| “ | 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. 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. | „ |
| ~ Job 40:15-24 King James |
Behemoth is an enormous being from Judeo-Christian texts who is, alongside Ziz and Leviathan, one of the Banes of Job.
Description
The name "Behemoth" derives from the archaic Jewish name for hippopotamus, from the Hebrew behema. The Behemoth is a monster described in the Christian Bible, and is one of three primordial beasts said to symbolize the physical world; Behemoth represents the solid earth and is often depicted as a gigantic creature of unknown origin (though it has been identified with many large animals, such as hippos, elephants, or bulls).
History
Genesis
The Behemoth was said to have been created by God to embody the the earth as does its two cohorts, Leviathan and Ziz, embody the sea and the skies respectively. The three beasts were also created to demonstrate to Adam and Eve that while they may tame those that dwell within their domain they could never tame the three primordial beasts of the planet.
Originally considered a chaos beast, the Behemoth was either confronted by God at the beginning of time or (somewhat confusingly) near the end of time; in both confrontations, the Behemoth is considered a hulking brute of unimaginable strength that is defeated by God's omnipotent nature and either banished or reduced to a divine "pet."
However, after the War in Heaven, the very fundamental nature of creation itself shifted dramatically and among these disturbances was the animal kingdom turning against one another for the sake of survival as well against their former masters that being Adam and Eve. This also affected the three primordial beasts; Behemoth, Ziz, and the Leviathan itself. The effect caused them to turn against one another thereby spurning the three layers of what makes up the Earth as well as those that dwell within them into chaos. As a result, God was forced to separate these three mighty beasts lest they caused untold natural destruction upon the planet and its inhabitants.
Cupbearer of Hell
Impressed with the might of Behemoth, Moloch proposed that they would try to have the primordial beast join the ranks of the Inferno as its strength and power would be of great use during their war against Heaven in the coming Apocalypse, however, this was disregarded as Behemoth would have no loyalty towards Hell or Heaven itself. It was not until Beelzebub found an alternative by taking a piece of the Behemoth and forging it into its own separate infernal being.
Beelzebub had sent several demons to carefully cut a piece of the Behemoth's hide using Mammon's legendary Twin Blade, but not before had Mammon place several wards onto the blade to prevent its aftereffects from killing the Behemoth, and return it back. Beelzebub then had Mulciber literally forge the new body from the Behemoth's torn piece before Mammon would infused it with ancient alchemy combined with Necroplasm to bring life to the newly formed demon also called Behemut. The demon would join the Order of the Fly as the chief cupbearer of Hell's nobility.
Prophesied Death
It is revealed that during the End Times, Leviathan and its brethren shall be slain and its flesh will be served to all those deemed as righteous. This essentially means that when the time comes, God will slay these monsters to save His creations but only His followers will be allowed to feast.
Powers and Abilities
The Behemoth, as one of the first beasts created by God, is described as an unstoppable juggernaut and unconquerable monster of the land in the Bible. In the Book of Job, Behemoth was presented to Job by God as a testament to God's power of being the only one who could subdue and tame these primordial beasts and that no weapon of man or lesser beast could ever hope to bring it down. In the case of the Behemoth, it lords over the earth and is master over all animals. The Shepherd of the Illuminati threw caution to the wind as he addressed one of his acolytes who held a piece of the tablet that controlled the Behemoth, stating that among the Banes of Job, it is one of the more difficult ones to control.
Given that it embodies the land and all its inhabitants, the Behemoth wields total control over the animals of Earth. The Behemoth would release a loud roar that can be heard for miles and makes all animals tremble with fear, and thus renders them less ferocious for a whole year. As a result, weak animals live in safety away from the reach of wild animals. The Book of Job explains that without the Behemoth's roar, animals would grow more wild and ferocious and hence go around butchering each other and humans though when it was unleashed, it can change the frequency of its roar thus its command and would have the animals run rampant nonetheless. While not as durable as the Leviathan, the Behemoth's hide is nonetheless extremely difficult to pierce as artillery strikes from the Global Occult Coalition did not hinder its path nor waver its attention and even Dante's sword, Rebellion, could not penetrate it surprising the devil slayer. Even when Dante used the Pandora Devil Arm on Behemoth, striking its face directly, it only agitated the great beast, drawing its attention to the son of Sparda.
To call the Behemoth's size gargantuan would not do it justice as it is truly a creature of mountainous mass. Betraying its size, it is also deceptively fast as it was able to pursue Dante, who was flying with great speed in his Devil Trigger state, as well as one of the three Argo ships. After its full awakening, many onlookers in one of the USS Argo ships dubbed it as a mountain with legs. Each step the Behemoth takes, owing to its size and power, creates seismic quakes so powerful it can topple nearby cities and settlements with only two steps alone. Moreover, when it exerts effort in its steps, particularly when its annoyed, a single step upheaves massive sections of the earth below it with Steven A. Starphase fearing that should it reach the island of Manhattan it would upheave half of the island's section up from the ocean with but two steps. Despite its frighteningly destructive capacity, it is a benign creature to its core, having a symbiotic relationship with the environment. Its presence breathes life into previously barren environments, for during its travel as it was being led by one of the Illuminati's acolytes, it left behind lush greenery in its wake completely altering the terrain as a whole.