Водната стихия и нейните олицетворения в книга Йов
The Water Personifications in the Book of Job

Summary/Abstract: The book of Job is a kind of an encyclopedia of the ancient Semitic concepts of the world. We can find many ancient mythological perso¬nages and ideas in it. The presentations of the water chaos have a special place in it. An analysis of the role of the water monsters in the book of Job is proposed in the article. Further, the Greek and the Latin counterparts of the Hebrew words are discussed, as well as the Old Slavic counterparts of the Greek and Latin words in the Medieval Slavic translations of the book of Job, made from Septuagint and Vulgate. The monster Leviathan appears in 3:8 and in 40:20-41:26. But the first time it is a personification of the abyss and chaos and the second time it is a God's creature. According to the different meanings, it is translated by different Greek words - by κήτος and by δράκων. The Slavic translations are by kitъ and zmij respectively. Further, the Jewish primordial monster Rahab appears in 9:13 and 26:12. This name originally designated the pri¬mordial abyss, the water-dragon of darkness and chaos. In both places in the book of Job God defeats it. The Greek counterpart is κήτος, which is very successful, because the Greek word also is polysemantic - it means both 'whale', a 'sea monster', and 'elements, abyss'. The first Slavic translator used the word kitъ - 'whale', but the second one used the word sъstavъ, which means 'elements, abyss', and may be he comprehended this place better. There is another ancient Canaanite water personification, which appears in the book of Job. This is Yamm, the lord of the Sea, who is tread down by God in 9:8. This place is radically transformed In Sep¬tuagint and a different image appears in it - God goes on the sea, which corresponds with the well-known Christian image in Mt 14:25-31. The book of Job is often illustrated in the Byzantine manuscript tradi¬tion. The water monsters are depicted in different ways by the medieval artists, who have not been restricted by rules and could give a freedom to their imagination. Some of the miniatures are given in the article as an application.

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