God is eternal and does not change, the point of the Job verses is that this is a creature so massive and so fearful, that none but God dare approach it. The mention of God using His sword, is for man to understand just how powerful this beast is, not that God needs an actual sword to approch it. The sword in this verse is symbolic, just like when Jesus says He is the bread of life, that doesn’t mean He’s a loaf of bread. When Jesus says I am the door, that doesn’t mean He has hinges and a door knob, or when the Bible talks about under His wings we shall have refuge, it’s doesn’t mean that God is a big chicken, it’s symbolic wording to give us a better understanding of God using things we mere mortals are familar with.
It’s symbolic wording and on that I agree. What the beast is is immaterial, as are most of the details contained in the Bible; it’s the story and meaning behind the details that matter.
But for someone now taking a “symbolic tack” you’re quite adamant about what the symbols mean, that it cannot be an elephant or hippo! Thus the question: if it’s not an elephant or hippo, what is it and what led you to that conclusion?
In the context of a 2000 BC Arab I’d say an elephant - something they would have never seen - would be a terrible beast beyond comprehension. Larger than the largest camel, ground shaking steps, massive in size and power. It’s good imagery for that, and if the largest game you had ever encountered were deer, mountain lions and the like you bet you’d be afraid to approach that thing with a sword...;)