Art in Scripture: The Earth Is the Lord's預覽

Behemoth and Leviathan, from Illustrations of the Book of Job, 1825–26
WILLIAM BLAKE

Engraving, 411 x 275 mm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Edward Bement 1917, 17.17.1–15, metmuseum.org

Opening Prayer:

O LORD, as we spend time with art and Scripture today, stir within us those longings which tie us to our awaited togetherness with You.

Rustle within us the ache for truth, goodness, and beauty as we gaze upon the work of this artist’s hands - the product of his own pull toward these eternal qualities of which we get glimpses in this life.

Open our minds to the evidence of our souls’ longings for You, that we may more deeply rejoice in the ultimate satisfaction You will be to these questions, curiosities, and desires.

Guide our eyes to connections between our hearts and minds and those of your children who penned Scripture millennia ago: the questions we ponder, confidence for which we grasp, and beauty we crave.

Behemoth and Leviathan commentary by Gerald West (Visual Commentary on Scripture)

"What is surprising in William Blake’s depiction of Behemoth and Leviathan in both his watercolours and engraving of the subject is how constrained these creatures are, encapsulated in a circle, the womb of God’s creation. Earlier, in 1794, Blake’s well-known poem ‘The Tyger’ asks a Job-like question of God concerning creatures like Behemoth and Leviathan: ‘Did he who made the Lamb make thee?’ But in Blake’s reflections on the book of Job the only questions are God’s.

In the watercolours and engraving both Behemoth and Leviathan are contained, clearly within and under God’s control, though Leviathan in particular conveys a sense of impending movement and power. God, angelic creatures, Job, Job’s wife, and Job’s three friends look on as God points to these mighty creatures, the apex of God’s creation: ‘Behold now Behemoth, which I made with thee’."

Gerald West. 2018. '‘Behold now Behemoth, which I Made with Thee’' , inThe Visual Commentary Of Scriptureed. by Ben Quash. (London: The Visual Commentary on Scripture Foundation). [Accessed 13.2.2025]

Initial Reflections:

Which details identified in Blake’s Behemoth and Leviathan stood out to you? God’s relaxed posture in proximity to the massive creatures? The humans’ positions above Behemoth and Leviathan despite their lack of strength, riches, or any other personal reason to be over them? The visual kinship between the humans and God, imaging the spiritual kinship of the Imago Dei that connects these two and not the beasts?

What do the artist’s choices in depicting each group of beings and composing the overall piece tell us about what concepts were captivating to him?

“Look at Behemoth, which I made just as I made you” (Job 40:15). This precursor to the following lines about Behemoth’s terror and grandeur so pointedly colors the message being sent to Job about this creature, about himself, and about God. God, with the same ease illustrated by Blake, puts Behemoth and man in the same category, Himself being the Maker of both. The disparity between the humans’ and creatures’ designs by Blake is rightly extreme. The magnificence of Behemoth and Leviathan in comparison to the humans, even smaller in their bent-over postures, is apparent; yet the humans are depicted over the creatures, closer to God. This position is baseless without the authority of that Maker surpassing all that can be observed. God’s supremacy over Creation is the foundation for the identities and power of all created things. The value of His image born in humankind is unmerited, and it is infinite.

Questions to contemplate as you read the passage from Job on the next page:

How does the connection God draws between humans and Behemoth in Job 40:15 frame the rest of the passage? What possible reasoning does this provide for the compositional choices Blake made in Behemoth and Leviathan?

Take a few minutes to sit with the part(s) of this artwork that caught your attention. Reflect on how those ring true with what Scripture tells us of God and how He created us to relate to Him. Ask Him to more deeply reveal to your heart the truth within this overlap of art, our response, and His Word.

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