Chapter 38
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
37:1,2,9,14 Exodus 19:16-19 Deuteronomy 4:11,12 5:22-24 1 Kings 19:11 2 Kings 2:1,11 Ezekiel 1:4 Nahum 1:3
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
12:3 23:4,5 24:25 26:3 27:11 34:35 35:16 42:3 1 Timothy 1:7
Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Gird
40:7 Exodus 12:11 1 Kings 18:46 Jeremiah 1:17 1 Peter 1:13
for
answer thou me
Heb. make me know.
<I>Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Where
I
Genesis 1:1 Psalms 102:25 104:5 Hebrews 1:2,10
hast
Heb. knowest.
Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
laid
11:9 28:25 Proverbs 8:27 Isaiah 40:12,22
who hath stretched
Psalms 19:4 78:55 Isaiah 34:11 Zechariah 2:1,2 2 Corinthians 10:16
Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
Whereupon
26:7 1 Samuel 2:8 Psalms 24:2 93:1 104:5 Zechariah 12:1 2 Peter 3:5
foundations
Heb. sockets.
fastened
Heb. made to sink. or.
Psalms 118:22 144:12 Isaiah 28:16 Ephesians 2:20,21
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
the morning
the sons
1:6 2:1 Psalms 104:4 Revelation 5:11
shouted
Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
who
10 Genesis 1:9 Psalms 33:7 104:9 Proverbs 8:29 Jeremiah 5:22
out
Verse 9
When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
thick
And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
brake up for it my decreed place
or, established my decree upon it.
26:10 Genesis 1:9,10 9:15 Psalms 104:9 Jeremiah 5:22
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
Hitherto
Thus far shall thy flux and reflux extend. The tides are marvellously limited and regulated, not only by the lunar and solar attraction, but by the quantum of time required to remove any part of the earth's surface, by its rotation round its axis, from under the immediate attractive influence of the sun and moon. Hence the attraction of the sun and moon, and the gravitation of the sea to its own centre, which prevent too great a flux on the one hand, and too great reflux on the other, are some of those bars and doors by which its proud waves are stayed, and prevented from coming farther.
Psalms 65:6,7 93:3,4 Proverbs 8:29 Mark 4:39-41
but
1:22 2:6 Psalms 76:10 89:9 Isaiah 27:8 Luke 8:32,33 Revelation 20:2,3,7,8
thy proud waves
Heb. the pride of thy waves.
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
commanded
Genesis 1:5 Psalms 74:16 136:7,8 148:3-5
since
the dayspring
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
take
ends
Heb. wings.
37:3 *marg:
the wicked
24:13-17 Exodus 14:27 Psalms 104:21,22,35
It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
as a
And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.
from
5:14 18:5,18 Exodus 10:21-23 2 Kings 6:18 Proverbs 4:19 Isaiah 8:21,22 Jeremiah 13:16 Acts 13:10,11
the high
Psalms 10:15 37:17 Ezekiel 30:22
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?
the springs
Psalms 77:19 Proverbs 8:24 Jeremiah 51:36
walked
Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?
the gates
the shadow
3:5 12:22 Psalms 23:4 107:10,14 Amos 5:8 Matthew 4:16
Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.
Psalms 74:17 89:11,12 Isaiah 40:28 Jeremiah 31:37 Revelation 20:9
Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
the way
12,13 Genesis 1:3,4,14-18 Deuteronomy 4:19 Isaiah 45:7 John 1:9 8:12
darkness
Psalms 18:11 104:20 105:28 Jeremiah 13:16 Ezekiel 32:8 Amos 4:13 Matthew 27:45
That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
it to
or, it at. the bound.
Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?
Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
36:31 36:13 Exodus 9:18,24 Joshua 10:11 Isaiah 30:30 Ezekiel 13:11-13 Matthew 7:27 Revelation 16:21
By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?
Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
28:26 36:27,28 37:3-6 Psalms 29:3-10
To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
To cause
It is well known that rain falls copiously in thunder storms. The flash is first seen, the clap is next heard, and last the rain descends; though in fact they all take place at the same time. The lightning traverses all space in no perceivable succession of time. Sound is propagated at the rate of 1,142 feet in a second. Rain travels still more slowly, and will be seen sooner or later according to the weight of the drops, and the distance of the cloud. Now as water is composed of two elastic airs or gases, called oxygen and hydrogen, in the proportion of 88ê of the former and 11 3/4 of the latter in 100 parts, the electric spark, or matter of lightning, passing through the atmosphere, ignites and decomposes those gases, which explode; and the water falls down in the form of rain. This explosion, as well as the rushing in of the circumambient air to restore the equilibrium, will account for the clap and peal; and thus by the lightning of thunder God causes it to rain on the earth.
on the wilderness
Psalms 104:10-14 107:35 147:8,9 Isaiah 35:1,2 41:18,19 43:19,20 Jeremiah 14:22 Hebrews 6:7,8
Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
Hath the
8 5:9,10 1 Samuel 12:17,18 Psalms 65:9,10 Jeremiah 5:24 10:13 14:22 Joel 2:23 Amos 4:7 Matthew 5:45
dew
29:19 Genesis 27:28,39 Deuteronomy 33:13,28 2 Samuel 1:21 1 Kings 17:1 Proverbs 3:20 Hosea 14:5
Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
the face
frozen
Heb. taken.
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
Pleiades
or, the seven stars. Heb. Cimah.
Orion
or, Cesil.
Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
Mazzaroth
or, the twelve signs. Probably the same as mazzaloth.
guide Arcturus
Heb. guide them.
Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
the ordinances
Genesis 1:16 8:22 Psalms 119:90,91 Jeremiah 31:35,36 33:25
canst
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
1 Samuel 12:18 Amos 5:8 Zechariah 10:1 James 5:18
Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?
Canst
Exodus 9:23-25,29 Leviticus 10:2 Numbers 11:1 16:35 2 Kings 1:10,14 Revelation 11:5,6
Here we are
Heb. Behold us.
1 Samuel 22:12 Isaiah 6:8 *marg:; 65:1
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?
Who hath put
32:8 Psalms 51:6 Proverbs 2:6 Ecclesiastes 2:26 James 1:5,17
who hath given
Exodus 31:3 36:1,2 Isaiah 28:26
Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
number
or who
stay
Heb. cause to lie down.
When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?
groweth into hardness
or, is turned into mire. Heb. is poured.
Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
Wilt
4:10,11 Psalms 34:10 104:21 145:15,16
appetite
Heb. life.
When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
Genesis 49:9 Numbers 23:24 24:9
Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.