Table of Contents
Job 26
Job 26
1 But Job answered and said,
2 How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?
3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?
4 To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?
5 Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.
6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.
9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.
10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
14 Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
Notes
Cross Reference
Concordance
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 4
<html><b>Job’s Reply</b><br><b>and whose breath emerged from you?</b> Who put into you this breath that emerged from your mouth? Who does not know this?</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>Gehinnom</b> Gehinnom, which weakens the creatures. <b>is hollow</b> Its seven hollows. <b>beneath the water and its denizens</b> in the deepest of the depths, but that too…</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>Sheol is naked before Him</b> to know and to see all that is within it.</html>
Verse 8
<html><b>and the cloud does not split</b> It never [split] so that its water [i.e., rain] should fall together. <b>beneath it</b> Beneath the water.</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>He closes in</b> with walls the face of His throne of glory, like (Ps. 18:12), “He made darkness His secret place.” <b>He spreads</b> over the throne His cloud (Ezek. 1:22), “And there was a likeness over the heads of the living creatures, of an expanse.”</html>
Verse 10
<html><b>He encircled a boundary</b> (compas in French), an expression of (Isa. 44: 13), “and with a compass (ובמחוגה) he rounds it.” [He surrounded it with sand for the sand to be a circle for it. Does not appear in all editions.] The word חֹק denotes a perpetual boundary. The sea will not cross that circle until light and dark come to an end.</html>
Verse 11
<html><b>trembled</b> when He created them, and He caused them to congeal. They were trembling, and He rebuked them, and they stood dry and strong. <b>astonished</b> (wondering and ascending. Other editions: wondering and standing) in one place.</html>
Verse 12
<html><b>the sea wrinkled</b> Like (above 7:5), “my skin wrinkled.” Many wrinkles were formed. (So, when He said (Gen. 1:9), “Let the waters…gather,” they were gathered from their straightness and were wrinkled into many wrinkles) until they gathered into one place, which was prepared for them. <b>He smote Rahab</b> The Egyptians, who are called רהב, haughty.</html>
Verse 13
<html><b>By His breath He made the heavens a tent</b> Heb. שפרה. With His words and with the breath of His mouth, He made a tent, like (Jer. 43:10), “and he shall spread his royal pavilion (שפרירו).” <b>His hand caused pain</b> to Pharaoh, who was called the barlike serpent (Isa. 26:1). חללה is an expression of pain and trouble. Likewise, elsewhere (ibid. 51:9): “are you not the one that hewed Rahab and slew (מחוללת), the sea monster?” Another explanation: His hand founded the leviathan, as in (Prov. 8: 25), “before the hills I was created (חוללתי).”</html>
Verse 14
<html><b>the outskirts of His ways</b> The easiest and the smallest in comparison to His other qualities. <b>and what implications of any matter can be understood</b> What hint of anything can a man understand from His deeds? Another explanation: שֶמֶץ is like (Exod. 32:25), “to the scandal (לשמצה),” uncomplimentary.</html>