a wailing cry, and is not of large
size, nor formidable to man. The most probable conjecture as to the
animal intended is that of Gesenius, who supposes it to be the jackal.
The other word (_tannin_), which is that used in the text, is applied
as an emblem of Egypt and its kings, and also of the conquering kings
of Babylon. It is spoken of as furious when enraged, and formidable to
man, and is said to be an inhabitant of rivers and of the sea, but
more especially of the Nile. In short, it is the crocodile of the
Nile. We can easily understand the perplexity of those writers who
suppose these two words to be identical, and endeavor to combine all
the characters above mentioned in one animal or tribe of animals. As a
farther illustration of the marked difference in the meanings of the
two words, we may compare the 34th and 37th verses of the fifty-first
chapter of Jeremiah. In the first of these verses the King of Babylon
is represented as a "dragon" (_tannin_), which had swallowed up
Israel. In the second it is predicted that Babylon itself shall become
heaps, a dwelling-place for "dragons" (_tanim_). There can be no doubt
that the animals intended here are quite different. The devouring
_tannin_ is a huge predaceous river reptile, a fit emblem of the
Babylonian monarch; the _tan_ is the jackal that will soon howl in his
ruined palaces. It is interesting to know that philologists trace a
connection between _tannin_ and the Greek _teino_, Latin _tendo_, and
similar words, signifying to stretch or extend, in the Sanscrit,
Gothic, and other languages, leading to the inference that the Hebrew
word primarily denotes a lengthened or extended creature, which
corresponds well with its application to the crocodile. Taking all the
above facts in connection, we are quite safe in concluding that the
creatures referred to by the word under consideration are literally
large reptilian animals; and, from the special mention made of them,
we may infer that, in their day, they were the lords of creation.[94]

3. In verse 21 the remainder of the _sheretzim_, besides the larger
reptiles, are included in the general expression, "Living creature
that moveth." The term "living creature" is, literally, "creature
having the breath of life;" the power of respiration being apparently
in Hebrew the distinctive character of the animal. The word moveth
(_ramash_), in its more general sense, expresses the power of
voluntary motion, as exhibited in ani