Job 41:1

Unlike the peaceful Behemoth (Job 40:15–24), Leviathan was a threat (see also Job 3:8; Psalms 74:14; 104:26; Isaiah 27:1). Most scholars think Leviathan was like a crocodile, with its powerful jaws and tough skin twisting and turning in the water (Job 41:14; 41:15–17, 23; 41:31–32). But Leviathan is a fire-breathing dragon that wraps around the sun to cause the sun to seem covered (41:18–21; 3:8–9).

The background for Leviathan is the seven-headed sea monster symbolizing chaos in ancient Near Eastern mythology. In the Bible, this wild sea creature often represents chaos and evil, whose head the Lord crushes (Psalm 74:14; Isaiah 27:1; compare Job 9:13; 26:12; Psalm 89:9–10; Isaiah 30:7; 51:9). Later in the Bible, Satan is linked to the ancient serpent and great dragon (Genesis 3; Revelation 12:9; 20:2). Christ and his followers crush his head (Romans 16:20).