Abstract

This essay traces the origins of two famous biblical monsters, Leviathan and Behemoth, which are described in the Old Testament. It aims to show how the creation of the two monsters relates political metaphor. It is focused on a philological analysis of the sources in an attempt to grasp at a correct interpretation of the texts. Reconstruction of the ancient origins of the two political monsters is only achievable by studying polytheistic religious traditions, such as the Babylonian and Phoenician cosmogonies, where mon-sters and hybrids were unequivocally connected to the land/sea elements.