More Critters from the Scriptures by Pastor Walter Snyder When Christians use real (the *butterfly*) and imagined (the *phoenix*) creatures to demonstrate Scripture truth, they follow a pattern established by God in His Word. Not only did the Lord create animals, He also used them to illustrate His commands and promises. Some of these animals' names are unfamiliar to modern scholars. According to early English translations of the Bible, the *unicorn* is mentioned eleven times. Yet if you read a more recent translation, you'll not find a single unicorn in your Bible. That's because we don't know anymore what a certain ancient Hebrew word meant. According to scholars at the time of the Authorized (King James) Version of Scripture, the context fit their notion of what most people now call an imaginary or mythological creature. Moderns normally render the word as *wild bull* or some type of *antelope*. Two other creatures, *behemoth* (Job 40:15ff) and *leviathan* (Job 41:1ff), give translators similar problems. Some Bibles use these words while others attempt to translate them into one or another modern animals. For *behemoth*, I see *hippopotamus* used most often. God's words to Job indicate a vegetarian animal that is tremendously strong, living among water plants and able to resist swiftly running water. I could go along with this except that God also says "he makes his tail stiff like the cedar (v. 17)"; this isn't how one normally depicts a hippo. Cedars, especially those of the Middle East at Job's time, would be long and strong. Neither the hippo nor the *elephant* (another guess of some translators) has a tail like this. So what is it? Is God using picture language? Perhaps. But just perhaps He's speaking of a creature alive at Job's time but no longer on earth. The picture in Job 40 is consistent with any number of large, plant-eating *dinosaurs*. The only problem is that many scientists tell us that no dinosaurs existed when man began walking the earth. Of course, this is no real problem, since God tells us that these scientists are wrong. *Leviathan* similarly troubles translators. Most either transliterate the Hebrew or render it as *crocodile*. The problem here is that while crocs are hard to catch or to kill and do have powerful jaws and sharp teeth (Job 41:1-14), unless God is exaggerating tremendously, they don't have scales on their backs like "rows of shields" and their sneezes don't "flash forth light"; their mouths don't produce "flaming torches" nor do their noses pour out "smoke, as from a boiling pot. (vv. 18-20)" In case you're still thinking that this is just a crocodile with a good press agent, how do we then explain verse 21: "His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth"? The rest of the chapter talks about a strong, fearless, and fear-provoking creature whose passing sets the waters in turmoil. While we don't have any living or fossil evidence, it seems that the closest animal to this description is the *dragon*. No, I can't prove dragons true; however, since Scripture mentions them so often and there's been no contrary evidence provided, I doubt that any readers can prove them false. Now that we've come to the dragon, we've run out of room. Maybe the next column can focus on them and their use as illustrations for the person and work of Satan. Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe." Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from ~The Holy Bible, English Standard Version~, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Ask the Pastor, © 2002 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this disclaimer, by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and redistribution. Translations into other languages should similarly note the United States and any appropriate international copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions concerning the property of others.