Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 12:10
In whose hand [is] the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
10. This verse rounds off the statement in Job 12:7 seq. that God moves among the living creatures upon the earth, dispensing life and death, in a way absolute and uncontrolled.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing – Margin, Life. The margin is the more correct rendering. The idea is, that all are under the control of God. He gives life, and health, and happiness when he pleases, and when he chooses he takes them away. His sovereignty is manifested, says Job, in the inferior creation, or among the beasts of the field, the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of heaven.
And the breath of all mankind – Margin, Flesh of man. The margin is in accordance with the Hebrew. The meaning is, that man is subjected to the same laws as the rest of the creation. God is a sovereign, and the same great principles of administration may be seen in all his works.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. In whose hand is the soul of every living thing] nephesh col chai, “the soul of all life.”
And the breath of all mankind.] veruach col besar, “and the spirit or breath of all flesh.” Does not the first refer to the immortal soul, the principle of all intellectual life; and the latter to the breath, respiration, the grand means by which animal existence is continued? See Job 10:1.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In whose hand, i.e. at whose absolute disposal, it is to give it, or take it away, when and how it seemeth good to him.
The soul; the life, or the soul the principle of life.
Of every living thing, i.e. of all unreasonable creatures, of which he spoke Job 12:7, opposed to man in the last words.
The breath, or, the spirit, as that word is commonly used, i.e. the immortal soul; which is no less a creature, and in Gods power to dispose of it, than the animal soul of unreasonable creatures.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. the soulthat is, theanimal life. Man, reasons Job, is subjected to the same laws as thelower animals.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
In whose hand [is] the soul of every living thing,…. Of every animal, of every brute creature, as distinct from man, in the next clause: the life of everyone of them is from him, and it is continued by him as long as he pleases, nor can it be taken away without his leave; two sparrows, which are not worth more than a farthing, not one of them falls to the ground, or dies without the knowledge and will of God, Mt 10:29; of the soul or spirit of beasts, see Ec 3:21;
and the breath of all mankind; the breath of man is originally from God, he at first breathed into man the breath of life; and though this is in his nostrils, which makes him of little account, yet it would not continue there long, was it not in the hand, and under the care and providence of God; the breath of a king, as well as the heart of a king, is in the hand of the Lord: the breath of that great monarch Belshazzar, king of Babylon, was in the hand of God, Da 5:23; and so is the breath of every peasant; and as when he takes away the breath of other creatures, they die and return to the dust; such is the case of man when God takes away his breath; all our times are in his hand, to be born, to live and die, all is at his dispose: or “the spirit of all the flesh of men” p, or of all men’s flesh; his rational soul, as distinguished from his flesh or body, this is from God, supported in its being by him, and ever will be, being immortal, and will never die.
p “spiritus omnis carnis viri?” Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt, Schultens, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
10. The breath of all mankind Literally, the spirit of all the flesh of man. The soul ( nephesh) is the principle of natural life which man shares with the inferior creation; while the spirit ( rouahh) is that higher endowment belonging, among animals, exclusively to man, by which he is allied to angels and to God.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“… the soul of every living thing? Job 12:10
Observe, not only “every living thing,” but actually the soul of it. There is great meaning in this expression; it shows that we do not see the life in its innermost recesses and springs, but only some appearance or shape of it from the outside. We have often said that no man has seen himself: the man is within the man; the life is within the life. This rule holds good with regard to everything round about us; notably, it holds good with regard to the Church, for the Church is within the Church, that is to say it is a spiritual reality, of which the visible Church is but the outward embodiment; and if we are not members of the spiritual kingdom it is of no importance what eminence we have attained with regard to formal position or membership. The rule holds good also in regard to the Bible: in an emphatic sense, the Bible is within the Bible; a man may read the merely literary Bible from end to end, and know absolutely nothing about the revelation of God: that revelation is only granted to the wise and understanding heart, to those who are simple of mind, single and earnest in purpose, whose one desire is to know what God has said, and to do it: hence criticism can never get out of the Bible the soul of its living things: only sympathy with God, pureness of heart, and all the quiet graces of love, meekness, and docility, can reap great spoils in the harvest-field of the Bible. The rule holds good also with regard to all ecclesiastical sacraments: they may be good or bad, useful or useless, just as we approach them or appropriate them. We may turn them into mere idols and so may actually sin against the very purpose of their constitution; or we may regard them as instruments, mediums, or vehicles, through which God is pleased in some way to show himself to the waiting and expectant heart; used in this latter way, they become in very deed means of grace, valueless when viewed purely and absolutely in themselves but infinitely precious when regarded as the medium through which God descends upon the loving heart. The same rule applies to the right interpretation of what is called material nature: who can tell what is behind it all? Agnostics themselves acknowledge that even in matter there is something which they cannot comprehend. Agnosticism, or know-notism, is not, therefore, confined to what are usually known as spiritual subjects, but has a direct bearing upon things which are substantial and visible. All these secrets of life being more or less beyond us, we are led up at once to the great principle that only God can be judge of all. We know nothing as it really is. He alone is the critic, whose penetration can pierce to the innermost thought, motive, and purpose of the heart; with him, therefore, must be left all judgment and all destiny. It is better to fall into the hands of God than into the hands of man.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Job 12:10 In whose hand [is] the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
Ver. 10. In whose hand is the soul of every living thing ] That is, the life of every beast, flowing from a sensitive soul, Lev 17:10-11 . This, God both giveth to the creature and conserveth it; he suffereth it not to be taken away from little sparrows, or the like, without order from him; much less befalleth any such thing to man without his singular providence, since our very hairs also are numbered, Mat 9:30 Luk 12:7 . The Jewish doctors do therefore offer manifest injury to Job when they say, that he held indeed that God created, and doth preserve, the several kinds of things, but permitteth the particulars and individuals to be hap hazard; whereas here he delivereth his judgment plainly to the contrary, when he saith,
And the breath of all mankind
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
soul = life. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
breath = spirit. Hebrew. ruach.
mankind = flesh of man. Hebrew. ‘ish. App-14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
whose hand: Num 16:22, Dan 5:23, Act 17:25, Act 17:28
soul: or, life
the breath: Job 27:3, Job 34:14, Job 34:15, Gen 2:7, Gen 6:17, Psa 104:29, Psa 146:3, Psa 146:4
mankind: Heb. flesh of man, Joh 3:6
Reciprocal: Num 26:51 – General Num 27:16 – the Lord 1Ki 17:17 – that there was Job 12:15 – Behold Job 14:5 – his days Job 21:16 – Lo Psa 90:3 – Thou Isa 42:5 – he that giveth Heb 12:9 – the Father
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 12:10. In whose hand is the soul That is, the life, or the principle of life; of every living thing That is, of all irrational animals, of which he spake, Job 12:7, opposed to man in the last words of this verse. He means, in whose absolute power it is to give life or to take it away, when and how it seemeth good to him; and the breath of all mankind Or, the spirit, as the word , ruach, here used, commonly means; that is, the immortal soul, which is no less a creature, and in Gods power to dispose of it, than the animal soul or life of brutes.