Behemoth (; , bəhēmōṯ) 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. , the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity.
Etymology
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
"the water-ox", meaning "
hippopotamus", altered by
folk etymology in Hebrew to resemble
behemah.
However, this phrase with this meaning is unattested at any stage of Egyptian.
Even before the decipherment of Ancient Egyptian in the early 19th century, there was widespread identification of the biblical behemoth with the hippopotamus. The word for "hippopotamus" in
Russian language remains derivative of
behemoth (бегемот), a meaning that entered the language in the mid-18th century.
Biblical description
The Hebrew word
behemoth is mentioned only once in Biblical text, in a speech from the mouth of God in the Book of Job. It is a primeval creature created by God and so powerful that only God can overcome him:
The passage later pairs Behemoth with the sea-monster Leviathan, both composite mythical creatures with enormous strength that humans could not hope to control, yet both are reduced to the status of divine pets.
Later interpretations
In Jewish
apocrypha and
pseudepigrapha, such as the 2nd century BC Book of Enoch (
7–10), Behemoth is the unconquerable male land-monster, living in an invisible desert (
Duidain) 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 AD 100 (
1), the two are described as inhabiting the mountains and the seas, respectively, after being separated from each other, due to the sea's insufficiency to contain them both. Likewise, in the contemporaneous 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 that 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.
A Jewish rabbinic legend describes a great battle that 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;" 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.
Modern interpretations of Behemoth tend to fall into several categories:
-
Behemoth is an animal of the modern natural world, most often the hippopotamus (e.g. in Russian where the word refers more often to hippopotamus rather than the Biblical animal), although the elephant and water buffalo could also be candidates. All three consume grass and chew it as an ox would, and the elephant and water buffalo both have mobile, sprucy tails that sway in a similar manner to a Lebanese cedar-tree sapling (though the text does not specify a sapling).
-
Behemoth was an invention of the poet who wrote the Book of Job.
-
Behemoth and Leviathan were both separate mythical chaos-beasts.
Additionally, some creationist Fundamentalism, such as the Christianity organization Answers in Genesis, claim that the Behemoth is some species of Sauropoda or other dinosaur based on the comparison of the tail to a Cedrus libani.
Literary references
The 17th-century political philosopher
Thomas Hobbes named the
Long Parliament 'Behemoth' in his book
Behemoth. It accompanies his book of political theory that draws on the lessons of English Civil War, the rather more famous
Leviathan.
The Dictionnaire Infernal version of Behemoth is a demon that resembles a round-bellied humanoid elephant. He works as the infernal Security guard for Satan and oversees the banquets in Hell while having a good singing voice.
The Behemoth is also mentioned in the opera, Nixon in China, composed by John Adams, and written by Alice Goodman. At the beginning of the first act, the chorus sings "The people are the heroes now, Behemoth pulls the peasants' plow" several times.
The Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov used a demonic cat with the name Behemoth as a character in his novel The Master and Margarita. In the book the cat could speak and walk on two legs and was part of the entourage of Woland, who represented Satan.
The Web fiction Worm features the Endbringers, a trio of city-destroying monsters named Behemoth, Leviathan and the Simurgh.
See also
-
Bamot
-
Bahamut
-
Senegal River, ancient name for the Senegal River
-
The Beast (Revelation), two beasts described in the New Testament
-
Dābbat al-Arḍ
-
Book of Job in Byzantine illuminated manuscripts
-
The Giant Behemoth, an American-British science fiction giant monster film
-
Tarasque
-
Hadhayosh
-
Behemoth (novel), novel by Scott Westerfeld
Citations
Bibliography
