Well, after reading that verse the first thing I envisioned was an elephant or a hippo actually. The description seems consistent with how such animals were described by ancient authors- especially when you read :
17He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
as the animal's penis and testicles - which several on this forum have suggested is the appropriate translation.
Compare the description from Job to this description from Pliny the Elder's
Natural History. (Pliny was, among other things, a Roman naturalist born about 23 AD)
quote:
The Nile produces a creature even mightier than the crocodile... It has hooves like those of oxen, a horse's back, mane and neighing sound; a turned-up snout; a boar's tail and curved tusks, although less damamging; and an impenetrable hide used for shields and helmets..."
Not as fanciful as Job, but still a fantastic description of a Hippo.
An alternative is that the Behemoth is simply a mythological creature. Pliny describes several of these in Natural History as though they actually exist - e.g. manticores and basilisks- although he does not claim first hand knowledge of these beasts.
I'm assuming Job is older than 50-60AD, so the idea that the author would describe 'legendary' yet non-existant creatures, or that he would describe strange yet real creatures in a fanciful way (e.g. the hippo) makes sense to me.
This message has been edited by custard to fix stupid mistakes, 02-26-2005 16:06 AM
This message has been edited by custard, 02-26-2005 17:52 AM
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