Job 41:2
Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain
Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain
Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain
Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain
Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain
- הֲתָשִׂיםha·ta·Sim¿ will you putH7760Interrog ¦ V-Qal-Imperf-2msVerb Qal Imperfect 2nd Singular Masculineהֲ¿תָשִׂיםwill you put
- אַגְמוֹן'ag·Mona cordH100N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absolute
- בְּאַפּוֹbe·'a·Poin its noseH639Prep-b ¦ N-msc ¦ 3msNoun Singular Masculine Constructבְּinאַפּnoseוֹits
- וּבְחוֹחַu·ve·Cho·achand with a hookH2336Conj-w ¦ Prep-b ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteוּandבְwithחוֹחַa hook
- תִּקּוֹבti·Kovwill you pierce?H5344V-Qal-Imperf-2msVerb Qal Imperfect 2nd Singular Masculine
- לֶחֱיוֹle·che·yoits jawH3895N-msc ¦ 3msNoun Singular Masculine Constructלֶחֱיjawוֹits
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Hebrew, not the KJV's wording. Why?
This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Hebrew word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Hebrew word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “the LORD” where the gloss reads “Yahweh”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.
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Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Job 41:1–10. His two-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
Whether this leviathan be a whale or a crocodile is a great dispute among the learned, which I will not undertake to determine; some of the particulars agree more easily to the one, others to the other; both are very strong and fierce, and the power of the Creator appears in them. The ingenious Sir Richard Blackmore, though he admits the more received opinion concerning the behemoth, that it must be meant of the elephant, yet agrees with the learned Bochart's notion of the leviathan, that it is the crocodile, which was so well known in the river of Egypt. I confess that that which inclines me rather to understand it of the whale is not only because it is much larger and a nobler animal, but because, in the history of the Creation, there is such an express notice taken of it as is not of any other species of animals whatsoever (Gen 1:21, God created great whales), by which it appears, not only that whales were well known in those parts in the time of Moses, who lived a little after Job, but that the creation of whales was generally looked upon as a most illustrious proof of the eternal power and godhead of the Creator; and we may conjecture that this was the reason (for otherwise it seems unaccountable) why Moses there so particularly mentions the creation of the whales, because God had so lately insisted upon the bulk and strength of that creature than of any other, as the proof of his power; and the leviathan is here spoken of as an inhabitant of the sea (Job 41:31), which the crocodile is not; and Psa 104:25, Psa 104:26, there in the great and wide sea, is that leviathan. Here in these verses,
I.He shows how unable Job was to master the leviathan.
1.That he could not catch him, as a little fish, with angling, Job 41:1, Job 41:2. He had no bait wherewith to deceive him, no hook wherewith to catch him, no fish-line wherewith to draw him out of the water, nor a thorn to run through his gills, on which to carry him home.
2.That he could not make him his prisoner, nor force him to cry for quarter, or surrender himself at discretion, Job 41:3, Job 41:4. "He knows his own strength too well to make many supplications to thee, and to make a covenant with thee to be thy servant on condition thou wilt save his life." 3. That he could not entice him into a cage, and keep him there as a bird for the children to play with, Job 41:5. There are creatures so little, so weak, as to be easily restrained thus, and triumphed over; but the leviathan is not one of these: he is made to be the terror, not the sport and diversion, of mankind. 4. That he could not have him served up to his table; he and his companions could not make a banquet of him; his flesh is too strong to be fit for food, and, if it were not, he is not easily caught. 5. That they could not enrich themselves with the spoil of him: Shall they part him among the merchants, the bones to one, the oil to another? If they can catch him, they will; but it is probable that the art of fishing for whales was not brought to perfection then, as it has been since. 6. That they could not destroy him, could not fill his head with fish-spears, Job 41:7. He kept out of the reach of their instruments of slaughter, or, if they touched him, they could not touch him to the quick. 7. That it was to no purpose to attempt it: The hope of taking him is in vain, Job 41:9. If men go about to seize him, so formidable is he that the very sight of him will appal them, and make a stout man ready to faint away: Shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? and will not that deter the pursuers from their attempt? Job is told, at his peril, to lay his hand upon him, Job 41:8. "Touch him if thou dare; remember the battle, how unable thou art to encounter such a force, and what is therefore likely to be the issue of the battle, and do no more, but desist from the attempt." It is good to remember the battle before we engage in a war, and put off the harness in time if we foresee it will be to no purpose to gird it on. Job is hereby admonished not to proceed in his controversy with God, but to make his peace with him, remembering what the battle will certainly end in if he come to an engagement. See Isa 27:4, Isa 27:5.
II.Thence he infers how unable he was to contend with the Almighty.
None is so fierce, none so fool-hardy, that he dares to stir up the leviathan (Job 41:10), it being known that he will certainly be too hard for them; and who then is able to stand before God, either to impeach and arraign his proceedings or to out-face the power of his wrath? If the inferior creatures that are put under the feet of man, and over whom he has dominion, keep us in awe thus, how terrible must the majesty of our great Lord be, who has a sovereign dominion over us and against whom man has been so long in rebellion! Who can stand before him when once he is angry?
Historical interpretation
Historical reception
2 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Hence it is that this very Mary of whom we speak lives, because He who owed nothing to death lay down for the human race. Hence it is that we daily return to life after our sins, because our Creator descended without guilt to our punishment. Behold, the ancient enemy has now lost the spoils he had begun to take from the human race; he has lost the victory of his supplanting. Daily sinners return to life; daily they are snatched from his jaws by the hand of the Redeemer.
Wherefore it is also well said again to blessed Job by the voice of the Lord: "Or will you pierce his jaw with a bracelet?" Where a bracelet is placed, it constrains by encircling. What then is designated by the bracelet, if not the divine mercy embracing us? Which pierces the jaw of this Leviathan, when it still shows us the remedy of repentance after we have committed what it forbade. The Lord pierces the jaw of Leviathan with a bracelet, because by the ineffable power of His mercy He so opposes the malice of the ancient enemy that sometimes he loses even those whom he had already seized. And they fall as if from his mouth, who return to innocence after committing sins.
For who, once seized by his mouth, would escape his jaw, if it had not been pierced? Did he not hold Peter in his mouth when he denied? Did he not hold David in his mouth when he plunged himself into such a pit of lust? But when each returned to life through repentance, this Leviathan in a certain way lost them as if through the hole in his jaw. Therefore through the hole in his jaw those were withdrawn from his mouth who returned through repenting after committing such great wickedness.
But what man escapes the mouth of this Leviathan so as to commit no unlawful thing? But from this we know how much we are debtors to the Redeemer of the human race, who not only forbade us to go into the mouth of Leviathan, but also granted us to return from his mouth. He did not take away hope from the sinner, because He pierced his jaw to provide a way of escape, so that he who incautiously refused beforehand to beware lest he be bitten might at least flee after the bite. Therefore heavenly medicine meets us everywhere, because He both gave man precepts lest he sin, and yet gave remedies to the sinner lest he despair. Wherefore it must be most carefully guarded against that anyone be seized by the mouth of this Leviathan through delight in sin; and yet if he has been seized, let him not despair, because if he perfectly mourns his sin, he still finds a hole in his jaw through which he may escape.
“Can you put a ring in its nose?” As stratagems are signified by “nostrils,” so by a “ring” is designated the omnipotence of divine power. For when it keeps us from being seized by temptations, it encircles around and holds firm in wondrous ways the snares of the ancient enemy. A ring is therefore put into its nostrils when by the strength of heavenly protection drawn around us, its cunning is restrained so as not to prevail against the weakness of humanity, as far as it secretly searches out its fatal arguments.… “Or can you pierce its jaw with a bracelet?” … The Lord therefore bores through the jaw of this Leviathan with a bracelet, because by the ineffable power of his mercy he so thwarts the malice of the ancient enemy that he sometimes loses even those whom it has seized, and they, as it were, fall from its mouth, who, after the commission of sin, return to innocence. Who, once seized by its mouth, would escape his jaw, if it were not bored through? Did it not seize Peter in his mouth when he denied? Did it not seize David in its mouth when he plunged himself into such a gulf of lust? But when they returned, each of them through penitence to life, this Leviathan let them escape, as it were, through the holes of his jaws. Those therefore are withdrawn from its mouth through the hole of its jaw who after the perpetration of such great wickedness have come back with penitence.
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Summary
Job 41:2 is a profound rhetorical challenge from God to Job, serving as a powerful assertion of divine omnipotence over all creation, particularly its most formidable and untamable elements, embodied by Leviathan. Through vivid imagery of human inability to subdue this monstrous creature with common taming implements, God underscores the infinite qualitative difference between His boundless sovereignty and human frailty, compelling Job to acknowledge his own limitations and God's absolute dominion.
Context
ShowHideLiterary Context
Job 41:2 is situated within the climactic section of God's second and final monologue to Job, specifically the extended, awe-inspiring description of Leviathan (Job 40:25-41:26 KJV, or Job 41:1-34 in modern translations). This divine discourse, which commenced in Job 38:1, is not a direct answer to Job's complaints of injustice but rather an overwhelming display of God's unsearchable wisdom and power, manifested in the intricate and terrifying aspects of the natural world. Having previously detailed the immense power of Behemoth, God now turns to Leviathan, a creature so overwhelmingly mighty that it serves as the ultimate capstone to His argument for divine sovereignty. The rhetorical questions posed in verse 2, "Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?", are designed to highlight the utter impossibility of human control over such a formidable creature, thereby compelling Job to acknowledge his own limited understanding and God's absolute, unparalleled dominion. This divine revelation ultimately leads to Job's humble repentance and confession of God's omnipotence in Job 42:1-6.
Historical & Cultural Context
The imagery in Job 41:2 draws from familiar practices of animal domestication in Israel. Hooks, nose-rings, and piercing instruments (such as thorns or sharp stakes) were routinely employed to control large, strong animals like oxen, camels, or even bears, enabling them to be led, yoked, or subdued for labor. These methods were a common sight in the agricultural and nomadic societies of the time. By posing these questions concerning Leviathan, God is not merely asking if Job can tame a large animal, but if he can apply these human-scale, conventional methods to a creature of unparalleled, almost mythical, power. Leviathan itself likely represents a creature of immense strength, perhaps a massive crocodile or whale, but it also carries profound symbolic weight, often associated in biblical poetry (e.g., Psalm 74:14) with primordial chaos or untamable forces of the deep. God's ability to control such a creature, when humans cannot, underscores His unique status as the supreme Creator and Lord over all creation, including its most terrifying and chaotic elements.
Key Themes
ShowHideJob 41:2 powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within the book of Job and the broader biblical narrative. Firstly, it emphatically asserts God's Unchallengeable Sovereignty. The rhetorical questions highlight that only God can command and control the most formidable and chaotic elements of creation, contrasting His infinite power with human weakness. Secondly, it underscores Human Limitations, demonstrating that there are forces in the created order that are utterly beyond human grasp or comprehension. This serves to humble Job, and by extension, all humanity, reminding us of our finite nature in the face of divine omnipotence. Finally, the vivid description of Leviathan, culminating in this verse's challenge, showcases the Majesty and Mystery of Creation. Whether interpreted literally or symbolically, Leviathan embodies a terrifying yet awe-inspiring aspect of God's design, revealing that creation is not merely a benign backdrop but a testament to a Creator whose power extends to the magnificent and the fearsome alike, as seen in the vastness of the heavens and the depths of the sea, which God alone controls as described in Psalm 104:25-26.
Exposition and Analysis
ShowHideKey Word Analysis
ShowHideThis word (H100) primarily refers to a bulrush or a rope made of bulrushes, and by extension, a hook or snare, likely because such ropes were used for binding or control. In this context, it signifies a device, whether a literal hook, ring, or strong rope, commonly inserted through the nose of large animals (like oxen or camels) to lead, control, or subdue them. The question "Canst thou put an hook into his nose?" implies an attempt to exert complete mastery and direction over Leviathan, as one would a domesticated beast of burden. The impossibility of this action for Leviathan emphasizes its wild, untamed nature and the futility of human efforts to control it.
This primitive root (H5344) means "to puncture," "to perforate," or "to pierce," often with violence. In the context of animal taming, it refers to the act of piercing an animal's jaw to insert a bit or bridle for control. The use of this word highlights the forceful and invasive nature of the proposed action. The rhetorical question "or bore his jaw through with a thorn?" underscores the sheer imperviousness and formidable strength of Leviathan's jaw, rendering any human attempt at control through such means utterly absurd and impossible.
While literally "thorn" (H2336), this term can also refer to any sharp, piercing instrument, or even a ring for the nose by analogy. In this verse, it denotes a sharp, pointed tool used to pierce through an animal's jaw, similar to a bit or bridle, to gain control. The pairing with "hook" reinforces the idea of applying conventional methods of animal taming. The rhetorical question emphasizes Leviathan's formidable nature, suggesting that even the sharpest human implement would be useless against its impenetrable hide and powerful jaw.
Verse Breakdown
ShowHide"Canst thou put an hook into his nose?"
This opening rhetorical question immediately challenges Job's (and humanity's) capacity to control Leviathan using a standard method of animal subjugation. The "hook in the nose" was a common and effective way to lead and direct powerful animals, signifying direct, physical subjugation and the imposition of human will. By asking if Job can apply this to Leviathan, God is not merely questioning physical strength but also the ability to impose human will and order upon a creature that defies such domestication, emphasizing Leviathan's wildness and God's unique power over it.
"or bore his jaw through with a thorn?"
This second rhetorical question extends the challenge, employing another method of control—piercing the jaw for a bridle or bit. The "thorn" here implies a sharp, piercing instrument. This further underscores the untamable nature of Leviathan, whose formidable jaw, described elsewhere in the chapter as having terrifying teeth and a mouth that breathes fire (Job 41:14-21), would render any such attempt not only futile but perilous. Both questions collectively serve to magnify Leviathan's indomitable power and, by extension, the incomparable might and sovereignty of its Creator.
Literary Devices
ShowHideThe primary literary device at play in Job 41:2 is the Rhetorical Question. God poses these questions not to elicit an answer from Job, but to emphasize the undeniable truth of His own omnipotence and Job's utter incapacity. The questions are designed to be self-answering, forcing Job to confront the vast gulf between human limitation and divine power. Furthermore, Symbolism is profoundly evident, as Leviathan itself functions as a powerful symbol of untamable chaos, primeval forces, or the most formidable aspects of creation that are utterly beyond human control. The specific imagery of the "hook" and "thorn" also employs Synecdoche, where a part (the taming implement) stands for the whole concept of human mastery over nature. The overall effect is one of profound Irony, as the very methods humans use to assert their dominion over the animal kingdom are presented as utterly useless against this particular creature, thereby highlighting the unique and unchallengeable dominion of God alone. This creates a powerful Contrast between human weakness and divine might.
Theological and Thematic Connections
ShowHideJob 41:2, in its vivid portrayal of human inability to control Leviathan, serves as a profound theological statement on God's absolute sovereignty over all creation, including its most terrifying and chaotic elements. It reinforces the biblical truth that while humanity is given dominion over the earth (as seen in Genesis 1:28), this dominion is always subordinate to God's ultimate authority. The verse challenges any anthropocentric view that places human wisdom or power at the center, redirecting focus to the Creator whose ways are inscrutable and whose might is boundless. It teaches humility before the divine and encourages a deep trust in the God who alone can tame the "Leviathans" of life—the overwhelming circumstances, the forces of evil, and the chaos that humans cannot master. This divine control provides a foundation for peace and security, knowing that the God who reigns over the untamable also cares for His creation and orchestrates all things according to His perfect will.
Reflection and Application
ShowHideJob 41:2 offers a timeless lesson in humility and trust for believers today. In a world that often exalts human ingenuity and control, this verse reminds us that there are forces, both natural and spiritual, that lie utterly beyond our capacity to manage or comprehend. Just as Job could not tame Leviathan, we often face "Leviathans" in our own lives—uncontrollable circumstances, overwhelming anxieties, deeply entrenched sins, or societal chaos—that defy our best efforts and strategies. This verse invites us to release our illusion of self-sufficiency and embrace a posture of absolute dependence on God. It encourages us to find peace not in our ability to control, but in the profound knowledge that the God who created and effortlessly controls the most formidable elements of the universe is also the God who holds our lives in His hands. Our true wisdom begins when we acknowledge His infinite power and surrender our limited understanding to His boundless wisdom, trusting that He is sovereign even over the chaos we cannot tame. This surrender frees us to live with greater peace, knowing that our ultimate security rests not in our grip on life, but in His unshakeable grip on us.
Questions for Reflection
ShowHideFAQ
ShowHideIs Leviathan a literal animal or a symbolic representation?
ShowHideWhile the exact identity of Leviathan has been debated among scholars (some suggest a massive crocodile, whale, or even a creature from a prehistoric era), the detailed description in Job 41, particularly its imperviousness to human taming methods and its terrifying power, strongly suggests it functions primarily as a symbolic representation of the most formidable, untamable, and chaotic forces within creation. It embodies the limits of human power and the sheer, overwhelming might of God. In other biblical texts (e.g., Psalm 74:14 and Isaiah 27:1), Leviathan is depicted as a mythical, chaotic sea monster that only God can ultimately subdue, reinforcing its symbolic role as an embodiment of primeval disorder that is utterly subject to divine authority.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
ShowHideWhile Job 41:2 directly showcases God the Father's untamable power and sovereignty over creation, its themes find their ultimate fulfillment and most profound revelation in the person and work of Jesus Christ. As the eternal Son of God, Christ is not merely a witness to divine power but its very embodiment. The God who alone can "put a hook into Leviathan's nose" is the same God who, in Christ, entered creation to bring order out of chaos and subdue all rebellious forces. We see this in His absolute authority over nature, as when He commanded the wind and waves, and they obeyed Him, causing His disciples to marvel, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 4:39-41). Just as no human could master Leviathan, no earthly power or spiritual force could master Christ; instead, He demonstrated absolute dominion over sickness, demons, sin, and even death itself, triumphing over "principalities and powers" through His cross (Colossians 2:15). The untamable forces of chaos and evil, symbolized by Leviathan, are ultimately subject to the Lamb of God who was slain and is now glorified. Through His atoning work and resurrection, Christ has disarmed the "Leviathans" of spiritual darkness, offering humanity the victory and peace that Job, in his limited understanding, could only glimpse in God's overwhelming power. He is the one through whom all things were created and by whom all things are sustained (Colossians 1:16-17), and ultimately, He will cast all forces of rebellion and chaos into eternal subjection (Revelation 20:10). In Christ, we find the one who truly tames the untamable.