Behemoth (Job 40:15-24)

2022-09-22

Behemoth is a word that means “animals.” In the singular, it is translated “cattle.” It has been thought that this is a hippopotamus by some. The problem is that a behemoth has a huge tail: “He moveth his tail like a cedar” (Job 40:17). Others have suggested that it could be an elephant, and the “tail” is the trunk. However, the behemoth’s nose is mentioned elsewhere, which makes this unlikely: “his nose pierceth through snares” (Job 40:24).

This is what we know:

  1. Behemoth is an herbivore. “Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox” (Job 40:15).
  2. Behemoth’s strength is in its legs and stomach. “Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly” (Job 40:16).
  3. Behemoth has a huge tail. “He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together” (Job 40:17).
  4. Behemoth has huge, strong bones. “His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron” (Job 40:18).
  5. Behemoth is of the most powerful of beasts. “He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him” (Job 40:19). The behemoth is so powerful, it sounds like only God Himself could approach to fight or subdue it.
  6. Behemoth is a beast of the field that finds food by mountains and swamps and finds shade in the trees. “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” (Job 40:20-21).
  7. Behemoth consumes a lot of water. “Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth” (Job 40:23). Perhaps this verse suggests that it lived by the Jordan River.
  8. Nobody can capture Behemoth in a trap. “He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares” (Job 40:24).

We do not know what this animal might be. Some suggest a dinosaur of some kind. Many suggest a sauropod of some kind, such as the brachiosaurus. The hippopotamus and elephant are also possible candidates, but with the difficulties we mentioned, who can know for sure? An animal of such strength so that nobody can tame it shows the power of God in His creation.