Tannin (monster)

Short description: Sea monster in Canaanite, Phoenician, and Hebrew Faiths

The Tannin (Dragon), by al-Qazwini (1203–1283).

Tannin (Hebrew: תַּנִּין tannīn; Syriac: ܬܢܝܢܐ tannīnā plural: tannīnē; Arabic: التنين tinnīn, ultimately from Akkadian 𒆗𒉌𒈾 dannina) or Tunnanu (Ugaritic: 𐎚𐎐𐎐 tnn, likely vocalized tunnanu[1]) was a sea monster in Canaanite and Hebrew mythology used as a symbol of chaos and evil.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Canaanite mythology
* 2 Hebrew mythology
* 3 Modern Hebrew
* 4 See also
* 5 Notes
* 6 References
* 6.1 Citations
* 6.2 Bibliography

## Canaanite mythology

Tannin appears in the Baal Cycle as one of the servants of Yam (lit. Sea) defeated by Baʿal (lit. Lord)[3] or bound by his sister, Anat.[4] He is usually depicted as serpentine, possibly with a double tail.[4]

## Hebrew mythology

The tanninim (תַּנִּינִים) also appear in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis,[5] Exodus,[6] Deuteronomy,[7] Psalms,[9] Job,[10] Ezekiel,[11] Isaiah,[12] and Jeremiah.[13] They are explicitly listed among the creatures created by God on the fifth day of the Genesis creation narrative,[5] translated in the King James Version as "great whales".[14] The tannin is listed in the apocalypse of Isaiah as among the sea beasts to be slain by Yahweh "on that day",[15] translated in the King James Version as "the dragon".[16][n 1]

In Judaism, Tannin is sometimes conflated with the related sea monsters Leviathan and Rahab by Christians.[19][clarification needed] Along with Rahab, "Tannin" was a name applied to ancient Egypt after the Exodus to Canaan.[2]

The word Tannin is used in the Hebrew Bible fourteen times. Aaron's staff becomes Tannin in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 7:9-12), it is used in the meaning "snake" in the Book of Deuteronomy (Deut 32:33) and Psalms (Psalm 91:13). It represents Nebuchadnezzar II (the king of Babylon) in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 51:34) and Pharaoh in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 29:3, 32:2). In the Book of Job (Job 7:12) the protagonist questions God "Am I the sea or the sea dragon that you have set a guard over me?"[20]

The name has subsequently been given to three submarines in the Israeli Navy: the first, an S-class submarine formerly known as HMS Springer, was in commission from 1958 until 1972. The second, a Gal-class submarine, was in commission from 1977 until 2002. The third INS Tanin is a Dolphin-class submarine in commission since 2014.

## Modern Hebrew

In modern Hebrew usage, the word tanin (תנין) means crocodile.[21]

## See also

* Chaoskampf
* Illuyanka
* Lotan

## Notes

1. ↑ This passage in Isaiah directly parallels another from the earlier Baal Cycle. The Hebrew passage describing the tannin takes the place of a Ugaritic one describing "the encircler"[17] or "the mighty one with seven heads" (šlyṭ d.šbʿt rašm).[18] In both the Ugaritic and Hebrew texts, it is debatable whether three figures are being described or whether the others are epithets of Lotan or Leviathan.

## References

### Citations

1. ↑ Day (1985), p. 5.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Heider (1999), p. 836.
3. ↑ Herrmann (1999), p. 135.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Heider (1999), p. 135.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gen. 1:21.
6. ↑ Exodus 7:9–10:12.
7. ↑ Deut. 32:33.
8. ↑ Heider (1999), p. 135–136.
9. ↑ Ps. 74:13, 91:13, 148:7, and possibly 44:20.[8]
10. ↑ Job 7:12.
11. ↑ Ezek. 29:3 & 32:2.
12. ↑ Isa. 27:1 & 51:9.
13. ↑ Jer. 51:34.
14. ↑ Gen. 1:21 (KJV).
15. ↑ Isa. 27:1.
16. ↑ Isa. 27:1 (KJV).
17. ↑ Barker (2014), p. 152.
18. ↑ Uehlinger (1999), p. 512.
19. ↑ Heider (1999), pp. 835–836.
20. ↑ Dictionary of the Old Testament. Intervarsity Press. 6 June 2008. p. 46. ISBN 9780830817832. https://books.google.com/books?id=kE2k36XAkv4C&pg=PA46. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
21. ↑ "Morfix Dictionary - תנין". https://www.morfix.co.il/תנין.

### Bibliography

* Barker, William D. (2014), "Litan in Ugarit", Isaiah's Kingship Polemic: An Exegetical Study in Isaiah 24–27, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, pp. 151–167, ISBN 978-3-16-153347-1, https://books.google.com/books?id=cXRZJlN8BbwC&pg=PA151 .
* Day, John (1985). God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea: Echoes of a Canaanite Myth in the Old Testament. CUP Archive. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-521-25600-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=tRU9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA5.
* Heider, George C. (1999), "Tannîn", in Toorn, Karel van der; Becking, Bob; Horst, Pieter Willem van der, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2nd ed., Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, pp. 834–836, https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA834 .
* Herrmann, Wolfgang (1999), "Baal", in Toorn, Karel van der; Becking, Bob; Horst, Pieter Willem van der, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2nd ed., Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, pp. 132–139, https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA132 .
* Uehlinger, C. (1999), "Leviathan", in Toorn, Karel van der; Becking, Bob; Horst, Pieter Willem van der, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2nd ed., Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, pp. 511–515, https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA511 .

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*[lit.]: literal translation