There are several creatures mentioned in the book of Job that have been relegated to the realm of myth by many readers. But the Bible does not deal in the realm of mythology. The English word, myth, is not found in our KJV Bible. The Bible alludes to myths with the phrase “old wives fables” (1 Tim. 4:7), and warns us to refuse them.

The creatures that are found in Job’s record are mentioned by Job and by God alike. It is my contention that God would not use, or need to use, a mythical creature to teach Job his lesson. God will, in turn, use real creatures to teach Job some valuable lessons.

Before we talk about the four strange animals, there is a generic word that is used in Job (and the rest of the Bible) in which these strange animals are categorized, and that is the word, beast. There are two basic Hebrew words that are translated as beast. One is chay (Strong’s 02416), meaning living creatures. Elihu speaks of these beasts living in the wilderness and going into their dens (Job 37:8). The LORD calls them “wild beast” (Job 39:15) and beasts of the field that play on the mountains (Job 40:20). The term seems to be a generic term that refers to many kinds of beasts. The other common Hebrew word that is translated as beast is behemah (Strong’s 0929), which refers to cattle or livestock, but can be used to refer to the wild beast, as well. So, once again this is a generic term referring to beast of a variety of kinds, not one particular animal or kind of animal. When God created the beast (chay) and cattle (behemah) on day number six, he included them with “everything that creepeth upon the earth” (Gen. 1:25), so we have, indeed, a wide variety of animals that fit into the categories of beasts, cattle, and creeping things.