_GOD'S GREAT POWER IN THE LEVIATHAN._ _Before Christ 1645._ _JOB 41:1. CANST THOU DRAW OUT LEVIATHAN_— לויתן _leviathan, is derived from_ לוה _lavah, coupled,_ and תן _ten, a dragon, i.e. a large serpent,_ or _fish:_ as the word תנין _tanin,_ is used both for a _land serpent,_ and a kind of fish;... [ Continue Reading ]
CANST THOU PUT AN HOOK INTO HIS NOSE?— _Canst thou put a bandage about his nose?_ Heath. The word אגמון _agmon,_ rendered _bandage_ signifies _a rope of rushes._ This was to tie his mouth fast, as _the thorn_ was to prevent his getting off the _bandage._ It is usual to this day, to fasten the jaws o... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL THE COMPANIONS MAKE A BANQUET OF HIM, &C.— _Will the companies of merchants drive a bargain for him? shall he be divided among the merchants?_ Heath. Houbigant follows our translation: see the next note. See also Dr. Shaw's travels, p. 426.... [ Continue Reading ]
LAY THINE HAND UPON HIM, &C.— _Be sure thou strikest home; mind thy blow; rely not on a second stroke,_ Job 41:9. _See, he is deceived in his expectation: will he also faint away at the sight of them?_ Heath. But Houbigant translates it according to his own reading, thus: _Whoever shall lay his hand... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO HATH PREVENTED ME— _Who hath made me any present, that I may requite him?_ Heath. See Micah 6:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL NOT CONCEAL HIS PARTS, &C.— _I will not pass over in silence his limbs, nor any thing of his bravery, nor the gracefulness of his proportion._ Heath. _I will not on account of him hold silence, I will declare his fortitude, and the strength of his nerves._ Houb.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO CAN DISCOVER THE FACE OF HIS GARMENT, &C.— _Who can strip off his outer robe? Who can come within his double row of teeth?_ Heath. See the next verse. The crocodile's mouth is _exceedingly wide._ Pliny says, strongly, "When he gapes, _fit totum os,_ he becomes all mouth.... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS SCALES ARE HIS PRIDE— _Strong scales cover his back._ Heath.... [ Continue Reading ]
BY HIS NEESINGS A LIGHT DOTH SHINE— Literally, _His sneezings cause the light to sparkle._ The next clause gives as great an image of the thing it would express, says Dr. Young, as can enter the thought of man. _His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning._ The eyes of the crocodile were used as a... [ Continue Reading ]
OUT OF HIS MOUTH GO BURNING LAMPS, &C.— This is nearer the truth, says Dr. Young, than at first view may be imagined. The crocodile, according to the naturalists, lying long under water, and being there forced to hold its breath; when it emerges, the breath, long repressed, is hot, and bursts out so... [ Continue Reading ]
IN HIS NECK REMAINETH STRENGTH, &C.— Houbigant renders this admirably; _Strength has its dwelling on his neck; before him marches destruction._ See his note.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN HE RAISETH UP HIMSELF, &C.— _When he raiseth up himself, the mighty fly; the princes quit their purposed journey._ Houb. Heath renders the last clause; _for very terror they fall to the ground;_ and he observes very well, that the word שׁבר _sheber,_ here used, strongly expresses the idea of _t... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HABERGEON— _The pike._ Heath and Houb. It certainly means some missile weapon.... [ Continue Reading ]
SLING-STONES ARE TURNED WITH HIM INTO STUBBLE— _He throweth about sling-stones like stubble._ Heath. _Sling-stones are no more to him than stubble._ Houb. An extraordinary instance of the strength of a crocodile is related by Maillet. "I saw one," says he, "twelve feet long, which had not eaten any... [ Continue Reading ]
SHARP STONES ARE UNDER HIM— _His nether parts are like sharp potsherds. He dasheth himself on the mud like a threshing cart._ Heath. חרוצ _charutz,_ is rightly rendered by Bochart _tribula,_ an instrument used in threshing of corn, a kind of sledge, furnished with sharp iron wheels. This was drawn o... [ Continue Reading ]
ONE WOULD THINK THE DEEP TO BE HOARY— _He accounteth the deep as his habitation._ Heath. Houbigant renders the verse, _He leaves behind him a shining path; he esteems the deep to be dry land.—Rutilantia post se vestigia relinquit; abyssum reputat ut aridum tellurem._... [ Continue Reading ]
UPON EARTH THERE IS NOT HIS LIKE— Houbigant renders this, _His dwelling is not upon the dust; He who made him, made him to be without law._ This he supposes to express the amphibious nature of the crocodile; which, though living under the waters, yet is observed almost every day at morning and eveni... [ Continue Reading ]