Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 9:11
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see [him] not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
11. This power is subtle and invisible in its presence, felt but impossible to grasp.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
11 24. From the operation of this terrible force in the physical world Job passes on to describe its display among creatures, and to shew how it paralyses and crushes them.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Lo, he goeth by me – That is, he passes along – as in the silent movements of the heavenly bodies. I see the evidence of his existence. I can see that God must be there – moving along by me in the orbs of night and in the march of the constellations, but I cannot see God himself. He passes by, or rather he passes over me ( alay), as in the majestic movement of the heavenly bodies over my head. This is, I think, the idea, and the image is exceedingly poetic and beautiful. The heavens are seen to move in silent grandeur. The northern constellation rolls around the pole. The others move on as a marshalled army. They go in silent and solemn order, and God must be there. But, says Job, I cannot see him. I can feel that he must be there, and I look out on the heavens to see him, but my eyes fail, and I cannot behold him. He passes on, and I see him not. Who has ever looked upon the heavens in the still night, and seen the silent grandeur of such movements of the heavenly host, without some such feeling – some emotion of inexpressible awe – as if he, if I may so express it, COULD ALMOST SEE GOD?
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 9:11
So He goeth by me.
God passing by
These mighty saints of old may have had fewer books to read than we have in our day, but they had one glorious book, the volume of nature, whose ever-open pages, written within and without by the finger of God, were spread out before their wondering eyes. And they read carefully and devoutly the great truths about God these pages were always teaching them. God was passing by them in the grand panorama of His works which their eyes beheld. They dwelt chiefly in tents. They lived much in the open air, under the blue sky of those beautiful Eastern lands. They lived a simple, primitive life, with few wants and few cares. They had far more time than we have for holy thought and heavenly meditation on things spiritual and eternal. Many a sacred tradition may have floated down the quiet stream of time–of the revelation of God made to man, of His will and purpose concerning the race that had so sadly gone astray from Him. They knew that God had not finally abandoned the world and consigned it to utter destruction. They followed their flocks and herds all day in the wild, trackless desert, or in the fertile plain. They lived much of the time alone–and men who are much alone with God become terribly in earnest. They are away from man and all his little ways, and hold communion with God through His works. Men like Moses and Elijah and John the Baptist may be separated from their fellow men; but they are near to, and enjoy wondrous communings with the infinite and eternal God. God is passing by them in a thousand ways. They watch with eager eye every variation in the clouds and in the stars. They could see the glorious play of the forked lightning as it gleamed, in a thousand fantastic forms, on the bosom of the storm-cloud, resting on the distant mountain tops. In the storm God was passing by–that same God whose goings forth have been of old, from everlasting. They knew, it may be, little of the laws of electricity or of sound; but they could hear in the thunder, as it rolled from rock to rock, or shook the earth from pole to pole, the very voice of God (Psa 29:3-8). These mighty saints may have had no formulated system of theology, where God was mapped out with all His perfections, with all the nicety and precision of a mathematical figure; but to them He was the omnipresent God. They saw some rays of His glorious presence reflected from every cloud. They heard His voice in every passing breeze. God was passing by then. God–the same God–is passing by us now. Whatever changes have come or yet may come to His universe, He Himself is unchangeable. In the glorious panorama of the heavens God is passing by us. In the noiseless tread of the seasons God is passing by. Spring and summer, seed time and harvest, autumn and winter, as they quietly come and quietly go, all tell the same story, God is passing by. In the regular succession of day and night, in every rising and setting sun, in every waxing and waning moon, God is near us and passing by us. In every national blessing and every national chastisement God is passing by. When the streams of earthly comforts flow full and strong around our life, and equally when these streams run low or dry, God is passing by us. When war, with all its accompanying desolations, its misery and agony and woe, is sweeping over a country, God is passing by. And no less surely is He passing by for us in our days of peace and our nights of quiet. God is ever near us, though we see Him not. In every beat of our pulse, in every throb of our heart, in every movement of our brain, God is there. He is about our bed and around our path. Above us, behind and before, we are flooded with the omnipresence of Deity as with the noonday sunshine. But because we see Him not with the bodily eye we forget that He is there. He passeth on also, but we perceive Him not. (James Carmichael, D. D.)
Mans ignorance of God
1. That God is invisible in His essence, and incomprehensible in many of His actions. Mans eye cannot see Him. Mans understanding cannot comprehend what He doth.
2. As the Lord in His nature cannot be seen at all; so (such is the weakness of man, that) we cannot see Him fully in His Word or works. Thus we see men, but we seldom see God in the great transactions and motions of kingdoms. And we see Him least of all in the course of spiritual things, in His working upon our hearts. God works wonders in us, and we perceive Him not.
3. Man is not fit to sit as a judge upon the works and dealings of God. Shall we judge God in what He doth, when we cannot apprehend what He doth? A judge must have the full cognisance of the matter before him, how else can he pass sentence about it?
4. It should be matter of great humiliation to Us, that we see so little of God. (J. Caryl.)
Present though invisible
We are reminded of this profound spiritual truth by reading the following account of an occurrence which illustrates an impressive scientific fact touching the invisible. Photographs of the invisible are what M. Zenger calls two pictures which he took about midnight of 17th August from a window looking out upon the Lake of Geneva. They gave faint yet distinct images of the lake and of Mont Blanc, which could not be seen in the darkness. Mr. Bertrand remarks that invisibility is a relative term, the significance of which depends on the power of the observers eye. The photographs were taken with a light of very small intensity, and did not represent an invisible object. So sky photographs, taken in observatories, show stars which cannot be discerned by the most piercing vision. (Homiletic Review.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 11. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not] He is incomprehensible in all his ways, and in all his works; and he must be so it he be GOD, and work as GOD; for his own nature and his operations are past finding out.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He goeth, i.e. he worketh by his providence in ways of mercy or judgment.
By me; or, besides or before me; in my presence.
I see him not; I see the effects, but I cannot understand the causes or grounds of his actions, for they are incomprehensible by me, or by any other men: for though he speaks only in his own person, yet he means it of all men; that such is the weakness of mens understandings, that they cannot search out Gods counsels and ways: see Act 17:27; Rom 11:33.
He passeth on also; he goeth from place to place, from one action to another. He speaks of God after the manner of men.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. I see him not: he passeth onTheimage is that of a howling wind (Isa21:1). Like it when it bursts invisibly upon man, so God is feltin the awful effects of His wrath, but is not seen (Joh3:8). Therefore, reasons Job, it is impossible to contend withHim.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see [him] not,…. This is expressive of the invisibility of God; for though the angels in heaven always behold his face, and men, in the works of creation, may see his eternal power and Godhead, and other perfections of it displayed therein; and saints by faith have a comfortable and delightful view of him, of his countenance, his love, grace and mercy in his word and ordinances, and especially in the face and person of Christ, the image of the invisible God, and will in heaven most clearly see him as he is, in the greater display of his glory and his grace; yet his essence is invisible, not only not to be seen with corporeal eyes, but not to be comprehended in the mind:
he passeth on also, but I perceive him not; this “going [and] passing on”, as, ascribed to God, must be understood in consistence with his omnipresence; he cannot be thought to move from place to place who is everywhere, who fills heaven and earth with his presence, and there is no going from it: local motion cannot be said of him; but this respects the operations of his providence; he is continually working all around us, by supporting us in being, and supplying us with what we want, and so is near us, and yet we see him not: Job experienced the bounties of his providence, as well as the blessings of his grace, in the time of his prosperity, and now he felt the weight of his afflicting hand upon him; but yet, as to his essence, he could not see him; he was sensible that he was nigh him, and find a concern in all that befell him, but he could neither see nor comprehend him, nor account for his dealings with him: he had “passed by” him in his state of nature, and had looked graciously on him, and had said unto him, Live; he had “passed on” from him, and hid his face so that he could not see him, nor find him backward nor forward, on the right hand, nor on the left, where he used to work, see Job 23:3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11 Behold, He goeth by me and I see not,
And passeth by and I perceive Him not.
12 Behold, He taketh away, who will hold Him back?
Who will say to Him: What doest Thou?
13 Eloah restraineth not His anger,
The helpers of Rahab stoop under Him –
14 How much less that I should address Him,
That I should choose the right words in answer to Him;
15 Because, though I were right, I could not answer, –
To Him as my Judge I must make supplication.
God works among men, as He works in nature, with a supreme control over all, invisibly, irresistibly, and is not responsible to any being ( Isa 45:9). He does not turn or restrain His anger without having accomplished His purpose. This is a proposition which, thus broadly expressed, is only partially true, as is evident from Psa 78:38. The helpers of Rahab must bow themselves under Him. It is not feasible to understand this in a general sense, as meaning those who are ready with boastful arrogance to yield succour to any against God. The form of expression which follows in Job 9:14, “much less I,” supports the assumption that refers to some well-known extraordinary example of wicked enterprise which had been frustrated, notwithstanding the gigantic strength by which it was supported; and may be translated by the present tense, since a familiar fact is used as synonymous with the expression of an universal truth. Elsewhere Rahab as a proper name denotes Egypt (Psa 87:4), but it cannot be so understood here, because direct references to events in the history of Israel are contrary to the character of the book, which, with remarkable consistency, avoids everything that is at all Israelitish. But how has Egypt obtained the name of Rahab? It is evident from Isa 30:7 that it bears this name with reference to its deeds of prowess; but from Psa 89:11; Isa 51:9, it is evident that Rahab properly denotes a sea-monster, which has become the symbol of Egypt, like tannn and leviathan elsewhere. This signification of the word is also supported by Job 26:12, where the lxx actually translate , as here with remarkable freedom, . It is not clear whether these ”sea-monsters” denote rebels cast down into the sea beneath the sky, or chained upon the sky; but at any rate the consciousness of a distinct mythological meaning in is expressed by this translation (as also in the still freer translation of Jerome, et sub quo curvantur qui portant orbem ); probably a myth connected with such names of the constellations as and (Ewald, Hirz., Schlottm.). The poesy of the book of Job even in other places does not spurn mythological allusions; and the phrase before us reminds one of the Hindu myth of Indras’ victory over the dark demon Vritras, who tries to delay the descent of rain, and over his helpers. In Vritras, as in , there is the idea of hostile resistance.
Job compares himself, the feeble one, to these mythical titanic powers in Job 9:14. (properly: even that), or even alone (Job 4:19), signifies, according as the connection introduces a climax or anti-climax, either quanto magis or quanto minus , as here: how much less can I, the feeble one, dispute with Him! , Job 9:15, is best taken, as in Job 5:5, in the signification quoniam . The part. Poel we should more correctly translate “my disputant” than “my judge;” it is Poel which Ewald appropriately styles the conjugation of attack: , judicando vel litigando aliquem petere ; comp. Ges. 55, 1. The part. Kal denotes a judge, the part. Poel one who is accuser and judge at the same time. On such Poel-forms from strong roots, vid., on Psa 109:10, where wedorschu is to be read, and therefore it is written in correct Codices.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(11) He passeth on also.This, again, is an expression Eliphaz had used in Job. 4:15. Here in words of great sublimity Job depicts the unapproachable majesty of God omnipotent, but invisible, and shows the utter hopelessness of entering into judgment with Him. Unfortunately, though this is a proposition to which all must assent, yet none is virtually so much repudiated or practically so often contravened. Men still cast about to justify themselves before God, and will do so till the end of time; but it is in teaching such as this that the Book of Job has laid the foundation of the Gospel by preparing for its acceptance by overthrowing mans natural and habitual standing-ground in himself.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Strophe d After the extended description of the divine Omnipotence, the short, hasty glance which in this strophe is cast on miserable, mortal man makes an impression so much the more pointed. Job 9:11-12. (Schlottmann.)
11. An important disclosure of the spiritual nature of Deity.
Passeth on Glideth, or sweepeth, by. The mysterious , hhalaph, used by Job in Job 4:15, of a spirit; in Job 14:7, of growth in nature; and in Job 11:10 of the solemn march of God to judgment. The word is happily adapted to express the unseen movements of nature and of nature’s God. See also Job 9:26.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 9:11. Lo, he goeth by me, &c. Who, if he passeth by me, I cannot behold him: yea, while he glideth swiftly away, I perceive him not. Houbigant and Heath.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Job 9:11 Lo, he goeth by me, and I see [him] not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
Ver. 11. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not ] As he is powerful in his deeds, so he is secret in his designs, passing, and not repassing daily, but yet unseen; he is everywhere present, and not so far from any one of us as the bark is from the tree; for in him we live, move, and have our being; and therefore we had need take heed what we say or think of him in any extremity or misery, for he overheareth us; yea, he knoweth our thoughts long before, Psa 139:2 . As a circumspect judge that goeth obscured under some disguise, to hear and see what is said and done by those that are to be judged by him. Or, as the Great Turk standing behind the arras, at the dangerous door, to hear all the debates and decrees of his senate, and to call them to a strict account of all afterwards: God, as he is invisible, too subtle for sinew or sight to seize upon; so he is , All-eye, to survey and look all around us; yea, to see through us: “The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven”; howbeit, he is not so confined or shut up there (as the Epicures dreamed) but that “his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men,” Psa 11:4 . The one points out his knowledge, the other his judgment, or his eritical descant; he pryeth into the very entrails of the soul, the heart of the heart; the reins, those seats of lust, and most abstruse parts of the body. No man needs a window in his breast (as the heathen Momus wished) for God to look in at; every man before God is all window, and he, like the optic virtue in the eye, seeth all, and is seen of none. Look to it, therefore, and walk exactly. Cave, spectat Care, Take heed, Care seeth you, was an ancient watchword among the Romans, and a great retentive from vice; how much more should this among all men, Take heed, the Lord looks on! What though he is invisible, and we see him not; he passeth on also, and we perceive him not; shall we, like the foolish bustard, thrust our heads in a hole, and then think that, because we see none, we are therefore seen of none? The whole world is to God as a sea of glass, clear and transparent, Rev 4:6 , and his eyes are as a flaming fire, Rev 1:14 , that need no outward light, but can see by sending out a ray. God, that fills and sees all (saith Nazianzen), though he lighten the mind, yet flies before the beams thereof, still leaving it as it is able in sight to follow him; and so draws it by degrees to higher things; yet interposeth between it and his incomprehensible essence, as many veils as were over the Tabernacle.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Lo. Figure of speech. Asterismos. App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
he goeth: Job 23:8, Job 23:9, Job 35:14, Psa 77:19, 1Ti 6:16
Reciprocal: Gen 28:16 – and I
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 9:11. Lo he goeth by me Or besides, or before me, in my presence; that is, he worketh by his providence in ways of mercy or judgment. And I see him not I see the effects, but I cannot understand the causes or grounds of his actions, for they are incomprehensible to me, or any other man: for though Job speaks only in his own person, yet he means to affirm it of all men, that such is the weakness of their understandings that they cannot search out Gods counsels and ways. The operations of second causes are commonly obvious to our senses; but, though God works by those causes, we see him not, nor can our finite minds fathom his counsels, apprehend his motions, or comprehend the measures he takes. He passeth on also He goeth from place to place; from one action to another. But I perceive him not He passes and acts invisibly and undiscerned.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:11 Lo, he goeth {e} by me, and I see [him] not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
(e) I am not able to comprehend his works, which are common and daily before my eyes, much less in those things, which are hid and secret.