Dinosaur Word Study
Dr. Richard Owens, a leading anatomist in England, created the word dinosaur in 1842. It is a combination of two Greek words – dino meaning terrible and saur meaning lizard. Through study, Dr. Owens was able to determine all these creatures we call dinosaurs today fit into the Reptilia class. He then created four separate orders or subclasses: one containing the serpents, one containing the alligator, one containing the turtle, and one containing the lizards. The order containing the lizards was called Sauria. Although this last group was similar to regular lizards their great size indicated a special class be created, thus dinosauria or terrible lizard.
Depending upon the particular Bible translation used, the Hebrew word tannim is translated as dragon, dragons, whale, whales, sea-monster, sea-creature, jackal, great sea-creature, hyena, and beast. A good description of a land type dinosaur is in Job chapter 40, and called a behemoth. In Job chapter 41 a sea type dinosaur is described and called a leviathan. Both of these Hebrew words are not translated for some reason.
The reason for the various translations is obviously due to lack of knowledge of the translators of the original King James Bible. They did not have access to a database of knowledge as we have today on dinosaurs. Therefore, they translated the word tannim as best as they could and in accordance with associative text. However, there are some correct translations in the King James such as in Isaiah 43:20. “The beast of the field shall honor Me, the dragon and the owls…” The word dragon comes from the Greek word draco which means a reptilian-like being.
Definitions
The Hebrew word tannim, pronounced tan-neem, is created from two Hebrew root words. Tan meaning to elongate, and neem meaning intensity. The root word tan also means monster.
Behemoth, Job chapter 40, comes from the Hebrew root word behema meaning a dumb beast or any plant eating quadruped animal. In the Hebrew language, behemoth is not only the plural of behema it can also mean intensity.
The Hebrew word leviathan is found in its transliterated form in Job 41:1, Psalms 74:14, 104:26, and in Isaiah 27:1. It means a wreathed animal. The definition of wreathed is to have a coiling or twisting motion, to twist od entwine.
Classes of Dinosaurs
To date, 335 species of dinosaurs have been identified, which fit into two classes – Saurischia and Ornithischia. The difference between the two has to do with hip design. The Saurischia have hips similar to lizards, while Ornithischia have hips more similar to birds.
The Saurischia is divided into two subgroups: the Sauropoda and the Theropoda. The Theropoda contains the dinosaurs, which have become known as carnivorous. These include the Trannosaurus Rex. The Sauropoda are knows for their great size and include the Brontosaurus.
The description of the behemoth in Job chapter 40 is not a water-ox or the hippopotamus as defined by the concordance, but either a Apotosaurus or a Brachiosaurus, which weighs from 30 to 80 tons. They walk on all fours, have a long neck and a tail about 30 feet long (Peter Dodson, Age of Dinosaurs).
The description of the leviathan in Job chapter 41 is that of some sort of sea-monster. This could fall into one of the categories called Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs or Mosasaurs. This is not a fish or a whale, but rather a marine reptile.
The in Ezekiel chapter 29 we find a river dinosaur that falls into the Supersaurus class. It is a 30-ton Suropod defined as a river-wading plant eater.
In Scripture references, such as Job 30:29, Isaiah 34:13, Micah 1:8, and Malich 1:3 the King James defines these animals as dragons, but the New King James defines them as jackals. In Isaiah they are translated as hyenas. In each case, the Hebrew word is tannim. The issue with the translation is the word “wailing.” Micah 1:8 states,“I will make a wailing sound like the dragons, and mourning like the owls.”