בהמות/בהו/בהמה
This page needs to be read in partnership with the pages on Tehom/Tiamat, Liv-Yatan, Nachash/Nechushtan, Rachav and Taninim, as these are all aspects or variants of the same paradigm.
BOHU: From the Arabic root Bahah (בהה) = "brightness", whence the Farsi sect the "Bahai"; and by interesting no-coincidence the Jewish mystical cult of Kabbalah is sourced from a book named the Zohar, which also means "brightness" (and is also used for "an ornament"). Yet BOHU has somehow came in Yehudit to mean "emptiness" or "void" (presumably because the absolute white of the sun appears that way to the human eye).
See Genesis 1:2; Jeremiah 4:23; Isaiah 34:11.
For "whiteness" see also Tsochar, and Lavan with whom Bohu appears to be connected. Bohu was originally a deity, and twinned with Tohu (for which see Tehom/Tahamat/Tiamat/Tohu).
This page needs to be read in partnership with the pages on Tehom/Tiamat, Liv-Yatan, Nachash/Nechushtan, Rachav and Taninim, as these are all aspects or variants of the same paradigm.
BOHU: From the Arabic root Bahah (בהה) = "brightness", whence the Farsi sect the "Bahai"; and by interesting no-coincidence the Jewish mystical cult of Kabbalah is sourced from a book named the Zohar, which also means "brightness" (and is also used for "an ornament"). Yet BOHU has somehow came in Yehudit to mean "emptiness" or "void" (presumably because the absolute white of the sun appears that way to the human eye).
See Genesis 1:2; Jeremiah 4:23; Isaiah 34:11.
For "whiteness" see also Tsochar, and Lavan with whom Bohu appears to be connected. Bohu was originally a deity, and twinned with Tohu (for which see Tehom/Tahamat/Tiamat/Tohu).
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| William Blake, "Behemoth and Leviathan" |
BEHEMAH (בהמה): Many references in many forms, from cattle to quadrapedic beasts in general. The root was probably Piehe-mout = "a water ox", or possibly the hippopotamus, from the Phoenician and various Semitic languages, where Piehemout = "water-ox"; from Ehe = "ox" + Mout = "water", as "Hippo" in Greek means "horse" and "Potamus" = "river".
Job 40:15 has Behemoth as a land monster alongside the Loch Ness dragon Liv-Yatan (Leviathan).
Baham (בהם) = "to shout"; hence "to be mute or dumb". Behemah was used for large land quadrapeds, domestic animals, cattle, beasts of burden (asses, camels). Iyov (Job) refers to it in the plural to signify the hippopotamus (some say elephant but this is usually Pil - פיל).
However there is also a strong case to be made that Behemah comes from the same root as Bohu, and as such is twinned with Tahamat or Tohu in the first Creation myth (Genesis 1), the one as a the land-monster and the other as the sea-monster. See my commentary on Genesis 1.
Job 40:15 has Behemoth as a land monster alongside the Loch Ness dragon Liv-Yatan (Leviathan).
Baham (בהם) = "to shout"; hence "to be mute or dumb". Behemah was used for large land quadrapeds, domestic animals, cattle, beasts of burden (asses, camels). Iyov (Job) refers to it in the plural to signify the hippopotamus (some say elephant but this is usually Pil - פיל).
However there is also a strong case to be made that Behemah comes from the same root as Bohu, and as such is twinned with Tahamat or Tohu in the first Creation myth (Genesis 1), the one as a the land-monster and the other as the sea-monster. See my commentary on Genesis 1.
A much fuller essay on the subject of Behemot can be found here.
Copyright © 2019 David Prashker
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The Argaman Press
excelente recurso. muchas gracias por compartir
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