Mark Sneed, “Behemoth,” in The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Monsters, edited by Brandon R. Grafius and John W. Morehead (Oxford University Press, 2025), 198.
Job is a book then that attempts to justify the Hebrew god’s ways in the face of the general evil that postexilic Jews faced during the Persian period (consensus for its date), making life more tolerable for such elites and reducing the cognitive dissonance they faced. In spite of Yehud being a vassal nation to the mighty Persians, somehow the Hebrew God could still be believed to be in total control. And, through the theodical strategies, any hints of his injustice would be mitigated. However, as theodicy strategies are neither completely foolproof nor convincing, the fact that the Jewish deity seems to have created Leviathan (and Behemoth) himself and forms part of the divine economy would expose Him to the accusation of being responsible for evil. So, while God’s control of the mighty Behemoth and Leviathan would tend to emphasize God’s power and sovereignty, his creation of such a creature would simultaneously undermine His justice, as understood in human terms. But such are the liabilities of theodicies. However liable, they still provide comfort for people, here, the elites.
The Amateur Exegete 