Job 38

TODAY’S ENGLISH VERSION

The Lord Answers Job

Then out of the storm, the Lord spoke to Job.

The Lord

2 Who are you to question my wisdom?

You are only showing your ignorance.

3 Stand up now like a man

and answer the questions I am going to ask.

4 Were you there when I made the world?

If you know so much, tell me about it.

5 Who decided how large it would be?

Who stretched the measuring line over it? You know all this, don-’t you?

6 What holds up the pillars that support the earth?

Who laid the cornerstone of the world?

7 In the dawn of that day the stars sang together,

and the sons of God shouted for joy.

8 Who closed the gates to hold back the sea,

when it burst from the womb of the earth?

9 It was I who covered the sea with clouds

and wrapped it in darkness.

10 1 marked a boundary for the sea

and kept it behind bolted gates.

11 I told it, Thus far and no farther!

Here your powerful waves must stop.

12 Job, have you ever in all your life

commanded a day to dawn?

13 Have you ordered the dawn to seize the earth

and shake the wicked from their hiding places:

14 Daylight makes the hills and valleys stand out

like the folds of a garment.

15 The light of day is too bright for the wicked,

and prevents them from doing violence.

16 Have you been to the springs in the depths of the sea?

Have you walked on the floor of the ocean?

17 Has anyone ever showed you the gates

that guard the dark world of the dead?

18 Do you have any idea how big the world is?

Answer me, if you know all this.

19 Do you know where the light comes from,

or what the source of darkness is?

20 Can you show them how far to go,

or send them back again?

21 I am sure you can, because you-’re so old,

and were already born when the world was created.

22 Have you ever visited the storerooms,

where I keep the snow and the hail?

23 I keep them ready for times of trouble,

for days of battle and war.

24 Have you been to where the sun comes up,

or the place from which the east wind blows?

25 Who dug a channel for the pouring rain,

and cleared the way for the thunderstorm?

26 Who makes rain fall where no one lives? 27 Who waters the dry and thirsty land,

so that grass springs up?

28 Does either the rain or the dew have a father? 29 Who is the mother of the ice and the frost, 30 which turn the waters to stone

and freeze the face of the sea?

31 Can you tie the Pleiades together,

or loosen the bonds that hold Orion?

32 Can you guide the stars season by season,

and direct the Big and the Little Dipper?

33 Do you know the laws that govern the skies,

and can you make them apply to the earth?

34 Can you shout orders to the clouds,

and make them drench you with rain?

35 And if you command the lightning to flash,

will it come to you and say, At your service?

36 Who tells the ibis when the Nile will flood,

or who tells the rooster that rain will fall?

37 Who is wise enough to count the clouds,

and tilt them over to send the rain,

38 rain that hardens the dust into lumps? 39 Do you find food for lions to eat,

and satisfy hungry young lions,

40 when they hide in their caves,

or lie in wait in their dens?

41 Who is it that feeds the ravens

when they wander about hungry, when their young cry to me for food?

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 38:1-41

When God breaks the silence and speaks to Job, He at the same time challenges the theological assumptions of Job’s three friends and Elihu. Explain how.

Job is like every saved sinner. In what way?

Was Job alienated from God? Prove your answer.

There are four qualities of the nature of God mentionedall are essentialwhat are they?

What is the most striking factor in the speeches of Yahweh?

What was the ultimate solution to Job’s problem?

807. Who is addressed in verse twoJob or Elihu? Job was foolish to challenge God to a debate. Why?

Why does God approach Job with the series of questions found in this chapter?

This is not an arrogant cosmic bully interrogating Job; who is involved? For what reason?

What is minimal and what is maximal understanding? Discuss.

Man today is trying to measure the universe. What has been his conclusions?

What is meant by reference to the cornerstone in verse six?

Do you believe there was real singing at the creation of the earth? Discuss verse seven.

What are Astro-deities? Discuss the place of the Occult in our world.

How does the present science of oceanography relate to verse eight? What two images are used to describe the sea?

The sea is compared to an infant. How so?

What are the doors God has set upon the sea?

How did Martin Niemuller respond to Job 38:11? Why? Discuss its meaning for us.

Controlled creation demands what one quality? Cf. Job 38:12. How related to Job?

A beautiful poetic image is found in Job 38:13. What is it? How related to Job?

The contribution of light and dark to the beauty of the earth is poignantly described in Job 38:14. Explain in your own words.

Job 38:1-41

THE SHATTERING OF SILENCE

VI. THE PRESENCE OF GOD AND THE PENITENCE OF JOB (Job 38:1, Job 42:6)

A.

INTEGRITY, CERTAINTY, AND KNOWLEDGE (Job 38:1, Job 40:2)

1. God questions Job about the marvels of the universe. (Job 38:1-41)

TEXT 38:1-41

**38 Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel

By words without knowledge?

3 Gird up now thy loins like a man;

For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Declare, if thou hast understanding.

5 Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest?

Or who stretcheth the line upon it?

6 Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened?

Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,

7 When the morning stars sang together,

And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 Or who shut up the sea with doors,

When it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb;

9 When I made clouds the garment thereof,

And thick darkness a swaddling band for it,

10 And marked out for it my bound,

And set bars and doors,

11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;

And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days *began,

And* caused the dayspring to know its place;

13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,

And the wicked be shaken out of it?

14 It is changed as clay under the seal;

And all things stand forth as a garment:

15 And from the wicked their light is withholden,

And the high arm is broken.

16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?

Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?

Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

18 Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth?

Declare, if thou knowest it all.

19 Where is the way to the dwelling of light?

And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,

And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?

21 Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born,

And the number of thy days is great!

22 Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow,

Or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail,

23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,

Against the day of battle and war?

24 By what way is the light parted,

Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?

25 Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood,

Or a way for the lightning of the thunder;

26 To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;

On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

27 To satisfy the waste and desolate ground,

And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

28 Hath the rain a father?

Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

29 Out of whose womb came the ice?

And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

30 The waters hide themselves and become like stone,

And the face of the deep is frozen.

31 Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades,

Or loose the bands of Orion?

32 Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season?

Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?

33 Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens?

Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?

34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,

That abundance of waters may cover thee?

35 Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go,

And say unto thee, Here we are?

36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?

Or who hath given understanding to the mind?

37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?

Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

38 When the dust runneth into a mass,

And the clods cleave fast together?

39 Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness,

Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

40 When they couch in their dens,

And abide in the covert to lie in wait?

41 Who provideth for the raven his prey,

When his young ones cry unto God,

And wander for lack of food?**

COMMENT 38:1-41

Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent, Wittgenstein. God, my God, why have you abandoned me? But there is only God’s silence, Christ’s twisted face, the blood on the brow and the hands, the soundless shriek behind the bared teeth. no, God does not exist anymore,

Bergman from Winter Light

Sir, do you pray? Tillich replied, No, I meditate. Buddhism is parallel to Western atheism’s stress on sheer silence. Gautama Buddha always answered in terms of roaring silence. Those who know do not speak, Laotse.

**Job 38:1**We return to the spell of the genius of the weaver of words and the source of the wonders of the world. Yahweh[367] now confronts Job directly. This fact is a direct challenge to the theological assumptions of Job’s three friends and Elihu. Job has nowhere renounced God, as Satan predicted. The suffering of Job requires Yahweh’s intervention, and in His intervention we all experience The Shattering of Silence. In His Word, God declares that Job, as is every saved sinner, is redeemed by grace.[368] The common assumption between Job and his three consolers was that he was alienated from God, and his suffering was concrete proof of this. The speeches of Yahweh are a direct challenge to that thesis. Job can have the presence of God in the midst of suffering. Job is humbled by God. If Job is incapable of the simplest answers, how could he hope to debate Yahweh, creator of the universe? We are told that Yahweh’s love and mercy are as fundamental to His nature as are His power and transcendence. Yet, for all their beauty and majesty, the speeches contribute nothing essentially newJob 5:10-16;. Job 9:4-10; Job 12:13-25; Job 22:12-14; Job 26:5-14. The most striking factor in Yahweh’s speeches is that Job’s personal problem is completely ignored. Nothing is said about his guilt or innocence, or the cause and meaning of his suffering. Job’s response in Job 42:5 is not that I understand your instructions, but that I have seen you. In the revelation of His word, God is made known. The theophany, i.e., seeing God, is the solution to the Jobian drama.[369] Ultimately, Jesus, Job’s redeemer, is the great explanation of God’s person and purposeJoh 1:18. God’s answer came from one of the most unexpected placesThe Whirlwind. Yahweh ignores Elihu and zeros in on the main figure of the drama, the searching sufferer Job 31:35. God’s sovereignty over nature was a central thesis of Elihu’s speechesChapter s 32-37. We have been prepared for the ensuing thrilling theophanyExo 19:16; 1 Kings 19:11 ff; Isaiah 6:4; Ezekiel 1:4; Nahum 1:3; Zechariah 9:14; Psalms 18:8-16; Psalms 68:8-9; Habakkuk 3:5-6. Perhaps the storm is anticipated by ElihuJob 37:2.[370]

[367] The name Yahweh is used here as in the Prologue and Epilogue, and in Job 40:1; Job 40:3; Job 40:6; Job 42:1; but it does not appear in the Dialogue or Elihu’s speeches. See my essay, Is God in Exile? in this commentary for comments on the descriptive terms for God in the Old Testament and specifically the Book of Job.

[368] See the excellent essay by A. R. Sauer, Salvation by Grace: The Heart of Job’s Theology, Concordia Theological Monthly, 1966, pp. 259-270.

[369] For a survey of the theological content and implications of Yahweh’s speeches, see J. Leveque, Et Jahweh repondit a JobJob 38:1, Foi Vivante, 1966, pp. 72-7; P. W. Skehan, Job’s Final Plea (Job 29-31) and the Lord’s Reply (Job 38-41), Biblica, 1964, pp. 51-62; G. Fohrer, Gottes Antwort aus dem Sturmwind, Hiob 38-41, Theologische Zeitschrift, 1962, pp. 1-24; R. A. F. MacKenzie, The Purpose of the Yahweh Speeches in the Book of Job, Biblica, 1959, pp. 435-445; G. von Rad, Hiob 38 und die altagyptische Weisheit, Vetus Testamentum, Supplement, III, 1955, 293-301; C. Stange, Das Problem Hiobs und seine Losung, Zeitschrift far systematische Theologie, 1955, pp. 342-355; W. Lillie, The Religious Significance of the Theophany in the Book of Job, Expository Times, 1957, pp. 355-358.

[370] For information regarding storms in Syria-Palestine, see Y. Levy Tokatly, Easterly Storms in November 1958, Israel Exploration Journal, 1960, pp. 112-117; and D. Nir, Whirlwinds in Israel in the Winters 1954-1955 and 1955-1956, Israel Exploration Journal, 1957, pp. 109-117.

**Job 38:2**The this is a plain reference to Job, not ElihuJob 40:4 ff and Job 42:2-6. Some take this as literary proof that the Elihu speeches are not integral to the book, but this is purely subjective psychoanalysis of a dead man. The counsel (-esah) referred to is to the purposes of God, not to the dialogical discussion between Job and his friends. The participle -mahsik implies a state of ignorance concerning God’s purposesPsa 33:10; Proverbs 19:21; Isaiah 19:17. No one lacking so much knowledge regarding the intricacies of the universe should ever challenge God to a debate. Elihu had earlier charged Job with speaking out of a reservoir of ignoranceJob 34:35. Job has denied that the universe has a moral order, contra Ecclesiastes. All human efforts to search out all the interrelatedness in the universe is doomed to failure.

**Job 38:3Girding the loins is a figurative expression of preparation for a difficult undertakingExo 12:11; Isaiah 11:5; Jeremiah 1:17. Job had demanded the opportunity to debate with GodJob 9:32 and Job 13:3; Job 13:15. But God will not submit to questioning. Instead of making specific charges, as Job has requested that He do, God confronts him with unanswerable questions regarding His providential control of the cosmosJob 13:23 and Job 31:35. **God’s design for such interrogation is to bring Job to the awareness of the vastness of his ignorance. Job had claimed earlier that all God would need do was to call him, and he would answerJob 13:22. This reveals supreme ignorance conceived by pride, which can deliver only darkness. God is only doing what Job asked Him to do. How can he impugn God’s wisdom and justice when he knows so little? This is not an arrogant cosmic bully interrogating Job; this is His redeemer preparing him for deliverance. God always extends His merciful forgiveness, but the contingency is that we accept it. Herein lies the defectiveness of Universalism in the name of grace. God extends no cheap grace despised and rejected. There are no believers anonymous, or holy pagans in God’s purpose.

**Job 38:4**God hurls a series of questions toward Job in order to expose his vast and presumptuous ignorance. By swift ironical interrogation, Job’s omniscience is questioned. There cannot be two omniscient persons in the same universe; so, is it Yahweh or Job?Job 15:7-8; Job 37:18. The Hebrew text reads binah for understanding or comprehension. There are, of course, levels of understanding: (1) Minimal understanding is exercised in assimilating instruction, memorizing, and returning the content upon request; (2) Maximal understanding requires knowledge of the intricate interrelatedness of all the factors. This knowledge enables one not only to control but to modify various ranges of reality. An example would be that nineteenth century science could control nature; twentieth century science can modify nature through systems analysis of the gene code, societal, economic, and political structures, etc. Most knowledge never changes anything. Most new ideas are worthless because they do not expose the intricate interworkings of either nature, history, or society. Twentieth century technologically dominated man is a Jobian counterpart. Both assume that knowledge means salvation. The neo-gnostic heresy is upon us once more in our world where recorded knowledge doubles every three and one-half years. Knowledge is not to be confused with wisdom, which is an integrating force[371]1 Corinthians 1:10 ff. At least Bunyan’s Pilgrim understands God’s message. Contemporary astro-physics, microscopic physics, and bio-chemistry reinforce this Jobian imagery which conceives of creation in terms of building or erecting the cosmos. But no atomistic reductionism can remove the intentional, i.e., purposeful, dimension of all reality. We need no longer be hampered by the model of the Newtonian World-Machine Model after Einstein, Planck-Heisenberg, et al. We live in a universe in which we can witness a revolution in cosmic models and knowledge paradigms. (See my doctoral thesis on The Kuhn-Popper Debate and The Knowledge Paradigm Revolution.)

[371] The Qumran Targum on Job reads hkmhwisdomfor binahunderstanding. See M. Dahood’s efforts with the personification of wisdom and knowledge in Proverbs 8his Psalms, Vol. Ill, on Psalms 136:5; and D. S. Shapiro, Wisdom and Knowledge of God in Biblical and Talmudic Thought, Tradition, 1971, pp. 70-89; see TWNT, VII, sophia, 465-528cf. Cross as the integrating power of God’s wisdom.

**Job 38:5**The emphatic -ki strongly sets forth Yahweh’s question: Who sets its measure(s) if you know? Who stretches over it the lineQumran TargumWho does that, Job, answer me, if you know!Job 26:7; Psalms 24:2; Psalms 102:26; Psalms 104:5; Proverbs 3:19; Isaiah 48:13; Isaiah 51:13; Isaiah 51:16; Zechariah 12:1; Ezekiel 40:3; and Ezekiel 43:17. Who measures it?Isaiah 34:11; Jeremiah 31:39. Contemporary cosmology sets forth conflicting models of the universe, i.e., Steady State, Big Bang. Is the universe finite or infinite? If Einstein’s theory of space is scientifically accurate, then the universe is finite. Yahweh’s universe is a finite creation, but what or who is the source of its staggeringly intricate design? Measurement means finitude or limitation and imprecision, though accurate to an amazing degree.

**Job 38:6**Job, who designed and built the universe?Isaiah 28:16; Jeremiah 51:26; Psalms 118:22. The stone referred to here may be either the initial foundation stone, or the final capstone. These two stones were used for measurement in ancient building procedureJob 9:6.

**Job 38:7**When the foundation of the Second Temple was laid, Israel sangEzr 3:10-11; Zechariah 4:7. Joyful singing was present when the universe was createdGen 1:16; Psalms 148:2 ff. In pagan mythology, i.e., the astro-cults, the stars were gods.[372] In contrast, Yahweh was Creator and Lord of the stars, which were subservient to Him and sing His praises, Deuteronomy 4:19; Isaiah 40:26; 1 Kings 22:19; 2 Kings 17:16; 2 Kings 1:3; Psalms 19:2; Psalms 29:2; and Psalms 148:2-3. See Job 1:6 for sons of God.

[372] Astro-deities abound in Ugaritic literature. Occult practices abounded in Canaan, also Egypt and Babylon. The editors of the Qumran Targum suggest that certain emendations were motivated by efforts to avoid saying that objects of pagan worship worshipped Yahweh. Historically in western Christian civilization, when occultism, etc., becomes a powerful alternative to the Christian faith, the word of God has been sharply curtailed and spiritual apathy has all but quenched the power of God’s Holy Spirit, both in individual Christian lives and the corporate life of the community. Paul clearly declares that we are not contending against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers (Ephesians 6:12). But such description is very difficult for technologically oriented 20th century man to appreciate. The 19th century produced the Comparative Religion school and the History of Religions school, each of which cast serious doubts on the ontological existence of Satan, principalities and powers, and evil spirits, etc. lames G. Frazer’s The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Experimental Science, 12 vols., (MacMillan Co., 1935) and Lynn Thorndike’s A History of Magic and Experimental Sciences, Vols. I-VI (MacMillan and Columbia University Press, 1923-1941) were and are influential in circles which believe that the revolutionary developments in the sciences preclude the validity of the Biblical witness to the existence of supernatural evil beings such as Satan. M. Dibelius, Die Geisterwelt im Glauben des Paulus (Gottingen, 1909) was the result of the most radical developments in the history of religion. It is fused with R. Bultmann’s radical hermeneutical principle, which relegates the Biblical data concerning Satanology to the category of myth, though to be sure that is the technical connotation of myth which stems from folklore research and comparative religion, Dibelius-’ work removed the demoniac from serious exegetical consideration until the outbreak of irrational evil forces, especially immediately following World War II. In Heinrich Schlier’s inaugural lecture, Machte und Gewalten in Neuen Testament, (Theologische Blatter, 1930), we hear the Marburg of the late Heidegger and Bultmann denounce the objective realities of principalities and powers. Even the old neo-orthodox exorcist, K. Barth, gives token consideration to the Powers in his Church Dogmatics, Vol. III/3. Between the 19th and 20th centuries, many in Western Christian civilization rejected the Biblical category of evil powers and replaced the Biblical explanation with the counter-explanation of sociology and psychology, etc. These explanations were satisfactory to many until the most radical outbreak of occult in the history of the world, in the last 25 years. Christian, arm for battle! See Franz Cumont, Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans (Dover, 1960); E. R. Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational (Univ. of Calif. Press, 1951); Pagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety (Cambridge Univ. Press); and Mircea Eliade, The Forge and the Crucible (Harper & Row, 1962).

**Job 38:8Now the origin of the sea is presented. Even Jacque Cousteau has not seen all its marvels. Oceanography is an intriguing science which only serves to illuminate this imagery. Two images are employed in this verse: (1) The sea as an unruly infant bursting forth from the womb; and (2) A flood needing to be controlled. The text says and he shut (not as A. V. who, though the grammar calls for a question), i.e., God was both its origin and orderer.[373] The Qumran Targum has the interrogative particle before the verbal formDid you shut the Sea within doors? implying, Job, did you do it, or did I do it?

[373] The developments in 17th-18th century science made the classical design argument, as constructed by Aristotle and Aquinas, only a precarious past-time until the Post-Einsteinian developments in the sciences. See R. H. Hurlbutt, Hume and Newton and the Design Argument (Lincoln, Neb.: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1965). The issue is not design versus the absence of design, but whether the origin of the design is transcendent, i.e., God, or immanent, i.e., based in bio-chemical chancism.

**Job 38:9**Birth imagery continues in this verse; as an infant is wrapped in swaddling clothes, so the sea is wrapped in clouds.

**Job 38:10**God set bounds for the sea and locked it into its boundaries. Dahood’s emendations clarify the verse, And I traced out its limits, and set bars and two doors.[374] In all probability, the allusion is to the cliffs and rocky shores which mark the coast of the seaPro 8:29.

[374] See possible emendations by M. Dahood, Psalms, Vol. I, note 2 on Psalms 16:6.

**Job 38:11**Upon notification of the death of his son, while still under the guard of Hitler’s SS, Martin Niemuller read this majestic verseHitherto shalt thou come, but no further. It fell as a mantle of mercy on Niemuller’s soul. The verse clearly describes God’s control of the sea.

**Job 38:12**The succession of light and dark must be controlled if the creation is to be orderedPsa 104:19 ff. Job, did you ever control the light in the universe? Did you ever assing the dawn (sahar) its responsibilities?[375]

[375] Pope continually attempts to give a pan-Ugaritic explanation of all imagery, as Delitzsch sought a pan-Babylonian explanation in the early decades of this century. Often their most creative factor is their high degree of technical imagination.

**Job 38:13**In splendid poetic power, Yahweh depicts night as a garment covering the earth, which the dawn takes hold of by the fingers and shakes. The wicked who work in the cover of darkness are shaken out of their protection. The garment so essential for protection from the chill of the night here becomes an image of protection for the wickedJob 22:6. Job, can you do that?[376]

[376] G. R. Driver, Journal of Theological Studies, 1953, pp. 208-212.

**Job 38:14**It changes refers to the feminine noun earth. Darkness removes all but the shadowed shapes of the landscape. The morning sun returns the beautiful contours to the shapeless surface of the earth. The sun rays give shape to creation’s contours, as clay receives the impress of the seal. Dhorme emends the second line to refer to color, i.e., and it is dyed like a garment. Then the imagery refers to the return of the rich hues to the earth as the creation is bathed in beams of sunlight.

**Job 38:15**Yahweh repeats what we have already been told, that the light of the wicked is darknessJob 24:13-17. Light banishes darkness from its kingdom; they are forever incompatible. The upraised arm (zero-‘a ramah) is probably a metaphor signifying powerful wickedness, which Yahweh shatters.

**Job 38:16**Job shows little knowledge regarding the origins of things visible. Now he is challenged to expose his knowledge concerning the range and extent of things invisible. Matter is reducible to energy. Reality at the microscopic level is unavailable to our perceptive field. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries-’ naturalistic reductionistic positivists gain little comfort from contemporary science[377]Job 28:11. The word rendered recesses (tehomGenesis 7:11) denotes what is to be sought for or searched outJob 11:7.

[377] See The Concept of Matter, edited by Ernan McMullin (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press) for history of the concept of matter from the Greeks to contemporary physics.

**Job 38:17**The gates of Sheol hold back the deep darknessJob 10:21 ff; Job 26:5 ff; Psalms 9:13; Psalms 107:18; and Isaiah 38:10which the parallelism necessitates. The gates restrain the darkness of SheolJob 3:5; Ezekiel 32:18.

**Job 38:18**The term rendered as breadth in the A. V. is found only here and Job 36:16. The plural probably implies the vastness or expansiveness of the earth. If you do not understand creation, Job, how can you pretend to know the creator?

**Job 38:19**Yahweh separated light and darkness on the first day of creationGen 1:6and thus they have separate locations in the universe.

**Job 38:20**The pronouns are both singular, but they must refer to light and dark.

**Job 38:21**Yahweh’s irony and sarcasm increasedoubtless. You know because you must have been born before creation, if you understand all the intricate balances within nature’s systemsJob 15:7; Proverbs 8:22 ff.

**Job 38:22**For the use of hail as God’s weapon, see Isaiah 30:30; for its occurrence in theophanies, see Psalms 18:12 ff; Job 37:9; Deuteronomy 28:12, Jeremiah 10:13. Yahweh has treasuries full of snow and hail.

**Job 38:23**The imagery continues. God has reserves of snow and hail. Do you, Job?

**Job 38:24**Light was dealt with in Job 38:19. The most difficult issue in this verse is the parallel between light and east wind, though Driver argues for a root yielding parching heat for the latter.[378]

[378] G. R. Driver, American Journal of Semitic Literature, 1935-1936, p. 166; and Yetus Testamentum, 1955, pp. 91ff.

**Job 38:25**The time of the rain was more important than the channel (te-‘alahtrench, conduits1 Kings 18:32; 1 Kings 18:35; Isaiah 7:3; Ezekiel 31:4) through which it came. The word rendered waterflood (setepflood watersNah 1:8; Daniel 9:26) is a common Old Testament root for washing and overflowing of streams. The second line is identical with Job 28:26 b, but the parallel is different. In Job 28:26 the parallelism calls for rain, here flood.

**Job 38:26God’s providence extends to every factor of creation, not just man and his societal relationships. Man is repeated in both lines, but they represent two different Hebrew words-ys and -adamJob 12:6-10; Job 24:4 b - Job 24:5; Job 30:2-8. Yahweh does not condemn Job for what he could not possibly know; He condemns for his narrow perspective. If he could see the universe as Yahweh sees it, then he would not complain, but, of course, that is impossible.

**Job 38:27**God makes the desolate and waste ground productive and makes young grass to growGen 1:11. The personification of the ground suggests God’s relationship to and control over the productive power of the earth.

**Job 38:28**Can man cause rain? Can Job explain the nature of rain?

**Job 38:29**What is the origin and nature of ice?Job 6:16; Job 37:10; Genesis 31:40; and in Jeremiah 36:30 where it means frost.

**Job 38:30**The rendering like stone as in the A. V. confuses the image. Literally the text says They hide themselvesare hidden, hardens, i.e., freezes. The Qumran Targum translates the Hebrew word yithabba-‘u with the verb -qrm which means to cover the surfaceEze 37:6; Ezekiel 37:8, or crust. Freezing water begins with surface layer or crust. This makes perfectly good sense in this verse.

**Job 38:31**Job, can you chain or bind (ma-‘adannotonly here and 1 Samuel 15:32; and verb -nd is used in Job 31:36 and Proverbs 6:21 with meaning of bind) the cluster[379] of the Pleiades or loose the belt (mosekotbonds) of Orion?Job 9:9.

[379] For defense of this translation, see G. R. Driver, Journal of Theological Studies, 1956, p. 3.

**Job 38:32**The Hebrew word mazzarot appears untranslated in the A. V. because the root occurs only here and its significance is uncertain. But perhaps it is related to mazzalot, constellations in 2 Kings 23:5. If so, it refers to the southern constellations of the zodiac.[380]

[380] For discussion of these constellations, see G. R. Driver, JTS, 1953, pp. 208-212; andJTS, 1956, pp. 1-11.

**Job 38:33**The ordinances (mistar is parallel with huqqotStatutes Exodus 5:6 ff; 2 Chronicles 26:11; Numbers 11:16; Deuteronomy 1:15; Proverbs 6:7) are the laws that govern the movements of the entire universe, but here the sun, moon, and stars in the earth’s galaxy.

**Job 38:34**Compare the first line with Job 36:29 b; Job 37:2; Job 37:4. The image underlying the question is that of God commanding the clouds to release their captive rain. The second line is verbatim with Job 22:11 b, but the contexts are different, thus calling for different parallel analysis. Job, can you interfere with the laws of climatology?

**Job 38:35**Job, can you direct and control lightning? Will lightning obey you, as it obeys me? It even reports to Yahweh its accomplishments. Lightning is God’s servant, not man’s Job 36:32 and Job 37:11 ff.

**Job 38:36**The meaning of the two basic words in this verseinward parts and mindis uncertain. These two words are rendered clouds and mists elsewhere. The root meaning of the former is probably cover over or hidden, i.e., hidden or inward parts; and the root significance of the latter is perhaps to look out, i.e., in the sense that men can draw meanings from observing. Regardless of these difficulties, Yahweh is asking Job whether or not he can understand the workings of His wonderful creation.

**Job 38:37**Who but Yahweh knows the exact number of clouds necessary at any given time?Isaiah 40:26. Who but God knows the precise balance of rain to provide the earth?Job 26:8.

**Job 38:38**When it rains, the dust forms a mass or whole once more. The whole earth is related to His purpose.

**Job 38:39**The second part of the speech begins in this verse. Eight creatures are described in increasing details. Yahweh calls forth a number of birds and animals and asks Job if he knows the secrets of their habitat and behavior. He begins with the king of the beasts, the lion. Who provides the lion with its prey? It does not require man to obtain its prey. Could man even do it if challenged? God cares for lions and their youngPsa 104:21.

**Job 38:40**God provides them with food, even while they **are **waiting in the lairs, as rendered in Job 37:8.

**Job 38:41**After the king of the beasts, the scavenger Raven is brought to Job’s attention. The raven is destructive; it picks out the eyes of its victimsPro 30:17. Job, surely this is an example of injustice, at least, to those animals that make up the raven’s prey. They have no particular home; they wander wherever there is food available. In nature, every living creature has its natural enemies. This, too, is part of God’s providential direction of His creation. Will Job learn any lessons from these eight examples from the realm of birds and beasts?