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Commentary on Job 41 verses 11–34
God, having in the foregoing verses shown Job how unable he was to deal with the leviathan, here sets forth his own power in that massy mighty creature. Here is,
I. God's sovereign dominion and independency laid down, Job 41:11. 1. That he is indebted to none of his creatures. If any pretend he is indebted to them, let them make their demand and prove their debt, and they shall receive it in full and not by composition: "Who has prevented me?" that is, "who has laid any obligations upon me by any services he has done me? Who can pretend to be before-hand with me? If any were, I would not long be behind-hand with them; I would soon repay them." The apostle quotes this for the silencing of all flesh in God's presence, Rom 11:35. Who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? As God does not inflict upon us the evils we have deserved, so he does bestow upon us the favours we have not deserved. 2. That he is the rightful Lord and owner of all the creatures: "Whatsoever is under the whole heaven, animate or inanimate, is mine (and particularly this leviathan), at my command and disposal, what I have an incontestable property in and dominion over." All is his; we are his, all we have and do; and therefore we cannot make God our debtor; but of thy own, Lord, have we given thee. All is his, and therefore, if he were indebted to any, he has wherewithal to repay them; the debt is in good hands. All is his, and therefore he needs not our services, nor can he be benefited by them. If I were hungry I would not tell thee, for the world is mind and the fulness thereof, Psa 50:12.
II. The proof and illustration of it, from the wonderful structure of the leviathan, Job 41:12.
1.The parts of his body, the power he exerts, especially when he is set upon, and the comely proportion of the whole of him, are what God will not conceal, and therefore what we must observe and acknowledge the power of God in. Though he is a creature of monstrous bulk, yet there is in him a comely proportion. In our eye beauty lies in that which is small (inest sua gratia parvis - little things have a gracefulness all their own) because we ourselves are so; but in God's eye even the leviathan is comely; and, if he pronounce even the whale, event he crocodile, so, it is not for us to say of any of the works of his hands that they are ugly of ill-favoured; it is enough to say so, as we have cause, of our own works. God here goes about to give us an anatomical view (as it were) of the leviathan; for his works appear most beautiful and excellent, and his wisdom and power appear most in them, when they are taken in pieces and viewed in their several parts and proportions. (1.) The leviathan, even prima facie - at first sight, appears formidable and inaccessible, Job 41:13, Job 41:14. Who dares come so near him while he is alive as to discover or take a distinct view of the face of the garment, the skin with which he is clothed as with a garment, so near him as to bridle him like a horse and so lead him away, so near him as to be within reach of his jaws, which are like a double bridle? Who will venture to look into his mouth, as we do into a horse's mouth? He that opens the doors of his face will see his teeth terrible round about, strong and sharp, and fitted to devour; it would make a man tremble to think of having a leg or an arm between them. (2.) His scales are his beauty and strength, and therefore his pride, Job 41:15-17. The crocodile is indeed remarkable for his scales; if we understand it of the whale, we must understand by these shields (for so the word is) the several coats of his skin; or there might be whales in that country with scales. That which is remarkable concerning the scales is that they stick so close together, by which he is not only kept warm, for no air can pierce him, but kept safe, for no sword can pierce him through those scales. Fishes, that live in the water, are fortified accordingly by the wisdom of Providence, which gives clothes as it gives cold. (3.) He scatters terror with his very breath and looks; 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, Job 41:18. The eyes of the whale are reported to shine in the night-time like a flame, or, as here, like the eye-lids of the morning; the same they say of the crocodile. The breath of this creature is so hot and fiery, from the great natural heat within, that burning lamps and sparks of fire, smoke and a flame, are said to go out of his mouth, even such as one would think sufficient to set coals on fire, Job 41:19-21. Probably these hyperbolical expressions are used concerning the leviathan to intimate the terror of the wrath of God, for that is it which all this is designed to convince us of. Fire out of his mouth devours, Psa 18:7, Psa 18:8. The breath of the Almighty, like a stream of brimstone, kindles Tophet, and will for ever keep it burning, Isa 30:33. The wicked one shall be consumed with the breath of his mouth, Th2 2:8. (4.) He is of invincible strength and most terrible fierceness, so that he frightens all that come in his way, but is not himself frightened by any. Take a view of his neck, and there remains strength, Job 41:22. his head and his body are well set together. Sorrow rejoices (or rides in triumph) before him, for he makes terrible work wherever he comes. Or, Those storms which are the sorrow of others are his joys; what is tossing to others is dancing to him. His flesh is well knit, Job 41:23. The flakes of it are joined so closely together, and are so firm, that it is hard to pierce it; he is as if he were all bone. His flesh is of brass, which Job had complained his was not, Job 6:12. His heart is as firm as a stone, Job 41:24. He has spirit equal to his bodily strength, and, though he is bulky, he is sprightly, and not unwieldy. As his flesh and skin cannot be pierced, so his courage cannot be daunted; but, on the contrary, he daunts all he meets and puts them into a consternation (Job 41:25): When he raises up himself like a moving mountain in the great waters even the mighty are afraid lest he should overturn their ships or do them some other mischief. By reason of the breakings he makes in the water, which threaten death, they purify themselves, confess their sins, betake themselves to their prayers, and get ready for death. We read (Job 3:8) of those who, when they raise up a leviathan, are in such a fright that they curse the day. It was a fear which, it seems, used to drive some to their curses and others to their prayers; for, as now, so then there were seafaring men of different characters and on whom the terrors of the sea have contrary effects; but all agree there is a great fright among them when the leviathan raises up himself. (5.) All the instruments of slaughter that are used against him do him no hurt and therefore are not error to him, Job 41:26-29. The sword and the spear, which wound nigh at hand, are nothing to him; the darts, arrows, and sling-stones, which wound at a distance, do him no damage; nature has so well armed him cap-a-pie - at all points, against them all. The defensive weapons which men use when they engage with the leviathan, as the habergeon, or breast-plate, often serve men no more than their offensive weapons; iron and brass are to him as straw and rotten wood, and he laughs at them. It is the picture of a hard-hearted sinner, that despises the terrors of the Almighty and laughs at all the threatenings of his word. The leviathan so little dreads the weapons that are used against him that, to show how hardy he is, he chooses to lie on the sharp stones, the sharp-pointed things (Job 41:30), and lies as easy there as if he lay on the soft mire. Those that would endure hardness must inure themselves to it. (6.) His very motion in the water troubles it and puts it into a ferment, Job 41:31, Job 41:32. When he rolls, and tosses, and makes a stir in the water, or is in pursuit of his prey, he makes the deep to boil like a pot, he raises a great froth and foam upon the water, such as is upon a boiling pot, especially a pot of boiling ointment; and he makes a path to shine after him, which even a ship in the midst of the sea does not, Pro 30:19. One may trace the leviathan under water by the bubbles on the surface; and yet who can take that advantage against him in pursuing him? Men track hares in the snow and kill them, but he that tracks the leviathan dares not come near him.
2.Having given this particular account of his parts, and his power, and his comely proportion, he concludes with four things in general concerning this animal: - (1.) That he is a non-such among the inferior creatures: Upon earth there is not his like, Job 41:33. No creature in this world is comparable to him for strength and terror. Or the earth is here distinguished from the sea: His dominion is not upon the earth (so some), but in the waters. None of all the savage creatures upon earth come near him for bulk and strength, and it is well for man that he is confined to the waters and there has a watch set upon him (Job 7:12) by the divine Providence, for, if such a terrible creature were allowed to roam and ravage upon this earth, it would be an unsafe and uncomfortable habitation for the children of men, for whom it is intended. (2.) That he is more bold and daring than any other creature whatsoever: He is made without fear. The creatures are as they are made; the leviathan has courage in his constitution, nothing can frighten him; other creatures, quite contrary, seem as much designed for flying as this for fighting. So, among men, some are in their natural temper bold, others are timorous. (3.) That he is himself very proud; though lodged in the deep, yet he beholds all high things, Job 41:34. The rolling waves, the impending rocks, the hovering clouds, and the ships under sail with top and top-gallant, this mighty animal beholds with contempt, for he does not think they either lessen him or threaten him. Those that are great are apt to be scornful. (4.) That he is a king over all the children of pride, that is, he is the proudest of all proud ones. He has more to be proud of (so Mr. Caryl expounds it) than the proudest people in the world have; and so it is a mortification to the haughtiness and lofty looks of men. Whatever bodily accomplishments men are proud of, and puffed up with, the leviathan excels them and is a king over them. Some read it so as to understand it of God: He that beholds all high things, even he, is King over all the children of pride; he can tame the behemoth (Job 40:19) and the leviathan, big as they are, and stout-hearted as they are. This discourse concerning those two animals was brought in to prove that it is God only who can look upon proud men and abase them, bring them low and tread them down, and hide them in the dust (Job 40:11-13), and so it concludes with a quod erat demonstrandum - which was to be demonstrated; there is one that beholds all high things, and, wherein men deal proudly, is above them; he is King over all the children of pride, whether brutal or rational, and can make them all either bend or break before him, Isa 2:11. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and thus the Lord alone shall be exalted.
These scales of sinners are both hardened and joined together, so as not to be penetrated by any breath of life from the mouth of preachers. For those whom a similar guilt associates with one another, the same perverse defensiveness crowds them together in obstinate agreement, in order that they may protect each other with mutual defense for their sins. For everyone fears for himself when he beholds another admonished or corrected. Therefore, he arises with similar defensiveness against the words of those who reprove, because, in protecting another, he protects himself. It is thus well said, “One is so near to another that no air can come between them,” because while they mutually shield each other in their iniquities by their proud defense, they do not permit the breath of holy exhortation to reach them in any way. He added more plainly to their deadly agreement by saying, “They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated.” For they who might be corrected if divided, persevere when united in the obstinacy of their iniquity. They are day by day the more easily separable from the knowledge of righteousness, the more they are not mutually separated from each other by any reproach.
55. For they who might be corrected, if divided, persevere, when united, in the obstinacy of their iniquities: and are day by day the more easily separable from the knowledge of righteousness, the more they are not mutually separated from each other by any reproach. For as it is wont to be injurious if unity be wanting to the good, so is it fatal if it be not wanting to the wicked. For unity strengthens the perverse, while it makes them accord; and it makes them the more incorrigible, the more unanimous. Of this unity of the reprobate it is said by a wise man; The congregation of sinners is tow gathered together. [Ecclus. 21, 9] Of this the Prophet Nahum says; As thorns embrace each other, so is the feast of those who drink together. [Nahum 1, 10] For the feast of the reprobate is the delight of temporal pleasures. In which feast they doubtless drink together, who make themselves drunk alike with the allurements of their delight. Because therefore an equal guilt unites, for their own defence, the members of this Leviathan, that is, all the wicked, whom the word of God compares to scales compacted together, it is well said; They will adhere one to another, and holding each other, they will never be separated. For they cannot be separated when holding each other, because they are the more bound together for their mutual defence, the more they remember that they are like each other in all things. Having described then his body, the discourse goes back to his head, and what power the ancient enemy exercises by himself in the time of the closing persecution, is set forth.
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SUMMARY
Job 41:17 vividly portrays the formidable, unyielding armor of Leviathan, a creature presented by God to Job as the epitome of untamable strength and invulnerability. This verse, embedded within God's profound discourse, underscores the creature's scales or hide as being so meticulously interlocked and unified that they form an impenetrable defense, serving as a powerful illustration of divine power that transcends all human comprehension, control, or challenge.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Job 41:17 is strategically placed within God's second extensive speech to Job, specifically focusing on the awe-inspiring creature, Leviathan (Job 41). This divine address follows God's initial rhetorical challenge in Job 38-39, where He confronts Job's limited understanding of creation through a series of questions about natural phenomena and various wild animals. Chapter 40 introduces Behemoth, another creature of immense power, before the narrative shifts to Leviathan in chapter 41. The detailed description of Leviathan's terrifying strength, untamable nature, and particularly its impenetrable hide (as highlighted in verse 17) serves a crucial theological purpose: to further humble Job, demonstrating that if humanity cannot contend with even one of God's most fearsome creations, they are utterly incapable of contending with the Creator Himself. The entire discourse aims to reorient Job's perspective from questioning God's justice and wisdom to acknowledging His absolute sovereignty, omnipotence, and inscrutable wisdom.
Historical & Cultural Context: In the ancient Near East, powerful, often chaotic creatures like sea monsters or dragons were prevalent mythological symbols, representing the untamed forces of chaos that only a supreme deity could subdue. While the precise zoological identification of Leviathan remains a subject of scholarly debate (some suggest a massive crocodile or whale, others a purely mythical entity), its primary function in Job 41 is unequivocally theological: to embody untamed, unassailable power beyond human mastery. God's elaborate description of Leviathan's invulnerability, including its tightly joined armor, would have deeply resonated with ancient audiences familiar with military defenses, the concept of impenetrable shields, and the fear inspired by formidable beasts. This vivid imagery underscores God's unique and absolute ability to control all forces, whether natural or chaotic, and His ultimate dominion over all creation, standing in stark contrast to the limited power of human kings, warriors, or even empires.
Key Themes: The depiction of Leviathan's impenetrable defense in Job 41:17 contributes significantly to several overarching themes woven throughout the book of Job. Paramount among these is the theme of Divine Power and Sovereignty, showcasing God's absolute, unchallengeable might over all creation. Leviathan, a creature no human can master or even approach, stands as a powerful testament to the Creator's boundless strength and His dominion over even the most terrifying and chaotic aspects of the natural world, reinforcing the truth that God "can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted," as Job himself later confesses in Job 42:2. Closely intertwined is the theme of Human Limitations, as God uses Leviathan to underscore the inherent frailty and inability of human strength, wisdom, and control when compared to His omnipotence. This serves to remind Job, and all humanity, of our humble and dependent place before an almighty God. Finally, the verse highlights the Wonder and Terror of Creation, illustrating that God's creative power extends not only to beauty and order but also to creatures of immense, awe-inspiring, and terrifying strength, all of which ultimately serve His purposes and display His glory, a truth celebrated in passages like Psalm 104.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 41:17 masterfully employs several potent literary devices to convey Leviathan's overwhelming power and, by extension, God's supreme might. Imagery is central, painting a vivid and visceral picture of an armored beast whose scales are so perfectly interlocked and fused that they form an unbreachable barrier. The description evokes a strong sense of impenetrable strength, an unyielding, almost metallic, defense that repels all assault. Hyperbole is also present, as the description of Leviathan's invulnerability is exaggerated to emphasize its untamable nature and to underscore the vast, unbridgeable chasm between human and divine power. While perhaps rooted in observations of powerful creatures like crocodiles or whales, the language pushes beyond mere realistic description into the realm of the mythical to serve a profound theological point. Furthermore, the creature itself functions as a powerful Symbolism for the forces of chaos, untamed nature, and all that is beyond human control, which only God can truly master. The invulnerability of Leviathan's armor thus symbolizes the unchallengeable nature of God's dominion over all creation, even its most terrifying and seemingly chaotic aspects.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 41:17, by detailing Leviathan's impenetrable defense, serves as a profound theological statement about God's absolute power, meticulous wisdom, and unchallengeable sovereignty in creation. If God can design a creature whose physical protection is so complete that it "cannot be sundered" by any human force, how much more unchallengeable is the power, wisdom, and sovereignty of the Creator Himself? This truth profoundly humbles humanity, reminding us that our strength, wisdom, and control are finite, fragile, and utterly inconsequential before an infinite God. It redirects Job's focus from his own suffering and perceived injustice to the incomprehensible majesty of the One who holds all things together by His mighty power. The very design of Leviathan's armor, with its perfectly "joined" and "sticking together" components, points to a God who is meticulous in His creative work, boundless in His power, and ultimately beyond human questioning or comprehension.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The description of Leviathan's invulnerable armor in Job 41:17 offers profound spiritual lessons for believers today. Just as Leviathan's defense is absolute against human might, so too is God's power and protection for His people. This verse invites us to place our unwavering trust in an omnipotent God who is our ultimate defender and protector, capable of shielding us from forces far greater than ourselves – whether spiritual attacks, overwhelming circumstances, or the anxieties of life. It also serves as a powerful reminder of our humility before an almighty God. When faced with overwhelming circumstances, personal struggles, or profound questions about life's difficulties, we are called to acknowledge God's supremacy and trust in His perfect wisdom and power, which far exceed our own understanding or ability to control. The intricate and flawless design of Leviathan's "joined" parts can also be seen as an analogy for the cohesion and strength found when elements are perfectly aligned, whether in creation or in the body of Christ, where each member contributes to the strength of the whole, as described in Ephesians 4:16. This verse ultimately calls us to rest in the unassailable sovereignty of our Creator.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Is Leviathan a literal creature, or is it purely symbolic?
Answer: The precise identification of Leviathan remains a subject of scholarly debate, with various interpretations. Some scholars interpret it as a literal, though perhaps exaggerated, description of a real creature known in the ancient world, such as a massive crocodile or a whale, whose formidable nature would have been awe-inspiring and beyond human capture. Others view Leviathan as a mythical creature, drawing parallels to ancient Near Eastern chaos monsters, whose primary purpose is symbolic. In the context of Job 41, whether literal or symbolic, Leviathan functions as an ultimate example of God's creative power and untamable might. Its primary role is theological: to demonstrate that if humanity cannot contend with even one of God's most fearsome creations, they certainly cannot contend with the Creator Himself. The detailed description of its impenetrable armor in Job 41:17 serves this theological purpose, highlighting God's absolute sovereignty over all forces, both natural and chaotic.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Job 41:17 describes the impenetrable defense of Leviathan, a creature of God's creation, it ultimately points to the infinitely greater and truly unassailable power of God Himself, a power supremely manifested in Jesus Christ. Leviathan's armor, which "cannot be sundered," foreshadows the ultimate invincibility of God's redemptive plan and the triumph of the Son of God. Just as no human force could break Leviathan's hide, no power of sin, death, or the grave could ultimately hold Christ. His glorious resurrection from the dead, as described in Acts 2:24, demonstrates that the bonds of death were decisively "sundered" by divine power, proving His absolute victory over the ultimate chaos monster—death itself. The "joined" and "sticking together" nature of Leviathan's scales can also be seen as a faint echo of the unbreakable unity and divine cohesion of the Godhead, and the unbreakable covenant God makes with His people through Christ. In Christ, believers are given an eternal security that "cannot be sundered" from the love of God, as powerfully declared by Paul in Romans 8:38-39. Jesus is the true Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and His victory is absolute, eternal, and forever beyond the reach of any opposing force, for "He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet" (1 Corinthians 15:25).