Behemoth - Identity

Identity

Since the 17th century CE there have been many attempts to identify Behemoth. Some scholars have seen him as a real creature, usually the hippopotamus, and occasionally as the elephant, crocodile, or water buffalo. The reference to Behemoth's "tail" that "moves like a cedar", is a problem for most of these theories, since it cannot easily be identified with the tail of any animal. Biologist Michael Bright suggests that the reference to the cedar tree actually refers to the brush-like shape of its branches, which resemble the tails of modern elephants and hippopotamuses.

Some have identified it as the elephant's trunk, but it might instead refer to Behemoth's penis, based on another meaning of the Hebrew word "move" which means "extend" and on the second last part of verse 17 describing the sinew around its "stones"—not, as in the translation above, his thighs. The Vulgate, recognising this, uses the word "testiculorum". Another opinion is that Behemoth is a product of the imagination of the author of Job, a symbol of God's power (in verse 24 he is described as having a ring ("snare") through his nose, a sign that he has been tamed by Yahweh).