Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 41:8
Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
8. The verse is ironical,
Lay thine hand upon him!
Think of the battle: thou shalt do so no more.
The last words, thou shalt do so no more (so the Geneva), refer to the ironical advice given in the first clause, “lay thine hand upon him”! The thought of the “battle,” that is, the conflict, will be sufficient to deter from any attempt to renew it.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Lay thine hand upon him – Prof. Lee renders this, very improperly, as it seems to me, Lay thine hand on thy mouth respecting him, supposing it means that he should be awed into silence by dread of the animal referred to. But the meaning of the passage evidently is, Endeavor to seize him by laying the hand on him, and you will soon desist from the fearful conflict, and will not renew it.
Remember the battle – Remember what a fearful conflict will ensue. Perhaps there is an allusion to some fact fresh in the mind of Job, where such an attempt had been made to secure the leviathan, attended with fearful disaster to those who had made the attempt.
Do no more – Or, rather, Thou wilt not do it again. That is, he would be deterred from ever renewing the attempt, or the conflict would be fatal to him.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. Lay thine hand upon him?] Mr. Heath translates, “Be sure thou strike home. Mind thy blow: rely not upon a second stroke.” Mr. Good translates: –
“Make ready thy hand against him.
Dare the contest: be firm.”
He is a dangerous animal; when thou attackest him, be sure of thy advantage; if thou miss, thou art ruined. Depend not on other advantages, if thou miss the first. Kill him at once, or he will kill thee.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Lay thine hand upon him; either,
1. In a familiar and friendly manner, that thou mayst catch him by deceit, when thou canst not do it by force. Or rather,
2. In way of hostility, seize upon him and take him by a strong hand, if thou darest do so.
Remember the battle; but ere thou do attempt that, consider what thou art doing, and how hazardous thy enterprise is, and with whom and with what disadvantage thou art going to fight, and, as it follows, do no more, proceed no further, draw back thy hand, and be thankful for so great a deliverance. Or the verse may be rendered thus, If (which particle is oft understood) thou offerest or attemptest to lay violent hands on him, thou wilt have cause to remember (the imperative being put for the future, which is frequent in the Hebrew language) the battle, and thou wilt do so no more; if thou dost escape, thou wilt never forget thy danger, nor attempt any thing of like nature for the time to come.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. If thou lay . . . thouwilt have reason ever to remember . . . and thou wilt nevertry it again.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Lay thine hand upon him,…. If thou canst or darest. It is dangerous so to do, either to the whale or crocodile;
remember the battle; or “look for war”, as Mr. Broughton renders it; expect a fight will ensue, in which thou wilt have no share with this creature:
do no more; if thou canst by any means escape, take care never to do the like again; or thou wilt never do so any more, thou wilt certainly die for it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(8) Remember the battle.Bear in mind what thou dost attempt, and thou wilt not do it again.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
b. If Job by no means dare to stand before the creature, how dare he appear before the Creator, prating of his rights, and urging preposterous claims upon a Being who has received nothing from man, and is, therefore, untrammelled by obligaions; but who is, on the contrary, the sole proprietor of all things, Job 41:8-11. “In these two questions, Who am I? and Who art thou? is expressed the ruling thought of the Almighty’s discourses.” Hengstenberg.
8. Do no more The Hebrew may be rendered either as an imperative or as a second person singular. He who enters alone upon an encounter with this monster will not care to try it again.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 41:8-9. Lay thine hand upon him, &c. Be sure thou strikest home; mind thy blow; rely not on a second stroke, Job 41:9. See, he is deceived in his expectation: will he also faint away at the sight of them? Heath. But Houbigant translates it according to his own reading, thus: Whoever shall lay his hand upon him, shall not hereafter be nourished from his flesh: Job 41:9. Behold, his hope is made vain; shall he therefore take away his gall? He observes, that the flesh of the crocodile was esteemed excellent food, and that his gall was much used in medicine. Hasselquist says, that the gall of the crocodile is good for the eyes: The Egyptians make use of it as a certain remedy for barrenness in women, taking about six grains internally; and outwardly they apply a pessus, made of cotton, with the gall of a crocodile. They use the fat against the rheumatism, and a stiffness of the tendons; esteeming it a powerful remedy, outwardly applied; there is a folliculus of the bigness of a hazle-nut, under the shoulders of the old crocodile, containing a thick matter which smells like musk. The Egyptians are very anxious to get it when they kill a crocodile, it being a perfume much esteemed by the grandees.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Job 41:8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
Ver. 8. Lay thy hand upon him ] Stroke him, clap him on the back, and see if that way thou canst win upon him, since by force thou canst not catch and kill him. Or draw near and offer but the least violence to him if thou darest, and he will quickly make thee repent it; so that thou wilt have little joy either to flatter him or to fight it out with him, for he will be the death of thee.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 20:11, 2Ki 10:4, Luk 14:31, Luk 14:32
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
41:8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember {o} the battle, do no more.
(o) If you once consider the danger, you will not meddle with him.