Ayub 9:7

9:7 he who commands the sun and ¹  it does not shine ² 

and seals up ³  the stars;

Yeremia 4:23

4:23 “I looked at the land and saw ⁴  that it was an empty wasteland. ⁵ 

I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

Yoel 2:10

2:10 The earth quakes ⁶  before them; ⁷ 

the sky reverberates. ⁸ 

The sun and the moon grow dark;

the stars refuse to shine. ⁹ 

[9:7]  ¹ tn The form could also be subordinated, “that it shine not” (see further GKC 323 §109.g).

[9:7]  ² tn The verb זָרַח (zarakh) means “rise.” This is the ordinary word for the sunrise. But here it probably has the idea of “shine; glisten,” which is also attested in Hebrew and Aramaic.

[9:7]  sn There are various views on the meaning of this line in this verse. Some think it refers to some mysterious darkness like the judgment in Egypt (Exod 10:21-23), or to clouds building (3:5), often in accompaniment of earthquakes (see Joel 2:10, 3:15-16; Isa 13:10-13). It could also refer to an eclipse. All this assumes that the phenomenon here is limited to the morning or the day; but it could simply be saying that God controls light and darkness.

[9:7]  ³ tn The verb חָתַם (khatam) with בְּעַד (bÿ’ad) before its complement, means “to seal; to wall up; to enclose.” This is a poetic way of saying that God prevents the stars from showing their light.

[4:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “I looked at the land and behold...” This indicates the visionary character of Jeremiah’s description of the future condition of the land of Israel.

[4:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “formless and empty.” This is a case of hendiadys (two nouns joined by “and” both describe the same thing): one noun retains its full nominal force, the other functions as an adjective. The words תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) allude to Gen 1:2, hyperbolically picturing a reversal of creation and return to the original precreation chaos.

[2:10]  ⁶ sn Witnesses of locust invasions have described the visual effect of large numbers of these creatures crawling over one another on the ground. At such times the ground is said to appear to be in motion, creating a dizzying effect on some observers. The reference in v. 10 to the darkening of the sun and moon probably has to do with the obscuring of visibility due to large numbers of locusts swarming in the sky.

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “before it.”

[2:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “trembles.”

[2:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “gather their brightness.”