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BEHEMOTH

(Heb. behēmôṯ)

Lit., a “great beast.” The term represents the plural of majesty (plural of the Hebrew noun “beast, cattle,” accompanied by singular verbs), implying a single beast (Job 40:15). The traditional identification of Behemoth has been the hippopotamus. In Egyptian religion the king, in the role of the god Horus, hunted the hippopotamus, which symbolized Seth, god of chaos, killer of Horus’ father Osiris. After winning the battle, Horus assumed the Egyptian throne and established order.

Since the discovery of the Ugaritic texts which identify Leviathan (Job 41:1) as a mythic character, the identification of Behemoth as a hippopotamus has been questioned. Several postbiblical texts confirm the mythological character of both beasts (1 En. 60:7-9; 2 Esdr. 6:49-52). These texts suggest that Behemoth, like Leviathan in Ugaritic myths, had a prototype in pre-Israelite mythology, perhaps understood as a primeval monster, a mythical symbol of chaos.

Patricia A. MacNicoll






Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)

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