Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 9:9
Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
9. The Hebrew names are ‘sh ( ‘ayish ch. Job 38:32), keseel, and keemah. These names may possibly denote the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades or seven stars; there is, however, considerable uncertainty. The word keseel means “fool,” which is to be interpreted as the Syr. and Chal. in this place, giant, cf. Gen 6:4, that is, some heaven-daring rebel, who was chained to the sky for his impiety. Such mythological ideas belong to a time anterior to authentic history, though as still lingering in the popular mind they are alluded to in such poems as Job. In Isa 13:10 the word is used in the general sense of constellations. Keemah perhaps means heap, and is a natural name for the Pleiades. Others have interpreted the expressions differently (see Delitzsch Comment. p. 127).
the chambers of the south ] are probably the great spaces and deep recesses of the southern hemisphere of the heavens, with the constellations which they contain. These being known to exist, but only suggested to the eye, are alluded to generally.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Which maketh Arcturus – This verse, with others of the same description in the book of Job, is of special importance, as they furnish an illustration of the views which prevailed among the patriarchs on the subject of astronomy. There are frequent references to the sciences in this book (see the Introduction), and there is no source of illustration of the views which prevailed in the earliest times in regard to the state of the sciences, so copious as can be found in this poem. The thoughts of people were early turned to the science of astronomy. Not only were they led to this by the beauty of the heavens, and by the instinctive promptings of the human mind to know something about them, but the attention of the Chaldeans and of the other Oriental nations was early drawn to them by the fact that they were shepherds, and that they passed much of their time in the open air at night, watching their flocks.
Having nothing else to do, and being much awake, they would naturally contrive to relieve the tediousness of the night by watching the movements of the stars; and they early gave employment to their talents, by endeavoring to ascertain the influence which the stars exerted over the fates of people, and to their imagination, by dividing the heavens into portions, having a fancied resemblance to certain animals, and by giving them appropriate names. Hence, arose the arrangement of the stars into constellations, and the names which they still bear. The Hebrew word rendered Arcturus, is aysh. The Septuagint renders it, Pleiada – the Pleiades. Jerome, Arcturum. The Hebrew word usually means a moth, Job 4:19; Job 13:28; Job 27:18. It also denotes the splendid constellation in the northern hemisphere, which we call Ursa Major, the Great Bear, Arcturus, or the Wain; compare Niebuhr, Des. of Arabia, p. 114.
The word aysh does not literally mean a bear, but is made by aphaeresis from the Arabic nas, by the excision of the initial n – as is common in Arabic; see Bochart, Hieroz. P. II. Lib. I. c. xvi. p. 113, 114. The word in Arabic means a bier, and is the name given to the constellation which we denominate Ursa Major, because, says Bochart, the four stars, which are a square, are regarded as a bier, on which a dead body is borne. The three following (the tail of the bear) are the daughters or sons which attend the funeral as mourners. This name is often given to this constellation in Arabic. The Arabic name is Elnasch, the bier. The expression, says Ideler, denotes particularly the bier on which the dead are borne, and taken in this sense, each of the two biers in the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor is accompanied by three mourning-women. The biers and the mourning-women together, are called Benatna’sch, literally, daughters of the bier; that is, those who pertain to the bier.
Untersuchungen uber den Ursprung und die Bedeutung der Sternnamen, S. 419; compare Job 38:32 : Canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? Schultens regards the word aysh as synonymous with the Arabic asson, night-vigil, from assa to go about by night, and supposes this constellation to be so called, because it always revolves around the pole, and never sets. The situation and figure of this constellation are well known. It is seen at all times in the northern part of the heavens, perpetually revolving around the North Star, and two of its principal stars point to the North Star always. Its resemblance to a bear, is quite fanciful – as it might be imagined as well to resemble any other object. The design of this fancy was merely to assist the memory. The only thing which seems to have suggested it was its slight resemblance to an animal followed by its young. Thus, the stars, now known as the tail, might have been supposed to resemble the cubs of a bear following their dam.
The comparison of the constellation to a bier, and the movement to a funeral procession, with the sons or daughters of the deceased following on in the mourning train, is much more poetical and beautiful. This constellation is so conspicuous, that it has been an object of interest in all ages, and has been one of the groups of stars most attentively observed by navigators, as a guide in sailing. The reason was, probably, that as it constantly revolved around the North Pole, it could always be seen in clear weather, and thus the direction in which they were sailing, could always be told. It has had a great variety of names. The name Ursa Major, or the Great Bear, is that which is commonly given to it. It is a remarkable fact, also, that while this name was given to it in the East a tribe of the American Indians – the Iroquois, also gave the same name of the Great Bear to it. This is remarkable, because, so far as known, they had no communication with each other, and because the name is perfectly arbitrary.
Is this an evidence that the natives of our country, North America, derived their origin from some of the nations of the East? In some parts of England the constellation is called Charles Wain, or Wagon, from its fancied resemblance to a waggon, drawn by three horses in a line. Others call it the Plow. The whole number of visible stars in this constellation is eighty seven, of which one is of the first, three of the second, seven of the third, and about twice as many of the fourth magnitude. The constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor were represented by the ancients, under the image of a waggon drawn by a team of horses. This is alluded to by the Greek poet, Aratus, in an address to the Athenians:
The one called Helix, soon as day retires.
Observed with ease lights up his radiant fires;
The other smaller and with feebler beams,
In a less circle drives his lazy teams:
But more adapted for the sailors guide,
Wheneer by night he tempts the briny tide.
Among the Egyptians these two constellations are represented by the figures of bears, instead of waggons. Whence the Hebrew name is derived is not quite certain; but if it be from the Arabic, it probably means the same – a bier. There seems no reason to doubt, however, that the Ursa Major is intended; and that the idea here is, that the greatness of God is shown by his having made this beautiful constellation.
Orion – The Vulgate renders this Orion, the Septuagint, Hesperon, Hesperus – that is, the evening star, Venus. The word kesyl, is from kasal, to be fat or fleshy; to be strong, lusty, firm; and then to be dull, sluggish, stupid – as fat persons usually are. Hence, the word kesyl means a fool, Psa 49:11; Pro 1:32; Pro 10:1, It is used here, however, to denote a constellation, and by most interpreters it is supposed to denote the constellation Orion, which the Orientals call a giant. They appear to have conceived of this constellation under the figure of an impious giant bound upon the sky. Gesenius. Hence the expression, Job 38:31; Canst thou loose the bands of Orion? According to the Eastern tradition, this giant was Nimrod, the founder of Babylon, afterward translated to the skies; see the notes at Isa 13:10, where it is rendered constellation. Virgil speaks of it as the Stormy Orion:
Cam subito aseurgons fluctu nimbosus Orion.
Aeneid i. 535.
And again:
Dum pelago desaevit heims, et aquosus Orion.
Aeneid iv. 52.
In another description of Orion by Virgil, it is represented as armed with gold, or surrounded by a yellow light:
Arcturum, pluviasque Hyadas, geminosque Triones,
Armatumque auro circumspicit Oriona.
Aeneid iii. 516, 517.
According to the fancy of the ancients, Orion was a mighty hunter, the attendant of Diana, who having offered violence to her was stung to death by a scorpion which she had provided for that purpose. After his death he was translated to heaven, and made a constellation. Others say that he was the son of Neptune and Queen Euryale, a famous Amazonian huntress; and possessing the disposition of his mother, he became the greatest hunter in the world, and made a boast that there was no animal on earth that he could not subdue. To punish this vanity, it is said that a scorpion sprang out of the earth, and bit his foot, so that he died, but that at the request of Diana he was placed among the stars, and directly opposite to the scorpion that caused his death. On the names given to this constellation in Arabic, and the origin of the name Orion among the Greeks, see Ideler, Unter. uber den Urs. u. die Bedeut. der Stern. s. 212-227, 331-336. The name El–dscebbar, the giant, or hero, is that which is commonly given to it in Arabic. The constellation Orion is usually mentioned by the ancients as connected with storms, and hence, is called nimbosus Orion by Virgil, and tristis Orion by Horace. The reason of this was, that its rising usually occurred at those seasons of the year when storms prevailed, and hence, it was supposed to be their cause – as we connect the rising of the dog-star with the idea of intense heat.
The situation of Orion is on the equator, midway between the poles of the heavens. It comes to the meridian about the 23d of January. The whole number of visible stars in it is seventy-eight, of which two are of the first magnitude, four of the second, three of the third, and fifteen of the fourth. It is regarded as the most beautiful of the constellations, and when it is on the meridian there is then above the horizon the most magnificent view of the celestial bodies that the firmament exhibits. On the celestial maps it is represented by the figure of a man in the attitude of assaulting the Bull, with a sword in his belt, a huge club in his right hand, and a lion-skin in the left to serve him for a shield. The principal stars are four, in the form of a long square or parallelogram, intersected by the Three Stars in the middle called The Ell and the Yard. The two upper ones are represented one on each shoulder, and of the two lower ones one is in the left foot, and the other on the right knee. The position of the constellation may be seen by anyone by remarking that the Three Stars in the belt are those which point to the Pleiades or seven stars on the one side, and to the dog star on the other. This constellation is mentioned by Homer, as it is indeed by most of the Classical writers:
, , .
Pleiadas th’, Huadas te, to te sthenos Orionos.
– Iliad, s.
It may furnish an illustration of the vastness of the starry heavens to remark, that in the sword of the constellation Orion there is a nebula which is almost visible to the naked eye, which is computed to be 2,200, 000,000, 000,000, 000, or two trillion, two hundred thousand billion times larger than the sun! Dr. Dick, Chr. Keepsake for 1840, p. 184. If, then, Job, with his limited views of astronomy, saw in this constellation an impressive proof of the greatness of the Almighty, how much more sublime should be our views of God! We see this constellation not merely as a beautiful object in the sky – a collection of bright and beautiful gems – but we see it as so vast as to surpass our comprehension, and behold in it a single nebula, or speck – not quite visible to the naked eye – that mocks all our powers of conception! It may be added, that by the aid of a telescope about two thousand stars have been seen in this constellation.
And Pleiades – The seven stars. The Hebrew word is kymah, a heap or cluster. The name is given to the cluster of stars in the neck of the constellation Taurus, of which seven are the principal. Six or seven may be usually seen if the eye is directed toward it; but if the eye be turned carelessly aside while the attention is fixed on the group, many more may be seen. For, it is a very remarkable fact, says Sir John Herschell, that the center of the visual organ is by far less sensible to feeble impressions of light than the exterior portion of the retina. Ast. p. 398. Telescopes show fifty or sixty large stars there crowded together into a small space. Rheita affirms that he counted two hundred stars in this small cluster. In regard to the Pleiades, Ideler makes the following remarks. These stars were by the ancients sometimes denoted by the singular, Pleias, and sometimes by the plural, Pleiades (in metrical composition, Pleiades), Pleiades. They are mentioned by Homer, Iliad, s. 486, Odyssey e. 272, and by Hesiod, Erg. 383, 615. Hesiod mentions the cluster as the daughter of Atlas – Atlageneis. The name Atlantides, which so often occurs among the Romans, signifies the same thing. Their mythological names are Alcyone, Merope, Celaeno, Electra, Sterope or Asterope, Taygete, and Maia. There is some uncertainty among the ancient writers from where the name Pleiades is derived. Among most etymologists, the name has respect to navigation, and the derivation is from apo tou plein – because the time of navigation commenced with the rising of the Pleiades in the first part of May, and ended with their setting in the first part of November. But perhaps the name is derived simply from pleos, pleios, full, so that it merely denotes a condensed assemblage of stars, which Manilius, iv. 523, expresses by glomerabile sidus. Aratus, v. 257, says that the Pleiades were called heptaporoi – those which walked in seven paths, although but six stars can be seen. In a similar sense Ovid, speaking of the Pleiades, says,
Quae septem dici, sex tamen esse solent.
Fast. iv. 170.
Hipparchus, on the contrary, affirms that in a clear night, when there is no moon, seven stars can be seen. The difference of these views is easily explained. The group consists of one star of the third magnitude, three of the fifth, two of the sixth, and many smaller stars. It requires a very keen vision to be able to distinguish in the group more than six stars. Since therefore, among the ancients, it was commonly believed that there were no more than six, and yet among them. as with us, the name the seven stars was given to them, the opinion arose that one star of the seven had been lost. Some supposed that it had been smitten by lightning, others thai it had united itself to the middle star in the tail of the Ursa Major, and others gave to the belief a mythic signification, as is mentioned by Ovid in the place above referred to. The Romans called the Pleiades Vergiliae, because they arose in the spring. The Arabians called those stars El–thoreja – meaning abundant, copious, and answering to the Greek Pleias, Pleias. The Asiatic poets Sadi, Hafiz, and others, always mention these stars as a beautiful rosette, with one brilliant. Sadi, in the description of a beautiful garden, says The ground was strewed with pieces of enamel, and bands of Pleiades appeared to hang on the branches of the trees. Hafiz says, The heavens bear up thy poems – the pearly rosette of the Pleiades as the seal of immortality. Beigel, who has translated these poets, adds, In this genuine Oriental spirit must we understand the words of Job, Canst thou bind the brilliant rosettes of the Pleiades? that is, Who can say that he has placed this collection of brilliants as a rosette in the sky? Ideler, Untersuchungen u. den Urs. u. die Bedeut. der Sternnamen, s. 143147.
And the chambers of the south – What is the exact idea to be attached to this expression, it is not easy to say. Probably it means the remote regions of the south, or the part of the heavens which is not visible to the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. The word rendered chambers means in the Scriptures a private apartment of a dwelling; a part that is separated from the rest by a curtain; a harem, etc. Hence, it may mean the abodes of the stars in the south – comparing the heavens with an immense tent, and regarding it as divided into separate apartments. It may mean here the stars which are hidden, as it were, in the recesses of the southern hemisphere, like the private apartments of a house, which all were not allowed to enter. There are some intimations in the book of Job that the true structure of the earth was not unknown at that remote period of the world (compare the notes at Job 26:7); and if so, then this may refer to the constellations in the south which are invisible to an inhabitant of the northern hemisphere. There is no impropriety, at any rate, in supposing that those who had traveled into the south had brought reports of stars and constellations seen there which are invisible to an inhabitant of northern Arabia.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.] For this translation the original words are oseh ash, kesil, vechimah vehadrey theman, which are thus rendered by the SEPTUAGINT: , , , ; “Who makes the Pleiades, and Hesperus, and Arcturus, and Orion, and the chambers of the south.”
The VULGATE, Qui facit Arcturum, et Oriona, et Hyadas, et interiora Austri; “Who maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and the Hyades, and the innermost chambers of the south.”
The TARGUM follows the Hebrew, but paraphrases the latter clause thus: “and the chambers or houses of the planetary domination in the southern hemisphere.”
The SYRIAC and ARABIC, “Who maketh the Pleiades, and Arcturus, and the giant, (Orion or Hercules,) and the boundaries of the south.”
COVERDALE has, He maketh the waynes of heaven, the Orions, the vii starres and the secrete places of the south. And on the vii starres he has this marginal note: some call these seven starres, the clock henne with hir chickens. See below.
Edmund Becke, in his edition, 1549, follows Coverdale, but puts VAYNES of heaven for waynes, which Carmarden, in his Bible, Rouen, 1566, mistaking, changes into WAVES of heaven.
Barker’s Bible, 1615, reads, “He maketh the starres Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the climates of the south.” On which he has this note, “These are the names of certain starres, whereby he meaneth that all starres, both knowen and unknowen, are at His appointment.”
Our early translators seem to agree much with the German and Dutch: Er machet, den wagen am himmel, und Orion, und die Gluken, und die Sterne gegen mittag; “He maketh the wagon of heaven, (Charles’s wain,) and Orion, and the clucking hen, (the Pleiades,) and the stars of the mid-day region.” See above, under Coverdale.
The Dutch version is not much unlike the German, from which it is taken: Die den wagen maecht, den Orion, ende het sevengesternte, end de binnenkameren ban’t Zuyden.
The European versions, in general, copy one or other of the above, or make a compound translation from the whole; but all are derived ultimately from the Septuagint and Vulgate.
As to the Hebrew words, they might as well have been applied to any of the other constellations of heaven: indeed, it does not appear that constellations are at all meant. Parkhurst and Bate have given, perhaps, the best interpretation of the words, which is as follows:-
” kimah, from camah, to be hot or warm, denotes genial heat or warmth, as opposed to ash, a parching, biting air, on the one side; and kesil, the rigid, contracting cold, on the other; and the chambers (thick clouds) of the south.” See more in Parkhurst, under .
I need scarcely add that these words have been variously translated by critics and commentators. Dr. Hales translates kimah and kesil by Taurus and Scorpio; and, if this translation were indubitably correct, we might follow him to his conclusions, viz., that Job lived 2337 years before Christ! See at the end of this chapter. See Clarke on Job 9:35.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Maketh; either,
1. Created them; or rather,
2. Ordereth and disposeth them, as the word making is sometimes used in Scripture; governeth their rising and setting, and all their influences.
Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south: these he names as stars or constellations of greatest note and eminency; for so they are both in Scripture and other authors, and such as have, or are thought to have, a special influence in raising storms and tempests; but under them lie seems to comprehend all the stars, which as they were created by God, so are under his government. Arcturus is a northern constellation, near that called the Bear, which riseth to us about the beginning of September, and by its rising produceth (as Pliny affirms) horrible storms and tempests. Orion is a more southerly constellation, that ariseth to us in December, and is noted by astronomers for raising fearful winds and tempests, both by sea and land. The Pleiades is a constellation not far from Orion, and near that called the Bull, which we call the Seven Stars: to us it riseth at the beginning of the spring, and by its rising causeth rains and tempests, and therefore is unwelcome to mariners at sea. By the chambers (or inmost and secret chambers, as the word signifies) of the south, he seems to understand those stars and constellations which are towards the southern pole, which are fitly called inward chambers, because they are for the most part hid and shut up (as chambers commonly are) from these parts of the world, and do not rise or appear to us till the beginning of summer, when they also raise southerly winds and tempests, as astronomers observe.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. makethrather, from theArabic, “covereth up.” This accords better with thecontext, which describes His boundless power as controller ratherthan as creator [UMBREIT].
Arcturusthe greatbear, which always revolves about the pole, and never sets. TheChaldeans and Arabs, early named the stars and grouped them inconstellations; often travelling and tending flocks by night, theywould naturally do so, especially as the rise and setting of somestars mark the distinction of seasons. BRINKLEY,presuming the stars here mentioned to be those of Taurus and Scorpio,and that these were the cardinal constellations of spring and autumnin Job’s time, calculates, by the precession of equinoxes, the timeof Job to be eight hundred eighteen years after the deluge, and onehundred eighty-four before Abraham.
OrionHebrew,“the fool”; in Job 38:31he appears fettered with “bands.” The old legendrepresented this star as a hero, who presumptuously rebelled againstGod, and was therefore a fool, and was chained in the sky as apunishment; for its rising is at the stormy period of the year. He isNimrod (the exceedingly impious rebel) among the Assyrians; Orionamong the Greeks. Sabaism (worship of the heavenly hosts) andhero-worship were blended in his person. He first subverted thepatriarchal order of society by substituting a chieftainship based onconquest (Gen 10:9; Gen 10:10).
Pleiadesliterally,”the heap of stars”; Arabic, “knot of stars.”The various names of this constellation in the East express the closeunion of the stars in it (Am 5:8).
chambers of the souththeunseen regions of the southern hemisphere, with its own set of stars,as distinguished from those just mentioned of the northern. The truestructure of the earth is here implied.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Which maketh Arcturus,…. By which is meant not a single star, but a collection of stars, as Bar Tzemach and Ben Melech, a constellation; hence we read of Arcturus and his sons, Job 38:32. Aben Ezra understands it of the seven stars, but these are thought to be meant by the Pleiades, later mentioned; this constellation is about the Arctic or northern pole, in the tail of the Bear, appears in the beginning of September, and brings stormy weather, when winter is at hand h:
Orion and Pleiades; the former of these also is not a single star, but a constellation; by the help of a telescope no less than two thousand are numbered, and in Hebrew it is called “Cesil”; hence the month “Cisleu” has its name, which answers to part of November and part of December, at which time this constellation is seen, and is attended with stormy weather; hence Virgil calls it Nimbosus Orion i: and the latter are what we call the Seven Stars, sometimes by writers called Vergiliae, because they appear in the spring; and have their name of Pleiades from sailing, because at this time of year mariners go out with their ships; though some say this constellation is not favourable to them, causing rains and tempests k; these three divide the whole year:
and the chambers of the south: the stars in the southern hemisphere, about the Antarctic, or southern pole; and called “chambers”, as Aben Ezra observes, because hidden, and are not seen by those in the other hemisphere, as if they were in a chamber: now the making of these is rightly ascribed to God, who made all the stars, Ge 1:16; though this may rather regard the continuance of them in their being, who calls them by name, brings out their host by number, directs their course, keeps them in their orbs, and preserves their influence.
h Sophoclis Oedipus, Tyran. ver. 1147. i Aeneid. l. 1. Vid. Horat. Carmin. l. 3. Ode 27. Epod. 15. k “—-pleiadum choro Scindente nubes”. Horat. Carmin. l. 4. Ode 14.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(9) Which maketh Arcturus . . .This shows us that in the time of this writer, whoever he was, his fellow-countrymen had attained to such knowledge of astronomy as is here implied in the specific names of definite constellations. The Great Bear is the glory of the northern hemisphere, Orion of the southern sky, and the Pleiades of the east; the chambers of the north are the unknown and unexplored regions, of which the speaker has no personal experience.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Arcturus , ‘ hash. Furst derives it from ‘ housh, to group together. Probably the constellation of the Great Bear, ( Ursa Major,) which the Jews of Bagdad and the Arabs of the Persian Gulf still call by the name of Ash. In the days of Homer it was called the wagon, or wain, from its fancied resemblance to a wagon with its three horses in line a notion still preserved in England in the name it bears of Charles’ wain, (wagon.) The Romans called its seven bright stars the septentriones the seven ploughing oxen an idea we still keep in our name, THE PLOUGH. Of these seven stars, constituting the plough, two ( and ) are known as the pointers, from their use in pointing out the pole star.
Orion , kesil; the strong one; (Furst;) the foolish, (Gesenius.) This cluster of stars was conceived to be a giant walking along the vault of heaven. The Arabs thus designate it. Other Orientals appear to have regarded the constellation as an impious giant fastened to the sky. According to the Persian mythology, this giant was Nimrod, the founder of Babylon, whose name they gave to this constellation. (See GESENIUS, Thesaurus, 2:701.) Some suppose these traditions look back to the revolt of the angels, and embody the supposed fate of their leader. “Orion stands far aloft, the pre-eminent glory and wonder of the starry universe. Judged by the only criterion applicable, it is perhaps so remote that its light does not reach us in less than fifty or sixty thousand years; and as, at the same time, it occupies so large an apparent portion of the heavens, how stupendous must be the extent of the nebula! It would seem almost that if all other clusters hitherto gaged were collected and compressed into one, they would not surpass this mighty group, in which every wisp, every winkle, is a SAND HEAP of stars.” NICHOL, Architecture of the Heavens, p. 147. Pleiades , kimah, a little crowd, or group. (Furst.) The Arabs give this constellation a name signifying knot of stars, because of the number of closely united stars. In like manner the idea of close union appears in the various names this strikingly beautiful constellation bears among all eastern nations. The name ordinarily given to it of “the seven stars,” is recognized by Ovid, who says,
Quae septem dici, sex tamen esse solent.
Fasti, 4:1 70.
indicating, though they were called seven, there were but six. The Greek mythology hands us down touching legends over this supposed lost star. According to some, it had been smitten by lightning; according to others, the seventh hid herself from shame that she alone had married a mortal, while her sisters were the wives of different deities. The Persian poets compare the seven stars to a bouquet formed of jewels. Hafiz says, “The heavens bear up thy poems the pearly rosette of the Pleiades as the seal of immortality.” Beigel. Dr. Good thus renders a citation from Hafiz:
Now the bright Pleiades the concave gem,
As lucid pearls the garment’s glittering hem.
See Job 38:31. Chambers of the south That is, the veiled regions of the southern hemisphere. (Furst.) The constellations mentioned are chiefly to be seen in the northern hemisphere, and, therefore, the poet adds a reference to “stars which never come into our view, but which lie hid, as it were, in chambers and secret recesses.” Schultens.
Job 9:9. Which maketh Arcturus, &c. Who maketh the constellation of the northern hemisphere, as well as the hidden chambers of the south, i.e. the furthest part of the south, or those constellations which are toward the south pole. The various and unsatisfactory attempts of learned men to ascertain the several constellations here mentioned, are sufficient to convince any person that we do not know enough of the ancient astronomy to determine upon it with any certainty; only, as these three seem to be put in opposition with the chambers of the south, I think it best, says Mr. Heath, to translate it in general, the constellations of the northern hemisphere. Parkhurst renders it, making the fire, the spirit or air, and the light; which he supposes to give us a nobler idea of Jehovah’s power, than claiming the formation of these three constellations; and he observes, that all the fixed stars had been claimed as Jehovah’s workmanship only two verses before. See his Lexicon on the word kimah, and Peters, p. 136.
Job 9:9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
Ver. 9. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades ] Those glorious constellations, which do, after a sort, govern the four seasons of the year; but are governed by God, from whose power all their influence and virtue is borrowed, even that which they exercise upon the raging seas. The learned interpreters have not unfitly translated – Has Arcturus, Chesil Orion, Chimah Pleiades, or the seven stars, and the climates of the South, the summer signs; altogether neglecting the toys of the unlearned Rabbis; which stars or signs are answerable to autumn and winter, the spring time and summer. But I had rather (saith Rev. Mr Beza) retain still the Hebrew words than use the other; which have been so much abused with glosure and impure tales and devices of the wicked and profane poets. See Trapp on “ Job 38:31 “
And the chambers of the south Arcturus. Hebrew. ‘ash. A name still connected with “the Great Bear” (the more ancient name being “the greater sheepfold”: Arab, al naish, the assembled (as in a fold). See Job 38:31, Job 38:32, and App-12.
Orion. Hebrew. kesil. Compare Job 38:31. Amo 5:8. A strong one, or the coming prince. See App-12.
Pleiades. Hebrew. kimah = the congregation of the judge. See Job 38:31, Job 38:32. Amo 5:8, and App-12. A constellation in the neck of Taurus.
chambers of the south: i.e. the [hidden] recesses, or the invisible spaces; on the latitude of Job’s residence.
Arcturus
Heb. Ash, Cesil, and Cimah.
maketh: Job 38:31, Job 38:32-41, Gen 1:16, Psa 147:4, Amo 5:8
Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades: Heb. Ash, Cesil, and Cimah, the chambers. Psa 104:3, Psa 104:13, Act 28:13
Reciprocal: Job 37:9 – south Job 37:18 – spread
Job 9:9. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, &c. Who ordereth and disposeth them, as the word making is sometimes used in the Scriptures; governeth their rising and setting, and all their influences. These he names as constellations of greatest eminence; but under them he seems to comprehend all the stars, which, as they were created by God, so are under his government. Arcturus is a northern constellation, near that called the Bear. Orion is a more southerly constellation, that rises to us in December. The Pleiades is a constellation not far from Orion, which we call the Seven Stars. By the chambers (or inmost chambers, as the word signifies) of the south, he seems to understand those stars and constellations which are toward the southern pole, which are called inward chambers, because they are for the most part hid and shut up from these parts of the world.
9:9 Which maketh {d} Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
(d) These are the names of certain stars by which he means that all stars both known and unknown are at his appointment.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes