does "behemoth" mentioned in the bible translate back to the original hebrew?

Answer 1

Behemoth has been variously viewed as:
(1) a derivative of an Egyptian word for “water ox,”
(2) a word possibly of Assyrian origin meaning “monster,”
(3) an intensified plural of the Hebrew word behe·mah′ (beast; domestic animal) that is understood to denote “great beast” or “huge beast.”
In the Greek Septuagint the word the·ri′a (wild beasts) translates the Hebrew behe·mohth′.
It is generally considered to be the hippopotamus
In fact, a number of Bible translations use the word “hippopotamus” in the main text or in footnotes to identify the creature.

Answer 2

Behemoth can be interpreted as a mythical animal. However, some have attempted to identify it with real-life animals.

In the book of Job, both Behemoth and Leviathan are listed alongside a number of mundane animals, such as goats, eagles, and hawks, leading many Christian scholars to surmise that Behemoth and Leviathan may also be mundane creatures. Suggested animals include the water buffalo, rhinoceros and the elephant, but the most common suggestion is the hippopotamus.[1] Some readers also identify a hippopotamus in Isaiah's bahamot negeb or "beasts of the south" (30:6). Indeed, one of the Russian words for hippopotamus is "behemoth," which does not carry the same mythical connotations in Russian. Although the animal's tail "moves like a cedar" (40:17), an unlikely description for any of these animals, "tail" could describe an elephant's trunk. [2] Moreover, some suggest that "tail" is a euphemism for male genitalia. Support for this is based on another meaning of the Hebrew word "move" which means "extend" and on the second part of verse 17 describing the sinew around its "stones" (the Vulgate uses the word "testiculorum").[3]

Others disagree, pointing to the fact that Behemoth is called "chief of the ways of God" (40:19), indicating that it is not a mere animal.

Another proposal is that the Behemoth is a dinosaur. Some sort of sauropod is usually proposed since large sauropods had tails "like a cedar". Adherents to this viewpoint hold that it is more consistent with the literal application of the text. However, critics usually point out that according to paleontology, sauropods, unlike Behemoth, were tree-browsers that became extinct 65 million years ago, predating the appearance and rise of people or grasses. Also, the Behemoth is said to eat grass like an ox, meaning it would chew cud. Sauropods could not chew.

The Hebrew behemoth is sometimes equated with the Persian Hadhayosh, as the Leviathan is with the Kar and the Ziz with the Simurgh.

Answer 3

Yes, the word "behemoth" means Giant kingly beast

It is not unusual to see animals referred to with names we don't recognize. If you look in any Bible dictionary under animals, you will see lots of animals and their original Hebrew names. For example who would recognize the word "namer" as being the cheetah? Or "akbar" as being the mouse?

The translation of many animal names from Hebrew was quite easy. Scholars could look at the physical descriptions and apply the appropriate English name.
But when the translators came to the animal called "Behemoth" (described in Job chapter 40), they didn't know what animal it was because no living animal fit that description. So in the English bible, they kept this animal's original Hebrew name.

The word "Behemoth" is not a direct translation it is a transliteration. Which means that the original Hebrew letters were substituted with the equivalent English letters to enable us to pronounce it.

The translators did this because they did not know of any living animal that fit the description to directly translate the name with.

Answer 4

For those who do not know what behemoth is...

Behemoth-In form a plural of H929, but really a singular of Egyptian derivation: a water ox, that is, the hippopotamus or Nile horse: - Behemoth.

Answer 5

Hebrew dictionary!

Answer 6

Its a dinosaur, which means Noah took dinosaurs in the ark as babies or still in eggs. Hows that for weird.