The Book of Job
Job 41
Chapter XLI · Vol. II, pp. 984–985
God's great power seen in the leviathan.
1 Canst thou draw out aleviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?1
a That is, a whale or crocodile, Ps.104.26. Is.27.1.
1 Heb. which thou drownest. Part of the description agreeing best to whales, and part of it to crocodiles, it has been long uncertain which of them is meant; perhaps it is the teethed whale which is here intended.—[The more ancient commentators supposed leviathan to be the whale; Schultens concluded it was an enormous serpent; and several have believed it to be directly descriptive of Satan. Since the days of Beza it has generally been supposed the crocodile. See M. Good, and Harris' Natural History of the Bible.—C.]
3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
6 Shall thy companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?
7 Canst thou cfill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish-spears?
c Eze.29.3,4. ver.9,10.
8 Layd thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.2
d Lu.14.31. 2 Ki.10.4. 1 Ki.20.11. Na.1.9?
2 Make no more vain attempts at conquest.—C.
9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain:3 shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
A.M. cir. 2484. B.C. cir. 1520.
3 The hope of overcoming him is vain.—C.
10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up: whoe then is able to stand before me?
e Je.12.5. ch.40.2,9; 9.4. 1 Co.10.22.
12 I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.5
5 'Structure of his frame.'—M. Good.
13 Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with6 his double bridle?
6 Or, within.
14 Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.
15 His hscales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
h Heb. strong pieces of shields, Eze.29.4.
16 One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.
18 By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.7
7 'As from the rush-kindled oven.' The Egyptians heated their ovens with dried rushes gathered from the marshes of the Nile.—C.
21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.8
8 It must be readily admitted, that if behemoth and leviathan be the river-horse and the crocodile, then 'no one would dream of interpreting these words literally;' but if, on the other hand, behemoth, as elsewhere in this same book, be a generic and not a specific name; and if leviathan be, for strength, courage, and natural defence, 'chief of the ways of God,' and, by consequence, one of those extinct animals described by Cuvier and others, then might it be questionable were the description pronounced merely figurative. To the observers of nature, who have examined the wonderful night lamps afforded by various creatures both by land and sea, to those who have further examined the terrible electrical powers possessed by others, the existence of an animal whose breath became luminous, and possessed of the electric power of literally sending 'sparks of fire' out of his mouth, will appear neither extravagant in supposition nor impossible in fact. Had some ancient traveller spoken of a fish that 'wielded the lightning, and smote to death the invader of its waters,' this, some years ago, would have been pronounced absolutely false, or, at best, figurative; but the student of natural history would now instantly recognize it as a literal description of the gymnotus.—C.
22 In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned9 into joy before him.1
9 Heb. sorrow rejoiceth.
1 'Destruction exulteth before him.'—C.
23 The flakes2 of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
2 Heb. the fallings.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.3
3 'They are terrified at the tumult of the waters.'—C.
26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold;4 the spear, the dart,5 nor the 6habergeon.7
4 Is shivered.—C.
5 The battle-axe.—C.
6 Harpoon.—C.
7 Or, breastplate.
27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee: sling-stones are turned with him into stubble.
29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.8
A.M. cir. 2484. B.C. cir. 1520.
8 He laugheth at the quivering of the javelin.—C.
30 Sharp stones9 are under him: he spreadeth sharp-pointed things upon the mire.
9 Heb. Sharp pieces of the potsherd.
32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
Notes
Ver. 1, 2. And to give thee another evidence of thy weakness even to contend with one of my creatures, canst thou, by a hook fastened in his tongue, nose, or jaw, draw the crocodile or the toothed whale out of the water! 3-5. Canst thou force him to supplicate thy favour to let him go, or make him enter into an agreement to serve thee? or canst thou make him a mean of diverting thyself and children? 6. Wilt thou and thy partners in catching him make a feast upon his flesh, or part your shares of him among the merchants? 7. Where is the dart with which thou canst penetrate his skin, or the fish-spear that can wound his head? 8. Touch him if thou darest; immediate destruction will prevent thy remembrance of the conflict or repeating thy blow. 9. The hope of taking him is quite vain. The very sight of him is enough to terrify and dispirit one. 10. No, not the fiercest dare awake him when sleeping or stir him up when resting himself. Who then is able to contend with me, who am infinitely more strong and terrible? 11. And since everything in the world is my sole property, who hath prevented me with favours that I should repay them? or who, by first attacking me, hath forced me to submit to his terms of peace? 12. But to take a particular view of the strength and well-proportioned parts of the monster which I have mentioned; 13. Who dare strip him of his scaly skin, or put a bridle in his mouth? 14. Who dare open his jaws? The surrounding rows of his teeth are terror itself. 15-17. They, as well as his scales, are closely and inseparably connected. 18. His neesings, while he lies gaping in the sun, make a light to shine, and the water which he spouts up into the air reflects the sunbeams. His sparkling eyes emit a reddish and bright shining light. 19-21. How terribly hot is the stream of breath which proceeds from his mouth or nostrils? 22. In his neck strength lodges to an amazing degree. Before his face sorrow and desolation triumphantly leap, as, without fear or pity, he destroys every animal he meets with. 23. The flakes of his flesh are, as it were, soldered into a lump of metal, which cannot be moved or easily cut asunder. 24. His heart consists of the most solid flesh; and is quite destitute of every form of compassion. 25. When he appears above water the courageous mariners are rendered almost distracted with terror, and forced to their confessions and prayers, expecting nothing but present death. 26-29. No sword, spear, dart, javelin, arrows, or slinged stones can be made to penetrate his body. 30. Without hurt or pain he makes his bed on sharp-pointed rocks, stones, or pieces of ice. 31. When he breathes and tumbles about in the water, he makes it to foam and rage as if it were a boiling pot full of ointment. 32. When he swims along, he leaves the furrows behind him all marked with froth and foam, on the surface of the sea. 33. No animal on earth is equally fearless and terrible. 34. With contempt he beholds the highest animals or loftiest ships, and brings them down with a sweep of his tail, tearing and rending them at his pleasure. He is king of all the huge and fierce-looking monsters.
Ver. 1. [Leviathan. From the description of ver. 33, we believe leviathan to be some of those extinct species of animals whose gigantic remains prove the existence of creatures 60 feet and upwards in length and 25 in height; but of whose instinctive endowments and habits we can know nothing, unless they be contained in the wonderful description of this chapter. C.——The minute description given of leviathan in this sublime passage will leave no doubt on the mind of the naturalist that the crocodile is the animal here referred to. The enormous tail, 'like a cedar;' the impenetrable skin (ver. 7); the great mouth and formidable teeth (ver. 14); his lair among the reeds by the river's brink—all point to the great crocodile. P.]
Reflections.—If I am so unacquainted with animals, how scanty must be my knowledge of their infinite Maker! If these are a terror to me, how much more ought the Almighty and his infinite majesty! If I could not tame or manage some one of these, how dare I presume to attempt wresting the government of providence out of God's hand! Surely then, above all, I must not dare to imagine him my debtor, or to interrogate him concerning his conduct. And if my God governs these monsters, I need not be afraid of either men or devils. But why should I indulge pride, when, after all my boastings, I am to have some ugly and ravenous monster my superior in it?