The Pulpit Commentary on Isaiah 27:1

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

THE TRIPLE JUDGMENT ON THE POWERS OF DARKNESS. The crowning judgment of all is now briefly described. "In that day"—the day of God's vengeance—when all his other enemies have been put down, Jehovah shall finally visit with his sword three mighty foes, which are described under three figures—the first as "Leviathan, the swift serpent;" the second as "Leviathan, the crooked serpent; "and the third as "the dragon that is in the sea."

It has been usual to see in these three monsters three kingdoms inimical to God—either Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt; or Assyria, Egypt, and Tyre; or Media, Persia, and Egypt. But this diversity of interpretation shows that there is no particular fitness in the emblems to symbolize any special kingdoms or world-powers, while the imagery itself and the law of climax alike point to something higher than world-powers being intended.

"Leviathan," in Job 3:8, where the word first occurs, represents a supra-mundane power—probably "the dragon, the enemy of light, who in old Eastern traditions is conceived as ready to swallow up sun and moon, and plunge creation in original chaos or darkness"; and the "dragon" is a customary emblem of Satan himself (Psalms 91:13; Isaiah 51:9; Revelation 12:7, Revelation 12:9), the prince of darkness.

The triple vengeance here is parallel to the triple punishment, in the apocalyptic vision (Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10), of "the devil," "the beast," and "the false prophet," who have been termed by commentators "the three great enemies of God's kingdom".

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