Behemoths, Unicorns, Fiery flying serpents, O my.
Continuing my short exploration of supposed dinosaurs in the OT, these creatures are manipulated into prehistoric animals. Fire-breathing leviathan aside, behemoth stood as a super-bull, a divine cow. The creature’s tail was a male organ. In stood in parallel to “thighs,” a euphemism for testicles. He extends or stiffens his tail. His strength was his virility. He’s a mythic chaos counterpart to the leviathan dragon. It all stands for God’s domination over the cosmic order and man’s frailty.
Unicorns in the KJV are another problem for young earth creationists. Unicorns are not a one-horned creature as some creationists suggest. Scholars say that the Hebrew does not allow that construction. It’s a mistranslation for wild ox.
Finally, no, flying serpents were not pterodactyls. The burning bites were most likely venomous bites. The Egyptians used similar language for cobra bites. Diving beings like flying cobras were common in Jewish literature. Cobras were the earthly counterpart to the spiritual, winged versions.
Adapted from “Misinterpreting Genesis” by Ben Stanhope.