HOW HAST THOU HELPED HIM THAT IS WITHOUT POWER? - It has been doubted whether this refers to Job himself, the two friends of Bildad, or to the Deity. Rosenmuller. The connection, however, seems to demand that it should be referred to Job himself. It is sarcastical. Bildad had come as a friend and co... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW HAST THOU COUNSELLED HIM THAT HATH NO WISDOM? - As he had undertaken to give counsel to another, and to suggest views that might be adapted to elevate his mind in his depression, and to console him in his sorrows, he had a right to expect more than he had found in his speech. AND HOW HAST THOU P... [ Continue Reading ]
TO WHOM HAST THOU UTTERED WORDS? - Jerome renders this, Quem docere voluisti? “Whom do you wish to teach?” The sense is, “Do you attempt to teach me in such a manner, on such a subject? Do you take it that I am so ignorant of the perfections of God, that such remarks about him would convey any real... [ Continue Reading ]
DEAD THINGS - Job here commences his description of God, to show that his views of his majesty and glory were in no way inferior to those which had been expressed by Bildad, and that what Bildad had said conveyed to him no real information. In this description he far surpasses Bildad in loftiness of... [ Continue Reading ]
HELL - Hebrew שׁאול _sh__e__'ôl_, Sheol; Greek ᾅδης _Hadēs_ Hades. The reference is to the abode of departed spirits - the nether world where the dead were congregated; see the notes at Job 10:21. It does not mean here, as the word hell does with us, a place of punishment, but the place where a... [ Continue Reading ]
HE STRETCHETH OUT THE NORTH - This whole passage is particularly interesting as giving a view of the cosmology which prevailed in those early times. Indeed, as has been already remarked, this poem, apart from every other consideration, is of great value for disclosing to us the prevailing views on t... [ Continue Reading ]
HE BINDETH UP THE WATERS IN HIS THICK CLOUDS - That is, he seems to do it, or to collect the waters in the clouds, as in bottles or vessels. The clouds appear to hold the waters, as if bound up, until he is pleased to send them drop by drop upon the earth. AND THE CLOUD IS NOT RENT UNDER THEM - The... [ Continue Reading ]
HE HOLDETH BACK THE FACE OF HIS THRONE - That is, he does not exhibit it - he covers it with clouds. The idea seems to be, that God sometimes comes forth and manifests himself to mankind, but that he comes encompassed with clouds, so that his throne cannot be seen. So in Psalms 18:11, “He made darkn... [ Continue Reading ]
HE HATH COMPASSED THE WATERS WITH BOUNDS - The word rendered “compassed” (חוּג _chûg_), means to describe a circle - to mark out with a compass; and the reference is to the form of the horizon, which appears as a circle, and which seems to be marked out with a compass. A similar idea Milton has bea... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PILLARS OF HEAVEN TREMBLE - That is, the mountains, which seem to bear up the heavens. So, among the ancients. Mount Atlas was represented as one of the pillars of heaven. Virgil speaks of “Atlas whose brawny back supports the skies.” And Hesiod, ver. 785, advances the same notion: “Atlas, so h... [ Continue Reading ]
HE DIVIDETH THE SEA WITH HIS POWER - Herder renders this: By his power he scourgeth the sea, By his wisdom he bindeth its pride. Jerome (Vulgate), “By his power the seas are suddenly congregated together The Septuagint, “By his power - κατέπαυσε την θάλασσαν _katepause_ _tēn_ _thalassan_ - he m... [ Continue Reading ]
BY HIS SPIRIT - The word spirit here is either synonymous with wisdom, referring to the wisdom by which God made the heavens; or with breath - meaning, that he did it by his own command. There is no evidence that Job refers to the Third Person of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit - as being especially e... [ Continue Reading ]
LO, THESE ARE PARTS OF HIS WAYS - This is a small portion of his works. We see only the outlines, the surface of his mighty doings. This is still true. With all the advances which have been made in science, it is still true that we see but a small part of his works. What we are enabled to trace with... [ Continue Reading ]