Job · Chapter 37

Verse 1. My heart trembleth] This is what the Septuagint has anticipated; see under Job 36:28. A proper consideration of God’s majesty in the thunder and lightning is enough to appall the stoutest heart, confound the wisest mind, and fill all with humility and devotion. This, to the middle of Job 37:5, should be added to the preceding chapter, as it is a continuation of the account of the thunder and lightning given at the conclusion of that chapter. Our present division is as absurd as it is unfortunate.

Verse 1. At this also my heart trembleth — These are a few of the works of God; and though there be innumerable more, yet this one single effect of his power strikes terror into me, and makes my heart tremble, as if it would leap out of my body and leave me dead. Elihu continues here his speech, which he had begun before, concerning the incomprehensible works of God; and limits himself chiefly, as he had in the foregoing chapter, to the wonders God doeth in the clouds. To which, at last, he subjoins the amazing extent and brightness of the sky; in which the sun shines with a lustre which we are not able to behold. And thence concludes, that the splendour of the Divine Majesty is infinitely more dazzling, and that we must not pretend to give an account of his counsels.

1. At this — Literally, Because of this, the terror of the approaching storm. Is moved — Literally, Starts up. The same Hebrew word is sometimes used in another form for the sudden leap of the locust. Leviticus 11:21. The grandeur of the following description of a thunder storm is best seen by comparison with similar descriptions in the classics; for instance, a scene in the Iliad, 7:470-482, in which a storm broke in upon a scene of carousal: —

Humble they stood! pale horror seized them all,

While the deep thunder shook the aerial hall.

The reader may be referred to the celebrated but vastly interior description given in the Koran, (Sura 2:18,) the beauty of which is said to have made the poet Lebid a follower of the false prophet.

V. 2. Hear-It is probable that while Elihu was speaking it thundered, and that tempest was begun, wherewith God ushered in his speech. And this might occasion his return to that subject of which he had discoursed before. Voice-The thunder is called God’s voice. Because by it God speaks to the children of men, to fear before him. Mouth-That is produced by God’s word or command, which is often signified by his mouth.

Verse 2. Hear attentively] “Hear with hearing.” The words seem to intimate that there was actually at that time a violent storm of thunder and lightning, and that the successive peals were now breaking over the house, and the lightning flashing before their eyes. The storm continued till Elihu had finished, and out of that storm the Almighty spoke. See the beginning of the succeeding chapter. See Clarke “Job 38:1”. The noise of his voice] The sudden clap.

And the sound that goeth out.] The peal or continued rattling, pounding, and thumping, to the end of the peal. The whole is represented as the voice of God himself, and the thunder is immediately issuing from his mouth.

Verse 2. Hear attentively the noise of his voice — Or, as wlq zgrb, berogez kolo, may properly be rendered, his voice with trembling. The thunder is called God’s voice, because by it God speaks to the children of men to fear before him: and the sound that goeth out of his mouth — That is produced by his word or command. Poole, Henry, and divers other commentators, have thought it probable that, at this time, while Elihu was speaking, it thundered greatly, and that the tempest was begun wherewith God ushered in his speech, as it follows, Job 38:1. And this, they suppose, might occasion Elihu’s return to that subject, of which he had discoursed before. Bishop Patrick thus paraphrases this verse: “Hearken, I beseech you, seriously to the horrible noise which comes out of some of those clouds, and it will astonish you also. The smallest murmurs of it are so dreadful, that it may be fitly styled the voice of God calling men to stand in awe of him.”

2. Attentively — The Hebrew text repeats the preceding word, as in the margin, and may be read, “Hear, O hear.” The sound — hgh signifies, also, a murmur (thus Maurer) or a thought. “We spend our years as a tale,” (as a thought.) Psalm 90:9. The thunder was the voice, the thought, of God. In the startled language, “Hear, O hear,” Elihu directs attention to the low-voiced, muttering thunder rolling along the sky.

V. 3. Directeth-His voice: which he guideth like an arrow to the mark, that it may do that work for which he sends it.

Verse 3. He directeth it under the whole heaven] He directeth it (the lightning) under the whole heaven, in the twinkling of an eye from east to west; and its light-the reflection of the flash, not the lightning, unto the ends of the earth, so that a whole hemisphere seems to see it at the same instant.

Verses 3-5. He directeth it — Namely, his voice, his thunder; under the whole heaven — It is heard far and near, for he darts it through the whole region of the air: and his lightning, &c. — Preceded by terrible, and often most destructive flashes of lightning, which shoot from one end of heaven to the other. After it a voice roareth — After the lightning follow awful claps of thunder, more tremendous than the roarings of a lion; and he will not stay them — They grow louder and louder, till they conclude in a violent tempest of rain or hail. God thundereth marvellously — With a wonderful and terrible noise, and so as to produce, by the accompanying lightning, many wonderful effects, as the breaking down of great and strong trees, or buildings, and the killing of men and beasts in an instantaneous and awful manner. Great things doeth he — Even in the course of nature, and in the visible parts of the creation. Which we cannot comprehend — Which all men see, but of which few or none can give the true and satisfactory reasons. And therefore it is not strange if the secret and deep counsels of divine providence be out of our reach. And it would argue great pride and arrogancy in us if we should take upon us to censure them, because we do not understand them.

3. He directeth — He letteth it (the thunder) loose; or, better yet, sendeth it forth. Unto the ends of the earth — “Wings” or “fringes” of the earth; same as in Job 38:13. The word might be rendered “boundaries,” the same word in the Arabic (kanafa) being employed to express bounding. In Isaiah 11:12, and in Ezekiel 7:2, the word is associated with the numeral four, and is evidently used for the cardinal points. Comp. Revelation 7:1; 20:8. In the view of Renan, the earth is here compared “to a carpet spread out; its extremities being in some sort the border of the carpet.” The Greeks in the time of Eratosthenes, so Rosenmuller states, (Bib. Geog., 1:3,) compared the shape of the earth to that of an outspread chlamys, or cloak. At one time Gesenius supposed that the Hebrews had, in like manner, erred in taking the earth to be of a quadrangular form. This opinion he afterward retracted by advancing the more correct view, that the Hebrews regarded the four “ends of the earth” as equivalent to the four quarters of heaven. (See his Com. on Isaiah 11:12.) Winer, however, (Rwb., 1:340,) thinks it to be exceedingly doubtful that the Hebrews ever formed a fixed opinion as to the shape of the earth. His lightning unto the ends of the earth — We have been assured by a celebrated Abyssinian traveller, that he has seen flashes in that country extending from horizon to horizon, and which he could not estimate as under fifty or one hundred miles in length. — SIR JOHN HERSCHEL, in Encyc. Brit., 8th ed., 14:662.

V. 4. After-After the lightning, which is seen before the thunder is hard. Them-The lightnings spoken of in the beginning of the verse.

Verse 4. After it a voice roareth] After the flash has been seen, the peal is heard; and this will be more or fewer seconds after the peal, in proportion to the distance of the thunder cloud from the ear. Lightning traverses any space without any perceivable succession of time; nothing seems to be any obstacle to its progress. A multitude of persons taking hands, the first and the last connected with the electric machine, all feel the shock in the same instant; and were there a chain as conductor to go round the globe, the last would feel the shock in the same moment as the first. But as sound depends on the undulations of the air for its propagation, and is known to travel at the rate of only 1142 feet in a second; consequently, if the flash were only 1142 feet from the spectator, it would be seen in one second, or one swing of the pendulum, before the sound could reach the ear, though the clap and the flash take place in the same instant, and if twice this distance, two seconds, and so on. It is of some consequence to know that lightning, at a considerable distance, suppose six or eight seconds of time, is never known to burn, kill or do injury. When the flash and the clap immediately succeed each other, then there is strong ground for apprehension, as the thunder cloud is near. If the thunder cloud be a mile and a half distant, it is, I believe, never known to kill man or beast, or to do any damage to buildings, either by throwing them down or burning them. Now its distance may be easily known by means of a pendulum clock, or watch that has seconds. When the flash is seen, count the seconds till the clap is heard. Then compute: If only one second is counted, then the thunder cloud is within 1142 feet, or about 380 yards; if two seconds, then its distance is 2284 feet, or 761 yards; if three seconds, then 3426 feet, or 1142 yards; if four seconds, then the cloud is distant 4568 feet, or 1522 yards; if five seconds, then the distance is 5710 feet, or 1903 yards; if six seconds, then the distance is 6852 feet, or 2284 yards, one mile and nearly one-third; if seven seconds, then the distance of the cloud is 7994 feet, or 2665 yards, or one mile and a half, and 25 yards. Beyond this distance lightning has not been known to do any damage, the fluid being too much diffused, and partially absorbed, in its passage over electric bodies, i.e., those which are not fully impregnated by the electric matter, and which receive their full charge when they come within the electric attraction of the lightning. For more on the rain produced by thunder storms, see on Job 38:25. This scale may be carried on at pleasure, by adding to the last sum for every second 1142 feet, and reducing to yards and miles as above, allowing 1760 yards to one mile. He thundereth with the voice of his excellency] wnwag geono, of his majesty: nor is there a sound in nature more descriptive of, or more becoming, the majesty of God, than that of THUNDER. We hear the breeze in its rustling, the rain in its pattering, the hail in its rattling, the wind in its hollow howlings, the cataract in its dash, the bull in his bellowing, the lion in his roar; but we hear GOD, the Almighty, the Omnipresent, in the continuous peal of THUNDER! This sound, and this sound only, becomes the majesty of Jehovah.

And he will not stay them] µbq[y alw velo yeahkebem, and he hath not limited or circumscribed them. His lightnings light the world; literally, the whole world. The electric fluid is diffused through all nature, and everywhere art can exhibit it to view. To his thunder and lightning, therefore, he has assigned no limits. And when his voice soundeth, when the lightning goes forth, who shall assign its limits, and who can stop its progress? It is, like God, IRRESISTIBLE.

Verses 3-5. He directeth it — Namely, his voice, his thunder; under the whole heaven — It is heard far and near, for he darts it through the whole region of the air: and his lightning, &c. — Preceded by terrible, and often most destructive flashes of lightning, which shoot from one end of heaven to the other. After it a voice roareth — After the lightning follow awful claps of thunder, more tremendous than the roarings of a lion; and he will not stay them — They grow louder and louder, till they conclude in a violent tempest of rain or hail. God thundereth marvellously — With a wonderful and terrible noise, and so as to produce, by the accompanying lightning, many wonderful effects, as the breaking down of great and strong trees, or buildings, and the killing of men and beasts in an instantaneous and awful manner. Great things doeth he — Even in the course of nature, and in the visible parts of the creation. Which we cannot comprehend — Which all men see, but of which few or none can give the true and satisfactory reasons. And therefore it is not strange if the secret and deep counsels of divine providence be out of our reach. And it would argue great pride and arrogancy in us if we should take upon us to censure them, because we do not understand them.

4. After it a voice roareth — The words of Lucretius furnish a good comment: —

The flash first strikes the eye, and then we hear

The clap, which does more slowly reach the ear.

— 6:164, 165.

Compare Psalm 29, where the word voice also frequently appears. The voice of his excellency — Of his majesty: nor is there a sound in nature more descriptive of, or more becoming, the majesty of God, than that of thunder, says Dr. Clarke, who gives here a dissertation on lightning. He will not stay them — That is, the lightnings. Elihu paints with vivid colours the approaching thunder-storm. The lightnings become more vivid and frequent, flashing even unto the ends of the earth; the thunder follows more closely upon the flash, “after it a voice roareth!” and then we have the matchless swiftness of the lightning — so swift that none but God could “slay them.” The exclamations of astonishment and alarm, intermingling with the lightning flashes, point to a scene actually present to the senses.

Strophe e. — The thunder-storm suggests to the mind of Elihu other meteorological phenomena of nature, such as snow, rains, wind, ice, and in general the reign of winter, which, by scaling up the face of nature, furnishes man abundant opportunity for reflection, 6-10.

Verse 5. God thundereth marvellously with his voice] This is the conclusion of Elihu’s description of the lightning and thunder: and here only should chap. xxxvi. have ended. He began, Job 36:29, with the noise of God’s tabernacle; and he ends here with the marvellous thundering of Jehovah. Probably the writer of the book of Job had seen the description of a similar thunder storm as given by the psalmist, Psalm 77:16-19:—

Ver. 16. The waters saw thee, O God!

The waters saw thee, and were afraid.

Yea, the deeps were affrighted!

Ver. 17. The clouds poured out water;

The ethers sent forth a sound;

Yea, thine arrows went abroad.

Ver. 18. The voice of thy thunder was through the expanse: The lightnings illumined the globe;

The earth trembled and shook!

Ver. 19. Thy way is in the sea,

And thy paths on many waters;

But thy footsteps are not known.

Great things doeth he] This is the beginning of a new paragraph; and relates particularly to the phenomena which are afterwards mentioned. All of them wondrous things; and, in many respects, to us incomprehensible.

Verses 3-5. He directeth it — Namely, his voice, his thunder; under the whole heaven — It is heard far and near, for he darts it through the whole region of the air: and his lightning, &c. — Preceded by terrible, and often most destructive flashes of lightning, which shoot from one end of heaven to the other. After it a voice roareth — After the lightning follow awful claps of thunder, more tremendous than the roarings of a lion; and he will not stay them — They grow louder and louder, till they conclude in a violent tempest of rain or hail. God thundereth marvellously — With a wonderful and terrible noise, and so as to produce, by the accompanying lightning, many wonderful effects, as the breaking down of great and strong trees, or buildings, and the killing of men and beasts in an instantaneous and awful manner. Great things doeth he — Even in the course of nature, and in the visible parts of the creation. Which we cannot comprehend — Which all men see, but of which few or none can give the true and satisfactory reasons. And therefore it is not strange if the secret and deep counsels of divine providence be out of our reach. And it would argue great pride and arrogancy in us if we should take upon us to censure them, because we do not understand them.

Verse 5. God thundereth marvellously with his voice. See on Psalm 29. This chapter is divided from the former, in the midst of a sublime description of a storm.

V. 6. Strength-Those storms of rain which come with great force and irresistible violence.

Verse 6. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth] SNOW is generally defined, “A well-known meteor, formed by the freezing of the vapours in the atmosphere.” We may consider the formation of snow thus:—A cloud of vapours being condensed into drops, these drops, becoming too heavy to be suspended in the atmosphere, descend; and, meeting with a cold region of the air, they are frozen, each drop shooting into several points. These still continuing their descent, and meeting with some intermitting gales of a warmer air, are a little thawed, blunted, and again, by falling into colder air, frozen into clusters, or so entangled with each other as to fall down in what we call flakes.

Snow differs from hail and hoar-frost in being crystallized: this appears on examining a flake of snow with a magnifying glass; when the whole of it will appear to be composed of fine spicula or points diverging like rays from a centre. I have often observed the particles of snow to be of a regular figure, for the most part beautiful stars of six points as clear and transparent as ice. On each of these points are other collateral points, set at the same angles as the main points themselves, though some are irregular, the points broken, and some are formed of the fragments of other regular stars. I have observed snow to fall sometimes entirely in the form of separate regular six-pointed stars, without either clusters or flakes, and each so large as to be the eighth of an inch in diameter. The lightness of snow is owing to the excess of its surface, when compared with the matter contained under it.

Its whiteness is owing to the small particles into which it is divided: for take ice, opaque almost to blackness, and pound it fine, and it becomes as white as snow.

The immediate cause of the formation of snow is not well understood: it has been attributed to electricity; and hail is supposed to owe its more compact form to a more intense electricity, which unites the particles of hail more closely than the moderate electricity does those of snow. But rain, snow, hail, frost, ice, &c., have all one common origin; they are formed out of the vapours which have been exhaled by heat from the surface of the waters.

Snow, in northern countries, is an especial blessing of Providence; for, by covering the earth, it prevents corn and other vegetables from being destroyed by the intense cold of the air in the winter months; and especially preserves them from cold piercing winds. It is not a fact that it possesses in itself any fertilizing quality, such as nitrous salts, according to vulgar opinion: its whole use is covering the vegetables from intense cold, and thus preventing the natural heat of the earth from escaping, so that the intense cold cannot freeze the juices in the tender tubes of vegetables, which would rupture those tubes, and so destroy the plant. Mr. Good alters the punctuation of this verse, and translates thus:— Behold, he saith to the snow, BE!

On earth then falleth it.

To the rain,—and it falleth:

The rains of his might.

By the small rain, we may understand drizzling showers: by the rain of his strength, sudden thunder storms, when the rain descends in torrents: or violent rain from dissipating water-spouts.

Verses 6-8. He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth — By his powerful will the snow is formed in the air, and falls upon the earth where and when he sees fit. And the great rain of his strength — Those storms of rain which come with great force and irresistible violence. He sealeth up the hand of every man — By these great snows and rains he drives men out of the fields, and seals or binds up their hands from their work, confining them to, and, in a manner, shutting them up in their houses. Or, dyb, bejad, by his hand, or power, (that is, by those powerful works of his hands here mentioned,) he sealeth, or shutteth up, or keepeth close, every man, namely, in his house, as the wild beasts in their dens, verse 8. That all men may know his work — That men, being hindered from their own ordinary labour, and perfectly at leisure, may apply themselves to a serious consideration of these and other great and glorious works of God. Then — In great rains or deep snows; the beasts go into dens — For shelter and comfort, and are compelled to continue therein.

6. Be thou — As in the Septuagint; or, Fall thou, according to some critics, which, as Conant says, “very poorly expresses the gentle falling of the snow.” As respects sublimity, the passage reminds us of the divine fiat that called light into being. Genesis 1:3. The uncounted flakes of snow, in crystallized beauty, and pure as the light of the day, no less express the merciful thought of God than, as Elihu intimates, his ever-recurring creative act. E.H. Palmer, when in Idumaea, encountered a heavy storm of snow, which soon rendered the mountain paths impassable, and subjected the party to extreme discomfort. (Desert of the Exodus, p. 444.) Small rain — Rather, a gush of rain, such as follows a clap of thunder. So copious is the Hebrew language, that it has no less than seven different words for rain. The view of Hirtzel and Dillmann, that there is a reference here to the early and latter rain, is not sustained.

V. 7. Sealeth-By these snows and rains he drives men out of the fields, and seals or binds up their hands from their work. That-They may seriously contemplate on these, and other great and glorious works of God.

Verse 7. He sealeth up the hand of every man] After all that has been said, and much of it most learnedly, on this verse, I think that the act of freezing is probably intended; that when the earth is bound up by intense frost, the hand, dy yad, labour, of every man is sealed up; he can do no more labour in the field, till the south wind blow, by which a thaw takes place. While the earth is in this state of rigidity, the beasts go into their dens, and remain in their places, Job 37:8, some of them sleeping out the winter in a state of torpor, and others of them feeding on the stores which they had collected in autumn. However, the passage may mean no more than by the severity of the rains beasts are drawn to their covers; and man is obliged to intermit all his labours. The mighty rains are past. Who would have thought that on this verse, as its Scriptural foundation, the doctrine of chiromancy is built! God has so marked the hand of every man by the lines thereon exhibited, that they tell all the good or bad fortune they shall have during life; and he has done this that all men, by a judicious examination of their hands, may know his work! On this John Taisnier, a famous mathematician, lawyer, musician, and poet laureate of Cologne, has written a large folio volume, with more hands in it than fell to the lot of Briareus:—printed at Cologne, 1683.

Verses 6-8. He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth — By his powerful will the snow is formed in the air, and falls upon the earth where and when he sees fit. And the great rain of his strength — Those storms of rain which come with great force and irresistible violence. He sealeth up the hand of every man — By these great snows and rains he drives men out of the fields, and seals or binds up their hands from their work, confining them to, and, in a manner, shutting them up in their houses. Or, dyb, bejad, by his hand, or power, (that is, by those powerful works of his hands here mentioned,) he sealeth, or shutteth up, or keepeth close, every man, namely, in his house, as the wild beasts in their dens, verse 8. That all men may know his work — That men, being hindered from their own ordinary labour, and perfectly at leisure, may apply themselves to a serious consideration of these and other great and glorious works of God. Then — In great rains or deep snows; the beasts go into dens — For shelter and comfort, and are compelled to continue therein.

7. Sealeth up — That is, through storms and cold. He compels men to cease from rural labours, that they who are his work (literally, all men of his work) may be led to reflect upon Him and his ways, “that every man may know his own weakness,” (Septuagint.) A Persian poet (Saadi) has aptly said of the green leaves of the forest,

In the eye of the intelligent,

Every single leaf, is a book of

knowledge evincing a creator.

AEschylus uses a like phrase, “the sealing up of thunder,” for restraining it. (Eumen., 830.) Dr. T. Lewis refers to the magnificent description of a thunder storm in Psalm 29, as witnessed from the sheltering temple, whilst at every thunder peal “every one in His temple (verse 9) is crying ‘Glory!’” (dwbk rma.) Similarly, a sheltering home should lead to a like grateful recognition of God, as “he doth fly upon the wings of the wind,” letting loose the forces of nature, and controlling, while intensifying, their power. Palmistry — the art of divining one’s fate by inspecting the lines and lineaments of the hand — founded its foolish pretensions upon a false reading of this passage, making it to mean that God has sealed upon every man’s hand how long he shall live. See WEMYSS on Job, p. 300.

Verses 6-8. He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth — By his powerful will the snow is formed in the air, and falls upon the earth where and when he sees fit. And the great rain of his strength — Those storms of rain which come with great force and irresistible violence. He sealeth up the hand of every man — By these great snows and rains he drives men out of the fields, and seals or binds up their hands from their work, confining them to, and, in a manner, shutting them up in their houses. Or, dyb, bejad, by his hand, or power, (that is, by those powerful works of his hands here mentioned,) he sealeth, or shutteth up, or keepeth close, every man, namely, in his house, as the wild beasts in their dens, verse 8. That all men may know his work — That men, being hindered from their own ordinary labour, and perfectly at leisure, may apply themselves to a serious consideration of these and other great and glorious works of God. Then — In great rains or deep snows; the beasts go into dens — For shelter and comfort, and are compelled to continue therein.

8. The world is thus left to man alone in the presence of God. (Canon Cook.)

V. 9. Cold-Freezing winds.

Verse 9. Out of the south cometh the whirlwind] See Clarke’s note on “Job 9:9”. What is rendered south here, is there rendered chambers. Mr. Good translates here, the utmost zone. The Chaldee:—”From the supreme chamber the commotion shall come; and from the cataracts of Arcturus the cold.” What the whirlwind, hpws suphah, is, we know not. It might have been a wind peculiar to that district; and it is very possible that it was a scorching wind, something like the simoom.

Verses 9, 10. Out of the south — Hebrew, drjh ˆm, min ha-chered: ek tameiwn: de promptuariis, out of the store-houses, LXX.; ab interioribus, from the inner chambers, Vulgate Latin. The same with the chambers of the south, Job 9:9. Or the southern part of the world, so called, because in a great part it was unknown to those of the northern hemisphere, in which Job and his friends lived. Cometh the whirlwind — Violent and stormy winds; which, in those parts, most frequently came out of the south, whence they are called whirlwinds of the south, Zechariah 9:14; Isaiah 21:1. And cold out of the north — That is, cold and freezing winds, which generally come from that quarter. “From one quarter of the heavens blow turbulent winds; and, from the opposite quarter, those cold blasts, which clear and purify the air again.” By the breath of God frost is given, &c. — “By the like sharp blasts God sends the frost; and binds up the waters so fast that they cannot flow.” — Bishop Patrick. Or, as the latter clause, qxwmb µym bjrw, verechab maim be-mutzak, may be rendered, He swelleth the waters by the thaw.

9. Out of the south — Not unlike the Greek, the Oriental imagined a secret chamber, or home, for the whirlwind, from which God summoned it forth. Careering over the broad Arabian desert, which lay to the south, these storms acquired a fearful momentum. See note on Job 1:19. The north — Hebrew, mezarim, Furst supposes to mean the constellations of the north; others, as in the margin, the scatterers, the name given to the winds in the Koran.

V. 10. The waters-The waters which had freely spread themselves before, are congealed and bound up in crystal fetters.

Verse 10. By the breath of God frost is given] The freezing of water, though it is generally allowed to be the effect of cold, and has been carefully examined by the most eminent philosophers, is still involved in much mystery; and is a very proper subject to be produced among the great things which God doeth, and which we cannot comprehend, Job 37:5. Water, when frozen, becomes solid, and increases considerably in bulk. The expansive power in freezing is so great, that, if water be confined in a gun-barrel, it will split the solid metal throughout its whole length. Bombshells have been filled with water, and plugged tight, and exposed to cold air, when they have been rent, though the shell has been nearly two inches thick! Attempts have been made to account for this; but they have not, as yet, been generally successful. The breath of God freezes the waters; and that breath thaws them. It is the work of Omnipotence, and there, for the present, we must leave it.

The breadth of the waters is straitened.] This has been variously translated; qxwm mutsak, which we here render straitened, we translate Job 37:18 melted. Mr. Good thinks that the idea of a mirror is implied, or something molten; and on this ground it may be descriptive of the state of water formed into ice. He therefore translates:—

By the blast of God the frost congealeth,

And the expanse of the waters into a mirror.

I have only to observe, that in the act of freezing wind or air is necessary; for it has been observed that water which lay low in ponds did not freeze till some slight current of air fell on and ruffled the surface, when it instantly shot into ice.

Verses 9, 10. Out of the south — Hebrew, drjh ˆm, min ha-chered: ek tameiwn: de promptuariis, out of the store-houses, LXX.; ab interioribus, from the inner chambers, Vulgate Latin. The same with the chambers of the south, Job 9:9. Or the southern part of the world, so called, because in a great part it was unknown to those of the northern hemisphere, in which Job and his friends lived. Cometh the whirlwind — Violent and stormy winds; which, in those parts, most frequently came out of the south, whence they are called whirlwinds of the south, Zechariah 9:14; Isaiah 21:1. And cold out of the north — That is, cold and freezing winds, which generally come from that quarter. “From one quarter of the heavens blow turbulent winds; and, from the opposite quarter, those cold blasts, which clear and purify the air again.” By the breath of God frost is given, &c. — “By the like sharp blasts God sends the frost; and binds up the waters so fast that they cannot flow.” — Bishop Patrick. Or, as the latter clause, qxwmb µym bjrw, verechab maim be-mutzak, may be rendered, He swelleth the waters by the thaw.

10. By the breath of God — See note on Job 4:9. Frost is given — The preceding verse has spoken of the whirlwind of the south, and the mysterious mezarim that “scatter” the clouds, and prepare the way for “the cold,” (hrq,) the wintry king of nature. But these stormy messengers do not so much speak of God as the silent frost, (jrq,) whose beneficent mission is accomplished amid the general silence of nature. “Frost,” says Dr. Clarke, “is God’s universal plough, by which he cultivates the whole earth.” “The waves of cold,” of which science speaks, that in solemn silence sweep across continents, Elihu sublimely attributes to the breath of God. Is straitened — Compare Job 38:30. Hitzig acutely remarks, that “it is not the mass of waters that is spoken of, but their breadth.” The straitening of the waters does not necessarily refer, therefore, to the freezing of them over, but rather to their restriction, or narrowing, by reason of the ice along each side or bank, and, therefore, has nothing to do with the scientific fact that water expands in the act of congealing. The citation Umbreit makes from an Arabic poet will illustrate another possible rendering of qxwmb, “firmly bound,” (thus T. Lewis,) instead of “straitened:” — “The floods are fettered in bonds of iron.” Strophe f — The constantly-flashing lightning, and the ever-changing and revolving clouds, lead Elihu to again speak of lightning and of cloud, and show that even these are under the guidance of God, 11-13. “The storm in its magnificent approach drifts victoriously before all the senses of Elihu, so that from all other images, brought forward, as they are, with a certain haste, he ever recurs to that of the storm.” — Schlottmann.

V. 11. Watering-The earth. They spend themselves and are exhausted watering the earth, until they are weary. Wearieth-Them with much water, and making them to go long journeys to water remote parts, and at last to empty themselves there: all which things make men weary; and therefore are here said to make the clouds weary by a common figure. Scattereth-As for the white and lightsome clouds, he scatters and dissolves them by the wind or sun.

Verse 11. By watering he wearieth the thick cloud] Perhaps it would be better to say, The brightness yrb beri, dissipates the cloud; or, if we follow our version, By watering the earth he wearieth, wearieth out or emptieth, the thick cloud-causes it to pour down all its contents upon the earth, that they may cause it to bring forth and bud. The Vulgate understood it differently: Frumentum desiderat nubes, et nubes spargunt lumen suum. “The grain desireth the clouds; and the clouds scatter abroad their light.”

Verses 11, 12. Also by watering — The earth; by causing the clouds first to receive, and then to convey to distant parts, and afterward to pour forth, abundance of water; he wearieth the thick clouds — Alluding to men’s being wearied with carrying burdens, travelling, and labour. By filling and burdening them with much water, and making them go long journeys to water remote countries, and, at last, to spend and empty themselves there, he, as it were, wearies and fatigues them. He scattereth his bright cloud — As for the white and lightsome clouds, he scattereth and dissolveth them by the wind or sun. But here also the Hebrew will easily admit a different translation. If we consider yrb, beri, here rendered by watering, as being one word, derived from barah, signifying serenity, the meaning is, Fair weather also disperseth the cloud; his sun scattereth the cloud abroad. It is turned round about — The cloud, now mentioned, is carried about to this or that place; by his counsels — Not by chance, (though nothing seems more casual than the motions of the clouds,) but by his order and governance. That they way do whatsoever he commandeth them — Either be dispersed and pass away without effect, to the disappointment of the husbandman’s hopes, or be dissolved in sweet and fertilizing showers.

11. By watering… cloud — Literally, with moisture he loadeth the cloud. While yet the burdened and wearied cloud discharges itself upon the earth, God spreadeth abroad the cloud of his light, which some regard as a lightning cloud. Scattereth — For import of Hebrew word, compare chap. 38:24.

V. 12. Turned-The clouds are carried about to this or that place. Not by chance (though nothing seems to be more casual than the motions of the clouds) but by his order and governance.

Verse 12. And it is turned round about by his counsels] The original is difficult:awhw wtlwbjtb Ëphtm twbsm vehu mesibboth mithhappech bethachbulothav; which has been thus paraphrased: And he-the sun, makes revolutions-causes the heavenly bodies to revolve round him, turning round himself-turning round his own axis, by his attachments-his attractive and repulsive influences, by which the heavenly bodies revolve round him, and by which, as if strongly tied to their centre, lbjb bechebel, with a cable or rope, they are projected to their proper distances, and prevented from coming too near, or flying off too far.

That they may do whatsoever he commandeth them] That men may perform his will, availing themselves of the influences of the sun, moon, times, seasons, &c., to cultivate the earth for the sustenance of themselves and their cattle.

Upon the face of the world in the earth.] hxra lbt ynp la al peney thebel aretsah, over the surface of the habitable world. Perhaps the above exposition may appear to be too far-fetched; and possibly the passage refers only to the revolutions of the seasons, and the operations connected with them.

Verses 11, 12. Also by watering — The earth; by causing the clouds first to receive, and then to convey to distant parts, and afterward to pour forth, abundance of water; he wearieth the thick clouds — Alluding to men’s being wearied with carrying burdens, travelling, and labour. By filling and burdening them with much water, and making them go long journeys to water remote countries, and, at last, to spend and empty themselves there, he, as it were, wearies and fatigues them. He scattereth his bright cloud — As for the white and lightsome clouds, he scattereth and dissolveth them by the wind or sun. But here also the Hebrew will easily admit a different translation. If we consider yrb, beri, here rendered by watering, as being one word, derived from barah, signifying serenity, the meaning is, Fair weather also disperseth the cloud; his sun scattereth the cloud abroad. It is turned round about — The cloud, now mentioned, is carried about to this or that place; by his counsels — Not by chance, (though nothing seems more casual than the motions of the clouds,) but by his order and governance. That they way do whatsoever he commandeth them — Either be dispersed and pass away without effect, to the disappointment of the husbandman’s hopes, or be dissolved in sweet and fertilizing showers.

12. It is turned… counsels — The changing, whirling, apparently capricious clouds are really under his guidance (“steering, after the manner of a ship,” Dillmann) for the accomplishment of his beneficent or retributive designs towards “the world of the earth;” more literally, on the face of the habitable land of the earth. Hengstenberg thinks that the expression it is turned, or “turns itself” (Hithpael, same as in Genesis 3:24) round “in circles,” refers to the revolution of the seasons, which “accomplish, as it were, a complete course.” This would be a digression hardly justified by the preceding and following verses, which treat of the clouds as messengers of God’s mercy or his wrath.

V. 13. Correction-To scourge or correct men by immoderate showers. Earth-The whole earth, which is said to be the Lord’s, Psalm 24:1 50:12, and so this may denote a general judgment by excessive rains inflicted upon the earth, and all its inhabitants, even the universal deluge, which came in great measure out of the clouds. Mercy-For the benefit of mankind and for the cooling of the air and improving the fruits of the earth.

Verse 13. He causeth it to come] The Vulgate translates the text thus: Sive in una tribu, sine in terra sua, sive in quocunque loco misericordiæ suæ eas jusserit inveniri. “Whether in one tribe, or whether in his own land, or in whatsoever place of his mercy he has commanded them to come.” In the preceding verse it is said that God conducts the clouds according to the orders of his counsels, whithersoever he pleases: and here it is added that, when he designs to heap favours upon any land, he commands the clouds to go thither, and pour out on it their fertilizing showers. See Calmet.

The Vulgate certainly gives a good sense, and our common version is also clear and intelligble; but there are doubts whether the Hebrew will bear this meaning. Here it is stated that God sends the rain either for correction, cbvl leshebet, which signifies rod, staff, tribe, and is here taken as the symbol of correction, he sends rain sometimes as a judgment, inundating certain lands, and sweeping away their produce by irresistible floods: or for his land, wxral leartso, his own land, Palestine, the place of his favoured people: or for mercy, dsjl lechesed; when a particular district has been devoured by locusts, or cursed with drought, God, in his mercy, sends fertilizing rains to such places to restore the ears which the caterpillars have eaten, and to make the desert blossom like the garden of the Lord. Some think that Job refers to the curse brought upon the old world by the waters of the deluge. Now although God has promised that there shall no more be a flood of waters to destroy the whole earth; yet we know he can, very consistently with his promise, inundate any particular district; or, by a superabundance of rain, render the toil of the husbandman in any place vain. Therefore, still his rain may come for judgment, for mercy, or for the especial help of his people or Church.

Verse 13. Whether for correction — Hebrew, cbvl µa, im leshebet, whether for a rod, to scourge or correct men by immoderate showers. The word, however, also means, a tribe, for a certain portion of land, which God intends particularly to favour or punish, in that way. Or for his land — Hebrew, wxral le-artzo, for his earth; the whole earth, which is said to be the Lord’s, Psalm 24:1, and 50:12; and so this may denote a general judgment by excessive rains inflicted upon the whole earth, and all its inhabitants, namely, the universal deluge, which came, in a great measure, out of the clouds, and was, in a manner, then fresh in the memories of men. And thus these first two members of the sentence speak of correction, and the last of relief and comfort. Or for mercy — For the benefit of mankind, by cooling and cleansing the air, and refreshing and improving all the fruits of the earth. “It seems not improbable to me,” says Bishop Sherlock, “that these reflections arose from the methods made use of by providence (not worn out of memory in the time of the writer of this book) in punishing the old world, in consequence of the curse laid upon the ground. Such methods they are by which the ground may, at any time, be cursed, and the toil and labour of men increased to what degree God thinks fit.”

13. Or for his land — Some, not so well, read this expression parenthetically, (when for his land.) It stands rather as a divine providence between the dearth that brings correction and sorrow and the abundance which means mercy, but which is too oft perverted into channels of spiritual blight and apostasy: “so tempered.” says Warburton, “in a long-continued course as to produce that fertility of soil which was to make one of the blessings of the Promised Land, a providence as distinct from the other two of correction and mercy as the genus is from the species.” — Divine Legation, vi, sec. 2. In chastisement the world is no less the care of God than when under the more constant regime of mercy. The very clouds, “the most elevating part of nature,” whose design is one of mercy, ever tempering the sun’s intolerable glare — frail and evanescent purveyors of heaven’s wondrous gift of rain — may by the sins of men be converted into a scourge and blight to the world.

Third division — AN APPLICATION TO JOB OF THE PRECEDING DISCOURSES. THE FOLLY OF CONTENDING WITH GOD, OR OF STRIVING TO GRASP THE MYSTERY OF SUFFERING WHILE THE MYSTERIES OF GOD’S WORKING IN NATURE REMAIN UNEXPLAINED, 14-24. a. He who presumes to arraign God in judgment, (compare verse 19 with Job 13:18; 23:4,) and cannot account for the simplest of his doings except to admit that they are, may with reason fear that such blindness of mind will transform itself into a fool-headedness of action which will bring down swift destruction, 14-20.

V. 14. Consider-If there be so much matter of wonder in the most obvious works of God, how wonderful must his secret counsels be?

Verse 14. Hearken unto this] Hear what I say on the part of God. Stand still] Enter into deep contemplation on the subject. And consider] Weigh every thing; examine separately and collectively; and draw right conclusions from the whole.

The wondrous works of God.] Endless in their variety; stupendous in their structure; complicated in their parts; indescribable in their relations and connections; and incomprehensible in the mode of their formation, in the cohesion of their parts, and in the ends of their creation.

Verses 14, 15. Hearken unto this, O Job, &c. — Listen diligently unto these things; do not dispute any more with God, but silently consider these his wonderful works, and think, if there be so much matter of wonder in the most obvious works of God, how wonderful must his secret counsels be. Dost thou know when God disposed them? — The things before mentioned, the clouds, rain, snow, and other meteors? Did God acquaint thee with his counsels in the producing and ordering of them? And caused the light of his cloud to shine — Probably the rainbow, seated in a cloud, which may well be called God’s cloud, because therein God puts his bow, Genesis 9:13.

V. 15. Them-The things before mentioned, the clouds, rain, snow, and other meteors. Did God acquaint thee with his counsels in the producing and ordering of them? His cloud-Probably the rainbow, seated in a cloud, which may well be called God’s cloud, because therein God puts his bow, Genesis 9:13.

Verse 15. Dost thou know when God disposed them] Dost thou know the laws by which they are governed; and the causes which produce such and such phenomena?

And caused the light of his cloud to shine?] Almost every critic of note understands this of the rainbow, which God gave as a sign that the earth should no more be destroyed by water. See Genesis 9:13, and the note there.

Verses 14, 15. Hearken unto this, O Job, &c. — Listen diligently unto these things; do not dispute any more with God, but silently consider these his wonderful works, and think, if there be so much matter of wonder in the most obvious works of God, how wonderful must his secret counsels be. Dost thou know when God disposed them? — The things before mentioned, the clouds, rain, snow, and other meteors? Did God acquaint thee with his counsels in the producing and ordering of them? And caused the light of his cloud to shine — Probably the rainbow, seated in a cloud, which may well be called God’s cloud, because therein God puts his bow, Genesis 9:13.

15. When — Others, how. The most satisfactory reading is that of Heiligstedt: “Knowst thou how God imposed [laws] upon them; how he did, that these wonders should arise; for instance, how the light streams forth from out the dark cloud.”

V. 16. Balancings-How God doth as it were weigh the clouds in balances, so that although they are full of water, yet they are kept up by the thin air.

Verse 16. Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds] How are the clouds suspended in the atmosphere? Art thou so well acquainted with the nature of evaporation, and the gravity of the air at different heights, to support different weights of aqueous vapour, so as to keep them floating for a certain portion of time, and then let them down to water the earth; dost thou know these things so as to determine the laws by which they are regulated?

Wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge] This is a paraphrase. Mr. Good’s translation is much better:—

“Wonders, perfections of wisdom!”

Verses 16, 17. Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds? — How God doth, as it were, weigh the clouds in balances; so that, although they are full of water, and heavy, yet they are by his power suspended in the thin air, and kept from falling down upon us in spouts and floods, as sometimes they have done, and generally would do, if not governed by a higher Providence. The works of him who is perfect in knowledge — These are effects and evidences of his infinite power and knowledge. How thy garments are warm — How and why thy garments keep thee warm; or whence it comes, that the air grows mild when the south wind blows.

16. The balancings of the clouds — The suspension of the clouds in the atmosphere, especially those freighted with rain, has not yet been satisfactorily explained. Dr. Samuel Clarke has a sermon in loc. on the “Omniscience of God.”

V. 17. Quieteth-The air about the earth. From the south-By the sun’s coming into the southern parts, which makes the air quiet and warm.

Verse 17. How thy garments are warm] What are warmth and cold? How difficult this question! Is heat incontestably a substance, and is cold none? I am afraid we are in the dark on both these subjects. The existence of caloric, as a substance, is supposed to be demonstrated. Much, satisfactorily, has been said on this subject; but is it yet beyond doubt? I fear not. But supposing this question to be set at rest, is it demonstrated that cold is only a quality, the mere absence of heat? If it be demonstrated that there is such a substance as caloric, is it equally certain that there is no such substance as frigoric? But how do our garments keep us warm? By preventing the too great dissipation of the natural heat. And why is it that certain substances, worked into clothing, keep us warmer than others? Because they are bad conductors of caloric. Some substances conduct off the caloric or natural heat from the body; others do not conduct it at all, or imperfectly; hence those keep us warmest which, being bad conductors of caloric, do not permit the natural heat to be thrown off. In these things we know but little, after endless cares, anxieties, and experiments! But is the question yet satisfactorily answered, why the north wind brings cold, and the south wind heat? If it be so to my readers, it is not so to me; yet I know the reasons which are alleged.

Verses 16, 17. Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds? — How God doth, as it were, weigh the clouds in balances; so that, although they are full of water, and heavy, yet they are by his power suspended in the thin air, and kept from falling down upon us in spouts and floods, as sometimes they have done, and generally would do, if not governed by a higher Providence. The works of him who is perfect in knowledge — These are effects and evidences of his infinite power and knowledge. How thy garments are warm — How and why thy garments keep thee warm; or whence it comes, that the air grows mild when the south wind blows.

17. How — rva. Some of the best critics link the three verses (16-18) in one continuous thought, and read Thou whose garments are warm, etc. Shall he who suffers from heat which he does not understand exalt himself to a joint makership of the vault of the skies? The Authorized Version is quite as satisfactory, with which Hitzig agrees. The oppressive, murky sultriness which immediately precedes the outburst of a heavy thunder-storm may have suggested the thought to Elihu. When he quieteth the earth — Or, according to some, “when the earth is quiet” or sultry. The experience of Dr. Thomson (Land and Book, 2:312) furnishes a fit illustration: “The sirocco to-day is of the quiet kind.… Pale lightnings played through the air like forked tongues of burnished steel, but there was no thunder and no wind. The heat, however, became intolerable, and I escaped from the burning highway into a dark vaulted room at the lower Bethhoron.… This sensation of dry, hot clothes is only experienced during the siroccos, and on such a day, too, one understands the other effects mentioned by the prophet, (Isaiah 25:5,) bringing down the noise, and quieting the earth. There is no living thing abroad to make a noise.… No one has energy enough to make a noise, and the very air is too weak and languid to stir the pendant leaves of the tall poplars.” Compare Isaiah 18:4.

V. 18. With him-Wast thou his assistant in spreading out the sky like a canopy over the earth? Strong-Which though it be very thin and transparent, yet is also firm and compact and steadfast. Looking glass-Made of brass and steel, as the manner then was. Smooth and polished, without the least flaw. In this, as in a glass, we may behold the glory of God and the wisdom of his handy-work.

Verse 18. Hast thou with him spread out the sky] Wert thou with him when he made the expanse; fitted the weight to the winds; proportioned the aqueous to the terrene surface of the globe; the solar attraction to the quantum of vapours necessary; to be stored up in the clouds, in order to be occasionally deposited in fertilizing showers upon the earth? and then dost thou know how gravity and elasticity should be such essential properties of atmospheric air, that without them and their due proportions, we should neither have animal nor vegetable life?

Strong-as a molten looking-glass?] Like a molten mirror. The whole concave of heaven, in a clear day or brilliant night, being like a mass of polished metal, reflecting or transmitting innumerable images.

Verses 18, 19. Hast thou, with him, spread out the sky — Wast thou his assistant in spreading out the sky, like a canopy, over the earth? Which is strong — Which, though it be very thin and transparent, yet is also firm, and compact, and steadfast. As a molten looking-glass — Made of brass and steel, as the manner then was. Smooth and polished, without the least flaw. In this, as in a glass, we may behold the glory of God, and the wisdom of his handiwork. Teach us — If thou canst; what we shall say unto him — Of these his wonderful works, or of his divine counsels and ways. For we cannot order our speech — We know neither with what words or matter, nor in what manner, to maintain discourse with him, or plead against him. By reason of darkness — Both because of the darkness of the matter, God’s counsels and ways being a great depth, and far out of our reach; and because of the darkness, or blindness, of our minds.

18. Molten looking-glass — Septuagint, Vision of Melting. The mirrors of the ancients were made of metal, whose power of reflection depended upon their being highly burnished. Such a mirror might stand as an image of brightness or effulgence, as well as of strength or stability. The dazzling effulgence of an eastern sky, too great for the eye to bear, may have been really the point of comparison in the mind of Elihu. The apostle alludes to the comparatively imperfect reflection of mirrors made of metal, (1 Corinthians 13:12;) but this divine mirror, notwithstanding all the storms which pass over it, is as bright now as in the morn of creation. In speaking of the strength of the sky, there is no evidence that Elihu regarded it as solid. On the contrary, as Petavius long ago suggested, though but thin and vaporous expanse, (rakia’h,) it separates and holds up the waters. “as if it were a most solid wall.” Comp. Genesis 1:6, 7. Our own word firmament, from the Latin word firmus, (strong,) corresponds to the Greek sterewma, a word once used in the New Testament, and then applied by the apostle to faith, (Colossians 2:5,) which our translators have rendered by steadfastness, that is, “firm in its place,” the old Danish word sted signifying “place.” For Scripture views of the sky, compare Exodus 24:10, (transparent sapphire;) Psalm 102:26, (vesture;) 104:2, (a curtain;) Isaiah 40:22, (“as a curtain,” or, “like gauze.”)

V. 19. Teach us-If thou canst. Say unto him-Of these things. Order-To maintain discourse with him, both because of the darkness of the matter, God’s counsels being a great depth; and because of the darkness of our minds.

Verse 19. Teach us what we shall say unto him?] Thou pretendest to be so very wise, and to know every thing about God, pray make us as wise as thyself, that we may be able to approach with thy boldness the Sovereign of the world; and maintain our cause with thy confidence before him. As for our parts, we are ignorant; and, on all these subjects, are enveloped with darkness. Mr. Good translates:—

“Teach us how we may address him,

When arrayed in robes of darkness.”

It is a strong and biting irony, however we take it.

Verses 18, 19. Hast thou, with him, spread out the sky — Wast thou his assistant in spreading out the sky, like a canopy, over the earth? Which is strong — Which, though it be very thin and transparent, yet is also firm, and compact, and steadfast. As a molten looking-glass — Made of brass and steel, as the manner then was. Smooth and polished, without the least flaw. In this, as in a glass, we may behold the glory of God, and the wisdom of his handiwork. Teach us — If thou canst; what we shall say unto him — Of these his wonderful works, or of his divine counsels and ways. For we cannot order our speech — We know neither with what words or matter, nor in what manner, to maintain discourse with him, or plead against him. By reason of darkness — Both because of the darkness of the matter, God’s counsels and ways being a great depth, and far out of our reach; and because of the darkness, or blindness, of our minds.

19. We cannot order our speech — Literally, We cannot set in order. This is evidently a stern rebuke of Job for his boastful declarations in Job 13:18, and in Job 23:4, that he had set in order his cause: — the same word (Ër[) being used in all three cases, and furnishing an instance among the many in this speech that it is an integral portion of the work. By reason of darkness — The reference is to the darkness of the understanding. Umbreit suggests that the sense of the preceding verse should lead us to think of the bewildering blinding of the eyes when they are turned, in a bold controversy with the Almighty, towards the sunny heavens.

V. 20. Shall-I send a challenge to God, or a message that I am ready to debate with him concerning his proceedings? Speak-If a man should be so bold to enter the lists with God. Swallowed up-With the sense of his infinite majesty.

Verse 20. Shall it be told him that I speak?] Shall I dare to whisper even before God? And suppose any one were to accuse me before him for what I have spoken of him, though that has been well intended, how should I be able to stand in his presence? I should be swallowed up in consternation, and consumed with the splendour of his majesty.

But in what state art thou? What hast thou been doing? Thou hast arraigned God for his government of the world; thou hast found fault with the dispensations of his providence; thou hast even charged him with cruelty! What will become of THEE?

Verse 20. Shall it be told him that I speak? — Does he need to be informed of any thing? Is any thing that I have said of him worth his hearing? Will any one report it to him? Will any man dare to approach him? But the Hebrew, rbda, adabber, should rather be rendered, I should, or I will, speak. Shall I send, or who dare carry, a challenge from me to God, or a message that I am ready and desirous to debate with him concerning his proceedings? This, indeed, thou hast done, in effect, but far be such presumption from me. If a man speak — If a man should be so bold and venturous as to enter the lists with God, surely he shall be swallowed up — With the sense of his infinite majesty and spotless purity.

20. That I speak — Shall it be told Him that I question and arraign his moral government — even I, involved in such darkness (verse 19) that I cannot order aright my speech? He who thus speaks has reason to fear destruction: for such is the overwhelming presence of God that none can “see his face and live,” much less speak to him face to face. If a man speak… swallowed up — Dillmann and the best critics render these words as a question: “Hath a man ever said that he would (fain) be destroyed?” Will one readily pursue a course involving certain destruction, such as Job would have done had he intruded himself before God? Exodus 19:21; 33:20; Judges 13:22, etc. b. The changing phenomena in the sky lead Elihu to remark that the bright light may for a time be veiled by clouds and darkness, but these shall be chased away. So the hidden and unsearchable God, all of whose attributes harmonize with each other, shall disclose himself in love to the heart that submissively bends before his incomparable majesty and glory, 21-24.

V. 21. Light-The sun; which is emphatically called light, and here the bright light: which men cannot behold or gaze on, when the sky is very clear: and therefore it is not strange if we cannot see God, or discern his counsels and ways. Them-The sky by driving away those clouds which darkened it.

Verse 21. And now men see not the bright light] Mr. Good gives the sense clearer:—

“Even now we cannot look at the light

When it is resplendent in the heavens.

And a wind from the north hath passed

along and cleared them.”

Elihu seems to refer to the insufferable brightness of the sun. Can any man look at the sun shining in his strength, when a clear and strong wind has purged the sky from clouds and vapours? Much less can any gaze on the majesty of God. Every creature must sink before him. What execrably dangerous folly in man to attempt to arraign His conduct!

Verse 21. And now — Or, for now, as the particle w, vau, is often rendered; the following words containing a reason of those which precede; men see not the bright light, &c. — Men are not able to look upon the brightness of the sun when it shines in the heavens, after the winds have swept away the clouds which before obscured the clear sky. And therefore it is not strange if we cannot see God, or discern his counsels and ways.

21. And now is used in the temporal sense. The changes then taking place in the sky suggest the following beautiful figure: — Men see… cleanseth them — Delitzsch, Zockler, and Hitzig read cleanseth, cleareth [chaseth] them away. Every cloud, however dark, not only has “a silver lining,” as we would say, but hides in (b) and behind itself the precious light. The wind passes over the sky and clears away the clouds, and the hidden light is revealed. The clouds that are black to us are brightness on the other side. “There is abundance of light,” says Dr. Bushnell, “which we might readily infer from the fact that so much of it shines through.” — Sermon, in loc. “Elihu hereby means to say that the God who is 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.” — Delitzsch. The following view of Conant, which agrees with that of Rosenmuller, Ewald, Hirtzel, etc., does not so well harmonize with the context: — “Men cannot look on the clear sunlight in the cloudless sky; how then (verse 22) can they comprehend God, whom a more fearful majesty surrounds? Compare 1 Timothy 6:16.”

V. 22. North-From the northern winds which scatter the clouds, and clear the sky. Elihu concludes with some short, but great sayings, concerning the glory of God. He speaks abruptly and in haste, because it should seem, he perceived God was approaching, and presumed he was about to take the work into his own hands.

Verse 22. Fair weather cometh out of the north] Is this any version of the original ˆwpxm htay bhz mitstsaphon zahab yeetheh? which is rendered by almost every version, ancient and modern, thus, or to this effect: “From the north cometh gold.” Calmet justly remarks, that in the time of Moses, Job, and Solomon, and for a long time after, gold was obtained from Colchis, Armenia, Phasis, and the land of Ophir, which were all north of Judea and Idumea; and are in the Scriptures ordinarily termed the north country. “But what relation can there be between, Gold cometh out of the north, and, With God is terrible majesty?” Answer: Each thing has its properties, and proper characteristics, which distinguish it; and each country has its advantages. Gold, for instance, comes from the northern countries; so praises offered to the Supreme God should be accompanied with fear and trembling: and as this metal is from the north, and northern countries are the places whence it must be procured; so terrible majesty belongs to God, and in him alone such majesty is eternally resident. As bhz zahob, which we translate gold, (see Job 28:16,) comes from a root that signifies to be clear, bright, resplendent, &c.; Mr. Good avails himself of the radical idea, and translates it splendour:— “Splendour itself is with God;

Insufferable majesty.”

But he alters the text a little to get this meaning, particularly in the word htay yeetheh, which we translate cometh, and which he contends is the pronoun hta itself; the y yod, as a performative, here being, as he thinks, an interpolation. This makes a very good sense; but none of the ancient versions understood the place thus, and none of the MSS. countenance this very learned critic’s emendation.

Verses 22-24. Fair weather cometh out of the north — From the northern winds, which scatter the clouds and clear the sky. Elihu concludes with some short, but great sayings, concerning the glory of God. He speaks abruptly and in haste, because, it should seem, he perceived God was approaching, and presumed he was about to take the work into his own hands. With God is terrible majesty — Those glorious works of his, which I have described, are testimonies of that great and terrible majesty which is in him; which should cause us to fear and adore him, and not to behave ourselves so irreverently and insolently toward him as Job hath done. We cannot find high out — Namely, to perfection, as it is expressed Job 11:7. We cannot comprehend him; his power, wisdom, justice, and his counsels proceeding from them, are past our finding out. He is excellent in power — Therefore as he doth not need any unrighteous action to advance himself, so he cannot do any, because all such things are acts and evidences of weakness. And in judgment — In the just administration of judgment, he never did nor can exercise that power unjustly, as Job seemed to insinuate. And in plenty of justice — In great and perfect justice, such as no man can justly reproach. He will not afflict — Namely, without just cause, or above measure. He doth not afflict willingly, or from his heart, Lamentations 3:33. He takes no pleasure in doing it. It is his work, indeed, but a strange work, as Isaiah elegantly terms it, Job 28:21. Men do therefore fear him — Hebrew, ˆkl, lachen, for this cause, namely, because of God’s infinite and excellent perfections, and especially those mentioned in the foregoing verse, men do, or should, fear, or reverence him, and humbly submit to him, and not presume to quarrel or dispute with him. He respecteth not — Hebrew, hary al, lo jireh, he doth not, or will not, behold, namely, with respect or approbation; any that are wise of heart — That is, such as are wise in their own eyes, that lean to their own understanding, and despise other men in comparison of themselves, and reject their counsels; or, that are so puffed up with the opinion of their own wisdom, that they dare contend with their Maker, and presume to censure his counsels and actions: which he hereby intimates to be Job’s fault, and to be the true reason why God did not respect nor regard him, nor his prayers and tears, as Job complained. And so this is also a tacit advice and exhortation to Job to be humble and little in his own eyes, if ever he expected any favour from God.

Thus Elihu, having set forth God’s omnipotence in the strongest colours he was able, concludes with an observation very applicable to the subject of dispute before them. “As this speaker,” says Dr. Dodd, “performs the part of a moderator, he seems to have observed the errors on both sides, and to have hit upon the point where the controversy ought to rest, namely, the unsearchable depth of the divine wisdom; with a persuasion that God, who is acknowledged on all hands to be infinitely powerful and just, will certainly find a way to clear up all the irregularities, as they now appear to us, in the methods of his providence, and bring this intricate and perplexed scene, at last, to a beautiful and regular close. The great fault of the speech seems to be this; that he bears too hard upon Job; and his reproofs, though there were some grounds for them, are nevertheless too harsh and severe. Nay, where he endeavours to repeat what Job had said, he gives it, for the most part, a wrong turn, or sets it in some very disadvantageous light. The silence of this good man, therefore, during this long speech of Elihu, may be considered as none of the least instances of his patience; but as he was convinced that one part of the charge brought against him was but too true, namely, that he had been now and then too hasty and intemperate in his expressions, he was resolved not to increase the fault by entering anew into the controversy; but by his silence and attention here, and suffering his passions to subside, he was the better prepared to receive the following speech from Jehovah with that profound humility, and that absolute submission, which became him.”

Ver. 22. The golden splendour cometh out of the north. Aurora borealis, the streamers or northern lights. They shine with the same splendour in the south as in the north, and must be regarded as a gracious provision of the Creator to cheer the cold dark nights of the arctic regions. In Hudson’s bay, in Iceland, and Siberia, they are far more brilliant than in England. The coruscations rise and dart in various figures. Sometimes in a sheet of horizontal radiance like the morning rays; sometimes in pale but well-defined beams; at other times in gentle flashes, and with a slight hissing noise. These flashes often gently succeed one another; sometimes the iris, or rainbow, is seen in these configurations of refracted light. The electric fluid, no doubt, occasions these phenomena, but probably combined with refractions of light from the ice and icebergs of the northern regions. They are neither seen nor needed at the equator.

22. Fair weather — bhz, gold. Literally, out of the north cometh gold, and is rendered by the Septuagint, “clouds shining like gold.” It would certainly have been a descent from this sublime description of an Eastern thunderstorm for the poet to stop for the mere record of a well attested fact, that gold, in ancient times, was found in the north. The word must be used here in a figurative sense, an instance of which is given in Zechariah 4:12, where the word gold is used for “pure oil.” Such figurative use of gold for splendour of light is common in Oriental literature: “The sun is gold” says Abulala. God is now approaching, as Elihu himself feels, for he again breaks forth, “With (literally, upon) God is terrible majesty.” A golden sheen fills the northern sky as the awful Eloah draws near. The uplifting of the clouds indicated in the preceding verse prepares us for the irruption of divine glory.

Samuel Wesley, in his learned dissertations on Job, may not have been far out of the way in his view that this splendour was that of the Aurora Borealis, lifting itself above the storm. Wemyss indorses this view, while Tayler Lewis remarks, “that it was something that combined the beautiful, as we may judge from the name he gives it, with the terrible. That there was something of this fearful fascination about it is evident from the sudden cry which it calls out: With God is dreadful majesty.” The interpretation of Hirtzel and Delitzsch is a constrained one, to wit, that man may lay bare the hidden treasures of gold, but cannot search out God, nor comprehend the depths of his wisdom and power.

V. 23. Find-We cannot comprehend him: his power, wisdom, justice, and his counsels proceeding from them are past our finding out. Power-Therefore as he doth not need any unrighteous action to advance himself, so he cannot do it, because all such things are acts of weakness. Judgment-In the just administration of judgment, he never did, nor can exercise that power unjustly, as Job seemed to insinuate. Afflict-Without just cause.

Verse 23. Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out] This is a very abrupt exclamation, and highly descriptive of the state of mind in which Elihu was at this time; full of solemnity, wonder, and astonishment, at his own contemplation of this “great First Cause, least understood.” The ALMIGHTY! we cannot find him out.

Excellent in power and in judgment] We must not pretend to comprehend his being, the mode of his existence, the wisdom of his counsels, nor the mysteries of his conduct.

He will not afflict.] יענה al la yeanneh, he will not ANSWER. He will give account of none of his matters to us. We cannot comprehend his motives, nor the ends he has in view.

Verses 22-24. Fair weather cometh out of the north — From the northern winds, which scatter the clouds and clear the sky. Elihu concludes with some short, but great sayings, concerning the glory of God. He speaks abruptly and in haste, because, it should seem, he perceived God was approaching, and presumed he was about to take the work into his own hands. With God is terrible majesty — Those glorious works of his, which I have described, are testimonies of that great and terrible majesty which is in him; which should cause us to fear and adore him, and not to behave ourselves so irreverently and insolently toward him as Job hath done. We cannot find high out — Namely, to perfection, as it is expressed Job 11:7. We cannot comprehend him; his power, wisdom, justice, and his counsels proceeding from them, are past our finding out. He is excellent in power — Therefore as he doth not need any unrighteous action to advance himself, so he cannot do any, because all such things are acts and evidences of weakness. And in judgment — In the just administration of judgment, he never did nor can exercise that power unjustly, as Job seemed to insinuate. And in plenty of justice — In great and perfect justice, such as no man can justly reproach. He will not afflict — Namely, without just cause, or above measure. He doth not afflict willingly, or from his heart, Lamentations 3:33. He takes no pleasure in doing it. It is his work, indeed, but a strange work, as Isaiah elegantly terms it, Job 28:21. Men do therefore fear him — Hebrew, ˆkl, lachen, for this cause, namely, because of God’s infinite and excellent perfections, and especially those mentioned in the foregoing verse, men do, or should, fear, or reverence him, and humbly submit to him, and not presume to quarrel or dispute with him. He respecteth not — Hebrew, hary al, lo jireh, he doth not, or will not, behold, namely, with respect or approbation; any that are wise of heart — That is, such as are wise in their own eyes, that lean to their own understanding, and despise other men in comparison of themselves, and reject their counsels; or, that are so puffed up with the opinion of their own wisdom, that they dare contend with their Maker, and presume to censure his counsels and actions: which he hereby intimates to be Job’s fault, and to be the true reason why God did not respect nor regard him, nor his prayers and tears, as Job complained. And so this is also a tacit advice and exhortation to Job to be humble and little in his own eyes, if ever he expected any favour from God.

Thus Elihu, having set forth God’s omnipotence in the strongest colours he was able, concludes with an observation very applicable to the subject of dispute before them. “As this speaker,” says Dr. Dodd, “performs the part of a moderator, he seems to have observed the errors on both sides, and to have hit upon the point where the controversy ought to rest, namely, the unsearchable depth of the divine wisdom; with a persuasion that God, who is acknowledged on all hands to be infinitely powerful and just, will certainly find a way to clear up all the irregularities, as they now appear to us, in the methods of his providence, and bring this intricate and perplexed scene, at last, to a beautiful and regular close. The great fault of the speech seems to be this; that he bears too hard upon Job; and his reproofs, though there were some grounds for them, are nevertheless too harsh and severe. Nay, where he endeavours to repeat what Job had said, he gives it, for the most part, a wrong turn, or sets it in some very disadvantageous light. The silence of this good man, therefore, during this long speech of Elihu, may be considered as none of the least instances of his patience; but as he was convinced that one part of the charge brought against him was but too true, namely, that he had been now and then too hasty and intemperate in his expressions, he was resolved not to increase the fault by entering anew into the controversy; but by his silence and attention here, and suffering his passions to subside, he was the better prepared to receive the following speech from Jehovah with that profound humility, and that absolute submission, which became him.”

23. Touching the Almighty… he will not afflict — The Almighty! We cannot find him out; great (is he) in power, but right and the fulness of justice he will not pervert. A most worthy ascription to Deity. His infinite power is restricted by his sense of right and justice. “The incomprehensibility and infinite perfection of God silence all objections to his government.” — Scott. Thus the great difficulties stated by Job are met and answered. The humblest may cherish trust in God that “he will not afflict willingly,” for chastisement and trial, which arise from the dark and unsearchable depths, really come from the divine heart. In place of He will not afflict, (he will not pervert, hn[y,) Hirtzel and Rosenmuller read, “He answers not,” when arraigned by the puny mind of man. We cannot find him out — See note on Job 11:7, and “Garbett’s Bampton,” (1867,) lec. 4.

V. 24. Fear-Fear or reverence him, and humbly submit to him, and not presume to quarrel or dispute with him. Wise of heart-Wise in their own eyes.

Verse 24. Men do therefore] Therefore men, אנשים anashim, wretched, miserable, ignorant, sinful men, should fear him.

He respecteth not any] No man is valuable in his sight on account of his wisdom; for what is his wisdom when compared with that of the Omniscient? Whatever good is in man, God alone is the author of it. Let him, therefore, that glorieth, glory in the Lord.

THUS ends the speech of Elihu; a speech of a widely different description, on the whole, from that of the three friends of Job who had spoken so largely before him. In the speeches of Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad, there is little besides a tissue of borrowed wise sayings, and ancient proverbs and maxims, relative to the nature of God, and his moral government of the world. In the speech of Elihu every thing appears to be original; he speaks from a deep and comprehensive mind, that had profoundly studied the subjects on which he discoursed. His descriptions of the Divine attributes, and of the wonderful works of God, are correct, splendid, impressive, and inimitable. Elihu, having now come nearly to a close, and knowing that the Almighty would appear and speak for himself, judiciously prepares for and announces his coming by the thunder and lightning of which he has given so terrific and majestic a description in this and the preceding chapter. The evidences of the Divine presence throng on his eyes and mind; the incomprehensible glory and excellency of God confound all his powers of reasoning and description; he cannot arrange his words by reason of darkness; and he concludes with stating, that to poor weak man God must for ever be incomprehensible, and to him a subject of deep religious fear and reverence. Just then the terrible majesty of the Lord appears! Elihu is silent! The rushing mighty wind, for which the description of the thunder and lightning had prepared poor, confounded, astonished Job, proclaims the presence of Jehovah: and out of this whirlwind God answers for and proclaims himself! Reader, canst thou not conceive something of what these men felt? Art thou not astonished, perplexed, confounded, in reading over these descriptions of the thunder of God’s power? Prepare, then, to hear the voice of God himself out of this whirlwind.

JOB

Verses 22-24. Fair weather cometh out of the north — From the northern winds, which scatter the clouds and clear the sky. Elihu concludes with some short, but great sayings, concerning the glory of God. He speaks abruptly and in haste, because, it should seem, he perceived God was approaching, and presumed he was about to take the work into his own hands. With God is terrible majesty — Those glorious works of his, which I have described, are testimonies of that great and terrible majesty which is in him; which should cause us to fear and adore him, and not to behave ourselves so irreverently and insolently toward him as Job hath done. We cannot find high out — Namely, to perfection, as it is expressed Job 11:7. We cannot comprehend him; his power, wisdom, justice, and his counsels proceeding from them, are past our finding out. He is excellent in power — Therefore as he doth not need any unrighteous action to advance himself, so he cannot do any, because all such things are acts and evidences of weakness. And in judgment — In the just administration of judgment, he never did nor can exercise that power unjustly, as Job seemed to insinuate. And in plenty of justice — In great and perfect justice, such as no man can justly reproach. He will not afflict — Namely, without just cause, or above measure. He doth not afflict willingly, or from his heart, Lamentations 3:33. He takes no pleasure in doing it. It is his work, indeed, but a strange work, as Isaiah elegantly terms it, Job 28:21. Men do therefore fear him — Hebrew, ˆkl, lachen, for this cause, namely, because of God’s infinite and excellent perfections, and especially those mentioned in the foregoing verse, men do, or should, fear, or reverence him, and humbly submit to him, and not presume to quarrel or dispute with him. He respecteth not — Hebrew, hary al, lo jireh, he doth not, or will not, behold, namely, with respect or approbation; any that are wise of heart — That is, such as are wise in their own eyes, that lean to their own understanding, and despise other men in comparison of themselves, and reject their counsels; or, that are so puffed up with the opinion of their own wisdom, that they dare contend with their Maker, and presume to censure his counsels and actions: which he hereby intimates to be Job’s fault, and to be the true reason why God did not respect nor regard him, nor his prayers and tears, as Job complained. And so this is also a tacit advice and exhortation to Job to be humble and little in his own eyes, if ever he expected any favour from God.

Thus Elihu, having set forth God’s omnipotence in the strongest colours he was able, concludes with an observation very applicable to the subject of dispute before them. “As this speaker,” says Dr. Dodd, “performs the part of a moderator, he seems to have observed the errors on both sides, and to have hit upon the point where the controversy ought to rest, namely, the unsearchable depth of the divine wisdom; with a persuasion that God, who is acknowledged on all hands to be infinitely powerful and just, will certainly find a way to clear up all the irregularities, as they now appear to us, in the methods of his providence, and bring this intricate and perplexed scene, at last, to a beautiful and regular close. The great fault of the speech seems to be this; that he bears too hard upon Job; and his reproofs, though there were some grounds for them, are nevertheless too harsh and severe. Nay, where he endeavours to repeat what Job had said, he gives it, for the most part, a wrong turn, or sets it in some very disadvantageous light. The silence of this good man, therefore, during this long speech of Elihu, may be considered as none of the least instances of his patience; but as he was convinced that one part of the charge brought against him was but too true, namely, that he had been now and then too hasty and intemperate in his expressions, he was resolved not to increase the fault by entering anew into the controversy; but by his silence and attention here, and suffering his passions to subside, he was the better prepared to receive the following speech from Jehovah with that profound humility, and that absolute submission, which became him.”

24. He respecteth not — He regardeth not, (or, as nothing — Schultens,) any of the wise of heart. “who seem to themselves to be wise.” (Vulgate.) The self-conceited wisdom of men is beneath the contempt of God. Even “the foolishness of God is wiser than men.” 1 Corinthians 1:25-29. The dispute, so long protracted, ends in the nothingness of man. Human wisdom, that flaunted high pretensions, trails in the dust. The murmuring and rebellious sufferer, who but a little before defied man and questioned God, is now abashed into silence, and by his silence acknowledges the justice of Elihu’s reasoning and rebuke, (comp. Job 6:24,) so that now naught remains but the divine disclosure, which Job has every reason to apprehend.