Behemoth

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For other uses, see Behemoth (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Bahamut or Baphomet.

Clockwise from left: Behemoth (on earth), Ziz (in sky), and Leviathan (under sea). From an illuminated
manuscript, 13th century AD.

Behemoth (/bɪˈhiːməθ, ˈbiːə-/; Hebrew: ‫בהמות‬, behemot) is a beast from the

biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God
at the beginning of creation; he is paired with the other chaos-
monster, Leviathan, and according to later Jewish tradition both would become
food for the righteous at the end-time. [1] Metaphorically, the name has come to be
used for any extremely large or powerful entity.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2Biblical Description
 3Later interpretations
 4Literary references
 5See also
 6References
o 6.1Citations
o 6.2Bibliography

Etymology[edit]
The Hebrew word behemoth has the same form as the plural of the Hebrew noun
‫בהמה‬ behemah meaning 'beast', suggesting an augmentative meaning 'great
beast'. However, some theorize that the word might originate from
an Egyptian word of the form pꜣ jḥ mw 'the water-ox' meaning 'hippopotamus',
altered by folk etymology in Hebrew to resemble behemah.[2] However, this
phrase with this meaning is unattested at any stage of Egyptian. [3]

Biblical Description[edit]
Behemoth and Leviathan, watercolour by William Blake from his Illustrations of the Book of Job (1826).

Behemoth is mentioned in a speech from the mouth of God in chapter 40 of

the Book of Job, a primeval creature created by God and so powerful that only
God can overcome him:[4]
15 Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox.
16 Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron.
19 He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his
sword!
20 For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play.
21 Under the lotus plants he lies, in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.
22 For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him.
23 Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though
Jordan rushes against his mouth.
24 Can one take him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a snare? (Job 40:15-24,
ESV)
The passage pairs Behemoth with the sea-monster Leviathan, both composite
mythical creatures with enormous strength which humans like Job could not hope
to control, yet both reduced to the status of divine pets. [1]

Later interpretations[edit]
In Jewish apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, such as the 2nd century BCE Book of
Enoch (60:7–10), Behemoth is the unconquerable male land-monster, living in an
invisible desert east of the Garden of Eden, as Leviathan is the primeval female
sea-monster, dwelling in "the Abyss", and Ziz the primordial sky-monster.
Similarly, in the most ancient section of the Second Book of Esdras (6:47–52),
written around 100 CE (3:1), the two are described as inhabiting the mountains
and the seas, respectively, after being separated from each another, due to the
sea's insufficiency to contain them both. Likewise, in the contemporary Syriac
Apocalypse of Baruch (29:4), it is stated that Behemoth will come forth from his
seclusion on land, and Leviathan out of the sea, and the two gigantic monsters,
created on the fifth day, will serve as food for the elect, who will survive in the
days of the Messiah.[5]
A Jewish rabbinic legend describes a great battle which will take place between
them at the end of time: "they will interlock with one another and engage in
combat, with his horns the Behemoth will gore with strength, the fish [Leviathan]
will leap to meet him with his fins, with power. Their Creator will approach them
with his mighty sword [and slay them both];" then, "from the beautiful skin of the
Leviathan, God will construct canopies to shelter the righteous, who will eat the
meat of the Behemoth and the Leviathan amid great joy and merriment." In
the Haggadah, Behemoth's strength reaches its peak on the summer solstice of
every solar year (around 21 June). At this time of year, Behemoth lets out a loud
roar that makes all animals tremble with fear, and thus renders them less
ferocious for a whole year. As a result, weak animals live in safety away from the
reach of wild animals. This mythical phenomenon is shown as an example of
divine mercy and goodness. Without Behemoth's roar, traditions narrate, animals
would grow more wild and ferocious, and hence go around butchering each other
and humans.[6]
Modern interpretations of Behemoth tend to fall into three categories:

1. he is an animal of the natural world, most often the hippopotamus

(e.g. in Russian where the word "begemot" refers more often to
hippopotamus rather than the Biblical animal), although the
elephant, the crocodile and the water buffalo have been
suggested;
2. he was an invention of the poet who wrote the Book of Job;
3. he is a mythical chaos-beast like Leviathan but not to be identified
with him.[7]