1 At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place.
2 Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth.
3 He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.
4 After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard.
5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.
6 For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength.
7 He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work.
8 Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places.
9 Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north.
10 By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened.
11 Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud:
12 And it is turned round about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth.
13 He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.
14 Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.
15 Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine?
16 Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?
17 How thy garments are warm, when he quieteth the earth by the south wind?
18 Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?
19 Teach us what we shall say unto him; for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness.
20 Shall it be told him that I speak? if a man speak, surely he shall be swallowed up.
21 And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them.
22 Fair weather cometh out of the north: with God is terrible majesty.
23 Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.
24 Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart.
1 At this H2063 also my heart H3820 trembleth, H2729 and is moved out H5425 of his place. H4725
2 Hear H8085 attentively H8085 the noise H7267 of his voice, H6963 and the sound H1899 that goeth out H3318 of his mouth. H6310
3 He directeth H3474 it H8281 under the whole heaven, H8064 and his lightning H216 unto the ends H3671 of the earth. H776
4 After H310 it a voice H6963 roareth: H7580 he thundereth H7481 with the voice H6963 of his excellency; H1347 and he will not stay H6117 them when his voice H6963 is heard. H8085
5 God H410 thundereth H7481 marvellously H6381 with his voice; H6963 great things H1419 doeth H6213 he, which we cannot comprehend. H3045
6 For he saith H559 to the snow, H7950 Be thou H1933 on the earth; H776 likewise to the small H4306 rain, H1653 and to the great H4306 rain H1653 of his strength. H5797
7 He sealeth up H2856 the hand H3027 of every man; H120 that all men H582 may know H3045 his work. H4639
8 Then the beasts H2416 go H935 into H1119 dens, H695 and remain H7931 in their places. H4585
9 Out of the south H2315 cometh H935 the whirlwind: H5492 and cold H7135 out of the north. H4215
10 By the breath H5397 of God H410 frost H7140 is given: H5414 and the breadth H7341 of the waters H4325 is straitened. H4164
11 Also by watering H7377 he wearieth H2959 the thick cloud: H5645 he scattereth H6327 his bright H216 cloud: H6051
12 And it is turned H2015 round about H4524 by his counsels: H8458 that they may do H6467 whatsoever he commandeth H6680 them upon the face H6440 of the world H8398 in the earth. H776
13 He causeth it to come, H4672 whether for correction, H7626 or for his land, H776 or for mercy. H2617
14 Hearken H238 unto this, O Job: H347 stand still, H5975 and consider H995 the wondrous H6381 works of God. H410
15 Dost thou know H3045 when God H433 disposed H7760 them, and caused the light H216 of his cloud H6051 to shine? H3313
16 Dost thou know H3045 the balancings H4657 of the clouds, H5645 the wondrous works H4652 of him which is perfect H8549 in knowledge? H1843
17 How thy garments H899 are warm, H2525 when he quieteth H8252 the earth H776 by the south H1864 wind?
18 Hast thou with him spread out H7554 the sky, H7834 which is strong, H2389 and as a molten H3332 looking glass? H7209
19 Teach H3045 us what we shall say H559 unto him; for we cannot order H6186 our speech by reason H6440 of darkness. H2822
20 Shall it be told H5608 him that I speak? H1696 if a man H376 speak, H559 surely he shall be swallowed up. H1104
21 And now men see H7200 not the bright H925 light H216 which is in the clouds: H7834 but the wind H7307 passeth, H5674 and cleanseth H2891 them.
22 Fair weather H2091 cometh H857 out of the north: H6828 with God H433 is terrible H3372 majesty. H1935
23 Touching the Almighty, H7706 we cannot find him out: H4672 he is excellent H7689 in power, H3581 and in judgment, H4941 and in plenty H7230 of justice: H6666 he will not afflict. H6031
24 Men H582 do therefore fear H3372 him: he respecteth H7200 not any that are wise H2450 of heart. H3820
1 Yea, at this my heart trembleth, And is moved out of its place.
2 Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice, And the sound that goeth out of his mouth.
3 He sendeth it forth under the whole heaven, And his lightening unto the ends of the earth.
4 After it a voice roareth; He thundereth with the voice of his majesty; And he restraineth not `the lightnings' when his voice is heard.
5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; Great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.
6 For he saith to the snow, Fall thou on the earth; Likewise to the shower of rain, And to the showers of his mighty rain.
7 He sealeth up the hand of every man, That all men whom he hath made may know `it'.
8 Then the beasts go into coverts, And remain in their dens.
9 Out of the chamber `of the south' cometh the storm, And cold out of the north.
10 By the breath of God ice is given; And the breadth of the waters is straitened.
11 Yea, he ladeth the thick cloud with moisture; He spreadeth abroad the cloud of his lightning:
12 And it is turned round about by his guidance, That they may do whatsoever he commandeth them Upon the face of the habitable world,
13 Whether it be for correction, or for his land, Or for lovingkindness, that he cause it to come.
14 Hearken unto this, O Job: Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.
15 Dost thou know how God layeth `his charge' upon them, And causeth the lightning of his cloud to shine?
16 Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, The wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?
17 How thy garments are warm, When the earth is still by reason of the south `wind'?
18 Canst thou with him spread out the sky, Which is strong as a molten mirror?
19 Teach us what we shall say unto him; `For' we cannot set `our speech' in order by reason of darkness.
20 Shall it be told him that I would speak? Or should a man wish that he were swallowed up?
21 And now men see not the light which is bright in the skies; But the wind passeth, and cleareth them.
22 Out of the north cometh golden splendor: God hath upon him terrible majesty.
23 `Touching' the Almighty, we cannot find him out He is excellent in power; And in justice and plenteous righteousness he will not afflict.
24 Men do therefore fear him: He regardeth not any that are wise of heart.
1 Also, at this my heart trembleth, And it moveth from its place.
2 Hearken diligently to the trembling of His voice, Yea, the sound from His mouth goeth forth.
3 Under the whole heavens He directeth it, And its light `is' over the skirts of the earth.
4 After it roar doth a voice -- He thundereth with the voice of His excellency, And He doth not hold them back, When His voice is heard.
5 God thundereth with His voice wonderfully, Doing great things and we know not.
6 For to snow He saith, `Be `on' the earth.' And the small rain and great rain of His power.
7 Into the hand of every man he sealeth, For the knowledge by all men of His work.
8 And enter doth the beast into covert, And in its habitations it doth continue.
9 From the inner chamber cometh a hurricane, And from scatterings winds -- cold,
10 From the breath of God is frost given, And the breadth of waters is straitened,
11 Yea, by filling He doth press out a cloud, Scatter a cloud doth His light.
12 And it is turning itself round by His counsels, For their doing all He commandeth them, On the face of the habitable earth.
13 Whether for a rod, or for His land, Or for kindness -- He doth cause it to come.
14 Hear this, O Job, Stand and consider the wonders of God.
15 Dost thou know when God doth place them, And caused to shine the light of His cloud?
16 Dost thou know the balancings of a cloud? The wonders of the Perfect in knowledge?
17 How thy garments `are' warm, In the quieting of the earth from the south?
18 Thou hast made an expanse with Him For the clouds -- strong as a hard mirror!
19 Let us know what we say to Him, We set not in array because of darkness.
20 Is it declared to Him that I speak? If a man hath spoken, surely he is swallowed up.
21 And now, they have not seen the light, Bright it `is' in the clouds, And the wind hath passed by and cleanseth them.
22 From the golden north it cometh, Beside God `is' fearful honour.
23 The Mighty! we have not found Him out, High in power and judgment, He doth not answer! And abundant in righteousness,
24 Therefore do men fear Him, He seeth not any of the wise of heart.
1 Aye, my heart trembleth at this also, and leapeth up out of its place:
2 Hear attentively the roar of his voice, and the murmur going forth from his mouth.
3 He sendeth it forth under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.
4 After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency, and holdeth not back the flashes when his voice is heard.
5 ùGod thundereth marvellously with his voice, doing great things which we do not comprehend.
6 For he saith to the snow, Fall on the earth! and to the pouring rain, even the pouring rains of his might.
7 He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work.
8 And the wild beast goeth into its lair, and they remain in their dens.
9 From the chamber [of the south] cometh the whirlwind; and cold from the winds of the north.
10 By the breath of ùGod ice is given; and the breadth of the waters is straitened.
11 Also with plentiful moisture he loadeth the thick clouds, his light dispels the cloud;
12 And they are turned every way by his guidance, that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the circuit of the earth,
13 Whether he cause it to come as a rod, or for his land, or in mercy.
14 Hearken unto this, Job; stand still and discern the wondrous works of ùGod.
15 Dost thou know how +God hath disposed them, and how he causeth the lightning of his cloud to flash?
16 Dost thou know about the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him that is perfect in knowledge?
17 How thy garments become warm when he quieteth the earth by the south wind?
18 Hast thou with him spread out the sky, firm, like a molten mirror?
19 Teach us what we shall say unto him! We cannot order [our words] by reason of darkness.
20 Shall it be told him if I would speak? if a man [so] say, surely he shall be swallowed up.
21 And now [men] see not the light as it gleameth, it is [hidden] in the skies. But the wind passeth by and cleareth them.
22 From the north cometh gold; with +God is terrible majesty.
23 The Almighty, we cannot find him out: excellent in power, and in judgment, and in abundance of justice, he doth not afflict.
24 Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart.
1 "Yes, at this my heart trembles, And is moved out of its place.
2 Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice, The sound that goes out of his mouth.
3 He sends it forth under the whole sky, And his lightning to the ends of the earth.
4 After it a voice roars. He thunders with the voice of his majesty; He doesn't hold back anything when his voice is heard.
5 God thunders marvelously with his voice. He does great things, which we can't comprehend.
6 For he says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth;' Likewise to the shower of rain, And to the showers of his mighty rain.
7 He seals up the hand of every man, That all men whom he has made may know it.
8 Then the animals take cover, And remain in their dens.
9 Out of its chamber comes the storm, And cold out of the north.
10 By the breath of God, ice is given, And the breadth of the waters is frozen.
11 Yes, he loads the thick cloud with moisture. He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning.
12 It is turned round about by his guidance, That they may do whatever he commands them On the surface of the habitable world,
13 Whether it is for correction, or for his land, Or for loving kindness, that he causes it to come.
14 "Listen to this, Job: Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.
15 Do you know how God controls them, And causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?
16 Do you know the workings of the clouds, The wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?
17 You whose clothing is warm, When the earth is still by reason of the south wind?
18 Can you, with him, spread out the sky, Which is strong as a cast metal mirror?
19 Teach us what we shall tell him; For we can't make our case by reason of darkness.
20 Shall it be told him that I would speak? Or should a man wish that he were swallowed up?
21 Now men don't see the light which is bright in the skies, But the wind passes, and clears them.
22 Out of the north comes golden splendor; With God is awesome majesty.
23 We can't reach the Almighty, He is exalted in power; In justice and great righteousness he will not oppress.
24 Therefore men revere him. He doesn't regard any who are wise of heart."
1 At this my heart is shaking; it is moved out of its place.
2 Give ear to the rolling noise of his voice; to the hollow sound which goes out of his mouth.
3 He sends it out through all the heaven, and his thunder-flame to the ends of the earth.
4 After it a voice is sounding, thundering out the word of his power; he does not keep back his thunder-flames; from his mouth his voice is sounding.
5 He does wonders, more than may be searched out; great things of which we have no knowledge;
6 For he says to the snow, Make the earth wet; and to the rain-storm, Come down.
7 He puts an end to the work of every man, so that all may see his work.
8 Then the beasts go into their holes, and take their rest.
9 Out of its place comes the storm-wind, and the cold out of its store-houses.
10 By the breath of God ice is made, and the wide waters are shut in.
11 The thick cloud is weighted with thunder-flame, and the cloud sends out its light;
12 And it goes this way and that, round about, turning itself by his guiding, to do whatever he gives orders to be done, on the face of his world of men,
13 For a rod, or for a curse, or for mercy, causing it to come on the mark.
14 Give ear to this, O Job, and keep quiet in your place; and take note of the wonders worked by God.
15 Have you knowledge of God's ordering of his works, how he makes the light of his cloud to be seen?
16 Have you knowledge of the balancings of the clouds, the wonders of him who has all wisdom?
17 You, whose clothing is warm, when the earth is quiet because of the south wind,
18 Will you, with him, make the skies smooth, and strong as a polished looking-glass?
19 Make clear to me what we are to say to him; we are unable to put our cause before him, because of the dark.
20 How may he have knowledge of my desire for talk with him? or did any man ever say, May destruction come on me?
21 And now the light is not seen, for it is dark because of the clouds; but a wind comes, clearing them away.
22 A bright light comes out of the north; God's glory is greatly to be feared.
23 There is no searching out of the Ruler of all: his strength and his judging are great; he is full of righteousness, doing no wrong.
24 For this cause men go in fear of him; he has no respect for any who are wise in heart.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Job 37
Commentary on Job 37 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
1 Yea, at this my heart trembleth
And tottereth from its place.
2 Hear, O hear the roar of His voice,
And the murmur that goeth out of His mouth.
3 He sendeth it forth under the whole heaven,
And His lightning unto the ends of the earth.
4 After it roareth the voice of the thunder,
He thundereth with the voice of His majesty,
And spareth not the lightnings, when His voice is heard.
5 God thundereth with His voice marvellously,
Doing great things, incomprehensible to us.
Louis Bridel is perhaps right when he inserts after Job 36 the observation: L'יclair brille, la tonnerre gronde . לזאת does not refer to the phenomenon of the storm which is represented in the mind, but to that which is now to be perceived by the senses. The combination שׁמעוּ שׁמוע can signify both hear constantly, Isaiah 6:9, and hear attentively, Job 13:17; here it is the latter. רגז of thunder corresponds to the verbs Arab. rḥz and rjs , which can be similarly used. The repetition of קול fo noititeper eh five times calls to mind the seven קולות ( ἑπτὰ βρονταί ) in Psalms 29:1-11. The parallel is הגה , Job 37:2 , a murmuring, as elsewhere of the roar of the lion and the cooing of the dove. The suff . of ישׁרהוּ refers to the thunder which rolls through the immeasurable breadth under heaven; it is not perf . Piel of ישׁר (Schlottm.), for “to give definite direction” (2 Chronicles 32:30) is not appropriate to thunder, but fut. Kal of שׁרה , to free, to unbind (Ew., Hirz. and most others). What Job 37:3 says of thunder, Job 37:3 says of light, i.e., the lightning: God sends it forth to the edges, πτέρυγες , i.e., ends, of the earth. אחריו , Job 37:4 , naturally refers to the lightning, which is followed by the roar of the thunder; and יעקּבם to the flashes, which, when once its rumble is heard, God does not restrain ( עקּב = עכּב of the Targ., and Arab. ‛aqqaba , to leave behind, postpone), but causes to flash forth in quick succession. Ewald's translation: should He not find (prop. non investigaverit ) them (the men that are to be punished), gives a thought that has no support in this connection. In Job 37:5 נפלאות , mirabilia , is equivalent to mirabiliter , as Daniel 8:24, comp. Psalms 65:6; Psalms 139:14. ולא נדע is intended to say that God's mighty acts, with respect to the connection between cause and effect and the employment of means, transcend our comprehension.
6 For He saith to the snow: Fall towards the earth,
And to the rain-shower
And the showers of His mighty rain.
7 He putteth a seal on the hand of every man,
That all men may come to a knowledge of His creative work.
8 The wild beast creepeth into a hiding-place,
And in its resting-place it remaineth.
9 Out of the remote part cometh the whirlwind,
And cold from the cloud-sweepers.
10 From the breath of God cometh ice,
And the breadth of the waters is straitened.
Like אבי , Job 34:36, and פּשׁ , Job 35:15, הוא , Job 37:6 (is falsely translated “be earthwards” by lxx, Targ., and Syr.), also belongs to the most striking Arabisms of the Elihu section: it signifies delabere (Jer. ut descendat ), a signification which the Arab. hawâ does not gain from the radical signification placed first in Gesenius-Dietrich's Handwörterbuch , to breathe, blow, but from the radical signification, to gape, yawn, by means of the development of the meaning which also decides in favour of the primary notion of the Hebr. הוּה , according to which, what was said on Job 6:2; Job 30:13 is to be corrected.
(Note: Arab. hawâ is originally χαίνειν , to gape, yawn, hiare , e.g., hawat et - ta‛natu , the stab gapes (imperf. tahwı̂ , inf. huwı̂jun ), “when it opens its mouth” - the Turkish Kamus adds, to complete the picture: like a tulip. Thence next hâwijatun , χαίνουσα χαῖνον , i.e., χᾶσμα = hûwatun , uhwı̂jatun , huwâatun , mahwâtun , a cleft, yawning deep, chasm, abyss, βάραθρον , vorago ; hawı̂jatun and hauhâtun (a reduplicated form), especially a very deep pit or well. But these same words, hâwijatun , hûwatun , uhwı̂jatun , mahwâtun , also signify, like the usual Arab. hawa'â'un , the χάσμα between heaven and earth, i.e., the wide, empty space, the same as 'gauwun . The wider significations, or rather applications and references of hawâ : air set in motion, a current of air, wind, weather, are all secondary, and related to that primary signification as samâ , rain-clouds, rain, grass produced by the rain, to the prim. signification height, heaven, vid., Mehren, Rhetorik d. Araber, S. 107, Z. 14ff. This hawâ , however, also signifies in general: a broad, empty space, and by transferring the notion of “empty” to mind and heart, as the reduplicated forms hûhatun and hauhâtun : devoid of understanding and devoid of courage, e.g., Koran xiv. 44: wa - af'i - datuhum hawâun , where Bedhâwî first explains hawâ directly by chalâ , emptiness, empty space, i.e., as he adds, châlijetun ‛an el - fahm , as one says of one without mind and courage qalbuhu hawâun . Thence also hauwun , emptiness, a hole, i.e., in a wall or roof, a dormar-window ( kauwe , kûwe ), but also with the genit. of a person or thing: their hole, i.e., the space left empty by them, the side not taken up by them, e.g., qa‛ada fi hauwihi , he set himself beside him. From the signification to be empty then comes (1) hawat el - mar'atu , i.e., vacua fuit mulier = orba oiberis , as χήρα , vidua , properly empty, French vide ; (2) hawâ er - ragulu , i.e., vacuus , inanis factus est vir = exanimatus (comp. Arab. frg , he became empty, euphemistic for he died).
From this variously applied primary signification is developed the generally known and usual Arab. hawâ , loose and free, without being held or holding to anything one's self, to pass away, fly, swing, etc., libere ferri , labi , in general in every direction, as the wind, or what is driven hither and thither by the wind, especially however from above downwards, labi , delabi , cadere , deorsum ruere . From this point, like many similar, the word first passes into the signification of sound (as certainly also שׁאה , שא ): as anything falling has a full noise, and so on, δουπεῖν , rumorem , fragorem edere ( fragor from frangi ), hence hawat udhnuhu jawı̂jan of a singing in the ears.
Finally, the mental Arab. hawan (perf. hawija , imperf. jahwâ with the acc.), animo ad or in aliquid ferri , is attached to the notion of passing and falling through space (though by no means to hiare , or the supposed meaning “to breathe, blow”). It is used both emotionally of desire, lust, appetites, passions, and strong love, and intellectually of free opinions or assertions springing from mere self-willed preference, caprices of the understanding. - Fl.)
The ל of לשּׁלג influences Job 37:6 also. The Hebr. name for rain, גּשׁם (cogn. with Chald. גשׁם , Arab. gism , a body), denotes the rain collectively. The expression Job 37:6 is exceeded in Job 37:6 , where מטרות does not signify rain-drops (Ew.), but, like the Arab. amtâr , rain-showers. The wonders of nature during the rough season ( חרף , סתיו , Song of Solomon 2:11), between the autumnal and vernal equinoxes, are meant; the rains after the autumnal equinox (the early rain), which begin the season, and the rains before the vernal equinox (the late rain, Zechariah 10:1), which close it, with the falls of snow between, which frequently produce great desolation, especially the proper winter with its frosty winds and heavy showers, when the business of the husbandmen as of the nomads is brought to a stand-still, and every one retreats to his house or seeks a sheltering corner.
This is the meaning of Job 37:7 : He sealeth up ( חתם בּ as Job 33:16) the hand of all men that they cannot, viz., on account of the cold out of doors, be opened for work, that all people of His work (i.e., thanking Him for their origin as His handiwork, Job 34:19) may come to the perception (of Him who doeth all things). The expression is remarkable, and by the insertion of a m may be as easily cleared up as Job 33:17 : לדעת כּל־אנשׁים מעשׂהוּ , in order that each and every one may acknowledge His work; after which even Jer. translates: ut noverint singuli opera sua . The conjecture אנשׁים עשׂהוּ (Schultens junior, Reiske, Hirz.) is inferior to the former (Olsh.) by its awkward synecdoche num . The fut. consec. in Job 37:8 continues the description of what happens in consequence of the cold rainy season; the expression calls to mind Psalms 104:22, as Job 34:14. does Psalms 104:29. The winter is also the time of the stormy and raw winds. In Job 37:9 Elihu means the storms which come across from the great wide desert, Job 1:19, therefore the south (Isaiah 21:1; Zechariah 9:14), or rather south-east winds (Hosea 13:15), increasing in violence to storms. החדר (properly the surrounded, enclosed space, never the storehouse, - so that Psalms 135:7 should be compared, - but adytum , penetrale , as Arab. chidr , e.g., in Vita Timuri ii. 904: after the removal of the superincumbent earth, they drew away sitr chidrihâ , the curtain of its innermost part, i.e., uncovered its lowest depth) is here the innermost part of the south (south-east), - comp. Job 9:9 חדרי תימן , and Job 23:9 יעטף ימין (so far as יעטף there signifies si operiat se ), - especially of the great desert lying to the south (south-east), according to which ארץ חדרך , Zechariah 9:1, is translated by the Targ. דרומא ארעא . In opposition to the south-east wind, מזרים , Job 37:9 , seems to mean the north winds; in and of itself, however, the word signifies the scattering or driving, as also in the Koran the winds are called the scatterers, dhârijât , Sur. li. 1.
(Note: This dhârijât is also differently explained; but the first explanation in Beidhâwi (ii. 183, Fleischer's edition) is, “the winds which scatter (blow away) the dust and other things.”)
In מזרים , Reiske, without any ground for it, traces the Arab. mirzam (a name of two stars, from which north wind, rain, and cold are derived); the Targ. also has one of the constellations in view: מכּוּת מזרים (from the window, i.e., the window of the vault of heaven, of the mezarim ); Aq., Theod. ἀπὸ μαζούρ (= מזרות , Job 38:32); lxx ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἀκρωτηρίων , we know not wherefore. Concerning מנּשׁמת־אל (with causal מן ) with reference to the wind, vid., on Job 4:15. יתּן , it gives, i.e., comes to light, is used as in Genesis 38:28; Proverbs 13:10. The idea of מוּצק (not fusum from יצק , but coarctatum from צוּק ) cannot be doubtful in connection with the antithesis of רחב , comp. Job 36:16, the idea is like Job 38:30 (comp. Mutenebbi: “the flood is bound by bands of ice”); the בּ of בּמוּצק is, as Job 36:32, the Beth essentiae, used far more extensively in Hebr. than in Arab. as an exponent of the predicate: the breadth of the water is (becomes) straitened (forcibly drawn together).
11 Also He loadeth the clouds with water,
He spreadeth far and wide the cloud of His light,
12 And these turn themselves round about,
Directed by Him, that they execute
All that He hath commanded them
Over the wide earth.
13 Whether for a scourge, or for the good of His earth,
Or for mercy, He causeth it to discharge itself.
With אף extending the description, Elihu, in the presence of the storm that is in the sky, continually returns to this one marvel of nature. The old versions connect בּרי partly with בּר , electus (lxx, Syr., Theod.) or frumentum (Symm., Jer.), partly with בּרה = בּרר in the signification puritas , serenitas (Targ.); but בּרי is, as Schultens has already perceived, the Hebr.-Arabic רי , Arab. rı̂yun , rı̂ j- un (from רוה = riwj ), abundant irrigation, with בּ ; and יטריח does not signify, according to the Arab. atraha , “to hurl down,” so that what is spoken of would be the bursting of the clouds (Stick.),
(Note: This “ a t r aha ” is, moreover, a pure invention of our ordinary Arabic lexicons instead of ittaraha (VIII form): (1) to throw one's self, (2) to throw anything from one's self, with an acc . of the thing. - Fl.)
but, according to טרח , a burden (comp. Arab. taraha ala , to load), “to burden;” with fluidity (Ew., Hirz., Hahn, Schlottm.), better: fulness of water, He burdens the clouds (comp. rawij - un as a designation of cloud as the place of rain). ענן אורו , His cloud of light, is that that is charged with lightning, and הפיץ has here its Hebr.-Arab. radical signification effundere , diffundere , with a preponderance of the idea not of scattering, but of spreading out wide (Arab. faid , abundance). והוּא , Job 37:12 , refers to the cloud pregnant with lightning; this turns round about ( מסבּות , adv. as מסב , round about, 1 Kings 6:29) seeking a place, where it shall unburden itself by virtue of His (God's) direction or disposing ( תחבּוּלת , a word belonging to the book of Proverbs; lxx, Cod. Vat. and Alex., untranslated: εν θεεβουλαθωθ , Cod. Sinait. still more monstrous), in order that they (the clouds full of lightning) may accomplish everything that He commands them over the surface of the earth; ארצה as Job 34:13, and the combination תּבל ארצה as Proverbs 8:31, comp. ארץ ותבל , Psalms 90:2. The reference of the pronominal suff . to men is as inadmissible here as in Job 37:4 . In Job 37:13 two אם have certainly, as Job 34:29, two ו , the correlative signification sive ... sive (Arab. in ... wa - in ), in a third, as appears, a conditional, but which? According to Ew., Hirz., Hahn, Schlottm., and others, the middle one: if it (the rod) belongs to His land, i.e., if it has deserved it. But even the possessive suff . of לארצו shows that the ל is to be taken as dat. commodi: be it for a rod, be it for the good of His land; which is then followed by a conditional verbal clause: in case He mercifully causes it (the storm) to come, i.e., causes this His land to be overtaken by it ( המציא here with the acc., the thing coming, whereas in Job 34:11 of the thing to be overtaken). The accentuation, indeed, appears to assume a threefold sive: whether He causeth it to discharge itself upon man for punishment, man for mercy, or His earth for good with reference to man. Then Elihu would think of the uninhabited steppe in connection with אם לארצו . Since a conditional אם by the side of two correlatives is hazardous, we decide finally with the lxx, Targ., and all the old versions, in favour of the same rendering of the threefold אם , especially since it corresponds to the circumstances of the case.
14 Hearken unto this, O Job;
Stand still and consider the wonderful works of God!
15 Dost thou know when God designeth
To cause the light of His clouds to shine?
16 Dost thou understand the balancings of the clouds,
The wondrous things of Him who is perfect in knowledge?
Job is to stand still, instead of dictating to God, in order to draw from His wondrous acts in nature a conclusion with reference to his mystery of suffering. In Job 37:15 ידע בּ does not, as Job 35:15 (Ew. §217, S. 557), belong together, but בּ is the temporal Beth . שׂוּם is equivalent to שׂים לבּו (vid., on Job 34:23); עליהם does not refer to נפלאות (Hirz.) or the phenomena of the storm (Ew.), but is intended as neuter (as בּם Job 36:31, בּהם Job 22:21), and finds in Job 37:15 its distinctive development: “the light of His clouds” is their effulgent splendour. Without further support, ידע על is to have knowledge concerning anything, Job 37:16 ; מפלשׂי is also ἁπ. γεγρ. . It is unnecessary to consider it as wrongly written from מפרשׂי , Job 36:29, or as from it by change of letter (as אלמנות = ארמנות , Isaiah 13:22). The verb פּלּס signifies to make level, prepare (viz., a way, also weakened: to take a certain way, Proverbs 5:6), once: to weigh, Psalms 58:3, as denom . from פּלס , a balance (and indeed a steelyard, statera ), which is thus mentioned as the means of adjustment. מפלשׂי accordingly signifies either, as synon. of משׁקלי (thus the Midrash, vid., Jalkut , §522), weights (the relations of weight), or even equipoised balancings (Aben-Ezra, Kimchi, and others), Lat. quomodo librentur nubes in aëre .
(Note: The word is therefore a metaphor taken from the balance, and it may be observed that the Syro-Arabic, on account of the most extensive application of the balance, is unusually rich in such metaphors. Moreover, the Arabic has no corresponding noun: the teflı̂s (a balance) brought forward by Ges. in his Thes . and Handwörterbuch from Schindler's Pentaglotton , is a word devoid of all evidence from original sources and from the modern usage of the language, in this signification.)
מפלאות is also a word that does not occur elsewhere; in like manner דּע belongs exclusively to Elihu. God is called תּמים דּעים (comp. Job 36:4) as the Omniscient One, whose knowledge is absolute as to its depth as well as its circumference.
17 Thou whose garments became hot,
When the land is sultry from the south:
18 Dost thou with Him spread out the sky,
The strong, as it were molten, mirror?
19 Let us know what we shall say to Him! -
We can arrange nothing by reason of darkness.
20 Shall it be told Him that I speak,
Or shall one wish to be destroyed?
Most expositors connect Job 37:17 with Job 37:16 : (Dost thou know) how it comes to pass that ... ; but אשׁר after ידע signifies quod , Exodus 11:7, not quomodo , as it sometimes occurs in a comparing antecedent clause, instead of כאשׁר , Exodus 14:13; Jeremiah 33:22. We therefore translate: thou whose ... , - connecting this, however, not with Job 37:16 (vid., e.g., Carey), but as Bolduc. and Ew., with Job 37:18 (where ה before תרקיע is then the less missed): thou who, when the land (the part of the earth where thou art) keeps rest, i.e., in sultriness, when oppressive heat comes (on this Hiph . vid., Ges. §53, 2) from the south (i.e., by means of the currents of air which come thence, without דּרום signifying directly the south wind), - thou who, when this happens, canst endure so little, that on the contrary the heat from without becomes perceptible to thee through thy clothes: dost thou now and then with Him keep the sky spread out, which for firmness is like a molten mirror? Elsewhere the hemispheric firmament, which spans the earth with its sub-celestial waters, is likened to a clear sapphire Exodus 24:10, a covering Psalms 104:2, a gauze Isaiah 40:22; the comparison with a metallic mirror ( מוּצק here not from צוּק , Job 37:10; Job 36:16, but from יצק ) is therefore to be understood according to Petavius: Coelum aëreum στερέωμα dicitur non a naturae propria conditione, sed ab effectu, quod perinde aquas separet, ac si murus esset solidissimus . Also in תרקיע lies the notion both of firmness and thinness; the primary notion (root רק ) is to beat, make thick, stipare (Arab. rq‛ , to stop up in the sense of resarcire , e.g., to mend stockings), to make thick by pressure. The ל joined with תרקיע is nota acc.; we must not comp. Job 8:8; Job 21:22, as well as Job 5:2; Job 19:3.
Therefore: As God is the only Creator (Job 9:8), so He is the all-provident Preserver of the world - make us know ( הודיענוּ , according to the text of the Babylonians, Keri of הודיעני ) what we shall say to Him, viz., in order to show that we can cope with Him! We cannot arrange, viz., anything whatever (to be explained according to ערך מלּין , Job 32:14, comp. “to place,” Job 36:19), by reason of darkness, viz., the darkness of our understanding, σκότος τῆς διανοίας ; מפּני is much the same as Job 23:17, but different from Job 17:12, and חשׁך different from both passages, viz., as it is often used in the New Testament, of intellectual darkness (comp. Ecclesiastes 2:14; Isaiah 60:2). The meaning of Job 37:20 cannot now be mistaken, if, with Hirz., Hahn, and Schlottm., we call to mind Job 36:10 in connection with אמר כּי : can I, a short-sighted man, enshrouded in darkness, wish that what I have arrogantly said concerning and against Him may be told to God, or should one earnestly desire ( אמר , a modal perf., as Job 35:15 ) that ( an jusserit s. dixerit quis ut ) he may be swallowed up, i.e., destroyed (comp. לבלעו , Job 2:3)? He would, by challenging a recognition of his unbecoming arguing about God, desire a tribunal that would be destructive to himself.
21 Although one seeth now the sunlight
That is bright in the ethereal heights:
A wind passeth by and cleareth them up.
22 Gold is brought from the north, -
Above Eloah is terrible majesty.
23 The Almighty, whom we cannot find out,
The excellent in strength,
And right and justice He perverteth not.
24 Therefore men regard Him with reverence,
He hath no regard for all the wise of heart.
He who censures God's actions, and murmurs against God, injures himself - how, on the contrary, would a patiently submissive waiting on Him be rewarded! This is the connection of thought, by which this final strophe is attached to what precedes. If we have drawn the correct conclusion from Job 37:1, that Elihu's description of a storm is accompanied by a storm which was coming over the sky, ועתּה , with which the speech, as Job 35:15, draws towards the close, is not to be understood as purely conclusive, but temporal: And at present one does not see the light ( אור of the sun, as Job 31:26) which is bright in the ethereal heights ( בּהיר again a Hebr.-Arab. word, comp. bâhir , outshining, surpassing, especially of the moon, when it dazzles with its brightness); yet it only requires a breath of wind to pass over it, and to clear it, i.e., brings the ethereal sky with the sunlight to view. Elihu hereby means to say that the God who his hidden only for a time, respecting whom one runs the risk of being in perplexity, can suddenly unveil Himself, to our surprise and confusion, and that therefore it becomes us to bow humbly and quietly to His present mysterious visitation. With respect to the removal of the clouds from the beclouded sun, to which Job 37:21 refers, זהב , Job 37:22 , seems to signify the gold of the sun; esh - shemsu bi - tibrin , the sun is gold, says Abulola. Oriental and Classic literature furnishes a large number of instances in support of this calling the sunshine gold; and it should not perplex us here, where we have an Arabizing Hebrew poet before us, that not a single passage can be brought forward from the Old Testament literature. But מצּפון is against this figurative rendering of the זהב (lxx νέφη χρυσαυγοῦντα ). In Ezekiel 1:4 there is good reason for the storm-clouds, which unfold from their midst the glory of the heavenly Judge, who rideth upon the cherubim, coming from the north; but wherefore should Elihu represent the sun's golden light as breaking through from the north? On the other hand, in the conception of the ancients, the north is the proper region for gold: there griffins (grupe's) guard the gold-pits of the Arimaspian mountains (Herod. iii. 116); there, from the narrow pass of the Caucasus along the Gordyaean mountains, gold is dug by barbarous races (Pliny, h. n. vi. 11), and among the Scythians it is brought to light by the ants ( ib . xxxiii. 4). Egypt could indeed provide itself with gold from Ethiopia, and the Phoenicians brought the gold of Ophir, already mentioned in the book of Job, from India; but the north was regarded as the fabulously most productive chief mine of gold; to speak more definitely: Northern Asia, with the Altai mountains.
(Note: Vid., the art. Gold , S. 91, 101, in Ersch and Gruber. The Indian traditions concerning Uttaraguru (the “High Mountain”), and concerning the northern seat of the god on wealth Kuvêra , have no connection here; on their origin comp. Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, i. 848.)
Thus therefore Job 28:1, Job 28:6 is to be compared here.
What Job describes so grandly and minutely in Job 28:1, viz., that man lays bare the hidden treasures of the earth's interior, but that the wisdom of God still transcends him, is here expressed no less grandly and compendiously: From the north cometh gold, which man wrests from the darkness of the gloomy unknown region of the north ( צפון , ζόφος , from צפן , cogn. טמן , טמר ,
(Note: The verb צּפּה , obducere , does not belong here, but to צפח , and signifies properly to flatten (as רקע , to make thin and thick by striking), comp. Arab. ṣfḥ , to strike on something flat (whence el - musâfaha , the salutation by striking the hand), and Arab. ṣf‛ , to strike with the flat hand on anything, therefore diducendo obducere . )
upon Eloah, on the contrary is terrible majesty (not genitival: terror of majesty, Ew. §293, c ), i.e., it covers Him like a garment (Psalms 104:1), making Him inaccessible ( הוד , glory as resounding praise, vid., on Job 39:20, like כבוד as imposing dignity). The beclouded sun, Job 37:21 said, has lost none of the intensity of its light, although man has to wait for the removing of the clouds to behold it again. So, when God's doings are mysterious to us, we have to wait, without murmuring, for His solution of the mystery. While from the north comes gold - Job 37:22 continues - which is obtained by laying bare the interior of the northern mountains, God, on the other hand, is surrounded by inaccessibly terrible glory: the Almighty - thus Job 37:23 completes the thought towards which Job 37:22 tends - we cannot reach, the Great in power, i.e., the nature of the Absolute One remains beyond us, the counsel of the Almighty impenetrable; still we can at all times be certain of this, that what He does is right and good: “Right and the fulness of justice ( ורב־ according to the Masora, not ורב- ) He perverteth not.” The expression is remarkable: ענּה משׁפּט is, like the Talmudic ענּה דּין , equivalent elsewhere to הטּה משׁפט ; and that He does not pervert רב־צדקה , affirms that justice in its whole compass is not perverted by Him; His acts are therefore perfectly and in every way consistent with it: רב־צדקה is the abstract . to צדיק כביר , Job 34:17, therefore summa justitia . One may feel tempted to draw ומשׁפט to שׂגיא כח , and to read ורב according to Proverbs 14:29 instead of ורב , but the expression gained by so doing is still more difficult than the combination לא יענּה ... ומשׁפט ; not merely difficult, however, but putting a false point in place of a correct one, is the reading לא יענה (lxx, Syr., Jer.), according to which Hirz. translates: He answers, not, i.e., gives no account to man. The accentuation rightly divides Job 37:23 into two halves, the second of which begins with ומשׁפט - a significant Waw , on which J. H. Michaelis observes: Placide invicem in Deo conspirant infinita ejus potentia et justitia quae in hominibus saepe disjuncta sunt .