The Leviathan and the
Behemoth are primeval monstrous animals that Hashem created when He created the
universe and everything in it.
The Leviathan and the
Behemoth are spoken about in Book of Job, Prophet Isaiah and Psalms.
The Leviathan is an enormously
large and powerful sea creature. Likewise
the Behemoth is an enormously large and powerful land creature, and is the
land-based counterpart of the Leviathan.
Regarding the Leviathan:
The Leviathan לִוְיָתָן is mentioned five times in the Tanakh, in
Job 3:8, Job 40:25–41:26, Psalm 74:14, Psalm 104:26 and Isaiah 27:1. It comes across as an enormously powerful
creature that no one, certainly not a human being, can control except for God
who created it.
Job 3:8 –
יִקְּבֻהוּ אֹרְרֵי-יוֹם;
הָעֲתִידִים, עֹרֵר לִוְיָתָן
Let those curse it who
curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.
Job 40:25 –
תִּמְשֹׁךְ לִוְיָתָן בְּחַכָּה; וּבְחֶבֶל,
תַּשְׁקִיעַ לְשֹׁנוֹ
Can you pull the
leviathan with a harpoon, or press down his tongue with a rope?
40:26 –
הֲתָשִׂים אַגְמֹן בְּאַפּוֹ; וּבְחוֹחַ, תִּקֹּב לֶחֱיוֹ
Can you insert a fishhook into his nose, or pierce his jaw with a barb?
40:27 –
הֲיַרְבֶּה אֵלֶיךָ, תַּחֲנוּנִים; אִם-יְדַבֵּר
אֵלֶיךָ רַכּוֹת
Will he offer much supplication to you, or will he speak soft words to you?
28 –
הֲיִכְרֹת בְּרִית עִמָּךְ;
תִּקָּחֶנּוּ, לְעֶבֶד עוֹלָם.
Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a lifelong slave?
This description
continues through 41:26, but by now you get the picture, and which is
epitomized in 41:2 where Hashem says:
לֹא-אַכְזָר, כִּי יְעוּרֶנּוּ; וּמִי הוּא,
לְפָנַי יִתְיַצָּב
There is no one so fierce that he can stir him up, and who is he who can stand before Me?
Psalm 74:14 –
אַתָּה רִצַּצְתָּ, רָאשֵׁי
לִוְיָתָן; תִּתְּנֶנּוּ מַאֲכָל, לְעָם לְצִיִּים
It was You who crushed
the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the people of the wilderness.
Psalm 104:26 -
שָׁם, אֳנִיּוֹת יְהַלֵּכוּן;
לִוְיָתָן, זֶה-יָצַרְתָּ לְשַׂחֶק-בּוֹ
There the ships go; You
formed this Leviathan with which to play with.
Isaiah has a different take on the Leviathan. He considers it to be two enormous serpent-like sea monsters, the Taninnim from the Book of Genesis that were created by God on the 5th day of Creation. In the eyes of the Prophet they are metaphors for Assyria and Babylonia.
Isaiah 27:1-
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִפְקֹד יְהוָה בְּחַרְבּוֹ הַקָּשָׁה וְהַגְּדוֹלָה
וְהַחֲזָקָה, עַל לִוְיָתָן נָחָשׁ בָּרִחַ, וְעַל לִוְיָתָן, נָחָשׁ עֲקַלָּתוֹן;
וְהָרַג אֶת-הַתַּנִּין, אֲשֶׁר בַּיָּם
On that day, the Lord shall visit with His hard and great and strong sword on Leviathan the barlike serpent, and upon Leviathan the crooked serpent, and He shall slay the Tannin that is in the se
If you are looking for
an animal that embodies the Leviathan, consider the whale, specifically the
blue whale:
The blue whale is the largest species of whale, and the largest species of animal known to have existed. The blue whale reaches a maximum length of 98 feet and weight of 190 tons. It is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale’s diet consists almost exclusively of krill, a small crustacean.
However, if you are
looking for a whale with more of a bite then there is an extinct whale genus
called the Livyatan. It to around 5 million
years ago, and was present throughout the Southern Hemisphere. Livyatan's total length has been estimated to
be about 44–57 feet making it one of the largest predators to have ever existed.
The teeth of Livyatan measured 1.2 feet and are the largest biting teeth of any
known animal. It follows that the Livyatan is called an Alpha Predator.
Regarding the Behemoth:
The Behemoth is found only once in TANACH, but appears
in Apocrypha literature. In TANACH it is
described in a speech from the mouth of Hashem to Job in chapter 40 of the Book
of Job, verses 15-24. The Behemoth is a
primeval creature created by Hashem and so powerful that only God can overcome
him:
40:15 – הִנֵּה-נָא בְהֵמוֹת, אֲשֶׁר-עָשִׂיתִי עִמָּךְ; חָצִיר, כַּבָּקָר יֹאכֵל
Behold now the Behemoth that I have made with you; he eats grass like an ox.
40:16 – הִנֵּה-נָא כֹחוֹ בְמָתְנָיו; וְאוֹנוֹ, בִּשְׁרִירֵי בִטְנוֹ
Behold now his strength is in his loins and his power is in the muscles of his stomach.
40:17 – יַחְפֹּץ זְנָבוֹ כְמוֹ-אָרֶז; גִּידֵי פַחֲדָו יְשֹׂרָגוּ
His tail hardens like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
40:18 – עֲצָמָיו, אֲפִיקֵי נְחֻשָׁה; גְּרָמָיו, כִּמְטִיל בַּרְזֶל
His limbs are as strong as copper, his bones as a load of iron.
40:19 – הוּא, רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכֵי-אֵל; הָעֹשׂוֹ, יַגֵּשׁ חַרְבּוֹ
His is the first of God's ways; only his Maker’s sword can approach him.
40:20 – כִּי-בוּל, הָרִים יִשְׂאוּ-לוֹ; וְכָל-חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה, יְשַׂחֲקוּ-שָׁם
For the mountains bring forth food for him, and all the beasts of the field play there.
40:21 – תַּחַת-צֶאֱלִים יִשְׁכָּב-- בְּסֵתֶר קָנֶה וּבִצָּה
He lies under the shadows, hidden in the reeds and the swamp.
40:22 – יְסֻכֻּהוּ צֶאֱלִים צִלְלוֹ; יְסֻבּוּהוּ, עַרְבֵי-נָחַל
The shadows cover him as his shade. The willows of the brook surround him.
40:23 – הֵן יַעֲשֹׁק נָהָר, לֹא יַחְפּוֹז; יִבְטַח, כִּי-יָגִיחַ יַרְדֵּן אֶל-פִּיהוּ
Behold, if a river overflows, he does not tremble; he is confident, though the Jordan rush forth to his mouth.
40:24 – בְּעֵינָיו יִקָּחֶנּוּ; בְּמוֹקְשִׁים, יִנְקָב-אָף
Shall any take him by his eyes, or pierce through his nose with a
snare?
This description describes a powerful animal similar to a Hippopotamus.
The hippopotamus is
large, very large; males weigh more than 4000 lb. up to 7000 lb. The
hippopotamus spends much of its time in lakes, swamps and rivers. The eyes, ears, and nostrils of hippos are
placed high on the roof of their skulls. This allows these organs to remain
above the surface while the rest of the body is submerged.
Hippos measure 10 to 17
feet in length, including a tail of about 1 to 2 feet in length. Their diet consists almost
entirely of grass. The hippo is among the most dangerous animals in the world
due to its highly aggressive and unpredictable nature.
A hippo
can open its mouth at almost 180° making it a terrifying
creature. If that is not enough, Hippo
teeth sharpen themselves as they grind together. The lower canines and lower
incisors are enlarged, especially in males, and grow continuously. The incisors
can reach 1 ft 4 in, while the canines reach up to 1 ft 8 in. Canines and incisors are used for combat.
Job was probably familiar with hippos. Before becoming locally extinct they inhabited Egypt and the region known as the Levant, which includes Israel. Think of the Hula Valley and the area south of Tiveria. Archaeological evidence exists of its presence in the Levant, dating to less than 3,000 years ago.
The Talmud (Bava Batra
74b) understands the Behemoth to be a creature unknown to man today, but one
which will play a role in the Messianic Era. It identifies the Behemoth as a
huge animal far too powerful for human interaction, At the End of Days, there will be a feast for the Righteous. As part of the feast, Hashem will serve up the
Behemoth and the Leviathan. Kashrut is not a problem.
In commemoration of this
Messianic feast there is a modern tradition where during the Passover Seder fish is added to the Seder
plate in memory of the Leviathan, and the shank bone already in place
symbolizes the Behemoth.
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