Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 41:24
His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether [millstone].
24. The second clause reads,
Yea, firm as the nether millstone.
Gen. “as hard as the nether millstone.” The term “firm,” lit. cast, is repeated from the first clause (cf. Job 41:23). The nether millstone, bearing all the pressure upon it, needs to be harder even than the upper stone.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
His heart is as firm as a stone – As hard; as solid. Bochart remarks that the word heart here is not to be regarded as denoting the courage of the animal, as it sometimes does, but the heart literally. The statement occurs in the description of the various parts of the animal, and the object is to show that there was special firmness or solidity in every one of his members. There is special firmness or strength needed in the hearts of all animals, to enable them to propel the blood through the arteries of the body; and in an animal of the size of the crocodile, it is easy to see that the heart must be made capable of exerting vast force. But there is no reason to suppose that the affirmation here is made on the supposition that there is need of extraordinary strength in the heart to propel the blood. The doctrine of the circulation of the blood was not then known to mankind, and it is to be presumed that the argument here would be based on what was known, or what might be easily observed. The presumption therefore is, that the statement here is based on what had been seen of the remarkable compactness and firmness of the heart of the animal here referred to. Probably there was nothing so unique in the heart of the crocodile that this description would be applicable to that animal alone, but it is such doubtless as would apply to the heart of any animal of extraordinary size and strength.
Yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone – The mills commonly used in ancient times were hand-mills; see a description of them in the notes at Mat 24:41. Why the lower stone was the hardest, is not quite apparent. Perhaps a more solid stone might have been chosen for this, because it was supposed that there was more wear on the lower than the upper stone, or because its weight would make the machine more solid and steady.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 24. Hard as a piece of the nether millstone.] Which is required to be harder than that which runs above.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
His heart; either,
1. That part of the body is most firm, and hard, and strong. Or,
2. His courage is invincible; he is void of fear for himself, and of compassion to others, which is oft called hardness of heart.
Hard as a piece of the nether millstone; which being to bear the weight of the upper, ought to be the harder and stronger of the two.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. heart“In largebeasts which are less acute in feeling, there is great firmness ofthe heart, and slower motion” [BOCHART].The nether millstone, on which the upper turns, is especially hard.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether [millstone]. Which must be understood not of the substance but of the qualities of it, being bold, courageous, undaunted, and unmerciful; which is true both of the whale and crocodile, and particularly of the crocodile: Aelianus z relates of one sort of them that they are unmerciful, though elsewhere a, he represents them as fearful.
z De Animal. l. 12. c. 41. a Ibid. l. 10. c. 24.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(24) His hearti.e., his nature, his disposition. This seems to be the meaning, rather than the physical organ of life.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
24. Hard millstone Hard as the nether millstone. This was, in general, compact and heavy, often made of sandstone, and quite thick, while the upper one, having to be driven round by the hand, was made lighter, and of more porous texture. The hardness spoken of may be the cold, sluggish action of the heart, that characterizes all the saurians, which, on this account, are distinguished as cold-blooded; or the disposition of the reptile, of which AElian says, he is the most pitiless of animals.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 41:24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether [millstone].
Ver. 24. His heart is as firm as a stone ] He is corpore et corde validissimus. Of the sword fish, Plutarch saith, that he hath a sword, but not a heart to use it, , , . But the whale hath courage to his bulk: his heart is as firm as a stone, as his head (saith Scaliger) is as hard as a flint. In the hearts of some creatures, saith Aristotle, is found a bony or grisly hardness; but the whale’s heart is all as it were a bone; and this bone as a stone.
As a piece of the nether millstone
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
as hard: Isa 48:4, Jer 5:3, Zec 7:12
Reciprocal: Job 6:12 – of brass Job 41:33 – is made