Ayub 41:1-3

The Description of Leviathan

41:1 (40:25) ¹  “Can you pull in ²  Leviathan with a hook,

and tie down ³  its tongue with a rope?

41:2 Can you put a cord through its nose,

or pierce its jaw with a hook?

41:3 Will it make numerous supplications to you, ⁴ 

will it speak to you with tender words? ⁵ 

Ayub 41:7

41:7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons

or its head with fishing spears?

Ayub 41:9

41:9 (41:1) ⁶  See, his expectation is wrong, ⁷ 

he is laid low even at the sight of it. ⁸ 

Ayub 41:13

41:13 Who can uncover its outer covering? ⁹ 

Who can penetrate to the inside of its armor? ¹⁰ 

Ayub 41:25

41:25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified,

at its thrashing about they withdraw. ¹¹ 

Ayub 41:28

41:28 Arrows ¹²  do not make it flee;

slingstones become like chaff to it.

Ayub 41:32-34

41:32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;

one would think the deep had a head of white hair.

41:33 The likes of it is not on earth,

a creature ¹³  without fear.

41:34 It looks on every haughty being;

it is king over all that are proud.” ¹⁴ 

[41:1]  ¹ sn Beginning with 41:1, the verse numbers through 41:9 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 41:1 ET = 40:25 HT, 41:2 ET = 40:26 HT, etc., through 41:34 ET = 41:26 HT. The Hebrew verse numbers in the remainder of the chapter differ from the verse numbers in the English Bible. Beginning with 42:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[41:1]  ² tn The verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh) means “to extract from the water; to fish.” The question here includes the use of a hook to fish the creature out of the water so that its jaws can be tied safely.

[41:1]  ³ tn The verb שָׁקַע (shaqa’) means “to cause to sink,” if it is connected with the word in Amos 8:8 and 9:5. But it may have the sense of “to tie; to bind.” If the rope were put around the tongue and jaw, binding tightly would be the sense.

[41:3]  ⁴ tn The line asks if the animal, when caught and tied and under control, would keep on begging for mercy. Absolutely not. It is not in the nature of the beast. The construction uses יַרְבֶּה (yarbeh, “[will] he multiply” [= “make numerous”]), with the object, “supplications” i.e., prayers for mercy.

[41:3]  ⁵ tn The rhetorical question again affirms the opposite. The poem is portraying the creature as powerful and insensitive.

[41:9]  ⁶ sn Job 41:9 in the English Bible is 41:1 in the Hebrew text (BHS). From here to the end of the chapter the Hebrew verse numbers differ from those in the English Bible, with 41:10 ET = 41:2 HT, 41:11 ET = 41:3 HT, etc. See also the note on 41:1.

[41:9]  ⁷ tn The line is difficult. “His hope [= expectation]” must refer to any assailant who hopes or expects to capture the creature. Because there is no antecedent, Dhorme and others transpose it with the next verse. The point is that the man who thought he was sufficient to confront Leviathan soon finds his hope – his expectation – false (a derivative from the verb כָּזַב [kazab, “lie”] is used for a mirage).

[41:9]  ⁸ tn There is an interrogative particle in this line, which most commentators ignore. But others freely emend the MT. Gunkel, following the mythological approach, has “his appearance casts down even a god.” Cheyne likewise has: “even divine beings the fear of him brings low” (JQR 9 [1896/97]: 579). Pope has, “Were not the gods cast down at the sight of him?” There is no need to bring in this mythological element.

[41:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “the face of his garment,” referring to the outer garment or covering. Some take it to be the front as opposed to the back.

[41:13]  ¹⁰ tc The word רֶסֶן (resen) has often been rendered “bridle” (cf. ESV), but that leaves a number of unanswered questions. The LXX reads סִרְיוֹן (siryon), with the transposition of letters, but that means “coat of armor.” If the metathesis stands, there is also support from the cognate Akkadian.

[41:25]  ¹¹ tc This verse has created all kinds of problems for the commentators. The first part is workable: “when he raises himself up, the mighty [the gods] are terrified.” The mythological approach would render אֵלִים (’elim) as “gods.” But the last two words, which could be rendered “at the breaking [crashing, or breakers] they fail,” receive much attention. E. Dhorme (Job, 639) suggests “majesty” for “raising up” and “billows” (גַּלִּים, gallim) for אֵלִים (’elim), and gets a better parallelism: “the billows are afraid of his majesty, and the waves draw back.” But H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 263) does not think this is relevant to the context, which is talking about the creature’s defense against attack. The RSV works well for the first part, but the second part need some change; so Rowley adopts “in their dire consternation they are beside themselves.”

[41:28]  ¹² tn Heb “the son of the bow.”

[41:33]  ¹³ tn Heb “one who was made.”

[41:34]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the sons of pride.” Dhorme repoints the last word to get “all the wild beasts,” but this misses the point of the verse. This animal looks over every proud creature – but he is king of them all in that department.