Behemoth (/bɪˈhiːməθ,ˈbiːə-/;Hebrew:בְּהֵמוֹת,bəhēmōṯ) is a beast from the biblicalBook of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at thebeginning of creation.Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity.
The Hebrew wordbehemoth has the same form as the plural of the Hebrew noun בהמהbehemah meaning 'beast', suggesting anaugmentative meaning 'great beast'. However, some theorize that the word might originate from anEgyptian word of the formpꜣ jḥ mw 'the water-ox' meaning 'hippopotamus', altered byfolk etymology in Hebrew to resemblebehemah.[1] However, this phrase with this meaning is unattested at any stage of Egyptian.[2] Even before thedecipherment of Ancient Egyptian in the early 19th century there was widespread identification of the biblical behemoth with the hippopotamus. The word for hippopotamus inRussian remains derivative ofbehemoth (бегемот), a meaning that entered the language in the mid-18th century.[3][4]
The Hebrew wordbehemoth is mentioned only once in Biblical text, in a speech from the mouth of God in theBook of Job. It is a primeval creature created by God and so powerful that only God can overcome him:[5]
Take now behemoth, whom I made as I did you;
He eats grass, like the cattle.
His strength is in his loins,
His might in the muscles of his belly.
He makes his tail stand up like acedar;
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
His bones are like tubes of bronze,
His limbs like iron rods.
He is the first of God’s works;
Only his Maker can draw the sword against him.
The mountains yield him produce,
Where all the beasts of the field play.
He lies down beneath thelotuses,
In the cover of the swamp reeds.
The lotuses embower him with shade;
The willows of the brook surround him.
He can restrain the river from its rushing;
He is confident the stream will gush at his command.
Can he be taken by his eyes?
Can his nose be pierced by hooks?
— Job 40:15-24[6]
The passage later pairs Behemoth with the sea-monsterLeviathan, both composite mythical creatures with enormous strength that humans could not hope to control, yet both are reduced to the status of divine pets.[7]
In Jewishapocrypha andpseudepigrapha, such as the 2nd century BCBook of Enoch (60:7–10), Behemoth is the unconquerable male land-monster, living in an invisible desert (Duidain) east of theGarden of Eden, as Leviathan is the primeval female sea-monster, dwelling in "the Abyss", andZiz the primordial sky-monster. Similarly, in themost ancient section of theSecond Book of Esdras (6:47–52), written around AD 100 (3:1), 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 contemporaneousSyriac 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.[8]
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 slay them both];" 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 theHaggadah, Behemoth's strength reaches its peak on thesummer 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.[9]
Modern interpretations of Behemoth tend to fall into several categories:
Additionally, somecreationistfundamentalists, such as theChristian organizationAnswers in Genesis, claim that the Behemoth is some species ofsauropod or otherdinosaur based on the comparison of the tail to acedar tree.[11]
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The 17th-century political philosopherThomas Hobbes named theLong Parliament 'Behemoth' in his bookBehemoth. It accompanies his book of political theory that draws on the lessons ofEnglish Civil War, the rather more famousLeviathan.
TheDictionnaire Infernal version of Behemoth is ademon that resembles a round-belliedhumanoidelephant. He works as the infernalwatchman for Satan and oversees the banquets inHell while having a good singing voice.
The Behemoth is also mentioned in the opera,Nixon in China, composed byJohn Adams, and written byAlice Goodman. At the beginning of the first act, the chorus sings "The people are the heroes now, Behemoth pulls the peasants' plow" several times.[12]
The Russian writerMikhail Bulgakov used a demonic cat with the nameBehemoth as a character in his novelThe Master and Margarita. In the book the cat could speak and walk on two legs and was part of the entourage ofWoland, who representedSatan.
ThewebnovelWorm features the Endbringers, a trio of city-destroying monsters named Behemoth, Leviathan and theSimurgh.
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