Job 38

out of the whirlwind.] No sooner had Elihu spoken the foregoing words, but there was a sensible token of the presence of that most dreadful majesty of God, chap. xxxvii. 22. For there arose an unusual cloud, and a voice came out of it as loud as a tempest, which addressed itself to Job. It is probable that God appeared and spoke to Job in this manner, partly because this was His usual method in those times, as we see Exod. xxix. 18; Numb. ix. 15, 16: see also 1 Kings xix. 11; Exek. i. 4: and partly that Job and his friends might be more thoroughly humbled and abased within themselves, and prepared the better to receive, and longer to retain, the instructions which God was about to give them. Bp. Patrick, Poole.

— or fill the appetite of the young lions,] This is a different question. It relates to qualifying the young weaned lions to provide for themselves. Scott.

41. Who provideth for the raven his food? The providence of God, particularly in the supplies afforded to the ravens, is divers times taken notice of in the Scriptures. Thus our Saviour, Luke xii. 24, “Consider the ravens, &c.” It is a manifest argument of the Divine care and providence, in supplying the world with food and necessaries, that the ravens, accounted as unclean, and little regarded by man, destitute of stores, and that live by accidents, by what falleth here and there: that such a bird, I say, should be provided with sufficient food: especially if that be true which Aristotle, Pliny, and Ælian report, of their want of affection, and cruelty to their young; that they expel them their nests as soon as they can fly, and then drive them out of the country. Dr. Derham.

The reason given why the raven is particularly mentioned as an object of the care of Providence, is because, by her clamorous and importunate voice, she particularly seems to be always calling upon Him. Hence in Greek, a verb, derived from the word which signifies a raven, means to ask earnestly. Dr. Young.

Perhaps the raven is mentioned here, instead of being introduced among other birds in the next chapter, because he lives on carrion, and may be supposed to feed on carcasses which the lion leaves. The difficulty of meeting with such kind of food renders the Divine power more illustrious in preserving this species of creatures. Compare Ps. cxlvii. 9. Scott.

Chap. XXXIX. ver. 1. Knowest thou the time &c.] Canst thou understand or dispose of the conceptions and births of the wildest creatures? Bp. Hall. Not

God proceedeth to shew his own power, CHAP. XXXIX. and man’s weakness and ignorance.

— the wild goats of the rock] This animal is called also ibex, and in French bouquetin, which name means “goat of the rock.” It is a species of wild goat, so called from the wonderful manner in which they mount to the top of the highest rocks; to which quality the sacred writers allude in the other two passages, besides this, where the word occurs, 1 Sam. xxiv. 2; Psal. civ. 18: and to this natural historians bear abundant witness. Johnston, in his History of Quadrupeds, says, “It is certain there is no crag of the mountains so high, prominent, or steep, but this animal will mount it in a number of leaps, provided only it be rough, and have protuberances large enough to receive its hoofs in leaping.” And Buffon, after observing that this animal and the chamois greatly resemble each other, adds, “but the rock-goat, as being more nimble and strong, mounts to the very top of the highest mountains, whereas the chamois inhabits only the second stage.” Parkhurst.

— free?] This word does not here imply an antecedent state of bondage. It signifies freedom in opposition to slavery; an exemption from the servitude to which the domestick ass is made subject: which exemption is expressed in the next sentence by “loosing the bands of the wild ass.” Scott.

Job 38:2

2. — that darkeneth counsel, &c.] Who by his vain and ignorant speeches throws a cloud, as far as he is able, over the minds of men, concerning the purposes of God in the administration of human affairs. Capellas.

3. Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? &c.] “Canst thou number” is here equivalent to “Canst thou appoint the number:” see chap. xiv. 5. And “knowing” means operative providential care, as in ver. 1. Scott.

Job 38:3

3. Gird up now thy loins like a man; &c.] Prepare thyself for the combat with Me, which thou hast often desired, like a valiant man who means to grapple with his adversary. Clark.

4. — their sorrows.] That is, their young ones, brought forth with severe throes. Carpl. It is observed by Bochart and others, that hinds bring forth their young with great difficulty. Dr. Durell.

Job 38:4

4. Where wast thou, &c.] The sentiment conveyed

5. Their young ones are in good liking, &c.] Their young ones are lusty and strong; they grow up in the open fields; they leave their mothers, and return to them no more. Bp. Patrick.

— they grow up with corn.] The word rendered “corn” means the clear open field or country, as opposed to the dwellings and cultivation of men. The animals here mentioned do not thrive with corn, but with the few shrubs and hardy plants growing in the open country or desert: a circumstance which makes their preservation and “good liking” more wonderful. Parkhurst, Scott.

Perhaps “the hind” is associated in this passage with the “rock-goat,” because the former inhabits the forest, and roams amid its wildnesses, as the rock-goat roams amid the fastnesses of the mountains. Script. illust. Expos. Ind.

Job 38:5

5. — the wild ass] This animal is found in considerable numbers in the deserts of Lybia and Numidia; in the eastern and southern Tartary; in Persia, Syria, &c. “The wild asses,” says Buffon, “differ from the tame ones, only by the effects of independence and liberty: they are more strong and nimble, more courageous and lively; but they are the same in the shape of their bodies.” Parkhurst.

VOL. I.

Job 38:6

6. Whose house I have made the wilderness.] See above, Parkhurst’s note on ver. 5. The wild ass is a gregarious animal, for they go in herds to pasture and to watering; yet in Hos. viii. 9, he is said to be “solitary,” because he frequents lonely places. Scott.

— and the barren land] In the Hebrew, as the margin notices, the “salt places:” either salt marshes, or salt deserts. Professor Pallas, describing a female wild ass, brought to Petersburg, says, “She preferred brackish water to fresh, and never drank of what was troubled. She loved bread sprinkled with salt, and sometimes would eat a handful of salt. I was told, that, when at Derbent, she always ran to drink of the Caspian sea, though fresh water was nearer to her. She also selected plants impregnated with saline particles, or those of bitter juices.” This circumstance greatly adds to the expression and correctness of this passage. Animals, which inhabit the desert, must often be at a loss for water; and this animal, the Professor says, would often pass two whole days without drinking. Script. illust.

Job 38:7

7. — the morning stars] That is, the holy angels, glorious and shining like the morning star. Compare

8. He scorneth the multitude of the city, &c.] The wild asses have their sight, hearing, and smelling, equally good: so that it is impossible to approach them in an open country. They are adapted to running, and of such swiftness that the best horses cannot equal them: all the ancient writers do justice to their fleetness, and their Hebrew name expresses this quality. Professor Pallas, Script. illust.

Job 38:8

8—11. Or who shut up the sea &c.] The waters were coeval with the earth, and covered it in the beginning. The gathering of them together into a proper receptacle was the great work of the third day of creation. They then took the denomination of “seas,” or “the sea,” and likewise retained the name of “the deep.” This operation of Almighty power, together with the measures taken to prevent the sea from overflowing the earth, is the subject of these four verses. Scott.

8. — with doors,] See also ver. 10, “And set bars and doors.” The shores, Prov. viii. 29; Jer. v. 22; promontories in particular, and high rocky coast, are a restraint upon the ocean, and a security to the earth. These are the “barred doors,” which in part keep the waters of the sea within the bounds assigned to them. Scott. — when it break forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? Simply thus: “when it brake forth, issuing out of the womb.” Dr. Durell. The subject here is the collection of part of the mass of waters into a channel, to form the sea and surround the earth. “The womb” therefore, out of which the waters of the sea issued, seems to have been the subterraneous abyss; the sea under ground, as the Arabs call it. Scott. 9. When I made — thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,] Rather “a swaddlingcloth:” when I enveloped it in thick clouds for its immediate clothing, and surrounded it by extensive darkness as a wrapper, involving it wholly. It was a custom among the ancients, when they had washed a new-born child, to wrap it in a cloth. Fragments to Calmet. The eruption of the sea from the great abyss, was compared, in the preceding verse, to the breaking forth of an infant out of the womb. This image is naturally followed by the “garment” and the “swaddlingband,” to which are resembled those thick and dark clouds, that frequently arise over the sea, and encompass it. Scott.

9. The range of the mountains is his pasture.] The Persians call this animal by a name signifying the mountain-ass; because he prefers the most arid deserts of the mountains. Professor Pallas.

Job 38:9

9. — the unicorn] Most probably the rhinoceros; in the original, the reem. In Numb. xxiii. 22, (see the note there,) the strength of Israel is compared to “the strength of the reem.” Job makes frequent allusion to his great strength, and ferocity, and indocility. He asks, “Will the reem be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?” that is, Will he willingly come into thy stable, and eat at thy manger? And again: “Canst thou bind the reem with a band in a furrow, and will he harrow the valleys after thee?” In other words, Canst thou make him to go in the plough or harrow? The rhinoceros does not eat hay or grass, but lives entirely upon trees. Bruce. He is also extremely ill-suited to domestic labours; since, when of full age, he is perhaps as untameable and untractable as any creature living. Buffon says, “In Bengal, Siam, and other southern parts of India, where the rhinoceros is perhaps still more common than in Ethiopia, and where

Job 38:10

10. And brake up for it my decreed place,] In the margin we read “and established my decree upon it;” which is a much better sense. Dr. Durell. The phrase is of the same import as that in Prov. viii. 29. The decree, which God imposed on the mighty ocean, is that wonderful law of gravitation in fluids, by which, all the parts of them exerting an equal pressure upon one God, by an enumeration of his mighty works, Before C H R I S T about 1520. the pride of thy waves. wings.

Job 38:11

11. And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, &c.] There is a character of great magnificence in all that precedes; but this is signally sublime. We are struck with admiration to see the vast and ungovernable ocean receiving commands, and punctually obeying them: to find it, like a managed horse, raging, tossing, and foaming but by the rule and direction of its Master. Dr. Young.

Job 38:12

12—15. Hast thou commanded the morning &c.] Raise up thy thoughts still higher, and tell Me, dost thou remember since the morning light was made? Bp. Patrick.

12.—since thy days:] These words imply, that this had taken place before the birth of Job, and that the settled course of nature had been ordained by God from the creation of the world. Rosenmiller.

—and caused the dayspring to know his place:] “The morning” and “the dayspring” are but two different names for one and the same thing; break of day until sunrising. Its regular appearance in the East is here marked. In the first sentence of verse 13, the diffusion of the morning light over the whole face of the earth is expressed by the beautiful figure of “taking hold of the ends of the earth.” In the second sentence, the moral benefit of the morning to mankind is noticed: “that the wicked might be shaken out of it.” In those times and countries the courts of justice sat in the morning, Judges vi. 31; Ps. ci. 8; Jer. xx. 12. Scott. Or, as Dr Hammond argues, the passage more probably refers to the dispersing of those, whom the darkness of the night encourages to wickedness; thieves, treacherous persons, and others, whom the light would discover. Chappelow.

Job 38:13

13. Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks?] The original word is one of the Hebrew names of the ostrich. The peacock was probably not known in Syria, Palestine, or Arabia, before the reign of Solomon, who first imported it. It was originally from India. Besides, the ostrich, not the peacock, is allowed on all hands to be the subject of the following parts of the description. Scott. — Gavest thou the goodly wings &c.] The passage may be rendered thus from the original: “The wing of the ostrich is quivering or expanded: the very feathers and plumage of the stork.” When the ostrich is full grown, the neck, particularly of the male, which before was almost naked, is now very beautifully covered with red feathers. The plumage likewise upon the shoulders, the back, and some parts of the wings, from being hitherto of a dark grayish colour, becomes now as black as jet; whilst the rest of the feathers retain an exquisite whiteness. They are “the very feathers and plumage of the stork:” that is, they consist of such black and white feathers as the stork is known to have. Dr. Shaw. Or, “The wing of the ostriches is fluttered or quivered:” This camel-bird, as the Persians call it, cannot fly from the ground; but, assisted by the quivering motion of its wings, moves at an astonishing rate. But, “is it like the wing of the stork and its plumage?” Is it, like that, employed in protecting and providing for the creature’s offspring? No: “for she (the hen ostrich) depositeth her eggs in the earth, &c.” Parkhurst.

Job 38:14

14. It is turned as clay to the seal:] Or, “It,” that is, the earth, “is changed as clay by the seal.” During the darkness of the night, the earth is a perfect blank; in which state it resembles clay that has no impression. By the morning light falling upon the earth, innumerable objects make their appearance upon it: it is then changed, like clay which has received the stamp of the seal. Such appears to be the meaning of this elegant simile. Sealing upon clay is still practised in the East. When the corn-granary at Grand Cairo, belonging to the Sultan, is full, the inspectors, says Norden, having shut the door, put on their seal upon a handful of clay, which they make use of instead of wax. Scott.

—and they stand as a garment.] All things upon the earth present themselves to our view, and are like a garment, with which the earth is, as it were, clad and adorned. Clark. Or, men, especially guilty malefactors, are shifted by the breaking forth of the light, like so many separate garments. Bp. Hall.

14. Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, &c.] As for the stork, the lofty fir-trees are her house, Ps. civ. 17: but the improvident ostrich depositeth her eggs in the earth. Scott. She deposits or trusts them there. Several natural historians have supposed the eggs of the ostrich to be hatched entirely by the sun; whereas the original word signifies actively, that “she beateth them,” namely, by incubation. The ostrich lays from thirty to fifty eggs: the first egg is deposited in the centre; the rest are planted as conveniently as possible round about it. In this manner she is said to “lay,” deposit, or trust, “her eggs in the earth, and to warm them in the sand; and forgeteth,” as they are not placed, like those of some other birds, upon trees, or in the clefts of rocks, &c. “that the foot” of the traveller “may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.” Dr. Shaw.

Job 38:15

15. And from the wicked their light is withholden, &c.] By a bold figure the wicked are here said to be deprived of their light, when the morning has dispelled the darkness; for darkness is light to them, whose “high arm”

is said to be “broken:” because in the morning they lose their boldness, and hide themselves through fear; but in the night they are daring and resolute. Rosenmiller.

Job 38:16

16. Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? &c.] We now descend into the lower parts of the earth. For it should seem that by “the sea,” or “deep,” we are to understand the sea below ground, the waters of the great abyss: and that by “the gates of death,” and “the doors of the shadow of death,” is meant the entrance into Sheol, the world of departed spirits, which these men supposed to be placed under the waters of the abyss. Scott.

God, by the display of His omnipotence, not only shews Job what large amends He could make good men for all their sufferings in the great day of the resurrection; but hints to him by the question, that He could as easily do it before, and admit them to what degree of happiness He pleased immediately on their dissolution. “Hast thou,” says God, “looked into Sheol, the intermediate state, the region of departed spirits? Hast thou seen how the souls of men are disposed of after death, and how amply the afflictions of good men may be made up to them there? What room then for such complaints as thou hast now been uttering?” This seems to be the drift of the question. In short, the great lesson which we are to learn from this Divine speech, and the decision here put to the controversy, is, that our disputes about the providence of God proceed from ignorance and folly; that the first duty of a creature is to resign himself to the will of his Creator; to do His commands with pleasure; receive His dispensations with submission; be thankful to Him for the good, and patient under the evil, that He sends; to consider life with its appendages as the free gift of God, which therefore we should employ in His service, be ready to give up freely when He calls for it, and trust to Him for a future happy state. Peters.

16. She is hardened against her young ones, &c.] A very little share of that natural affection, which so strongly exerts itself in most other creatures, is observable in the ostrich: for upon the least distant noise or trivial occasion, she forsakes her eggs or her young ones, to which perhaps she never returns; or, if she does, it may be too late, either to restore life to the one, or preserve the lives of the others. The Arabs meet sometimes with whole nests of their eggs undisturbed; some of which are sweet and good, others are addle and corrupted: others again have their young ones of different growths, according to the time it may be presumed they have been forsaken by their dams. They often meet a few of the little ones, no bigger than well-grown pullets, half-starved, straggling and moaning about, like so many distressed orphans, for their mother. Thus the ostrich may be said to be “hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers; her labour,” in hatching and attending them thus far, “being in vain, without fear,” or the least concern of what becomes of them afterwards. This want of affection is also recorded, Lam. iv. 3. Dr. Shaw.

Job 38:17

17. Because God hath deprived her of wisdom.] The want of that natural instinct to provide for, and nurse up, her young, which most other creatures are endowed with, is here attributed to God: “Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, &c.” And the singular care of the Creator in this case is very remarkable, in supplying some other way the want of the parent animal’s care and affection; so that the young should notwithstanding be bred up in those large and barren deserts of Arabia and Africa, and such places, where those birds dwell: the most unlikely and unfitting, in all human opinion, to afford sustenance to young helpless creatures; but the fittest, therefore, to give demonstrations of the wisdom, care, and especial providence of the infinite Creator and Conservator of the world. Dr. Derham. Considering the great voracity of this camel-bird, and the extreme barrenness of those parts of the desert which they chiefly frequent, it is wonderful not only how the little ones should be brought up and nourished; but even how those of fuller growth, and much better qualified to look out for themselves, are able to subsist. Dr. Shaw.

Job 38:18

18. Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? &c.] Nay, so far from having penetrated into all the dark caverns of the earth, dost thou so much as understand all that grows upon the surface of it? Bp. Patrick. We now ascend from below the centre of the earth to its surface; from the region of death to the world of life. Scott.

19. What time she lifteth up herself on high, &c.] Or, as the words may be translated, “when she raiseth herself up to run away,” namely, from her pursuers, “she scorneth,” or laughs at “the horse and his rider.” Dr. Shaw. The ostrich usually appears in a couchant posture, but rises suddenly to her full height, when alarmed and preparing to move forward. Bp. Stock. When these birds are surprised by persons coming suddenly upon them, whilst they are feeding in some valley, or behind some rocky or sandy eminence in the deserts, they will not stay to be curiously viewed and examined. Nor are the Arabs ever dexterous enough to overtake them, even when they are mounted on their most enteemed horses. “They, when they raise themselves up for flight, laugh at the horse and his rider.” They afford him an opportunity only of admiring at a distance the extraordinary agility and the stateliness likewise of

Job 38:19

19. Where is the way where light dwelleth? &c.] This question differs from that in ver. 12—15. That related to the morning, and its benefit to mankind: this to setting the precise boundary of light and darkness, that is, day and night. One half of the earth is enlightened, the other half is in darkness, at the same instant. Job is now asked, whether he was witness to that operation of creation, by which the limits of light and darkness were fixed, and knew the extent both of one and the other. The question is put in figurative language: Light and Darkness are represented as persons; each has its separate dwellingplace and peculiar jurisdiction;

convinceth Job of ignorance. Before CHRIST about 1520. dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

Job 38:20

20. That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,] Or, “Surely thou canst guide (take) us to its border; yea, certainly thou canst shew the roads which lead to its house. Thou must know, for thou wast born at that time; as to the number of thy years, they are many.” This is lofty irony. Heath, Scott.

Job 38:22

22-38. Hast thou entered &c.] This whole passage relates to those changes in the state of the atmosphere, which we call the weather. Scott. 22. Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? &c.] Didst thou ever enter into My storehouse of meteors, which I have decreed to bring forth upon all occasions of My judgment upon men? Bp. Hall. The inspired poet still keeps in view the moral purposes, for which the Deity employs his natural works. “The time of trouble” may signify, not winter in general, but those severe winters, in which there falls such abundance of snow and hail, as does infinite damage to the fruits of the earth, to cattle, and to human kind. Scott.

Job 38:24

24. By what way is the light parted,] The word should be rendered “lightning,” as in chap. xxxvii. 3; on account of its accompaniments, wind, rain, and thunder. Bp. Stock. Dost thou know how the lightning comes to break forth from the cloud; and how that vapour, there included, scatters with great violence a blustering wind upon the earth? Bp. Hall.

Job 38:25

25. Who hath divided a watercourse &c.] Who hath caused the clouds to pour down stores of rain by drops on such and such places, as if it were guided by pipes or channels? Clark.

Job 38:26

26. To cause it to rain - where no man is;] This circumstance, “where no man is,” is dwelt upon, to shew the provision which the Creator makes for the sustenance of wild beasts. Compare Psal. civ. 10, 11; Joel ii. 22. This instance of the power and providence of God might also be intended to suggest, that He, who turns the barren wilderness into fruitful pasture, is equally able to change a miserable condition into a happy one. Such an instruction is a strong motive to confidence in God in the most desperate situation, as Job thought his own to be. Compare chap. v. 9-11; and see the note there. Scott.

Job 38:28

28. Hath the rain a father?] Rather, “Who is the father of the rain?” and so it corresponds with the next sentence, “Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?” The first mechanical agents in the production of “rain” and “dew,” are known only to Him, whose name is Wonderful. Scott.

Job 38:30

30. The waters are hid as with a stone,] The waters, hardened into the substance of stone, and losing for a time their natural character, “hide themselves;” because no trace of water appears, while every thing is bound by frost. Rosenmüller. The Son of Sirach has given a beautiful description of this wonderful operation and appearance of nature, Ecclus. xliii. 20. Scott. - the deep] This cannot here mean the sea. A frozen sea was never seen in Arabia, or its neighbourhood. Neither could such a phenomenon be so much as heard of in those days, when navigation had not reached to the high northern latitudes. The word signifies, in the Arabick language, any deep gathering together of water, whether fountain, river, or lake. A frozen lake might be known even in Arabia, or in some of the adjacent countries. See the remark on chap. xxxvii. 10. Scott.

Job 38:31

31, 32. Canst thou bind &c.] See chap. ix. 9, and the note there. Canst thou alter the seasons of the year, or cause a restraint of the spring, summer, autumn, &c.? Canst thou bring forth those hidden stars of the south? or direct the northern constellations in their courses? Bp. Hall. He is now asked, whether he has power over the heavenly bodies, to direct their motions, control their action upon the earth, and prevent the seasons and weather which they are apt to produce. Scott.

31. • the sweet influences &c.] “The sweet influences” are the pleasant season of spring: “the bands” are the rigours of winter, when the earth is bound with frost. The chief attention of the Arabs was, not so much to the planets, as to the fixed stars; their rising and setting, and their supposed influence in producing rain, wind, heat, cold, and all other changes of weather. Scott.

Job 38:32

32. Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth &c.] St. Chrysostom explains Mazzaroth of the twelve signs of the sodiack. Our marginal version adopts that explanation. Scott. God convinceth Job of imbecility. God proceedeth to shew his own power, Before CHRIST about 1520.

Job 38:37

37. Who can number the clouds in wisdom? &c.] With all the wisdom that thou hast, canst thou count the number of the clouds, whose showers thou art as unable to stop, as to make them run? Bp. Patrick.

— who can stay the bottles of heaven, &c.] Canst thou “stay the bottles of heaven,” when they have given as much rain as may fit the earth for bearing fruit, the light dust being now turned into lumps of earth? Caryl.

Or, as in the margin, “Who can cause the bottles of heaven to lie down?” The work of Providence described in these verses, is the collecting and arranging of the clouds in the most fitting season, and then disposing them in the most proper manner for emptying themselves in profitable showers on the arable lands. The clouds are compared to those earthen jars, in which the Eastern people keep their water and their wine; “the bottles,” or pitchers, “of heaven.” See 1 Sam. x. 3; Isai. xxx. 14; Lam. iv. 2. The disposing of the clouds in a proper manner for emptying themselves is denoted by the position into which a pitcher or jar is put for pouring out its contents: who can “lay along” the pitchers of heaven? This image is similar to the inclined urn, which the heathen poets place in the hand of a river-god. The urn represents the fountain from which the river flows: and what fountains are to rivers, the clouds are to rain. Schultens, Scott.

Job 38:38

38. When the dust groweth into hardness, &c.] These showers are sent to soften the glebe, and prepare it for plowing, when it has been baked and hardened by the long drought of summer. Compare Psal. lxv. 9—13. Scott.

Job 38:39

39. Wilt thou hunt &c.] This verse should have begun a new chapter: for we here pass to quite a new topic, the brute animals which inhabit the air, the land, and the water. The subject is continued with a few short interruptions unto the end of the Almighty’s speech. Those species of animals are selected, in which the wis-