The word "dinosaur" is not found anywhere in the Bible. This is because the word "Dinosaur" was not invented until the mid 1800's. The "King James Bible" was translated into English in 1611. - So we would not expect to find the word "dinosaur." (thanks to Dan L. for allowing me to use this picture)

But that doesn't mean that the animals we now call "Dinosaurs" are not in the Bible. It just means that if they are in the Bible, they are called by a different name. The Bible says that Adam named all the animals that God created. So to find the dinosaurs we will have to look for the original Hebrew names given to these creatures

(names like "Behemoth", "Tannin", etc..) .

The original name given to the dinosaurs would more accurately describe these animals and their disposition. The word "Dinosaur" means "terrible lizard". And though they became a menace to man after sin had entered the earth, the dinosaurs were not created that way. Dinosaurs are one of the most beautiful of Gods creations. They were created to peacefully coexist with man. (see my page on vegetarian animals - and when they first started to eat meat)

From the physical descriptions of some of the Great Creatures of the Bible, it is easy to see where Dinosaurs fit in.

In the book of Job the Bible talks about some of these magnificent creatures. In the book of Job we see the word "Behemoth" being used to describe the largest of the animals God made.

The word "Behemoth" means "Giant, kingly beast".

As you will see, the Behemoth is clearly a dinosaur.

But why the funny name?

It is not unusual to see animals referred to with names we don't recognize. If you look in any Bible dictionary under animals, you will see lots of animals and their original Hebrew names. For example who would recognize the word " namer " as being the cheetah? Or " akbar " as being the mouse?

The translation of many animal names from Hebrew was quite easy. Scholars could look at the physical descriptions and apply the appropriate English name.

But when the translators came to the animal called "Behemoth" (described in Job chapter 40) , they didn't know what animal it was because no living animal fit that description. So in the English bible, they kept this animal's original Hebrew name.

The word "Behemoth" is not a direct translation it is a transliteration. Which means that the original Hebrew letters were substituted with the equivalent English letters to enable us to pronounce it.

The translators did this because they did not know of any living animal that fit the description to directly translate the name with.

The obvious conclusion is that the Behemoth was either an unknown animal or an animal that had gone extinct. But it did not live millions of years ago, because Job saw one of these animals with his own eyes. God was not showing Job a vision. The behemoth was created "with" man. This enormous creature lived at the same time, and in the same region as Job

Some scholars believe that Adam and his descendants wrote the first eleven chapters of Genesis, and that Moses compiled the remaining text of Genesis. If this is true then these 11 chapters would be older than the book of Job (which some say is the oldest book of the Bible).

(See pg 12 of "The remarkable record of Job" by Dr. Henry Morris)

Some scholars date the book of Job at about 2000 years before the birth of Christ.

Either way, God's revelation to Job was important for our understanding of suffering.

Job was a man who lived after the flood in the days of Noah (see page 26 of "The remarkable record of Job" by Henry Morris) . Job lost everything he had: his children (Job 1:18), servants (Job 1:17), his great riches, and his livestock (Job 1:15-16).

Job asked God the reason for his suffering. God then used the animals he created to demonstrate to Job his power as Creator, and his love for all of his creation - Including Job.

When you read the descriptions of the animals in the book of Job along with the other scriptures on the following pages, it is very clear that Dinosaurs are in the Bible, and they did live the same time as man. - Not millions of years before.

God starts by telling Job about the small animals that he made. He then continues to describe the other animals, each bigger and stronger than the one he previously mentioned, until finally in the concluding chapters God tells Job about the biggest animal that ever lived. A dinosaur called the "Behemoth"

Job 40:15-24



"15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.

16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.

17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.

18 His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.

19 He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.

20 Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.

21 He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.

22 The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.

23 Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.

24 He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares."

What kind of animal is the Behemoth?



Some commentators have suggested that the Behemoth could be a hippo, or an elephant. But both of these suggestions ignore the physical description of the Behemoth given in the Bible.

Hippos and elephants have very short tails. The Behemoth described in the Bible had a tail so long and so strong that God compared it to a cedar tree.

The Behemoths tail was as long as, and as strong as the trunk of a tree. Yet it could easily bend like one of its flexible branches.

This description fits no living animal. - This does not imply that the behemoth was a mythical animal, perhaps it is just an extinct one.

Cedar trees were on of the largest and most spectacular trees in the ancient world.

Does behemoth have a tail like a cedar or a tail that moves like a cedar?



David Porter argued against the cedar tree comparison, claiming that the tail merely moved like a cedar, not that is was like a cedar in appearance. ("Could Behemoth have been a dinosaur?" Creation Technical Journal, vol 16(2), 2002).

The word translated "moveth" is the Hebrew "Chaphets" and does not strictly imply motion. It also means "take delight in", but the main meaning is "to feel a strong positive attraction for something". When used as it is in Job 40 verse 17 it connotes subjective involvement. ("The complete Word Study Old Testament" KJV, 1994 AMG International Inc.). For this to be taking place in the mind of, or the thoughts of the behemoth supports the position that Behemoth is proud of his cedar like tail. Other than a sauropod dinosaur with a 13-metre (42.65ft) tail





Hippos do not have tails like cedar trees ! Elephants do not have tails like a cedar tree!

As you can see from the picture above both of these animals would look silly with a tail that big! Hippos and elephants have tails like fragile blades of grass, not cedar trees.

Dinosaurs such as Diplodocus and Apatosaurus have tails like a cedar tree !



Which tail looks like a cedar tree to you?

I have heard people say:

"Well, maybe God was talking about an elephant's trunk, not its tail."

The trunk of an Elephant is not as long as a cedar tree. God made all the animals in the world. I think He would know the difference between a tail and a trunk!

The Hebrew word "zanab" is translated as "tail" not trunk. The tail is distinctively different from the trunk as shown in Deuteronomy 28 verse 13.

"The Lord will make you the head and not the tail (Hebrew zanab) ."

The book of "Judges" chapter 15 also uses the word "zanab" speaking of the tails of animals.

Clearly God does indeed know the difference.

There are no known living animals with tails like the majestic cedar trees. Only Dinosaurs have such an enormous tail.

The Apatosaurus had 82 bones in its tail, and the tail of the Diplodocus was 46 feet long.

Click here for a picture of my Apatosaurus tailbone

It is so big and so heavy that I need both hands just to lift it. And this is only 1 bone!

The tails of these dinosaurs are the longest tails in the animal kingdom. The fact that the tail is singled out in the description is important in identifying the animal God is talking about.

The great tailbones of these dinosaurs provide the necessary anchorage for the large retractor muscles necessary to move the legs.

Knowing this, it makes sense for the Behemoth's tail to be mentioned in close association with its legs (in verse 18).

The tails of Sauropods could also be used for fending off enemies. One swipe of a Brachiosaurus tail would be enough to put any predatory animal in its place.

This is not the only thing that tails are used for though. Obviously there would be no enemies before Adam and Eve sinned.

There are other Hebrew words for animals like elephants and hippos. If the Behemoth was one of these or the thousands of other known animals, then that Hebrew name would have been used (Elephants are mentioned in 1 Mac ) .

If the Behemoth were a hippo, we would expect its large head to be mentioned. This is the strongest part of its body.

The Sinews



The Hebrew word "gid" was translated into the English word "sinew". A sinew is defined as a "cord", "thong", or "band" and also as a "nerve, tendon, and artery". The literal meaning is the "strength and power of the muscles or tendons" .

Genesis 32:32 also speaks of the sinew which is in the hollow of the thigh.

The book of Job verse 17 says:



"The sinews of his stones are wrapped together"

A study of Old Testament words shows that the word translated: "stones" is the thigh of a creature.

Verse 17 means that the sinews hold the bones together. The bigger the bones were the bigger the muscles would need to be.

Hippos have thick hides, which cover what lies beneath. You can not clearly see hippo bones through their skin.

But the sinews and bones of the Behemoth are clearly defined.

The outline of the great muscles surrounding the ribs and thighs of the Apatosaurus may have also been easily seen.

Trainers and circus performers have domesticated elephants and other large animals. Many will even perform tricks in parades.



But the Bible says that nobody can tame the Behemoth. It is a wild creature.

Likewise, it is unlikely that anyone has ever taught a Brachiosaurus to balance on a large ball, or jump through a hoop.

Though the hippo and elephant are both very large animals, they are in no way the largest animals that God made.

The Apatosaurus was a dinosaur measuring in at 76 feet long.

But this was not the biggest.

Diplodocus (die-PLOH-dah-kus) was a dinosaur measuring at least 87 foot long.

But even he was not the biggest dinosaur that ever lived.

The long necked Ultrasaurus is currently the largest dinosaur ever found.

Based on the bones they found the Ultrasaurus is estimated at 100 to 120 feet long. This makes Ultrasaurus the BIGGEST land animal that ever lived. It is even bigger than the blue whale, the largest animal in the water.

Please note that the above picture is of a Brachiosaurus, not a Ultrasaurus. The Ultrasaurus is much, much bigger.

"Jensen selected the name for remains he described in 1985. However, it had already been used in 1983 by Kim in Korea. The Colorado fossil became Ultrasaurus. The Korean fossil turned out to be a rear, not a front leg bone, effectively shrinking that sauropod dramatically. Meanwhile, Jensen's finds have also been revised to the genera Brachiosaurus and perhaps Supersaurus. Supersaurus was possibly 30m long. There might well once have been something bigger than a blue whale, but there are no totally convincing fossils as yet. (Possibilities in Patagonia: Argentinosaurus and an unnamed vertebra.)"

The Behemoth was a Reptile



The physical traits attributed to the Behemoth indicate it was reptilian, not mammalian. So whatever the Behemoth was, he was not a mammal. So he could not be an elephant or a hippo. This would also exclude any other animal such as the Rhino or giant sloth.

Unfortunately when pondering what the Behemoth could be, many people limit their minds to non-extinct creatures.

Large enough to drink a river



In verse 23 it says:

"Behold he drinks up a river and hastens not, he trusts that he can draw up the Jordan (river) into his mouth"

Whatever animal God is speaking about here, he is big enough and strong enough to stand firm in the Jordan river. When other animals would make for the hills, the Behemoth could stand firm in its rushing waters.



A large dinosaur could easily drain a small watering hole.

Loins



Verse 16 speaks of the behemoth loins.

There are massive bony structures under the hip area of Sauropods (Sauropods are four legged, long necked dinosaurs) . These structures, used to anchor its powerful muscles are unique to the sauropod dinosaurs. No other animal has a structure even remotely like it. Perhaps this is why in His description of the mighty dinosaur God used the words: "his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly" .

There is no other reason to emphasize this than to disqualify the possibility of the Behemoth being an animal other than a dinosaur.



Do dinosaurs have navels?

Somebody emailed me this question:

Comment: "Dinosaurs, like reptiles, were born in eggs they had no umbilical cord, and thus no navel."

Steve (7/13/2001)

Response:

The original Hebrew word here is not translated "navel", but rather part of the stomach. Pg 285 of "Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies" (by William Wilson, Hendrickson Publishers) also translates it as the muscles in the region of the belly.

So saying the creature has a navel is inaccurate.

You can not use an English dictionary to define a Hebrew word. The Hebrew word simply means stomach, and should have been translated as such.

Bars of Iron



verse #18 says that "his bones are as strong as bars of iron."

The Behemoth has powerful legs. So did the great sauropod dinosaurs. They would need them to support their great size. Quadrupeds (4 legged dinosaurs) had strong pillar like legs. The leg bone shown here is almost 6 feet tall!

They were marvelously designed by God to carry the immense weight of their bodies. Brachiosaurus weighed 89 tons, this is more than 12 adult elephants combined.

The Diplodocus had legs so strong that he could support 3 other dinosaurs the same size on its back! (reference)

Like a giant suspension bridge the front and back legs support the entire bulk of the body. The backbones of the Brachiosaurus resemble the "I" shaped steel beams used in construction. These bones had hollow grooves in the sides making them lightweight but strong.

It is interesting to note that no one would think the design and craftsmanship necessary in constructing a bridge like this would happen by chance (perhaps the result of a steel mill explosion) . Yet, many of the same people look at the dinosaurs and believe they came into existence without any intelligent design.

Dinosaurs are not the products of millions of years of Evolution.

"Chief of the ways of God"



The Bible says in verse 19 that the Behemoth is the "chief" of all the creatures of God. This means that he was the largest, and the greatest of all the animals.

A study of Old Testament words shows that "chief" also means: "that which is the strongest and most excellent" .

The word "chief" is translated from the Hebrew word "resith" which means: "Noble", "chief ruler", "select beast of distinction and eminence", an animal that "resides over" all others, he is the "captain", the "commander"



"the biggest... he is first in rank"

This can only apply to the largest known animal created by God.



The Sauropod Dinosaurs.

(Please note that many other dinosaurs were quite small, and Noah took baby dinosaurs on the ark)

Is the Behemoth a real animal or a symbolic one?



There are those who suggest that maybe Job was speaking figuratively. Or that he was "a sick man, he didn't know what he was seeing."

My answer to that is, It wasn't Job speaking of the Behemoth. It was God.

Can you accuse God of not knowing which animal he was talking about? He created them all!

When some people realize that the description of the Behemoth matches the dinosaurs, they sometimes reply "Well, maybe the Behemoth is just symbolic" .

It's interesting to note, that no one thought the Behemoth was symbolic when they thought it was a hippo.

Knowing that the physical description of the Behemoth did not fit any living animals, some people concluded that the Behemoth was a fictitious animal, or a pagan symbol. However imaginary animals do not eat, walk and breathe like the Behemoth does. And if it were a pagan symbol then it would be a symbol detestable to God. It would not be "chief of the ways of God" like the Bible describes. Or an animal singled out in the Bible to show Gods great strength and power.

The Behemoth was a herbivore



Verse 15 says that the Behemoth "...eats grass, like an ox"

The Bible does not say that the behemoth was an ox. It says that like the ox, the Behemoth also eats grass.

Dinosaurs along with all other animals were created to be vegetarian. Genesis 1:29 makes this very clear. They only ate meat after sin came into the world, and death through sin.

Genesis also tells us when men and animals were first permitted to eat meat. This was in chapter 9:3 when Noah and the animals got off of the ark. Prior to this there was no carnivorous activity. Changes in the dentition of these animals can be explained by the post-fall degeneration of man and animals.

God lifted the dietary restrictions (for both man and animals) at this time due to the post flood extinction of many plants that previously provided adequate nourishment. (see the Dinosaur subject index for information on vegetarian animals in the Garden of Eden).(opens new browswer window)

The long necked Brachiosaurus had powerful jaws. But these dinosaurs only ate plants. The sharp spoon shaped teeth were perfect for stripping off leaves and bits of grass.

Some one emailed me objecting the fact that sauropods could eat grass:

Comment:

"Grass, like flowers and other forms of fauna did not exist at the same time as the Dinosaurs. Not to mention that ANY Sauropods' neck would get snapped like a twig under its own immense weight if it attempted to bend down to the ground. Sauropods have teeth which were used for stripping the vegetation of shoots and trees and underbrush, not grass."

From Steve, (7/13/01)

Response:

Grass and flowers did exist from the beginning. The flood tore the whole earth apart, and redeposited the bodies of animals in many different layers of rock. The area that dinosaur bones are found may not have been where they lived.

Regarding the neck bones, many sauropods did eat leaves, but some could not bend down to the ground. Some could.

Regardless the word translated "grass" is also translated "greenness, herbs, hay, herbage," (see "Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies" pg 199)

The behemoth was a herbivore. That is the main point. And what we know of sauropod dinosaurs confirms that they were herbivores as well.

Was the behemoth a vegetarian?



Question:

"I'm assuming the time period is after the garden of Eden during which time period, the dinosaur would eating meat, but you say later: "He [the dinosaur] eats grass like the ox." The dinosaur should be eating meat {at this time}, right?

Brian J. 7/18/02

Answer:

Not every dinosaur became a carnivore. This is no different than the fact that some mammals are carnivores today and some are vegetarian. The point is, none of them were created as carnivores. Those that are today, became carnivorous only after Adam sinned.

See my page on carnivores for more information.





Verse 24 says: "He takes it with his eyes, his nose pierces through the snares" .

Snares were traps and nets made of cords. Some traps are set in the path of a creature to catch it by the foot. Others are baited traps involving a noose around the neck.

Many animals can be captured.

But if you slipped a noose around a Brachiosaurus, you would soon be taken for the ride of your life!

The fact that the eyes and nose are mentioned in verse 24 is important. The Behemoth is a land animal, but it can hide in the water with only its eyes and nose exposed.

The Brachiosaurus and other Sauropods could submerge their bodies in water, hiding themselves with only their eyes and their nose visible. Unlike other animals whose nose is positioned directly above the mouth, the nose of the sauropod is located on the top of their heads.

Verse 19 says: "He who made him can make his sword to approach unto him"

This indicates that though man may fail in trying to capture, or kill this great beast, the same God who Created the dinosaurs can also defeat them.

This may also be reassurance to Job that though the serpent has succeeded in deceiving man in the beginning and causing his fall in the Garden of Eden, in the end, God will slay the serpent and ultimately defeat Satan himself. It also shows Gods power as Creator, and demonstrates to Job that Satan, not God is the cause for Job's problems.

God told Job to "behold" the Behemoth. God was showing Job an animal that Job was already familiar with. It was a creature that Job had seen many times with his own eyes. It was also a creature that God wanted Job to learn an important lesson from.

If the Behemoth is indeed a dinosaur, then this verse alone shows that dinosaurs did live with Job, and that both man and dinosaurs are equally part of God's Creation.

The Behemoth was to represent the awesome power of God. What better creature to show God's strength and power than the sauropod dinosaur?



Give God the Glory for Creating Dinosaurs

