Tannin ( Hebrew: תַּנִּין tannīn; Syriac: ܬܢܝܢܐ tannīnā plural: tannīnē; Arabic: التنين tinnīn, ultimately from Akkadian 𒆗𒉌𒈾 dannina) or Tunnanu ( Ugaritic: 𐎚𐎐𐎐 tnn, likely vocalized tunnanu [1]) was a sea monster in Canaanite and Hebrew mythology used as a symbol of chaos and evil. [2]
Tannin appears in the Baal Cycle as one of the servants of Yam ( lit. 'Sea') defeated by Baʿal ( lit. 'Lord') [3] or bound by his sister, Anat. [4] He is usually depicted as serpentine, possibly with a double tail. [4]
The tanninim (תַּנִּינִים) also appear in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis, [5] Exodus, [6] Deuteronomy, [7] Psalms, [9] Job, [10] Ezekiel, [11] Isaiah, [12] and Jeremiah. [13] They are explicitly listed among the creatures created by God on the fifth day of the Genesis creation narrative, [5] translated in the King James Version as "great whales". [14] The tannin is listed in the apocalypse of Isaiah as among the sea beasts to be slain by Yahweh "on that day", [15] translated in the King James Version as "the dragon". [16] [n 1]
In Judaism, Tannin is sometimes conflated with the related sea monsters Leviathan and Rahab by Christians. [19][ clarification needed] Along with Rahab, "Tannin" was a name applied to ancient Egypt after the Exodus to Canaan. [2]
The word Tannin is used in the Hebrew Bible fourteen times. Aaron's staff becomes Tannin in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 7:9-12), it is used in the meaning "snake" in the Book of Deuteronomy (Deut 32:33) and Psalms (Psalm 91:13). It represents Nebuchadnezzar II (the king of Babylon) in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 51:34) and Pharaoh in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 29:3, 32:2). In the Book of Job ( Job 7:12) the protagonist questions God "Am I the sea or the sea dragon that you have set a guard over me?" [20]
The name has subsequently been given to three submarines in the Israeli Navy: the first, an S-class submarine formerly known as HMS Springer, was in commission from 1958 until 1972. The second, a Gal-class submarine, was in commission from 1977 until 2002. The third INS Tanin is a Dolphin-class submarine in commission since 2014.
In modern Hebrew usage, the word tanin (תנין) means crocodile. [21]