Tannin (mythology)

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.

[4] 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".

[19][clarification needed] Along with Rahab, "Tannin" was a name applied to ancient Egypt after the Exodus to Canaan.

In modern Hebrew usage, the word tanin (תנין) means crocodile.