Were Leviathan & Behemoth Created on the Same Day?
Dear Isabella,
Thanks so much for asking this great question. Before we answer the question, we have to understand what leviathan and behemoth actually were. These two creatures are described in Job 40-41. There we read that the behemoth “ate grass like an ox” and moved “his tail like a cedar.” The text says “the mountains yield food for him and all of the beasts of the field play there” (40:20). This description leads us to believe that the behemoth was a very large, land-living animal like a dinosaur. If that is the case, then we know that God created all land-living animals on day six of creation. Job 41 describes leviathan. This creature had “rows of scales.” The Bible also says “he makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment” (41:31). The word “deep” in the Bible refers to the ocean or a huge body of water. This verse means that when the creature swims, he leaves a massive bubbling wave behind him. So, leviathan was probably a creature that lived in the water. If that is the case, then leviathan would have been created on day five, when God made “great sea creatures” (Genesis 1:21). So God most likely made leviathan on day five and behemoth on day six.
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