Behold Behemoth! The Bible: Job chapter 40 verses 15 to 24

Large animals generate a wide range of strong reactions from people. It's a thrilling experience to get close to an elephant or a camel for the first time. Rhinos and hippos are regarded with great interest and affection. The lofty giraffes provoke admiration, and the majestic whales evoke awe. We know from the early chapters of the Bible that mankind should have a good relationship with the animals, but sin has spoiled everything and the created order is marred. Nevertheless, the living world is still there to stimulate our minds and teach us more about our Maker and his ways. God's words to his servant Job were to help Job (and ourselves) learn from creation. We shall consider, in this short study, a passage of Scripture which concerns one specific animal.

The issue behind the Lord's words to Job in chapter 40 is identified clearly in verse 8: `Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?' On such matters, it is vital not to be confused or to doubt. The challenge is needed: in our hearts, we tend to blame God when things are not as we would want. Hostility begins with resentment and turns into accusation. Job did show this tendency in a measure, for he so defended his own purity that it seemed as though God was unjust to allow his sufferings. Other individuals go further and turn their backs on God, rejecting him and all that he stands for. To this situation God speaks.

The Lord's discourse in chapters 40 and 41 contains two `nature poems': one concerning Behemoth and the other concerning Leviathan. Controversy has raged over their identity and whether they are real or mythical creatures. Those arguing for real animals suggest that there are poetic elements in the remarkable descriptions, whereas those who take the animals to be mythical allow the text a more literal interpretation - they are fantastic dragons!

The interpretation that they are real animals is superior for the following reasons. 

• The poems are not essentially different from the earlier ones in chapters 38 and 39, which deal with animals Job was expected to know and which we also recognise. 
• Fanciful language has already been used in the earlier poems and we do not need to insist on the strict literal sense. 
• The book of Job does not go into fantasy or mythology - it is realistic throughout. 
• Job chapter 40 verse 15 states explicitly the Behemoth and Job are equally God's creatures: Behemoth is said to have been `made along with' man. 

In verses 15 to 24, the Lord refers Job to one of his spectacular creatures and asks many probing questions. The word `Behemoth' is the plural of the Hebrew word `behemah' meaning `wild beast', and is here used as a proper name. Job is commanded to `look' at the Behemoth, and the Lord points out those features of the animal which are specially to be noted. These are listed below: 

• Behemoth is a herbivore, feeding on grass like cattle. The Hebrew word here is baqar, which is used elsewhere for herds of oxen kept by man. 
• He has great size and his muscular strength is evident in the appearance of his legs and belly. 
• He has a large muscular tail (although the New International Versionhas `trunk' as a possible alternative translation). 
• Bones and limbs are extraordinarily strong. 
• A behavioural trait is to sink into the river waters and to be hidden among the reeds. 
• The animal is at home in water. When the river is in flood, he prefers to stay in the surging waters rather than escape to dry land. `He is not alarmed; he is secure.'
• He can venture forth into the mountains in order to forage for food. 
• He is a wild animal, and it is unheard of for him to be captured, overpowered, and pierced through the nose. 

There is widespread confusion about which animal is intended. The New International Version has a footnote to say that Behemoth is the hippopotamus or the elephant. The hippo is a herbivore, consuming grass and herbs in rivers by day, and doing the same on land at night. Lotus plants (verse 21) are good food. Although the animals look ungainly, hippos are able to move in water with great agility. However, the hippo does not seem to fit the description of Behemoth because of his tiny tail. Furthermore, the mention of sinews and bones in verses 17 and 18 does not seem appropriate, as the hippo has a thick hide which conceals what lies beneath. In addition, some mention of his extraordinary head would be expected - which might be thought justifiably to overshadow the strength of the animal elsewhere. The `hippopotamus' rendering has been defended by reference to an Egyptian word `p-ih-mw' which is translated `ox of the water'. However, this does not seem to be a particularly weighty point.

The elephant is an outside possibility if tail is translated `trunk', but the elephant has been tamed to work for man, and is essentially a land animal. He does not lie basking in the river water, but merely takes a dip now and again to cool off. The relevant Hebrew word used here in zanab, which is translated `tail' or `rear'. That it is distinct from the head is shown by Deuteronomy chapter 28 verse 13 (`The Lord will make you the head and not the tail') and a similar text in chapter 28 verse 44. In Judges chapter 15 verse 4, we read of Sampson, who caught 300 foxes, tied their tails (same word) together, fastened a torch to every pair of tails and set light to them, and watched them carry the flames to the standing corn of the Philistines. There is no hint that this word could be translated `trunk'.

Of all the animal creation, only the large herbivorous dinosaurs fit the description: these are the sauropods. The larger ones, like Apatosaurus, seem to be satisfactorily portrayed by these verses. The feet of these giants are suited to walking on land, and would tend to sink into soft mud. However, there is no reason why a sauropod should not relax in the river waters - for cooling the body, for protection from predators and for gathering food.

The Behemoth is said to rank `first among the works of God'. He is not an obscure, little known animal, but an extraordinary product of God's handiwork, to be admired by men. These words suggest that an Apatosaurus-like dinosaur was alive in Job's day, and that the animal was known to Job - for these words do not leave him mystified. This is a revolutionary thought to many, for it is widely believed that dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. However, try saying that to a man who, has seen one alive! Turning the argument the other way round, this passage is a witness to the contemporaneity of humans and dinosaurs.

Now what was Job asked to do? He was commanded to `look at the Behemoth'. He was to let his thoughts dwell on the impressive features, magnificent strength and self-reliance. He was to consider that though man can only watch from a distance, `yet his Maker can approach him with the sword'. Man has no power over Behemoth, for `can anyone capture him by the eyes, or trap him and pierce his nose?' Only the Lord has dominion over this creature! People today are fascinated and intrigued by the great dinosaurs - how much more should we be taken up and absorbed by thoughts of their Creator! Would we then be tempted to discredit God's justice? Would we then want to vindicate ourselves at his expense? Or rather, would we not admire his power and authority over great and small, and declare that he does all things well! Such noble thoughts stir up faith within and promote confidence in his government of our lives.

It is worth noting that God did not tell Job anything new about Behemoth: all these points covered familiar ground. It is possible to `see'creation with blind eyes, oblivious to the lessons God has for us. `Nature'must never be substituted for `God's handiwork'! The book of nature is the book of God's creation: let us read it with wisdom and discernment. Let parents teach their children how to understand the living world; let our conversation and studies go forward in this light.

David J. Tyler (1993)