I was reading in Isaiah and noticed that he mentions satyrs and dragons. (I forgot the reference. I'll get it later). So I couldn't help wondering, were there satyrs and dragons in his time? Were they real creatures with those names? Or did he have names for animals that the English didn't know how to translate when they translated the bible, and so they just used familiar animals from mythology? Definitely something to think about.

"Satyrs" probably referred to goats or rams. Dragons, I'm a bit less sure of. The Bible does this frequently. There are passages of Scripture (at least two I think) that reference unicorns. And who can forget "Leviathan" and "Behemoth"

The passages that reference unicorns that I can think of off the top of my head are in Job; and later translations render those as 'wild ox'. How... prosaic, really, when one's been imagining the unicorns of myth. But I don't think there are any as obvious textual inconsistencies there as with the translations suggest Leviathan = crocodile...

I would imagine that a unicorn could be an oryx, which, when viewed from the side, does look like it has only one horn, when in reality it has two.

I've always imagined Leviathan to be some sort of pleisiosaur, and Behemoth some sort of Brachiosaur.

I've recently come to think of the Leviathan as as something like Liopleurodon:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liopluridon

I know the Bible mentions crocodiles/elephants/hippos and the like elsewhere at least in some English translations, which make me skeptical that the Behemoth and Leviathan could be a known extant animal... especially those three (plus elehants and hippos tails are nothing like a cedar tree imho) but if only I could actually read the original greek/hebrew... maybe my theory would have some basis.

I know the Bible mentions crocodiles/elephants/hippos and the like elsewhere at least in some English translations, which make me skeptical that the Behemoth and Leviathan could be a known extant animal... especially those three (plus elehants and hippos tails are nothing like a cedar tree imho) but if only I could actually read the original greek/hebrew... maybe my theory would have some basis.

Interesting... definitely has me thinking. I do recall references to those animals in the Bible. Sounds like a good theory for sure.

Fire Fairy.
I can tell you that the word dragon can be found in the encyclopedia as late as the 1880's, when referring to an actual animal. It was about the same time that the word dinosaur was coined for referring to the fossils of creatures that were being dug up.
As for the fire breathing-winged creatures we are so familiar with, they are a fairly new critter. The earliest reference I can come up with is in the Hobbit. Anyone know different please feel free to correct.
I believe there is a reference in Job about Leviathan. A sea creature that is said to expell fire. I heard an interesting explanation as to how this may have been possible by Carl Baugh. I could get into further discussion, but I would digress into another topic.

As for the fire breathing-winged creatures we are so familiar with, they are a fairly new critter. The earliest reference I can come up with is in the Hobbit. Anyone know different please feel free to correct.

Dragons go back much MUCH farther than that. The story of St. George and the Dragon goes back to 1260 if not earlier.

The passages that reference unicorns that I can think of off the top of my head are in Job; and later translations render those as 'wild ox'. How... prosaic, really, when one's been imagining the unicorns of myth.

I've seen studies of the original Hebrew on that, and have heard that when it says "unicorn" it's referring to the Rhinoceros. Which would make sense, since it is a one-horned animal.

~Riella

Which would make sense, since it is a one-horned animal.

The zoologist in me has to say that rhinos have 2 horns But that does make a good deal of sense.

The zoologist in me has to say that rhinos have 2 horns But that does make a good deal of sense.

^^ Not all of them.

~Riella

Ithy beat me too it

Most of the Asian species have one horn and most of the African species have two.

However Rhinos don't have a beard, cloven hooves, or look like a horse.

It is worth noting however many myths surround rhinos horns as having magical healing properties (making them a victim of huge amounts of poaching.... even though this has never been confirmed by science) and I believe there are similar myths about the Unicorns as well

That's a Sumatran Rhinoceros (or a Javan Rhinocerous, I cannot tell which ), which would not have been mentioned in the Bible due to their distance from the Holy Land.

Is it the Black Rhinoceros which would have been seen in that part of the world, or some other type? I believe that Black Rhinos have two horns, but I'm far from an expert on the subject.

Black Rhinos and White Rhinos would have been prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa during those times. The Egyptians and Ethiopians (both of whom are mentioned in the Bible) would have been familiar with these two species.