Behemoth
From SkepticWiki
Contents |
[edit] Definition
The name Behemoth is a plural of a word meaning "animal"; this is a plural of intensification, since Behemoth takes singular pronouns (i.e. it is referred to as "he" rather than "they").
[edit] Texts
- Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about. Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares. (Job 40:15 - 24 [1])
Behemoth also appears in the apocryphal book 2 Esdras.
- Then thou [God] didst keep in existence two living creatures; the name of one thou didst call Behemoth and the name of the other Leviathan. And thou didst separate one from the other, for the seventh part where the water had been gathered together could not hold them both. And thou didst give Behemoth one of the parts which had been dried up on the third day, to live in it, where there are a thousand mountains; but to Leviathan thou didst give the seventh part, the watery part; and thou hast kept them to be eaten by whom thou wilt, and when thou wilt. (2 Esdras 6:49-52 [2])
The cryptic statement about Leviathan and Behemoth being "eaten by whom thou wilt, and when thou wilt", refers to a Jewish tradition that on the Day of Judgement the righteous will eat Leviathan and Behemoth [3] (and, in some accounts, a large bird known as a ziz).
[edit] Identifying Behemoth
As in the case of Leviathan, certain creationists have tried to identify Behemoth as a dinosaur.[4] This identification seems to rest on one argument alone: that when the Book of Job says that "he moveth his tail like a cedar", what it actually means is that Behemoth's tail was the same size as a cedar; and dinosaurs had big tails. Proponents of this view do not, of course, apply the same reasoning to the phrase "he eateth grass like an ox", because this wouldn't give them the answer they want.
There are a number of objections to this identification. Behemoth is described as being able to drink a river. No dinosaur, however large, is capable of so doing. Any creationist who wishes to get around this by arguing that the Bible shouldn't be taken literally is, we feel, losing sight of his objective. Also, Behemoth is described as having a navel. Dinosaurs laid eggs, and so did not have navels. The keen expectation on the part of the Jews of eating Behemoth on Judgement Day suggests that Behemoth is kosher; a dinosaur does not fulfil the criteria. Finally, there is simply no evidence of dinosaurs living at the time of the composition of the Book of Job.
Demonologists, from the author of the Malleus Malificarium onwards, have identified Behemoth as a demon.[5] There is nothing in the Biblical texts to suggest that Behemoth is anything more than an animal, though a remarkable one; and a demon, surely, would not merit the appellation of "chief of the ways of God" (Job 40:19).
More reputable scholars have identified Behemoth as a hippopotamus, an elephant, or some large bovine animal. While this is more plausible given the description of Behemoth, it ignores the fact that Behemoth appears, from the texts, to be one of a kind, created on the fifth day of Genesis, and living until Judgement Day. It would appear, then, to be a mythological beast, though it is possible that the legend has its origins in a description of a real animal.
