ScriptureMyths & disputes

behemoth

The great beast God shows Job, whose name is most likely just 'beasts' in an intensive plural, 'the beast of beasts'. In Russian it became the everyday word for hippopotamus, and Russian passed that on to Armenian, Ukrainian and Uzbek.

Weakest linkCertain

The story you may have heard

Behemoth is often said to be an Egyptian word, p-ehe-mau 'water-ox', meaning hippopotamus. No such Egyptian word is attested, and most Hebraists take it as the intensive plural of bəhēmāh 'beast'.

The road to English

From Biblical Hebrew to German, Russian, Armenian

From Russian to Ukrainian

From Russian to Uzbek

From Biblical Hebrew to Modern Hebrew

From Late Latin to French

From Late Latin to Polish

500 BCEBiblical Hebrew

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

The road to English

From Biblical Hebrew to German, Russian, Armenian

Export “behemoth”

Embed “behemoth”

Save “behemoth”

Export “behemoth”

Embed “behemoth”

Save “behemoth”