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The Dubious Disciple

Book Reviews and Theological Rants of a Liberal Christian

The Dubious Disciple

Book Reviews and Theological Rants of a Liberal Christian

Job 40:15, 41:1, Behemoth and Leviathan

June 17, 2012November 27, 2012
Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox … 
Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?

 

//Two Bible creatures which draw much speculation are the behemoth and the leviathan. Both of these monsters are mentioned in the book of Job, presented as evidence of the greatness of the creation. Some have compared them to dinosaurs, even imagining that the book of Job provides evidence of human and dinosaur coexistence.

The behemoth is a land animal with a tail like a cedar tree and bones as strong as iron. The river rages and it doesn’t disturb him. The leviathan is a monstrous fire-breathing sea creature with terrifying teeth and large scales. These two creatures find a place in both Babylonian and Hebrew storytelling. Some picture the Leviathan as a female, Behemoth as a male, and that they were created on the fifth day of creation as a pair. Some imagine that God will slaughter both beasts as food to provide a banquet in the age to come. Consider this verse from Isaiah 27:1:

In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. 

What a glorious day that will be! Enter the book of Revelation, which draws upon the legend of these two beasts–the beast of the land and the beast of the sea–as great enemies of God, conquered by Jesus, the Messiah. Luckily, we don’t have to eat them … both wind up in the lake of fire.

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Comments (5)

  1. James Pate says:
    June 17, 2012 at 10:42 am

    Maybe they’re being cooked in the lake of fire!

  2. Lee Harmon says:
    June 17, 2012 at 11:25 am

    hmmm…I never thought of that! I’ll have a wing.

  3. James Pate says:
    June 17, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    Barbequed behemoth.

  4. Volnaiksra says:
    June 18, 2012 at 1:21 am

    What exactly is Leviathan being “punished” for? Just for being a fearsome monster?

    You’d be cranky too if you were given the ability to breathe fire and then placed in the middle of the ocean. A cruel practical joke like that’s bound to cause problems.

  5. Lee Harmon says:
    June 18, 2012 at 9:35 am

    Yeah, I imagine he’ll be much happier in the lake of fire. God is kind.

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