Job 41 - Introduction

TODAY'S ENGLISH VERSION

1 Can you catch Leviathan with a fishhook,
or tie his tongue down with a rope?

2 Can you put a rope through his snout,

or put a hook through his jaws?

3 Will he beg you to let him go?

Will he plead with you for mercy?

4 Will he make an agreement with you

and promise to serve you forever?

5 Will you treat him like a pet bird,

like something to amuse your servant girls?

6 Will fishermen bargain over him?

Will merchants cut him up to sell?

7 Can you fill his hide with fishing spears,

or pierce his head with a harpoon?

8 Touch him once and you-'ll never try it again;

you-'ll never forget the fight!

9 Anyone who sees Leviathan

loses courage and falls to the ground.

10 When he is aroused, he is fierce;

no one would dare to stand before him.

11 Who can attack him and still be safe?

No one in all the world can do it.

12 Let me tell you about Leviathan's legs,

and describe how great and strong he is.

13 No one can tear off his outer coat,

or pierce the armor he wears.

14 Who can make him open his jaws,

ringed with those terrifying teeth?

15 His back is made of rows of shields,

fastened together and hard as stone.

16 Each one is fastened so tight to the next,

not even a breath can come between.

17 They are all fastened so well together

that nothing can ever pull them apart.

18 Light flashes when he sneezes,

and his eyes glow like the rising sun.

19 Flames blaze from his mouth,

and streams of sparks fly out.

20 Smoke comes pouring out of his nose,

like smoke from weeds burning under a pot.

21 His breath starts fires burning;

flames leap out of his mouth.

22 His neck is so powerful

that everyone who meets him is terrified.

23 There is not a weak spot in his skin;

it is as hard and unyielding as iron.

24 His stony heart is without fear,

as unyielding and hard as a millstone.

25 When he rises up, even the gods are frightened;

they are helpless with fear.

26 There is no sword that can wound him;

no spear, or arrow, or lance that can harm him.

27 For him, iron is as weak as straw,

and bronze as weak as rotten wood.

28 There is no arrow that can make him run;

rocks thrown at him are like bits of straw.

29 To him a club is a piece of straw,

and he laughs when men throw spears.

30 His claws are like jagged pieces of pottery;

they tear up the muddy ground as he walks.

31 He churns up the sea like a boiling pot,

and makes it bubble like a kettle of oil.

32 He leaves a shining path behind him

and turns the sea to white foam.

33 There is nothing on earth to compare with him;

he is a creature that has no fear.

34 He looks down on even the proudest animals;

he is king of all wild beasts.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 41:1-34

864.

Is leviathan a real or mythological creature? Discuss.

865.

Show how the crocodile perfectly fits the description given in verse one of the leviathan.

866.

Ropes were used in the same way for both men and animals. What was the purpose? Give examples.

867.

What is the point of the description given in verse two and three?

868.

What a playmate a crocodile would be! How easy would it be to tame him and expect his service?

869.

What imagery is found in verse six?

870.

The barbed irons and fishing spears are of no value with the leviathan. Why?

871.

What advice is given to Job in verse eight?

872.

The point of verses one through nine is stated in verse ten. What is it?

873.

If no one can face a crocodile; who is he who can face the creator of the crocodile? Is this the thought of Job 41:11?

874.

What subject begins in Job 41:12?

875.

What is the outer garment of the crocodile?

876.

No one can open the doors of the face of leviathan. Why not? What is the point being made?

877.

The pride of this creature is in its scales. Explain why. Cf. Job 41:15-17.

878.

Express in your own words the meaning of Job 41:18. In what sense are the eyelids of the crocodile the eyelids of the morning?

879.

Is there a fire-breathing dragon described in Job 41:19? If not, please explain what is described.

880.

The smoke is not smoke in Job 41:20, nor are the coals and flame what they seem to be in Job 41:21. Please explain.

881.

What is said about his neck? How do we explain the dance of terror or dismay before him? Cf. Job 41:22.

882.

What are the flakes of the flesh of the crocodile?

883.

He is as hard as the lowly millstone. In what way? Cf. Job 41:24.

884.

Why all the detail in the futile attempts of men to injure the crocodile? Cf. Job 41:26-30.

885.

The leviathan's motion in the water is described in Job 41:31-32. Paraphrase Job 41:31-32.

886.

The crocodile is king. Over whom? Cf. Job 41:33-34.