267 BEHEMOTH AND LEVIATHAN Leviathan’s traditional association with chaos is simply left out of this picture, as is Behemoth’s, assuming that the latter was originally a chaos monster. The beasts of Job 40-41 are awesome, powerful, and dangerous but not particularly aggressive. Leviathan in particular is mighty and fright- ening ― to whomever would attack it. The author emphasizes its indepen- dence and loftiness and the way it displays the splendor of God’s artistry. God’s artistry and the impunity of many of his creatures to human powers are on display in other creatures described in the Theodicy. In the case of a lion, which is dangerous to humans (though by no means in- domitable), Yahweh’s question, “Do you hunt prey for the lion, and fill the young lion’s appetite?”(38,39), is such as to emphasize God’s care for that creature rather than the danger it presents to man. The war-horse is described from the standpoint of its fearlessness, that is to say, indiffer- ence to human assault or control. Hence the questions in 39,19-20: “Do you give the horse (its) might? Do you dress its neck with a mane? Do you make it as noisy as locusts, with the majesty of its neighing being a terror?” Not: Can you kill a horse? ― which humans can do. In the case of the wild buffalo, a creature powerful but not evil, the salient feature is its refusal to serve man (39,9-10). The real issue is creativity: God alone has the craft, which is to say, the wisdom, to form such creatures. As in the case of the other creatures, the hostility and evil of the mythological Leviathan and Behemoth are left in the background. As the Theophany portrays them, they seem indifferent to humans rather than aggressive. As Yahweh describes the world, man is not the focus of divine energy, not even as an object of enmity. University of Wisconsin, Madison Michael V. FOX 1220 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA SUMMARY Scholarly consensus with regard to Behemoth and Leviathan in Job 40,15- 24 and 40,25-41,26 emphasizes the evil and danger inherent in both. Behe- moth is usually identified as the hippopotamus and Leviathan as the crocodile or a mythological dragon. The present article accepts the former identification but argues that Leviathan in the Theophany (as in Psalm 104,26) is based on the whale. The Theophany marginalizes the evil and dangers of the beasts. The author has left their hostility and violence in the background and has made them less aggressive and menacing, though still powerful, indomitable, and awesome. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati