In January 2018 I was given the opportunity to travel to Cambodia for a mission trip. While traveling all over the country visiting area preachers we took a few days to explore the city of Siem Reap which is in the northwestern area of the country. It is this city that serves as the gateway to the famous Angkor temples that were built in the 12th and 13th centuries by Khmer kings. The most well known is the Angkor Wat temple complex which is depicted on the Cambodian flag.

Just northeast of Angkor Wat is the Ta Prohm temple which was built by king Jayavarman VII in the late 1100s. This temple is most famous for its appearance in the movie Tomb Raider staring Angelina Jolie. It is also interestingly notable because of the photogenic trees that are found growing out of the ruins and the way the jungle has encompassed around it. These characteristics make it a popular tourist stop.

In a corner of the courtyard to the left of the central exit there is a series of carvings depicting animals interacting with native Khmer people. However, there is one specific carving that demands more attention and speculation. On the deteriorated temple wall, included with the carvings of other animals, there is a small carving that seems to depict a dinosaur. To be more specific it seems to depict a stegosaurus. Some people speculate that the carving is just a rhinoceros or a boar claiming that the “plates” on the back of the animal are just leaves of vegetation. The temple is a favorite location for filmmakers and some have speculated that the carving has been fabricated as a joke. Some have thought that perhaps it is possible that the Khmer people dug up a fossil and figured out what kind of creature it belonged to and therefore carved it out on the temple wall. Or maybe, the carving is evidence that these creatures cohabitated with humans much later than what modern scientist would claim. Incidentally, according to evolutionists, the stegosaurus lived 163.5 to 100.5 million years ago. Creationist would claim that it is possible for the stegosaurus to have lived only a few hundred years ago. If this is true how do we match up the Biblical record with the fossil record? One of the all-time top questions people ask when seeking to debunk the Bible is, ‘What about the dinosaurs who lived millions of years ago?’ It might seem to be a tough question but the Bible provides really good answers. What does the Bible say about dinosaurs? Can we find Dino DNA in the Bible? Yes, but first, let’s mention some quick facts about the history of the paleontology, specifically in the realm of dinosaurs.

Facts about Dinosaurs that can be supported by the Bible:

Fact 1: Dinosaurs are apart of a larger debate over origins, the age of the earth and interpreting the evidence we have.

Fact 2: Dinosaurs were popularized when in 1822 Mary Ann Mantell discovered the first fossils of Iguanodon and provided several pen and ink sketches of the fossils for her husband, Gideon Mantell. The illustrations she provided were then used in Gideon Mantell’s scientific publication called, Illustrations of the Geology of Sussex which was published in 1827. It is in this publication that he describes the Iguanodon.

Fact 3: The term “dinosaur” was first coined to describe the fossils as a distinct taxonomic group by paleontologist Sir Richard Owen who was the first superintendent of the British Museum of Natural History. The term is a combination of the Greek words meaning “terrible lizard”

Fact 4: All scientists have the same facts and the same fossils. Some if not most approach dinosaurs from an evolutionist standpoint. Others from the standpoint that the Bible is a written recorded revelation from God and an accurate description of history including the history of dinosaurs.

Fact 5: Some scientists hold to an “older” view of the earth and think that the Bible does not mention Dinosaurs and believe that they evolved over 235 million years ago before the humans walked the earth. They theorize that around 65 million years ago a cataclysmic event killed the dinosaurs even though they are not in agreement on what that even specifically was.

Fact 6: Dinosaurs were magnificent animals that came in all shapes, sizes and varieties all of which are found in the fossil record as fully formed creatures. Some had spikes, some had horns, and some had high spine fin-like protrusions on their backs. The fossil record shows their sudden appearance in the history of the world which would support the biblical event of a world wide flood.

How Dinosaurs fit into the Biblical History:

The fossil record shows a sudden appearance of these complex life forms in the history of the world which would support the biblical event of a world wide flood. This helps support a creation narrative. There is a phrase in creation science that states, “Floods form fossils fast”. Having fossils to begin with is an indication of a catastrophic rapid burial, and sedimentation. Some of the best evidence for creation is to see each of major groups of plants and animals represented fully formed in the fossil record. There is evidence in the fossil record of “death positions” in animals where they were straining their necks especially in long neck creatures in what seems to be a fight to breath keeping their heads above flood waters. They seemed to have been “caught” in the death position when a sudden world wide flood destroys all life on earth except Noah and his family. In as recent as 2006, a T-Rex was un-earthed in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana. As they broke open the femur leg bone they found the bone still had soft tissues including blood vessels intact. If the animal is from 65 million years ago there is no chance that this would have survived. The conclusion should be obvious, dinosaurs that are found with these soft tissues still intact can not be 65 million years old or not even a million years old. It must only be centuries old. Finding soft dinosaur tissues is not proof of the Genesis world wide flood but it is clear evidence that this fossil is not as old as they make it out to be.The T-rex must have been catastrophically buried by the flood and has been preserved all these centuries.

How Dinosaurs fit into the Bible:

Even though the term “dinosaur” is not in the bible the concept is still there. In 1842 the term “dinosaur” was accepted after presented the year before. The English had already translated the bible into their language in 1611, therefore, the term was obviously never used. When animals are mentioned in the Bible we can recognize that these animals are. When the Bible uses the terms for lion, wolves, bears, sheep, cattle, birds, dogs, or snakes we understand what it is referring to. But, there are three main words in the Bible that clearly refer to animals that the translators could not identify so they chose to transliterate: Tannin, Behemoth, & Leviathan. Now that we have the fossil record to reference we understand that it is most likely these terms are referring to dinosaurs. The first term is more of a general term and the second and third terms are more species specific. For the last two we will look deep into the DINO DNA revealed in the Bible. Let’s break down each of these words and provide a possible understanding of what each one could be.

  • Tannin – Normally is translated as “dragon” but also as “serpent,” “sea monster,” “great creature,” and or “reptile.” This word occurs twenty eight times in the Bible, and is more of a general term for sea creature. Genesis 1:21 says, “God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.” The tannin represented a large class of creatures including dinosaurs (Genesis 1:21 Job 7:12; Psalm. 148:7; Jeremiah 51:34). Hebrew word is generic and refers to a class of large-bodied creatures of great or wondrous power not just dinosaurs but would include them.

Perhaps the tannin was an Elasmosaurus. These great sea monsters could grow up to 35 feet long, and over 20 feet of that was neck. It has the largest number of neck bones of any known animal, with 72 vertebrae in all. Elasmosaurus is often depicted in older artwork lifting its head high above water, or turning its neck in a curvy “S” shape. Perhaps this is what Moses is referencing when he writes in Genesis 1:21, “God created the great sea monsters”.

  • Behemoth – Normally is translated as “beast” from the Hebrew word behema, which is found nine times in the OT. The singular form is generic “beast” (Deuteronomy 28:26) but the plural form of the noun and used with singular verbs in Job 40:15-24 indicates a “great, super, or colossal” beast and a much more specific reference. No other animal then or now can match the description, consequently the problem in identifying exactly what it was. Let’s take a closer look at passage in Job 40 since it gives a great description of this animal.

“The Behemoth Passage” Job 40:15-24 – “Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you; He eats grass like an ox. “Behold now, his strength in his loins And his power in the muscles of his belly. “He bends his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are knit together. “His bones are tubes of bronze; His limbs are like bars of iron. “He is the first of the ways of God; Let his maker bring near his sword. “Surely the mountains bring him food, And all the beasts of the field play there. “Under the lotus plants he lies down, In the covert of the reeds and the marsh. “The lotus plants cover him with shade; The willows of the brook surround him. “If a river rages, he is not alarmed; He is confident, though the Jordan rushes to his mouth. “Can anyone capture him when he is on watch, With barbs can anyone pierce his nose?”

There are a few notable things about this passage that help us to see this must be talking about a dinosaur. Let’s examine this passage in detail and look for the DINO DNA for the Behemoth:

  • DINO DNA 1: God takes credit for making this creature (Verse 15). According to Genesis 1:24-25 God made all the living creatures (cattle, creeping things, beasts) and EVERYTHING that creeps on the ground.
  • DINO DNA 2: God says to Job that he made this Behemoth along with man (Verse 15). This tells us that we cohabitated with these magnificent animals from the beginning. Jesus himself declared that the human family began its existence upon the earth back at “the beginning of the creation” (Mark 10:6), and Paul argued that God’s attributes have been evident to humankind “from the creation of the world” (Romans 1:20). There is no way in which these passages (and many others of like kind) can be harmonized with the notion that human beings did not arrive upon the earth until millions of years after dinosaurs became extinct. Dinosaurs did not evolve instead they were created on day six along with man. Genesis 1:26 tells us that God created man in His image and that man would rule over all the creatures. Male and female He created them.
  • DINO DNA 3: God says that the Behemoth: Eats grass like an ox, has strength in his loins, has power in the muscles of his belly, bends his tail like a cedar tree, his tendons are knitted together, his bones are tubes of bronze, his ribs are like bars of iron, he is first in the ways of God (powerful, mighty, majestic?), he lies under the lotus plants hiding in the reeds and marsh for shade, he is surrounded by the willows of the brook, he is not threatened by the river, he is confident, he opens his mouth for the river to rush into it, he is not able to be captured, and no one is able to tame him.

Some septics have attempted to identify Behemoth as another more familiar animal to help make sense of this text. Even those that have translated it have placed another animal in the text to identify it with something not as grandiose. Some have said that Behemoth is:

  • A hippopotamus – This is the most popular view due to the relation of the Egyptian word “peheme” which is roughly translated “water ox” but the Egyptians has very specific other words for hippos. There are several other problems with the hippo being tied to Behemoth:
    • The phrase “He bends his tail like a cedar” indicates that the tale of this beast was as large as a cedar tree. The tail of a hippopotamus is only about twenty inches long; hardly that of a cedar tree. In the land of Uz, where Job is from the cedars would get up to 120 feet tall.
    • The phrase “the first (or chief) of the ways (creatures) of God” and “let his maker bring near His sword” (verse 19) implies that this was the largest animal God ever made. Hippos weigh as much as 4 tons, but some dinosaurs weighed 30 tons and more. This description does not fit the hippo.
    • The rhetorical question, “Can anyone capture him when he is on watch, With barbs can anyone pierce his nose?” implies that no one is able to capture this beast. No one is able to pierce his nose as you would an ox to keep it under your control. However, we see from history and ancient drawings that the Egyptians were ablate attack and slay hippos.
  • An elephant – Thomas Aquinas though the Behemoth was an elephant but this theory never acquired much credibility among other scholars perhaps for the same reasons as listed above about the hippopotamuses. Consider the tail of an elephant. Does it remind you of a cedar tree?
  • A crocodile – The New English Bible published in 1970 translated Behemoth as crocodile. This is a terrible translation of this word for several reasons. One, the Behemoth creature in the text is a grass eater like an ox but a crocodile is carnivorous. Second, when speaking of a river “rages, he is not alarmed, the “Jordan rushes into his mouth” hardly garners up images of a crocodile. Third, God describes in the text how only Behemoth’s Maker could control and perhaps kill the creature with His sword, but man has been able to capture, and tame a crocodile since the early time of the Egyptians.

Perhaps the Behemoth was a Brachiosaurus. This dinosaur is a sauropod and had a proportionally long neck, small skull, and large overall size with a large long tail. Elmer S. Riggs named the dinosaur Brachiosaurus altithorax, declaring it “the largest known dinosaur”. Perhaps this is what God was describing to Job teaching him that He is the creator and controller of even the Behemoth.

  • Leviathan – Normally, this term describing this creature is also translated as dragon or sea monster and is only found in five passages in the Bible all of which are in the Old Testament. The Leviathan is probably a tannin (dragon or sea monster), but tannin represented the larger class of creatures where Leviathan and Behemoth were specific creatures. In the same way one might describe apes but then get more specific in describing gorillas or orangutans. Again there are details in the book of Job that help us to identify this animal.

“The Leviathan Passage” Job 41:1-34 – “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord? “Can you put a rope in his nose Or pierce his jaw with a hook? “Will he make many supplications to you, Or will he speak to you soft words? “Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him for a servant forever? “Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you bind him for your maidens? “Will the traders bargain over him? Will they divide him among the merchants? “Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears? “Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle; you will not do it again! “Behold, your expectation is false; Will you be laid low even at the sight of him? “No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him; Who then is he that can stand before Me? “Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine. “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, Or his mighty strength, or his orderly frame. “Who can strip off his outer armor? Who can come within his double mail? “Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth there is terror. “His strong scales are his pride,

Shut up as with a tight seal. “One is so near to another That no air can come between them. “They are joined one to another; They clasp each other and cannot be separated. “His sneezes flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. “Out of his mouth go burning torches; Sparks of fire leap forth. “Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth As from a boiling pot and burning rushes. “His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes forth from his mouth. “In his neck lodges strength, And dismay leaps before him. “The folds of his flesh are joined together, Firm on him and immovable. “His heart is as hard as a stone, Even as hard as a lower millstone. “When he raises himself up, the mighty fear; Because of the crashing they are bewildered. “The sword that reaches him cannot avail, Nor the spear, the dart or the javelin. “He regards iron as straw, Bronze as rotten wood. “The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones are turned into stubble for him. “Clubs are regarded as stubble; He laughs at the rattling of the javelin. “His underparts are like sharp potsherds; He spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mire. “He makes the depths boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a jar of ointment. “Behind him he makes a wake to shine; One would think the deep to be gray-haired. “Nothing on earth is like him, One made without fear. “He looks on everything that is high; He is king over all the sons of pride.”

There are a few notable things about this passage that help us to see this must be talking about a dinosaur. Let’s examine this passage in detail and look for the DINO DNA for the Leviathan:

  • DINO DNA 1: God explains how large and powerful Leviathan is. “No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up” (verse 10). Especially, in the first ten verses we see how Leviathan is described as being a massive, powerful, and fearful creature. God asks several rhetorical questions spurring Job to think about the power of Leviathan so that he will realize that if God is the one that created this magnificent creature how much more magnificent is God. The sheer size and power of this monstrous dragon dinosaur cannot be understated.
  • DINO DNA 2: God describes Leviathan’s mouth, scales, eyes and fire-breathing ability. Leviathan’s strength in his mouth is so great that no human could attempt to open the jaws of this beast. If one were to be successful all that would be found would be “terrible teeth all around” (verse14). Leviathan wears his scales as an impenetrable armor protecting him from any futile attacks. “His scales are his pride” (verses 15-17). Leviathan is able to spit out flaming streams of fire from his mouth (verses 18-21).Breathing (or shooting out) fire is not mythical. Remember the Bombardier beetle. has this unique ability as a defense to mix two chemicals at just the right time to shoot out of is butt toward a potential enemy. If God can create a beetle to do that He has the ability to design any animal with that ability. A fire breathing dinosaur dragon is not as far off as one might think. Many fossil dinosaur skulls contain unexplained, empty passages. Scientists have not been able to reason the purpose for these passages. Maybe these passages are the “combustion” chambers for our fire breathing dragon dinosaur named, Leviathan.
  • DINO DNA 3: God reveals Leviathan’s great strength. “He regards iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee; slingstones become like stubble to him. Darts are regarded as straw; he laughs at the threat of javelins” (verses 27-29) Leviathan strength is so great that there is nothing like him on the face of the planet (verse 33)
  • DINO DNA 4: God explains how versatile Leviathan is. This dinosaur is able to navigate easily through the sea. When Leviathan is in the sea swimming about there is a “wake” behind him so great that it “shines” so much that “one would thing the deep to be gray-haired” (verse 32).

Some translations of the Bible refer to Leviathan as a crocodile or alligator but neither one of those creatures are sea creatures. Leviathan can not be a crocodiles or alligators because these creatures can be hunted and killed and do not breath our fire. That does not match up with the way God describes Leviathan.

Perhaps the Leviathan was a Kronosaurus. This dinosaur is among the largest of pliosaurs and was known as a marine reptile. It had an elongated head, a short neck, a stiff body propelled by four flippers, and a relatively short tail. Estimate but the Kronosaurus at 30 to 36 in length. Kronosaurus and other plesiosaurs had a similarly adapted pelvic girdle, allowing them to push hard against the water with all four flippers. Between its two limb girdles was a massive mesh ribs that provided additional strength and support. The strength of the limb girdles, combined with evidence of large, powerful swimming muscles, indicates that Kronosaurus was likely a fast, active swimmer. Kronosaurus has four pairs of premaxillary teeth. The first three pairs of its maxillary teeth are large caniniform teeth, and in its lower jaw there are also three pairs of large caniniform teeth which are located immediately in front of the three maxillary caniniforms when the mouth is closed. Two pairs of the lower jaw caniniforms occlude between the last pair of premaxillary teeth and first pair of maxillary teeth. Perhaps this is the creature God is describing to Job to motivate him to trust in Him, the creator of such an animal.

There are 20 times that the bible refers to land dragons. There are nine references to marine dragons. There are three references in the Old Testament to flying dragons. God used the Behemoth and Leviathan to teach Job valuable lessons so it is interesting to note that the events in the book of Job is universally accepted take place in a time period post-global-flood in the Patriarchal era. So we can conclude that most of the dinosaurs God created on day six when He created man were included with the animals that were loaded up on the ark. God instructed Noah to take a male and female of each kind of land animal. No reason this would not have included dinosaurs. One might question, how can the huge animals be on the ark with Noah? God did not specify that they would have had to be adult, full grown animals, they could have been younger smaller ones for the sake of space. Although some dinosaurs were very large, the average size of most dinosaurs was about that of a horse. Any dinosaurs that we sea creatures would survive a flood as they would be able to thrive in the waters. Any dinosaurs that were not sea creatures would be able to preserved on the ark. All other dinosaurs and all other living creatures including man would have been quickly destroyed by the world wide flood. Only those animals and humans on the ark would have survived with the exception of the sea creatures. So, perhaps the Loch-Ness Monster (Plesiosaur?) is not so mythical after all.

We can see ancient literature is chalked full of stories of these significant creatures. There are multiple civilizations all over the world that have dragon like images seared into their cultures. The creationist maintains that many of these myths and stories have their bases in fact. It made such an impact on the people of that time that they included it in stories that were passed on from generation to generation. It is not a stretch to suggest that the dragons of these stories are in fact the dinosaurs found in the fossil records and also the biblical creatures described as “sea monsters”, Behemoth, and Leviathan. We can see DINO DNA all over the Bible and it is important for us to understand that God created these creatures and that serves as proof to us that God is all powerful.

I just think this is fun information and helps make sense of the world around us that God created.

God loves you and so do I,

Alexander Mills