Dragons: Real or Fantasy?

I remember sitting in Sunday School as a kid and listening tot he lesson on 'What does the Bible say about the existence of dinosaurs?' I found it pretty interesting - more interesting than some other lessons - but I was definitely not prepared for the teacher to read a passage talking about this dinosaur-like creature breathing fire. All my favorite movies and TV shows had, of course, educated me on the fact that it is dragons that breath fire, not dinosaurs. So, naturally, ever since that day I have not been able to shake the idea that dragons may have actually existed, according to the Bible.

Let's unpack this a little bit. The creature the Bible is referring to is the Leviathan, and there has been a lot of speculation as to what exactly the Leviathan is.

According to Psalm 104:26, "There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there." So from this we can deduce that it is a water-dwelling creature. Job 41:13-16 further describes it as follows:

"Who can strip off his outer garment? Who would come near him with a bridle? Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror. His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal. One is so near to another that no air can come between them."

With that description, combined with the fact that we've learned it lived in the water, I can see why many people of theorized that this creature is nothing more than the modern alligator. I mean, I know I wouldn't want to attempt to bridle an alligator or open its mouth. However, the way the Leviathan is described in Isaiah 27:1 doesn't quite fit with that theory:

"In that day, the Lord will punish with his sword - his fierce, great and powerful sword - Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea."

I don't know about you, but I would never describe an alligator as a "coiling serpent". It definitely sounds much more akin to the Loch Ness Monster than to the common alligator, so a water-dwelling dinosaur seems to fit, right? Sure, so long as dinosaurs breath fire. Take a look at what Job goes on to say in Job 41:18-21:

"His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth. Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth."

Now, I know the Bible sometimes gets a little artistic with metaphors when things are being described, but going on for four verses about the Leviathan breathing fire seems to be a little more specific than usual. Obviously, I can't say for sure that Job was being literal, but "a flame comes forth from his mouth" doesn't leave much room for ambiguity.

Now, I'm not saying that dragons definitely existed alongside the dinosaurs, but if you do believe the Bible to be fact, it definitely seems as though there was some kind of fire-breathing creature back when the book of Job was written.