Literary notes about behemoth (AI summary)
Literary usage of “behemoth” spans a remarkable range—from its origins as a colossal, divinely created creature that “eate[s] grass as an ox” [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] to a metaphor for overwhelming power or unwieldy institutions, as seen when it is used to describe massive business entities or formidable opponents [6, 7, 8, 9]. Some authors employ it humorously or satirically, transforming the term into a playful nickname or exaggerating physical size and clumsiness in vivid narrative scenes [10, 11, 12]. At the same time, it often appears alongside legendary creatures like Leviathan to evoke a sense of apocalyptic grandeur and mythic struggle [13, 14, 15], underscoring its enduring role as a symbol for anything vast, majestic, or daunting in literature.
- Behemoth was also a beast of the plains; he was the largest beast which Jehovah made to dwell upon the dry land of the earth.
— from The Secret of the Creation by Howard D. Pollyen - Job Chapter 40 Of the power of God in the behemoth and the leviathan.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Now this word only occurs once in the whole of the Scriptures, i.e. in Job xl. 15: "Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee," &
— from Bible Animals;
Being a Description of Every Living Creature Mentioned in the Scripture, from the Ape to the Coral. by J. G. (John George) Wood - Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
— from The Bible, King James version, Book 18: Job by Anonymous - Behold behemoth whom I made with thee, he eateth grass like an ox.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - But even by Net standards this was indeed a behemoth, and much more importantly, the bandwidth defenders worried about the precedent being set here.
— from NetWorld! What People Are Really Doing on the Internet and What It Means to You by David H. Rothman - Take this same Business Behemoth and set him down in Paris or Rome or Naples.
— from In Pastures New by George Ade - Under the jack-light he looked a regular behemoth.
— from Camp and Trail: A Story of the Maine Woods by Isabel Hornibrook - But, if so, it is a Behemoth of diamonds.
— from The Door in the Wall, and Other Stories by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells - This behemoth was compelled to seat himself on a small inverted saucer and row for dear life with a pair of toothpicks.
— from The Dozen from Lakerim by Rupert Hughes - A short distance behind Sport came the behemoth, lumbering, careening and snorting, but making very rapid progress.
— from Sube Cane by Bellamy Partridge - "But I had no idea," she said, "that she was such a behemoth.
— from Bessie's Fortune: A Novel by Mary Jane Holmes - o’erhead The crack of doom, the supports of the world Are snapped like reeds beneath Behemoth’s tread.
— from Winona, a Dakota Legend; and Other Poems by E. L. (Eli Lundy) Huggins - Really it is Behemoth and Leviathan he was called to deal with.
— from Demonology and Devil-lore by Moncure Daniel Conway - 204.—The Trinity, in Combat with Behemoth and Leviathan.
— from Archaic England
An Essay in Deciphering Prehistory from Megalithic Monuments, Earthworks, Customs, Coins, Place-names, and Faerie Superstitions by Harold Bayley