Texts in Conversation
In 2 Baruch, God promises that Behemoth and Leviathan, created on the fifth day and held back ever since, will become food for all who are left. Rabbinic tradition in tractate Bava Batra also describes these monsters as a feast for the righteous.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
2 Baruch 29:4
Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch
Pseudepigrapha
2 For at that time I will protect only those who are found in those self-same days in this land. 3 And it shall come to pass when all is accomplished that was to come to pass in those parts, that the Messiah shall then begin to be revealed. 4 And Behemoth shall be revealed from his place and Leviathan shall ascend from the sea, those two great monsters which I created on the fifth day of creation, and have kept until that time; and then they shall be for food for all that are left. 5 The earth also shall yield its fruit ten thousandfold and on each vine there shall be a thousand branches, and each branch shall produce a thousand clusters, and each cluster produce a thousand grapes, and each grape produce a cor of wine. 6 And those who have hungered shall rejoice: moreover, also, they shall behold marvels every day.
Bava Batra 75a
Babylonian Talmud
Rabbinic
And when he is thirsty, he makes many furrows in the sea, as it is stated: “He makes a path to shine after him” (Job 41:24). Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov says: After the leviathan drinks from the sea, the depth of the sea does not return to its normal condition until seventy years have passed, as it is stated: “One would think the deep to be hoary” (Job 41:24), and hoary indicates a person who is no less than seventy years old. Rabba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will make a feast for the righteous from the flesh of the leviathan, as it is stated: “The ḥabbarim will make a feast [yikhru] of him” (Job 40:30). And kera means nothing other than a feast, as it is stated: “And he prepared [va’yikhreh] for them a great feast [kera]; and they ate and drank” (II Kings 6:23). And ḥabbarim means nothing other than Torah scholars, as it is stated: “You that dwell in the gardens, the companions [ḥaverim] hearken for your voice: Cause me to hear it” (Song of Songs 8:13). This verse is interpreted as referring to Torah scholars, who listen to God’s voice. And with regard to the remainder of the leviathan, they will divide it and use it for commerce in the markets of Jerusalem, as it is stated: “They will part him among the kena’anim” (Job 40:30). And kena’anim means nothing other than merchants, as it is stated: “As for the merchant [kena’an], the balances of deceit are in his hand. He loves to oppress” (Hosea 12:8). And if you wish, say that the proof is from here: “Whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers [kinaneha] are the honorable of the earth” (Isaiah 23:8).
Date: 450-550 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... However, 2 Baruch, 4 Ezra, and 1 Enoch, as well as two rabbinic texts b. Baba Batra 74b–75a and Midrash Alpha Bethoth [...] preserve additional material about the eschatological purpose of Leviathan and Behemoth. Leviathan and Behemoth in the Eschaton and More Eschatological Battles. There are several texts that discuss the role of Leviathan and Behemoth in the eschaton: 2 Baruch 29:4, 1 Enoch 60:7–25, 4 Ezra 6:47–52, b. Baba Batra 74b–75a, and Midrash Alpha Bethoth [...]. These texts utilize the conflict motif to promote Yahweh/Theos by asserting that Leviathan and Behemoth never posed a threat to Yahweh/Theos. Rather, he created them and has preserved them for a specific purpose in the eschaton: an eschatological banquet. These narrative details contribute to the texts’ shared claim that Yahweh/Theos has universal dominion by implying the following: first, he is not threatened by any rival divine beings because he created everything, including Leviathan and Behemoth; and second, Yahweh/Theos has made preparations for the eschaton ...”
Ballentine, Debra Scoggins
The Conflict Myth and the Biblical Tradition
(p. 150) Oxford University Press, 2015
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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