Job 8:17

seeth the place of stones This translation can hardly mean that in his high growth he looks down upon the stone heap, or bends over it, but rather that he chooses it, fixes himself upon it. Others prefer the sense: he pierces between the stones, that is, with his roots, or, he pierces the place of stones, the word which ordinarily means to seehaving it is said in the dialect of the Hauran the sense of cut, or split(Wetzstein in Delitzsch, note, p. 120). This affords a more distinct sense. The luxuriance of the plant and its hold of the soil are graphically described. It is fresh and green under the heat of the sun; its suckers spread out and run over all the garden; its shoots clasp the heap of stones and weave themselves about it; and, finally, its roots thrust themselves down and pierce the stony soil, grasping the heart of the earth.