What Scripture says
The Bible doesn’t mention dinosaurs by name; the word was coined by Richard Owen in 1842. Genesis 1 says God made “the great sea creatures” (Genesis 1:21, ESV) and “the livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds” (Genesis 1:24), which would include dinosaurs, whenever they lived.
Job 40–41 describes two powerful creatures:
- Behemoth “eats grass like an ox… his strength in his loins… He makes his tail stiff like a cedar… His bones are tubes of bronze” (Job 40:15–18). He lies under lotus plants in the marsh and isn’t alarmed when the river rages (Job 40:21–23).
- Leviathan can’t be caught with a fishhook (Job 41:1). “His sneezings flash forth light… Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth” (Job 41:18–19).
Leviathan also appears elsewhere as a sea monster God defeats: “You crushed the heads of Leviathan” (Psalm 74:14), and “the LORD… will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent” (Isaiah 27:1).
What the evidence says
Science
Dinosaur fossils are real and abundant. Since the first scientific descriptions in the 1820s, thousands of skeletons have been found on every continent, along with eggs, nests, footprints and skin impressions.
The mainstream view. Radiometric dating places dinosaurs between about 230 and 66 million years ago. They died out in a mass extinction about 66 million years ago, very likely triggered by an asteroid impact. Evidence includes a worldwide layer rich in iridium (rare on earth but common in asteroids) and the Chicxulub crater, about 180 kilometres wide, off Mexico. Birds are widely regarded as living descendants of one group of dinosaurs.
The young-earth view. Young-earth creationists hold that dinosaurs were created on day 6 alongside other land animals, lived alongside humans, were on the ark (likely as young animals), and that most dinosaur fossils were formed in the flood (see 2.8). Some see dragon legends from many cultures as distorted memories of dinosaurs.
Soft tissue. In 2005, paleontologist Mary Schweitzer reported flexible, vessel-like structures inside a Tyrannosaurus rex bone. Young-earth creationists see this as evidence the fossils can’t be millions of years old. Schweitzer, herself a Christian who accepts an old earth, and most researchers argue iron and other conditions can preserve such molecules for very long periods. Research is ongoing.
Context
The identities of Behemoth and Leviathan are debated:
| Creature | Common identifications | Reasons |
|---|---|---|
| Behemoth | Hippopotamus, elephant, or a sauropod dinosaur | Eats grass, lives in marshes and rivers; the “tail like a cedar” is the main argument for a dinosaur |
| Leviathan | Crocodile, whale, extinct sea reptile, or a symbol of chaos | Armoured, fearsome in the water; breathes fire in poetic description; elsewhere a chaos monster |
- Most biblical scholars identify Behemoth with the hippopotamus or elephant and Leviathan with the crocodile, described in vivid, larger-than-life poetry. “Tail” may be a euphemism, or poetic exaggeration.
- Many young-earth writers see Behemoth as a sauropod, such as Brachiosaurus, mainly because of the tail “like a cedar”, and Leviathan as a large marine reptile.
- Some scholars read both as symbols: in ancient Near Eastern texts, sea monsters stood for chaos, which God alone controls. Ugaritic texts describe a seven-headed sea serpent called Lotan, closely related to Leviathan.
Where they meet
When dinosaurs lived depends on your view of the age of the earth (2.4). In every view, dinosaurs are part of God’s creation.
The point of the passage in Job is clear whatever the animals were: God made creatures far beyond human control, and Job is not in a position to question God’s running of the world (Job 40:2, 42:2–6).
What’s still open
- Whether Behemoth and Leviathan are known animals, extinct animals or symbols.
- The age of the earth, which settles when dinosaurs lived.
- What the soft tissue found in dinosaur bones shows.
Bottom line
Fossils are real. When dinosaurs lived depends on your view of 2.4, and Behemoth and Leviathan (Job 40–41) are debated, so this is rated Debated.