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Tannin (mythology)
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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]
Canaanite mythology
[edit]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
[edit]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 the term used for sea monsters such as Leviathan and Rahab.[19] 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
[edit]In modern Hebrew usage, the word tanin (תנין) means crocodile.[21]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ 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
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ Day (1985), p. 5.
- ^ a b Heider (1999), p. 836.
- ^ Herrmann (1999), p. 135.
- ^ a b Heider (1999), p. 135.
- ^ a b Gen. 1:21.
- ^ Exodus 7:9–10:12.
- ^ Deut. 32:33.
- ^ Heider (1999), p. 135–136.
- ^ Ps. 74:13, 91:13, 148:7, and possibly 44:20.[8]
- ^ Job 7:12.
- ^ Ezek. 29:3 & 32:2.
- ^ Isa. 27:1 & 51:9.
- ^ Jer. 51:34.
- ^ Gen. 1:21 (KJV).
- ^ Isa. 27:1.
- ^ Isa. 27:1 (KJV).
- ^ Barker (2014), p. 152.
- ^ Uehlinger (1999), p. 512.
- ^ Heider (1999), pp. 835–836.
- ^ Dictionary of the Old Testament. Intervarsity Press. 6 June 2008. p. 46. ISBN 9780830817832. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
- ^ "Morfix Dictionary - תנין". www.morfix.co.il. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
Bibliography
[edit]- 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.
- 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.
- Heider, George C. (1999), "Tannîn", Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2nd ed., Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, pp. 834–836.
- Herrmann, Wolfgang (1999), "Baal", Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2nd ed., Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, pp. 132–139.
- Uehlinger, C. (1999), "Leviathan", Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2nd ed., Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, pp. 511–515.