Britannica classifies the Leviathan as a sea serpent that represents Israel’s enemies and the Behemoth as a powerful hippopotamus. But what are they really? Do they have a deeper meaning? Or are they simply animals that walked the earth? Both of these creatures appear in the book of Job. The Leviathan is also found in other places throughout the Bible in Psalm, Revelation, Isaiah and even sources of mythology. However, the Behemoth is only found in Job 40:14-24. These creatures have puzzled Christians for a number of years, and due to their air of mystery, a lot of self-interpretation goes along with these creatures. Needless to say, there are many possible theories surrounding these creatures of mystery. In order to come to a more solid conclusion, we will be shedding some light on a few of these possible explanations, including what each creature is and its role in the book of Job. Finally, based on our research, we will give our personal thoughts on what we feel is the most accurate theory.
The first theory surrounding the Behemoth and Leviathan is that they are actual creatures that walk (or walked) the earth. Wilson suggests that when the Bible mentions them and talks about how large they are that it is simply the author making them more colorful due to a lack of true knowledge about them (3). The name Behemoth is the “plural of majesty” of the ordinary word for animal, or in other words, an animal of excellence. The most common animal that the Behemoth is attributed to is the hippopotamus. There is a focus on the strength of the loins and belly, which is true of the common hippo. Some scholars believe that the section about the “tail of cedar” is a major downfall for the hippo theory, since hippos have a very small tail. H...
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Life Application Study Bible. NIV ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005. Print.
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"Leviathan." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. .
The New Interpreter's Bible. Vol. 4. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996. Print.
Smick, Elmer B. "Another Look At The Mythological Elements In The Book Of Job." Westminster Theological Journal 40.2 (1978): 213-228.
Walton, John H., ed. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. Vol. 5. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009: 296-302. Print.
Wilson, Kinnier, J V. "Return To The Problems Of Behemoth And Leviathan." Vetus Testamentum 25.1 (1975): 1-14. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web
Through studies such as comparative mythology, researchers and philosophers have discover hundreds of parallels between the myths that make up every culture, including their creation myths. As most are deeply rooted in religion, comparisons based on geographic area, themes, and similar story lines emerge as religions form and migrate. Campbell recognized these similarities an...
The Model Hippopotamus is small and three dimensional, it can fit in a person’s hands. Small objects and artifacts were popular during the Middle Kingdom. Although, the hippopotamus is small, it does not take away from the viewpoint. One can see the Model Hippopotamus
Beowulf outlines turmoil between three opponents: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon. These separate discords each serve to fulfill different metaphoric purposes. Grendel’s character epitomizes the adverse persona of how an Anglo-Saxon warrior should not be. His mother represents everything that a woman during the time era should seldom be. Lastly, the Dragon embodies all the values that an Anglo-Saxon king should not dare retain. Without a doubt, the symbolic implications of the monsters in Beowulf bring the context to a new level of understanding.
The creature’s reflections over his own existence are penetrating and reach to the heart of the matter:”My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come?
Joines, Karen Randolph. Serpent Symbolism in the Old Testament: A Linguistic, Archaeological, and Literary Study. Haddonfield, NJ: Haddonfield House, 1974. Print.
The Leviathan was a work of literature that contributed to society in many ways. It had more negatives than positives. But it is still remembered as a very important work of literature in western civilization. Thomas Hobbes wrote this as a radical description on how he believes society should be run.
Rosenberg, Donna. "The Creation of the Titans and the Gods." World Mythology. 3rd ed. Chicago: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc., 1999. 82-89. Print.
Mercatante, Anthony S., and James R. Dow. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend. New York, NY: Facts on File, 2004. 816. Print.
Myths organize the way we perceive and understand our reality. Myths grant stability to a culture, and in this respect; serve to explain the unexplainable. From Barbra Sproul’s perspective, creation myths reveal basic religious concerns pertaining to how the universe was formed, and how people or societies are fashioned. Myths speak of the transcendent and unknowable aspects in a drama that attempt to reveal and give reason to human existence and where man stands in the cosmos. Through myth, the dimensions of space, nature and time are expressed in symbolisms that show how the holy can be experienced or conveyed if understood properly.
In this paper I will discuss three similarities and four differences between Enuma Elish-The Epic of Creation (King,1902) and Genesis 1:1-3:24 as described by Michael Fishbane (Fishbane, 1979). These writings are selected to describe the story of creation of the earth and the inhabitants of the earth. However, each author has a very different view and way of explaining what they have interpreted the sacred texts to mean.
Flood stories have been a common thread in many religions across the globe. One of the stories we are most familiar with in our culture, the story of Noah’s Ark, is a well-known segment of the old testament, and an interesting story of how God punished the world for how corrupt it had become. God accomplished this by flooding the world, and annihilating all the creatures upon it, save for Noah and his family and a pair of each type of creature on the earth . This story, however, has roots deep in the past, some of which have only come to light with the development of new archeological techniques and technology. As more and more is found out about the era from when this story originates, discoveries are made as to the origin of the story, what tale it was based upon, and as to the authenticity that such an event may have actually even occurred, if on a somewhat smaller scale. Based on the information available at the present time, one can make fairly confident inferences as to the root of this story. One could argue that the story of Noah’s Ark was based on the Epic of Gilgamesh, and that in turn was based on older stories that were based on a real flood of the Black Sea.
The Book of Job from the Old Testament is a story in which an attempt is made by the Hebrew author to justify the unjustifiable actions of a seemingly malevolent god. The questioning by Job as to why the "good" must suffer is induced by a childish challenge, put forth by Satan and accepted by God, to test the loyalty of Job toward God. The uncharacteristic actions of a supposedly omni benevolent God must be justified in the eyes of his followers, and in the process of doing so, God is made to look like nothing more than an omnipotent child.
Satan first appears in the Hebrew Bible as not evil but a dissenter to God. On the contrary he also appears as one of God's servants in the book of Numbers and in Job. In the Hebrew Bible, the angels were also called "'sons of God'." Pagel states in her essay that Hebrew term the satan describes am adversarial role. In the early sixth century Hebrew story tellers introduced supernatural character, satan, as one...
There are three prominent monsters in the Beowulf text, Grendel, his mother, and the dragon. While the dragon proves to be the most fatale of foes for Beowulf, Grendel and his mother do not simply pose physical threats to the Germanic society; their roles in Beowulf are manifold. They challenge the perceptions of heroism, a sense of unrivalled perfection and superiority. Moreover, they allow the reader to reconsider the gender constructs upheld within the text; one cannot help but feel that the threat that these monsters present is directed towards the prevalent flaws in Beowulf’s world. Moreover, what makes these monsters is not their physical appearance; it is what they embody. Both Grendel and his mother have humanlike qualities yet their monstrous appearance arises from what their features and mannerisms represent. The challenge they pose to societal paradigms makes them far more terrifying to our heroes than any scaled flesh or clawing hand. These monsters provide the ‘most authoritative general criticism […] of the structure and conduct of the poem’. Their presence provides contrast and criticism of the brave society (Heaney 103).
Throughout studying many myths, I came up with many new observations. Many questions came into my mind about these myths. Greek mythology takes us back to a time when people had a connection with nature and when nature played a major role in people’s lives. The religious beliefs of the people who wrote the myths are found in the background of these myths; however, they are not to be read like religious texts. The myths try to offer explanations of “how”, which makes us think deeply about the purpose of these myths and the questions they draw to our minds. According to the myths we studied in class, the world created the gods, not the other way around. The gods were always created in the image of man, which shows how much men were important in their society. Furthermore, many of these Greek myths show us the difference between the views of the Greek then and our view towards many aspects of the society, including nature. Monsters appear in Greek myths and have different representations and roles. Greek mythology reflects a view of the Greeks towards the world and how certain aspects of their lives are similar and different to modern society.