I will not try to prove this fact and I agree that these scriptures are inconclusive.
However, I will state my case for why I believe that Leviathan and Behemoth were both dinosaurs, not animals. Also why Dragons were real.
1. Behemoth
- It “eats grass like an ox.”
- It “moves his tail like a cedar.” (In Hebrew, this literally reads, “he lets - hang his tail like a cedar.”)
- Its “bones are like beams of bronze,
- His ribs like bars of iron.”
- “He is the first of the ways of God.”
- “He lies under the lotus trees,
- In a covert of reeds and marsh.”
Firstly, let's point out that it is my understanding that, even though the author of the article refers to Behemoth as a hippo, he claims:
This is the prevailing view of young earth creation science. They claim the “moveth his tail like a cedar” is referring to a sauropod dinosaur (a “saurapod” is a plant-eating dinosaur, such as Apatosaurus, Diplodicus, etc.)
But let's explore that. Elephants and hippos do not have tails like cedar trees. Nor does any animal on the planet.
I believe that Behemoth is Brachiosaurus, as do many others.
15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
This definitely falls in line with what is agreed upon by scientists of what a Brachiosaurus ate.
16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
This also shows consistency because drawings and depictations of brachiosaurus show this.
17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
Some bibles and study bibles will translate the word “behemoth” as “elephant” or “hippopotamus.” Others will put a note at the edge or bottom of the page, stating that behemoth was probably an elephant or a hippopotamus. Although an elephant or hippopotamus can eat grass (or lie in a covert of reeds and marsh), neither an elephant or a hippopotamus has a “tail like a cedar” (that is, a tail like a large, tapered tree trunk). In your kid's dinosaur book you will find lots of animals that have “tails like a cedar.”
It “moves his tail like a cedar.” (In Hebrew, this literally reads, “he lets hang his tail like a cedar.”)
19 He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.
We would expect behemoth to be a large land animal whose bones are like beams of bronze and so forth, so whatever a behemoth is, it is large. A key phrase is “He is the first of the ways of God.” This phrase in the original Hebrew implied that behemoth was the biggest animal created. Although an elephant or a hippopotamus are big, they are less than one-tenth the size of a Brachiosaurus, the largest (complete) dinosaur ever discovered.[1] A Brachiosaurus could therefore easily be described as “the first of the ways of God.”
Some paleontologists have found fragmentary leg bones, ribs, or vertebrae which they propose belong to “new” sauropods larger than Brachiosaurus. Examples of these include Amphicoelias, Argentinasaurus, Sauroposeidon, Seismosaurus, Supersaurus and Ultrasaurus. There currently is not enough evidence to really determine the size of any of these, and some paleontologists believe that they are merely large examples of known dinosaurs like Brachiosaurus or Diplodocus. In any case, only the “modern scientific name” of behemoth would change. The point would still remain that behemoth refers to a dinosaur, not a “modern animal” like an elephant or hippopotamus.
2. Leviathan
It is claimed that dinosaurs and other creatures do not breath fire. However...
Unlike behemoth, who is huge, Leviathan is ferocious and terrifying. Many references (we have not listed them all) refer to the sea, so Leviathan is probably a sea creature. Although some bibles refer to Leviathan as an alligator or crocodile (and both of these are fierce) neither of these is a sea creature. They like the water, but they spend much of their time on land. Further, the question “Who can open the doors of his face. . . .” implies that nobody can open Leviathan's jaws. Although an alligator's jaws cannot normally be forced open, a punch to their sensitive snout or poke in eye might startle them enough to release their grip.[2] Although this is a good description of an alligator characteristic, it does not fit perfectly with the description of Leviathan, which in the context of the Bible was supposed to describe an essentially impossible event, and we are not done yet.
The description of the scales is interesting. Several verses describe these great scales. Compared to Leviathan's armor, iron is like straw and arrows ca not make it flee. Let's face it, an arrow can do a lot of damage to a crocodile or alligator. This is not a description of either of them—or any living animal we are aware of.
And now for the key ingredient: fire. It is hard to read Job 41:18-21 without realizing the Bible is telling us that Leviathan breathes fire. That alone will eliminate almost every living animal. Yes, there is one animal like that in today's world. It is called a bombardier beetle. This beetle is a native of Central America, and has a nozzle in its hind end that acts like a little flame thrower. It sprays a high-temperature jet of gas (fueled by hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide with oxidative enzymes) for protection. Now, if a Central American beetle can do it, so could Leviathan. By the way, crocodiles and alligators are out of the picture on this one, don't you agree?
Before we leave the topic of fire, there are two more notes you may find interesting:
The history of every culture is filled with stories of fire-breathing dragons. If you think about it, in all the past ages wouldn't someone have made up a story of a fire-breathing lion or something? Nobody did because the dragon stories are based on truth, and only “dragons” breathed fire. It is easy to imagine Leviathan as a member of the dragon (tanniyn) family. (Plus, Isaiah 27:1 strongly implies this connection.)
Many fossil dinosaur skulls contain unexplained, empty passages. Scientists have not been able to guess the reason for these passages. Would it make sense that some dinosaurs used these passages as “gas tanks” for the combustible mixture used to “breathe fire?” We believe it does.
Comparing all this information to the description in your kid's dinosaur book, you may come up with the conclusion that Leviathan is a kronosaurus. We have heard (and read) other suggestions, but the kronosaurus is the best match of any known creature to the description of Leviathan.
Also, let's discuss the term "dragon" or "tanniyn".
Dinosaur is a modern term. One might say that kronosaurus is not a dinosaur, but I am not saying that. I am saying that Kronosaurus and Brachiosaurus are "dragons".
The modern name of "dragon" implies a fire breathing creature that flies. However, many pictures and ancient drawings have depicted dragons in many forms, much like dinosaurs we see today.
Now I understand that Old Earth Creationists can never possibly believe this, even with the case I have presented.
All I ask is for agreement that if the earth was young, this would be possible and that hippo's and alligators are out of the question.