Job 38

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In Job 38, the LORD answers Job out of a whirlwind, challenging his understanding and wisdom. God begins by questioning Job's presence and knowledge during the creation of the earth, the containment of the sea, and the establishment of the morning. Through a series of rhetorical questions, God highlights His own omnipotence and Job's profound limitations in comprehending the natural world and its intricate workings.

The LORD Answers Job from the Whirlwind 1–3

Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge?

Gird up now thy loins like a man; For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

God’s Questions on Creation and Design 4–11

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.

Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it?

Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,

When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Orwho shut up the sea with doors, When it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb;

When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors,

And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

Control Over Light, Time, and Moral Order 12–15

Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began, And caused the dayspring to know its place;

That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?

It is changed as clay under the seal; Andall thingsstand forth as a garment:

And from the wicked their light is withholden, And the high arm is broken.

Exploring the Unknowable Depths of Creation 16–21

Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if thou knowest it all.

Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?

Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born, And the number of thy days is great!

The Treasures of Snow, Hail, and Weather 22–35

Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war?

By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?

Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;

To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

To satisfy the waste and desolate ground, And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

The waters hide themselvesand becomelike stone, And the face of the deep is frozen.

Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion?

Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?

Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?

Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?

Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto thee, Here we are?

Source of Wisdom and Sustaining Providence 36–38

Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind?

Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together?

Sustaining the Wild Animal Kingdom 39–41

Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

When they couch in their dens, Andabide in the covert to lie in wait?

Who provideth for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry unto God, Andwander for lack of food?

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Job 38

Verse 1

out of the whirlwind — Se'arah, a storm or tempest. The LORD answers from the storm again in Job 40:6. Elihu had just spoken of the sound of God's voice (Job 37:1–2); Elijah met the LORD after 'a great and strong wind' (1 Kings 19:11).

Verse 2

darkeneth counsel — Chashak, to make dark; 'counsel' is etsah, plan or purpose. Job's words obscure God's design instead of explaining it. Job takes the charge up in his answer: 'Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge?' (Job 42:3); compare Job 34:35.

Verse 3

Gird up now thy loins like a man — Azar, to belt; geber is a strong man. Girding the loins is the readiness of Elijah, who 'girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab' (1 Kings 18:46). The same summons is repeated in Job 40:7; Peter uses the figure in 1 Pet 1:13.

Verse 4

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? — Yasad, to found; 'understanding' is binah. Scripture gives the founding to the LORD (Ps 102:25), and Heb 1:10 applies those words to the Son: 'Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth'.

Verse 5

laid the measures… stretched the line — The earth is pictured as a building laid out by a builder: memad is a measure, qav a measuring cord. Isa 40:12 asks in the same manner, 'Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand'. Verse 6 passes to the foundations and corner stone.

Verse 7

the sons of God — Bene Elohim, the phrase of Job 1:6 and 2:1, where they 'came to present themselves before the LORD'. Here they shout (rua) and sing (ranan) 'together' (yachad) when the earth's foundation is laid, so they already existed when it was made.

Verse 8

shut up the sea with doors — Sakak, to fence in; 'doors' is deleth. The sea is pictured as an infant issuing from the womb (rechem), then wrapped in cloud and darkness (v.9) and kept behind bars (v.10). The LORD 'placed the sand for the bound of the sea' (Jer 5:22); see Prov 8:29.

Verse 12

commanded the morning since thy days — Shachar is the dawn, the 'dayspring'. Job is a man of few days: 'we are but of yesterday' (Job 8:9). The dawn keeps its appointed 'place' without his word. Zacharias calls Christ 'the dayspring from on high' (Luke 1:78).

Verse 13

the ends of the earth — Kanaph is an edge or extremity, literally a wing or flap, here the earth's quarters. The dawn takes hold of them, and the wicked are 'shaken out' (na'ar, to shake off). Compare Ps 104:22, where at sunrise the beasts of prey retire to their dens.

Verse 14

clay to the seal — Chomer is clay, chotam a signet. As clay shows the signet's design once it is pressed, the earth's features come into view under the morning light. Ps 104:2 likewise says the LORD covers himself 'with light as with a garment'.

Verse 16

the springs of the sea — Nebek is a fountain, and 'depth' is tehom, the deep of Gen 1:2. The LORD's way is in the sea and his footsteps are unknown (Ps 77:19). Job is asked whether he has walked where only the Creator has gone.

Verse 17

the gates of death — Sha'ar, gate; 'shadow of death' is tsalmaveth. Death is spoken of as having gates and doors. The psalmist prays to be lifted 'from the gates of death' (Ps 9:13); of Sheol it is said, 'Hell is naked before him' (Job 26:6).

Verse 21

Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? — The question is ironic. Eliphaz had asked in the same tone, 'Art thou the first man that was born?' (Job 15:7). Job knows only what a man of few days can know (Job 8:9); the one who set the places of light and darkness is the speaker.

Verse 22

the treasures of the snow — Otsar is a storehouse. Snow and hail are laid up as in a treasury; so 'he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries' (Ps 135:7). Elihu had said, 'he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth' (Job 37:6).

Verse 23

reserved against the time of trouble — Chasak, to hold back. Hail is kept for judgment: the LORD 'cast down great stones from heaven' on Israel's enemies at Beth-horon (Josh 10:11) and sent 'a very grievous hail' on Egypt (Ex 9:18).

Verse 26

where no man is — Midbar, wilderness. Rain falls on land no man tends, so the LORD's care is not measured by human use. He 'turneth the wilderness into a standing water' (Ps 107:35) and promises 'waters in the wilderness' (Isa 43:20).

Verse 28

Hath the rain a father? — The rain is given a father (ab), the dew is 'begotten' (yalad), and v.29 adds a womb for the ice. Only the LORD can claim the work. Jeremiah asks, 'Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain?' (Jer 14:22).

Verse 31

Pleiades… Orion — Kimah is the cluster of the seven stars, Kesil is Orion. The LORD is named as their maker in Job 9:9, 'Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades', and in Amos 5:8, 'him that maketh the seven stars and Orion'. 'Bind' and 'loose' ask whether Job can fix or release their bands.

Verse 32

Mazzaroth… Arcturus with his sons — Mazzaroth is a plural name of a constellation or group of constellations. Ayish is the Great Bear, 'Arcturus' in the KJV, here 'with his sons'. Job 9:9 lists 'Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades' among the works of the LORD.

Verse 33

the ordinances of heaven — Chuqqah, a statute. Heaven runs by fixed laws; the LORD gives 'the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night' (Jer 31:35), and speaks of 'the ordinances of heaven and earth' (Jer 33:25). 'Dominion' is mishtar, rule.

Verse 36

the inward parts — Tuchah, the inner being (a plural noun), and 'heart' is sekvi, the mind. The wisdom Job claims was a gift: 'the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding' (Job 32:8); 'the LORD giveth wisdom' (Prov 2:6).

Verse 39

Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? — The questions pass from heaven to living creatures. Tsud is to hunt. The young lions 'roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God' (Ps 104:21); the LORD, not Job, fills their appetite.

Verse 41

Who provideth for the raven his food? — Oreb, the raven. The young cry 'unto God' (El), and he feeds them: 'He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry' (Ps 147:9). Christ points to it: 'Consider the ravens… and God feedeth them' (Luke 12:24).