Bē'he-moth, n.

n. [Heb. b’hemoth, beasts, animals, particularly of the larger kind, pl. of b’hemāh, beast; Ar. bahīmat, animal; as pl. of majesty b’hemōth signified most prob. the hippopotamus, or river-horse. Cf. Egypt. p-ehe-mōout, i. e. water-bull.] An animal described in the book of Job, xl. 15-24.

☞ It has been variously supposed to be the ox, the elephant, the crocodile, the mastodon, and the hippopotamus, or river-horse. Some writers consider it as a kind of type or representation of the largest land animals, under the general name of behemoth, which is a plural, denoting, literally, beasts. Kitto.