Texts in Conversation
Psalm 74 and Job 26 both recall an ancient story of divine combat, where the sea and its monster are defeated by a powerful deity. This imagery reflects a broader Near Eastern myth in which order is established by conquering chaos, seen in tales like Baal’s battle with Yamm and Marduk’s with Tiamat
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Psalm 74:13
Hebrew Bible
11 Why do you remain inactive? Intervene and destroy him. 12 But God has been my king from ancient times, performing acts of deliverance on the earth. 13 You destroyed the sea by your strength; you shattered the heads of the sea monster in the water. 14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you fed him to the people who live along the coast. 15 You broke open the spring and the stream; you dried up perpetually flowing rivers.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Job 26:12
Hebrew Bible
10 He marks out the horizon on the surface of the waters as a boundary between light and darkness. 11 The pillars of the heavens tremble and are amazed at his rebuke. 12 By his power he stills the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab the great sea monster to pieces. 13 By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. 14 Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! How faint is the whisper we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?”
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Perhaps the most striking instance of this typological understanding of the exodus (and of history more generally) is found in Isaiah 51:9-11, which calls on “the arm of YHWH” to awake as in the days of old. The prophet first recalls creation: “Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?” This is not the account of creation that we find in Genesis, but one that we know only from passing allusions in Hebrew poetry, such as Job 26:12 or Psalm 74:13-14. It is closely related to the stories of Baal and Yamm in the Ugaritic myths and less directly to the Babylonian myth of Marduk and Tiamat ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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