The ancient rabbis did, and they spun some incredible tales around the question.
The Midrash, specifically Bamidbar Rabbah 21, delves into this very idea. It poses the question: What creature did God create that is beyond human capacity to provide for? The answer? "The animals [behemot] of one thousand hills" (Psalms 50:10). Now, behemot—this word often refers to large, grazing animals. But what does it really mean in this context?
Here, we find a fascinating divergence of opinions among the sages. Rabbi Yoḥanan pictures a single, colossal animal, so enormous that it sprawls across a thousand mountains. Imagine the sheer scale! And these aren't barren peaks; each mountain miraculously sprouts with all kinds of vegetation, specifically as food for this behemoth. This sustenance, Rabbi Yoḥanan adds, is ultimately "food for the righteous in the future," referencing Isaiah 65:10: "The Sharon will be a pasture for flocks, and the Akhor Valley for the lying of cattle, [for My people, who sought Me]."
But the Rabbis (as a collective voice) offer a different interpretation. They agree it's one animal dominating a thousand mountains, but their version is even wilder. According to them, each day, each of those thousand mountains produces an animal, and that’s what the behema eats! As it says in Job 40:20, "All the beasts of the field will frolic there." The Midrash acknowledges the seeming impossibility of a grazing animal consuming other animals, but Rabbi Tanhuma simply responds with awe: "Great are the works of our God; how numerous are His works."
And the questions keep coming! If this creature is so massive, how does it quench its thirst?
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi offers a stunning image: this behema can swallow in one gulp everything that flows through the Jordan River for six months! He derives this idea from Job 40:23, which speaks of the behema's ability to "exploit a river." Rabbi Yehoshua emphasizes the word "exploit" to indicate the animal only takes what it needs.
The Rabbis, again, take it a step further. They claim it drinks the entire Jordan River's worth of water for a year in a single gulp, just to wet its mouth! Rav Huna, quoting Rav Yosef, quips that even that might not be enough!
So, where does it really drink from? Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai provides the most mystical answer: "And a river emerges from Eden" (Genesis 2:10). He identifies this river as Yuval, referencing Jeremiah 17:8: "And by a stream [yuval] it will spread its roots," implying a connection to the primordial source of all life. The behema, in this view, is directly connected to Eden itself!
The Midrash concludes with a beautiful teaching attributed to Rabbi Meir, drawing from Job 12:7-9: "'But ask animals now, and they will teach you, and birds of the heavens, and they will tell you' (Job 12:7)." Rabbi Meir equates "animals" with the behema, "birds of the heavens" with "the large fowl of the field" (Psalms 50:11), "the earth" with the Garden of Eden, and "the fish of the sea" with the leviathan. These are the primordial creatures, the witnesses to God's creation. "Who does not know, among all these, that the hand of the Lord has done this?" (Job 12:9).
So, what are we to make of this? Are these literal descriptions of gigantic beasts? Perhaps. But more likely, these stories serve as allegories, ways for the rabbis to grapple with the immensity of God's power and the mysteries of creation. They remind us that there are wonders beyond our comprehension, creatures and forces that dwarf our human concerns. And perhaps, they invite us to consider our own role in the cosmos – are we stewards of creation, or are there forces at play far beyond our control? It's a question worth pondering, isn't it?