INTERPRETASI HISTORIS KRISTIS TERHADAP BEHEMOT DAN LEVIATAN DALAM KITAB AYUB 40:10-28 DAN RELEVANSINYA BAGI ORANG PERCAYA MASA KINI
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19973066Keywords:
Job, Behemoth, Leviathan, historical-critical, theology of sufferingAbstract
The Book of Job is one of the wisdom books in the Old Testament that profoundly discusses the reality of human suffering and the sovereignty of God. In the final section of this book, particularly in Job chapters 40–41, God describes two powerful and mysterious creatures, namely Behemoth and Leviathan. The descriptions of these creatures have given rise to various interpretations among biblical scholars. This study aims to interpret Behemoth and Leviathan in Job 40:10–28 using a historical-critical approach and to examine their relevance for the lives of believers today. The historical-critical method is employed to understand the text based on its historical background, the culture of the Ancient Near East, and the literary context of the Book of Job. The results of this study indicate that Behemoth and Leviathan not only represent large and powerful physical creatures, but also symbolize natural forces that cannot be controlled by humans. Through these depictions, God affirms that all creation is under His sovereignty. For contemporary believers, this passage teaches the importance of humility, recognition of human limitations, and trust in God’s sovereignty in facing suffering and various life struggles.
References
Ahuis, F. (2011). Behemot, Leviatan und der Mensch in Hiob 38–42. Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 123(1). https://doi.org/10.1515/zaw.2011.006
Carney, J. (2014). Holding the faith: Lessons on suffering and transformation in the book of Job. Review & Expositor, 111(3), 281–286. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034637314534236
Da Silva, V., & Oliveira, F. A. D. S. (2022). Beemot e Leviatã no imaginário do antigo Oriente Próximo. Caminhando, 27, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.15603/2176-3828/caminhando.v27e022018
Doak, B. R. (2015). Monster Violence in the Book of Job: Journal of Religion and Violence, 3(2), 269–287. https://doi.org/10.5840/jrv201581014
Dyssel, A. (2022). Leviathan, Rebuffing the Notion of Being Identified as a Natural Animal?: Festschrift for Willie van Heerden. Journal for Semitics, 30(2). https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/9108
Hartley, J. E. (2014). Yahweh Instructs Job on the Character of the Creation (Job 38:1–39:30). Biblica et Patristica Thoruniensia, 6, 37–50. https://doi.org/10.12775/BPTh.2013.003
Hoffman, Y. (1991). Ancient Near Eastern Literary Conventions and the Restoration of the Book of Job. Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 103(3). https://doi.org/10.1515/zatw.1991.103.3.399
Horst Bredekamp. (2009). Behemoth als Partner und Feind des Leviathan: Zur politischen Ikonologie eines Monstrums. Leviathan, 37(3), 429–475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11578-009-0054-1
Kuriakose, J. (2016). The Book of Job: A Greco-Hebrew Rhetorical Drama. English Language and Literature Studies, 6(2), 72. https://doi.org/10.5539/ells.v6n2p72
Nggebu, S. (2021). BENARKAH DOSA MENJADI PENYEBAB KESENGSARAAN AYUB? Apostolos: Journal of Theology and Christian Education, 1(1), 34–50. https://doi.org/10.52960/a.v1i1.5
Ngwa, K. (2009). Did Job Suffer for Nothing? The Ethics of Piety, Presumption and the Reception of Disaster in the Prologue of Job. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 33(3), 359–380. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309089209102502
Patricia Springborg. (1995). Hobbes’s Biblical Beasts: Leviathan and Behemoth. Political Theory, 23(2), 353–375. https://doi.org/10.1177/0090591795023002008
Sneed, M. (2023). Is Biblical Studies Stuck in Antiquarianism? The Case of Behemoth and Leviathan. Journal of the Bible and Its Reception, 10(2), 221–244. https://doi.org/10.1515/jbr-2023-0008
Sneed, M. (2025). Behemoth. In B. R. Grafius & J. W. Morehead (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Monsters (1st ed., pp. 186–200). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197565056.013.0015
Taloș, C.-I. (2023). THE RHETORIC OF SUFFERING IN THE BOOK OF JOB; A BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF JOB ELABORATED IN RELATION TO SOME CLASSICAL AND MODERN INTERPRETATIONS. Semănătorul, 4(1), 137–163. https://doi.org/10.58892/TS.swr4160
Wikander, O. (2010). Job 3,8 – Cosmological Snake-Charming and Leviathanic Panic in an Ancient Near Eastern Setting. Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 122(2). https://doi.org/10.1515/zaw.2010.020
