I. Name

Despite frequent claims that Behemoth refers to one or another animal of the natural world, the Behemoth depicted in Job 40.15–24 (Job 10–19) is best understood as a mythological creature possessing supernatural characteristics. By form bĕhēmôt is the intensive (feminine) plural of bĕhēmâ (‘beast, ox’; collective: ‘beasts, cattle’; see Botterweck 1975:6–17); nevertheless, in Job 40.15–24 the grammatical forms pertaining to Behemoth are all masculine singular. The figure suggested is a singula…