New English Translation
Job 40:15
Job 40:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
- New International Version (NIV)“Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox.
Context of Job 40:15
13Hide them in the dust together, imprison them in the grave. 14Then I myself will acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you. “Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you; it eats grass like the ox. 16Look at its strength in its loins, and its power in the muscles of its belly. 17It makes its tail stiff like a cedar, the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.
Read all of Job 40Job 40:15 word by word
הִנֵּה־נָ֣א בְ֭הֵמוֹת אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂ֣יתִי עִמָּ֑ךְ חָ֝צִ֗יר כַּבָּקָ֥ר יֹאכֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 40:15
- Genesis 1:24God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” It was so.
- Job 40:20For the hills bring it food, where all the wild animals play.
- Job 39:8It ranges the hills as its pasture, and searches after every green plant.
- Psalms 104:14He provides grass for the cattle, and crops for people to cultivate, so they can produce food from the ground,
Commentaries on Job 40:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Behold now behemoth - The word בהמות behemoth is the plural of בהמה behemah, which signifies cattle in general, or graminivorous animals, as distinguished from חיתו chayetho, all wild or carnivorous animals. See Genesis 1:24. The former seems to mean kine, horses, asses, sheep, etc., and all employed in domestic or agricultural matters; the latter, all wild and savage beasts, such as lions, bears, tigers, etc.: but the words are not always taken in these…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Behold now behemoth - Margin, “or, the elephant, as some think.” In the close of the argument, God appeals to two animals as among the chief of his works, and as illustrating more than any others his power and majesty - the behemoth and the leviathan. A great variety of opinions has been entertained in regard to the animal referred to here, though the “main” inquiry has related to the question whether the “elephant” or the “hippopotamus” is denoted. Since…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-24Verses 15-24 God, for the further proving of his own power, describes two vast animals, far exceeding man in bulk and strength. Behemoth signifies beasts. Most understand it of an animal well known in Egypt, called the river-horse, or hippopotamus. This vast animal is noticed as an argument to humble ourselves before the great God; for he created this vast animal, which is so fearfully and wonderfully made. Whatever strength this or any other creature…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-24After listing natural animals, God described Behemoth and "Leviathan" as creatures humans cannot control (39:1–30; 40:15–24; 41:1–34). Job could not control the wild donkey or ox (39:5–12; 40:15–24). However, God created and could control them, and Job had to accept this fact (41:2). Here, Behemoth appears to be a natural creature: It is an animal God made, just as he made Job (40:15). It is not a fierce predator but eats grass like an ox (40:15). It is…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-2415-24. God shows that if Job cannot bring under control the lower animals (of which he selects the two most striking, behemoth on land, leviathan in the water), much less is he capable of governing the world. behemoth--The description in part agrees with the hippopotamus, in part with the elephant, but exactly in all details with neither. It is rather a poetical personification of the great Pachydermata, or Herbivora (so "he eateth grass"), the idea of…Read the comment
Topics related to Job 40:15
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. Job 40:15 The next ten verses are devoted to a portrayal of Behemoth (the name means “beast” in Hebrew). It does not fit any of the present material very well, and so many think the section is a later addition. Its style is more like that of a textbook. Moreover, if the animal is a real animal (the usual suggestion is the hippopotamus), then the location of such an animal is Egypt and not Palestine. Some have identified these creatures Behemoth and Leviathan as mythological creatures (Gunkel, Pope). Others point out that these creatures could have been dinosaurs (P. J. Maarten, NIDOTTE, 2:780; H. M. Morris, The Remarkable Record of Job, 115-22). Most would say they are real animals, but probably mythologized by the pagans. So the pagan reader would receive an additional impact from this point about God’s sovereignty over all nature. ↩
Commentaries on Job 40
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries