JOB
Leon L. Combs, M.A., M.Div., Ph.D.
Chapters Forty One and Forty Two
God gives us 34 verses painting a description of this terrifying species with no explanation. He then intends for us to clearly imagine this creature in its fullest.
Job 41:1-7
"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord? (2) "Can you put a rope in his nose Or pierce his jaw with a hook? (3) "Will he make many supplications to you, Or will he speak to you soft words? (4) "Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him for a servant forever? (5) "Will you play with him as with a bird, Or will you bind him for your maidens? (6) "Will the traders bargain over him? Will they divide him among the merchants? (7) "Can you fill his skin with harpoons, Or his head with fishing spears?
God asks Job if he can use a fishhook to catch this beast or if he can put a cord around his tongue to control him. Some other methods God asks Job to try are to put a rope in his nose or put a hook through his jaw. He then asks Job if Leviathan will appear very humble to him and make a covenant with Job and speak with soft words to him so that Job will let him go his way or become his lifetime servant. We see that God states that this creature can speak, meaning in a language the people can understand. He asks Job if he can play with Leviathan as he would make him a pet like a bird or dog and tie a cord around him so that his maidens can play with him. If Job could catch this beast does he think that then the traders will bargain over him and divide him among other merchants? He then asks if Job can successfully harpoon him or kill him with fishing spears. Considering the above information about Leviathan the obvious answers to all these questions is “no”.
Job 41:8-11
"Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle; you will not do it again! (9) "Behold, your expectation is false; Will you be laid low even at the sight of him? (10) "No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him; Who then is he that can stand before Me? (11) "Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
God then asks Job to imagine that he has captured Leviathan for it is not something that he can actually do. The Hebrew Bible starts a new chapter with verse 9 as they seemed to think that the questions reached a climax with verse 8. Even seeing the beast is enough to make one hid away and nobody is fierce enough to wake him from sleep. Considering all of that, God then asks Job who can possibly stand before Him. Nobody has given God anything so that He owes them anything and all that has been created is owned by Him. God tells Job that even if he could find someone to control Leviathan it would be ridiculous to consider him able to conquer Him. This last sentence can also be translated as “Underneath all the heavens, he (Leviathan) is against me. Yahweh is then stating that all belongs to Him, even those creatures who are against me.
Job 41:12-24
"I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, Or his mighty strength, or his orderly frame. (13) "Who can strip off his outer armor? Who can come within his double mail? (14) "Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth there is terror. (15) "His strong scales are his pride, Shut up as with a tight seal. (16) "One is so near to another That no air can come between them. (17) "They are joined one to another; They clasp each other and cannot be separated. (18) "His sneezes flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. (19) "Out of his mouth go burning torches; Sparks of fire leap forth. (20) "Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth As from a boiling pot and burning rushes. (21) "His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes forth from his mouth. (22) "In his neck lodges strength, And dismay leaps before him. (23) "The folds of his flesh are joined together, Firm on him and immovable. (24) "His heart is as hard as a stone, Even as hard as a lower millstone.
God then begins to give some more details about Leviathan in some terrifying statements. He has a very orderly frame with great strength in his limbs. He also has a covering like double mail so that nobody can get through it to his body. His face seems to be made of great doors that nobody can open and his teeth bring horror to people. He is also covered with scales that shut up over him like a tight seal. They overlap so much that not even air can get between them as they are joined to each other such that they cannot be separated. It thus seems that it is impossible to force a spear through his covering into his skin.
As if his physical nature is not terrifying enough, God tells Job that his sneezes cause light to flash and his eyelids open to reveal huge eyes that appear like the sun coming forth at dawn. It seems like burning torches come forth from his mouth as sparks of fire leap out at intruders. Also smoke comes forth from his nostrils like from a boiling pot and burning weeds. His neck muscles are strong and he invokes great fear in all that would approach him. If you could see the folds of his flesh you would see that they are all joined together so that nothing can penetrate it. The word translated “heart” can mean either that he is a very hard-hearted creature who was cold inside or that his chest is hard as a rock.
We can easily see how people might think of this creature as a story-book dragon or as a huge crocodile.
Job 41:25-29
"When he raises himself up, the mighty fear; Because of the crashing they are bewildered. (26) "The sword that reaches him cannot avail, Nor the spear, the dart or the javelin. (27) "He regards iron as straw, Bronze as rotten wood. (28) "The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones are turned into stubble for him. (29) "Clubs are regarded as stubble; He laughs at the rattling of the javelin.
God then describes what happens when people dare to attack him. He raises up and thrashes around in ways that terrify any attackers. There are no weapons that can wound him or even cause him any fear. The sword, spear, dart, or javelin have absolutely no effect on him as he regards them as straw and even bronze as rotten wood. Even barrages of arrows hurled at him do not cause him to flee and stones used in slings are as stubble to him as are any clubs. He even seems to laugh at the rattling of the javelin.
Job 41:30-34
"His underparts are like sharp potsherds; He spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mire. (31) "He makes the depths boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a jar of ointment. (32) "Behind him he makes a wake to shine; One would think the deep to be gray-haired. (33) "Nothing on earth is like him, One made without fear (34) "He looks on everything that is high; He is king over all the sons of pride."
One might think that the underside would be a place where one could possibly succeed in an attack against him but it also is sharp and hard. He inhabits the muddy places where he thrashes about causing the water to look like it is boiling. The word translated “depths” can mean a place of chaos, disorder, and death. God knows that people think of the sea as the source of evil and he tells Job that Leviathan treats the sea as he might look upon a jar of ointment to help him in time of need. Thus Leviathan controls the sea. He can move so quickly over the sea that a clear wake can be seen outlining his path. He controls the depths so thoroughly that it appears to consist of old and helpless entities (gray-haired). God tells Job that nothing on earth is like him and he is created to not have any fear. He thinks he is higher than any other being and is the ruler of all people who are filled with pride. The source of pride is from the world, which is ruled by Satan: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (1 John 2:16) He thus thinks of himself as greater than God and is His enemy.
So what or who are the Behemoth and the Leviathan? The Behemoth is described as a river and land animal much like the hippopotamus. The Leviathan has terrifying rows of teeth like the crocodile. But the descriptions given do not accurately describe any known creature. The Leviathan is described as fire-breathing and as such would more likely fit with some story-book mythological creature. More importantly the total context of the book requires that information be given to Job regarding how God administers justice in the world and taming such creatures does not fit with that requirement.
We have already met Leviathan in chapter 3 when Job was wanting the day of his birth to be destroyed so that he never existed. He thinks there are some people who can awaken Leviathan so that he can destroy this day: "Behold, let that night be barren; Let no joyful shout enter it.(8)"Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan (Job 3:7-8) He then referred to this creature obliquely in: "Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. (12) "Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me? (Job 7:11-12) The Canaanites and others spoke about the gods with Sea (Yam) being a very hostile god who was closely related to The Sea Monster (Tannin) who was mentioned as Leviathan in Job 3:8. Thus Job is asking if God is attacking him as He would the personification of evil so that God set a guard over him to protect the cosmos from him. This is then a great sea monster in charge of much evil in the world. We also read about this beast in: "He quieted the sea with His power, And by His understanding He shattered Rahab. (13)"By His breath the heavens are cleared; His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent. (Job 26:12-13) Another name for Rahab is Leviathan: In that day the LORD will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea. (Isa 27:1) This verse in Isaiah presents the OT view of the end of sin in the world. Verse 13 of Job 26 states that God blows to control the waters of the heavens and destroys the fleeing Rahab. The material presented so far then tells us that Leviathan is viewed as a great sea monster that controls a lot of evil but that God has control over him. We had already begun to suspect that this monster was either Satan or a beast under the control of Satan.
We also read of Leviathan in some psalms:
· Psa 74:12-14 Yet God is my king from of old, Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth. (13) You divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. (14) You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
· Psa 104:25-26 There is the sea, great and broad, In which are swarms without number, Animals both small and great. (26) There the ships move along, And Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
In Psa 74 Asaph is writing of the exodus in terms of God’s great power analogous to how He might crush a great sea monster. In Psa 104 Leviathan is described as a sea monster whom God puts into the sea like one would put a child in a playpen. The book of Revelation applies the images of beasts, dragons, and serpents directly to Satan:
· Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
· Rev 20:2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
The Rev 12:9 verse informs us that the Leviathan and his angels were thrown out of heaven to spend the rest of their time on earth causing demonic activity so Jesus had to deal with demon possession during His time on earth. There certainly then is scriptural evidence that Leviathan is a terrifying sea monster who portrays the evil of Satan. Again we remember that the sea is seen as the source of evil and chaos by the people of this era. Certainly the people of the day of Job would have recognized these creatures as fulfilling the myths of polytheistic people portraying the battles between gods. Of course the writer of Job is not saying that these stories actually are portraying God fighting with other gods. But often Bible writers would use the language of the myths in their areas to tell people the truth about God. The monotheistic writers would then use the myths as a basis to explain how things really are. Thus they are telling us that God is sovereign over the Leviathan and the Behemoth who are actual creatures that God created and controls. They are described in story-book fashion so as to instill a needed terror concerning them but to also let us know that God controls them. Certainly we are on firm ground to state that the Leviathan at the end of the book is the same as Satan at the beginning of the book. The difference is that he is portrayed at the end of the book in a terrifying fashion.
The unraveling of the identity of the Behemoth is a bit more difficult. Some theologians think that Behemoth and the Leviathan can be identified with the two beasts in chapters 12 and 13 of Revelation who are beasts of the sea and the land. Robert Fyall (Fyall, 2002) argues forcefully that the Behemoth actually portrays death himself similarly to the Canaanite god Mot. His arguments are especially effective since Scripture often associates death with Satan. Thus it seems that the Behemoth is the storybook embodiment of the figure of death. The Leviathan is then the prince of the power of evil, Satan. Note in Heb 2:14 below that the devil has the power of death, which amplifies our understanding of the relationship between the Leviathan and the Behemoth. Jesus calls Satan the ruler of the world: "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. (John 12:31) The writer is thus using storybook language to portray to us the actual horror of evil so that we will fear it and know that God controls it. When we read Job 42:2, we will understand that Job also understands this phenomenon, and he is filled with amazement. Since we have read chapters 1 and 2 we already know that Satan is totally under the control of Yahweh. The Leviathan, Satan, is a terrifying creature but he is a being created by God and under His control. The reason that the Son of God came to earth was so that He could destroy the power of the Leviathan: