Leviathan

[Myrddin]

I am currently reading The Edge of the World, a book written by Kevin J. Anderson in which he describes a sea monster, the Leviathan, as "greater than ten sea serpents" and has a bullet-shaped head with one large squid-like eye in the center of its head. Tentacles sprout from each side of its body.

In the Bible, in Job, the Leviathan is described as a crocodile sort of monster. I am wondering if Leviathan is a term used to describe any sort of sea serpent, and if Anderson used it to tie in more closely with his specific creation?

 

[LegendofJoe]

Leviathan is the Biblical version of a motif that is found in Near Eastern myths.
It is a "combat myth" where a type of warrior god fights and defeats a dragon or serpent-type monster that represents the forces of chaos.
In Canaan the chaos monster is Yam. In Babylon she is called Tiamat. In Egypt, it is Apophis.
Chaos is also tied to water, and so the chaos monster is some form of watery being.
So yes, Leviathan is a type of sea dwelling chaos serpent that is subdued by Yahweh, the "warrior god" of the Bible.
There is a great book that talks about this in detail: Cosmos Chaos, and the World to come by Cohn.

 

[Argus]

The first time i ever heard the word leviathan was in the film Moby dick. A large white sperm whale.