1Moreover the LORDH3068 answeredH6030 JobH347, and saidH559, 2Shall he that contendethH7378 with the AlmightyH7706 instructH3250 him? he that reprovethH3198 GodH433, let him answerH6030 it. 3Then JobH347 answeredH6030 the LORDH3068, and saidH559, 4Behold, I am vileH7043 ; what shall I answerH7725 thee? I will layH7760 mine handH3027 uponH3926 my mouthH6310. 5OnceH259 have I spokenH1696 ; but I will not answerH6030 : yea, twiceH8147; but I will proceed no furtherH3254 . 6Then answeredH6030 the LORDH3068 unto JobH347 out of the whirlwindH5591, and saidH559, 7Gird upH247 thy loinsH2504 now like a manH1397: I will demandH7592 of thee, and declareH3045 thou unto me. 8Wilt thou also disannulH6565 my judgmentH4941? wilt thou condemnH7561 me, that thou mayest be righteousH6663 ? 9Hast thou an armH2220 like GodH410? or canst thou thunderH7481 with a voiceH6963 like him? 10DeckH5710 thyself now with majestyH1347 and excellencyH1363; and arrayH3847 thyself with gloryH1935 and beautyH1926. 11Cast abroadH6327 the rageH5678 of thy wrathH639: and beholdH7200 every one that is proudH1343, and abaseH8213 him. 12LookH7200 on every one that is proudH1343, and bring him lowH3665 ; and tread downH1915 the wickedH7563 in their place. 13HideH2934 them in the dustH6083 togetherH3162; and bindH2280 their facesH6440 in secretH2934 . 14Then will I also confessH3034 unto thee that thine own right handH3225 can saveH3467 thee. 15Behold now behemothH930, which I madeH6213 with thee; he eatethH398 grassH2682 as an oxH1241. 16Lo now, his strengthH3581 is in his loinsH4975, and his forceH202 is in the navelH8306 of his bellyH990. 17He movethH2654 his tailH2180 like a cedarH730: the sinewsH1517 of his stonesH6344 are wrapped togetherH8276 . 18His bonesH6106 are as strongH650 pieces of brassH5154; his bonesH1634 are like barsH4300 of ironH1270. 19He is the chiefH7225 of the waysH1870 of GodH410: he that madeH6213 him can makeH5066 his swordH2719 to approachH5066 unto him. 20Surely the mountainsH2022 bring him forthH5375 foodH944, where all the beastsH2416 of the fieldH7704 playH7832 . 21He liethH7901 under the shady treesH6628, in the covertH5643 of the reedH7070, and fensH1207. 22The shady treesH6628 coverH5526 him with their shadowH6752; the willowsH6155 of the brookH5158 compass him aboutH5437 . 23Behold, he drinketh upH6231 a riverH5104, and hastethH2648 not: he trustethH982 that he can draw upH1518 JordanH3383 into his mouthH6310. 24He takethH3947 it with his eyesH5869: his noseH639 pierceth throughH5344 snaresH4170.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 GOD'S SECOND ADDRESS. (Job 40:1-24)
the Lord--Hebrew, "JEHOVAH."
2 he that contendeth--as Job had so often expressed a wish to do. Or, rebuketh. Does Job now still (after seeing and hearing of God's majesty and wisdom) wish to set God right?
answer it--namely, the questions I have asked.
3 Lord--JEHOVAH.
4 I am (too) vile (to reply). It is a very different thing to vindicate ourselves before God, from what it is before men. Job could do the latter, not the former.
lay . . . hand . . . upon . . . mouth--I have no plea to offer (
Job 21:5;
Judg 18:19).
5 Once . . . twice--oftentimes, more than once (
Job 33:14, compare with
Job 33:29;
Ps 62:11):
I have spoken--namely, against God.
not answer--not plead against Thee.
6 the Lord--JEHOVAH.
7 (See on
Job 38:3). Since Job has not only spoken against God, but accused Him of injustice, God challenges him to try, could he govern the world, as God by His power doth, and punish the proud and wicked (
Job 40:7-
Job 40:14).
8 Wilt thou not only contend with, but set aside My judgment or justice in the government of the world?
condemn--declare Me unrighteous, in order that thou mayest be accounted righteous (innocent; undeservingly afflicted).
9 arm--God's omnipotence (
Isa 53:1).
thunder--God's voice (
Job 37:4).
10 See, hast thou power and majesty like God's, to enable thee to judge and govern the world?
11 rage--rather, pour out the redundant floods of, &c.
behold--Try, canst thou, as God, by a mere glance abase the proud (
Isa 2:12, &c.)?
12 proud--high (
Dan 4:37).
in their place--on the spot; suddenly, before they can move from their place. (See on
Job 34:26;
Job 36:20).
13 (
Isa 2:10). Abase and remove them out of the sight of men.
bind . . . faces--that is, shut up their persons [MAURER]. But it refers rather to the custom of binding a cloth over the faces of persons about to be executed (
Job 9:24;
Esth 7:8).
in secret--consign them to darkness.
14 confess--rather, "extol"; "I also," who now censure thee. But since thou canst not do these works, thou must, instead of censuring, extol My government.
thine own . . . hand . . . save-- (
Ps 44:3). So as to eternal salvation by Jesus Christ (
Isa 59:16;
Isa 63:5).
15 God shows that if Job cannot bring under control the lower animals (of which he selects the two most striking, behemoth on land, leviathan in the water), much less is he capable of governing the world.
behemoth--The description in part agrees with the hippopotamus, in part with the elephant, but exactly in all details with neither. It is rather a poetical personification of the great Pachydermata, or Herbivora (so "he eateth grass"), the idea of the hippopotamus being predominant. In
Job 40:17, "the tail like a cedar," hardly applies to the latter (so also
Job 40:20,
Job 40:23, "Jordan," a river which elephants alone could reach, but see on
Job 40:23). On the other hand,
Job 40:21-
Job 40:22 are characteristic of the amphibious river horse. So leviathan (the twisting animal),
Job 41:1, is a generalized term for cetacea, pythons, saurians of the neighboring seas and rivers, including the crocodile, which is the most prominent, and is often associated with the river horse by old writers. "Behemoth" seems to be the Egyptian Pehemout, "water-ox," Hebraized, so-called as being like an ox, whence the Italian bombarino.
with thee--as I made thyself. Yet how great the difference! The manifold wisdom and power of God!
he eateth grass--marvellous in an animal living so much in the water; also strange, that such a monster should not be carnivorous.
16 navel--rather, "muscles" of his belly; the weakest point of the elephant, therefore it is not meant.
17 like a cedar--As the tempest bends the cedar, so it can move its smooth thick tail [UMBREIT]. But the cedar implies straightness and length, such as do not apply to the river horse's short tail, but perhaps to an extinct species of animal (see on
Job 40:15).
stones--rather, "thighs."
wrapped--firmly twisted together, like a thick rope.
18 strong--rather, "tubes" of copper [UMBREIT].
19 Chief of the works of God; so "ways" (
Job 26:14;
Pro 8:22).
can make his sword to approach--rather, "has furnished him with his sword" (harpe), namely, the sickle-like teeth with which he cuts down grain. English Version, however, is literally right.
20 The mountain is not his usual haunt. BOCHART says it is sometimes found there (?).
beasts . . . play--a graphic trait: though armed with such teeth, he lets the beasts play near him unhurt, for his food is grass.
21 lieth--He leads an inactive life.
shady trees--rather, "lotus bushes"; as
Job 40:22 requires.
22 shady trees--Translate: "lotus bushes."
23 Rather, "(Though) a river be violent (overflow), he trembleth not"; (for though living on land, he can live in the water, too); he is secure, though a Jordan swell up to his mouth. "Jordan" is used for any great river (consonant with the "behemoth"), being a poetical generalization (see on
Job 40:15). The author cannot have been a Hebrew as UMBREIT asserts, or he would not adduce the Jordan, where there were no river horses. He alludes to it as a name for any river, but not as one known to him, except by hearsay.
24 Rather, "Will any take him by open force" (literally, "before his eyes"), "or pierce his nose with cords?" No; he can only be taken by guile, and in a pitfall (
Job 41:1-
Job 41:2).