Rahab (demon)
Encyclopedia
Rahab m.n.
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...

( is used in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...

 to indicate rage, fierceness, insolence, pride. Rahab is the emblematic name of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 and is also spoken of with the sea. In Jewish folklore, Rahab is a mythical sea monster.

Egypt

Rahab is a poetical name for Egypt. It might have Egyptian origins that were accommodated to the Hebrew language. However, there is nothing revealing in the Coptic
Coptic
Coptic may refer to:*The Copts: were a major ethnic group in Egypt. This term described all the people living in Egypt under Roman rule during the 4th to 6th centuries A.D., and until the Muslims took over....

 language.

I mention Rahab (Egypt) and Babel to those knowing Me, Lo, Philistia, and Tyre, with Cush! This [one] was born there.- (Psalm 87:4)YLT
Young's Literal Translation
Young's Literal Translation is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible and Concise Critical Comments on the New Testament. Young produced a "Revised Version" of the translation in...


Thou [Jehovah] art ruler over the pride of the sea, In the lifting up of its billows Thou dost restrain them. Thou hast bruised Rahab (Egypt), as one wounded. With the arm of Thy strength Thou hast scattered Thine enemies. - (Psalm 89:8-10)YLT

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah, Awake, as [in] days of old, generations of the ages, Art not Thou it that is hewing down Rahab (Egypt), Piercing a dragon! - (Isaiah 51:9)YLT

Insolence

In Isaiah 30:7, rāḥāḇ (insolence, strength) becomes a proverbial expression that gives an allusion to the Hebrew etymology insolence.

Yea, Egyptians [are] vanity, and in vain do help, Therefore I have cried concerning this: `Their strength (rāḥāḇ) [is] to sit still. - (Isaiah 30:7)YLT
Young's Literal Translation
Young's Literal Translation is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible and Concise Critical Comments on the New Testament. Young produced a "Revised Version" of the translation in...


Pride

In the Book of Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...

, rāḥāḇ (pride, blusterer) occurs in the Hebrew text and is translated as "proud".
[If] God will not withdraw his anger, the proud (rāḥāḇ) helpers do stoop under him. - (Job 9:13)KJV

He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud (rāḥāḇ). - (Job 26:12)KJV

Jewish folklore

In Jewish folklore, Rahab (noise, tumult, arrogance) is a mythical sea monster
Sea monster
Sea monsters are sea-dwelling mythical or legendary creatures, often believed to be of immense size.Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or multi-armed beasts. They can be slimy or scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water...

, a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

 of the waters, the "demonic angel
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...

 of the sea". Rahab represents the primordial abyss, the water-dragon of darkness and chaos, comparable to Leviathan
Leviathan
Leviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...

 and Tiamat
Tiamat
In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is a chaos monster, a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû to produce younger gods. It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is 'creatrix', through a "Sacred marriage" between salt and fresh water,...

. Rahab later became a particular demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...

, inhabitant of the sea, especially associated with the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

.

Influence

Video-games
  • Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
    Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
    Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is an action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows in 1999 and for the Dreamcast in 2000. As the second game in the Legacy of Kain series, Soul Reaver is the sequel to...

    for the PlayStation
    PlayStation
    The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...

    , Rahab is one of Kain's vampire generals that evolved over millennia into a large swimming monster.
  • Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
    Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
    Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami. It is part of Konami's Castlevania video game series and the first Castlevania game to be released on the Nintendo DS. The game is the sequel to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and...

    for the Nintendo DS
    Nintendo DS
    The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

    , features an underwater boss named Rahab.
  • In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
    Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
    Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami for the Game Boy Advance. It is part of Konami's Castlevania video game series, and the third installment of the series on the Game Boy Advance. The game was released in North America on...

     and in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
    Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
    Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, known in Japan as , is an action video game developed and published by Konami. The game was released on November 16, 2006 in Japan, and in the US on December 5, 2006 for the Nintendo DS handheld game console...

    , a weapon called Rahab's Frost (Rahab's Sword in Aria of Sorrow), which is "a dagger made from the fang of the water dragon Rahab" is found.
  • In the arcade
    Arcade game
    An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...

     shooter, The Ocean Hunter
    The Ocean Hunter
    The Ocean Hunter is a 1998 light gun shooter arcade game developed and published by Sega. The Ocean Hunter runs on Sega Model 3 hardware. It was first released in October 1998.- Gameplay :...

    , Rahab is also the final boss and main villain.

External links

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