Job 40:15

Hebrew Bible

13 Hide them in the dust together; imprison them in the grave. 14 Then I myself will acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you. 15Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you; it eats grass like the ox. 16 Look at its strength in its loins and its power in the muscles of its belly. 17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.

Targum Psalm 50:10

Targum

8 I am not rebuking you on account of your sacrifices that you did not offer before me in exile, for your holocausts that your fathers offered are in front of me always. 9 From the day that my sanctuary was laid waste, I have not accepted a bull from your hands, or rams from your flock. 10 For mine are all the animals of the forest, and I have prepared for the righteous in the Garden of Eden clean beasts and a wild bull who grazes every day on a thousand mountains. 11 Manifest before me are all the kinds of birds who fly in the air of heaven; and the rooster whose legs rest on the earth, while his head reaches to heaven, rejoicing before me. 12 If the time of the continual morning sacrifice should arrive, I would not tell you; for mine is the earth and its fullness.

 Notes and References

"... the rivalry between Judah and Joseph in some rabbinic materials appears to be related not only to the ox and the lion of the Merkavah but also to Leviathan and Behemoth. In this respect, it is noteworthy that Behemoth is often understood as an ox in various Jewish materials, while Leviathan is often portrayed as a lion. Thus, Alexander Kulik notes that Behemoth appears as the Wild Ox in some Jewish sources. Such an identification is found already in Job 40:15: “Look at Behemoth, which I made just as I made you; it eats grass like an ox.” Targumic sources further elaborate on this symbolism. From Targum on Psalms 50:10, for instance, one learns: “For every animal of the forest is mine, and in the Garden of Eden I designated for the righteous the clean beasts and the wild ox that grazes all day long (on) a thousand mountains.” ..."

Orlov, Andrei Fight between Leviathan and Behemoth in the Messianic Time (pp. 1-12) Marquette University, 2022

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