Calvin’s Dragons!
Bodie
Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, June 23, 2025 (Donate)
It almost went without notice and then I flipped the page back...and there it was! In today’s modern electronic age, where programs with searchable books and websites with information seem to be the primary means of locating something, you may just miss something.
That’s the lesson I learned in this instance anyway. I have many books and access to many more and from time to time I have to consult the hard copy. And right under my nose was a fascinating find, in a book in my office that I overlooked for years.
I opened my hard copy of John Calvin’s commentary on the book of Genesis to view his initial notes in the opening pages of Genesis. As I flipped pass the preface on my way to Genesis 1, something caught my eye.
In
this particular printing of the book, a facsimile of the original artwork for
the translation of Calvin’s commentary of Genesis into English from Latin was
included. This artwork was from AD 1578.
Calvin’s Dragons
The artwork displayed a few
creatures as well as vegetation, which is likely referring to God’s creation of
such things in Genesis.
There are two birds, similar to a pelican with slight artistic merit. They sit symmetric to each other near the top. There are also two heads of pig being symmetric on both sides near the bottom but are quite small.
There are other images of creatures and plants as well but the ones that caught my attention were along the top, just higher than the birds. There are two dragon-looking creatures symmetric to each other. They have the appearance of a reptile and with a lizard-like tongue coming out and yet the creatures have a form of wings. The two creatures are not identical but have slight variance.
In both drawings, they appear to have long reptile-like tail, and yet one clearly has some form of forearms. This is likely some form of embellished flying dragon (or possibly sea dragon). I’m reminded of Isaiah 27:1 where it says:
In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. (KJV 1769)
As I scanned the picture further, I noticed what looked like a creature that appeared to be dead in bottom center of the drawing (since it was upside-down). Another creature looked as though it was about to feast on it. An added enhanced outline is also shown to view it better:
The unique feet and long serpent-like tail give reptile-like characteristics to this particular creature as well. After a little investigation, the drawing resembles an ornithopod-type dinosaur.
Conclusion
Many creationists believe that descriptions and images of dragons in history are due to remnant encounters with real dinosaurs and dragons and sea monsters—prior to extinction. These images may reflect some of these firsthand encounters or as they may have been passed down.
These drawings are significant because of this translation and its corresponding artwork were in 1578 A.D., long before the name “dinosaur” was even coined (1841 by Sir Richard Owen). This was also long before people began digging extensively into the ground and describing dinosaur fossils.
Such a finding is a good confirmation that man and dinosaurs were created on the same day (Day 6, Genesis 1:24-31), were aboard the Ark (Genesis 6:19-20), lived after the Flood (Genesis 8:16-19) and have been dying out ever since, like many other animals have in this sin-cursed world. Death and extinction is reminder that we too will die because we are also sinners (Romans 5:12) and need a Savior, namely Jesus Christ.
Dinosaurs ,Dragons, and the Bible book by Bodie Hodge
Originally here: https://answersingenesis.org/dinosaurs/dragon-legends/calvins-dragons/; Republished by permission.
