Behemoth (theology)

The Behemoth is a monster described in the Christian Bible, and is one of three primordial beasts said to symbolize the physical world; Behemoth represents the solid earth and is often depicted as a gigantic creature of unknown origin (though it has been identified with many large animals, such as hippos, elephants, or bulls).

Originally considered a chaos beast, the Behemoth was either confronted by God at the beginning of time or (somewhat confusingly) near the end of time; in both confrontations, the Behemoth is considered a hulking brute of unimaginable strength that is defeated by God's omnipotent nature and either banished or reduced to a divine "pet."

Behemoth is the beast of the earth, Leviathan is the beast of the sea, and Ziz is the beast of the air; together, they can be compared, in many ways, to elder gods in the sense of being (in an abstract sense) an ancient "trinity" that are ultimately defeated by God, who forms the new (and according to most Christian faiths) eternal "Trinity."

Behemoth can also be compared to the apocalyptic Beast, though they are not necessarily the same creature (though they are both destroyer deities).

It should be noted that this version of the Behemoth does not appear in the original scriptural text, but has been added by other manuscripts and cults. The Behemoth is mentioned in the book of Job, but only as a description of a normal living animal; as stated above possibly a hippo or an elephant, but some theories speculate on a remnant of living dinosaurs like Mokele Mbembe.

Trivia

 * Most people believed that Behemoth is a present day animal such as an elephant, hippo or bull. Some creationists believed that it is a sauropod, most like a brachiosaur, due to the description of the scriptues depicted to have feet as strong as iron & a long tail as hard as cedar wood, which a brachiosaur almost have.