Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 38:4
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
4. Was Job present, possibly taking part in the operation, when Jehovah laid the foundations of the earth? Let him then “declare” how all was done. The word declare of course refers to the queries in Job 38:5-7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
4 11. Earth and sea.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
4 38. A survey of the inanimate creation, the wonders of earth and sky the earth, Job 38:4-18; the heavens, Job 38:18-38
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? – The first appeal is to the creation. The question here, Where wast thou? implies that Job was not present. He had not then an existence. He could not, therefore, have aided God, or counselled him, or understood what he was doing. How presumptuous, therefore, it was in one so short-lived to sit in judgment on the doings of him who had formed the world! How little could he expect to be able to know of him! The expression, laid the foundations of the earth, is taken from building an edifice. The foundations are first laid, and the super-structure is then reared. It is a poetic image, and is not designed to give any intimation about the actual process by which the earth was made, or the manner in which it is sustained.
If thou hast understanding – Margin, as in Hebrew if thou knowest. That is, Declare how it was done. Explain the manner in which the earth was formed and fixed in its place, and by which the beautiful world grew up under the hand of God. If Job could not do this, what presumption was it to speak as he had done of the divine adminisitration!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 38:4
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Ignorance of the worlds origin
God would impress on Job his utter ignorance of the world in which he lived, and his incompetency to interpret His moral administration. The moral is this–Be concerned, Job, for a moral trust in My character, rather than for a theoretical knowledge of My ways. In the text there is a Divine challenge in relation to the when and how of the origin of the world.
I. The when. His ignorance as to when He began His creation. Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of the earth?
II. The how. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Conclusion–The subject serves–
1. To rebuke all disposition to pronounce an opinion upon the ways of God.
2. To suggest that our grand effort ought to be to cultivate a loving trust in the Divine character, rather than to comprehend the Divine procedure. Comprehend Him we never can.
3. To enable us to appreciate the glorious services of Christianity. The question, Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? confounds and crushes me. I feel powerless before it, it overwhelms me with a sense of my own insignificance. Christianity comes to my relief. It tells me that although I am insignificant, I am still a child, a beloved child of the Everlasting, and that it is not the will of my Father that any, even of His little ones, should perish; nay, that it is His good pleasure that I should have a kingdom. (Homilist.)
The insignificance of man as a creature
I. What is thine intellect to Mine?
II. What is thine age to Mine?
III. What is thy power to Mine?
IV. What is thy independence to Mine? He is–
1. Independent in being.
2. In action. This subject serves–
(1) To rebuke all disposition to pronounce an opinion upon the ways of God.
(2) To suggest that our grand effort ought to be to cultivate a loving trust in the Divine character, rather than to comprehend the Divine procedure.
3. To enable us to appreciate the glorious service of Christianity. (Homilist.)
The creation of the world
I. Some leading ideas respecting the Divine work of creation. Notice–
1. The hoary and venerable antiquity of the work, and its entire independence of the power and wisdom of man. Many an upstart of yesterday imagines himself capable to investigate and define every subject. The questions of the text lead us to contemplate the creating work as mysterious and unsearchable.
II. The manner in which meditations on this work of creation may be most profitably conducted. Philosophers will afford delightful aid to the more studious observer of the universe. The grand philosophy is in the Bible, where resounds the voice of God Himself, describing His own operations. But there is still needed the specially illuminating influence of the Holy Spirit of God. This influence is to be sought by prayer, while the proper means are diligently used.
III. The important ends and uses to which meditations of this kind ought to be directed and applied. The agency of the Spirit is particularly manifest in sanctifying devout meditations to their proper end. By meditations properly conducted, a habit of spirituality is acquired, and an ability to bring the mind close to the contemplation of Divine things. Here is the porch of the temple of wisdom. There is the foot of the ladder, whereby the soul at length ascends to heaven. Nor is the utility of such meditations confined to the infancy of religious wisdom; it follows us up to the very gates of heaven, yea, into heaven itself. (J. Love, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?] Thou hast a limited and derived being; thou art only of yesterday; what canst thou know? Didst thou see me create the world?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Then thou wast no where, thou hadst no being; thou art but of yesterday; and dost thou presume to judge of my eternal counsels? I made the world without thy help, and therefore can govern it without thy counsel, and I do not need thee to be the controller or censurer of my works.
When I laid the foundations of the earth; when I made the earth, which is as the foundation or lower part of the whole world, and settled it as firm and fast upon its own centre as if it had been built upon the surest foundations. But if thou art ignorant of these manifest and visible works, do. not pretend to the exact knowledge of my secret counsels and mysterious providences.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. To understand the cause ofthings, man should have been present at their origin. The finitecreature cannot fathom the infinite wisdom of the Creator (Job 28:12;Job 15:7; Job 15:8).
hast“knowest.”
understanding (Pr4:1).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?…. The earth has foundations, and such firm ones that it cannot be moved; but what are they, since it is hung in the air on nothing! No other than the power and will of God, who laid these foundations, and the Son of God, who has created and upholds all things by the word of his power, Heb 1:3. Where was Job then? In a state of nothingness, a mere nonentity: he was not present when this amazing work of nature was done, and saw not how the Lord went about it; and yet takes upon him to dive into the secret works and ways of Providence, for which he is rebuked by this question and the following;
declare, if thou hast understanding: Job had the understanding of a man in things natural and civil, and of a good man in things spiritual and divine; but he had no understanding of this, of what he is questioned about; could not declare in what place he was, and where he stood, when the earth was founded.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4 Where wast thou when I established the earth?
Say, if thou art capable of judging!
5 Who hath determined its measure, if thou knowest it,
Or who hath stretched the measuring line over it?
6 Upon what are the bases of its pillars sunk in,
Or who hath laid its corner-stone,
7 When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
The examination begins similarly to Job 15:7. In opposition to the censurer of God as such the friends were right, although only negatively, since their conduct was based on self-delusion, as though they were in possession of the key to the mystery of the divine government of the world. signifies to understand how to judge, to possess a competent understanding, 1Ch 12:32; 2Ch 2:12, or ( taken not in the sense of novisse , but cognoscere ) to appropriate to one’s self, Pro 4:1; Isa 29:24. , Job 38:5, interchanges with (comp. Job 38:18), for signifies: suppose that thou knowest it, and this si forte scias is almost equivalent to an forte scis , Pro 30:4. The founding of the earth is likened altogether to that of a building constructed by man. The question: upon what are the bases of its pillars or foundations sunk ( , Arab. tb , according to its radical signification, to press with something flat upon something, comp. Arab. tbq , to lay two flat things on one another, then both to form or stamp by pressure, and to press into soft pliant stuff, or let down into, immergere , or to sink into, immergi ), points to the fact of the earth hanging free in space, Job 26:7. Then no human being was present, for man was not yet created; the angels, however, beheld with rejoicing the founding of the place of the future human family, and the mighty acts of God in accordance with the decree of His love (as at the building of the temple, the laying of the foundation, Ezr 3:10, and the setting of the head-stone, Zec 4:7, were celebrated), for the angels were created before the visible world ( Psychol. S. 63; Genesis, S. 105), as is indeed not taught here, but still (vid., on the other hand, Hofmann, Schriftbew. i. 400) is assumed. For are, as in Job 1-2, the angels, who proceeded from God by a mode of creation which is likened to begetting, and who with Him form one ( Genesis, S. 121). The “morning stars,” however, are mentioned in connection with them, because between the stars and the angels, which are both comprehended in ( Genesis, S. 128), a mysterious connection exists, which is manifoldly attested in Holy Scripture (vid., on the other hand, Hofm. ib. S. 318). is the morning star which in Isa 14:12 is called (as extra-bibl. ) from its dazzling light, which exceeds all other stars in brightness, and , son of the dawn, because it swims in the dawn as though it were born from it. It was just the dawn of the world coming into being, which is the subject spoken of, that gave rise to the mention of the morning star; the plur., however, does not mean the stars which came into being on that morning of the world collectively (Hofm., Schlottm.), but Lucifer with the stars his peers, as , Isa 13:10, Orion and the stars his peers. Arab. suhayl (Canopus) is used similarly as a generic name for stars of remarkable brilliancy, and in general suhel is to the nomads and the Hauranites the symbol of what is brilliant, glorious, and beautiful;
(Note: A man or woman of great beauty is called suheli , suhelje . Thus I heard a Hauranitish woman say to her companion: nahar el – jom neda , shuft ledsch (Arab. lk ) wahid Suheli , To-day is dew, I saw a Suheli , i.e., a very handsome man, for thee. – Wetzst.)
so that even the beings of light of the first rank among the celestial spirits might be understood by . But if this ought to be the meaning, Job 38:7 and Job 38:7 would be in an inverted order. They are actual stars, whether it is intended of the sphere belonging to the earth or to the higher sphere comprehended in , Gen 1:1. Joy and light are reciprocal notions, and the scale of the tones of joy is likened to the scale of light and colours; therefore the fulness of light, in which the morning stars shone forth all together at the founding of the earth, may symbolize one grandly harmonious song of joy.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Creation of the World. | B. C. 1520. |
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? 9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, 10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, 11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
For the humbling of Job, God here shows him his ignorance even concerning the earth and the sea. Though so near, though so bulky, yet he could give no account of their origination, much less of heaven above or hell beneath, which are at such a distance, or of the several parts of matter which are so minute, and then, least of all, of the divine counsels.
I. Concerning the founding of the earth. “If he have such a mighty insight, as he pretends to have, into the counsels of God, let him give some account of the earth he goes upon, which is given to the children of men.”
1. Let him tell where he was when this lower world was made, and whether he was advising of assisting in that wonderful work (v. 4): “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Thy pretensions are high; canst thou pretend to his? Wast thou present when the world was made?” See here, (1.) The greatness and glory of God: I laid the foundations of the earth. This proves him to be the only living and true God, and a God of power (Isa 40:21; Jer 10:11; Jer 10:12), and encourages us to trust in him at all times, Isa 51:13; Isa 51:16. (2.) The meanness and contemptibleness of man: “Where wast thou then? Thou that hast made such a figure among the children of the east, and settest up for an oracle, and a judge of the divine counsels, where was thou when the foundations of the earth were laid?” So far were we from having any hand in the creation of the world, which might entitle us to a dominion in it, or so much as being witnesses of it, by which we might have gained an insight into it, that we were not then in being. The first man was not, much less were we. It is the honour of Christ that he was present when this was done (Pro 8:22-31; Joh 1:1; Joh 1:2); but we are of yesterday and know nothing. Let us not therefore find fault with the works of God, nor prescribe to him. He did not consult us in making the world, and yet it is well made; why should we expect then that he should take his measures from us in governing it?
2. Let him describe how this world was made, and give a particular account of the manner in which this strong and stately edifice was formed and erected: “Declare, if thou hast so much understanding as thou fanciest thyself to have, what were the advances of that work.” Those that pretend to have understanding above others ought to give proof of it. Show my thy faith by thy works, thy knowledge by thy words. Let Job declare it if he can, (1.) How the world came to be so finely framed, with so much exactness, and such an admirable symmetry and proportion of all the parts of it (v. 5): “Stand forth, and tell who laid the measures thereof and stretched out the line upon it.” Wast thou the architect that formed the model and then drew the dimensions by rule according to it? The vast bulk of the earth is moulded as regularly as if it had been done by line and measure; but who can describe how it was cast into this figure? Who can determine its circumference and diameter, and all the lines that are drawn on the terrestrial globe? It is to this day a dispute whether the earth stands still or turns round; how then can we determine by what measures it was first formed? (2.) How it came to be so firmly fixed. Though it is hung upon nothing, yet it is established, that it cannot be moved; but who can tell upon what the foundations of it are fastened, that it may not sink with its own weight, or who laid the corner-stone thereof, that the parts of it may not fall asunder? v. 6. What God does, it shall be for ever (Eccl. iii. 14); and therefore, as we cannot find fault with God’s work, so we need not be in fear concerning it; it will last, and answer the end, the works of his providence as well as the work of creation; the measures of neither can never be broken; and the work of redemption is no less firm, of which Christ himself is both the foundation and the corner-stone. The church stands as fast as the earth.
3. Let him repeat, if he can, the songs of praise which were sung at that solemnity (v. 7), when the morning-stars sang together, the blessed angels (the first-born of the Father of light), who, in the morning of time, shone as brightly as the morning star, going immediately before the light which God commanded to shine out of darkness upon the seeds of this lower world, the earth, which was without form and void. They were the sons of God, who shouted for joy when they saw the foundations of the earth laid, because, though it was not made for them, but for the children of men, and though it would increase their work and service, yet they knew that the eternal Wisdom and Word, whom they were to worship (Heb. i. 6), would rejoice in the habitable parts of the earth, and that much of his delight would be in the sons of men, Prov. viii. 31. The angels are called the sons of God because they bear much of his image, are with him in his house above, and serve him as a son does his father. Now observe here, (1.) The glory of God, as the Creator of the world, is to be celebrated with joy and triumph by all his reasonable creatures; for they are qualified and appointed to be the collectors of his praises from the inferior creatures, who can praise him merely as objects that exemplify his workmanship. (2.) The work of angels is to praise God. The more we abound in holy, humble, thankful, joyful praise, the more we do the will of God as they do it; and, whereas we are so barren and defective in praising God, it is a comfort to think that they are doing it in a better manner. (3.) They were unanimous in singing God’s praises; they sang together with one accord, and there was no jar in their harmony. The sweetest concerts are in praising God. (4.) They all did it, even those who afterwards fell and left their first estate. Even those who have praised God may, by the deceitful power of sin, be brought to blaspheme him, and yet God will be eternally praised.
II. Concerning the limiting of the sea to the place appointed for it, v. 8, c. This refers to the third day’s work, when God said (Gen. i. 9), Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and it was so. 1. Out of the great deep or chaos, in which earth and water were intermixed, in obedience to the divine command the waters broke forth like a child out of the teeming womb, <i>v. 8. Then the waters that had covered the deep, and stood above the mountains, retired with precipitation. At God’s rebuke they fled,Psa 104:6; Psa 104:7. 2. This newborn babe is clothed and swaddled, v. 9. The cloud is made the garment thereof, with which it is covered, and thick darkness (that is, shores vastly remote and distant from one another and quite in the dark one to another) is a swaddling-band for it. See with what ease the great God manages the raging sea; notwithstanding the violence of its tides, and the strength of its billows, he manages it as the nurse does the child in swaddling clothes. It is not said, He made rocks and mountains its swaddling bands, but clouds and darkness, something that we are not aware of and should think least likely for such a purpose. 3. There is a cradle too provided for this babe: I broke up for it my decreed place, v. 10. Valleys were sunk for it in the earth, capacious enough to receive it, and there it is laid to sleep; and, if it be sometimes tossed with winds, that (as bishop Patrick observes) is but the rocking of the cradle, which makes it sleep the faster. As for the sea, so for every one of us, there is a decreed place; for he that determined the times before appointed determined also the bounds of our habitation. 4. This babe being made unruly and dangerous by the sin of man, which was the original of all unquietness and danger in this lower world, there is also a prison provided for it; bars and doors are set, v. 10. And it is said to it, by way of check to its insolence, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further. The sea is God’s for he made it, he restrains it; he says to it, Here shall thy proud waves be stayed, v. 11. This may be considered as an act of God’s power over the sea. Though it is so vast a body, and though its motion is sometimes extremely violent, yet God has it under check. Its waves rise no higher, its tides roll no further, than God permits; and this is mentioned as a reason why we should stand in awe of God (Jer. v. 22), and yet why we should encourage ourselves in him, for he that stops the noise of the sea, even the noise of her waves, can, when he pleases, still the tumult of the people, Ps. lxv. 7. It is also to be looked upon as an act of God’s mercy to the world of mankind and an instance of his patience towards that provoking grace. Though he could easily cover the earth again with the waters of the sea (and, methinks, every flowing tide twice a day threatens us, and shows what the sea could do, and would do, if God would give it leave), yet he restrains them, being not willing that any should perish, and having reserved the world that now is unto fire, 2 Pet. iii. 7.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
(4) Where wast thou?The comparison of the creation of the world to the building of an edifice is such a concession to the feebleness of man as serves of itself to heighten the effect of the inevitable answer to the question preferred.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The first division of the discourse THE COMPREHENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S MORAL GOVERNMENT DISPLAYED BY JOB JUSTIFIES THE PROPOUNDING OF SOME QUESTIONS AS TO THE PHYSICAL AND SEEMINGLY INANIMATE WORLD, IN THE MIDST OF WHICH MAN HAS BEEN PLACED, WITH THE HIGH ENDOWMENTS OF WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING, Job 38:4-38.
First long strophe THE VASTNESS OF JOB’S KNOWLEDGE MUST EMBRACE THE PROCESS OF THE CREATION OF EARTH, SEA, AND LIGHT, Job 38:4-15.
“All true knowledge is genetic.” Hitzig. He who claims insight into that which is, must know how it came to be, for nature ( natura) is a perpetual birth. This first long strophe treats of the wonder-working of Omnipotence. Each of the minor strophes consists of four verses, the fourth verse of each, according to Schlottmann, forming a climax in the thought.
a. Job is summoned to explain the founding of the earth; the laying out of its architectural proportion; and even so simple and yet glorious a matter as the laying of its corner-stone, Job 38:4-7.
4. Laid the foundations When I founded the earth (a more exact rendering) better harmonizes with the wonderful scientific disclosure of Job 26:7.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(4) Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. (5) Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? (6) Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; (7) When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (8) Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? (9) When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, (10) And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, (11) And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? (12) Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; (13) That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? (14) It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. (15) And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken. (16) Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? (17) Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? (18) Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all. (19) Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof, (20) That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? (21) Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great? (22) Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, (23) Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? (24) By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth? (25) Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; (26) To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; (27) To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? (28) Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew? (29) Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? (30) The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. (31) Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? (32) Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? (33) Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? (34) Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? (35) Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are? (36) Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart? (37) Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven, (38) When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together? (39) Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions, (40) When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? (41) Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
I presume not to interrupt the progress of the LORD’S words. The whole forms one beautiful subject from beginning to end, and it were a pity to separate it. Having gone through, I would beg the Reader to pause with me over it, and observe, with holy solemnity, those strong and unequalled words of GOD. Job had presumed on much knowledge, therefore the LORD begins with questioning, where he was when creation work began; what he knew of these grand events, and what account he could give how the whole from darkness came forth into light. The LORD goes on to describe, under the beautiful similitude of a new birth, when being was given to the deep, how it broke out from the door of the womb, and how the LORD swaddled it with the binding earth as with a garment; appointed the full bounds of it, and, amidst all its seeming violence, in its waves and billows, determined, by a perpetual decree, how far it should extend, and no further. After this the LORD takes up the subject of light, then of death and darkness, and demands of Job if he can tell where that way is, in which light dwelleth, and where the place of darkness is to be found. After dwelling, in a most unequalled manner, on these subjects, the LORD proceeds to others as strikingly descriptive of man’s ignorance and of GOD’S wisdom; of the creation, form, government, and regular ordination of the heavenly bodies; and then, by a sweet transition, calls Job’s attention to the creation and power of the beasts of the earth: and demands of him if he can tell how the cry of the ravens is heard, when calling upon their Maker for food, and by what means all their wants are supplied. It would be presumptuous to offer ought upon such sublime representations. It is enough to observe, that the evident design of those words, is to convince Job, by drawing so striking a description of GOD’S sovereignty, and Job’s littleness, of GOD’S wisdom, and Job’s ignorance: and by representing GOD’S infinite presence and knowledge, the weakness, narrowness, and impotency of man in his highest attainments. For, if man knows nothing of those common works of GOD in his kingdom of nature, how can he be competent to scan the ways of GOD in his kingdoms of providence and grace. Every view must only tend to confirm yet more and more, that man, in his highest knowledge, is limited at every step he takes in exploring the ways and works of GOD before him: and as one of Job’s friends had before remarked, Who by searching could find out GOD , or who could find out the Almighty to perfection! Job 11:7 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Job 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Ver. 4. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? ] q.d. Thou wast nowhere, a mere nonens; thou wast no companion or counsellor of mine; nay, not so much as an onlooker, for thou art but of yesterday. Thou understandest not the reason of this fair fabric; much less of my dark and deep counsels.
Declare, if thou hast understanding
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
hast understanding = knowest.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Where: Pro 8:22, Pro 8:29, Pro 8:30, Pro 30:4
I: Gen 1:1, Psa 102:25, Psa 104:5, Heb 1:2, Heb 1:10
hast: Heb. knowest
Reciprocal: 1Sa 2:8 – the pillars Job 9:6 – the pillars Job 15:7 – or wast thou Job 34:13 – Who hath given Job 37:15 – Dost Job 38:12 – since Job 38:21 – General Psa 18:15 – foundations Psa 24:2 – For Psa 90:2 – Before Psa 119:90 – thou hast Pro 8:25 – General Pro 25:2 – the glory Ecc 11:5 – even Isa 24:23 – before his ancients gloriously Isa 40:12 – measured Isa 40:22 – stretcheth Jer 10:12 – hath made Jer 27:5 – made Amo 4:13 – he that Jon 2:6 – the earth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
FINITE CREATURE V. INFINITE CREATOR
Who is this? Where wast thou?
Job 38:2; Job 38:4
I. Humility should be one grace which springs up in my heart as I think of the majesty and might of my God.Where was I when He laid the foundations of the earth, when He determined the measures thereof and stretched the line upon it? And who am I that, face to face with Him, I should exalt and uplift myself?
II. But trustfulness should be another grace which flourishes in the soil of my heart, as I think of the greatness and glory of my God.He who shuts up the sea with doors, He who stays its proud waves, He who commands the morning and causes the dayspring to know its placeHe is my Father, my Saviour, my Comforter. When such a Lord is mine, I should not go careworn through the day nor lie sleepless during the hours of the night. I should live at ease. Since He is my Shepherd I will fear no evil, I will go from strength to strength.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Job 38:4-5. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? When I settled it as firm upon its own centre as if it had been built upon the surest foundations? Then thou wast nowhere; thou hadst no being: thou art but of yesterday; and dost thou presume to judge of my eternal counsels? I made the world without thy help, and therefore can govern it without thy advice or direction. Declare who hath laid the measures thereof Who hath prescribed how long, and broad, and deep it should be? Or who hath stretched the line upon it? The measuring-line, to regulate all its dimensions, so that it might be as beautiful as useful; if thou knowest
But if thou art ignorant of these manifest and visible works, do not pretend to the exact knowledge of my mysterious providences.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 38:4-38. The Wonders of the Inanimate Creation.Where was Job when the earth was made? The work of creation is described as the building of a house. In Job 38:7 the stars, which are older than the world (contrast Gen 1:16), are thought of as animated beings: the sons of God are the angels. The morning stars and the angels then composed the choir at the laying of earths foundation-stone; the stone-laying, therefore, took place in the morning.
Job 38:8-11 speaks of the taming of the sea: when it burst forth from the womb of chaos, God clothed the newborn child with the cloud and swaddled it with thick cloud. In Job 38:10 read as mg. and brake for it a boundary. The verse as a whole describes how God set the rocky coast as the bound of the sea.
Job 38:12-15 speaks of the miracle of the dawn. In Job 38:13 The personified Dawn is represented as seizing the coverlet of darkness under which the earth has been sleeping, and shaking the wicked out of it like flies (Strahan).
Job 38:14 describes how with the coming of the dawn the shapelessness of the earth by night is suddenly changed into definiteness as when a seal is stamped upon clay: as a garment seems to describe the varied colours of the landscape: mg. as in a garment gives the sense, continuing Job 38:14 a, things are defined by the light as a garment by its clinging to the wearer. In Job 38:15 the light of the wicked is the darkness (Job 24:17).
In Job 38:16 Job is asked if he has penetrated the fountains of the great deep, whence the sea is fed. These are openings in the floor of the ocean just as the windows of heaven are openings in the sky.
Job 38:17 asks if Job has gone still deeper and penetrated Sheol. With Job 38:18 we pass on from depth to breadth. Light and darkness have their dwelling-places at the horizon, whence in due order they issue forth (Gen 1:-5*).
Job 38:22 describes the snow and hail, the artillery of heaven (Job 38:23). In Job 38:24 a perhaps mist should be read for light; light has already been mentioned. In Job 38:25 the waterflood is the torrential rain, supposed to pour from the upper ocean down a channel specially cleft for it by God through the vault of the sky. So the lightning has a track along which to shoot (Peake). As Strahan observes, the meteorology is primitive.
Job 38:26-27 are of great beauty, and also of great importance. The poet points out that nature has not only man as its end; there are other and wider purposes served by the order of creation. Jobs fault has been to narrow things down to his own human outlook. With Job 38:28-30, we have the further mysteries of dew, ice, and frost. In Job 38:30 a follow mg., in Job 38:30 b frozen is literally hidden: the ice hides the surface of the water under it.
Job 38:31 f. God asks Job if he controls the constellations. Here and on to the end of ch. 39 canst should be Dost. In Job 38:31 a either cluster or chain (mg.) is possible; but what the bands of Orion are is not certain. In Job 38:32 it is not certain what constellation is meant by the Mazzaroth.
Job 38:33-38 asks if Job controls the heavens. In Job 38:33 a translate with different pointing, Dost thou make the heavens to know the laws, i.e. lay down the laws for them. In Job 38:34 read with LXX, that abundance of waters may answer thee. In Job 38:36 the meaning of the words translated inward parts and mind is uncertain. But physical not psychical phenomena must be meant, as the context shows: follow therefore mg. in both cases. The bottles of heaven in Job 38:37 are the clouds, conceived as skins full of water (Job 26:8).
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
38:4 Where wast thou when I {d} laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
(d) Seeing he could not judge those things which were done so long before he was born, he was not able to comprehend all God’s works: much less the secret causes of his judgments.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God’s questions of Job 38:4-39:30
As Job’s friends had done, God began to break Job down blow by verbal blow. Finally all his pride was gone. However, where Job’s friends had failed, God succeeded.
"The function of the questions needs to be properly understood. As a rhetorical device, a question can be another way of making a pronouncement, much favoured by orators. For Job, the questions in the Lord’s speeches are not such roundabout statements of fact; they are invitations, suggestions about discoveries he will make as he tries to find his own answers. They are not catechetical, as if Job’s knowledge is being tested. They are educative, in the true and original meaning of that term. Job is led out into the world. The questions are rhetorical only in the sense that none of them has any answer ventured by Job. But this is not because the questions have no answers. Their initial effect of driving home to Job his ignorance is not intended to humiliate him. On the contrary the highest nobility of every person is to be thus enrolled by God Himself in His school of Wisdom. And the schoolroom is the world! For Job the exciting discoveries to which God leads him bring a giant advance in knowledge, knowledge of himself and of God, for the two always go together in the Bible." [Note: Ibid., p. 269.]
God gave Job an oral science examination covering aspects of cosmology, oceanography, meteorology, astronomy, and zoology. He began with the origin of the earth (Job 38:4-7). God’s point was that since Job was absent when He had created the earth, he lacked the information that God had which enabled Him to govern the earth better than Job could. The phrase "sons of God" (Job 38:7) evidently refers to the angels (cf. Job 1:6; Psa 148:2-3). The "morning stars" may be stars or planets, but it seems more likely that they, too, are angels since there is synonymous parallelism in this verse.
God next asked Job about the origin of the oceans (Job 38:8-11). Obviously Job had nothing to do with this major aspect of God’s creative activity, so his knowledge again proved inferior. [Note: See Hans-Jurgen Hermission, "Observation on the Creation Theology in Wisdom," in Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, pp. 52-54.]
Job had no experience causing the sun to rise and thereby sustaining the earth, either (Job 38:12-15). The rising sun shakes the wicked out of the ends of the earth (Job 38:13) in the sense that the wicked love darkness rather than light (cf. Joh 3:19). The "light" of the wicked (Job 38:15), that element in which they flourish, is darkness. By causing the sun to rise God withholds the darkness, their "light," and so frustrates (breaks) their work. Another interpretation holds that this verse (Job 38:15) may be an ironic statement saying that God does not break the wicked but only controls them. [Note: E.g., Hartley, p. 497.]
Even though "the dawn of every day provides an occasion to punish the wicked . . . this possibility is not in practice realized and is therefore not in the plan of the world." [Note: Matitiahu Tsevat, "The Meaning of the Book of Job," Hebrew Union College Annual 37 (1966):99.]
"Although a major thrust of the Lord’s speeches (Job 38:1 to Job 40:2; Job 40:6 to Job 41:34) was to polemicize against all potential rivals to His lordship over the cosmos, there is also a subtle refutation of the dogma of divine retribution. Although granting that the control of chaotic forces of evil (which in some instances is inherent in the design of the universe-38:12-15) is somewhat consistent with the principle of divine retribution, God demonstrates that the universe is not always geared to this principle." [Note: Parsons, p. 145.]
Job was likewise ignorant of the springs of the sea, the gates of death, and the scope of the earth (Job 38:16-18)-none of which he had seen. Nor did he know where the light (sun) went when it apparently set or where the darkness came from and went at sunset and sunrise (Job 38:19-20). Job 38:21 presents Yahweh as a master of sarcasm.
The next subject on God’s quiz was the weather (Job 38:22-38). "Light" (Job 38:24) may refer to "lightning." The "channel for the flood" appears to be the "path" through the sky that rain takes on its way to the earth (Job 38:25).
Yahweh referred to the constellations next, to impress Job’s lack of insight and his impotence on the patriarch further (Job 38:31-33; cf. Job 9:9).
Next, God turned to the animal world and pointed out six mammals and four birds-only one of which was evidently a domesticated creature in Job’s day: the horse (Job 38:39 to Job 39:30). They include "the ferocious, the helpless, the shy, the strong, the bizarre, the wild." [Note: Zuck, Job, p. 170.] They illustrate God’s creative genius and His providential care. The animal world exists for partially unknown reasons, not merely to meet the needs of humankind. People cannot explain why animals live as they do. This is another mystery that only God understands fully.
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Animals |
References |
Questions |
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Lion and raven |
Job 38:39-41 |
How do they get food? |
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Goat and deer |
Job 39:1-4 |
How do they bear young? |
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Donkey and ox |
Job 39:5-12 |
How are they tamed? |
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Ostrich and horse |
Job 39:13-25 |
Why do they act strangely? |
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Hawk and vulture |
Job 39:26-30 |
How do they fly? |
One writer wrote the following about the wild ox (or aurochs, Job 39:9-12).
"Extinct since 1627, this enormous animal was the most powerful of all hoofed beasts, exceeded in size only by the hippopotamus and elephant." [Note: Andersen, p. 281. See Zuck, Job, pp. 171-74, and George Cansdale, Animals of Bible Lands, for more information about these animals.]
God’s point in asking Job to consider each of these animals was this. Even upon careful examination, there are many things about their individual characteristics, behavior, and life that people simply cannot explain. That is still true today. For reasons unknown to Job, God allowed each animal to experience what was His will for that species. Similarly, He permits every human being to experience what he or she undergoes for reasons partially unknown to us. Only Yahweh is powerful enough and wise enough to do this.
"A main function of the Lord’s speeches is to show the absurdity of Job’s attempt to manipulate God by a ’lawsuit,’ which assumed that his relationship to God is a juridical one." [Note: Parsons, pp. 149-50.]
God rarely used legal metaphors in His speeches to Job, which Job had so often utilized. From now on, Job stopped using them. This is an important observation because it shows that the basis of Job and God’s relationship was not a legal one, as Job had assumed. A legal relationship requires just compensation by both parties for what each of them has done to the other. The basis of God’s dealings with Job was gracious, not legal (cf. 1Co 6:7).