Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
Leviathan - Latin, the twisted animal, gathering itself in folds. The last syllable, than, appertains to the form of the noun, as in Nehushtan; the first part, levi, in Arabic, means twisting (Bochart, 1: 737): a synonym to the Thannin (Job 3:8, margin; see Ps. 85:14 ; type of the Egyptian tyrant; Psalms 104:26; Isaiah 27:1, "Leviathan, that crooked serpent:" the Babylonian tyrant). A poetical generalization for all cetacean, serpentine, and saurian monsters (note, Job 40:15; hence, all the description applies to no one animal); especially the crocodile, which is naturally described after the river-horse, as both are found in the Nile.
Tongue ... lettest down. The crocodile has no tongue, or a very small one cleaving to the lower jaw. But as in Tongue ... lettest down. The crocodile has no tongue, or a very small one cleaving to the lower jaw. But as in fishing the tongue of the fish draws the baited hook to it, God asks, Canst thou in like manner take leviathan? Translate literally [bªchebel tashqia` lªshownow], 'Canst thou press down his tongue with a cord?'