Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

PSALMS 74:14KJV
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Psalms 74:14 (KJV)

What does Psalms 74:14 mean?

Psalms 74:14 describes God powerfully defeating "leviathan," breaking its heads and giving its remains as food to people living in the wilderness. The verse uses vivid imagery to show God's ability to overcome great and terrifying forces, providing for those in need even through acts of judgment.

The psalmist, speaking to God, recalls a time when God acted with strength against a monstrous enemy, often understood as a symbol of chaos or evil. In the context of Psalm 74, the writer is lamenting destruction and asking God to remember past acts of deliverance, highlighting God's power to save and provide for His people even in desperate times.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 74:14

  • לִוְיָתָן (livyatan, "leviathan"): This word refers to a legendary sea creature, often seen as a symbol of chaos or evil. Its defeat by God emphasizes God's supremacy over all forces, natural or supernatural.
  • רָאשִׁים (ra'shim, "heads"): The plural form suggests the creature is being depicted as especially fearsome or many-headed, underlining the magnitude of God's victory.
  • מַאֲכָל (ma'akal, "meat"): This word means "food" or "meat," showing that what was once a threat is now turned into provision for others, a reversal of fortune.
  • צִיִּים (tsiyyim, "wilderness"): This term refers to desert-dwellers or creatures of the wasteland, possibly hinting at wild animals or marginalized people who benefit from God's actions.

Why Psalms 74:14 matters

  • The verse clears up that "leviathan" is not just a mythical creature but a symbol for overwhelming danger or evil, and God's defeat of it reassures readers of His power.
  • By mentioning the wilderness and its inhabitants, the verse shows that God's actions can bring unexpected provision to those in the harshest conditions.
  • In the larger context of Psalm 74, this memory of God's past victories is meant to encourage faith and hope during times of crisis or destruction.

Where else these words appear

“leviathan” Hebrew H3882 · used in 5 verses

  • Job 3:8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
  • Job 41:1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
  • Psalms 104:26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

“wilderness” Hebrew H6728 · used in 6 verses

  • Psalms 72:9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
  • Isaiah 13:21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
  • Isaiah 34:14 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.

“brakest” Hebrew H7533 · used in 18 verses

  • Genesis 25:22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
  • 1 Samuel 12:4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand.
  • Isaiah 42:3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

“meat” Hebrew H3978 · used in 29 verses

  • Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
  • 1 Chronicles 12:40 Moreover they that were nigh them, even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for there was joy in Israel.
  • Isaiah 62:8 The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: