Previously, the Lord had described certain land animals and birds to teach Job what he wished him to understand about God and man’s obligation to express his respect to his Creator. In like manner the Lord concludes his remarks to Job by describing two more creatures, the Behemoth (Job 40:15) and the Leviathan (Job 41:1). Moreover, by no means are Biblical scholars agreed upon what these creatures are, whether among those we know roam our planet today, or whether they are extinct creatures. Nevertheless, according to the context, Job knew about the animals, which the Lord mentioned. The Lord’s description of them would have been meaningless, if Job didn’t know them.
The Lord begins his conclusion with his mention of Behemoth (Job 40:15). This creature has been variously described as a water-ox, a river-horse, an elephant, an extinct rhinoceros that had no horn, an extinct brontosaurus dinosaur, and a hippopotamus. The Hebrew word behemoth (H930) is the plural of behemah (H929) and as such is used in the KJV for both beast and cattle (Genesis 6:7, 20; 7:2, 14). It is difficult to categorize the Bible’s description of cattle, because the term seems to include both what we categorize as cattle and what we categorize as reptiles. For example, after the rebellion in Eden, the Lord mentioned what the Bible refers to as the serpent by saying it was cursed above all cattle (Genesis 3:14), implying this was how reptiles were categorized in creation. This, of course, brings into question what the Bible refers to as creeping things (Genesis 1:24). Should they be understood as reptiles or insects? Moreover, what is the difference between a living (H2416) creature (H5315) and cattle (H929) at Genesis 1:24? The Bible isn’t clear, and modern categories developed in the field of the science of animal study can’t be used to judge how the Bible uses its terms.
Having said the above, the manner in which the Lord describes the Behemoth more accurately describes the hippopotamus or our day than the elephant or the rhinoceros, in my opinion. If this conclusion is reasonable and accurate, what the Lord describes in Job 40 is a beast that lives in water, but it feeds off the land, which seems to be unusual by modern standards. Additionally, although the hippopotamus does eat fish, it largely depends upon grazing on land.
The Lord describes the Behemoth as very strong and has powerful muscles in its belly (Job 40:16), which means it is not vulnerable to attack by an enemy in what may appear to be a weak point. Such may be true of the elephant, but not of the hippopotamus. His tail is described as stiff like a cedar and its thigh or leg muscles are very strong (verse-17). Moreover, it bones are strong like brass, making his legs like iron bars (Job 40:18), and there is none like the Behemoth among all of God’s creatures. Yet, the Lord would have no problem destroying him (Job 40:19).
The Behemoth grazes on land, like cattle, and, although his strength is unmatched in the animal kingdom, other beasts have no fear of him, because he isn’t carnivorous (Job 40:20). He lives in the marsh, sheltered among the reeds and shaded by the lotus and willow trees (Job 40:21-22). Even the river at flood stage isn’t a problem for the Behemoth, and he is confident in his environment no matter how dangerous it may be to other beasts or man (Job 40:23).
Who among men are able to capture or slay him, if the Behemoth sees them and is aware of their presence, or, if he is captured in a snare, who is able to pierce his nose and lead him about wherever he pleases (Job 40:24)? The point seems to be, if God is able to create such a strong, untamable creature, whose environment is never a threat to him, even during dangerous seasons for other creatures, what makes Job think he could sway the Lord, as though he could capture him and put a ring in his nose? Is man able to ensnare the Lord and lead him about or cause God to conform to the will of man? Certainly, it appears that Adam thought so, and more recently the scribes and Pharisees thought they could manipulate Jesus (God in the flesh) by requiring him to perform miracles at their command in order to receive their support (John 2:18; 6:30; cp. Luke 4:9-12 and 4:28-29). Nevertheless, God doesn’t need man’s support in order to accomplish what God wants. God is God, and will do as he pleases!
Smoodock's Blog 