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Echoes of Revelation

Revelation never quotes the Old Testament outright, yet no New Testament book refers to it more. See both texts side by side, why they don’t match, and what John does with them.

Revelation 13:1, two beasts, from the sea and from the land

Two beasts, one from the sea and one from the land, may echo Job's pair, Leviathan of the sea and Behemoth of the land.

Possible echoOther booksSame picture, new wordsRevelation

Revelation 13:1; Revelation 13:11

Revelation 13:1; Revelation 13:11, in every translation this tool compares.

First, in plain English

A story with two villains, one at sea and one on shore, reminds readers of other famous pairs. Job 40 and 41 describe two great beasts: Behemoth on land and Leviathan in the sea. It is the only place in the Old Testament where two such beasts oppose God together. John sees a beast from the sea and then a beast from the earth. Beale and Heiser think Job's pair stands partly behind them.

What matches

A pair of beasts, one of land and one of sea, opposed to God. The Greek of Job calls the land creature theria, beasts, and the sea creature drakon, dragon. John uses those words for the beast and the dragon.

Why it doesn't match exactly

Job's beasts are God's creatures, shown to humble Job. John's beasts serve the dragon and rule the earth. Daniel 7, not Job, supplies most of John's details. The Greek of Job says each beast was made to be mocked by the angels, a line John does not use.

What John does with it

If Job is in view, the beasts are chaos itself, beaten at the start and doomed at the end. Jewish tradition said God made Leviathan and Behemoth on the fifth day and would destroy them at the last judgment. Beale says that tradition may come into play here.

What this echo is not

Not the main source of the beasts. Beale says Daniel 7 predominates and Job is only part of the picture; Heiser calls the Job reading the minority view.

Go deeper

Beale says the two beasts are based in part on Job 40-41, the only Old Testament picture of two satanic beasts opposing God. He lists echoes in the Greek: the land beast to be slain with a sword (40:19 in the Hebrew), the sea dragon's war waged by his mouth, fire from his mouth, nothing on earth like him, and both made to be mocked by the angels. He cites 1 Enoch 60:7-10, 4 Ezra 6:49-52 and 2 Baruch 29:4 for the fifth-day creation and final destruction. In the vault's interlinear, which numbers Job as English Bibles do, Job 40:19 and 41:33 both have the line about angels mocking. Keener mentions Leviathan served at the messianic banquet. Walton notes early Jewish readers took Behemoth as a mythic creature. The grade is drawn here as possible: the pair is suggestive, the wording general.

Heiser's reading

Heiser starts with this less obvious background. Job 40-41 has the land and sea chaos monsters together, and he reads the Greek aloud. He then reads Pitre and 2 Baruch 29 on the end-time banquet where Leviathan and Behemoth are served as food: chaos itself devoured. He calls it the minority view, but keeps it on the table beside Daniel 7.

Where the sources disagree

Kline, as Beale reports, reads Behemoth and Leviathan as two names for one beast, God's champion against Job, not a satanic pair. Collins gives the Leviathan and Behemoth tradition much weight; Beale tempers it, following Caird, because Daniel 7 dominates the chapter.

The ancient world behind this passage

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{"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-passages\/revelation-13-11-18\/","n":"Revelation 13:11-18, the beast from the earth, the mark and 666","s":"A second beast, harmless-looking like a lamb but speaking like the dragon, rises from the earth and drives everyone to worship the first beast, working wonders and making its statue speak. Trade is barred to anyone without its mark on hand or forehead, a mark tied to the beast's name and number, 666.","r":"Revelation 13:11-18"}

Read with The Gods of the Bible

{"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/gods-of-the-bible\/leviathan\/","n":"Leviathan","s":"A sea monster God crushes in one poem and plays with in another.","r":"Job 3:8"}
{"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/gods-of-the-bible\/behemoth\/","n":"Behemoth","s":"A huge land beast in Job that nobody has been able to identify.","r":"Job 40:15-24"}
{"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/gods-of-the-bible\/the-beast-from-the-sea\/","n":"The beast from the sea","s":"The empire-beast of Revelation carrying the famous number.","r":"Revelation 13:1-10"}
{"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/gods-of-the-bible\/the-beast-from-the-earth-the-false-prophet\/","n":"The beast from the earth \/ the false prophet","s":"The second beast of Revelation, which looks like a lamb and talks like a dragon.","r":"Revelation 13:11-18"}

Sources

G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation (New International Greek Testament Commentary), comment on 13:1 and 13:2
Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, on Revelation 12:3
John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, on Job 40:15-24
Septuagint, Job 40:15-19 and 41:1, 41:33, Interlinear Greek-English Septuagint
Michael S. Heiser, Revelation 13: The Two Beasts: From the Sea and the Earth, video lecture (Naked Bible Revelation series)

All echoes