BEHEMOTH AND LEVIATHAN (JOB 41)

In a previous post (“Job 41: Translating Hebrew Poetry”) I talked about the many difficulties encountered by scholars when they try to render this chapter into other languages. There is an equal amount of uncertainty regarding the overall meaning of the chapter, which centers on descriptions of two mysterious and powerful creatures. It is placed at the end of God's speeches to Job which began in chapter 38 and right before Job's response and the epilogue of the story. Thus, it occupies an important place in the overall flow of the book. The two interrelated key issues surrounding this passage are (1) the identity of Behemoth and Leviathan and (2) the way in which they function to further the story of Job.

Who or what are these two creatures?

Greenberg summarizes the way these two are described in the text: “Behemoth, a land animal, is briefly described: his muscles are powerful, his bones like metal bars. Leviathan, a denizen of the waters is a living fortress, whose parts evoke shields and military formations; flames and smoke issue from him; no weapon avails against him; his tracks are supernally luminous; he lords it over the arrogant.”

As Hartley introduces the problems to which these descriptions lead, he says, “The identification of the Behemoth and Leviathan is disputed...Their portraits are a mixture of earthly and mythical traits, especially the portrait of Leviathan. This mixture means that these animals symbolize forces of evil. Possibly Behemoth represents natural forces that at times cause widespread destruction, and Leviathan represents evil cosmic forces that come mightily to disrupt life on earth from time to time. While these monsters are stronger than humans and have some independence, they cannot master or limit God in his purpose in any way.”

“Many commentators have equated the Leviathan of Job 41 with the crocodile, and some elements of the description seem to fit this identification. But others, like his breathing fire (vv. 19-21), do not...in light of the other biblical references as well as the Canaanite antecedents it is better to understand Leviathan as a mythological creature.” (Coogan)

Paul: “The Leviathan (liwyatan) is an animal that is mentioned 5x in the OT. Many exegetes regard the Leviathan as a mythological monster of pagan origin, whereas other exegetes attempt to identify it as an existing animal...The most explicit description is found in Job 41:1-34. Usually, commentators take it as referring to a crocodile or even a whale, yet in each case certain features of the description do not apply.”

“[Behemoth is] a mammoth creature that is probably more mythological than zoological. Behemoth seems to have been a symbol of primordial chaos, a great, ominous primordial power that God overcame when he established order in the universe.” (Wakely)

“Through the Behemoth (40:15-24) and the Leviathan (41:1-34), God portrays two creatures who live in a world beyond human comprehension. They seem to exist on the border between the natural and the supernatural world and hence have a mythic quality about them. The Behemoth and Leviathan evidently represent the inexplicable, dangerous, or sinister side of the created order.” (Gladson)

Terrien: “The primeval monster [Behemoth] is not a mere hippopotamus, but a mythical symbol...Leviathan, not an ordinary crocodile, but the sea-monster (3:8; 26:13; Ps. 74:14), which was associated with chaos. Like the psalmist (Ps. 104.26), the poet shows that it is only a plaything in the eyes of God.”

“In Hebr., apparently, [Behemoth meant] the typical 'beast' or 'brute'; but the name may come from the Egyptian (pehemu, the ox of the waters). A description of the hippopotamus, typifying untameable brute force; only its creator can master it....The name [Leviathan], in its strict sense, indicates a monster of primeval Chaos, believed still to be living in the ocean. Here it is used of the crocodile, though the description still bears traces of the primeval monster which Yahweh subdued, and which symbolized all powers hostile to God. The crocodile is itself a symbol of Egypt in Ezk 29:1f; 32:2f.” (The Jerusalem Bible notes)

Kaiser says, “All who regard these two creatures as being literal animals, such as the Egyptian hippopotamus and crocodile, must admit that the description of them given in Job verges far on the side of hyperbole and is an exaggeration of their appearances and power. The name behemoth is a feminine plural Hebrew noun commonly used for animals or cattle. Even though it is a feminine plural word, all the verbs describing it here are masculine singular, thereby forcing us to read behemoth with intensive force, meaning 'the beast par excellence'...it is quite conceivable that the text uses mythological terminology to present graphically the powers of evil...some scholars have guessed that Behemoth was the largest of all land animals, a mighty dinosaur, while Leviathan was the largest and fiercest of all the aquatic dinosaurs. Such animals may well have lain behind the spiritual applications.”

That last “guess” is attributed to the pseudo-scientist Henry Morris and is part of his defense of the young-earth theory which includes the belief that mankind and dinosaurs co-existed on earth for a while, and thus the memory of them would have been handed down over the generations. No reputable scientist subscribes to that far-fetched scenario. For those wishing to find a detailed expose of the young earth position, and its variations such as flood geology and the gap theory, The Christian View of Science and Scripture by Bernard Ramm is an invaluable and reliable source of information.

Coogan describes Leviathan as a “mythological sea monster who is one of the primeval adversaries of the storm god. In the Ugaritic texts, Baal defeats Lothan (ltn, a linguistic variant of Leviathan), described as a seven-headed serpent, apparently identified with Baal's adversary Prince Sea. In the Bible Leviathan is also identified with the Sea (Job 3.8), and has many heads (Ps. 74.14), and his defeat by God is a prelude to creation (Ps. 74.15-17).

What is the purpose of introducing them here in the narrative?

As Kenneth Gros Louis puts it, “Behemoth and Leviathan ...are much greater than man; yet they were, as God points out, created by God. Man cannot harness them; he cannot feed them; he can not tame them; he cannot use them. If there is such a gap between the Leviathan and the Behemoth and man, God is saying, consider then what a gap there is between man and God...The Leviathan is so great that man might be tempted to worship him, but he is under God's control and, as God reminds Job, only God can make a covenant with man. God created the Leviathan to remind man of the dangers of pride.”

Greenberg: “To drive home Job's powerlessness, two monstrous animals are described that mock the Genesis notion of man's rule of terrestrial and sea creatures...The effect of this parade of wonders is to excite amazement at the grandeur and exotic character of divine creativity. By disregarding man, the author rejects the anthropocentrism of all the rest of Scripture. God's governance cannot be judged by its manifestations in human society alone. ...no man can comprehend God, whose works defy teleological and rational categories; hence to condemn his supervision of human events because it does not conform to human conceptions of reason and justice is improper.”

“In the end of the book of Job, Yahweh challenges Job to show his mastery over the great creatures, Behemoth and Leviathan, which are symbolic of cosmic forces that at times are hostile to God's rule. If Job cannot subdue them, he is in no position to discredit God, his Creator and Master, for treating him unjustly.” (G.V. Smith)

Bullock: “Man had been instructed to subdue the animal kingdom when God assigned him to the lordship of the world (Gen. 1:28). Or, to take something even more familiar, the world of human beings, the Lord challenged Job to set it right (40:10-14)...Still further, if man was too much for Job, the Lord had other challenges for him among his irrational creatures. He might tackle the hippopotamus (40:15-24) or the crocodile (41:11-34).”

These creatures appear after the mention of many natural creatures in God's created universe. But, as Gladson says above, these two seem to exist on the border of the natural and supernatural creation. However, “this, too, lies under Yahweh's sovereignty.”

“This portrait of Behemoth (like that of Leviathan, 41:1-34) may have received literary amplification, but it plays an integral part of the poet's purpose: the creating God is in control of all forces of evil, despite appearances to the contrary.” (Terrien)

Kaiser describes the purpose of this chapter as follows: “When the Lord tells Job of his domination over Behemoth and Leviathan, he merely illustrates what he has already said in Job 40:8-14. He is the one who has triumphed over the forces of evil...The forces of moral disorder, though veiled under mythopoetic language about ferocious and untameable creatures, are used here as a symbol of those who can only be handled by God behind the scenes on behalf of all who must suffer in ignorance of what is ultimately going on.”

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery

The various anonymous contributors to this valuable resource have had a field day with this passage in Job, with sometimes conflicting comments addressing one or both of the above questions:

“The two creatures must be actual animals, described in somewhat hyperbolic terms, which may actually allude to the conquest of the waters, as elsewhere in Job, as a means of demonstrating both the dangers within creation and the absolute divine control over them.”

Several words seem to apply to more than one creature – first to a 'real' animal and second to a mythical one. Leviathan seems to be clearly a crocodile in Job 41, perhaps referring to Pharaoh, who 'ruled' the Nile crocodiles. But elsewhere Leviathan clearly refers to a sea monster of mythical proportions.”

“In the OT three terms are found for monsters that symbolize the threat to the divine order of the world: Leviathan, Rahab and the dragon or sea monster. Rahab (boisterous one) is not found in any text outside the Bible; the biblical parallels suggest it is another name for Leviathan...This imagery is significant for understanding biblical language about creation, God's wars against the nations, and the ultimate conflict that will lead to a new created order.”

“The tour de force in the Bible's giantesque passages is the portraits in Job 40-41 of Behemoth and Leviathan. The real-life phenomena on which the portraits are based are apparently a hippopotamus and a crocodile respectively, but by the time the imagination has worked its amplifying magic on them, they are clearly bigger-than-life specimens!”

“The poet deliberately chooses the hippopotamus (Behemoth) and the crocodile (Leviathan) because they are exotic and unfamiliar to his audience. They summoned awe and reverence the way stories of man-eating plants do for children. They help us imagine a fiercely unpredictable Creator.”

“the cosmic sea...symbolizes the continued threat the forces of chaos pose against God and creation...The Bible adopts its neighbors' creation myths of a primeval battle between a creator God and a sea monster of chaos called Leviathan, Rahab, or the dragon or serpent (Job 41). Unlike the myths of neighboring nations, God creates the chaos monster and places it in the sea (Gen 1:20-21; Ps 104:24-26). The monster stirs the cosmic sea but is wounded and subdued by God (Job 26:12; Ps 74:12-14; 89:9-10; Is 51:9) and will ultimately be vanquished in the end times (Is 27:1).”

“...it is the mythological Sea (the Deep, the Abyss) and its ally the Sea Monster (the Dragon, Leviathan) that are God's enemies. The storm that comes from the sea is the product of their rebellious thrashing and raging against God and his order (Job 41:1)...the flood story serves as a reminder that God alone keeps the Sea from reclaiming the dry land."

In this regard, note that in the end, the sea (symbolic of rebellious forces) will be no more (Revelation 21:1).