Bible Strands
Psalms 74:14
You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, recounting His past acts of cosmic deliverance during a time of national crisis. The speaker recalls Yahweh's intervention against chaotic forces while the community suffers.
The words — The Hebrew verb רִצַּצְתָּ (Ri.tzatz.ta) means "you crushed," describing the violent destruction of Leviathan's heads. The phrase תִּתֵּן אֹכֶל (ti.te.Ne./nu ma.'a.Khal) translates literally as "you gave food" to the desert-dwellers.
The thread — This motif of God judging Leviathan reappears in Isaiah 27:1, where the LORD wields a sword against the fleeing serpent. Job 41:1 also references Leviathan, though as a rhetorical challenge to human power, contrasting with the psalmist's declaration of divine supremacy.
Why it lands — The text records God's decisive defeat of chaos and His provision of the defeated beast to the wilderness. It demands acknowledgment that historical deliverance and cosmic sovereignty belong to Yahweh alone.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 27:1 In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.
- Job 41:1 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope?
- Psalms 72:9 May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.
- Psalms 104:25 Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both great and small.
- Numbers 14:9 Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!”
- Job 3:8 May it be cursed by those who curse the day—those prepared to rouse Leviathan.
- Exodus 12:35 Furthermore, the Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold, and for clothing.
- Exodus 14:30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.
- Revelation 20:2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.