Banes of Job

"The Banes of Job. Some said they are primordial beasts that exist from a time before God. Some said they are the embodiments of His divine wrath. Regardless, all of those under Heaven's mantle know of the beasts, of the power and danger they possess, and more than ever, they know that only the Lord's capable of controlling them. For better or for worse."

- Carl Black.

The Banes of Job, also known as the Three Primordial Beasts, are a group of three primordial beasts, all created by God, whom are regarded as some of the most powerful creatures ever to roam the Earth along with the entire multiverse.

Overview
The first is the Behemoth, the primordial beast of the Earth, the second is the Leviathan, the primordial beast of the sea, and lastly is the Ziz, the primordial beast of the air. They are collectively known as the Banes of Job due to the fact that Job was once tasked with hunting down and capturing these monsters, a task which is considered to be impossible and which he failed.

The name itself also refers to an ancient tablet, which is said to keep the three beasts of creation locked within their respective domains of which they rule with an iron fist. The tablet is broken into three pieces, each piece having the carving of the beast upon it. Once the three pieces are reunited, it will conjure the three beasts of destruction back to the Earth, where they will lay waste to all that is around them.

Powers & Abilities
The Banes of Job are equals with other Primordial-Level Entities. They assisted the Heavenly Host when it was under attacked by the Old Ones. All three control can control nature, their respective elements, and the weather. This makes them quite literally a force of nature.

Origins
The Banes of Job are the first beasts that were created by God long before He created Man. The first is Behemoth, the primordial beast of the Earth, the second is Leviathan the primordial beast of the sea, and lastly is Ziz the primordial beast of the air. They each represent or are embodiments of the three layers that make up the planet being the sky, the earth, and the seas. They were said to be the only beasts that Adam and Eve cannot tame for they may tame the creatures they cannot tame forces of nature.

They were also created to maintain a natural balance of nature and the animals.

War in Heaven
However, after the War in Heaven, the very fundamental nature of creation itself shifted dramatically and among these disturbances was the animal kingdom turning against one another for the sake of survival as well against their former masters that being Adam and Eve. This also affected the three primordial beasts; the Behemoth, the Ziz, and the Leviathan. The effect caused them to turn against one another thereby spurning the three layers of what makes up the Earth as well as those that dwell within them into chaos. As a result, God was forced to separate these three mighty beasts lest they caused untold natural destruction upon the planet and its inhabitants until they were able to be calm once more.

Even with their minds returning to peace, some remnants of that chaos affected subconsciously which made them be somewhat aggressive to each other and God himself which they required thousands of years to regain whom they once were.

Book of Job
The Great Beasts would not appear until God presented Job with the workings of the universe, with the beasts being among them as a way to display His majesty and power. God would then put Job to the test by having him capture these beasts only to fail as it was considered an impossible task further establishing the difference between God's viewpoint and Job's.

Fearing the power of the beasts and the sway they hold over the forces of nature, God decided to give Job a tablet as a mutual beneficiary pardon. The tablet itself keeps the Great Beasts dormant within their domains and should one be separated from the other it would awaken the Banes in response to their respective piece. The three pieces contain a part of the Banes of Job; a feather from Ziz, a tusk splinter from Behemoth, and a scale from the Leviathan.

Myths and Legends
Three mythical creatures who appear in the Bible and are part of Judaic legends. At the end of times, God supposedly will kill these creatures and men will feast on their flesh.

Leviathan will pollute the sea, Behemoth will fill the land with chasms and fissures, and Ziz will darken the sky, coating the land below in an endless shade. The three beasts are said to be the embodying forces of chaos and destruction, and are even said to be the elder creatures that ruled over the young Earth until their defeat at the hands of God.

Other cultures and religions have similar allegorical creatures. Leviathan has a close resemblance with the Midgard serpent for instance while Ziz can be compared to the Roc or the Thunderbird. The Behemoth supposedly looks like an elephant, an ox or a hippo.

Origins
The first mention of the Leviathan and the Behemoth is in Genesis during creation. The Rabbinic tradition is that the Leviathan is a giant sea monster of sorts, and there's exegetical tradition that links it in ways to the Messianic period. The Behemoth is similarly linked with messianic prophecies and the like, though, again, it's not clear what exactly is meant by any of it. How much the Rabbis were being literal, how much they were employing parables and metaphors, and what those parables and metaphors mean are all very unclear.

The Leviathan, or at least a word that is similar enough to provoke association, is also found in later parts of the Bible. There, its meaning is much more cryptic. Again, some want to say it has some form of end-of-days messianic association. Dr. Moshe Bernstein as well as other scholars take the approach that it is related to pagan Ugaritic God/Monster.

In a similar vein, Casuto, a modern era biblical commentator, explains the mention of the leviathan in the creation story in genesis as being a parody of paganism. While other religions worship the Leviathan, our god "made" him. Moreover, the Talmud says that God "plays" with the Leviathan, sort of like a pet. Cassuto said the point the rabbis were getting at is that God is making a joke out of other God's and pagan beliefs, showing that what they consider an all powerful god is a toy for the one true God.

Members

 * The Behemoth
 * The Leviathan
 * The Ziz

Quotes

 * "They've slept for a thousands years and whenever they awaken, they travel across the globe and bring order to all of nature on the planet." - Life.


 * "Long before God created man He made the first beasts. The "Banes of Job" as they were coined. They ruled over the three layers of the planet like the sky, the earth, and the seas, includin' all the inhabitant creatures. After the Flood they up an' vanished, most likely hibernatin' until the End Days and are kept that way under the power of the tablet that God gave Job after He showed 'em a virtual tour of the universe. If the pieces of that tablet are reunited then we'll be set all the way back to the bloody prehistoric age." - John Constantine.

Trivia

 * No one truly knows of their origins, though they claim to have come from "a time before there was the word that is God".
 * Despite both being servants of God, there exist a mutual distain toward one another between the Banes of Job and the angels of Heaven.
 * It's rumored that the angels and the demons each keep their own piece of the Banes of Job Tablet.
 * The angels are said to keep the Ziz's tablet piece while the demons, specifically the demon lord Leviathan, keep the Leviathan's tablet piece, and the third one, the Behemoth's tablet piece is kept by the Hunter Organization.

Image Sources

 * (Banes of Job.jpg) Banes of Job by ???
 * (Lev-Beh-Ziz.jpg) Lev-Beh-Ziz from biblical scriptures
 * (Leviathan ziz and behemoth by happychupacabra d4w1jzw-fullview.jpg) Leviathan, Ziz, and Behemoth by HappyChupacabra
 * (Leviathan vs. Behemoth.jpg) Leviathan vs. Behemoth by Kitsune-aka-Cettie