. Ps. 104:25f). The choice of the term tannîn in connection with the term bārā’, “create,” which emphasizes God’s effortless creation of the large aquatic creatures, exhibits a conscious polemic against the pagan battle myth with its notion of creation in terms of a struggle (cf. the Canaanite myth of Baal and Anat from Ugarit [DOTT, pp. 129f; ANET, p. 137] and the Marduk-Tiâmat conflict of the Babylonian Tiâmat myth [HI:ANET, pp. 66f; Heidel, pp. 102–114]).

“Often a special and separate tradition is seen in four texts (Job 7:12; Ps. 74:13; Isa. 27:1; 51:9) in which the generic animal designation tannîn is believed to take on extrabiblical mythical meanings. Significantly, there is no close ancient Near Eastern parallel to the relationship of “sea” (yām) and tannîn in Job 7:12, where tannîn seems to refer to a natural aquatic creature with its habitat in the sea and is as little mythical as Leviathan in 40:1–41:3 (Ruprecht, pp. 222, 230). In Isa. 51:9 tannîn appears parallel to Rahab, an OT poetic name (Job 9:13; 26:12; Ps. 89:10 [MT 11]; Isa. 30:7; 51:9f) that has no extrabiblical parallel. Some scholars consider Rahab to be a mythical monster (Gunkel, etal); but this is to read into it from ancient Near Eastern mythology and is difficult to maintain since Rahab is often employed as a poetic synonym for Egypt (Isa. 30:7; Ps. 87:4; 89:10 [MT 11]; Job 9:13; cf. Ezk. 29:3). It is not unlikely that tannîn in Isa. 51:9 is but an aquatic creature (cf. Job 26:12) used metaphorically of Egypt.

“In both Isa. 27:1 and Ps. 74:13f tannîn is associated with Leviathan, a name parallel to the mythical seven-headed serpent Lotan in the Râs Shamrah texts (UT ’nt: iii.34–39; DOTT, pp. 129f; cf. UT, 67:i:1–3; 9:17; 75:i:8?) and the multi-headed dragon of Mesopotamian cylinder seals (ANEP, nos 691, 671). It is often assumed that Leviathan in these two texts reflects a direct indebtedness to the Canaanite myth, which refers in the same context to the personified antagonistic Dragon (Tannîn). However, the OT tannîn is neither personified nor a name in any passage. In Job 41:1 and Ps. 104:25–29 Leviathan is just another real creature, as is tannîn in most OT passages — a sure indication that the Israelites did not associate with these terms any clear concept of a mythical monster (G. Fohrer, Jesaja [2nd ed 1967], II, 35). (In Job 41:1 [MT 40:25] the RSV mg reads “the crocodile” for Heb liweyāṯān.) The context of Isa. 27:1 confirms tannîn and Leviathan as metaphorical and symbolic designations for real enemies of Yahweh, including such historical entities as Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. Ps. 74:13 speaks of the “heads of the tannînîm, ” plural according to the MT and therefore not identical with the “heads of Leviathan” (v 14); each tannîn apparently has only one head. This poetic metaphor refers figuratively and symbolically to the destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea at the Exodus.” [ISBE, s.v. 'dragon'/tannin]

and

“Since the outcome of the cosmic battle is assured, God’s enemies on earth may be likened to the dragon. Nebuchadnezzar has consumed Jerusalem with his monstrous appetite (Jer 51:34). Pharaoh, surrounded by the Nile delta, is “the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams,” thrashing futilely against God (Ezek 29:3; cf. Is 30:7). The roiling sea was evidence of the struggles of the sea serpent. Job complains that he is confined as if he were a sea monster (Job 7:12). [Dictionary of biblical imagery, s.v. “mythical animals”]

and

“LEVIATHAN is a transliteration of a Heb. word which occurs in only five passages in the OT. It is generally thought to be from a root lāwâ, cf. Arab. lawā, ‘bend’, ‘twist’. Its literal meaning would then be ‘wreathed’, i.e. ‘gathering itself in folds’. Some scholars have suggested that it may be a foreign loan-word, possibly of Bab. origin. The context of its use in the OT indicates some form of aquatic monster. In Ps. 104:26 it is clearly of the sea and is generally thought to be the whale, although the dolphin has been suggested. It is used twice symbolically in Is. 27:1, referring to the empires of Assyria (the ‘fleeing’ serpent is the swift-flowing Tigris) and Babylonia (the ‘twisting’ serpent is the Euphrates). In Ps. 74:14 it occurs in reference to Pharaoh and the Exodus in parallel with the ‘sea or river monster’. This word occurs again in Ezk. 29:3–5 symbolically of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, where the description of its scales and jaws makes it clear that the crocodile is intended. ... Leviathan is referred to twice in Job. In 3:8 it is generally held to be the dragon which, according to popular ancient mythology, was supposed to cause eclipses by wrapping its coils around the sun. The longest description of Leviathan occupies Jb. 41:1–34, and most scholars agree that here the creature is the crocodile. Some have objected that the crocodile would not have been described as unapproachable and that there is no reference in the OT to crocodiles in Palestine. However, the author probably had in mind the crocodile of the Nile, and the description of the creature’s invincibility is rhetorical. [New Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Leviathan']

and

“A widely attested theme of the pagan creation myths concerns the draconic monster that threatens the creator god, who at last overcomes the monster in the act of creation (cf. Wakeman, Heidel). But in Ps. 104:26ff the great sea “monster” of the myths is made to be God’s pet (see M. Dahood, Psalms, III [REF:AB, 1970], 45, for this rendering so reminiscent of Job 41), who waits submissively for God’s life-sustaining provision.[ISBE, s.v. “Leviathan”; Note: How 'Canaanite' could this image be???!” (smile)]

and

“Leviathan. Sea monster mentioned several times in the Bible (Jb 3:8; 41:1; Pss 74:14; 104:26; Is 27:1). It may refer to any of the larger marine animals such as large jellyfish, whales, or sharks, or to a large reptile like the crocodile. Some biblical scholars think Leviathan may refer to animals now extinct, such as ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs (marine reptiles similar to dinosaurs). The scriptural term might also refer to certain dinosaurs that spent part of their lives half-submerged in shallow lakes and oceans. Other scholars believe that most of the references are to the crocodile.[Baker Ency of the Bible, s.v. “leviathan”]

and

“Leviathan” probably means “coiled one” from לוה like Arab lwy “coil,” “wind” (T. H. Gaster, “Leviathan,” IDB 3:116) and is like Ug. ltn. It also appears in Pss 74:14; 104:26; Job 41:1 and in 2 Esdr 6:52; 2 Bar 29:3–8. Here in Isaiah, Leviathan is described as “the hard, great, strong one … a fleeing serpent, a twisting snake … the monster which is in the sea.”... In another context the word might be explained by the mythical implications of the Ba˓al myth in which Leviathan is killed. But Job’s use transparently refers the name to a great sea creature with no mythic or supernatural overtones (cf. Gaster, IDB 3:116). The context here in Isaiah calls for a historical identification. On pp. 298–99 above, the arch structure of this Act was shown to balance the reference to the sea on which Tyre’s sailors work (23:11–12a) with Leviathan (27:1). The name Rahab, also usually applied to a great mythological dragon, is applied to Egypt by name in 30:7. The same thing is done here. Leviathan is a symbol for Tyre. God’s promise to “decide the fate” (פקד) of Tyre (23:17) is fulfilled in this passage when God “decides the fate” of Leviathan (27:1).” [WBC, at Is 27.1; Note: Leviathan = Tyre, not some Canaanite deity...]

and

“The identifications of behemoth and leviathan with the hippopotamus and the crocodile respectively are now commonly accepted: the only modern competing theory is that which, reviving in a fresh form ancient Jewish interpretations (En. 60:7–9. 24, Apoc. Bar. 29:4, 4 Es. 6:49–52: see also references, s.v. לויתן in Levy, NHWB) sees in these beasts mythical monsters described partly on the basis of mythological tradition, partly by means of traits derived from the hippopotamus and the crocodile (Che. EBi. 2483): see Che. Job and Solomon, 56, and Behemoth and Leviathan, in EBi.; Toy, Judaism and Christianity, 162 f.; Gu. Schöpfung u. Chaos, 57, 61 ff.; and for a full and keen criticism of the theory, Bu. The supposed mythical traits are found mainly in the interrogative passage (41:1–11 (40:25–41:3)), though not exclusively, for Che. and Gu. find such also in 40:19. 24, 41:25 (17), 31–34 (23–26), and especially in the fact that both animals, though this so far as the hippopotamus is concerned rests precariously on 40:24, are represented as beyond the power of men to capture, whereas the ancient Egyptians hunted and captured both the crocodile and the hippopotamus. Yet this point cannot be pressed too far, for, as Bu. (on 40:25) has pointed out, the Egyptians themselves could speak rhetorically of the animals as unapproachable: so in a hymn of victory Amon-Re says of Thothmes: “The lands of Mitanni tremble under fear of thee: I have caused them to see thy majesty as a crocodile, lord of fear in the water, unapproachable” (Breasted, Egyptian Records, ii. 659). .” [ICC, Job]

When the vast majority of incidences of a word refer either to something literal or to something “non-mythologically metaphorical”, it needs substantial evidence/argument to warrant a conclusion that it is referring to something 'primordial'. This is especially the case when this 'primordial' thing is identified in context with specific people (e.g., Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar) or nations (e.g., Assyria, Egypt)! [Myth-loving scholars try to explain this away as being Israel's 'historicizing of the myth', but this begs the question--they must ASSUME without textual data (which is historical in intent and texture in the actual text) that there is a 'myth' hiding behind there somewhere. This sounds a little like the oldest philosophies: all matter is actually water, but it just doesn't look wet when it is manifested as fire!

.............................................................................................................................

Again, this material is neither cosmogonic, nor borrowed...