Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 41:18
By his sneezes a light doth shine, and his eyes [are] like the eyelids of the morning.
18. The animal is said to inflate itself, as it lies basking in the sun, and then force the heated breath through its nostrils, which in the sun appears like a stream of light.
the eyelids of the morning ] The reference may be to the shining of the reddish eyes of the animal, which are seen even under the water, before its head comes to the surface. In the Egyptian hieroglyphs the eyes of the crocodile are a symbol of the dawn.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
18 21. The monster breathes smoke and flame.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
By his neesings a light doth shine – The word rendered neesings means properly sneezing, and the literal sense here would be, His sneezings, light shines. Coverdale renders it, His nesinge is like a glisteringe fyre. Bochart says that the meaning is, that when the crocodile sneezes, the breath is driven through the nostrils with such force that it seems to scintillate, or emit fire. Probably the meaning is, that when the animal emits a sudden sound, like sneezing, the fire seems to flash from the eye. There is some quick and rapid motion of the eyes, which in the rays of the sun seem to flash fire. The sneezing of the crocodile is mentioned by Aristotle. Prof. Lee. Amphibious animals, the longer they hold their breath under water, respire so much the more violently when they emerge, and the breath is expelled suddenly and with violence. Schultens. This is the action here referred to – the strong effort of the animal to recover breath when he rises to the surface, and when in the effort the eyes seem to scintillate, or emit light.
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning – The eyelids of the morning is a beautiful poetic phrase quite common in Hebrew poetry. The eyes of the crocodile are small, but they are remarkable. When he lifts his head above water, his staring eyes are the first things that strike the beholder, and may then with great beauty be compared with the morning light. There is a remarkable coincidence here, in the fact that when the Egyptians would represent the morning by a hieroglyphic, they painted a crocodiles eye. The reason assigned for this was, that before the whole body of the animal appeared, the eyes seemed to rise from the deep; see Bochart on the passage, Hierez., and also Herapollo, Hieroglyph. i. c. 65.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. By his neesings a light doth shine] It is very likely that this may be taken literally. When he spurts up the water out of his nostrils, the drops form a sort of iris or rainbow. We have seen this effect produced when, in certain situations and state of the atmosphere, water was thrown up forcibly, so as to be broken into small drops, which has occasioned an appearance like the rainbow.
The eyelids of the morning.] It is said that, under the water, the eyes of the crocodile are exceedingly dull; but when he lifts his head above water they sparkle with the greatest vivacity. Hence the Egyptians, in their hieroglyphics, made the eyes of the crocodile the emblem of the morning. . – HORAPP. Egypt. Ieroglyph., lib. i., c. 65. This is a most remarkable circumstance, casts light on ancient history, and shows the rigid correctness of the picture drawn above.
The same figure is employed by the Greek poets.
.
“The eyelid of the golden day.”
Soph. Antig. ver. 103.
.
“The darksome eyelid of the night.”
Eurip. Phaeniss. ver. 553.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By his neesings; which may be understood either,
1. Of any commotion or agitation of the body, like that which is in neezing, as when the whale stirreth himself and casteth or shooteth up great spouts of water into the air by the pipes which God hath planted in his head for this use; which water being thin, and transparent, and illuminated by the sun-beams, casts forth a shining light. Or,
2. Of neezing properly so called, which the crocodile is said frequently to do, because it commonly turneth its eyes to the sun, as Strabo and others note; which when a man doth, he is apt to neeze.
Like the eyelids of the morning; to which they seem very fitly compared, because the eyes both of the whale and crocodile are dull and dark under the water; but as soon as they appear above water, they cast forth immediately a bright and clear light, though not like that of the sun at noon-day, which had been too great an hyperbole, yet like the morning light, suddenly breaking forth after the dark night.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. Translate: “hissneezing, causeth a light to shine.” Amphibious animals,emerging after having long held their breath under water, respire byviolently expelling the breath like one sneezing: in the effort theeyes which are usually directed towards the sun, seem to flashfire; or it is the expelled breath that, in the sun, seems toemit light.
eyelids of morningTheEgyptian hieroglyphics paint the eyes of the crocodile as thesymbol for morning, because the eyes appear the first thing,before the whole body emerges from the deep [Hor Hierogliphic1.65. BOCHART].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
By his neesings a light doth shine,…. The philosopher i observes, that those who look to the sun are more apt to sneeze: and it is taken notice of by various writers k, that the crocodile delights to be sunning itself, and lying yawning in the sun and looking at it, as quoted by Bochart; and so frequently sneeze: which sneezings, through the rays of the sun, may seem to shine and give light. Though as, in sneezing, water is thrown out through the nostrils, it may be observed of the whale, that it has mouths or holes in its front, through which, as through pipes, it throws out showers and floods of water, as Pliny l relates; which, by means of the rays of the sun, as in a rainbow, appear bright and glittering;
and his eyes [are] like the eyelids of the morning: the break and dawn of day; a very beautiful expression, the same we call “peep of day”: Pindar m has “the eye of the evening”; break of day, as Ben Gersom says, is about an hour and the fifth part of an hour before the sunrising. The eyes of the crocodile were, with the Egyptians, an hieroglyphic of the morning n: wherefore this seems better to agree with the crocodile than the whale, whose eyes are not much bigger than those of a bullock; and has eyelids and hair like men’s eyes; the crystal of the eye is not much bigger than a pea o; its eyes are placed very low, almost at the end of the upper lip, and when without its guide, dashes itself against rocks and shoals p. Though that sort of whales called “orcae” are said to have eyes a foot long, and of a red rosy colour, such as the morning is described by q; and a northern writer r tells us that some whales have eyes, whose circumference will admit fifteen or twenty men to sit therein; and in others it exceeds eight or ten cubits; and that the pupil is a cubit, and of a red and flaming colour; which, at a distance, in dark seasons, among the waves, appears to fishermen as fire kindled. And Thevenot s says of crocodiles, that their eyes are indifferently big, and very darkish.
i Problem. s. 33. qu. 4. k Aelian. l. 3. c. 11. Leo African. Descriptio African, l. 9. p. 761. Pet. Martyr. Decad. 3. c. 4. l Nat. Hist. l. 9. c. 4, 6. m Olymp. Ode 3. v. 36. n Hor. Hiereglyph. apud Scheuchzer. vol. 4. p. 849. o Voyage to Spitzbergen, p. 145. p Aelian. l. 2. c. 13. Plin. l. 9. c. 62. q Hasacus apud Schultens in loc. r Olaus Magnus de Ritu Gent. Septent. l. 21. c. 5, 8. so Albertus Magnus de Animal. l. 24. c. 1. s Travels, ut supra, (part. 1.) p. 245.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
18 His sneezing sendeth forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn;
19 Out of his mouth proceed flames,
Sparks of fire escape from him;
20 Out of his nostrils goeth forth smoke
Like a seething pot and caldron;
21 His breath kindleth coals,
And flames go forth out of his mouth.
That the crocodile delights to sun itself on the land, and then turns its open jaws to the sunny side, most Nile travellers since Herodotus have had an opportunity of observing;
(Note: Dieterici, Reisebilder, i. 194: “We very often saw the animal lying in the sand, its jaws wide open and turned towards the warm sunbeams, while little birds, like the slender white water-wagtail, march quietly about in the deadly abyss, and pick out worms from the watery jaws.” Herodotus, ii. 68, tells exactly the same story; as the special friend of the crocodile among little birds, he mentions (the sand-piper, Pluvianus Aegyptius).)
and in connection therewith the reflex action of sneezing may occur, since the light of the sun produces an irritation on the retina, and thence on the vagus; and since the sun shines upon the fine particles of watery slime cast forth in the act of sneezing, a meteoric appearance may be produced. This delicate observation of nature is here compressed into three words; in this concentration of whole, grand thoughts and pictures, we recognise the older poet. is the usual Semitic word for “sneezing” (Synon. 2Ki 4:35). shortened from , Job 31:26, Hiph. of . The comparison of the crocodile’s eyes with (as Job 3:9, from , to move with quick vibrations, to wink, i.e., tremble), or the rendering of the same as (lxx), is the more remarkable, as, according to Horus, i. 68, two crocodile’s eyes are the hieroglyph
(Note: The eyes of the crocodile alone by themselves are no hieroglyph: how could they have been represented by themselves as crocodile’s eyes? But in the Ramesseum and elsewhere the crocodile appears with a head pointing upwards in company with couching lions, and the eyes of the crocodile are rendered specially prominent. Near this group it appears again in a curved position, and quite small, but this time in company with a scorpion which bears a disc of the sun. The former ( ) seems to me to be a figure of the longest night, the latter ( in Horapollo) of the shortest, so that consequently and do not refer to the rising and setting of the sun, but to the night as prevailing against or succumbing to the day (communicated by Lauth from his researches on the astronomical monuments). But since the growth of the day begins with the longest night, and vice vers, the notions and can, as it seems to me, retain their most natural signification; and the crocodile’s eyes are, notwithstanding, a figure of the light shining forth from the darkness, as the crocodile’s tail signifies black darkness (and Egypt as the black land).)
for dawn, : (probably to be read ) . There it is the peculiar brilliancy of the eyes of certain animals that is intended, which is occasioned either by the iris being furnished with a so-called lustrous substance, or there being in the pupil of the eye (as e.g., in the ostrich) that spot which, shining like metal, is called tapetum lucidum . For of the eyes , is the lustre of the pupil in the depth of the eye. The eyes of the crocodile, which are near together, and slanting, glimmer through the water, when it is only a few feet under water, with a red glow.
Nevertheless the comparison in Job 41:18 might also be intended differently. The inner (third) eyelid
(Note: Prof. Will refers the figure not to the third eyelid or the membrana nictitans, but to that spot on the choroidea, glistening with a metallic lustre, which the crocodile has in common with most animals of the night or the twilight, therefore to the brilliancy of its eye, which shines by virtue of its lustrous coating; vid., the magnificent head of a crocodile in Schlegel’s Amphibien-Abbildungen (1837-44).)
of the crocodile is itself a rose red; and therefore, considered in themselves, its eyes may also be compared with the “eyelids of the dawn.” What is then said, Job 41:19, of the crocodile, Achilles Tatius, iv. 2, says of the hippopotamus: . Bartram has observed on the alligator, that as it comes on the land a thick smoke issues from its distended nostrils with a thundering sound. This thick, hot steam, according to the credible description which is presented here, produces the impression of a fire existing beneath, and bursting forth. The subjective truth of this impression is faithfully but poetically reproduced by the poet. On (root , escudere ). signifies no more than to disentangle one’s self, here therefore: to fly out in small particles. , Job 41:19, is rendered by Saad., Gecat., and others, by qumqum ( ), a caldron; the modern expositors derive it from = agama , to glow, and understand it of a “heated caldron.” But the word signifies either heat or caldron; the latter signification, however, cannot be linguistically established; one would look for (Arab. iggane , a copper Germ. Waschkessel ). The noun signifies, Job 40:2, the reed , and in the Jerusalem Talmud, Sota ix. 12, some menial service (comp. Arab. ugum ); Ew. rightly retains the former signification, like a pot blown upon, i.e., fired, heated, and beside it (in combination with it) reeds as fuel, which in themselves, and especially together with the steaming water, produce a thick smoke. The Waw is to be compared to the Arabic Waw concomitantiae (which governs the acc.).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(18) By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morningi.e., fiery red and glowing.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. By his neesings a light doth shine Rather, His sneezings flash forth light. “This delicate observation of nature is here compressed into three words; in this concentration of whole grand thoughts and pictures we recognise the older poet.” Delitzsch. This animal, as travellers have remarked from the days of Herodotus to the present, delights to he on the sandbank, turning his open jaws to the sun an act which naturally gives rise to sneezing. The sun’s light, shining through the abundant spray thrown from the nostrils, produces a striking luminous appearance. A like delicate observation of the hippopotamus is made by Dr. Schweinfurth, an African traveller: “In the sunlight the fine spray emitted from their nostrils gleamed like a ray of light.” Heart of Africa, 2:315. The Jews, according to Buxtorf, (col. 1599,) connect with this text a notion that sneezing saves life by the light which it gives. In keeping with this conceit, the Jews, says Chappelow, when any one sneezes, say: “A happy life to thee.”
The eyelids of the morning (See Job 3:9.) The Egyptian made the flashing, cat-like eyes of this animal the symbol of the morning. A passage from Horus-Apollos, who wrote on hieroglyphs about 500 A.D., furnishes a remarkable illustration: “To describe the dawn, the Egyptians depict two eyes of a crocodile, inasmuch as the eyes make their appearance out of the deep before its entire body.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 41:18. By his neesings a light doth shine Literally, His sneezings cause the light to sparkle. The next clause gives as great an image of the thing it would express, says Dr. Young, as can enter the thought of man. His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. The eyes of the crocodile were used as a hieroglyphick by the ancient Egyptians, to denote the rising of the sun; because, says Horapollo, when it emerges from the river, its eyes are the first part of the body which becomes visible.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Job 41:18 By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes [are] like the eyelids of the morning.
Ver. 18. By his neesings a light doth shine ] When this dreadful monster sneezeth, or snorteth, fire breaketh out at his eyes and nose. By this neesing of the whale is meant the abundance of white frothy water which he casteth forth at his nostrils, In sublime nimbos efflat (Plin. lib. 9, c. 6).
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
neesings. Obsolete for sneezings. From A. S. fneosan. Chaucer spells it fnesen.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Job 41:18-25
Job 41:18-25
“His sneezings flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
Out of his mouth goeth burning torches,
And sparks of fire leap forth.
Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth,
As of a boiling pot and burning rushes.
His breath kindleth coals,
And a flame goeth forth from his mouth.
In his neck abideth strength,
And terror danceth before him.
The flakes of his flesh are joined together:
They are firm upon him; they cannot be moved.
His heart is as firm as a stone;
Yea, firm as the nether millstone.
When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid:
By reason of consternation, they are beside themselves.”
“His sneezings flash forth light” (Job 41:18). “The spray breathed through the nostrils of the crocodile is luminous in the sunshine. His eyes are compared to the dawn, because they are visible from some distance under water.” “When the crocodile comes up after being submerged in the water, he blows spray into the sunlight with an effect like fireworks. That impression is enhanced by the fact that his eyes shine like coals of fire through the water.” As Kelly said, “All of this may be understood as an imaginative and exaggerated description of a crocodile, or as poetic imagery.”
“Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth” (Job 41:20). This is a reference to that spray which the monster snorts out of his nostrils following a period of being submerged in the water. “It is compared here to the steam that comes off a pot boiling with a fire made of rushes under it.”
“Terror dances before him” (Job 41:22). “This is a graphic description of the terrified movements of other creatures when the crocodile appears.”[25]
“The flakes of his flesh are joined together” (Job 41:23). “These (literally the pendulous parts) under the neck and body, which in most animals are soft, are in the crocodile firm and hard, forming a horny, waterproof covering for the epidermis.”
E.M. Zerr:
Job 41:18. Neesings is another word for sneezing. In the field of figurative language we should be careful to avoid speculation, and always remain within the bounds justified by the known facts. For instance, we know the inspired writer was describing a literal, fleshly creature. Whatever figures he used must be understood to be only some comparison to the thing named. Let us be careful not to formulate some far-fetched applications. When the hippopotamus sneezes, the vapor he forces from his nostrils would appear like a ray of light, and it would be reflected at the same time from his eyes.
Job 41:19-21. The breath of this large beast would be charged with the temperature of his body which is likened to the heat of a lamp.
Job 41:22. This creature is so mighty that what might have been meant as pain to him will fail, and he will be able to rejoice over the feeble attempt.
Job 41:23-25, This is a description of the powerful physical body of the beast.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the eyelids: Job 3:9, *marg. Rev 1:14
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 41:18. By his neesings a light doth shine Literally, His sneezing causes the light to sparkle. If he sneeze, or spout up water, it is like a light shining, either with the froth, or the light of the sun shining through it. The crocodile, in particular, is said frequently to sneeze. His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning The eyes of the whale are said in the night-time to shine like a flame; and the eyes of the crocodile, although they are dull and dark under the water, yet, as soon as they appear above water, cast a bright and clear light, like that of the morning suddenly breaking forth after the dark night. I think, says Dr. Young, this gives us as great an image of the thing it would express as can enter the thoughts of man. It is not improbable that the Egyptians stole their hieroglyphic for the morning, which is the crocodiles eye, from this passage, though no commentator I have seen mentions it. It is easy to conceive how the Egyptians should be both readers and admirers of the writings of Moses, whom I suppose the author of this poem. The doctor paraphrases this clause thus:
Large is his front; and when his burnishd eyes
Lift their broad lids, the morning seems to rise.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
41:18 By his neesings {g} a light doth shine, and his eyes [are] like the eyelids of the morning.
(g) That is, casts out flames of fire.