In the place of dragons. — This expression evidently means a wild desert place, from comparison with Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 10:22; Jeremiah 49:33. So Aquila has “an uninhabitable place.” The rendering dragons for tannim arose from its resemblance to tannîn (sea monster). The tan must be a wild beast, since it is connected with ostriches (Isaiah 34:13) and wild asses, whom it resembles in snuffing up the wind (Jeremiah 14:6), and is described as uttering a mournful howl (Isaiah 43:20; Micah 1:8; Job 30:29). The jackal is the animal that best answers these requirements. The LXX. and Vulg., which give various different renderings for the word, have here, “in the place of affliction.”
Shadow of death. — See Note, Psalms 23:4.