Lotan
Lotan is a primeval monster defeated by the god Baal Hadad. Leviathan in the Book of Job is a reflection of the older Canaanite Lotan. Parallels to the role the primeval Sumerian sea goddess Tiamat, who was defeated by Marduk, have long been drawn in comparative mythology, as have been comparisons to dragon and world serpent narratives, such as Indra slaying Vritra or Thor slaying Jörmungandr.
↻ synthesized from 4 sources
When
- First attested
- 1500 BCE
- Attested period
- -1500 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Referenced in the Book of Job.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Tiamat, Tunannu, Têmtum, Ninurta, Marduk, Yammu, Hadad, Dagan, rephaim, Tannin, Yamm, Shapash, Kothar-wa-Khasis, ‘Athtart, ‘Anat, ‘Athtar, Gupan, Mot, Baal, Athtar, Pidray, Athirat, Anat, Shapshu, Kothar, Arsay, Ugar, Tallay, Qudšu, Amrur, El
- enemy of
- Baal Hadad, Hadad, Baʿal, Ba‘al, Ba‘al/Hadad
- manifests as
- Leviathan
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“Leviathan in the Book of Job is a reflection of the older Canaanite Lotan, a primeval monster defeated by the god Baal Hadad. Parallels to the role the primeval Sumerian sea goddess Tiamat, who was defeated by Marduk, have long been drawn in comparative mythology, as have been comparisons to dragon and world serpent narratives”
#2288 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“A later passage refers to Ba‘al's victory over Lotan, the many-headed sea dragon. Due to gaps in the text it is not known whether Lotan is another name for Yamm or a character in a similar story. These stories may have been allegories of crops threatened by the winds, storms, and floods from the Mediterranean sea.”
#22940 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“He fought the Tannin (Tunnanu), the "Twisted Serpent" (Bṯn ʿqltn), "Lotan the Fugitive Serpent" (Ltn Bṯn Brḥ, the biblical Leviathan), and the "Mighty One with Seven Heads" (Šlyṭ D.šbʿt Rašm).”
#25830 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Servants of Yam, including Lotan and additional unnamed figures”
#37672 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001