Teks -- Job 41:1-34 (NET)

The Description of Leviathan

41:1 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook, and tie down 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, will it speak to you with tender words? 41:4 Will it make a pact with you, so you could take it as your slave for life? 41:5 Can you play with it, like a bird, or tie it on a leash for your girls? 41:6 Will partners bargain for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants? 41:7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears? 41:8 If you lay your hand on it, you will remember the fight, and you will never do it again! 41:9 See, his expectation is wrong, he is laid low even at the sight of it. 41:10 Is it not fierce when it is awakened? Who is he, then, who can stand before it? 41:11 (Who has confronted me that I should repay? Everything under heaven belongs to me!) 41:12 I will not keep silent about its limbs, and the extent of its might, and the grace of its arrangement. 41:13 Who can uncover its outer covering? Who can penetrate to the inside of its armor? 41:14 Who can open the doors of its mouth? Its teeth all around are fearsome. 41:15 Its back has rows of shields, shut up closely together as with a seal; 41:16 each one is so close to the next that no air can come between them. 41:17 They lock tightly together, one to the next; they cling together and cannot be separated. 41:18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the red glow of dawn. 41:19 Out of its mouth go flames, sparks of fire shoot forth! 41:20 Smoke streams from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning rushes. 41:21 Its breath sets coals ablaze and a flame shoots from its mouth. 41:22 Strength lodges in its neck, and despair runs before it. 41:23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm on it, immovable. 41:24 Its heart is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone. 41:25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified, at its thrashing about they withdraw. 41:26 Whoever strikes it with a sword will have no effect, nor with the spear, arrow, or dart. 41:27 It regards iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood. 41:28 Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones become like chaff to it. 41:29 A club is counted as a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance. 41:30 Its underparts are the sharp points of potsherds, it leaves its mark in the mud like a threshing sledge. 41:31 It makes the deep boil like a cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment, 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 without fear. 41:34 It looks on every haughty being; it is king over all that are proud.”

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Job 41:1 - Leviathan

Several particulars in the following description, agree far better with the crocodile, than the whale. It is highly probable, that this is the creature here spoken of.

Wesley: Job 41:1 - Cord

Canst thou take him with a hook and a line, as anglers take ordinary fishes.

Wesley: Job 41:2 - Thorn

Or, with an iron hook, or instrument as sharp as a thorn; wherewith thou usest to carry little fishes.

Wesley: Job 41:3 - Supplications

Doth he dread thine anger or power? Or will he earnestly beg thy favour? It is a metaphor from men in distress, who use these means to them to whose power they are subject.

Wesley: Job 41:7 - Fill

A whale's you may: but the skin of a crocodile is so hard that an iron or spear will not pierce it.

Wesley: Job 41:8 - Lay

Seize upon him, if thou darest.

Wesley: Job 41:8 - Battle

But ere thou attempt it consider what thou art doing, and with whom, thou art going to fight.

Wesley: Job 41:8 - Do no more

Proceed no farther, draw back thy hand.

Wesley: Job 41:9 - Hope

The hope of taking or conquering him.

Wesley: Job 41:10 - Stand

To the battle.

Wesley: Job 41:10 - Me

To contend with me who created him?

Wesley: Job 41:11 - Prevented

Hath laid the first obligation upon me, for which I am indebted to him.

Wesley: Job 41:11 - Who can be before

hand with me in kindnesses, since all things under heaven are mine.

Wesley: Job 41:13 - Discover

Or, uncover, or take off from him.

Wesley: Job 41:13 - Face

The upper or outward part of his garment, or, the garment itself: the word face being often redundant. And by the garment is meant the skin which covers the whole body; who dare attempt to touch his very skin? Much less to give him a wound.

Wesley: Job 41:13 - His double bridle

His fast jaws, which have some resemblance to a double bridle: whence the Greeks call those parts of the face which reach to the jaws on both sides, the bridles.

Wesley: Job 41:14 - Doors

His mouth. If it be open, none dare enter within, and if it be shut, none dare open it.

Wesley: Job 41:15 - Shut

Closely compacted together, as things that are fastened together by a seal. This likewise is true of the crocodile, but the skin of the whale is smooth and entire without any scales at all.

Wesley: Job 41:18 - Sneesings

This the crocodile is said frequently to do.

Wesley: Job 41:18 - Eyes

To which they seem very fitly compared, because the eyes of the crocodile are dull and dark under the water, but as soon as they appear above water, cast a bright and clear light; like the morning light, suddenly breaking forth after the dark night.

Wesley: Job 41:19 - Lamps

This also better agrees with the crocodile, which breathes like the river - horse, of which ancient authors affirm, that his nostrils are very large, and he breathes forth a fiery smoke like that of a furnace.

Wesley: Job 41:21 - Kindleth coals

An hyperbolical expression, denoting extraordinary heat.

Wesley: Job 41:22 - And sorrow

Sorrow is his companion and harbinger, which attends upon him wheresoever he goes. So anger and fear are said by the poets to accompany the God of war.

Wesley: Job 41:24 - Nether mill

stone - Which being to bear the weight of the upper, ought to be the harder and stronger of the two.

Wesley: Job 41:25 - Raiseth

Upon the top of the waters.

Wesley: Job 41:25 - Mighty

Even the stout - hearted.

Wesley: Job 41:25 - Breakings

By reason of their great danger and distress; which is expressed by this very word, Psa 60:2; Jon 2:4.

Wesley: Job 41:25 - Purify

Those who ordinarily live in the neglect of God, they cry unto God in their trouble, and endeavour to purge their consciences from the guilt of their sins.

Wesley: Job 41:26 - Hold

Heb. cannot stand, cannot endure the stroke, but will be broken by it. The crocodile's skin, no sword, nor dart, nor musquet bullet can pierce.

Wesley: Job 41:28 - Turned

Hurt him no more than a blow with a little stubble.

Wesley: Job 41:30 - Stones

His skin is so impenetrable, that the sharpest stones or shells are as easy unto him as the mire.

Wesley: Job 41:31 - Boil

To swell, and foam, and froth by his strong and vehement motion, as any liquor does when it is boiled in a pot, especially boiling ointment.

Wesley: Job 41:31 - The sea

The great river Nile, is called a sea, both in scripture, as Isa 11:15, and in other authors, as Euphrates is called the sea of Babylon, Isa 21:1; Jer 51:36. Lakes also are most frequently called seas both in the Old and New Testament: and in such lakes the crocodiles are as well as in the Nile.

Wesley: Job 41:32 - Shine

By the white froth or foam upon the waters. The same may be observed in the wake of a ship by night.

Wesley: Job 41:34 - King, &c.

_He can tame both the behemoth and leviathan, as strong and stout - hearted as they are. This discourse concerning them was brought in, to prove that it is God only, who can look upon proud men and abase them, bring them low, and hide them in the dust, he it is that beholdeth all high things, and wherein men dealt proudly, he is above them. He is king over all the children of pride, brutal or rational, and makes them either bend or break before him.

JFB: Job 41:1

(Job 41:1-34)

JFB: Job 41:1 - leviathan

Literally, "the twisted animal," gathering itself in folds: a synonym to the Thannin (Job 3:8, Margin; see Psa 74:14; type of the Egyptian tyrant; Psa 104:26; Isa 27:1; the Babylon tyrant). A poetical generalization for all cetacean, serpentine, and saurian monsters (see on Job 40:15, hence all the description applies to no one animal); especially the crocodile; which is naturally described after the river horse, as both are found in the Nile.

JFB: Job 41:1 - tongue . . . lettest down?

The crocodile has no tongue, or a very small one cleaving to the lower jaw. But as in fishing the tongue of the fish draws the baited hook to it, God asks, Canst thou in like manner take leviathan?

JFB: Job 41:2 - hook

Rather, "a rope of rushes."

JFB: Job 41:2 - thorn

Rather, a "ring" or "hook." So wild beasts were led about when caught (Isa 37:29; Eze 29:4); fishes also were secured thus and thrown into the water to keep them alive.

JFB: Job 41:3 - soft words

That thou mayest spare his life. No: he is untamable.

JFB: Job 41:4

Can he be tamed for domestic use (so Job 39:10-12)?

JFB: Job 41:5 - a bird?

That is, tamed.

JFB: Job 41:6

Rather, "partners" (namely, in fishing).

JFB: Job 41:6 - make a banquet

The parallelism rather supports UMBREIT, "Do partners (in trade) desire to purchase him?" So the Hebrew (Deu 2:6).

JFB: Job 41:6 - merchants

Literally, "Canaanites," who were great merchants (Hos 12:7, Margin).

JFB: Job 41:7

His hide is not penetrable, as that of fishes.

JFB: Job 41:8

If thou lay . . . thou wilt have reason ever to remember . . . and thou wilt never try it again.

JFB: Job 41:9 - the hope

Of taking him.

JFB: Job 41:9 - cast down

With fear "at the (mere) sight of him."

JFB: Job 41:10 - fierce

Courageous. If a man dare attack one of My creatures (Gen 49:9; Num 24:9), who will dare (as Job has wished) oppose himself (Psa 2:2) to Me, the Creator? This is the main drift of the description of leviathan.

JFB: Job 41:11 - prevented

Done Me a favor first: anticipated Me with service (Psa 21:3). None can call Me to account ("stand before Me," Job 41:10) as unjust, because I have withdrawn favors from him (as in Job's case): for none has laid Me under a prior obligation by conferring on Me something which was not already My own. What can man give to Him who possesses all, including man himself? Man cannot constrain the creature to be his "servant" (Job 41:4), much less the Creator.

JFB: Job 41:12 - I will not conceal

A resumption of the description broken off by the digression, which formed an agreeable change.

JFB: Job 41:12 - his power

Literally, "the way," that is, true proportion or expression of his strength (so Hebrew, Deu 19:4).

JFB: Job 41:12 - comely proportion

Literally, "the comeliness of his structure" (his apparatus: so "suit of apparel" Jdg 17:10) [MAURER]. UMBREIT translates, "his armor." But that follows after.

JFB: Job 41:13 - discover

Rather, "uncover the surface" of his garment (skin, Job 10:11): strip off the hard outer coat with which the inner skin is covered.

JFB: Job 41:13 - with

Rather, "within his double jaws"; literally, "bridle"; hence that into which the bridle is put, the double row of teeth; but "bridle" is used to imply that none dare put his hand in to insert a bridle where in other animals it is placed (Job 41:4; Job 39:10).

JFB: Job 41:14 - doors of . . . face

His mouth. His teeth are sixty in number, larger in proportion than his body, some standing out, some serrated, fitting into each other like a comb [BOCHART].

JFB: Job 41:15

Rather, his "furrows of shields" (as "tubes," "channels," see on Job 40:18), are, &c., that is, the rows of scales, like shields covering him: he has seventeen such rows.

JFB: Job 41:15 - shut up

Firmly closed together. A musket ball cannot penetrate him, save in the eye, throat, and belly.

JFB: Job 41:18

Translate: "his sneezing, causeth a light to shine." Amphibious animals, emerging after having long held their breath under water, respire by violently expelling the breath like one sneezing: in the effort the eyes which are usually directed towards the sun, seem to flash fire; or it is the expelled breath that, in the sun, seems to emit light.

JFB: Job 41:18 - eyelids of morning

The Egyptian hieroglyphics paint the eyes of the crocodile as the symbol for morning, because the eyes appear the first thing, before the whole body emerges from the deep [Horæ Hierogliphicæ 1.65. BOCHART].

JFB: Job 41:19 - burning lamps

"torches"; namely, in respiring (Job 41:18), seem to go out.

JFB: Job 41:20 - seething

Boiling: literally, "blown under," under which a fire is blown.

JFB: Job 41:21 - kindleth coals

Poetical imagery (Psa 18:8).

JFB: Job 41:22 - remaineth

Abideth permanently. His chief strength is in the neck.

JFB: Job 41:22 - sorrow

Anxiety or dismay personified.

JFB: Job 41:22 - is turned into joy

Rather, "danceth," "exulteth"; wherever he goes, he spreads terror "before him."

JFB: Job 41:23 - flakes

Rather, "dewlaps"; that which falls down (Margin). They are "joined" fast and firm, together, not hanging loose, as in the ox.

JFB: Job 41:23 - are firm

UMBREIT and MAURER, "are spread."

JFB: Job 41:23 - in themselves

Rather, "upon him."

JFB: Job 41:24 - heart

"In large beasts which are less acute in feeling, there is great firmness of the heart, and slower motion" [BOCHART]. The nether millstone, on which the upper turns, is especially hard.

JFB: Job 41:25 - he

The crocodile; a type of the awe which the Creator inspires when He rises in wrath.

JFB: Job 41:25 - breakings

Namely, of the mind, that is, terror.

JFB: Job 41:25 - purify themselves

Rather, "they wander from the way," that is, flee away bewildered [MAURER and UMBREIT].

JFB: Job 41:26 - cannot hold

On his hard skin.

JFB: Job 41:26 - habergeon

Coat of mail; avail must be taken by zeugma out of "hold," as the verb in the second clause: "hold" cannot apply to the "coat of mail."

JFB: Job 41:27 - iron . . . brass

Namely, weapons.

JFB: Job 41:28 - arrow

Literally, "son of the bow"; Oriental imagery (Lam 3:13; Margin).

JFB: Job 41:28 - stubble

Arrows produce no more effect than it would to throw stubble at him.

JFB: Job 41:29 - Darts

Rather, "clubs"; darts have been already mentioned (Job 41:26).

JFB: Job 41:30 - stones

Rather, "potsherds," that is, the sharp and pointed scales on the belly, like broken pieces of pottery.

JFB: Job 41:30 - sharp-pointed things

Rather, "a threshing instrument," but not on the fruits of the earth, but "on the mire"; irony. When he lies on the mire, he leaves the marks of his scales so imprinted on it, that one might fancy a threshing instrument with its sharp teeth had been drawn over it (Isa 28:27).

JFB: Job 41:31

Whenever he moves.

JFB: Job 41:31 - sea

The Nile (Isa 19:5; Nah 3:8).

JFB: Job 41:31 - pot of ointment

The vessel in which it is mixed. Appropriate to the crocodile, which emits a musky smell.

JFB: Job 41:32 - path

The foam on his track.

JFB: Job 41:32 - hoary

As hair of the aged.

JFB: Job 41:33 - who

Being one who, &c.

JFB: Job 41:34 - beholdeth

As their superior.

JFB: Job 41:34 - children of pride

The proud and fierce beasts. So Job 28:8; Hebrew, "sons of pride." To humble the pride of man and to teach implicit submission, is the aim of Jehovah's speech and of the book; therefore with this as to leviathan, the type of God in His lordship over creation, He closes.

Clarke: Job 41:1 - Canst thou draw out leviathan

Canst thou draw out leviathan - We come now to a subject not less perplexing than that over which we have passed, and a subject on which learned men are less agreed than on the preceding. What is leviathan? The Hebrew word לויתן livyathan is retained by the Vulgate and the Chaldee. The Septuagint have, Αξεις δε δρακοντα ; "Canst thou draw out the Dragon?"The Syriac and Arabic have the same. A species of whale has been supposed to be the creature in question; but the description suits no animal but the crocodile or alligator; and it is not necessary to seek elsewhere. The crocodile is a natural inhabitant of the Nile, and other Asiatic and African rivers. It is a creature of enormous voracity and strength, as well as fleetness in swimming. He will attack the largest animals, and even men, with the most daring impetuosity. In proportion to his size he has the largest mouth of all monsters. The upper jaw is armed with forty sharp strong teeth, and the under jaw with thirty-eight. He is clothed with such a coat of mail as cannot be pierced, and can in every direction resist a musket-ball. The Hebrew לוי levi תן ten signifies the coupled dragon; but what this is we know not, unless the crocodile be meant

Clarke: Job 41:1 - With a hook

With a hook - That crocodiles were caught with a baited hook, at least one species of crocodile, we have the testimony of Herodotus, lib. ii., c. 70: Επεαν νωτον συος δελεασῃ περι αγκιστρον, μετιει ες μεσὸ½ τον ποταμον, κ. τ. λ . "They take the back or chine of a swine, and bait a hook with it, and throw it into the midst of the river; and the fisherman stands at some distance on the shore holding a young pig, which he irritates, in order to make it squeak. When the crocodile hears this he immediately makes towards the sound; and, finding the baited hook in his way, swallows it, and is then drawn to land, when they dash mud into his eyes, and blind him; after which he is soon despatched.

In this way it seems leviathan was drawn out by a hook: but it was undoubtedly both a difficult and dangerous work, and but barely practicable In the way in which Herodotus relates the matter

Clarke: Job 41:1 - Or his tongue with a cord

Or his tongue with a cord - It is probable that, when the animal was taken, they had some method of casting a noose round his tongue, when opening his mouth; or piercing it with some barbed instrument. Thevenot says that in order to take the crocodile they dig holes on the banks of the river, and cover them with sticks. The crocodiles fall into these, and cannot get out. They leave them there for several days without food, and then let down nooses which they pitch on their jaws, and thus draw them out. This is probably what is meant here.

Clarke: Job 41:2 - Canst thou put a hook onto his nose?

Canst thou put a hook onto his nose? - Canst thou put a ring in his nose, and lead him about as thou dost thine ox? In the East they frequently lead thy oxen and buffaloes with a ring in their noses. So they do bulls and oxen in this country

Clarke: Job 41:2 - Bore his jaw through with a thorn?

Bore his jaw through with a thorn? - Some have thought that this means, Canst thou deal with him as with one of those little fish which thou stringest on a rush by means of the thorn at its end? Or perhaps it may refer to those ornaments with which they sometimes adorned their horses, mules, camels, etc.

Clarke: Job 41:3 - Will he make many supplications

Will he make many supplications - There are several allusions in these verses to matters of which we know nothing.

Clarke: Job 41:4 - Will he make a covenant

Will he make a covenant - Canst thou hire him as thou wouldst a servant, who is to be so attached to thy family as to have his ear bored, that he may abide in thy house for ever? Is not this an allusion to the law, Exo 21:1-6?

Clarke: Job 41:5 - Wilt thou play with him

Wilt thou play with him - Is he such a creature as thou canst tame; and of which thou canst make a pet, and give as a plaything to thy little girls? נערותיך naarotheycha ; probably alluding to the custom of catching birds, tying a string to their legs, and giving them to children to play with; a custom execrable as ancient, and disgraceful as modern.

Clarke: Job 41:6 - Shall thy companions make a banquet

Shall thy companions make a banquet - Canst thou and thy friends feast on him as ye were wont to do on a camel sacrificed for this purpose? Or, canst thou dispose of his flesh to the merchants - to buyers, as thou wouldst do that of a camel or an ox? It is certain, according to Herodotus, lib. ii. c. 70, that they killed and ate crocodiles at Apollonople and Elephantis, in Egypt.

Clarke: Job 41:7 - Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons?

Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? - This refers to some kind of harpoon work, similar to that employed in taking whales, and which they might use for some other kinds of animals; for the skin of the crocodile could not be pierced. Herrera says that he saw a crocodile defend itself against thirty men; and that they fired six balls at it without being able to wound it. It can only be wounded under his belly.

Clarke: Job 41:8 - Lay thine hand upon him?

Lay thine hand upon him? - Mr. Heath translates, "Be sure thou strike home. Mind thy blow: rely not upon a second stroke."Mr. Good translates: -

"Make ready thy hand against him

Dare the contest: be firm.

He is a dangerous animal; when thou attackest him, be sure of thy advantage; if thou miss, thou art ruined. Depend not on other advantages, if thou miss the first. Kill him at once, or he will kill thee.

Clarke: Job 41:9 - Behold, the hope

Behold, the hope - If thou miss thy first advantage, there is no hope afterwards: the very sight of this terrible monster would dissipate thy spirit, if thou hadst not a positive advantage against his life, or a place of sure retreat to save thine own.

Clarke: Job 41:10 - None is so fierce that dare stir him up

None is so fierce that dare stir him up - The most courageous of men dare not provoke the crocodile to fight, or even attempt to rouse him, when, sated with fish, he takes his repose among the reeds. The strongest of men cannot match him

Clarke: Job 41:10 - Who then is able

Who then is able - If thou canst not stand against the crocodile, one of the creatures of my hand, how canst thou resist me, who am his Maker? This is the use which God makes of the formidable description which he has thus far given of this terrible animal.

Clarke: Job 41:11 - Who hath prevented me

Who hath prevented me - Who is it that hath laid me under obligation to him? Do I need my creatures? All under the heavens is my property.

Clarke: Job 41:12 - I will not conceal his parts

I will not conceal his parts - This is most certainly no just translation of the original. The Vulgate is to this effect: I will not spare him: nor yield to his powerful words, framed for the purpose of entreaty

Mr. Good applies it to leviathan: -

"I cannot be confounded at his limbs and violence

The strength and structure of his frame.

The Creator cannot be intimidated at the most formidable of his own works: man may and should tremble; God cannot.

Clarke: Job 41:13 - Who can discover the face of his garment?

Who can discover the face of his garment? - Who can rip up the hide of this terrible monster? Who can take away his covering, in order to pierce his vitals?

Clarke: Job 41:14 - The doors of his face?

The doors of his face? - His jaws which are most tremendous.

Clarke: Job 41:15 - His scales are his pride

His scales are his pride - They are impenetrable, as we have already seen.

Clarke: Job 41:16 - One is so near to another

One is so near to another - It has already been stated, that a musket-ball fired at him in any direction cannot make a passage through his scales.

Clarke: Job 41:18 - By his neesings a light doth shine

By his neesings a light doth shine - It is very likely that this may be taken literally. When he spurts up the water out of his nostrils, the drops form a sort of iris or rainbow. We have seen this effect produced when, in certain situations and state of the atmosphere, water was thrown up forcibly, so as to be broken into small drops, which has occasioned an appearance like the rainbow

Clarke: Job 41:18 - The eyelids of the morning

The eyelids of the morning - It is said that, under the water, the eyes of the crocodile are exceedingly dull; but when he lifts his head above water they sparkle with the greatest vivacity. Hence the Egyptians, in their hieroglyphics, made the eyes of the crocodile the emblem of the morning. Ανατολην λεγοντες δυο οφθαλμους κροκοδειλου ζωογραφουσι . - Horapp. Egypt. Ieroglyph., lib. i., c. 65. This is a most remarkable circumstance, casts light on ancient history, and shows the rigid correctness of the picture drawn above. The same figure is employed by the Greek poets

Χρυσεας ἡμερας βλεφαρον

"The eyelid of the golden day.

Soph. Antig. ver. 103

Νυκτος αφεγγες βλεφαρον

"The darksome eyelid of the night.

Eurip. Phaeniss. ver. 553.

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Clarke: Job 41:19 - Out of his mouth go burning lamps

Out of his mouth go burning lamps - Dr. Young, in his paraphrase, has a sensible note on this passage: - "This is nearer the truth than at first view may be imagined. The crocodile, according to naturalists, lying long under water, and being there forced to hold its breath, when it emerges, the breath long repressed is hot, and bursts out so violently, that it resembles fire and smoke. The horse does not repress his breath by any means so long, neither is he so fierce and animated; yet the most correct of poets ventures to use the same metaphor concerning him, volvit sub naribus ignem. By this I would caution against a false opinion of the boldness of Eastern metaphors, from passages ill understood."

Clarke: Job 41:22 - In his neck remaineth strength

In his neck remaineth strength - Literally, "strength has its dwelling in his neck."The neck is the seat of strength of most animals; but the head and shoulders must be here meant, as the crocodile has no neck, being shaped nearly like a lizard

Clarke: Job 41:22 - And sorrow is turned into joy before him

And sorrow is turned into joy before him - ולפניו תדוץ דאבה ulephanaiv taduts deabah ; "And destruction exulteth before him."This is as fine an image as can well be conceived. It is in the true spirit of poetry, the legitimate offspring of the genie createur. Our translation is simply insignificant.

Clarke: Job 41:23 - The flakes of his flesh

The flakes of his flesh - His muscles are strongly and firmly compacted.

Clarke: Job 41:24 - Hard as a piece of the nether millstone

Hard as a piece of the nether millstone - Which is required to be harder than that which runs above.

Clarke: Job 41:25 - By reason of breakings they purify themselves

By reason of breakings they purify themselves - No version, either ancient or modern, appears to have understood this verse; nor is its true sense known. The Septuagint have, "When he turns himself, he terrifies all the quadrupeds on the earth."The original is short and obscure: משברים יתחטאו mishshebarim yithchattau . Mr. Good takes the plural termination ים im , from the first word, of which he makes the noun ים yam , the sea, and thus translates it, "They are confounded at the tumult of the sea."In this I can find no more light than in our own. Mr. Heath has, "For very terror they fall to the ground."The translations of it are as unsatisfactory as they are various. I shall give both the verses from Coverdale: -

His herte is as harde as a stone; and as fast as the stythye (anvil) that the hammer man smyteth upon: when he goeth the mightiest off all are afrayed, and the waives hevy. The dull swell in the waters proclaims his advance; and when this is perceived, the stout-hearted tremble.

Clarke: Job 41:26 - Habergeon

Habergeon - The hauberk, the Norman armor for the head, neck, and breast, formed of rings. See on Neh 4:16 (note).

Clarke: Job 41:29 - Darts are counted as stubble

Darts are counted as stubble - All these verses state that he cannot be wounded by any kind of weapon, and that he cannot be resisted by any human strength. A young crocodile, seen by M. Maillet, twelve feet long, and which had not eaten a morsel for thirty-five days, its mouth having been tied all that time, was nevertheless so strong, that with a blow of its tail it overturned a bale of coffee, and five or six men, with the utmost imaginable ease! What power then must lodge in one twenty feet long, well fed, and in health!

Clarke: Job 41:30 - Sharp stones are under him

Sharp stones are under him - So hard and impenetrable are his scales, that splinters of flint are the same to him as the softest reeds.

Clarke: Job 41:31 - He maketh the deep to boil like a pot

He maketh the deep to boil like a pot - This is occasioned by strongly agitating the waters at or near the bottom; and the froth which arises to the top from this agitation may have the appearance of ointment. But several travelers say that the crocodile has a very strong scent of musk, and that he even imparts this smell to the water through which he passes, and therefore the text may be taken literally. This property of the crocodile has been noticed by several writers.

Clarke: Job 41:32 - He maketh a path to shine after him

He maketh a path to shine after him - In certain states of the weather a rapid motion through the water disengages many sparks of phosphoric fire. I have seen this at sea; once particularly, on a fine clear night, with a good breeze, in a fast-sailing vessel, I leaned over the stern, and watched this phenomenon for hours. The wake of the vessel was like a stream of fire; millions of particles of fire were disengaged by the ship’ s swift motion through the water, nearly in the same way as by the electric cushion and cylinder; and all continued to be absorbed at a short distance from the vessel. Whether this phenomenon takes place in fresh water or in the Nile, I have had no opportunity of observing

Clarke: Job 41:32 - The deep to be hoary

The deep to be hoary - By the frost and foam raised by the rapid passage of the animal through the water.

Clarke: Job 41:33 - Upon earth there is not his like

Upon earth there is not his like - There is no creature among terrestrial animals so thoroughly dangerous, so exceedingly strong, and so difficult to be wounded or slain

Clarke: Job 41:33 - Who is made without fear

Who is made without fear - Perhaps there is no creature who is at all acquainted with man, so totally destitute of fear as the crocodile.

Clarke: Job 41:34 - He is a king over all the children of pride

He is a king over all the children of pride - There is no animal in the waters that does not fear and fly from him. Hence the Chaldee renders it, all the offspring of Fishes. Calmet says, that by the children of pride the Egyptians are meant; that the crocodile is called their king, because he was one of their principal divinities; that the kings of Egypt were called Pharaoh, which signifies a crocodile; and that the Egyptians were proverbial for their pride, as may be seen in Eze 32:12. And it is very natural to say that Job, wishing to point out a cruel animal, adored by the Egyptians, and considered by them as their chief divinity, should describe him under the name of king of all the children of pride. Houbigant considers the לויתן livyathan , the coupled dragon, to be emblematical of Satan: "He lifts his proud look to God, and aspires to the high heavens; and is king over all the sons of pride."He is, in effect, the governor of every proud, haughty, impious man. What a king! What laws! What subjects! Others think that Men are intended by the sons of pride; and that it is with the design to abate their pride, and confound them in the high notions they have of their own importance, that God produces and describes an animal of whom they are all afraid, and whom none of them can conquer

After all, what is leviathan? I have strong doubts whether either whale or crocodile be meant. I think even the crocodile overrated by this description. He is too great, too powerful, too important, in this representation. No beast, terrestrial or aquatic, deserves the high character here given, though that character only considers him as unconquerably strong, ferociously cruel, and wonderfully made. Perhaps leviathan was some extinct mammoth of the waters, as behemoth was of the land. However, I have followed the general opinion by treating him as the crocodile throughout these notes; but could not finish without stating my doubts on the subject, though I have nothing better to offer in the place of the animal in behalf of which almost all learned men and critics argue, and concerning which they generally agree. As to its being an emblem either of Pharaoh or the devil, I can say little more than, I doubt. The description is extremely dignified; and were we sure of the animal, I have no doubt we should find it in every instance correct. But after all that has been said, we have yet to learn what leviathan is!

Defender: Job 41:1 - leviathan

Leviathan was evidently the greatest of the marine reptiles, or dinosaurs, something like a plesiosaur, perhaps, although modern commentators tend to call it a crocodile. Isaiah says that leviathan was "the dragon that is in the sea" (Isa 27:1), and the psalmist said that leviathan "played" in the "great and wide sea" (Psa 104:25, Psa 104:26)."

Defender: Job 41:10 - dare stir him up

Although no man could overcome the leviathan, God could do so, just as He could overcome the behemoth."

Defender: Job 41:21 - a flame

Whatever the leviathan was, it was not a crocodile. Many of the dragon legends indicate they could breathe fire, and there are indications that at least certain dinosaurs may have been able to produce and expel combustible gases which, upon coming in contact with oxygen, could have ignited."

Defender: Job 41:34 - children of pride

Such a statement could be literally true only of Satan himself. This concluding statement in the divine monologue seems to confirm that these two great reptiles, behemoth and leviathan, were brought to Job's attention to suggest that the great Serpent was the cause of his sufferings. God was very able to defeat Satan. Furthermore, if God was so careful to provide for all the animals, He surely would not forget His faithful servant Job."

TSK: Job 41:1 - leviathan // lettest down

Job 3:8 *marg. Psa 74:14, Psa 104:26; Isa 27:1

leviathan : [Strong’ s H3882]

lettest down : Heb. drownest

TSK: Job 41:2

Isa 27:1, Isa 37:29; Eze 29:4, Eze 29:5

TSK: Job 41:3

Psa 55:21; Pro 15:1, Pro 18:23, Pro 25:15; Isa 30:10

TSK: Job 41:4 - Will he // wilt thou // a servant

Will he : 1Ki 20:31-34

wilt thou : Gen 1:28; Psa 8:5, Psa 8:6

a servant : Exo 21:6; Deu 15:17

TSK: Job 41:5 - play // bind

play : Jdg 16:25-30

bind : Job 28:11

TSK: Job 41:6

Jdg 14:11

TSK: Job 41:7 - Canst // fish

Canst : The Leviathan, לויתן [Strong’ s H3882],

fish : Job 41:26-29

TSK: Job 41:8

1Ki 20:11; 2Ki 10:4; Luk 14:31, Luk 14:32

TSK: Job 41:9 - shall

shall : Deu 28:34; 1Sa 3:11; Isa 28:19; Luk 21:11

TSK: Job 41:10 - dare // who

dare : Gen 49:9; Num 24:9; Psa 2:11, Psa 2:12; Eze 8:17, Eze 8:18

who : Job 9:4, Job 40:9; Jer 12:5; 1Co 10:22

TSK: Job 41:11 - Who // whatsoever

Who : Job 22:2, Job 22:3, Job 35:7; Psa 21:3; Rom 11:35

whatsoever : Exo 19:5; Deu 10:14; 1Ch 29:11-14; Psa 24:1, Psa 50:12, Psa 115:16; 1Co 10:26, 1Co 10:28

TSK: Job 41:12 - comely

comely : Gen 1:25

TSK: Job 41:13 - with // double

with : or, within

double : 2Ki 19:28; Psa 32:9; Jam 3:3

TSK: Job 41:14 - the // his teeth

the : Job 38:10; Ecc 12:4

his teeth : Psa 57:4, Psa 58:6; Pro 30:14; Dan 7:7

TSK: Job 41:15 - scales // pride // a close

scales : Heb. strong pieces of shields

pride : Jer 9:23

a close : Rev 5:2, Rev 5:3, Rev 5:5

TSK: Job 41:18 - the eyelids

the eyelids : Job 3:9 *marg. Rev 1:14

TSK: Job 41:19

Psa 18:8

TSK: Job 41:20

Jer 1:13, Jer 1:14

TSK: Job 41:21

Psa 18:8, Psa 18:12; Isa 30:33; Hab 3:5

TSK: Job 41:22 - is turned into joy

Job 39:19, Job 40:16

is turned into joy : Heb. rejoiceth, Hos 13:14; 1Co 15:55-57

TSK: Job 41:23 - flakes // are joined

flakes : Heb. fallings

are joined : Job 41:17

TSK: Job 41:24 - as hard

as hard : Isa 48:4; Jer 5:3; Zec 7:12

TSK: Job 41:25 - by

by : Psa 107:28; Jon 1:4-6

TSK: Job 41:26 - The sword // habergeon

The sword : Job 39:21-24

habergeon : or, breastplate

TSK: Job 41:28 - slingstones

slingstones : Job 39:7; Hab 1:10

TSK: Job 41:29

2Ch 26:14

TSK: Job 41:30 - Sharp stones // he

Sharp stones : Heb. Sharp pieces of potsherd

he : So hard and impenetrable are his scales, that splinters of flint are the same to him as the softest reeds.

TSK: Job 41:31

Job 41:20

TSK: Job 41:32 - to shine // deep // hoary

By his rapid passage through the water he makes it white with foam; and by his tail he causes the waves behind him to sparkle like a trail of light.

to shine : Gen 1:15

deep : Job 28:14, Job 38:16, Job 38:30; Gen 1:2

hoary : Gen 15:15, Gen 25:8, Gen 42:38; Pro 16:31, Pro 20:29

TSK: Job 41:33 - Upon // is made

Upon : There is no creature among terrestrial animals so thoroughly dangerous, so exceedingly strong, and so difficult to be wounded or slain; and perhaps there is no creature so totally destitute of fear as the crocodile. See note on Job 41:1. Job 40:19

is made : Heb. behave themselves, Job 41:24

TSK: Job 41:34 - he is

he is : Job 26:12; Exo 5:2; Psa 73:6, Psa 73:10; Isa 28:1; Eze 29:3; Rev 12:1-3, Rev 13:2; Rev 20:2, Rev 20:3

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Job 41:1 - Quest // leviathan? // Answ

Quest. What is this

leviathan?

Answ This is granted on all hands, that it is a great and terrible monster, living in the sea or rivers, as behemoth is a land monster. It is the general and received opinion that it is the whale, which is unquestionably called the leviathan, Psa 104:25,26 ; which having been discovered in the seas next bordering upon Arabia, probably was not unknown to Job, who was a very inquisitive person, and well studied in the works of God, as this book manifests. But some later and very learned interpreters conceive that it is the crocodile; which was very well known in Egypt, and all the parts adjacent to it. And this is evident, that the Hebrew thannin (which is parallel to this word leviathan , these two words being synonymous, and the one promiscuously used for the other, as appears from Psa 74:13,14 Isa 27:1 Eze 32:2 ) is used of the crocodile, Eze 29:3,4 32:2,3 . But I shall not positively determine this controversy, but only show how far the text may be understood of both of them, and then submit it to the reader’ s judgment; this being a matter of no great moment, wherein Christians may vary without any hazard. Only this I will say, that whatever becomes of the behemoth of the former chapter, whether that be the elephant, or the hippopotamus, that doth not at all determine the sense of this leviathan; but leaves it indifferent to the whale or the crocodile, as the context shall determine, which I confess seems to me to favour the latter more than the former. To which may be added, that it seems more probable that God would speak of such creatures as were very well known to Job and his friends, as the crocodile was, than of such as it is very uncertain whether they were known in those parts, and in Job’ s time. This verse, noting either the impossibility, or rather the great and terrible difficulty, of taking this monster with his hook or line, or such-like instruments, may agree to either of them. For the whale there is no doubt; nor much doubt as to the crocodile; the taking whereof was generally esteemed by the ancients to be very difficult and perilous, whatsoever peculiar virtue or power from nature or art the Tentyritae had against them, as the Psylli were said to have against serpents. Some indeed object, that the last clause cannot agree to the crocodile, because that hath no tongue, as is affirmed by Aristotle, Pliny, and other ancient authors. But that is a mistake, and the ground of it is plain, because their tongues are but small in proportion to their vast bodies, and withal fastened to their under jaws, as the selfsame authors note. And that the crocodile hath a tongue is positively affirmed by the said ancient authors, and by the Hebrew writers, and by the Arabians, to whom this creature was best known, and by later authors.

Poole: Job 41:2 - An hook // Into his nose // With a thorn

An hook Heb. a bulrush , i.e. a hook like a bulrush, with its head hanging down, as is expressed, Isa 58:5 .

Into his nose to hang him up by it for sale, or to carry him home for use, after thou hast drawn him out of the sea or river, of which he spake in the former verse.

With a thorn or, with an iron hook or instrument as sharp as a thorn, wherewith thou usest to carry little fishes.

Poole: Job 41:3

Doth he dread thine anger or power? or will he humbly and earnestly beg thy favour, that thou wouldst spare him, and not pursue him, or release him out of prison? It is a metaphor from men in distress and misery, who use these means to them to whose power they are subject.

Poole: Job 41:4 - A covenant

A covenant to wit, to do thee faithful service, as the next words explain it. Canst thou bring him into bondage, and force him to serve thee?

Poole: Job 41:5 - As with a bird // For thy maidens

As with a bird as children play with little birds kept in cages, or tied with strings, which they do at their pleasure, and without any fear?

For thy maidens for thy little daughters; which he mentions rather than little sons, because such are most subject to fear.

Poole: Job 41:6 - Thy companions // Make a banquet of him // Shall they part him among the merchants?

Thy companions thy friends or assistants in the taking of him.

Make a banquet of him i.e. feed upon him. Or, for him , i.e. for joy that thou hast taken him.

Shall they part him among the merchants? as is usual in such cases, that all who are partners in the labour amid hazard may partake of the profit also, and divide the spoil.

Poole: Job 41:7

This may be understood, either,

1. Of the whale. And whereas it is objected that the whales at this day are taken in this manner, and therefore this cannot be understood of them; it may be replied, both that this art and way of taking whales is a late invention, and was not known in Job’ s time; and that he doth not speak of the absolute impossibility, but of the great difficulty of taking them. Or,

2. Of the crocodile, whose skin is so hard that an iron or spear will not pierce it, as we shall see hereafter.

Poole: Job 41:8 - Lay thine hand upon him // Remember the battle

Lay thine hand upon him either,

1. In a familiar and friendly manner, that thou mayst catch him by deceit, when thou canst not do it by force. Or rather,

2. In way of hostility, seize upon him and take him by a strong hand, if thou darest do so.

Remember the battle but ere thou do attempt that, consider what thou art doing, and how hazardous thy enterprise is, and with whom and with what disadvantage thou art going to fight, and, as it follows, do no more , proceed no further, draw back thy hand, and be thankful for so great a deliverance. Or the verse may be rendered thus, If (which particle is oft understood) thou offerest or attemptest to lay violent hands on him, thou wilt have cause to remember (the imperative being put for the future, which is frequent in the Hebrew language) the battle , and thou wilt do so no more ; if thou dost escape, thou wilt never forget thy danger, nor attempt any thing of like nature for the time to come.

Poole: Job 41:9 - The hope of him // Shall not // Even at the sight of him

The hope of him either,

1. Of the fish, i.e. the hope of taking or conquering him. Or rather,

2. Of the man who laid hands upon him, as hoping to take him by force, but in vain.

Shall not the prefix he being put for halo , as it is ofttimes in the Hebrew text, as Gen 27:36 1Sa 2:28 Jer 3:6 Jer 31:20 Eze 20:30 .

Even at the sight of him not only the fight, but the very sight of him is most frightful. Such is the sight of the whale to mariners, who fear the overturning of their vessel. And such is the sight of the crocodile, by which alone some have been affrighted out of their wits.

Poole: Job 41:10 - That dare stir him up // To stand before me

That dare stir him up when he sleepeth or is quiet. None dare provoke him to the battle.

To stand before me to contend with me his Creator, as thou, Job, dost, when one of my creatures is too hard for him.

Poole: Job 41:11 - Who hath prevented me // That I should repay him // Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine

Who hath prevented me to wit, with offices or service done for me, by which he hath laid the first obligation upon me, for which I am indebted to him? Who can be beforehand with me in kindnesses, since not only the leviathan, but all men, and, as it follows, all things under heaven, are mine, made by my hand and enriched with all their endowments by my favour, without which, O Job, thou wouldst not have had either reason or such to use so perversely to reproach my providence. Having now said and largely proved that man could not contend with God in power, he now adds, that he cannot do it in justice, because God oweth him nothing, nor is any way obliged to him; which having briefly hinted to prevent an objection, he returns to his former argument, the description of the leviathan.

That I should repay him that I should be engaged to requite his favours.

Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine created by my power and favour, and wholly in my possession, and at my dispose, and therefore cannot possibly prevent me, as was now said.

Poole: Job 41:12 - His parts // His comely proportion

i.e. I will particularly speak of them. Here is a meiosis, as there is Job 14:11 15:18 , and oft elsewhere.

His parts Heb. His bars , i.e. the members of his body, which are strong, like bars of iron.

His comely proportion which is more amiable and admirable in so vast a bulk.

Poole: Job 41:13 - Discover // The face of his garment // With his double bridle

Discover or, uncover , or take off from him.

The face of his garment the upper or outward part of his garment, or the garment itself; the word face being oft redundant, as Gen 1:2 23:3 , and oft elsewhere. And by the garment is meant the skin, which covers the whole body, and may be taken off from the body like a garment. Who dare attempt to touch his very outward skin? much less dare any venture to approach him to give him a deep or deadly wound.

With his double bridle to put it into his mouth, and lead him by it to thy stable and service, as thou dost by a horse. Or rather, (because he plainly seems to persist in describing the several parts of his body; of which he speaks both in the foregoing and following words,) who can come within his double bridle , to wit, his vast jaws, which have some resemblance to a double bridle; whence the Greeks call those parts of the face which reach to the jaws on both sides the bridles.

Poole: Job 41:14 - The doors of his face // His teeth are terrible round about

The doors of his face to wit, his mouth. If it be open, none dare enter within it, as he now said; and here he adds, that if it be shut, none dare open it.

His teeth are terrible round about: this is true of some kinds of whales, though others are said to have either none, or no terrible teeth; but it is more eminently and unquestionably true of the crocodile, of which this very thing is observed by all authors who write of it.

Poole: Job 41:15 - Shut up together as with a close seal

He prides and pleaseth himself in his strong and mighty scales. Heb. His strong shields (i.e. scales) are his pride . Or, (as other, both ancient and modern, interpreters render it,) his body , (or his back , as this word is used, Isa 38:17 ; which, if meant of the crocodile, is emphatical, because his scales and strength is in his back, whereas his belly is very soft, and easily pierced) is the strength of shields , i.e. fortified with scales strong as shields. This is meant either,

1. Of the whale whose skin, though it be smooth and entire, and without scales, may be said to be as (which particle is oft understood) strong shields , because it is, as Galen reports, exceeding hard and strong, and almost impenetrable, and like a shield, especially then, when shields were made of leather; and so it is not only on the back, as in the crocodile, but also in the belly all over. Or,

2. Of the crocodile, which hath scales properly so called, and those most truly such as are here described, as all authors and eye-witnesses consent.

Shut up together as with a close seal closely compacted together, as things that are fastened together by a seal.

Poole: Job 41:16

Which plainly shows that the shields or scales are several; which agrees better to the crocodile than to the whale, whose skin is all one entire piece, unless there were a sort of whales having thick and strong scales, which some have affirmed, but is not yet known and proved.

Poole: Job 41:17

It is exceeding difficult, and almost impossible by any power of art, to sever them one front another.

Poole: Job 41:18 - By his neesings // Like the eyelids of the morning

By his neesings which may be understood either,

1. Of any commotion or agitation of the body, like that which is in neezing, as when the whale stirreth himself and casteth or shooteth up great spouts of water into the air by the pipes which God hath planted in his head for this use; which water being thin, and transparent, and illuminated by the sun-beams, casts forth a shining light. Or,

2. Of neezing properly so called, which the crocodile is said frequently to do, because it commonly turneth its eyes to the sun, as Strabo and others note; which when a man doth, he is apt to neeze.

Like the eyelids of the morning to which they seem very fitly compared, because the eyes both of the whale and crocodile are dull and dark under the water; but as soon as they appear above water, they cast forth immediately a bright and clear light, though not like that of the sun at noon-day, which had been too great an hyperbole, yet like the morning light, suddenly breaking forth after the dark night.

Poole: Job 41:19

i.e. His breathings and blowings are very hot, or flaming, as the following verses explain this. This also may seem better to agree to the crocodile, which breathes (as Aristotle affirms) like the hippopotamus, of which ancient authors affirm, that his nostrils are very large, and he breathes forth a fiery smoke like that of a furnace , than to the whale, which rather casts forth streams of water, as was noted before, than flames of fire, there being no such great heat observed in whales, nor, as far as I know, in any other fishes.

Poole: Job 41:20

Heb. pool . So a great caldron is called, because it sends forth a great smoke, as a pool doth vapours; as in like manner the great brazen laver in the temple is called a sea, for the great quantity of water which it held.

Poole: Job 41:21

An hyperbolical expression, noting only extraordinary heat.

Poole: Job 41:22 - Sorrow is turned into joy before him

His neck is exceeding strong. This is meant either

1. Of the whale, who though he hath no neck no more than other fishes have, yet he hath a part in some sort answerable to it, where the head and body are joined together. Or,

2. Of the crocodile, whom Aristotle, (who made it his business to search out the several natures and parts of all living creatures, and had all the helps and advantages which he desired to find them out,) and Scaliger, and others affirm to have a neck, though some deny it.

Sorrow is turned into joy before him i.e. the approach of any enemy, which usually causeth fear and sorrow in others, fills him with joy, as being desirous of nothing more than fighting. Or, sorrow rejoiceth , or danceth , or triumpheth , &c., i.e. is prevalent and victorious, and quickly invades and conquers all those men, or other creatures, which are in his way. Sorrow is his companion or harbinger, which attends upon him wheresoever he goes. This may be a poetical expression, like that of the poets, when they bring in anger and fear going along with or before Mars into the battle.

Poole: Job 41:23 - The flakes // Of his flesh // They cannot // be moved

The flakes or parts , which stick out, or hang loose, and are ready to fall from other fishes or creatures.

Of his flesh: the word flesh is used of fishes also, as Lev 11:11 1Co 15:39 .

They cannot without difficulty,

be moved to wit, out of their place, or from the other members of the body.

Poole: Job 41:24 - His heart // Hard as a piece of the nether millstone

His heart either,

1. That part of the body is most firm, and hard, and strong. Or,

2. His courage is invincible; he is void of fear for himself, and of compassion to others, which is oft called hardness of heart .

Hard as a piece of the nether millstone which being to bear the weight of the upper, ought to be the harder and stronger of the two.

Poole: Job 41:25 - When he raiseth up himself // By reason of breakings // They purify themselves

When he raiseth up himself showing himself upon the top of the waters. Or, because of his height , or greatness , or majesty ; for he is represented as a king, Job 41:31 . The mighty ; even the stout-hearted mariners or passengers, who use to be above fear.

By reason of breakings either,

1. Of the sea, caused by his motion, which dasheth the waves in pieces one against another. Or rather,

2. Of their mind and state; by reason of their great danger and distress; which is expressed by this very word, Psa 60:2 Jon 2:4 .

They purify themselves either,

1. Naturally; that being, the usual effect of great terror. See Eze 7:17 . Or rather,

2. Morally, as this word is generally used. Those mariners who ordinarily live in a gross and general neglect of God, and of religion, are so affrighted with this imminent danger, that they cry unto God in their trouble , as is said in like case, Psa 107:28 , and endeavour to purge their consciences from the guilt of their sins, by confessing and seemingly forsaking of them, and to make their peace with God, and obtain his favour and help, by their vows, and promises, and prayers.

Poole: Job 41:26 - That layeth at him // Cannot hold // Nor the habergeon

That layeth at him that approacheth to him, and dare strike at him.

Cannot hold Heb. cannot stand , i.e. either,

1. Cannot endure the stroke, but will be broken by it. Or rather,

2. Cannot abide or take hold of him, or be fixed in him; but is instantly beaten back by the excessive hardness of the skin, which cannot be pierced by it, as may be gathered from this and other passages before and after it. This also seems better to agree to the crocodile, whose skin no sword, nor dart, nor musket bullet (as others add) can pierce, than to the whale, whose skin is easily pierced, as experience showeth in our whales; except the whale here spoken of were of another kind, which is not impossible.

Nor the habergeon or, breastplate. As offensive weapons cannot hurt him, so defensive weapons cannot secure a man from him. But men that go upon the design of taking either whales or crocodiles do not use to fortify themselves in that manner. Some therefore take this to be another offensive weapon, a kind of dart, as this word signifies in the Arabic language; which is but a dialect of the Hebrew, and from which the true signification of many Hebrew words must be gathered.

Poole: Job 41:27

He neither fears nor feels the blows of the one more than of the other.

Poole: Job 41:28 - The arrow // Sling-stones // Are turned with him into stubble

The arrow Heb. the son of the bow ; as it is elsewhere called the son of the quiver , Lam 3:13 ; the quiver being as it were the mother or womb that bears it, and the bow as the father that begets it, or sendeth it forth.

Sling-stones great stones cast out of slings, which have a great force and efficacy; of which see on 2Ch 26:14 .

Are turned with him into stubble hurt him no more than a blow with a little stubble.

Poole: Job 41:29

So far is he from fearing it, and fleeing from it, that he scorns and defies it.

Poole: Job 41:30 - under him // he spreadeth sharp pointed things // in the mire

According to this translation the sense is, his skin is so hard and impenetrable, that the sharpest stones are as easy to him as the mire, and make no more impression upon him. But the words are and may be otherwise rendered, as continuing the former sense, They (to wit, the arrows, darts, or stones cast at him) are or fall

under him like (which particle is oft understood) sharp shreds , or fragments of stones;

he spreadeth sharp pointed things (to wit, the pieces of swords or darts which were flung at him, and broken upon him) upon the mire. The fragments of broken weapons lie as thick at the bottom of the water in the place of the fight as little stones do in the mire, or as they do in a field after some fierce and furious battle. Or thus, With him (or for him , i.e. for his defence) are sharp stones ; he spreadeth himself like an arrow or threshing instrument (which is filled and fortified with iron)

in the mire or mud in the bottom of the water: so he doth not describe his resting-place, but rather his back, which he not unfitly compares to sharp stones or threshing instruments, because the darts or stones east at him pierce no more into him than they would do into them if they were thrown at them.

Poole: Job 41:31 - The deep // To boil like a pot // The sea // Like a pot of ointment

The deep the deep waters, or the sea, which is called the deep , Psa 107:24 Jon 2:3 , as it is explained in the next clause.

To boil like a pot to swell, and foam, and froth by his strong and vehement motion, as any liquor doth when it is boiled in a pot.

The sea either the great sea, the proper place of the whale, Psa 104:25 ; or the great river Nilus, which is called a sea , both in Scripture, as Isa 11:15 , and in other authors, (of which see my Latin Synopsis,) as Euphrates is called the sea of Babylon , Isa 21:1 Jer 51:36 ; or lakes or pools, which are most frequently called seas, both in the Old and New Testament, as every one knows. And in such lakes the crocodiles are no less than in Nilus, as it is attested by Herodotus, and Strabo, and others.

Like a pot of ointment: this clause seems to be added very emphatically, to intimate that this leviathan causeth not only a vehement commotion, but also a great fragrancy in the sea or waters where it is; which, though it was not observed by the ancients, yet is unanimously affirmed by later authors upon their own knowledge and experience, that it casts a perfume like musk; of which see the names and words of the authors in my Latin Synopsis.

Poole: Job 41:32

When he raiseth himself to the top of the waters, he doth as it were plough it up, and make large furrows, and causeth a white froth or foam upon the waters.

Poole: Job 41:33 - Upon earth // Who is made without fear

Upon earth either,

1. Strictly so called, as it is distinguished from the sea or rivers. There is no land creature comparable to him for strength and courage. Or,

2. Largely taken. No creature equals him in all points. Or, upon the dust , as the word properly signifies, i.e. among the things that creep in the dust, among which this may in some sort be numbered for the shortness of its feet. But this were no great honour to it, to be the chief of creeping things; and therefore the former translation seems more proper for the present design of magnifying this creature above all others.

Who is made without fear fears no enemy, as being full of courage, and sensible of his own invincible strength. Or, so as he cannot be bruised or broken, by reason of his prodigious hardness, of which I have spoken before.

Poole: Job 41:34

He doth not turn his back upon nor hide his face from the highest and proudest creatures, but looks upon them with a bold and undaunted countenance, as being without any fear of them, as was now said. He carries himself with princely majesty and courage towards the stoutest and loftiest creatures; which, though of far higher stature than himself, he striketh down with one stroke of his tail, as he commonly doth cows, and horses, and sometimes elephants.

Haydock: Job 41:1 - I // Cruel // Countenance

I. Hebrew, "None is so fierce that dare stir it up." (Haydock) ---

Cruel, or rash, like those to Tentyra, chap. iii. 8. (Calmet) ---

This monster is terrible to those that flee, while it retires from the pursuer. ---

But only these people dare to attack it. (Pliny, [Natural History?] viii. 25.) ---

"I will not ask the crocodile to revenge me of my enemies," as some might do in a rage, through impotence. (Haydock) (Sanchez) (Menochius) ---

Countenance, even though they might overcome the crocodile. God is here speaking. Septuagint, "Dost thou not fear, since it is ready for thee, (Grabe substitutes, "me," for who will resist me?" or, "who shall stand against me, and live? All," &c., ver. 2. (Haydock) ---

God ruleth not with cruelty, like a tyrant, but with justice, ease, and power. (Worthington)

Haydock: Job 41:3 - Supposition

Supposition. This is explained by the Fathers as spoken of the devil. (Amama) ---

But the Hebrew may signify, that God will reward each one according to his deserts, and that Job had consequently no reason to complain; or it means, that the strength and beauty of the crocodile should be made known. (Calmet) ---

Protestants, "I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion." Theo.[Theodotion?] in Septuagint, "I will not keep silence on his account, and the word of power shall take pity on his equal." (Haydock)

Haydock: Job 41:4 - Garment // Mouth

Garment, or the skin. (Menochius) ---

Who shall look steadfastly, or dare to take off its skin? ---

Mouth. Protestants, "Who can come to him with his double bridle?" (Haydock) though it be of the greatest strength; or, who will enter its jaws, or put bits in them? It is reported that the Tentyrites jump on the crocodile's back, and having thrown a piece of wood into its open mouth, like bits, which they hold with both hands, they conduct it to the river side, and kill it. (Pliny viii. 25.) ---

Septuagint, "Who would enter the wrinkles of his breast, (Calmet) or the folds of its coat of arms?" which may allude to the almost impenetrable scales of the leviathan. (Haydock) ---

Symmachus, "Who will enter the folds of its scales?" The crocodile can open its mouth so wide as to swallow a heifer, or to let a man stand upright. (Calmet) ---

Each jaw is furnished with thirty-six teeth. (Vansleb.)

Haydock: Job 41:6 - Body

Body. Septuagint, "entrails are like brazen shields." Protestants, " His scales are his pride shut up together, as with a close seal." (Haydock)

Haydock: Job 41:9 - Sneezing

Sneezing. When the whale breathes, it causes the water to foam. (Pineda) (Menochius) ---

The eyes of the crocodile are also (Haydock) very bright, when out of the water. (Pliny viii. 25.) They appear first, and therefore were used as an hieroglyphic of Aurora, (Horus i. 26.) or of the morning star. (Haydock) ---

Syriac, "His look is brilliant." Arabic, "The apples of his eyes are fiery, and his eyes are like the brightness of the morning." Septuagint, "like Aurora." (Calmet) ---

Olaus (xxi. 5.) says, "that they eyes of the whale shine at night,...and at a distance, are taken by fishermen for great fires."

Haydock: Job 41:10 - Fire

Fire, when they spout water, (Menochius) or pursue their prey open mouthed. This description is extremely poetical, like that of anger, 2 Kings xxii. 9. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 41:11 - Smoke

Smoke; breath, or streams of water sent upwards.

Haydock: Job 41:12 - Breath

Breath, like bellows, ver. 10. (Menochius)

Haydock: Job 41:13 - Neck // Want

Neck. Some deny that the crocodile has any, being formed like a lizard. But it is a dispute about words. The animal turns with difficulty, so that Thomas Gage assures us he escaped one by going in different directions. ---

Want. It ravages a whole country. Hebrew, "fear." (Calmet) ---

Protestants, "sorrow is turned into joy before him;" which seems strange. Septuagint, "destruction runs before him." (Haydock) ---

The poets place fear, carnage, &c., in the train of Mars. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 41:14 - Place

Place; though people may shoot at him, they will make no impression, chap. xl. 20, 26. (Haydock) ---

If God send his thunderbolts at him, the monster must however perish. (Calmet) ---

Symmachus, "His flesh being cast for him, as in the foundry, (molten) is immoveable." (Haydock) ---

Yet God destroyeth him whom man cannot overcome. (Worthington)

Haydock: Job 41:15 - Stone // Smiths

Stone. Pineda understands this of the whale's heart. Others suppose that it alludes to its cruel and fearless temper. (Menochius) ---

The Arabs call a valiant man, "heart of stone." (Calmet) ---

Smiths. Protestants, "as a piece of the nether millstone, " (Haydock) which must be larger and more compact than that which is above. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "He hath stood immoveable as an anvil." (Haydock)

Haydock: Job 41:16 - Angels

Angels. Elim. That is, the mighty, the most valiant, shall fear this monstrous fish, and in their fear shall seek to be purified, (Challoner) by contribution. (Sanchez) ---

R. Levi has given a ridiculous exposition, which is adopted by Sa (Amama) and others, (Haydock; see Ezechiel ii. 7.; Aristotle iv. prob. 32.) as the natural consequences of fear. (Calmet) (Menochius) ---

The Fathers refer this to the fall of Lucifer, when the other angels might tremble for their own safety. (Haydock) ---

Angels with reverent fear honour God's power, and his mot perfect servants are filled with apprehensions at his judgments; as the most valiant are terrified at the sight of this huge fish. (Worthington) ---

Septuagint, "If he turn, there is fear among the wild quadrupeds, jumping on the land." Hebrew, 'When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings, they purify themselves." (Protestants) or "spoil themselves," (Calmet) expecting nothing but certain death. (Amama)

Haydock: Job 41:17 - Plate

Plate. Protestants, "habergeon." The precise nature of these arms is not known. (Calmet) ---

Neither offensive or defensive weapons can avail. (Menochius) ---

All agree that the crocodile can be pierced only under the belly. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 41:19 - Are

Are. Literally, "are turned into stubble," as in Hebrew. (Haydock) ---

They have no more effect. (Menochius)

Haydock: Job 41:20 - Hammer

Hammer. Septuagint Greek: sphura, means also, "the bottom of a rock." This would not overwhelm the whale; as some are represented like floating islands. Protestants, "darts." (Haydock) ---

Chaldean, "axe." Others have, "the ballista;" an instrument to throw stones. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 41:21 - Under him

Under him. He shall not value the beams of the sun: and gold to him be like mire. (Challoner) (Menochius) ---

Hebrew, "sharp stones ( or potsherds) are under him; he spreadeth (or lieth upon) sharp-pointed things, as upon the mire." (Haydock) ---

He is not afraid of being hurt.

Haydock: Job 41:22 - When

When. Hebrew, "a pot of ointment." This boils out very much. (Calmet) ---

The flesh of the crocodile has also the smell of musk; (Bochart) and Peter Martyr asserts, that Columbus found some in America, which plunged into the water, and left behind them the odour of musk or castor. When they are wounded, they give the same perfume to the sea, or rather to the waters, where they abide. The Hebrews style all deep rives and lakes, seas. (Calmet) ---

Crocodiles were kept in the lake Mœris, being adored and honoured as gods. (Herodotus ii. 69.) ---

Septuagint, "He deems the sea as a vase of ointment; ( 23 ) and the Tartarus of the abyss, like a prisoner." Theodotion adds, "He hath considered the abyss as a walk."

Haydock: Job 41:23 - The deep as growing old

The deep as growing old. Growing hoary, as it were, with the froth which he leaves behind him. (Challoner) ---

The Vulgate has well expressed the force of the original, and shews the rapidity with which the crocodile moves. (Calmet) ---

Protestants, "one would think the deep to be hoary." The devil transforms himself into an angel (Haydock) of light. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: Job 41:24 - Power // One

Power. Hebrew and Septuagint, "none like him on earth," for bulk. ---

One. Septuagint, "made to be played with, or beaten, by my angels." (Haydock)

Haydock: Job 41:25 - He is king // Pride // Pharao

He is king, &c. He is superior in strength to all that are great and strong amongst living creatures: mystically it is understood of the devil, who is king over all the proud. (Challoner) (St. Gregory xxxiv. 4., and 17.) (Worthington) ---

Hence Job perceived that God has also now permitted this cruel foe to exercise a dominion over him, and to pull him from his high station, though innocent. (Haydock) ---

This would henceforward be more frequently the order of Providence, and therefore he expresses his entire resignation, chap. xlii. (Houbigant) ---

Pride: the strongest and fiercest animals. (Haydock) ---

The crocodile has been seen encountering even the elephant, and gaining the victory. He is king of all fishes. Septuagint, "of all in the waters." Chaldean, "of all the sons of the mountains:" or Theodotion, "of arrogance." This may particularly denote the Egyptians, as the crocodile was one of their gods; and people are often styled after them, Numbers xxi. 29., and Jeremias xlviii. 46. (Calmet) ---

Pharao even means "a crocodile," in Arabic. (Bochart, Anim. p. ii. b. v. 16.) ---

He is styled simply, the proud, Psalm lxxxviii. 11. (Calmet) ---

The pride of the Egyptians was notorious, Ezechiel xxxii. 12. (Calmet)

Gill: Job 41:1 - Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook // or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down

Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook?.... That is, draw it out of the sea or river as anglers draw out smaller fishes with a line or hook? the question suggests it cannot be done; whether by the "leviathan" is meant the whale, which was the most generally received notion; or the crocodile, as Bochart, who has been followed by many; or the "orca", a large fish of the whale kind with many teeth, as Hasaeus, it is not easy to say "Leviathan" is a compound word of than the first syllable of "thanni", rendered either a whale, or a dragon, or a serpent, and of "levi", which signifies conjunction, from the close joining of its scales, Job 41:15; the patriarch Levi had his name from the same word; see Gen 29:34; and the name bids fairest for the crocodile, and which is called "thannin", Eze 29:3. Could the crocodile be established as the "leviathan", and the behemoth as the river horse, the transition from the one to the other would appear very easy; since, as Pliny says ^a, there is a sort of a kindred between them, being of the same river, the river Nile, and so may be thought to be better known to Job than the whale; though it is not to be concealed what Pliny says ^b, that whales have been seen in the Arabian seas; he speaks of one that came into the river of Arabia, six hundred feet long, and three hundred and sixty broad. There are some things in the description of this creature that seem to agree best with the crocodile, and others that suit better with the whale, and some with neither;

or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? into the river or sea, as anglers do, with lead to it to make it sink below the surface of the water, and a quill or cork that it may not sink too deep; but this creature is not to be taken in this manner; and which may be objected to the crocodile being meant, since that has no tongue ^c, or at least so small that it is not seen, and cleaves close to its lower jaw, which never moves; and is taken with hooks and cords, as Herodotus ^d, Diodorus Siculus ^e, and Leo Africanus ^f, testify; but not so the whale.

(See definition for 03882. Editor.)

Gill: Job 41:2 - Canst thou put an hook into his nose // or bore his jaw through with a thorn

Canst thou put an hook into his nose?.... Or a rush, that is, a rope made of rushes; for of such ropes were made, as Pliny ^g affirms;

or bore his jaw through with a thorn? as men do herrings, or such like small fish, for the convenience of carrying them, or hanging them up to dry; the whale is not to be used in such a manner: but the Tentyritae, a people in Egypt, great enemies to crocodiles, had methods of taking thorn in nets, and of binding and bridling them, and carrying them as they pleased ^h.

Gill: Job 41:3 - Will he make many supplications unto thee // will he speak soft words unto thee

Will he make many supplications unto thee?.... To cease pursuing him, or to let him go when taken, or to use him well and not take away his life; no, he is too spirited and stouthearted to ask any favour, it is below him;

will he speak soft words unto thee? smooth and flattering ones, for the above purposes? he will not: this is a figurative way of speaking.

Gill: Job 41:4 - Will he make a covenant with thee // wilt thou take him for a servant for ever

Will he make a covenant with thee?.... To live in friendship or servitude, as follows;

wilt thou take him for a servant for ever? oblige him to serve thee for life, or reduce him to perpetual bondage; signifying, that he is not to be tamed or brought into subjection; which is true of the whale, but not of the crocodile; for several authors ⁱ speak of them as making a sort of a truce with the priests of Egypt for a certain time, and of their being tamed so as to be handled, and fed, and brought up in the house.

Gill: Job 41:5 - Wilt thou play with him as with a bird // or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens

Wilt thou play with him as with a bird?.... In the hand or cage: leviathan plays in the sea, but there is no playing with him by land, Psa 104:26;

or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? or young girls, as Mr. Broughton renders it; tie him in a string, as birds are for children to play with? Now, though crocodiles are very pernicious to children, and often make a prey of them when they approach too near the banks of the Nile, or whenever they have an opportunity of seizing them ^k; yet there is an instance of the child of an Egyptian woman that was brought up with one, and used to play with it ^l, though, when grown up, was killed by it; but no such instance can be given of the whale of any sort.

Gill: Job 41:6 - Shall thy companions make a banquet of him // shall they part him among the merchants

Shall thy companions make a banquet of him?.... The fishermen that join together in catching fish, shall they make a feast for joy at taking the leviathan? which suggests that he is not to be taken by them, and so they have no opportunity or occasion for a feast: or will they feed on him? the flesh of crocodiles is by some eaten, and said ^m to be very savoury, but not the flesh of the whale;

shall they part him among the merchants? this seems to favour the crocodile, which is no part of merchandise, and to be against the whale, which, at least in our age, occasions a considerable trade for the sake of the bone and oil: but perhaps, in those times and countries in which Job lived, the use of them might not be known.

Gill: Job 41:7 - Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?

Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears? This seems not so well to agree with the whale; whose skin, and the several parts of his body, are to be pierced with harpoons and lances, such as fishermen use in taking whales; and their flesh to be cut in pieces with their knives: but better with the crocodile, whose skin is so hard, and so closely set with scales, that it is impenetrable; See Gill on Eze 29:4. Or if the words are rendered, as by some, "wilt thou fill ships with his skin? and the fishermen's boat with his head" ⁿ? it makes also against the whale; for this is done continually, ships of different nations are loaded every year with its skin, flesh, and the bones of its head.

Gill: Job 41:8 - Lay thine hand upon him // remember the battle // do no more

Lay thine hand upon him,.... If thou canst or darest. It is dangerous so to do, either to the whale or crocodile;

remember the battle; or "look for war", as Mr. Broughton renders it; expect a fight will ensue, in which thou wilt have no share with this creature:

do no more; if thou canst by any means escape, take care never to do the like again; or thou wilt never do so any more, thou wilt certainly die for it.

Gill: Job 41:9 - Behold, the hope of him is in vain // shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him

Behold, the hope of him is in vain,.... Of getting the mastery over him, or of taking him; and yet both crocodiles and whales have been taken; nor is the taking of them to be despaired of; but it seems the "orca", or the whale with many teeth, has never been taken and killed ^o;

shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? the sight of a whale is terrible to mariners, lest their ships should be overturned by it; and some have been so frightened at the sight of a crocodile as to lose their senses: and we read of one that was greatly terrified at seeing the shadow of one; and the creature before mentioned is supposed to be much more terrible ^p.

Gill: Job 41:10 - None is so fierce that dare stir him up // who then is able to stand before me

None is so fierce that dare stir him up,.... This seems best to agree with the crocodile, who frequently lies down and sleeps on the ground ^q, and in the water by night ^r; see Eze 29:3; when it is very dangerous to arouse him; and few, if any so daring, have courage enough to do it: though whales have been seen lying near shore asleep, and looked like rocks, even forty of them together ^s;

who then is able to stand before me? This is the inference the Lord draws from hence, or the use he makes of it; that if this creature is so formidable and terrible, that it is dangerous to arouse and provoke him, and there is no standing before him or against him; then how should anyone be able to stand before the Lord, who made this creature, whenever he is angry? see Psa 76:7.

Gill: Job 41:11 - Who hath prevented me, that one should repay him // whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine

Who hath prevented me, that one should repay him?.... First given me something that was not my own, and so laid me under an obligation to him to make a return. The apostle seems to have respect to this passage, Rom 11:35;

whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine; the fowls of the air, the cattle on a thousand hills, the fulness of the earth; gold, silver: precious stones, &c. All things are made by him, are his property and at his dispose; and therefore no man on earth can give him what he has not a prior right unto; see Psa 24:1.

Gill: Job 41:12 - I will not conceal his parts // nor his power // nor his comely proportion

I will not conceal his parts,.... The parts of the leviathan; or "his bars", the members of his body, which are like bars of iron:

nor his power; which is very great, whether of the crocodile or the whale:

nor his comely proportion; the symmetry of his body, and the members of it; which, though large, every part is in just proportion to each other.

Gill: Job 41:13 - Who can discover the face of his garment // or who can come to him with his double bridle

Who can discover the face of his garment?.... Or rather uncover it? Not the sea, which Mr. Broughton represents as the garment of the whale; who can strip him of it, or take him out of that, and bring him to land? which, though not impossible, is difficult: but either the garment of his face, the large bulk or prominence that hangs over his eyes; or rather his skin. Who dare venture to take off his skin, or flay him alive? or take off the scaly coat of the crocodile, which is like a coat of mail to him, and which he never of himself casts off, as serpents do?

or who can come to him with his double bridle? either go within his jaws, which, when opened, are like a double bridle; or go near and open his jaws, and put a curb bridle into them, and lead, direct, and rule him at pleasure. This is not to be done either to the whale or crocodile; yet the Tentyritae had a way of getting upon the back of the crocodile; and by putting a stick across its mouth, as it opened it to bite them, and so holding both the ends of it with the right and left hands, as with a bridle, brought them to land, as Pliny ^s relates; and so the Nereides are represented as sitting on the backs of whales by Theocritus ^t.

Gill: Job 41:14 - Who can open the doors of his face // his teeth are terrible round about

Who can open the doors of his face?.... Of his mouth, the jaws thereof, which are like a pair of folding doors: the jaws of a crocodile have a prodigious opening. Peter Martyr ^u speaks of one, whose jaws opened seven feet broad; and Leo Africanus ^w affirms he saw some, whose jaws, when opened, would hold a whole cow. To the wideness of the jaws of this creature Martial ^x alludes; and that the doors or jaws of the mouth of the whale are of a vast extent will be easily believed by those who suppose that was the fish which swallowed Jonah;

his teeth are terrible round about; this may seem to make against the whale, the common whale having none; though the "ceti dentati" are a sort of whales that have many teeth in the lower jaw, white, large, solid, and terrible ^y. Olaus Magnus ^z speaks of some that have jaws twelve or fourteen feet long; and teeth of six, eight, and twelve feet; and there is a sort called "trumpo", having teeth resembling those of a mill ^a. In the spermaceti whale are rows of fine ivory teeth in each jaw, about five or six inches long ^b. But of the crocodile there is no doubt; which has two rows of teeth, very sharp and terrible, and to the number of sixty ^c.

Gill: Job 41:15 - His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.

His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. This is notoriously true of the crocodile, whose back and tail are covered with scales, which are in a measure impenetrable and invincible: which all writers concerning it, and travellers that have seen it, agree in; See Gill on Eze 29:4; but the skin of the whale is smooth; the outward skin is thin, like parchment, and is easily pulled off with the hand; and its under skin, though an inch thick, is never stiff nor tough, but soft ^d: though, if Nearchus ^e is to be credited, he reports, that one was seen fifty cubits long, with a scaly skin all over it a cubit thick; and such, it is said, were by a storm brought into our river Trent some years ago, and cast ashore, which had scales upon their backs very hard, as large and thick as one of our shillings ^f. But Aben Ezra interprets this of the teeth of the leviathan, and in which he is followed by Hasaeus; which are strong like a shield, as the words used signify; so Mr. Broughton,

"the strong shields have pride:''

but then this is as applicable, or more so, to the scales of the crocodile; which are so close as if they were sealed together, and are like a shield, its defence, and in which it prides itself.

Gill: Job 41:16 - One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.

One is so near to another, that no air can come between them. This shows that it cannot be understood of the skin of the whale, and the hardness and strength of that, which is alike and of a piece; whereas those scales, or be they what they may, though closely joined, yet are distinct: those who interpret this of whales that have teeth, and these of the teeth, observe, that as they have teeth to the number of forty or fifty in the lower jaw, in the upper one fire holes or sockets into which they go; and they are so very close that no wind or air can come between them ^g.

Gill: Job 41:17 - They are joined one to another // they stick together, that they cannot be sundered

They are joined one to another,.... One scale to another, or "a man in his brother" ^h: which may seem to favour the notion of the whale's teeth in the sockets, which exactly answer to one another; but the next clause will by no means agree with them;

they stick together, that they cannot be sundered: whereas they easily be, at least by the creature itself; but the scales of a crocodile are so closely joined and sealed together, that there is no parting them.

Gill: Job 41:18 - By his neesings a light doth shine // and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning

By his neesings a light doth shine,.... The philosopher ⁱ observes, that those who look to the sun are more apt to sneeze: and it is taken notice of by various writers ^k, that the crocodile delights to be sunning itself, and lying yawning in the sun and looking at it, as quoted by Bochart; and so frequently sneeze: which sneezings, through the rays of the sun, may seem to shine and give light. Though as, in sneezing, water is thrown out through the nostrils, it may be observed of the whale, that it has mouths or holes in its front, through which, as through pipes, it throws out showers and floods of water, as Pliny ^l relates; which, by means of the rays of the sun, as in a rainbow, appear bright and glittering;

and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning: the break and dawn of day; a very beautiful expression, the same we call "peep of day": Pindar ^m has "the eye of the evening"; break of day, as Ben Gersom says, is about an hour and the fifth part of an hour before the sunrising. The eyes of the crocodile were, with the Egyptians, an hieroglyphic of the morning ⁿ: wherefore this seems better to agree with the crocodile than the whale, whose eyes are not much bigger than those of a bullock; and has eyelids and hair like men's eyes; the crystal of the eye is not much bigger than a pea ^o; its eyes are placed very low, almost at the end of the upper lip, and when without its guide, dashes itself against rocks and shoals ^p. Though that sort of whales called "orcae" are said to have eyes a foot long, and of a red rosy colour, such as the morning is described by ^q; and a northern writer ^r tells us that some whales have eyes, whose circumference will admit fifteen or twenty men to sit therein; and in others it exceeds eight or ten cubits; and that the pupil is a cubit, and of a red and flaming colour; which, at a distance, in dark seasons, among the waves, appears to fishermen as fire kindled. And Thevenot ^s says of crocodiles, that their eyes are indifferently big, and very darkish.

Gill: Job 41:19 - Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.

Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Which, though hyperbolical expressions, have some foundation for them in the latter; in the vast quantities of water thrown out by the whale, through its mouth or hole in its frontispiece, which in the sun may look like lamps and sparks of fire, as before observed; and especially in the "orcae", or whales with teeth, which eject in the same way an oily mucus, or the fat liquor of the brain, commonly called spermaceti, which may appear more bright and glittering. Ovid ^t says much the same of the boar as is here said of the leviathan.

Gill: Job 41:20 - Out of his nostrils goeth forth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.

Out of his nostrils goeth forth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. In which flesh or anything else is boiling. It is observed that there is a likeness between the crocodile and the river horse, and particularly in their breathing ^u: and of the former it is remarked ^w, that its nostrils are very large and open, and that they breathe out a fiery smoke, as out of a furnace.

Gill: Job 41:21 - His breath kindles coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.

His breath kindles coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. Hyperbolical expressions, which the above observations may seem to justify.

Gill: Job 41:22 - In his neck remaineth strength // and sorrow is turned into joy before him

In his neck remaineth strength,.... This is thought to be an argument against the whale, which is said to have no neck: but whatever joins the head and body may be called the neck, though ever so small; and the shorter the neck is, the stronger it is. It is also said by some, that the crocodile has no neck also; but the philosopher ^x is express for it, that it has one and moves it: and Pliny ^y speaks of it as turning its head upwards, which it could not do without a neck;

and sorrow is turned into joy before him; or leaps and dances before him; it departs from him: he is not afraid of anything, though ever so threatening. Or sorrow and distress at the sight of him, in men and fishes, make them leap, and hasten to get out of the way of him and escape him.

Gill: Job 41:23 - The flakes of his flesh are joined together // they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved

The flakes of his flesh are joined together,.... The muscles of his hefty are not flaccid and flabby, but solid and firmly compacted;

they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved; that is, not very easily, not without a large sharp cutting knife, and that used with much strength.

Gill: Job 41:24 - His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.

His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone. Which must be understood not of the substance but of the qualities of it, being bold, courageous, undaunted, and unmerciful; which is true both of the whale and crocodile, and particularly of the crocodile: Aelianus ^z relates of one sort of them that they are unmerciful, though elsewhere ^a, he represents them as fearful.

Gill: Job 41:25 - When he raiseth up himself // the mighty are afraid // by reason of breakings they purify themselves

When he raiseth up himself,.... Not out of the waters, but above the surface of them, so as that his large bulk, his terrible jaws and teeth, are seem;

the mighty are afraid; not only fishes and other animals, but men, and these the most stouthearted and courageous, as mariners and masters of vessels;

by reason of breakings they purify themselves: either because of the breaches of the sea made through the lifting up of this creature, threatening the overturning of vessels; or of the breaches of men's hearts through fear, they are thrown into a vomiting, and purging both by stool and urine, which are often the effects of fear, so Ben Gersom; or they acknowledge themselves sinners, or expiate themselves, endeavouring to do it by making confession of sin, declaring repentance for it, praying for forgiveness of it, and promising amendment; which is frequently the case of seafaring men in distress; see Jon 1:4.

Gill: Job 41:26 - The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold // the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon

The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold,.... It is either broken by striking at him, or however cannot pierce him and stick in him; but since a sword is not used in fishery, rather the harpagon or harpoon may be meant, which cannot enter into the crocodile, being so fenced with scales; but the whale being struck with it, it enters deep into his flesh, and is wounded by it; wherefore this and what follows in the next verses seems best to agree with the crocodile, or some other fish;

the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon; that is, neither of these can fasten upon him or enter into him: and yet it is certain that the whale, after he has been struck and wounded by the harping-iron, men approach nearer to him and thrust a long steeled lance or spear under his gills into his breast, and through the intestines, which dispatches him: darts are not made use of in the whale fishery; and as for crocodiles, as Peter Martyr says ^c, they are not to be pierced with darts: the habergeon, or coat of mail, being a defensive piece of armour, seems not to be designed, as being never used in taking such creatures; rather therefore a javelin or hand dart may be intended; since, as Bochart observes, in the Arabic language such an one is expressed by this word.

Gill: Job 41:27 - He esteemeth iron as straw // and brass as rotten wood

He esteemeth iron as straw,.... You may as well cast a straw at him as a bar of iron; it will make no impression on his steeled back, which is as a coat of mail to him; so Eustathius affirms ^d that the sharpest iron is rebounded and blunted by him;

and brass as rotten wood; or steel, any instrument made of it, though ever so strong or piercing.

Gill: Job 41:28 - The arrow cannot make him flee // slingstones are turned with him into stubble

The arrow cannot make him flee,.... The skin of the crocodile is so hard, as Peter Martyr says, that it cannot be pierced with arrows, as before observed; therefore it is not afraid of them, nor will flee from them;

slingstones are turned with him into stubble; are no more regarded by him than if stubble was cast at him; not only stones out of a sling, but out of an engine; and such is the hardness of the skin of the crocodile, that, as Isidore says ^e, the strokes of the strongest stones are rebounded by it, yea, even it is said to withstand against musket shot ^f.

Gill: Job 41:29 - Darts are counted as stubble // he laugheth at the shaking of a spear

Darts are counted as stubble,.... Darts being mentioned before, perhaps something else is meant here, and, according to Ben Gersom, the word signifies an engine out of which stones are cast to batter down walls; but these are of no avail against the leviathan;

he laugheth at the shaking of a spear; at him, knowing it cannot hurt him; the crocodile, as Thevenot says ^g, is proof against the halberd. The Septuagint version is, "the shaking of the pyrophorus", or torch bearer; one that carried a torch before the army, who, when shook, it was a token to begin the battle; which the leviathan being fearless of laughs at it; See Gill on Oba 1:18.

Gill: Job 41:30 - Sharp stones are under him // he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire

Sharp stones are under him,.... And yet give him no pain nor uneasiness;

he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire; and makes his bed of them and lies upon them; as sharp stones, as before, shells of fishes, broken pieces of darts, arrows, and javelins thrown at him, which fall around him: this does not so well agree with the crocodile, the skin of whose belly is soft and thin; wherefore dolphins plunge under it and cut it with a thorn, as Pliny ^h relates, or with spiny fins ⁱ; but with the whale, which lies among hard rocks and sharp stones, and large cutting pieces of ice, as in the northern seas.

Gill: Job 41:31 - He maketh the deep to boil ^(k) like a pot // he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment

He maketh the deep to boil ^k like a pot,.... Which is all in a from through the violent agitation and motion of the waves, caused by its tossing and tumbling about; which better suits with the whale than the crocodile, whose motion in the water is not so vehement;

he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment; this also seems to make against the crocodile, which is a river fish, and is chiefly in the Nile. Lakes indeed are sometimes called seas, in which crocodiles are found; yea, they are also said to be in the seas, Eze 32:2; and Pliny ^l speaks of them as common to the land, river, and sea; and the Nile is in the Alcoran ^m called the sea, and its ancient name was "Oceames" with the Egyptians, that is, in Greek, "ocean", as Diodorus Siculus ⁿ affirms; and so it is thought to be the Egyptian sea in Isa 11:15. It is observed that they leave a sweet scent behind them; thus Peter Martyr ^o, in his account of the voyages of Columbus in the West Indies, says, they sometimes met with crocodiles, which, when they fled or took water, they left a very sweet savour behind them, sweeter than musk or castoreum. But this does not come up to the expression here of making the sea like a pot of ointment; but the sperm of the whale comes much nearer to it, which is of a fat oily nature, and like ointment, and which the whale sometimes throws out in great abundance, so that the sea is covered with it; whole pails full may be taken out of the water; it swims upon the sea like fat; abundance of it is seen in calm weather, so that it makes the sea all foul and slimy ^p: and there are a sort of birds called "mallemuck", which fly in great numbers and feed upon it ^q. I cannot but remark what the bishop of Bergen observes ^r of the sea serpent, that its excrements float on the water in summertime like fat slime.

Gill: Job 41:32 - He maketh a path to shine after him // one would think the deep to be hoary

He maketh a path to shine after him,.... Upon the sea, by raising a white from upon it, through its vehement motion as it passes along, or by the spermaceti it casts out and leaves behind it. It is said ^s that whales will cut and plough the sea in such a manner, as to leave a shining glittering path behind them, the length of a German mile, which is three of ours;

one would think the deep to be hoary; to be old and grey headed, or white like the hair of the head of an old man, a figure often used of the sea by poets ^t; and hence "Nereus" ^u, which is the sea, is said to be an old man, because the froth in the waves of it looks like white hair.

Gill: Job 41:33 - Upon the earth there is not his like // who is made without fear

Upon the earth there is not his like,.... As to form and figure; in most creatures there is some likeness between those in the sea and on the land, as sea horses, calves, &c. but there is no likeness between a whale and any creature on earth; there is between the crocodile and the lizard; nor is any like the whale for the largeness of its bulk; the Targum is,

"his dominion is not on the earth,''

but on the sea, as Aben Ezra notes; but rather the sense is, there is no power on earth that he obeys and submits to, as the Tigurine version; though the meaning seems to be, that there is none like him, for what follows:

who is made without fear; yet this agrees not neither with the crocodile, which Aelianus ^w says is fearful; nor with the whale, which will make off and depart at the shoutings of men, blowing of trumpets, and making use of any tinkling instruments, at which it is frightened, as Strabo ^x, Philostratus ^y, and Olaus Magnus ^z, relate. It is observed ^a; of their valour, that if they see a man or a long boat, they go under water and run away; and are never known to endeavour to hurt any man, but when in danger; though a voyager ^b of our own says,

"we saw whales in Whale-sound, and lying aloft on the water, not fearing our ships, or aught else.''

The Targum is,

"he is made that he might not be broken;''

or bruised, as Bochart; as reptiles usually may, among whom the crocodile may be reckoned, because of its short legs; and yet is made with such a hard scaly skin, that it cannot be crushed, bruised, and broken. Aben Ezra observes that some say, the word "hu", that is, "he", is wanting, and should be supplied, "he", that is, " God, made him without fear"; or that he might not be bruised; wherefore Cocceius interprets the following words entirely of God.

Gill: Job 41:34 - He beholdeth all high things // he is a king over all the children of pride

He beholdeth all high things,.... Or "who beholdeth all high things"; even he that made leviathan, that is, God, as the above interpreter: he does that which Job was bid to do, and could not; beholds everyone that is proud, and abases him, Job 40:11; and therefore he ought to acknowledge his sovereignty and superiority over him, and submit to him;

he is a king over all the children of pride: the proud angels that fell, and all the proud sons of men; proud monarchs and potentates of the earth, such as Nebuchadnezzar and others, Dan 4:31. But interpreters generally understand all this either of the crocodile, or of a fish of the whale kind. Bochart observes, that the crocodile, though it has short legs, will behold, and meet unterrified, beasts abundantly taller than itself, and with one stroke of its tail break their legs and bring them low; and will destroy not only men, but all sorts of beasts, as elephants, camels, horses, oxen, boars, and every animal whatsoever. But others apply this to the whale, which beholds the tossing waves of the sea, which mount up to heaven; the clouds of heaven on high over it; the lofty cliffs or shores, and ships of the greatest bulk and height; and which, when it lifts up itself above the water, equals the high masts of ships, and is abundantly superior to all the tribes of watery animals, or the beasts of the sea. But this seems not wholly to come up to the expressions here used. Upon the whole, as there are some things that agree with the crocodile, and not the whale; and others that agree with the whale, of one sort or another, and not with the crocodile; it is uncertain which is meant, and it seems as if neither of them were intended: and to me very probable is the opinion of Johannes Camerensis ^c, and to which the learned Schultens most inclines, that the leviathan is the dragon of the land sort, called leviathan, the piercing serpent, as distinct from the dragon in the sea, Isa 27:1; which agrees with the description of the leviathan in the whole: as its prodigious size; its terrible countenance; its wide jaws; its three forked tongue; its three rows of sharp teeth; its being covered all over, back and belly, with thick scales, not to be penetrated by arrows and darts; its flaming eyes, its fiery breath, and being most terrible to all, and fearless of every creature; it will engage with any, and conquer and kill an elephant ^d; hence in Ethiopia dragons have no other names than elephant killers: and so it may be said to be king over all the children of pride; of all which proof may be given from various writers, as Pliny ^e, Aelianus ^f, Philostratus ^g, and others; and particularly the dragon Attilius Regulus, the Roman general, killed near Bagrade in Africa, is a proof itself of almost all the above articles, as Osorius ^h has described it; nor is it any objection that the leviathan is represented as being in the sea, since the dragon, even the land dragon, will plunge into rivers, and is often found in lakes called seas, and in maritime places, and will go into the sea itself, as Pliny ⁱ and Philostratus ^k relate. To which may be added, that this creature was found among the Troglodytes ^l who lived near the Red sea, and not far from Arabia, where Job dwelt, and so might be well known by him: and besides, of all creatures, it is the most lively emblem of the devil, which all the ancient Christian writers make leviathan to be; and Satan is expressly called the dragon in Rev 12:3. So Suidas ^m says, the devil is called a dragon in Job. But be the leviathan what it may, it certainly is an illustrious instance of the power of God in making it; and therefore Job and every other man ought to submit to him that made it, in all things, and be humble under his mighty hand; owning freely, that it is his right hand, and his only, and not man's, that can save, either in a temporal or spiritual sense; for which end this and the behemoth are instanced in.

(See definition for 03882. Editor.)