Translated Animals Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dragons

Isaiah 43:20 in the King James Version states,

"The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen."

At first glance, some readers might find it strange--just as I did, honestly--that one word or animal could somehow be translated as both a "dragon" and a "jackal." A dragon is a reptilian or serpentine animal, while a jackal is a wild dog. Yes, a reptile vs. a dog! After researching, I understand better. Apparently, there has been confusion, especially among early English translations of the Bible, over the Hebrew words "tannin" and "tannim".

"Tannin" refers to a sea creature, but it can also refer to a reptile, such as a dragon or a serpent. The plural of "tannin" is "tanninim", which looks very similar to "tannim", a different Hebrew word that refers to wild dogs, including jackals and perhaps even wolves.

Main source here: Answers in Genesis.com

Answer: False

The Bible doesn't mention anything about God creating mermaids or similar creatures.

In the King James Version, Genesis 1:20-22 states:

"And God said, 'Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.'

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.'"

Other translations vary somewhat; for example, the New American Standard Bible uses the term sea monsters instead of great whales, but no translation suggests the idea of mermaids. The more obvious suggestions for the sea creatures are not only whales, but also sharks, dolphins, fish, etc. The sea monsters could also include giant sea serpents and/or dragons.

Mermaids were included in several polytheistic cultures and religions. For instance, the ancient Assyrian goddess Atargatis was depicted as a mermaid. Greek mythology had Sirens, beautiful but evil mermaid-like creatures who lured men with their singing, which caused the men to get into shipwrecks.

However, Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, "The Little Mermaid," features a few Christian concepts, such as God, Heaven, and churches.

Answer: Unicorn

Deuteronomy 33:17 in the King James Version:

"His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh."

In this verse, Moses--yes, Moses--compliments Joseph and blesses the tribes descended from Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

The original Hebrew word is "re'em". These days, most Bible scholars believe that "re'em" refers to aurochs, a type of oxen, which is now extinct. These cattle, which became extinct in 1627, were the ancestors of domestic cattle.

Some people suggest that the animal was either an oryx (antelope) or a rhinoceros instead of an ox.

Answer: Adders

New American Standard Bible: "'For behold, I am sending serpents against you, adders, for which there is no charm, and they will bite you', declares the LORD."

The Hebrew word is "tsepha" and many other translations report them as adders, vipers, or simply poisonous snakes. While the exact wording differs between translations, they agree (with each other) that these are deadly serpents. Even though they aren't likely the snakes that the Bible intended, as scary monsters, cockatrices would certainly fall under the uncharmable category.

The KJV, completed in 1611, wasn't the first English Bible translation to use "cockatrice." In 1382, John Wycliffe's translation originally used it.

The cockatrice appeared in Greek and Roman myths. According to the myths, all the creature had to do was look at a person and he or she would die. During the time that the King James Bible was made, cockatrice stories were popular in Europe.

Answer: Yes

Yes, it's true. Here are a few examples:

King James Version: "Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?"

Jubilee Bible 2000: "Am I a sea, or a dragon, that thou settest a watch over me?"

The New King James Version, released in 1982, actually uses sea serpent, which is a big change from the whale in the traditional King James Version quoted above.

The differences in translations are results of the apparent various meanings of the Hebrew word "tanninim." It can refer to sea animals like whales (for example, see Genesis 1:20-22) but it can also refer to reptiles, both land and sea serpents. An example of it being a land creature is in Exodus 7:9, when Aaron's staff becomes a serpent.

Answer: Behemoth

Job 40:15-18 in the King James Version says,

"'Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.

Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.

He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.

His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.'"

While some people have proposed the idea that the behemoth is (or was) a hippopotamus, which is the evident interpretation in the Living Bible as well as the New Life Version, others argue that the hippo or similar animals, like the elephant or rhinoceros, don't accurately fit the description of having a thick tail that moves like a cedar tree. Many creationists believe that the behemoth was a plant-eating dinosaur, such as a brachiosaurus or an apatosaurus.

Answer: Satyrs

In Greek mythology, satyrs are half-goat and half-human. Today, most people, whether they believe in the Bible or not, don't believe that such creatures exist.

From a Biblical perspective, half-human and half-animal creatures of any kind don't make sense either. The Bible says that God created animals, and then He created humans in His own image. It doesn't imply that He created half-and-half, so to speak, creatures. Yet the King James Version uses the word "satyrs" in Isaiah 13:21, so why is this?

The Hebrew word is "se'irim" and while some translations say wild goats, the word also suggests demonic worship associated with goats. A few translations, such as the Common English Bible, actually say goat demons, or simply demons. It appears, therefore, that the KJV chose to use "satyrs" because the translators equated them with demon-goats.

Answer: He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

This is the same verse in a few other translations:

New Living Translation: "He gives food to the wild animals and feeds the young ravens when they cry."

Darby Translation: "Who giveth to the cattle their food, to the young ravens which cry."

Holman Christian Standard Bible: "He provides the animals with their food, and the young ravens, what they cry for."

As one can see, some translations specify cattle as the beasts or animals, while others don't. In the same way, some specify ravens as the birds, while others talk about birds generally.

This verse's message is simple enough--God provides food for His creations, even little ravens. In the New Testament book of Luke (Luke 12:24, to be exact) Jesus alludes to Psalm 147:9 and states that if God gives food to the ravens, then He will certainly provide for His followers, because they are even more valuable to God than the birds (ravens).

Answer: Screech owl

The Complete Jewish Bible is a Messianic Jewish translation. Messianic Jews are people who still consider themselves Jews, while also believing in Yeshua (Jesus). The comment in brackets is part of the quote; I didn't edit it myself.

In the Babylonian Talmud and the Midrash, Lilith was a female demon. Over time, she became known as the so-called first wife of Adam, because the medieval Jewish text "The Alphabet of ben Sirach" told a creation story about her and described her as such. The only Biblical mention of someone or something called Lilit (also spelled Lilith) is in Isaiah 34:14.

The word "Lilith" means "night" and translations of Isaiah 34:14 vary:

King James Version: "The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest."

English Standard Version: "And wild animals shall meet with hyenas; the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night bird settles and finds for herself a resting place."

New Life Version: "The desert animals will meet with the wolves. The wild goats will cry to its kind. Yes, the night-demon will stop there and find a resting place."

It's possible that Isaiah mentions a demon and also uses an owl to represent her. Whatever this creature was, a literal owl, a demon, a symbolic owl, etc., there is, again, no Biblical connection between her and Adam. In addition, the Bible doesn't talk about Adam having any wife other than Eve.

Answer: Dragon

It's interesting that of all the "mythical" or "imaginary" creatures (that is, the creatures that many people consider to be imaginary) the dragon seems to be the only one that the Bible actually talks about. To some Christians, particularly creationists and fundamentalists, however, the dragon, or at least some form of it, is real.

While dragons are often depicted as fire-breathing reptiles with legs and/or wings, the English word dragon is derived from Latin and Greek words that basically mean huge serpent. A giant serpent also appears to be a Biblical idea of a dragon.

Isaiah 30:6, in the King James Version as well as a few other translations, mentions "fiery flying serpents." These sound like they could be the legendary dragons, but notice how they are described as serpents. The same verse mentions lions, donkeys, and vipers (or regular snakes) too.

There are several Old Testament verses that discuss a monstrous sea dragon called Leviathan.

Isaiah 27:1 states,

"In that day the LORD will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, with His fierce and great and mighty sword, even Leviathan the twisted serpent; and He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea" (New American Standard Bible).

Psalm 74:14 (also from the NASB) states,

"You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness."

In Genesis 3:15, God promised that the serpent's head would be crushed and because of all these verses--Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 27:1, Psalm 74:14, and Revelation 20:2--some Christians believe that the Leviathan is the same serpent and dragon, which represents Satan, in Revelation.

Job 41:1-34 speaks of the Leviathan and provides fascinating details about him. He apparently has smoke in his nostrils and flames in his mouth, which suggests fire-breathing to a degree, but then again, the descriptions could be metaphors to describe his powerful appearance. Even though he is a sea creature and seemingly snake-like, he possibly has legs, but this differs among translations (the KJV, for example, says "parts" and not "legs"). Considering that there seems to be a connection between the Leviathan, Satan, and serpents, the possibility of him having legs is very interesting. Genesis 3:14 states that God cursed the serpent to crawl on his belly. The curse implies that he originally didn't slither and most likely had legs. Personally, I believe that the Leviathan's legs might not be literal, but could be symbolic of the original serpent's legs.