Rahab () is used in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Raḥab or Rachav () is a term for the

Abyss Abyss may refer to: Religion * Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld * Abyss (Thelema), a spiritual principle within the system of Thelema Film and television * ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film s ...

Biblical usage

As primeval sea-monster

Rahab appears in Psalm 89:10, Isaiah 51:9–10, and Job 26:12. Rahab, in these passages, takes the meaning of primeval, chaotic, multi-headed sea-dragon or Leviathan. "Thou didst crush Rahab, as one that is slain; Thou didst scatter Thine enemies with the arm of Thy strength." Psalm 89:10 "Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Art thou not it that hewed Rahab in pieces, that pierced the dragon?" Isaiah 51:9–10 "He stirreth up the sea with His power, and by His understanding He smiteth through Rahab." Job 26:12 The

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

ns told of a sky-god,

Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...

, and a sea-goddess,

Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( or , ) is the primordial sea, mating with Abzû (Apsu), the groundwater, to produce the gods in the Babylonian epic '' Enûma Elish'', which translates as "when on high". She is referred to as a woman, an ...

, battling for supreme power over the other gods, in the

Enūma Eliš ' ( Akkadian Cuneiform: , also spelled "Enuma Elish"), meaning "When on High", is a Babylonian creation myth ( named after its opening words) from the late 2nd millennium BCE and the only complete surviving account of ancient near eastern cosmol ...

. It has been speculated these two characters in the Babylonian myth are parallel to the creation stories found in the biblical passages containing the name Rahab. There is a possible connection between the monster Rahab and the fragmentary attested Akkadian chaos-dragon

Labbu The Labbu Myth is an ancient Mesopotamian creation epic. Only one copy of it is known from the Library of Ashurbanipal. It is commonly dated no later than the Old Babylonian period, although recent work suggests a later composition. It is a folkta ...

As insolence or pride

Isaiah 30 Isaiah 30 is the thirtieth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. The Jerusalem ...

:7, ''rahav'' becomes a proverbial expression that alludes to insolence. "For Egypt helpeth in vain, and to no purpose; therefore have I called her arrogancy that sitteth still." Isaiah 30:7 In the

Book of Job The Book of Job (), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The language of the Book of Job, combining post-Babylonia ...

, ''rahav'' occurs in the Hebrew text and is translated in the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

as "proud". "If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him." Job 9:13

Egypt

Rahab is a poetical name for Egypt. It might have Egyptian origins that were accommodated to the Hebrew language, although there is no relevant term in

Coptic language Coptic () is a dormant language, dormant Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language. It is a group of closely related Egyptian dialects, representing the most recent developments of the Ancient Egyptian language, Egyptian language, and histori ...

Jewish folklore

In medieval

Jewish folklore Jewish folklore are legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales, stories, tall tales, and customs that are the traditions of Judaism. Folktales are characterized by the presence of unusual personages, by the sudde ...

, Rahab is a mythical

sea monster Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and are often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are of ...

, a

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

of the waters, the "

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

of the sea". Rahab represents the primordial abyss, the water dragon of darkness and chaos, comparable to

Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...

and

. Rahab later became a particular demon, inhabitant of the sea, especially associated with the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

Modern culture

Rahab is the official Hebrew name for the planet

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

in a vote organised by the

Academy of the Hebrew Language The Academy of the Hebrew Language (, ''ha-akademyah la-lashon ha-ivrit'') was established by the Israeli government in 1953 as the "supreme institution for scholarship on the Hebrew language in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem of Givat Ram cam ...

in 2009. Several

Israel Navy The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national milit ...

submarines also bear the name, including the fifth

Dolphin class submarine The ''Dolphin'' class () is a diesel-electric submarine developed in Israel and constructed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel, Germany, for the Israeli Navy's Shayetet 7 flotilla. The first boats of the class were based on the expo ...

, which officially entered service in January, 2016: The

INS Rahav ''Rahav'' has been borne by three ships of the Israeli Navy and may refer to: * , a S-class submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which h ...

."PM, president turn out to welcome Israel's newest submarine"
TimesofIsrael.com In the

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

'' Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver'', the boss character Rahab is a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

who has evolved into a marine fish-like creature, possibly a reference to the mythic sea monster.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahab Demons in Judaism Dragons Jewish legendary creatures Mythological aquatic creatures Sea monsters Tiamat Leviathan