Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 4:11
The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion’s whelps are scattered abroad.
The old lion – The word used here, laysh, denotes a lion, so called, says Gesenius, from his strength and bravery, or, according to Urnbreit, the lion in the strength of his old ago; see an examination of the word in Bochart, Hieroz. P. i. Lib. iii. c. 1, p. 720.
Perisheth for lack of prey – Not withstanding his strength and power. That is, such a thing sometimes occurs. Eliphaz could not maintain that it always happened. The meaning seems to be, that as the strength of the lion was no security that he would not perish for want, so it was with men who resembled the lion in the strength of mature age.
And the stout lions whelps – The word here rendered stout lion, laby’, is probably derived from the obsolete root laba’, to roar, and it is given to the lion on account of his roaring. Bochart, Hieroz. P. i. Lib. iii. c. 1. p. 719, supposes that the word means a lioness. These words complete the description of the lion, and the sense is, that the lion in no condition, or whatever name indicative of strength might be given to it, bad power to resist God when he came forth for its destruction. Its roaring, its strength, its teeth, its rage, were all in vain.
Are scattered abroad – That is, when the old lion is destroyed, the young ones flee, and are unable to offer resistance. So it is with men. When the divine judgments come upon them, they have no power to make successful resistance. God has them under control, and he comes forth at his pleasure to restrain and subdue them, as he does the wild beasts of the desert, though so fearful and formidable.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 11. The old lion perisheth] In this and the preceding verse the word lion occurs five times; and in the original the words are all different: –
1. aryeh, from arah, to tear off.
2. shachal, which as it appears to signify black or dark, may mean the black lion, which is said to be found in Ethiopia and India.
3. kephir, a young lion, from caphar, to cover, because he is said to hide himself in order to surprise his prey, which the old one does not.
4. lavish, from lash, to knead, trample upon; because of his method of seizing his prey.
5. labi, from laba, to suckle with the first milk; a lioness giving suck; at which time they are peculiarly fierce.
All these words may point out some quality of the lion; and this was probably the cause why they were originally given: but it is likely that, in process of time, they served only to designate the beast, without any particular reference to any of his properties. We have one and the same idea when we say the lion, the king of beasts, the monarch of the forest, the most noble of quadrupeds, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The old lion perisheth for lack of prey; because they cannot go abroad to seek it, and their young ones either cannot find or do not bring it to them. See Psa 49:14,15; 119:10.
Are scattered abroad; gone from their dens several ways to hunt for prey, and can find none.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
The old lion perisheth for lack of prey,…. Or rather “the stout” and “strong lion” e, that is most able to take the prey, and most skilful at it, yet such shall perish for want of it; not so much for want of finding it, or of power to seize it, as of keeping it when got, it being taken away from him; signifying, that God oftentimes in his providence takes away from cruel oppressors what they have got by oppression, and so they are brought into starving and famishing circumstances. The Septuagint render the word by “myrmecoleon”, or the “ant lion”, which Isidore f thus describes;
“it is a little animal, very troublesome to ants, which hides itself in the dust, and kills the ants as they carry their corn; hence it is called both a lion and an ant, because to other animals is as an ant, and to the ants as a lion,”
and therefore cannot be the lion here spoken of; though Strabo g and Aelianus h speak of lions in Arabia and Babylon called ants, which seem to be a species of lions, and being in those countries, might be known to Eliphaz. Megasthenes i speaks of ants in India as big as foxes, of great swiftness, and get their living by hunting:
and the stout lion’s whelps are scattered abroad; or “the whelps of the lioness” k, these are scattered from the lion and lioness, and from one another, to seek for food, but in vain; the Targum applies this to Ishmael, and his posterity; Jarchi, and others, to the builders of Babel, said to be scattered, Ge 11:8; rather reference may be had to the giants, the men of the old world, who filled the earth with violence, which was the cause of the flood being brought upon the world of the ungodly. Some think that Eliphaz has a regard to Job in all this, and that by the “fierce lion” he designs and describes Job as an oppressor and tyrant, and by the “lioness” his wife, and by the “young lions” and “lion’s whelps” his children; and indeed, though he may not directly design him, yet he may obliquely point at him, and suggest that he was like to the men he had in view, and compares to these creatures, and therefore his calamities righteously came upon him.
e “leo major”, Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Schmidt; “leo strenuns et fortis”, Michaelis; “robustior leo”, Schultens. f Origin. l. 12. c. 3. g Geograph. l. 16. p. 533. h De Animal. l. 7. c. 47. & l. 17. c. 42. i Apud Strabo, l. 15. p. 485. k “filii leaenae”, Bochart, Schultens.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(11) The old lion perisheth . . .This means that even though wickedness is joined with strength, it is equally unable to prosper. It is to be observed that no less than five different words are here used for lion, showing that these animals must have been common and of various kinds in Jobs country.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. The old lion Layish, (the Homeric ,) not indicative of decrepitude, but maturity of strength; the root of the word signifying “to be strong.”
The stout lion Labi, the lioness, whose fierceness when with her whelps very properly furnishes the climax of the description. Gallius calls her the boldest and fiercest of animals. There are now two distinct species of lions in Mesopotamia, the one maneless and the other with a long, black, and shaggy mane. Layard, 3:487. Here, as is frequently the case in the Scriptures, evil-doers are represented by the lion. Psa 10:9; Psa 58:6. He is everywhere regarded as the king of beasts, and a symbol of bloodthirstiness, and on this account is employed by the apostle to represent another king the prince of fallen spirits. But the roar of the lion has an end, and even the teeth of young lions, proverbially sharp and terrible, are broken. The wicked, however they may pride themselves upon their leonine strength, are in like manner brought low.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 4:11. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey Schultens imagines, that this want of prey was not so much owing to its scarcity, as to its being torn from the mouth and talons of this ravenous creature. But it may be imputed with more probability to his not daring to venture out of his den in search of prey, amidst the roar of thunder, the blaze of lightning, and the violence of the storm, that blast of God mentioned in the preceding verse. This sense seems to be confirmed by the word yithparadu which we render, are scattered abroad; the meaning of which is, they are so affrighted by the lightning and thunder, that, being separated, they fly every one a different way, and cannot find the path which leads to the den of the lioness their dam. See Schultens and Heath.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Job 4:11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion’s whelps are scattered abroad.
Ver. 11. The old lion perishelh for lack of prey ] As not being able to hunt and get it. The meaning is (saith one) that men who reign like lions, that their children who equalled them in cruelty, that their wives who surpassed them in insolence, do end their lives tragically, Quotidiana et domestica experimenta hoc docent; all this is true for the most part. Eliphaz speaks of what is usually done, saith another (Mercer), in Psa 30:1-12 . Or he speaks of what God can easily do at any time; and of what God may justly do at all times. If he suspend this justice, it is for weighty reasons, &c. Some wicked men God punisheth here, saith Augustine, lest his providence, but not all, lest his patience and promise of judgment, should be called into question.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
old lion: Job 38:39, Gen 49:9, Num 23:24, Num 24:9, Psa 7:2, Jer 4:7, Hos 11:10, 2Ti 4:17
perisheth: Psa 34:10
the stout: Job 1:19, Job 8:3, Job 8:4, Job 27:14, Job 27:15
Reciprocal: Job 5:4 – children Psa 58:6 – Break their Jer 51:38 – roar Eze 19:2 – young lions Nah 2:11 – the dwelling
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 4:11. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey Dares not venture out of his den in search of prey, amidst the roar of thunder, the blaze of lightning, and the violence of the storm, that blast of God, mentioned in the preceding verse. And the young lions whelps are scattered abroad Are so affrighted with the lightning and thunder, that, being separated, they flee different ways, and cannot find the path which leads to the den of the lioness, their dam. Thus do the divine judgments suddenly oppress, scatter, and bring to nothing the fierce and powerful tyrants of the earth, and unexpectedly strip them of all their wealth gotten by injustice and oppression.