Job 40
OGCTODAY’S ENGLISH VERSION
The Lord
1-2 Job, you challenged Almighty God;
will you give up now, or will you answer?
Job
3-4 I spoke foolishly, Lord. What can I answer?
I will not try to say anything else.
5 1 have already said more than I should. 6 Then out of the storm the Lord spoke to Job again.
The Lord.
7 Stand up now like a man, and answer my questions. 8 Are you trying to prove that I am unjust
to condemn me and put yourself in the right?
9 Are you as strong as I am?
Can your voice thunder as loud as mine?
10 If so stand up in your honor and pride;
clothe yourself with majesty and glory.
11 Look at those who are proud;
pour out your anger and humble them.
12 Yes, look at them and bring them down;
crush the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the ground;
bind them in the world of the dead.
14 Then I will be the first to praise you,
and admit that you won the victory yourself
15 Look at the monster Behemoth;
I created him and I created you.
He eats grass like an ox,
16 but what strength there is in his body,
and what power there is in his muscles!
17 His tail stands up like a cedar,
and the muscles in his legs are strong.
18 His bones are as strong as bronze,
and his legs are like iron bars.
19 The most amazing of all my creatures!
Only his Creator can defeat him.
20 From the mountains where the wild beasts play
grass is brought to feed him.
21 He lies down under the thorn trees,
and hides among the reeds in the swamp.
22 The thorn trees and the willows by the stream
give him shelter in their shadows.
23 He is not afraid of a rushing river,
he is calm and when the water dashes in his face
24 Who can blind his eyes and capture him?
Or who can catch his snout in a trap?
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 40:1-24
God now challenges Job to answer or forfeit his right to do what? From what does this section of the text suffer?
What is the content of the admission of Job?
What is the meaning of the expression: I lay my hand upon my mouth?
Job speaks no more. Why?
Does the mere fact that God answered Job indicate that Job is righteous? Explain.
Why does God ask Job to assume control over the universe?
Modern man stands much in the same place as Job. Show how.
What was Job’s lethal error?
Even if Job had established his own integrity and wisdom he would yet lack one essential quality for ruling the world. What was it?
For what is God making request in verse ten? Why?
Since you know what is wrong, go ahead and correct itis this the thought of Job 40:11? Cf. Job 40:12. Discuss.
Job 40:13 is obscure in meaning. Make its meaning clear.
God seemed to have neglected some areas of His creation. What does God say to Job about this? Cf. Job 40:14.
How shall we identify the behemouth? Why does God use this fearsome beast in His speech to Job?
What is said of the loins and belly of the behemouth?
Since the hippopotamus has a very small tail, Job 40:17 has reference to something else. This is a description of what capacity of the animal?
What is the sword of the hippopotamus? In what way could he be called the chief of the ways of God?
The marshland is the habitat of the hippopotamus. Why the reference to the mountains in Job 40:20?
The setting of Job 40:21 is Egyptian. Show how this is true.
How could we be discussing a hippopotamus and yet locate him in the Jordan?
How does blinding his eyes relate to capturing him?
Job 40:1-2
TEXT 40:1-2
**40 Moreover Jehovah answered Job, and said,
2 Shall he that cavilleth contend with the Almighty?
He that argueth with God, let him answer it.
COMMENT 40:1, 2
Job 40:1**Yahweh calls on Job to respond to His speech. Job confesses that he is reduced to silence.
**Job 40:2**The participial form rab is the subject and yields something like that which is suggested by PopeWill he who argues with Shaddai yield? Dhorme reads yasur with the meaning of yield. The significance is either Job must sustain his competence to criticize Yahweh by answering all the queries from the first part of the speech of God, or forfeit his right to criticize. This section of the text suffers from a defective division of the Chapter s which was established in the 13th century, and a confusing variation of verse separation established since the 16th century.
Job 40:3-5
B. JOB LEARNS OF HIS LIMITATIONS. (Job 40:3-5)
TEXT 40:3-5
**3 Then Job answered Jehovah, and said, 4 Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer thee?
I lay my hand upon my mouth.
5 Once have I spoken, and I will not answer;
Yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.**
COMMENT 40:3-5
**Job 40:3**Job breaks his silence by confession.
**Job 40:4**He acknowledges that Yahweh’s challenges are beyond his ability and that he is contemptible (A. V. small account)Genesis 16:4 ff; Nahum 1:14. The hand over the mouth was a Near Eastern gesture of awed silenceJob 21:5; Job 29:9. Job is no longer hostile, but humble. When Yahweh broke His silence, He also broke Job’s pride.
**Job 40:5**This entire verse is repeated in Job 42:4-5. This fact enables us to recover the verb -wsp, which is almost totally lacking in The Qumran Targum. Job declines to answer Yahweh; he has already said more than he knowsJob 9:22; Job 13:20. Twice before Job poured forth his rhetorical wisdom, but now he sits in speechless wonder before the mystery of Yahweh’s providential might. The majesty of creation now silences this small scoffer. But Yahweh will once and for all speak in The Shattering of Silence.
Job 40:6-14
C. NOW UNDERSTANDING (Job 40:6 to Job 41:34)
- Job is not qualified to answer. (Job 40:6-14)
TEXT 40:6-14
**6 Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 7 Gird up thy loins now like a man:
I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
8 Wilt thou even annul my judgment?
Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?
9 Or hast thou an arm like God?
And canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
10 Deck thyself now with excellency and dignity;
And array thyself with honor and majesty.
11 Pour forth the overflowings of thine anger;
And look upon every one that is proud, and abase him.
12 Look on every one that is proud **and **bring him low;
And tread down the wicked where they stand.
13 Hide them in the dust together;
Bind their faces in the hidden **place.
**14 Then will I also confess of thee
That thine own right hand can save thee.**
COMMENT 40:6-14
**Job 40:6**Then out of the violent whirlwind comes the victorious word which assures Job that the source of the cosmos has vindicated him. Neither Satan nor his friends have captured Yahweh’s servant Job. Job is pious because His God is righteous, and thus answers Satan’s original queries.
**Job 40:7**After Job’s submissive confession, Yahweh’s second speech is delivered. This final word divides into three parts:
(1) Job is invited to stand in God’s presenceJob 40:7-14;
(2) Yahweh’s description of BehemothJob 40:15-24; and
(3) The description of LeviathanJob 41:1-34. Compare Job 40:6-7 and Job 38:1; Job 38:3, which are here repeated except for the conjunction waw, for. Yahweh challenges Job to assume control over the universe. If his criticism is valid, then he ought to know how to govern the creation. The great invitation, which is also extended to contemporary technological man, is do you have the power, wisdom, knowledge, and moral integrity to be in charge of the universe? Modern man, do you who have violated the dominion mandate in your personal lives, cities, and have raped the earth, have the audacity to claim that you could express a superior providential control over all the systems of creation? Can you, Job, our contemporary, administer divine justice? Job has accused Yahweh of twisting justiceJob 9:24; Job 19:6; and Job 27:6. Job has brought a lawsuit against God. Is God, or Job guilty? One must be just, the other unjust, if Job’s assumptions about a lawsuit are correct. Job’s lethal error is that no such relationship can exist between creator and creature.
**Job 40:8**Job had denied divine justice in his own case and the world at largeJob 9:22. Job has rendered ineffectual God’s judgment in defending his own integrity. The prologue makes clear that Job would have been wholly justified in defending his own integrity, except that in so doing he impugned the justice of Yahweh. Thus, Job had confronted God as to His moral right to govern creation.
**Job 40:9**Even if Job has the integrity and wisdom, does he have the power to rule the world? Such dominion requires not only skill but resources of inexhaustible power. His criticism is idle chatter, until he can show that he possesses these attributes. The arm is symbol of power, both human and divineJob 22:8; Exodus 15:16; Psalms 77:15; Isaiah 40:10; Isaiah 51:5; and Isaiah 59:16. Elihu had utilized similar logicJob 37:2-5. Only if man has God’s power does he have a moral right to question God’s justiceJob 33:12; Job 36:22-23. Job’s rhetorical criticism requires no power to hold the universe in aweJob 37:2 ff. Universal rule requires the power to implement that control. Do you have this necessary sway over the kingdoms of this world, Job? If not, be silent until you know whereof you speak.
**Job 40:10**Adorn yourself with the symbols of powerPsa 104:1. Clothe yourself in glory and splendor. These symbols recur in Psalms 21:5; Psalms 96:6 as attributes of God. Show us your credentials, if you are God!
**Job 40:11**Make your power visible, not merely verbal. Pour forth is the word used in Job 37:11 of scattering the lightning. If moral government requires swift retaliation on the wicked, retaliate, Job. He declines the invitation for the obvious reason.
**Job 40:12**Line one is identical with verse lib, except that the verb bring him low, i.e., humble, is a synonym of abase him. Pride is broken after God has spoken. Judge the wicked immediately, Job, if you have the power.
**Job 40:13**Obliterate the wicked. Remove them from the sight of menJob 10:9; Job 34:15; Isaiah 2:10; Isaiah 29:4; and Psalms 22:29. The A. V.‘S rendering of the second line is unnecessarily ambiguous, Bind their faces in the hidden places means to hide the wicked persons in literally the hidden place or the graves. The hidden is a circumlocution for the burial.[391]
[391] For analysis of the grammatical possibilities, see M. Dahood, Biblica, 1968, pp. 509-510; also his Psalms III, p. xxix, note 15.
**Job 40:14**When you can obliterate the unrighteous in the grave, then you can govern the universe. Job, you must have power commensurate with the purpose or design of creation, if you are to rule. Do you possess the credentials?Psalms 98:1; Isaiah 59:16; Isaiah 63:5. Yahweh grants that if Job can govern the vast complex creation he has the right to criticize, but only under the above conditions. If he can do what he has charged that Yahweh has neglected to do, then he could save himself from suffering and death.
Job 40:15-24
TEXT 40:15-24
15 **Behold now, behemoth, which I made as well as thee;
He eateth grass as an ox.
16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins,
And his force is in the muscles of his belly.
17 He moveth his tail like a cedar:
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are as tubes of brass;
His limbs are like bars of iron.
19 He is the chief of the ways of God:
He only that made him giveth him his sword.
20 Surely the mountains bring him forth food,
Where all the beasts of the field do play.
21 He lieth under the lotus-trees,
In the covert of the reed, and the fen.
22 The lotus-trees cover him with their shade;
The willows of the brook compass him about.
23 Behold, if a river overflow, he trembleth not;
He is confident, though a Jordan swell even to his mouth.
24 Shall any take him when he is on the watch,
Or pierce through his nose with a snare?**
COMMENT 40:15-24
**Job 40:15**All of the previous animals and birds which appeared in the first speech are Palestinian. Behemoth has been identified as the hippopotamus, whose habitat is the Nile Valley. Behemoth is probably a loan word from the Egyptian for water horse, but there is no example of this claim from either Coptic or Egyptian. The Hebrew plural form perhaps expresses the plural of majesty meaning large animal. The root of the word is the common noun for cattle or beastPsa 8:8; Psalms 73:22; Joe 1:20; and Habakkuk 2:17.[392] The powerful giant is a creature like Job. In many ways he is more powerful than Job, but he does not criticize Yahweh for His unjust governing of the universe.
[392] These verses sustain no mythological interpretation, though it has long been claimed that both Behemoth and Leviathan have mythological implications, especially since H. Gunkel’s Schopfung und Chaos, pp. 57, 61ff, and especially since the availability of the Ugaritic literature. In Intertestamental Literature the beasts appear in eschatological imageryEnoch Job 40:7-9; IV Ezra 6:49-52; and The Apocalypse of Baruch, XXIV, 4; see D. W. Thomas, Vetus Testamentum, 1953, pp. 209-224; P. Volz, Die Eschatologie der judischen Gemeinde im neutestamentlichen Zeitalter, 1934; and my New Testament Theology syllabus, The Theology of Promise on eschatology.
**Job 40:16**This description clearly stresses the sexual vigor of this enormous beast. For both man and beast, the loins were image of strength of potencyDeu 33:11; Psalms 69:23; Nahum 2:1. The dual form of thighs is a euphemism which is rendered as strength is in his loins in A. V.Proverbs 31:17. The muscles of the belly are particularly strong in the hippopotamus.
**Job 40:17**The A. V. rendering of part of the first line makes little sense, i.e., He moves his tail like a cedar. The tail of this animal is very small, hardly appropriate for the express purposes of this image. The verb translated as moveth in the A. V. means to make stiff. There is no reason to miss the point that this is a phallic symbol, with absolutely no necessary Freudian implications. The thighs (Heb. -esek) also have sexual connotation. The imagery projects the strong virility of the animal.
**Job 40:18**His bones or limbs are like tubes or bars. The parallelism contains the synonym bones which is Hebrew and limb which is AramaicJob 39:5.
**Job 40:19**Perhaps the first line refers to Genesis 1:24 where the first animal created is said to be the behemah, i.e., cattle or beast. The word rendered chief in the A. V. is rosh and also appears in Proverbs 8:22, with regard to wisdom. In the Intertestamental Literature, Enoch Job 40:7-9; Apocalypse of Baruch 24:4; and IV Ezra 6:49-52, Behemoth is a special creation of God, but not so in this Jobian passage. The last line of the verse makes little sense, either in Hebrew or as rendered in the A. V. Perhaps the sword refers to his chiseledged tusks which the hippopotamus uses to attack its enemies.
**Job 40:20**But the habitat of the Behemoth is marshland and water, not the mountains. Perhaps the reference is to the vegetables produced in the mountainous areas, which is the understanding of the R. S. V. In the upper valley of the Nile, vegetation is abundant on the hillsides.
**Job 40:21**The animal rests under the water lily. The Egyptian specie is stronger and taller than the one found in Syria. Perhaps this is the thorny shrub which flourishes from Syria to North Africa in the damp hot areas. The word rendered lotus tree is used only here and Job 40:22.[393] The imagery might suggest an Egyptian habitatPsa 68:31 and Isaiah 19:6.
[393] For discussion of this specie, see P. Humbert, Zeitschrift far alttestamentischen Wissenschaft. 1949-1950, p. 206.
**Job 40:22**The word wadi (nahal)[394] more strongly suggests Palestine than Egypt, but Behemoth has a wide range of movement Leviticus 23:40; Isaiah 15:7; Isaiah 44:4; and Psalms 137:2.
[394] G. Haas, Bulletin of the American Society of Oriental Research, 1953, pp. 30ff, offers evidence that the hippopotamus was found in certain coastal areas in Palestine during the Iron Age.
**Job 40:23**When the flash flood comes to the wadi, he is in complete controlhe trembleth not. Dhorme mentions the buffalo, though he accepts the hippopotamus, who can be observed on the banks of Lake Huleh with only his muzzle above the surface of the water. Some find difficulty in that this verse mentions the Jordan, some distance from Egypt, and attempts to amend to ye-‘or, the Nile. This is as unnecessary as it is impossible. See footnote below for evidence of the presence of the hippopotamus in Palestine during the Iron Age.
**Job 40:24**Who can capture Behemoth when he is on the alert? Though there is no interrogative in the verse, this seems to be its meaning. Dhorme provides insight into the imagery from a reference in Herodotus, 11.70, who mentions a process of controlling crocodiles by covering their eyes with mud. The word (moqesim) rendered pierce in A. V. usually means snare or trap. But pierce is inappropriate for either one. Slight emendation yields barbs or thorns, which is followed by both Pope and Dhorme.