beast of the land

חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ chayat ha’arets (H2416 + H776) literally means “living ones of the land” where חַיַּת chayat is the construct form of the singular feminine noun חָי chay which means life or living.

חַיַּת chayat is often confused with the Hebrew word בְּהֵמָה behemah (H929) which is sometimes translated as “beast” in the King James Version (KJV) and other Bibles (cf. Genesis 6:7; Genesis 7:2; Genesis 8:20; Genesis 34:23; Genesis 36:6; Exodus 8:17-18; Exodus 9:9-10; Leviticus 7:21,25,26; Leviticus 11:2-3,26,39,46; Leviticus 18:23; Leviticus 20:16,25; Leviticus 24:18,21), but בְּהֵמָה behemah refers to both wild and domestic animals including cattle and livestock. בְּהֵמָה behemah is equivalent to the Greek word κτῆνος ktēnos (G2934) which is defined as a “beast of burden” mainly referring to cattle or livestock and often used to define four-legged animals as opposed to fish and birds.