John Day
Personal Information
Description
John Day is Professor of Old Testament Studies in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford. His research centres on the study of the Old Testament in its many aspects: its religion, literature, history, theology, languages, archaeology and ancient Near Eastern background, and the history of its interpretation.
Books
God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea
The Old Testament contains a number of interesting poetic references to God's conflict with a dragon, called by names such as Leviathan, Rahab or the twisting serpent, and with the sea. In this original contribution to the background and understanding of the Old Testament Dr Day undertakes a detailed and thorough examination of these allusions. Building on the discovery of the Ugaritic texts, he demonstrates a source for these references within Canaanite mythology. His study further explores the associations of the imagery. Sometimes in the Old Testament the dragon is associated with the creation of the world, or it becomes a symbol of a foreign nation, and in some references it is associated with divine conflict at the end of time.