top of page

Why are dinosaurs not mentioned in the Bible?

“Dinosaur” is derived from Latin words meaning terrible (deinos) and lizard (sauros). The term “dinosaur” is generally used to refer to fossil remains of reptiles that were often enormously large compared to the kinds of reptiles that exist today, such as turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodiles and alligators.

​

The Bible attributes all living things to the handiwork of God. Animals were made on the fifth and sixth days of creation:

​

“And God said, ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.’ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

​

And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.’  And it was so.  And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:20-25).

​

Dinosaurs are included here. Most of the large lizard species have become extinct and are known only from fossils. The Bible mentions three powerful creatures that may be dinosaurs: the dragon (Job 41:1)(1), behemoth (Isaiah 27:1)(2), and leviathan (Job 40:15)(3).

​

​

​

bottom of page