Job 40:19 Commentary: The Sword of Behemoth

This verse sits within God's second speech to Job (Job 40, 41). After Job's friends failed to explain his suffering, and after Elihu's speeches, God himself answers Job out of the whirlwind. Rather than giving a direct explanation, God challenges Job by pointing to the created world, first Behemoth, then Leviathan. Behemoth is almost certainly the hippopotamus, though some have argued for the elephant. The word 'behemoth' is a Hebrew plural of intensity, meaning 'great beast' or 'super-beast.' It was familiar to ancient readers as the river-horse of the Nile, an animal of enormous size and strength that could not be tamed by human beings.

The description in verses 15, 24 matches the hippopotamus: it eats grass like an ox, has great strength in its loins and belly, a tail like a cedar (perhaps a poetic exaggeration for its small tail or a reference to its powerful body), bones like bronze and iron, rests among reeds and marshes, and is unafraid of a flooding river. The opening phrase in verse 19, 'He is the chief of the ways of God,' uses the Hebrew word reshit, meaning 'beginning' or 'first.' Here it signals foremost rank, not chronological priority, Behemoth is the highlight of God's creative work among land animals, a 'chef-d'œuvre' (Bochart).

The immediate context is God's lesson in humility: if Job cannot control or even understand this one animal, how can he question the Creator of the universe? The verse serves as a pivot: Behemoth's greatness points not to its own power but to the power of the One who made it.

The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Job 40:19. The Masoretic Text is stable. The main issues are interpretive, not textual.

Early Jewish and Christian readers saw Behemoth as a literal animal, often the hippopotamus, but also a symbol of evil or chaos. The Septuagint translation of Job 40:19 reads differently, describing Behemoth with mythical overtones. The church fathers like Jerome and Augustine sometimes allegorized Behemoth as representing the devil or the worldly powers opposed to God. The medieval rabbis, including Rashi, identified Behemoth with the hippopotamus and connected it to eschatological feasts. During the Reformation, Protestant commentators such as Calvin and Luther took a literal reading, emphasizing God's power over creation. The rise of modern biblical scholarship in the 19th century brought careful lexical study, with figures like Bochart and Delitzsch arguing for the 'sword' as the animal's teeth, a view now widely accepted in academic circles. In popular Christian teaching, Behemoth continues to be cited as a reminder of God's creative majesty and the limits of human wisdom.

Three-Point Outline

1. The Creature's Place: Behemoth is the chief of God's ways, the pinnacle of God's animal creation, illustrating divine wisdom and power.
2. The Creator's Provision: He who made Behemoth gave it its sword, either the weapon to defend itself or the means by which God alone can defeat it. Both readings show God's sovereign design.
3. The Human's Lesson: If Job cannot comprehend or subdue Behemoth, he is in no position to accuse God. The passage calls for trust, not demands for answers.

Five-Point Outline

1. The grandeur of Behemoth, a creature of immense size and strength.
2. The phrase 'chief of the ways of God', what it means for an animal to be a masterwork.
3. The ambiguity of 'his sword', a natural weapon (teeth/tusks) or divine judgment?
4. The theological hinge: God's sovereignty displayed through a creature man cannot control.
5. The pastoral takeaway: humility before the Creator who knows more than we do.

Illustration Hooks

• A modern example: People feel small watching a documentary about a blue whale or a grizzly bear. Behemoth evokes that same awe, but directed to the Maker.
• Everyday scene: A parent builds a toy with hidden features, a button that makes it light up. The child doesn't need to know how it works; they just enjoy it. Behemoth is God's 'hidden feature' that Job cannot engineer or dismantle.
• Natural world: Scientists study hippopotamus teeth for their self-sharpening structure. Ancient observers called them 'sickles.' God gave Behemoth a tool no human could craft.

Questions Your Congregation Is Asking

• Why does God describe an animal instead of answering Job's questions directly?
• Does Behemoth represent something else, like Satan or a mythical monster?
• If God controls Behemoth, why doesn't he control the suffering in my life?

This verse is part of God's reply to Job, a reply that does not explain suffering but expands Job's view of God. The ambiguity of 'his sword' invites us to consider both God's power over creation and the intricate design he gives to his creatures. Discuss together how this changes the way we see God's work in the world.

Discussion Questions

1. Read Job 40:15-24 aloud. What stands out to you about the description of Behemoth?
2. The Hebrew word reshit can mean 'beginning' or 'chief.' How does the context help us decide which meaning fits best?
3. The second clause is debated: does 'his sword' refer to a weapon God uses against Behemoth, or to Behemoth's own teeth or tusks? What evidence do you see for each reading?
4. How does God's focus on a single animal challenge Job, and us, about our place in creation?
5. What does Behemoth reveal about God's character? Think about creativity, power, and attention to detail.
6. How does this passage speak to times when we feel like Job, asking God 'why'?
7. In what ways can we practice humility before God without abandoning our questions?