tan.nin denotes a large creature, appearing in waters, rod-to-creature signs, hostile imagery, and one place name.

The noun most often names large creatures in accounts of waters, creation, conflict, and signs before Pharaoh. It also occurs in figurative comparisons for hostile rulers or a guarded sea creature, and once as part of the proper name “Dragon Fountain.”

1. Large creatures in waters, conflict, and signs · dominant

   Plural forms occur among creatures made in the waters in Genesis 1:21 and among beings summoned to praise from the earth and deeps in Psalm 148:7. In Exodus 7:9, Exodus 7:10, and Exodus 7:12, singular and plural forms name what the thrown rods become before Pharaoh; in Psalm 74:13 the plural forms have heads broken upon the waters.

   Genesis 1:21Exodus 7:9Exodus 7:10Exodus 7:12Psalm 148:7Psalm 74:13
2. Creature imagery in comparisons and denunciation · common

   In Ezekiel 29:3, the singular form addresses Pharaoh king of Egypt as a great creature lying in his Nile; in Jeremiah 51:34, the APB renders the comparison of Nebuchadnezzar's devouring as swallowing “like a monster.” Job 7:12 places the term beside the sea in Job's question about being guarded, while Isaiah 51:9 recalls the one who hewed Rahab and bore the Dragon.

   Ezekiel 29:3Jeremiah 51:34Job 7:12Isaiah 51:9
3. Place name in Jerusalem · rare

   In Nehemiah 2:13, the form is tagged as a proper noun within the route by the Valley Gate: the APB renders the location “the Dragon Fountain.”

   Nehemiah 2:13

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly uses “dragons,” including the rod signs in Exodus 7:9, Exodus 7:10, and Exodus 7:12, but also uses “sea monsters” in Psalm 148:7, “monster” in Jeremiah 51:34, and “Dragon Fountain” in Nehemiah 2:13. These renderings show its presentation of the clauses rather than a fixed English equivalent in every context.