In the previous article<\/a> we discussed the question of whether all dinosaurs indeed disappeared from the world. Now we will address the question of what the Torah says about their creation.<\/p>Thousands of dinosaur skeletons have been found to date. Although some reconstructions are disputed, enough complete skeletons and skulls have been found to attest to the existence of a family of enormous lizards from the past that disappeared. Did the Torah document their creation explicitly?<\/p>
In Chapter 1 of the Book of Genesis, it narrates how Hashem created all families of animals: fish, birds, beasts, creepers, etc. However, these verses do not mention specific species of animals, such as ants, ravens, cows, horses, and so on.<\/p>
Therefore, the following verse stands out exceptionally: "And Hashem created the great *taninim*" (Genesis 1:21).<\/p>
The word "*tanin*" in Hebrew refers to a giant and dangerous reptile known by this name, which was very famous near the Nile in ancient Egypt.<\/p>
The *tanin* is considered one of the last surviving dinosaur types in our world and is the largest reptile on earth today. An average crocodile can reach a length of seven meters and more!<\/p>
The crocodile familiar to us certainly fits the definition of "great." However, the Torah does not suffice with saying "And Hashem created the *taninim*," but highlights the creation of "the great<\/strong> *taninim*!" It emphasizes their size. The Torah does not emphasize the size of any other animals or beasts in any other verse.<\/p>If the average and known *tanin* is considered large to us, it implies that the Torah documents the creation of reptiles much larger than the familiar *tanin*. It implies that the "great *taninim*" were not only large but reached enormous sizes.<\/p>
According to simple understanding, the creatures now called "dino-saurs" (meaning: immense lizards) were clearly documented in the book that was written 3,300 years ago.<\/p>
Notice that the Torah did not write "the great elephants" or countless other animals, but specifically the *taninim* - giant lizards. No one could have predicted that in the future enormous reptile fossils from history would be discovered.<\/p>
We can understand that the great *taninim* in the verse are "the family<\/strong> of dinosaurs," which included many types of reptiles, on land and sea.<\/p>An additional argument heard for the first time in Rabbi Zamir Cohen's lecture, from the verse describing how Moses' staff was turned into a *tanin* (Exodus 7:9), and then into a snake (Exodus 7:15). Did the staff turn into a *tanin* or a snake? Rashi answers: "and it became a *tanin* - a snake."<\/p>
From this, one can argue that the word "*tanin*" is a collective name for the entire family of reptiles, with the snake being a species in this family (after all, the primordial snake is also described as a creature with hands and feet).<\/p>
The ancient Midrash presents the great *taninim* as extinct leviathans, as explained by Rashi: "the great *taninim* - large fish of the sea, and in Aggadah, it is the leviathan and its partner created male and female, and He killed the female and salted her for the righteous in the future to come, for if they were to be fruitful and multiply, the world could not be sustained" (Genesis 1:21).<\/p>
This ancient Midrash teaches that the great *taninim* went extinct because they were not suitable for the human world. There is a verse in the prophets which refers to a giant creature that went extinct, describing it both as a leviathan and as a snake:<\/p>
"Upon leviathan the fleeing serpent and upon leviathan the winding serpent" (Isaiah 51:9). Remember that the *tanin* is also a sea creature, living its whole life in the water and leaping on its prey from the sea. Perhaps the use of the word 'leviathan' in the verse might be because the Torah was describing marine dinosaurs, named after their maritime environment. It is explained by Siftei Chachamim: "for the name *tanin* on land is a snake, and in water is a fish, and so Radak explained on the root *tanin*" (Exodus 9:10). Apparently, even a *tanin* may be called a "fish" due to its habit of swimming in the sea.<\/p>
In my humble opinion, another explanation might be found in the very enormity of the leviathan. That is, perhaps the *taninim* were called in the Midrash 'leviathans' because of their size. 'Sauroposeidon,' for example, is a name given to a dinosaur estimated to be 17 meters tall and about 30 meters long! There is no doubt that only the leviathan can illustrate the enormous size of the "great" *taninim*<\/strong>. By contrast, when we see something large today, we might refer to it as an "elephant."<\/p>The sages in additional Midrashim referred to early giant animals that went extinct, but by another name: "Re'em." The Midrash narrates about King David, who climbed on the back of one of the last re'em, which seemed to him like a mountain, risking his life (Midrash Tehillim, Buber, Psalm 22). The Gemara discusses the size of the re'emim and their inclusion in Noah's Ark (Zebahim 113b). In the next article, with Hashem's help, we will delve into these Midrashim and stand on the mystery of the extinction of the dinosaurs.<\/p>
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