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Job Chapter
Forty
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 40
In
this chapter Job is called upon to give in his answer, Job 40:1, which he
does in the most humble manner, acknowledging his vileness and folly, Job 40:3; and then
the Lord proceeds to give him further conviction of his superior justice and
power, Job 40:6; and one
thing he proposes to him, to humble the proud, if he could, and then he would
own his own right hand could save him, Job 40:10; and
observes to him another instance of his power in a creature called behemoth,
which he had made, and gives a description of, Job 40:15.
Job 40:1 Moreover
the Lord
answered Job, and said:
YLT
1And Jehovah doth answer
Job, and saith: --
Moreover the Lord answered Job,.... The Lord having
discoursed largely of the works of nature, in order to reconcile the mind of
Job to his works of providence, stopped and made a pause for a little space,
that Job might answer if he thought fit; but he being entirely silent, the Lord
began again:
and said; as follows:
Job 40:2 2 “Shall the one who
contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him
answer it.”
YLT
2Is the striver with the
Mighty instructed? The reprover of God, let him answer it.
Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?.... Is he
capable of it? He ought to be that takes upon him to dispute with God, to
object or reply to him; that brings a charge against him, enters the debate,
and litigates a point with him; which Job wanted to do. But could he or any
other instruct him, who is the God of knowledge, the all wise and only wise
God; who gives man wisdom, and teaches him knowledge? What folly is it to
pretend to instruct him! Or can such an one be "instructed?" as the
Targum: he is not in the way of instruction; he that submits to the chastising
hand of God may be instructed thereby, but not he that contends with him; see Psalm 94:12. Or
should he be one that is instructed? no, he ought to be an instructor, and not
one instructed; a teacher, and not one that is taught; he should be above all
instruction from God or man that will dispute with the Almighty, The word for
instruct has the signification of chastisement, because instruction sometimes
comes that way; and then the sense either is, shall a man contend with the
Almighty that chastises him? Does it become a son or a servant to strive
against a parent or a master that corrects him? Or does not he deserve to be
chastised that acts such a part? Some derive the word from one that signifies
to remove or depart, and give the sense, shall the abundance, the all
sufficiency of God, go from him to another, to a man; and so he, instead of
God, be the all sufficient one? Or rather the meaning of the clause is, has
there not been much, enough, and more than enough said, Job, to chastise thee,
and convince thee of thy mistakes? must more be said? is there any need of it?
he that reproveth God, let him answer it; he that
reproves God, for his words, or works, or ways, finding fault with either of
them, ought to answer to the question now put; or to any or all of those in the
preceding chapters, and not be silent as Job now was.
Job 40:3 3 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
YLT
3And Job answereth Jehovah,
and saith: --
Then Job answered the Lord,.... Finding that he was
obliged to answer, he did, but with some reluctance:
and said; as follows:
Job 40:4 4 “Behold, I am vile; What
shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth.
YLT
4Lo, I have been vile, What
do I return to Thee? My hand I have placed on my mouth.
Behold, I am vile,.... Or "light"F1קלתי "levis sum", Cocceius, Michaelis;
"leviter locutus sum", V. L. ; which may have respect either to his
words and arguments, which he thought had force in them, but now he saw they
had none; or to his works and actions, the integrity of his life, and the
uprightness of his ways, which he imagined were weighty and of great
importance, but now being weighed in the balances of justice were found
wanting; or it may refer to his original meanness and distance from God, being
dust and ashes, and nothing in comparison of him; and so the Septuagint version
is, "I am nothing"; see Isaiah 40:17; or
rather to the original vileness and sinfulness of his nature he had now a sight
of, and saw how he had been breaking forth in unbecoming expressions concerning
God and his providence: the nature of man is exceeding vile and sinful; his
heart desperately wicked; his thoughts, and the imaginations of them, evil, and
that continually; his mind and conscience are defiled; his affections
inordinate, and his understanding and will sadly depraved; he is vile in soul
and body; of all which an enlightened man is convinced, and will acknowledge;
what shall I answer thee? I am not able to answer
thee, who am but dust and ashes; what more can I say than to acknowledge my
levity, vanity, and vileness? he that talked so big, and in such a blustering
manner of answering God, as in Job 13:22; now has
nothing to say for himself;
I will lay mine hand upon my mouth; impose silence upon
himself, and as it were lay a restraint upon himself from speaking: it looks as
if there were some workings in Job's heart; he thought he could say something,
and make some reply, but durst not, for fear of offending yet more and more,
and therefore curbed it in; see Psalm 39:1.
Job 40:5 5 Once I have spoken, but I
will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
YLT
5Once I have spoken, and I
answer not, And twice, and I add not.
Once have I spoken; but I will not answer,.... Some
think this refers to what he had just now said of his vileness, he had owned
that, and that was all he had to say, or would say, he would give no other
answer; Jarchi says, some suppose he has respect to his words in Job 9:22;
yea, twice; but I will proceed no further; the meaning
seems to be, that he who had once and again, or very often, at least in some
instances, spoken very imprudently and indecently, for the future would take
care not to speak in such a manner: for this confession was not quite free and
full; and therefore the Lord takes him in hand again, to bring him to make a
more full and ingenuous one, as he does in Job 42:1.
Job 40:6 6 Then the Lord answered Job
out of the whirlwind, and said:
YLT
6And Jehovah answereth Job
out of the whirlwind, and saith: --
Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind,.... Some
think that the whirlwind ceased while the Lord spake the words in Job 40:2; which
encouraged Job to make the answer he did; but others are of opinion that it
continued, and now increased, and was more boisterous than before. The Targum
calls it the whirlwind of tribulation: comfort does not always follow
immediately on first convictions; Job, though humbled, was not yet humbled
enough: God will have a fuller confession of sin from him: it was not sufficient
to say he was vile, he must declare his sorrow for his sin, his abhorrence of
it, and of himself for it, and his repentance of it; and that he had said
things of God he ought not to have said, and which he understood not; and
though he had said he would answer no more, God will make him say more, and
therefore continued the whirlwind, and to speak out of it; for he had more to
say to him, and give him further proof of his power to his full conviction;
and said; as follows.
Job 40:7 7 “Now prepare yourself like
a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me:
YLT
7Gird, I pray thee, as a
man, thy loins, I ask thee, and cause thou Me to know.
Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and,
declare thou unto me,.... And prepare to give
an answer to what should be demanded of him. The same way of speaking is used
in Job 38:3; See Gill
on Job 38:3.
Job 40:8 8 “Would you indeed annul My
judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?
YLT
8Dost thou also make void My
judgment? Dost thou condemn Me, That thou mayest be righteous?
Wilt thou also disannul my judgment?.... The decrees and
purposes of God concerning his dealings with men, particularly the afflictions
of them, which are framed with the highest wisdom and reason, and according to
the strictest justice, and can never be frustrated or made void; or the
sentence of God concerning them, that is gone out of his mouth and cannot be
altered; or the execution of it, which cannot be hindered: it respects the
wisdom of God in the government of the world, as Aben Ezra observes, and the
particular dealings of his providence with men, which ought to be submitted to;
to do otherwise is for a man to set up his own judgment against the Lord's,
which is as much as in him lies to disannul it; whereas God is a God of
judgment, and his judgment is according to truth, and in righteousness, and
will take place, let men do or say what they please;
wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? Is there no
other way of vindicating thine own innocence and integrity, without charging me
with unrighteousness; at least saying such things as are judged by others to be
an arraignment of my justice, wisdom, and goodness, in the government of the
world? Now though Job did not expressly and directly condemn the Lord, and
arraign his justice, yet when he talked of his own righteousness and integrity,
he was not upon his guard as he should have been with respect to the justice of
God in his afflictions; for though a man may justify his own character when
abused, he should take care to speak well of God; and be it as it will between
man and man, God is not to be brought into the question; and though some of his
providences are not so easily reconciled to his promises, yet let God be true
and every man a liar.
Job 40:9 9 Have you an arm like God? Or
can you thunder with a voice like His?
YLT
9And an arm like God hast
thou? And with a voice like Him dost thou thunder?
Hast thou an arm like God?.... Such power as he
has, which is infinite, almighty, and uncontrollable, and therefore there is no
contending with him; as he has an arm on which good men may lean on and trust
in, and by which they are supported, protected, and saved, so he has an arm to
crush like a moth all that strive with him or against him;
or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? thunder is his
voice; see Job 37:4, &c.
and is expressive of his power, Job 26:14; and his
powerful voice may be observed in calling all things out of nothing into being
in creation; in commanding and ordering all things in providence according to
his pleasure; and in quickening sinners through his Gospel, by his Spirit and
grace in conversion, and will be in calling men out of their graves and
summoning them to judgment at the last day. God can both overpower and out
voice men, and therefore it is in vain to oppose him and contend with him.
Job 40:10 10 Then adorn yourself with
majesty and splendor, And array yourself with glory and beauty.
YLT
10Put on, I pray thee,
excellency and loftiness, Yea, honour and beauty put on.
Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency,.... With
excellent majesty, as I am decked and clothed, Psalm 93:1;
and array thyself with glory and beauty; appear in the
most glorious and splendid manner thou canst, make the best figure thou art
able, put on royal robes, and take thy seat and throne, and sit as a king or
judge in state and pomp, and exert thyself to do the following things; or take
my seat and throne as the judge of the whole earth, and try if thou canst
govern the world better than I do; for these and the expressions following are
said in an ironic manner.
Job 40:11 11 Disperse the rage of your
wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.
YLT
11Scatter abroad the wrath of
thine anger, And see every proud one, and make him low.
Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath,.... Work thyself up into
a passion, at least seemingly; put on all the airs of a wrathful and enraged
king on a throne of state, whose wrath is like the roaring of a lion, and as
messengers of death; pour out menaces plentifully, threatening what thou wilt
do; and try if by such means thou canst humble the spirit of a proud man, as
follows;
and behold everyone that is proud, and abase him; look sternly
at him, put on a fierce, furious, and menacing countenance, and see if thou
canst dash a proud man out of countenance, and humble him before thee, as I am
able; among the many instances of divine power the Lord settles upon this one,
and proposes it to Job to try his skill and power upon, the humbling of a proud
man.
Job 40:12 12 Look on everyone who is
proud, and bring him low; Tread down the wicked in their place.
YLT
12See every proud one --
humble him, And tread down the wicked in their place.
Look on everyone that is proud, and bring him low,.... As the
Lord often does; see Isaiah 2:11; this
is the same as before;
and tread down the wicked in their place; the same with
the proud, for pride makes men wicked; it is a sin, and very odious in the sight
of God, and is highly resented by him; he resists the proud: now Job is bid,
when he has brought proud men low, and laid their honour in the dust, to keep
them there, to trample upon them, and tread them as mire in the street; and
that in their own place, or wherever he should find them; the Septuagint render
it "immediately"; see Isaiah 28:3.
Job 40:13 13 Hide them in the dust
together, Bind their faces in hidden darkness.
YLT
13Hide them in the dust
together, Their faces bind in secret.
Hide them in the dust together,.... Either in the dust
of death, that they may be seen no more in this world, in the same place and
circumstances where they showed their pride and haughtiness; or in the dust of
the grave, and let them have an inglorious burial, like that of malefactors
thrown into some common pit together; as, when multitudes are slain in battle,
a large pit is dug, and the bodies are cast in together without any order or
decency; or it may be rendered "alike"F2יחד "pariter", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Cocceius, Schultens. , let them be treated equally alike, no preference given
to one above another;
and bind their faces in
secret; alluding, as it is thought, to malefactors when condemned and
about to be executed, whose faces are then covered, as Haman's was, Esther 7:8; or to
the dead when buried, whose faces are bound with napkins, as Lazarus's was, John 11:44; the
meaning of all these expressions is, that Job would abase and destroy, if he
could, every proud man he met with, as God does, in the course of his
providence, sooner or later. There had been instances of divine power in this
way before, or in the times of Job, which might come to his knowledge; as the
casting down of the proud angels out of heaven, 2 Peter 2:4; and of
casting proud Adam out of paradise, Genesis 3:24; the drowning
the proud giants of the old world, Genesis 7:23; and
of dispersing the proud builders of Babel, Genesis 11:8; and
of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah by fire, Genesis 19:24, one
of whose reigning sins was pride, Ezekiel 16:49; and
of drowning proud Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea, Exodus 15:4, which
last seems to have been done much about the time Job lived.
Job 40:14 14 Then I will also confess
to you That your own right hand can save you.
YLT
14And even I -- I do praise
thee, For thy right hand giveth salvation to thee.
Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can
save thee. From all his enemies temporal and spiritual, and out of all evils
and calamities whatsoever; and that he stood in no need of his help and
assistance, yea, that he was a match for him, and might be allowed to contend
with him; but whereas he was not able to do the above things proposed to him,
it could not be admitted that his own right hand could save him; and therefore
ought quietly to submit to the sovereignty of God over him, and to all the
dispensations of his providence, and be humbled under his mighty hand, since no
hand but his could save him; as no man's right hand can save him from temporal
evils and enemies, and much less from spiritual ones, or with an everlasting
salvation; nor any works of righteousness done by him, only the arm of the Lord
has wrought salvation, and his right hand only supports and saves. Two
instances are given in this and the following chapter, the one of a land
animal, the other of a sea animal, as is generally supposed; or it may be of
amphibious ones, that live both on land and water.
Job 40:15 15 “Look now at the behemoth,[a] which I
made along with you; He eats grass like an ox.
YLT
15Lo, I pray thee, Behemoth,
that I made with thee: Grass as an ox he eateth.
Behold, now behemoth,.... The word is plural,
and signifies beasts, and may be used to denote the chiefest and largest of beasts,
and therefore is commonly understood of the elephant; and certain it is that a
single beast is described in the following account, and so the word is
rendered, Psalm 73:22; The
word is here rendered by the Septuagint θηρια,
"beasts"; which is the word used by the GreeksF3Suidas in
voce θηρια. Plutarch in
Eumenc. for elephants as "belluae", a word of the same signification,
is by the LatinsF4Terent. Eunuch. Act. 3. Sc. 1. Plin. Nat. Hist. l.
8. c. 3. : and so the Sabines called an elephant "barrus", and the
Indians "barro"F5Isidor. Origin. l. 12, c. 2. Vid. Horat.
Epod. 12. v. 1. , בער, a "beast"; and it
may be observed, that ivory is called "shenhabbim", 1 Kings 10:22; that
is, "shenhabehim", "behem" or "behemoth"F6Hiller.
Oaomastic, Sacr. p. 434. , the tooth of the beast: and it may be also observed,
that SenecaF7Nat. Quaest. l. 4. c. 2. says, that the Nile produces
beasts like the sea; meaning particularly the crocodile and hippopotamus.
Bochart dissents from the commonly received opinion of the elephant being
meant; and thinks the "hippopotamus", or river horse, is intended so
called from its having a head like a horse; and is said to have a mane, and to
neigh like one, and to bear some resemblance to it in its snout, eyes, ears,
and backF8Vid. lsidor. Origin. l. 12. c. 6. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8.
c. 25. Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 7. . And the reasons that celebrated author
has given for this his opinion have prevailed on many learned men to follow
him; and there are some things in the description of behemoth, as will be
observed, which seem better to agree with the river horse than with the
elephant. It is an amphibious creature, and sometimes lives upon the land, and
sometimes in the water; and by variousF9Herodot. Euterpe, sive, l.
2. c. 71. Plin. ib. Ammian, Marcellin. l. 22. Leo African. Descript. African,
l. 9. p. 758. writers is often called a beast and four footed one:
which I made with thee; or as well as thee; it
being equally the work of my hands, a creature as thou art: or made on the
continent, as than art, so Aben Ezra; and made on the same day man was made;
which those observe, who understand it of the elephant; or, which cometh
nearest to thee, the elephant being, as PlinyF11Nat. Hist. l. 8. c.
1. says, the nearest to man in sense; and no beast more prudent, as CiceroF12De
Natur. Deor. l. 1. affirms. But the above learned writer, who interprets it of
the river horse, takes the meaning of this phrase to be; that it was a creature
in Job's neighbourhood, an inhabitant of the river Nile in Egypt, to which
Arabia joined, where Job lived; which is testified by many writersF13Solin.
Polyhist. c. 45. Aelian. de Animal. l. 5. c. 53. Philo de Praemiis, p. 924.
Plin. Afric. ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 1.) : and therefore it is thought
more probable that a creature near at hand, and known should be instanced in,
and not one that it may be was never seen nor known by Job. But both Diodorus
SiculusF14Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 136. & l. 3. p. 173, 174, 175.
and StraboF15Geograph. l. 16. p. 531, 533. speak of herds of
elephants in Arabia, and of that as abounding: with them; and of various places
called from them, and the hunting of them, and even of men from eating them;
he eateth grass as an one; which is true both of
the elephant and of the river horse: that a land animal should eat grass is not
so wonderful; but that a creature who lives in the water should come out of it
and eat grass is very strange and worthy of admiration, it is observed: and
that the river horse feeds in corn fields and on grass many writersF16Diodor.
Sic. l. 1. p. 31. Aelian. Plin. Solin. Ammian. ut supra. assure us; yea, in the
river it feeds not on fishes, but on the roots of the water lily, which
fishermen therefore use to bait their hooks with to take it. Nor is it unlike
an ox in its shape, and in some parts of its body: hence the Italians call it
"bomaris", the "sea ox"; but it is double the size of an oxF17Ludolf.
Ethiop. Hist. l. 1. c. 11. . Olaus MagnusF18De Ritu Septent. Gent.
l. 21. c. 26. speaks of a sea horse, found between Britain and Norway; which
has the head of a horse, and neighs like one; has cloven feet with hoofs like a
cow; and seeks its food both in the sea and on the land, and grows to the
bigness of an ox, and has a forked tail like a fish.
(See
Definition for 0930. Editor)
Job 40:16 16 See now, his strength is
in his hips, And his power is in his stomach muscles.
YLT
16Lo, I pray thee, his power
[is] in his loins, And his strength in the muscles of his belly.
Lo now, his strength is in his loins,.... The
strength of the elephant is well known, being able to carry a castle on its
back, with a number of men therein; but what follows does not seem so well to
agree with it;
and his force is in the navel of his belly; since the
belly of the elephant is very tender; by means of which the rhinoceros, its
enemy, in its fight with it, has the advantage of it, by getting under its belly,
and ripping it up with its hornF19Aelian. de Amimal. l. 17. c. 44.
Plin. l. 8. c. 10,20. Vid. Solin. c. 38. Diodor. Sic. l. 3. p. 167. &
Strabo. Geograph. l. 16. p. 533. . In like manner Eleazar the Jew killed one of
the elephants of Antiochus, by getting between its legs, and thrusting his
sword into its navelF20Joseph. Ben Gorion. Hist. Heb. l. 3. c. 20.
1Maccab. vi. 46. ; which fell and killed him with the weight of it. On the
other hand, the "river horse" is covered with a skin all over, the
hardest and strongest of all creaturesF21Diodor. Sic. ut supra. (l.
3. p. 167) Plin. l. 8. c. 25. , as not to be pierced with spears or arrowsF23Ptolem.
Geograph. l. 7. c. 2. Fragment. Ctesiae ad Calcem Herodot. p. 701. Ed. Gronov.
Boius apud Kircher. China cum Momument. p. 193. ; and of it dried were made
helmets, shields, spears, and polished dartsF24Herodot. ut supra.
(p. 701) Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 7. Plin. l. 11. c. 39. . That which
Monsieur ThevenotF25Travels, part 1. c. 72. saw had several shot fired
at it before it fell, for the bullets hardly pierced through its skin. We made
several shot at him, says another travellerF26Dampier's Voyages,
vol. 2. part 2. p. 105. , but to no purpose; for they would glance from him as
from a wall. And indeed the elephant is said to have such a hard scaly skin as
to resist the spearF1Heliodor. Ethiop. Hist. l. 9. c. 18. : and
PlinyF2Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 39. Vid. Vossium in Melam. de Situ
Orbis, l. 1. c. 5. p. 28. , though he speaks of the hide of the river horse
being so thick that spears are made of it; yet of the hide of the elephant, as
having targets made of that, which are impenetrable.
Job 40:17 17 He moves his tail like a
cedar; The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
YLT
17He doth bend his tail as a
cedar, The sinews of his thighs are wrapped together,
He moveth his tail like a cedar,.... To which it is
compared, not for the length and largeness of it; for the tail both of the
elephant and of the river horse is short; though VartomannusF3Navigat.
l. 4. c. 9. says, the tail of the elephant is like a buffalo's, and is four
hands long, and thin of hair: but because of the smoothness, roundness,
thickness, and firmness of it; such is the tail of the river horse, being like
that of a hog or boarF4Aristot. Plin. Solin. & Isidore ut supra.
(See Job 40:16.) ; which
is crooked, twisted, and which it is said to turn back and about at pleasure,
as the word used is thought to signify. Aben Ezra interprets it, "maketh
to stand": that is, stiff and strong, and firm like a cedar. One writerF5Nicet.
Choniat. apud Fabrit. Gr. Bibliothec. vol. 6. p. 410. speaks of the horse of
the Nile, as having a scaly tail; but he seems to confound it with the sea
horse. Junius interprets it of its penis, its genital part; to which the Targum
in the King's Bible is inclined: and CiceroF6Epist. l. 9. ep. 22.
says, the ancients used to call that the tail; but that of the elephant,
according to AristotleF7Hist. Amimal. l. 2. c. 1. , is but small,
and not in proportion to the size of its body; and not in sight, and therefore
can hardly be thought to be described; though the next clause seems to favour
this sense:
the sinews of his stones are wrapped together; if by these
are meant the testicles, as some think, so the Targums; the sinews of which
were wreathed, implicated and ramified, like branches of trees, as Montanus
renders it. Bochart interprets this of the sinews or nerves of the river horse,
which having such plenty of them, are exceeding strong; so that, as some
report, this creature will with one foot sink a boatF8Apud
Hierozoic, par. 2. l. 5. c. 14. col. 758. ; I have known him open his mouth,
says a travellerF9Dampier's Voyages, vol. 2. part 2. p. 105. , and
set one tooth on the gunnel of a boat, and another on the second strake from
the keel, more than four feet distant, and there bite a hole through the plank,
and sink the boat.
Job 40:18 18 His bones are like
beams of bronze, His ribs like bars of iron.
YLT
18His bones [are] tubes of
brass, His bones [are] as a bar of iron.
His bones are as strong pieces of brass: his bones are
as bars of iron. Than which nothing is stronger. The repetition is made for
greater illustration and confirmation; but what is said is not applicable to
the elephant, whose bones are porous and rimous, light and spongy for the most
part, as appears from the osteologyF11In Philosoph. Transact. vol.
5. p. 155, 156. of it; excepting its teeth, which are the ivory; though the
teeth of the river horse are said to exceed them in hardnessF12Odoardus
Barbosa apud Bochart. ut supra. (Apud Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 5. c. 14. col.
758.) ; and artificers sayF13Diepenses apud ib. they are wrought
with greater difficulty than ivory. The ancients, according to PausaniasF14Arcadica,
sive, l. 8. p. 530. , used them instead of it; who relates, that the face of
the image of the goddess Cybele was made of them: and KircherF15China
cum Monument. p. 193. says, in India they make beads, crucifixes, and statues
of saints of them; and that they are as hard or harder than a flint, and fire
may be struck out of them. So the teeth of the morss, a creature of the like
kind in the northern countries, are valued by the inhabitants as ivoryF16Olaus
Magnus, ut supra, (De Ritu. Septent. Gent.) l. 2. c. 19. Voyage to Spitzbergen,
p. 115. , for hardness, whiteness, and weight, beyond it, and are dearer and
much traded in; See Gill on Job 40:20; but no
doubt not the teeth only, but the other bones of the creature in the text are
meant.
Job 40:19 19 He is the first of
the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword.
YLT
19He [is] a beginning of the
ways of God, His Maker bringeth nigh his sword;
He is the chief of the ways of God,.... Or the
beginning of them, that is, of the works of God in creation; which must be
restrained to animals, otherwise there were works wrought before any of them
were created. There were none made before the fifth day of the creation, and on
that day was the river horse made; in which respect it has the preference to
the elephant, not made till the sixth day. But if this phrase is expressive of
the superior excellency of behemoth over other works of God, as it seems to be,
it must be limited to the kind of which it is; otherwise man is the chief of
all God's ways or works, made either on the fifth or sixth day: and so as the
elephant may be observed to be the chief of the beasts of the earth, or of land
animals, for its largeness and strength, its sagacity, docility, gentleness,
and the like; so the river horse may be said to be the chief of its kind, of
the aquatic animals, or of the amphibious ones, for the bulk of its body, which
is not unlike that of the elephant, as says Diodorus SiculusF17Ut
supra. (Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 136. & l. 3. p. 173. 174. 175.) ; and it has
been by some called the Egyptian elephantF18Achilles Tatius, l. 4. ;
and also from its great sagacity, of which instances are given by some writersF19Ammian.
Marcellin. Plin. Solin. ut supra. Vid. Plin. l. 28. c. 8. . However, it is one
of the chief works of God, or a famous, excellent, and remarkable one, which
may be the sense of the expression; see Numbers 24:20. It
might be remarked in favour of the elephant, that it seems to have its name
from אלף, the first and chief; as the first letter in
the Hebrew alphabet is called "aleph"; unless it should have its name
from this root, on account of its docility;
he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him; not the sword
of God, as if this creature could not be killed by any but by him that made it;
for whether the elephant or river horse be understood, they are both to be
taken and slain: but the sword of behemoth is that which he himself is
furnished with; which some understand of the trunk of the elephant, with which
he defends himself and annoys others; but that has no likeness of a sword.
BochartF20Ut supra, (Apud Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 5. c. 14.) col. 760.
renders the word by "harpe", which signifies a crooked instrument,
sickle or scythe; and interprets it of the teeth of the river horse, which are
sharp and long, and bent like a scythe. That which ThevenotF21Travels,
part 1. c. 72. saw had four great teeth in the lower jaw, half a foot long, two
whereof were crooked; and one on each side of the jaw; the other two were
straight, and of the same length as the crooked, but standing out in the
length: see the figure of it in ScheuchzerF23Physic. Sacr. tab. 532.
; by which it also appears to have six teeth. Another traveller saysF24Dampier's
Voyages, vol. 2. part 2. p. 105. , of the teeth of the sea horse, that they are
round like a bow, and about sixteen inches long, and in the biggest part more
than six inches about: but another relationF25Capt. Rogers apud
Dampier, ib. p. 106. agrees more nearly with Thevenot and Scheuchzer; that four
of its teeth are longer than the rest, two in the upper jaw, one on each side,
and two more in the under; these last are four or five inches long, the other
two shorter; with which it mows down the corn and grass in great quantities: so
that Diodorus SiculusF26Ut supra. (Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 136. &
l. 3. p. 173. 174. 175.) observes, that if this animal was very fruitful, and
brought forth many young and frequently, the fields in Egypt would be utterly
destroyed. This interpretation agrees with what follows.
Job 40:20 20 Surely the mountains yield
food for him, And all the beasts of the field play there.
YLT
20For food do mountains bear
for him, And all the beasts of the field play there.
Surely the mountains bring him forth food,.... Grass,
which grows on mountains, and is the food of the river horse as well as of the
elephant; and therefore is furnished with teeth like a scythe to mow it down;
and it is not a small quantity that will suffice it, mountains only can supply
it; and marvellous it is that a creature bred in a river should come out of it
to seek its food on mountains. There is a creature in the northern parts, as in
Russia, Greenland, &c. which is called morss and sea morss, and by the
description of it is much like the river horse, of the size of an ox, and
having an head like one, with two large long teeth standing out of its upper
jaw, and an hairy skinF1Olaus Magus ut supra, (De Ritu. Septent.
Gent.) l. 21. c. 19. Vid. Bochart. ut supra, (Apud Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 5. c.
14.) Colossians 763. Eden's Travels, p. 318. , said
to be an inch thick, and so tough that no lance will enter itF2See
the North West Fox, p. 232. Voyage to Spitzbergen, p. 115,120. Supplement, p.
194. ; it comes out of the sea, and by its teeth gets up to the tops of
mountains, and having fed on grass rolls itself down again into the sea; and
this it does by putting its hinder feet to its teeth, and so falls from the
mountain with great celerity, as on a sledgeF3Olaus Magnus, ut
supra, (De Ritu. Septent. Gent. l. 21. c. 19.) & Eden's Travels, ut supra.
(p. 318.) ;
where all the beasts of the field play; skip and
dance, and delight in each other, being in no fear of behemoth; whether
understood of the elephant or river horse; since neither of them are
carnivorous creatures that feed on other animals, but on grass only; and
therefore the beasts of the field may feed with them quietly and securely.
PlinyF4Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 7. says of the elephant, that meeting
with cattle in the fields, it will make signs to them not to be afraid of it,
and so they will go in company together.
Job 40:21 21 He lies under the lotus
trees, In a covert of reeds and marsh.
YLT
21Under shades he lieth down,
In a secret place of reed and mire.
He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed,
and fens. This may be thought to agree very well with the river horse, the
inhabitant of the Nile, where reeds in great plenty grew, and adjoining to
which were fenny and marshy places, and shady trees; and, as historians relateF5Ammian.
Marcellin. l. 22. Bellonius & Achilles Tatius apud Bochart ut supra. (Apud
Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 5. c. 14. Colossians 760.) ,
this creature takes its lodging among high reeds, and in shady places; yea, the
reeds and sugar canes, and the leaves of the papyrus, are part of the food on
which it lives; and hence the hunters of them sometimes cover their bait with a
reed to take them; though it must be allowed that the elephant delights to be
about rivers, and in clayey and fenny placesF6Aristot. Hist. Animal.
l. 9. c. 46. Plin. l. 8. c. 10. Aelian. de Animal. l. 9. c. 56. , and therefore
AelianusF7lbid. l. 9. c. 24. says it may be called the fenny animal.
Job 40:22 22 The lotus trees cover him with
their shade; The willows by the brook surround him.
YLT
22Cover him do shades, [with]
their shadow, Cover him do willows of the brook.
The shady trees cover him with their shadow,.... Under
which it lies, as in Job 40:21; which is
thought not so well to agree with the elephant, since, according to AelianusF8Ibid.
(Aelian. de Animal.) c. 31. and other writers, it lies not down, at least but
rarely, but sleeps standing; it being very troublesome to it to lie down and
rise up again; and besides it is represented by some authorsF9Ibid.
l. 7. c. 6. as higher than the trees, and therefore this is supposed to agree
better with the river horse; especially since it follows,
the willows of the brook compass him about; or the
willows of the Nile, as some choose to render it; which would put it out of all
doubt that the river horse is intended, if it could be established, it being an
inhabitant of that river; and yet the above writerF11Ibid. c. 2.
speaks of elephants, when grown old, seeking large thick and shady woods to take
up their abode in.
Job 40:23 23 Indeed the river may rage,
Yet he is not disturbed; He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into
his mouth,
YLT
23Lo, a flood oppresseth --
he doth not haste, He is confident though Jordan Doth come forth unto his mouth.
Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not,.... The
elephant is indeed a very thirsty animal, and drinks largely; the philosopherF12Aristot.
ut supra. (l. 9. c. 56.) says it drinks nine Macedonian bushels at a feeding,
and that it will drink fourteen Macedonian measures of water at once, and eight
more at noon; but to drink up a river seems to be too great an hyperbole;
wherefore the words may be rendered, "Behold, let a river oppress
him", or "bear" ever so hard upon him, and come with the greatest
force and pressure on himF13Vid. Bochart. ut supra, (Apud Hierozic.
par. 2. l. 5. c. 14.) Colossians 766. , "he
hasteth not" to get out of it; or he is not frightened or troubled, as the
Targum; which agrees with the river horse, who walks into the river, and
proceeds on in it, with the greatest ease and unconcernedness imaginable; now
and then lifting up his head above water to take breath, which he can hold a
long time; whereas the elephant cannot wade in the water any longer than his
trunk is above it, as the philosopher observesF14Aristot. ut supra.
(l. 9. c. 56.) Vid Aelian. l. 7. c. 15. ; and LivyF15Hist. l. 21. c.
28. speaks of fear and trembling seizing an elephant, when about to be carried
over a river in boats;
he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan in his mouth; so bold and
confident he is, and not at all disturbed with its rapidity; or "though
Jordan", or rather any descending flowing stream, "gushes into his
mouth", so Mr. Broughton: for perhaps Jordan might not be known by Job;
nor does it seem to have any connection with the Nile, the seat of the river
horse; which has such large holes in its nostrils, and out of which, water
being swallowed down, he can throw it with great force. Diodorus SiculusF16Bibliothec.
l. 1. p. 31. Isidor. Origin. l. 12. c. 6. represents it as lying all day in the
water, and employing itself at the bottom of it, easy, careless, and
unconcerned.
Job 40:24 24 Though
he takes it in his eyes, Or one pierces his nose with a snare.
YLT
24Before his eyes doth [one]
take him, With snares doth [one] pierce the nose?
He taketh it with his eyes,.... Or "can men
take him before his eyes?" so Mr. Broughton; and others translate it to
the same purpose; no, he is not to be taken openly, but privately, by some
insidious crafty methods; whether it be understood of the elephant or river
horse; elephants, according to StraboF17Geograph. l. 15. p. 484. and
PlinyF18Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 8. See Ovington's Voyage to Surat, p.
192, 193. were taken in pits dug for them, into which they were decoyed; in
like manner, according to someF19Apud Bochart. ut supra, col. 768. ,
the river horse is taken; a pit being dug and covered with reeds and sand, it
falls into it unawares;
his nose pierceth through
snares; he discerns them oftentimes and escapes them, so that he is not
easily taken in them. It is reported of the sea morssF20Eden's
Travels, p. 318. Supplement to the North East Voyages, p. 94. , before
mentioned; see Gill on Job 40:20, that
they ascend mountains in great herds, where, before they give themselves to
sleep, to which they are naturally inclined, they appoint one of their number
as it were a watchman; who, if he chances to sleep or to be slain by the
hunter, the rest may be easily taken; but if the watchman gives warning by
roaring as the manner is, the whole herd immediately awake and fall down from
the mountains with great swiftness into the sea, as before described; or, as
Mr. Broughton, "cannot men take him, to pierce his nose with many
snares?" they cannot; the elephant has no nose to be pierced, unless his
trunk can be called so, and no hook nor snare can be put into the nose of the
river horse. Diodorus SiculusF21Bibliothec, l. 1. p. 32. says, it
cannot be taken but by many vessels joining together and surrounding it, and
striking it with iron hooks, to one of which ropes are fastened, and so the
creature is let go till it expires. The usual way of taking it now is, by
baiting the hook with the roots of water lilies, at which it will catch, and
swallow the hook with it; and by giving it line enough it will roll and tumble
about, until, through loss of blood, it faints and dies. The way invented by
Asdrubal for killing elephants was by striking a carpenter's chopping axe into
his earF23Orosii Hist. l. 4. c. 18. p. 62. Liv. Hist. l. 27. c. 49.
; the JewsF24T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 77. 2. & Gloss. in ib. say a
fly is a terror to an elephant, it enters into his nose and torments him
grievously.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)