Factbook entries/tagging: Rahab, Leviathan, and Behemoth, Why the differences?
Why is "Rahab (mythical dragon)" classified as Biblical Person/Supernatural Being, while Behemoth and Leviathan are classified as Biblical Thing/Animal in the Factbook?
(1) Shouldn't they all be treated as mythical creatures?
(2) Thus shouldn't they all be classified the same way in the Factbook?
(3) Does mythical necessarily equal personal or supernatural?
(4) Should a mythical animal be tagged as a person or a thing? Shouldn't all three of these be classified as Biblical Thing/Animal? Or maybe a classification "Biblical Thing/Mythical Creature" could be created.
Also,
(5) Why is every instance of Leviathan tagged with Thing:Snake instead of Thing:Leviathan? (See Job 3:8, Job 41:1, Ps 74:14, Ps 104:26, and Isa 27:1.) Why have a Factbook entry for Leviathan but not actually tag the verses with Thing:Leviathan? Behemoth in Job 40:15 is tagged Thing:Behemoth, shouldn't the method be the same for instances of Leviathan?
and
(6) Leviathan in Psalm 74:14 should be tagged with sense:leviathan like in the other four verses.
Comments
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To muddy the waters read Amazon.com: Religion and Its Monsters: 9780415925884: Beal, Timothy: Books which is an excellent book. Proof? I remembered it twenty years after reading it. I won't offer an opinion on supernatural vs. thing but Logos MUST have consistency.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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I won't offer an opinion on supernatural vs. thing
The more I think about this, I'm remembering a forum post a while back where a Faithlife employee said that a Thing is something that can be visually depicted, i.e. you can take a picture of it or create a picture of it. So I'm guessing Rahab, Leviathan, and Behemoth could be visually depicted speculatively based on descriptions given in scripture. I'm also reminded that a supernatural being can be in animal form (like Seraphim being serpentine or goat demons to use biblical examples). But it seems that Faithlife classifies all supernatural beings as Biblical People.
Okay, I've sufficiently talked myself in circles. But I agree with you, whatever they do it should consistent since I do believe all three are the same category of thing/entity.
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We've added this to our list of areas to address.
It's worth mentioning that internally we're working on our documentation on our philosophy beyond tagging decisions. I don't have a completion date and I anticipate it will be a type of living document but we're aiming for more transparency and guidelines for consistency.0 -
I anticipate it will be a type of living document but we're aiming for more transparency and guidelines for consistency.
Great news
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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