John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Job 40:1



INTRODUCTION TO JOB 40



In this chapter Job is called upon to give in his answer, Job 40:1, which he does in the most humble manner, acknowledging his vileness and folly, Job 40:3; and then the Lord proceeds to give him further conviction of his superior justice and power, Job 40:6; and one thing he proposes to him, to humble the proud, if he could, and then he would own his own right hand could save him, Job 40:10; and observes to him another instance of his power in a creature called behemoth, which he had made, and gives a description of, Job 40:15.



Ver. 1. Moreover the Lord answered Job,.... The Lord having discoursed largely of the works of nature, in order to reconcile the mind of Job to his works of providence, stopped and made a pause for a little space, that Job might answer if he thought fit; but he being entirely silent, the Lord began again:



and said; as follows:





Job 40:2



Ver. 2. Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct [him]?.... Is he capable of it? He ought to be that takes upon him to dispute with God, to object or reply to him; that brings a charge against him, enters the debate, and litigates a point with him; which Job wanted to do. But could he or any other instruct him, who is the God of knowledge, the all wise and only wise God; who gives man wisdom, and teaches him knowledge? What folly is it to pretend to instruct him! Or can such an one be "instructed?" as the Targum: he is not in the way of instruction; he that submits to the chastising hand of God may be instructed thereby, but not he that contends with him; see Ps 94:12. Or should he be one that is instructed? no, he ought to be an instructor, and not one instructed; a teacher, and not one that is taught; he should be above all instruction from God or man that will dispute with the Almighty, The word for instruct has the signification of chastisement, because instruction sometimes comes that way; and then the sense either is, shall a man contend with the Almighty that chastises him? Does it become a son or a servant to strive against a parent or a master that corrects him? Or does not he deserve to be chastised that acts such a part? Some derive the word from one that signifies to remove or depart, and give the sense, shall the abundance, the all sufficiency of God, go from him to another, to a man; and so he, instead of God, be the all sufficient one? Or rather the meaning of the clause is, has there not been much, enough, and more than enough said, Job, to chastise thee, and convince thee of thy mistakes? must more be said? is there any need of it?



he that reproveth God, let him answer it; he that reproves God, for his words, or works, or ways, finding fault with either of them, ought to answer to the question now put; or to any or all of those in the preceding chapters, and not be silent as Job now was.





Job 40:3



Ver. 3. Then Job answered the Lord,.... Finding that he was obliged to answer, he did, but with some reluctance:



and said; as follows:





Job 40:4



Ver. 4. Behold, I am vile,.... Or "light" {a}; which may have respect either to his words and arguments, which he thought had force in them, but now he saw they had none; or to his works and actions, the integrity of his life, and the uprightness of his ways, which he imagined were weighty and of great importance, but now being weighed in the balances of justice were found wanting; or it may refer to his original meanness and distance from God, being dust and ashes, and nothing in comparison of him; and so the Septuagint version is, "I am nothing"; see Isa 40:17; or rather to the original vileness and sinfulness of his nature he had now a sight of, and saw how he had been breaking forth in unbecoming expressions concerning God and his providence: the nature of man is exceeding vile and sinful; his heart desperately wicked; his thoughts, and the imaginations of them, evil, and that continually; his mind and conscience are defiled; his affections inordinate, and his understanding and will sadly depraved; he is vile in soul and body; of all which an enlightened man is convinced, and will acknowledge;



what shall I answer thee? I am not able to answer thee, who am but dust and ashes; what more can I say than to acknowledge my levity, vanity, and vileness? he that talked so big, and in such a blustering manner of answering God, as in Job 13:22; now has nothing to say for himself;



I will lay mine hand upon my mouth; impose silence upon himself, and as it were lay a restraint upon himself from speaking: it looks as if there were some workings in Job's heart; he thought he could say something, and make some reply, but durst not, for fear of offending yet more and more, and therefore curbed it in; see Ps 39:1.



{a} ytlq "levis sum", Cocceius, Michaelis; "leviter locutus sum", V. L.





Job 40:5



Ver. 5. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer,.... Some think this refers to what he had just now said of his vileness, he had owned that, and that was all he had to say, or would say, he would give no other answer; Jarchi says, some suppose he has respect to his words in Job 9:22;



yea, twice; but I will proceed no further; the meaning seems to be, that he who had once and again, or very often, at least in some instances, spoken very imprudently and indecently, for the future would take care not to speak in such a manner: for this confession was not quite free and full; and therefore the Lord takes him in hand again, to bring him to make a more full and ingenuous one, as he does in

Job 42:1.





Job 40:6



Ver. 6. Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind,.... Some think that the whirlwind ceased while the Lord spake the words in

Job 40:2; which encouraged Job to make the answer he did; but others are of opinion that it continued, and now increased, and was more boisterous than before. The Targum calls it the whirlwind of tribulation: comfort does not always follow immediately on first convictions; Job, though humbled, was not yet humbled enough: God will have a fuller confession of sin from him: it was not sufficient to say he was vile, he must declare his sorrow for his sin, his abhorrence of it, and of himself for it, and his repentance of it; and that he had said things of God he ought not to have said, and which he understood not; and though he had said he would answer no more, God will make him say more, and therefore continued the whirlwind, and to speak out of it; for he had more to say to him, and give him further proof of his power to his full conviction;



and said; as follows.





Job 40:7



Ver. 7. Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and,

declare thou unto me,.... And prepare to give an answer to what should be demanded of him. The same way of speaking is used in Job 38:3;

See Gill on "Job 38:3".





Job 40:8



Ver. 8. Wilt thou also disannul my judgment?.... The decrees and purposes of God concerning his dealings with men, particularly the afflictions of them, which are framed with the highest wisdom and reason, and according to the strictest justice, and can never be frustrated or made void; or the sentence of God concerning them, that is gone out of his mouth and cannot be altered; or the execution of it, which cannot be hindered: it respects the wisdom of God in the government of the world, as Aben Ezra observes, and the particular dealings of his providence with men, which ought to be submitted to; to do otherwise is for a man to set up his own judgment against the Lord's, which is as much as in him lies to disannul it; whereas God is a God of judgment, and his judgment is according to truth, and in righteousness, and will take place, let men do or say what they please;



wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? Is there no other way of vindicating thine own innocence and integrity, without charging me with unrighteousness; at least saying such things as are judged by others to be an arraignment of my justice, wisdom, and goodness, in the government of the world? Now though Job did not expressly and directly condemn the Lord, and arraign his justice, yet when he talked of his own righteousness and integrity, he was not upon his guard as he should have been with respect to the justice of God in his afflictions; for though a man may justify his own character when abused, he should take care to speak well of God; and be it as it will between man and man, God is not to be brought into the question; and though some of his providences are not so easily reconciled to his promises, yet let God be true and every man a liar.





Job 40:9



Ver. 9. Hast thou an arm like God?.... Such power as he has, which is infinite, almighty, and uncontrollable, and therefore there is no contending with him; as he has an arm on which good men may lean on and trust in, and by which they are supported, protected, and saved, so he has an arm to crush like a moth all that strive with him or against him;



or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? thunder is his voice; see

Job 37:4, &c. and is expressive of his power,

Job 26:14; and his powerful voice may be observed in calling all things out of nothing into being in creation; in commanding and ordering all things in providence according to his pleasure; and in quickening sinners through his Gospel, by his Spirit and grace in conversion, and will be in calling men out of their graves and summoning them to judgment at the last day. God can both overpower and out voice men, and therefore it is in vain to oppose him and contend with him.





Job 40:10



Ver. 10. Deck thyself now [with] majesty and excellency,.... With excellent majesty, as I am decked and clothed, Ps 93:1;



and array thyself with glory and beauty; appear in the most glorious and splendid manner thou canst, make the best figure thou art able, put on royal robes, and take thy seat and throne, and sit as a king or judge in state and pomp, and exert thyself to do the following things; or take my seat and throne as the judge of the whole earth, and try if thou canst govern the world better than I do; for these and the expressions following are said in an ironic manner.





Job 40:11



Ver. 11. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath,.... Work thyself up into a passion, at least seemingly; put on all the airs of a wrathful and enraged king on a throne of state, whose wrath is like the roaring of a lion, and as messengers of death; pour out menaces plentifully, threatening what thou wilt do; and try if by such means thou canst humble the spirit of a proud man, as follows;



and behold everyone [that is] proud, and abase him; look sternly at him, put on a fierce, furious, and menacing countenance, and see if thou canst dash a proud man out of countenance, and humble him before thee, as I am able; among the many instances of divine power the Lord settles upon this one, and proposes it to Job to try his skill and power upon, the humbling of a proud man.





Job 40:12



Ver. 12. Look on everyone [that is] proud, [and] bring him low,.... As the Lord often does; see Isa 2:11; this is the same as before;



and tread down the wicked in their place; the same with the proud, for pride makes men wicked; it is a sin, and very odious in the sight of God, and is highly resented by him; he resists the proud: now Job is bid, when he has brought proud men low, and laid their honour in the dust, to keep them there, to trample upon them, and tread them as mire in the street; and that in their own place, or wherever he should find them; the Septuagint render it "immediately"; see Isa 28:3.





Job 40:13



Ver. 13. Hide them in the dust together,.... Either in the dust of death, that they may be seen no more in this world, in the same place and circumstances where they showed their pride and haughtiness; or in the dust of the grave, and let them have an inglorious burial, like that of malefactors thrown into some common pit together; as, when multitudes are slain in battle, a large pit is dug, and the bodies are cast in together without any order or decency; or it may be rendered "alike" {b}, let them be treated equally alike, no preference given to one above another;



[and] bind their faces in secret; alluding, as it is thought, to malefactors when condemned and about to be executed, whose faces are then covered, as Haman's was, Es 7:8; or to the dead when buried, whose faces are bound with napkins, as Lazarus's was, Joh 11:44; the meaning of all these expressions is, that Job would abase and destroy, if he could, every proud man he met with, as God does, in the course of his providence, sooner or later. There had been instances of divine power in this way before, or in the times of Job, which might come to his knowledge; as the casting down of the proud angels out of heaven, 2Pe 2:4; and of casting proud Adam out of paradise, Ge 3:24; the drowning the proud giants of the old world, Ge 7:23; and of dispersing the proud builders of Babel, Ge 11:8; and of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah by fire, Ge 19:24, one of whose reigning sins was pride,

Eze 16:49; and of drowning proud Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea,

Ex 15:4: which last seems to have been done much about the time Job lived.



{b} dxy "pariter", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Schultens.





Job 40:14



Ver. 14. Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee. From all his enemies temporal and spiritual, and out of all evils and calamities whatsoever; and that he stood in no need of his help and assistance, yea, that he was a match for him, and might be allowed to contend with him; but whereas he was not able to do the above things proposed to him, it could not be admitted that his own right hand could save him; and therefore ought quietly to submit to the sovereignty of God over him, and to all the dispensations of his providence, and be humbled under his mighty hand, since no hand but his could save him; as no man's right hand can save him from temporal evils and enemies, and much less from spiritual ones, or with an everlasting salvation; nor any works of righteousness done by him, only the arm of the Lord has wrought salvation, and his right hand only supports and saves. Two instances are given in this and the following chapter, the one of a land animal, the other of a sea animal, as is generally supposed; or it may be of amphibious ones, that live both on land and water.





Job 40:15



Ver. 15. Behold, now behemoth,.... The word is plural, and signifies beasts, and may be used to denote the chiefest and largest of beasts, and therefore is commonly understood of the elephant; and certain it is that a single beast is described in the following account, and so the word is rendered, Ps 73:22; The word is here rendered by the Septuagint yhria, "beasts"; which is the word used by the Greeks {c} for elephants as "belluae", a word of the same signification, is by the Latins {d}: and so the Sabines called an elephant "barrus", and the Indians "barro" {e}, reb, a "beast"; and it may be observed, that ivory is called "shenhabbim", 1Ki 10:22; that is, "shenhabehim", "behem" or "behemoth" {f}, the tooth of the beast: and it may be also observed, that Seneca {g} says, that the Nile produces beasts like the sea; meaning particularly the crocodile and hippopotamus. Bochart dissents from the commonly received opinion of the elephant being meant; and thinks the "hippopotamus", or river horse, is intended so called from its having a head like a horse; and is said to have a mane, and to neigh like one, and to bear some resemblance to it in its snout, eyes, ears, and back {h}. And the reasons that celebrated author has given for this his opinion have prevailed on many learned men to follow him; and there are some things in the description of behemoth, as will be observed, which seem better to agree with the river horse than with the elephant. It is an amphibious creature, and sometimes lives upon the land, and sometimes in the water; and by various {i} writers is often called a beast and four footed one:



which I made with thee; or as well as thee; it being equally the work of my hands, a creature as thou art: or made on the continent, as than art, so Aben Ezra; and made on the same day man was made; which those observe, who understand it of the elephant; or, which cometh nearest to thee, the elephant being, as Pliny {k} says, the nearest to man in sense; and no beast more prudent, as Cicero {l} affirms. But the above learned writer, who interprets it of the river horse, takes the meaning of this phrase to be; that it was a creature in Job's neighbourhood, an inhabitant of the river Nile in Egypt, to which Arabia joined, where Job lived; which is testified by many writers {m}: and therefore it is thought more probable that a creature near at hand, and known should be instanced in, and not one that it may be was never seen nor known by Job. But both Diodorus Siculus {n} and Strabo {o} speak of herds of elephants in Arabia, and of that as abounding: with them; and of various places called from them, and the hunting of them, and even of men from eating them;



he eateth grass as an one; which is true both of the elephant and of the river horse: that a land animal should eat grass is not so wonderful; but that a creature who lives in the water should come out of it and eat grass is very strange and worthy of admiration, it is observed: and that the river horse feeds in corn fields and on grass many writers {p} assure us; yea, in the river it feeds not on fishes, but on the roots of the water lily, which fishermen therefore use to bait their hooks with to take it. Nor is it unlike an ox in its shape, and in some parts of its body: hence the Italians call it "bomaris", the "sea ox"; but it is double the size of an ox {q}. Olaus Magnus {r} speaks of a sea horse, found between Britain and Norway; which has the head of a horse, and neighs like one; has cloven feet with hoofs like a cow; and seeks its food both in the sea and on the land, and grows to the bigness of an ox, and has a forked tail like a fish.



(See Definition for 0930. Editor)



{c} Suidas in voce yhria. Plutarch in Eumenc. {d} Terent. Eunuch. Act. 3. Sc. 1. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 3. {e} Isidor. Origin. l. 12, c. 2. Vid. Horat. Epod. 12. v. 1. {f} Hiller. Oaomastic, Sacr. p. 434. {g} Nat. Quaest. l. 4. c. 2. {h} Vid. lsidor. Origin. l. 12. c. 6. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 25. Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 7. {i} Herodot. Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 71. Plin. ib. Ammian, Marcellin. l. 22. Leo African. Descript. African, l. 9. p. 758. {k} Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 1. {l} De Natur. Deor. l. 1. {m} Solin. Polyhist. c. 45. Aelian. de Animal. l. 5. c. 53. Philo de Praemiis, p. 924. Plin. Afric. ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 1.) {n} Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 136. & l. 3. p. 173, 174, 175. {o} Geograph. l. 16. p. 531, 533. {p} Diodor. Sic. l. 1. p. 31. Aelian. Plin. Solin. Ammian. ut supra. {q} Ludolf. Ethiop. Hist. l. 1. c. 11. {r} De Ritu Septent. Gent. l. 21. c. 26.





Job 40:16



Ver. 16. Lo now, his strength [is] in his loins,.... The strength of the elephant is well known, being able to carry a castle on its back, with a number of men therein; but what follows does not seem so well to agree with it;



and his force [is] in the navel of his belly; since the belly of the elephant is very tender; by means of which the rhinoceros, its enemy, in its fight with it, has the advantage of it, by getting under its belly, and ripping it up with its horn {s}. In like manner Eleazar the Jew killed one of the elephants of Antiochus, by getting between its legs, and thrusting his sword into its navel {t}; which fell and killed him with the weight of it. On the other hand, the "river horse" is covered with a skin all over, the hardest and strongest of all creatures {u}, as not to be pierced with spears or arrows {w}; and of it dried were made helmets, shields, spears, and polished darts {x}. That which Monsieur Thevenot {y} saw had several shot fired at it before it fell, for the bullets hardly pierced through its skin. We made several shot at him, says another traveller {z}, but to no purpose; for they would glance from him as from a wall. And indeed the elephant is said to have such a hard scaly skin as to resist the spear {a}: and Pliny {b}, though he speaks of the hide of the river horse being so thick that spears are made of it; yet of the hide of the elephant, as having targets made of that, which are impenetrable.



{s} Aelian. de Amimal. l. 17. c. 44. Plin. l. 8. c. 10, 20. Vid. Solin. c. 38. Diodor. Sic. l. 3. p. 167. & Strabo. Geograph. l. 16. p. 533. {t} Joseph. Ben Gorion. Hist. Heb. l. 3. c. 20. 1 Maccab. vi. 46. {u} Diodor. Sic. ut supra. (l. 3. p. 167) Plin. l. 8. c. 25. {w} Ptolem. Geograph. l. 7. c. 2. Fragment. Ctesiae ad Calcem Herodot. p. 701. Ed. Gronov. Boius apud Kircher. China cum Momument. p. 193. {x} Herodot. ut supra. (p. 701) Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 7. Plin. l. 11. c. 39. {y} Travels, part 1. c. 72. {z} Dampier's Voyages, vol. 2. part 2. p. 105. {a} Heliodor. Ethiop. Hist. l. 9. c. 18. {b} Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 39. Vid. Vossium in Melam. de Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 5. p. 28.





Job 40:17



Ver. 17. He moveth his tail like a cedar,.... To which it is compared, not for the length and largeness of it; for the tail both of the elephant and of the river horse is short; though Vartomannus {c} says, the tail of the elephant is like a buffalo's, and is four hands long, and thin of hair: but because of the smoothness, roundness, thickness, and firmness of it; such is the tail of the river horse, being like that of a hog or boar {d}; which is crooked, twisted, and which it is said to turn back and about at pleasure, as the word used is thought to signify. Aben Ezra interprets it, "maketh to stand": that is, stiff and strong, and firm like a cedar. One writer {e} speaks of the horse of the Nile, as having a scaly tail; but he seems to confound it with the sea horse. Junius interprets it of its penis, its genital part; to which the Targum in the King's Bible is inclined: and Cicero {f} says, the ancients used to call that the tail; but that of the elephant, according to Aristotle {g}, is but small, and not in proportion to the size of its body; and not in sight, and therefore can hardly be thought to be described; though the next clause seems to favour this sense:



the sinews of his stones are wrapped together; if by these are meant the testicles, as some think, so the Targums; the sinews of which were wreathed, implicated and ramified, like branches of trees, as Montanus renders it. Bochart interprets this of the sinews or nerves of the river horse, which having such plenty of them, are exceeding strong; so that, as some report, this creature will with one foot sink a boat {h}; I have known him open his mouth, says a traveller {i}, and set one tooth on the gunnel of a boat, and another on the second strake from the keel, more than four feet distant, and there bite a hole through the plank, and sink the boat.



{c} Navigat. l. 4. c. 9. {d} Aristot. Plin. Solin. & Isidore ut supra. (See Job 40:16.) {e} Nicet. Choniat. apud Fabrit. Gr. Bibliothec. vol. 6. p. 410. {f} Epist. l. 9. ep. 22. {g} Hist. Amimal. l. 2. c. 1. {h} Apud Hierozoic, par. 2. l. 5. c. 14. col. 758. {i} Dampier's Voyages, vol. 2. part 2. p. 105.





Job 40:18



Ver. 18. His bones [are as] strong pieces of brass: his bones [are] as bars of iron. Than which nothing is stronger. The repetition is made for greater illustration and confirmation; but what is said is not applicable to the elephant, whose bones are porous and rimous, light and spongy for the most part, as appears from the osteology {k} of it; excepting its teeth, which are the ivory; though the teeth of the river horse are said to exceed them in hardness {l}; and artificers say {m} they are wrought with greater difficulty than ivory. The ancients, according to Pausanias {n}, used them instead of it; who relates, that the face of the image of the goddess Cybele was made of them: and Kircher {o} says, in India they make beads, crucifixes, and statues of saints of them; and that they are as hard or harder than a flint, and fire may be struck out of them. So the teeth of the morss, a creature of the like kind in the northern countries, are valued by the inhabitants as ivory {p}, for hardness, whiteness, and weight, beyond it, and are dearer and much traded in; See Gill on "Job 40:20"; but no doubt not the teeth only, but the other bones of the creature in the text are meant.



{k} In Philosoph. Transact. vol. 5. p. 155, 156. {l} Odoardus Barbosa apud Bochart. ut supra. (Apud Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 5. c. 14. col. 758.) {m} Diepenses apud ib. {n} Arcadica, sive, l. 8. p. 530. {o} China cum Monument. p. 193. {p} Olaus Magnus, ut supra, (De Ritu. Septent. Gent.) l. 2. c. 19. Voyage to Spitzbergen, p. 115.





Job 40:19



Ver. 19. He [is] the chief of the ways of God,.... Or the beginning of them, that is, of the works of God in creation; which must be restrained to animals, otherwise there were works wrought before any of them were created. There were none made before the fifth day of the creation, and on that day was the river horse made; in which respect it has the preference to the elephant, not made till the sixth day. But if this phrase is expressive of the superior excellency of behemoth over other works of God, as it seems to be, it must be limited to the kind of which it is; otherwise man is the chief of all God's ways or works, made either on the fifth or sixth day: and so as the elephant may be observed to be the chief of the beasts of the earth, or of land animals, for its largeness and strength, its sagacity, docility, gentleness, and the like; so the river horse may be said to be the chief of its kind, of the aquatic animals, or of the amphibious ones, for the bulk of its body, which is not unlike that of the elephant, as says Diodorus Siculus {q}; and it has been by some called the Egyptian elephant {r}; and also from its great sagacity, of which instances are given by some writers {s}. However, it is one of the chief works of God, or a famous, excellent, and remarkable one, which may be the sense of the expression; see Nu 24:20. It might be remarked in favour of the elephant, that it seems to have its name from Pla, the first and chief; as the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet is called "aleph"; unless it should have its name from this root, on account of its docility;



he that made him can make his sword to approach [unto him]; not the sword of God, as if this creature could not be killed by any but by him that made it; for whether the elephant or river horse be understood, they are both to be taken and slain: but the sword of behemoth is that which he himself is furnished with; which some understand of the trunk of the elephant, with which he defends himself and annoys others; but that has no likeness of a sword. Bochart {t} renders the word by "harpe", which signifies a crooked instrument, sickle or scythe; and interprets it of the teeth of the river horse, which are sharp and long, and bent like a scythe. That which Thevenot {u} saw had four great teeth in the lower jaw, half a foot long, two whereof were crooked; and one on each side of the jaw; the other two were straight, and of the same length as the crooked, but standing out in the length: see the figure of it in Scheuchzer {w}; by which it also appears to have six teeth. Another traveller says {x}, of the teeth of the sea horse, that they are round like a bow, and about sixteen inches long, and in the biggest part more than six inches about: but another relation {y} agrees more nearly with Thevenot and Scheuchzer; that four of its teeth are longer than the rest, two in the upper jaw, one on each side, and two more in the under; these last are four or five inches long, the other two shorter; with which it mows down the corn and grass in great quantities: so that Diodorus Siculus {z} observes, that if this animal was very fruitful, and brought forth many young and frequently, the fields in Egypt would be utterly destroyed. This interpretation agrees with what follows.



{q} Ut supra. (Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 136. & l. 3. p. 173. 174. 175.) {r} Achilles Tatius, l. 4. {s} Ammian. Marcellin. Plin. Solin. ut supra. Vid. Plin. l. 28. c. 8. {t} Ut supra, (Apud Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 5. c. 14.) col. 760. {u} Travels, part 1. c. 72. {w} Physic. Sacr. tab. 532. {x} Dampier's Voyages, vol. 2. part 2. p. 105. {y} Capt. Rogers apud Dampier, ib. p. 106. {z} Ut supra. (Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 136. & l. 3. p. 173. 174. 175.)





Job 40:20



Ver. 20. Surely the mountains bring him forth food,.... Grass, which grows on mountains, and is the food of the river horse as well as of the elephant; and therefore is furnished with teeth like a scythe to mow it down; and it is not a small quantity that will suffice it, mountains only can supply it; and marvellous it is that a creature bred in a river should come out of it to seek its food on mountains. There is a creature in the northern parts, as in Russia, Greenland, &c. which is called morss and sea morss, and by the description of it is much like the river horse, of the size of an ox, and having an head like one, with two large long teeth standing out of its upper jaw, and an hairy skin {a}, said to be an inch thick, and so tough that no lance will enter it {b}; it comes out of the sea, and by its teeth gets up to the tops of mountains, and having fed on grass rolls itself down again into the sea; and this it does by putting its hinder feet to its teeth, and so falls from the mountain with great celerity, as on a sledge {c};



where all the beasts of the field play; skip and dance, and delight in each other, being in no fear of behemoth; whether understood of the elephant or river horse; since neither of them are carnivorous creatures that feed on other animals, but on grass only; and therefore the beasts of the field may feed with them quietly and securely. Pliny {d} says of the elephant, that meeting with cattle in the fields, it will make signs to them not to be afraid of it, and so they will go in company together.



{a} Olaus Magus ut supra, (De Ritu. Septent. Gent.) l. 21. c. 19. Vid. Bochart. ut supra, (Apud Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 5. c. 14.) col. 763. Eden's Travels, p. 318. {b} See the North West Fox, p. 232. Voyage to Spitzbergen, p. 115, 120. Supplement, p. 194. {c} Olaus Magnus, ut supra, (De Ritu. Septent. Gent. l. 21. c. 19.) & Eden's Travels, ut supra. (p. 318.) {d} Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 7.





Job 40:21



Ver. 21. He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed,

and fens. This may be thought to agree very well with the river horse, the inhabitant of the Nile, where reeds in great plenty grew, and adjoining to which were fenny and marshy places, and shady trees; and, as historians relate {e}, this creature takes its lodging among high reeds, and in shady places; yea, the reeds and sugar canes, and the leaves of the papyrus, are part of the food on which it lives; and hence the hunters of them sometimes cover their bait with a reed to take them; though it must be allowed that the elephant delights to be about rivers, and in clayey and fenny places {f}, and therefore Aelianus {g} says it may be called the fenny animal.



{e} Ammian. Marcellin. l. 22. Bellonius & Achilles Tatius apud Bochart ut supra. (Apud Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 5. c. 14. col. 760.) {f} Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 46. Plin. l. 8. c. 10. Aelian. de Animal. l. 9. c. 56. {g} lbid. l. 9. c. 24.





Job 40:22



Ver. 22. The shady trees cover him [with] their shadow,.... Under which it lies, as in Job 40:21; which is thought not so well to agree with the elephant, since, according to Aelianus {h} and other writers, it lies not down, at least but rarely, but sleeps standing; it being very troublesome to it to lie down and rise up again; and besides it is represented by some authors {i} as higher than the trees, and therefore this is supposed to agree better with the river horse; especially since it follows,



the willows of the brook compass him about; or the willows of the Nile, as some choose to render it; which would put it out of all doubt that the river horse is intended, if it could be established, it being an inhabitant of that river; and yet the above writer {k} speaks of elephants, when grown old, seeking large thick and shady woods to take up their abode in.



{h} Ibid. (Aelian. de Animal.) c. 31. {i} Ibid. l. 7. c. 6. {k} Ibid. c. 2.





Job 40:23



Ver. 23. Behold, he drinketh up a river, [and] hasteth not,.... The elephant is indeed a very thirsty animal, and drinks largely; the philosopher {l} says it drinks nine Macedonian bushels at a feeding, and that it will drink fourteen Macedonian measures of water at once, and eight more at noon; but to drink up a river seems to be too great an hyperbole; wherefore the words may be rendered, "Behold, let a river oppress him", or "bear" ever so hard upon him, and come with the greatest force and pressure on him {m}, "he hasteth not" to get out of it; or he is not frightened or troubled, as the Targum; which agrees with the river horse, who walks into the river, and proceeds on in it, with the greatest ease and unconcernedness imaginable; now and then lifting up his head above water to take breath, which he can hold a long time; whereas the elephant cannot wade in the water any longer than his trunk is above it, as the philosopher observes {n}; and Livy {o} speaks of fear and trembling seizing an elephant, when about to be carried over a river in boats;



he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan in his mouth; so bold and confident he is, and not at all disturbed with its rapidity; or "though Jordan", or rather any descending flowing stream, "gushes into his mouth", so Mr. Broughton: for perhaps Jordan might not be known by Job; nor does it seem to have any connection with the Nile, the seat of the river horse; which has such large holes in its nostrils, and out of which, water being swallowed down, he can throw it with great force. Diodorus Siculus {p} represents it as lying all day in the water, and employing itself at the bottom of it, easy, careless, and unconcerned.



{l} Aristot. ut supra. (l. 9. c. 56.) {m} Vid. Bochart. ut supra, (Apud Hierozic. par. 2. l. 5. c. 14.) col. 766. {n} Aristot. ut supra. (l. 9. c. 56.) Vid Aelian. l. 7. c. 15. {o} Hist. l. 21. c. 28. {p} Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 31. Isidor. Origin. l. 12. c. 6.





Job 40:24



Ver. 24. He taketh it with his eyes,.... Or "can men take him before his eyes?" so Mr. Broughton; and others translate it to the same purpose; no, he is not to be taken openly, but privately, by some insidious crafty methods; whether it be understood of the elephant or river horse; elephants, according to Strabo {q} and Pliny {r} were taken in pits dug for them, into which they were decoyed; in like manner, according to some {s}, the river horse is taken; a pit being dug and covered with reeds and sand, it falls into it unawares;



[his] nose pierceth through snares; he discerns them oftentimes and escapes them, so that he is not easily taken in them. It is reported of the sea morss {t}, before mentioned, See Gill on "Job 40:20", that they ascend mountains in great herds, where, before they give themselves to sleep, to which they are naturally inclined, they appoint one of their number as it were a watchman; who, if he chances to sleep or to be slain by the hunter, the rest may be easily taken; but if the watchman gives warning by roaring as the manner is, the whole herd immediately awake and fall down from the mountains with great swiftness into the sea, as before described; or, as Mr. Broughton, "cannot men take him, [to pierce] his nose with many snares?" they cannot; the elephant has no nose to be pierced, unless his trunk can be called so, and no hook nor snare can be put into the nose of the river horse. Diodorus Siculus {u} says, it cannot be taken but by many vessels joining together and surrounding it, and striking it with iron hooks, to one of which ropes are fastened, and so the creature is let go till it expires. The usual way of taking it now is, by baiting the hook with the roots of water lilies, at which it will catch, and swallow the hook with it; and by giving it line enough it will roll and tumble about, until, through loss of blood, it faints and dies. The way invented by Asdrubal for killing elephants was by striking a carpenter's chopping axe into his ear {w}; the Jews {x} say a fly is a terror to an elephant, it enters into his nose and torments him grievously.



{q} Geograph. l. 15. p. 484. {r} Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 8. See Ovington's Voyage to Surat, p. 192, 193. {s} Apud Bochart. ut supra, col. 768. {t} Eden's Travels, p. 318. Supplement to the North East Voyages, p. 94. {u} Bibliothec, l. 1. p. 32. {w} Orosii Hist. l. 4. c. 18. p. 62. Liv. Hist. l. 27. c. 49. {x} T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 77. 2. & Gloss. in ib.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Job 41:1



INTRODUCTION TO JOB 41



A large description is here given of the leviathan, from the difficulty and danger of taking it, from whence it is inferred that none can stand before God, Job 41:1; from the several parts of him, his face, teeth, scales, eyes, mouth and neck, flesh and heart, Job 41:11; and from various wonderful terrible things said of him, and ascribed to him, Job 41:25.



Ver. 1. 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 Ge 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.)



{a} Nat. Hist. l. 28. c. 8. {b} Ib. l. 32. c. 1. {c} Diodor. Sicul. l. 1. p. 31. Herodot. Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 68. Solin. c. 45. Plutarch. de Is. & Osir. Vid. Aristot. de Animal. l. 2. c. 17. & l. 4. c. 11. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37. Thevenot, ut supra. (Travels, part 1. c. 72.) Sandys's Travels, l. 2. p. 78. {d} Ut supra, (Herodot. Euterpe, sive, l. 2.) c. 70. {e} Ut supra. (Diodor. Sicul. l. 1. p. 31.) {f} Descriptio Africae, l. 9. p. 762. See Sandy's Travels, ut supra, (l. 2.) p. 79.





Job 41:2



Ver. 2. 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}.



{g} Nat. Hist. l. 19. c. 2. {h} Strabo. Geograph. l. 17. p. 560. Aelian. de Animal. l. 10. c. 21. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 25.





Job 41:3



Ver. 3. 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.





Job 41:4



Ver. 4. 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.



{i} Herodot, ut supra, (Euterpe, sive, l. 2.) c. 69. Aelian. l. 8. c. 2. & l. 10. c. 21. Solin. c. 45. Plin. l. 8. c. 46.





Job 41:5



Ver. 5. 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, Ps 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.



{k} Aelian. l. 10. c. 21. {l} Maxim. Tyr. Sermon. 38.





Job 41:6



Ver. 6. 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.



{m} Leo Africanus & Aelian. ut supra. (l. 10. c. 21.)





Job 41:7



Ver. 7. 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.



{n} Vid. Schultens in loc.





Job 41:8



Ver. 8. 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.





Job 41:9



Ver. 9. 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}.



{o} Vid. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 4. p. 846. {p} Scheuchzer. ib.





Job 41:10



Ver. 10. 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 Ps 76:7.



{q} Plin. l. 8. c. 25. Solin. c. 45. {r} Ammian. Marcellin. l. 22. {s} See the North-West Fox, p. 205.





Job 41:11



Ver. 11. 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, Ro 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 Ps 24:1.





Job 41:12



Ver. 12. 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.





Job 41:13



Ver. 13. 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}.



{s} Ut supra. (Plin. l. 8. c. 25.) {t} Idyll. 19.





Job 41:14



Ver. 14. 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}.



{u} Decad. 5. c. 9. {w} Descript. Africae, l. 9. p. 763. So Sandys's Travels, l. 2. p. 78. Edit. 5. {x} Epigram. l. 3. cp. 64. {y} Vid. Plin. l. 9. c. 5, 6. and Philosoph. Transact. vol. 3. p. 544. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 4. p. 848. {z} De Ritu Gent. Septent. l. 21. c. 8. {a} Philosoph. Transact. abridged, vol. 2. p. 847, 848. {b} Philosoph. Transact. abridged, vol. 7. part 3. p. 425. {c} Aelian. l. 10. c. 21.





Job 41:15



Ver. 15. [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.



{d} Voyage to Spitzbergen, p. 146, 147, 152. {e} Apud Arrian. in Indicis. {f} Vid. Wesley's Dissertations on Job, dissert. 38. p. 290.





Job 41:16



Ver. 16. 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}.



{g} Vid. Scheuchzer. ut supra. (Physic. Sacr. vol. 4. p. 848.)





Job 41:17



Ver. 17. 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.



{h} whyxab vya "vir in fratre suo"; Montanus.





Job 41:18



Ver. 18. 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.



{i} Problem. s. 33. qu. 4. {k} Aelian. l. 3. c. 11. Leo African. Descriptio African, l. 9. p. 761. Pet. Martyr. Decad. 3. c. 4. {l} Nat. Hist. l. 9. c. 4, 6. {m} Olymp. Ode 3. v. 36. {n} Hor. Hiereglyph. apud Scheuchzer. vol. 4. p. 849. {o} Voyage to Spitzbergen, p. 145. {p} Aelian. l. 2. c. 13. Plin. l. 9. c. 62. {q} Hasacus apud Schultens in loc. {r} Olaus Magnus de Ritu Gent. Septent. l. 21. c. 5, 8. so Albertus Magnus de Animal. l. 24. c. 1. {s} Travels, ut supra, (part. 1.) p. 245.





Job 41:19



Ver. 19. 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.



{t} "Fulmen ab ore venit; frondesque adflatibus ardent". Metamorph. c. 8. Fab. 4.





Job 41:20



Ver. 20. 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.



{u} Plin. l. 48. c. 8. Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 8. c. 2. {w} Achilles Statius & Eustathius, apud Scheuchzer: ut supra. (vol. 4. p. 849.)





Job 41:21



Ver. 21. His breath kindles coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. Hyperbolical expressions, which the above observations may seem to justify.





Job 41:22



Ver. 22. 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.



{x} Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 6. & Part. Animal l. 4. c. 11. {y} Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 25.





Job 41:23



Ver. 23. 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.





Job 41:24



Ver. 24. 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.



{z} De Animal. l. 12. c. 41. {a} Ibid. l. 10. c. 24.





Job 41:25



Ver. 25. 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.





Job 41:26



Ver. 26. 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.



{c} Apud Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 5. c. 17. col. 785.





Job 41:27



Ver. 27. 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.



{d} Apud ibid. (Bochard. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 5. c. 17. col. 785.)





Job 41:28



Ver. 28. 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}.



{e} Origin. l. 12. c. 6. {f} Mandelsloe in Harris's Voyages, &c. vol. 1. p. 759.





Job 41:29



Ver. 29. 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 "Ob 1:18".



{g} Travels, part 1. b. 2. c. 72. p. 245.





Job 41:30



Ver. 30. 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.



{h} Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 25. {i} Sandys's Travels, l. 2. p. 78.





Job 41:31



Ver. 31. 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.



{k} "Fervetque----aequor". Virgil. Georgic. l. 1. v. 327. {l} Nat. Hist. l. 32. c. 11. {m} Schultens in Job, xiv. 11. {n} Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 17. {o} Decad. 3. l. 4. {p} Voyage to Spitzbergen, p. 148, 149. {q} Vid. Scheuchzer. ut supra, (vol. 4.) p. 852. & Voyage to Spitzbergen, p. 167. {r} Pantoppidan's History of Norway, part 2. p. 204.





Job 41:32



Ver. 32. 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.



{s} Vid. Scheuchzer. ibid. (vol. 4.) p. 853. {t} polihv alov, Homer. Iliad. 1. v. 350. polihv yalasshv, Iliad. 4. v. 248. "incanuit unda", Catullus. {u} Phurnutus de Natura Deorum, p. 63.





Job 41:33



Ver. 33. 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.



{w} De Animal. l. 10. c. 24. {x} Geograph. l. 15. p. 499. {y} Vit. Apollon. l. 3. c. 16. {z} De Ritu Gent. Septent. l. 21. c. 3, 6. {a} Voyage to Spitzbergen, p. 153. {b} Baffin in the North-West Fox, p. 150.





Job 41:34



Ver. 34. 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, Da 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

Re 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.)



{c} Apud Pinedam, in v. 1. {d} Isidor. Origin l. 12. c. 4. {e} Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 14. {f} De Animal. l. 2. c. 21. & l. 10. c. 48. & l. 15. c. 21. & l. 16. c. 39. {g} Vit. Apollon. l. 3. c. 2. Vid. Ovid. Metamorph. l. 3. Fab. 1. {h} Hist. l. 4. c. 8. {i} Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 13. {k} Ut supra. (Vit. Apollon. l. 3. c. 2. Vid. Ovid. Metamorph. l. 3. Fab. 1.) {l} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 11, 12. & l. 31. c. 2. {m} In voce drakwn, & in voce qeliw.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Job 42:1



INTRODUCTION TO JOB 42



This chapter contains Job's answer to the last speech of the Lord's, in which he acknowledges his omnipotence, and his certain performance of his purposes and pleasure; owns his own folly and ignorance, and confesses his sins; for which he abhorred himself, and of which he repented, Job 42:1; it also gives an account of the Lord's decision of the controversy between Job and his friends, blaming them and commending him above them; and ordered them to take sacrifices and go to Job and offer them, who should pray for them and be accepted, which was done, Job 42:7; and it closes with a relation of the great prosperity Job was restored unto, in which he lived and died,

Job 42:10.



Ver. 1. Then Job answered the Lord, and said. For though he had said he would answer no more, Job 40:5; yet he might mean not in the manner he had, complaining of God and justifying himself; besides he might change his mind without any imputation of falsehood or a lie; see

Jer 20:9; to which may be added, that he had then said all he had to say, and did not know he should have more: he then confessed as much as he was convinced of, but it was not enough; and now through what the Lord had since said to him he was more convinced of his ignorance, mistakes, and sins, and had such a sight of God and of himself, that he could not forbear speaking; moreover an injunction was laid upon him from the Lord to speak again, and therefore he was obliged to give in his answer; see Job 40:7.





Job 42:2



Ver. 2. I know that thou canst do every [thing],.... As the works of creation, and the sustentation of them, show; so the Targum,



"thou sustainest all things,''



and can manage, every creature made by him, even such as were not tractable by men, such as behemoth and leviathan, the creatures last instanced in; and was able to abase and bring low the proud, which Job could not do; and could also save him by his right hand, and bring him out of his low estate in which he was, and raise him to great prosperity again, which Job always despaired of till now; and though he had a theoretical knowledge of the omnipotence of God before, see Job 9:4; yet not a practical experimental knowledge of it; at least not to such a degree as he now had, working upon his heart, bowing his will, and bringing him to a resignation to the will of God; he not only knew he could do all things, but that he had a right to do what he pleased; and that whatever he did he did well and wisely, and in a righteous manner, of which before he seemed to have some doubt. And that no thought can be withholden from thee; either no thought of men, good or bad, of God or of themselves, and so is an acknowledgment of the omniscience of God, and may be an appeal to that; that God, who knows the secrets of men's hearts, knew what thoughts Job now had of God; of the wisdom, righteousness, and goodness of God in the dispensations of his providence, different from what he had before; see

Joh 21:17; or rather it may be understood of every thought of God's heart, of every secret purpose and wise counsel of his; which, as they are all well known to him, and cannot be withheld from having effect, or the performance of them hindered, Job now saw and was fully assured that all that had befallen him was according to the sovereign and inscrutable purposes of God, and according to the wise counsels of his will; he knew that not only God could do everything, but that he also did whatever he pleased.





Job 42:3



Ver. 3. Who [is] he that hideth counsel without knowledge?.... It may be understood, and supplied, as it is by Cocceius, "thou didst say"; as the Lord had said, or to this purpose, See Gill on "Job 38:2"; to which Job here replies, I am the foolish man that has done it, I own it with sorrow, shame, and confusion: or it may be interpreted as condemning every other man that should act the like part. Schultens understands this as spoken by Job of God, and renders the words,



"who is this that seals up counsel, which cannot be known?''



the counsels, purposes, and decrees of God are sealed up by him, among his treasures, in the cabinet of his own breast, and are not to be unsealed and unlocked by creatures, but are impenetrable to them, past finding out by them, and not to be searched and pried into; and so the secret springs of Providence are not to be known, which Job had attempted, and for which he condemns himself;



therefore have I uttered that I understood not; concerning the providential dealings of God with men, afflicting the righteous, and suffering the wicked to prosper, particularly relating to his own afflictions; in which he arraigned the wisdom, justice, and goodness of God, as if things might have been better done than they were; but now he owns his ignorance and folly, as Asaph did in a like case, Ps 73:22;



things too wonderful for me, which I knew not; things out of his reach to search into, and beyond his capacity to comprehend; what he should have gazed upon with admiration, and there have stopped. The judgments of God are a great deep, not to be fathomed with the line of human understanding, of which it should be said with the apostle, "O the depth", Ro 11:33, &c. Job ought to have done as David did,

Ps 131:1; of which he was now convinced, and laments and confesses his folly.





Job 42:4



Ver. 4. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak,.... Not in the manner he had before, complaining of God and justifying himself, but in a way of humble entreaty of favours of him, of confession of sin before him, and of acknowledgment of his wisdom, goodness, and justice in all his dealings with him, which before he arraigned;



I will demand of thee; or rather "I will make petition to thee", as Mr. Broughton renders it; humbly ask a favour, and entreat a gracious answer; for to demand is not so agreeable to the frame and temper of soul Job was now in;



and declare thou unto me; or make him know what he knew not; he now in ignorance applies to God, as a God of knowledge, to inform him in things he was in the dark about, and to increase what knowledge he had. He was now willing to take the advice of Elihu, and pursue it,

Job 34:31.





Job 42:5



Ver. 5. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,.... From his ancestors, who in a traditionary way had handed down from one to another what they knew of God, his will and worship, his works and ways; and from those who had the care of his education, parents and tutors, who had instilled the principles of religion, and the knowledge of divine things, into him very early; and from such as might instruct in matters of religion in a public manner; and both by ordinary and extraordinary revelation made unto him, as was sometimes granted to men in that age in which Job lived; see Job 4:16. Though he had heard more of God through his speaking to him out of the whirlwind than ever he did before, to which he had attentively listened; and the phrase, hearing by or with the hearing of the ear, denotes close attention; see Eze 44:5;



but now mine eye seeth thee; thy Shechinah, as Jarchi; thy divine glory and Majesty; the Logos, the Word or Son of God, who now appeared in an human form, and spake to Job out of the whirlwind; and whom he saw with the eyes of his body, as several of the patriarchs had seen him, and which is the sense of an ancient writer {n}; though no doubt he saw him also with the eyes of his understanding, and had a clearer sight of his living Redeemer, the Messiah, than ever he had before; and saw more of God in Christ, of his nature, perfections, and glory, than ever he had as yet seen; and what he had heard of him came greatly short of what he now saw; particularly he had a more clear and distinct view of the sovereignty, wisdom, goodness, and justice of God in the dealings of his providence with the children of men, and with himself, to which now he humbly submitted.



{n} Euseb. Demonstr. Evangel. l. 1. c. 5. p. 11.





Job 42:6



Ver. 6. Wherefore I abhor [myself],.... Or all my words, as Aben Ezra; all the indecent expressions he had uttered concerning God; he could not bear to think of them; he loathed them, and himself on account of them: sin is abominable in its own nature, and makes men so; it is loathsome to God, and so it is to all good men when they see it in its proper light; am especially when they have a view of the purity and holiness of God, to which that is so very contrary, and also of his grace and goodness in the forgiveness of it; see Isa 6:3

Eze 16:63;



and repent in dust and ashes; which was an external ceremony used by mournful and penitent persons; see Job 2:8; and is expressive of the truth and sincerity of repentance; and never do any more truly mourn for sin and repent of it, are more ashamed of it, or have a more godly sorrow for it, or more ingenuously confess it, and heartily forsake it, than those who with an eye of faith behold God in Christ as a sin forgiving God; or behold their sins through the glass of pardoning grace and mercy; see Zec 12:10.





Job 42:7



Ver. 7. And it was [so],.... What follows came to pass:



that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job; which he spake to him out of the whirlwind, and after he had heard Job's confession, and the declaration he made of his humiliation and repentance:



the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite; who with his two friends were still present and heard the speeches of the Lord to Job, and the acknowledgment he had made of sin; though some {o} think that, when the dispute ended between Job and them, they returned to their own country, where Eliphaz is now supposed to be, and was bid with his two friends to go to Job again, which they did, as is concluded from the following verses: but no doubt they stayed and heard what Elihu had to say; and the voice of the Lord out of the whirlwind would command their attention and stay; and very desirous they must be to know how the cause would go, for or against Job; the latter of which they might expect from the appearance of things. Now the Lord directs his speech to Eliphaz, he being perhaps the principal man, on account of his age, wisdom and wealth, and being the man that led the dispute, began it, and formed the plan to go upon, and was the most severe on Job of any of them; wherefore the Lord said to him,



my wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; who were Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; who gave into the same sentiments with Eliphaz, and went upon the same plan, speaking wrong things of God, charging Job falsely, and condemning him; which provoked the Lord, and caused his wrath to be kindled like fire against them, of which there were some appearances and breakings forth in his words and conduct towards them;



for ye have not spoken of me [the thing that is] right, as my servant Job [hath]; they had said many right things of God, and Job had said many wrong ones of him, and yet upon the whole Job had said more corrcet things of God than they; their notion, and which they had expressed, was, that God deals with men in this life according to their outward behaviour; that God did not afflict good men, at least not sorely, nor long; and that wicked men were always punished now: from whence they drew this inference, that Job, being so long and so greatly afflicted, must be a bad man, or God would never have dealt with him after this manner. Job, on the other hand, affirmed, that wicked men enjoyed great prosperity, which good men did not; and therefore the love and hatred of God were not known by these things; and men's characters were not to be judged of by these outward things; in which he was doubtless right: some render the words "have not spoken unto me" {p}, before him, in his presence; for they were all before God, and to him they all appealed, and he heard and observed all that was said, and now passed judgment. No notice is taken of Elihu, nor blame laid on him; he acting as a moderator, taking neither the part of Job, nor of his friends, but blaming both: nor did he pretend to charge Job with any sins of his former life as the cause of his calamities; only takes up some indecent, unguarded, and extravagant expressions of his in the heat of this controversy, and rebukes him for them; and throughout the whole vindicates the justice of God in his dealings with him.



{o} Vid. Spanhem. Hist. Jobi, c. 8. s. 1, 2. {p} yla "ad me", Mercerus, Drusius, Cocceius; "coram me", V. L. "apud me", Tigurine version.





Job 42:8



Ver. 8. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks, and seven rams,.... Creatures used in sacrifice before the giving of the Levitical law, Ge 4:4; and the same number of the same creatures were offered by Balaam in the country of Moab, not far from where Job lived, nor at any great distance of time from his age, Nu 23:1; and among the Gentiles in later times {q}. And these were typical of Christ, being strong creatures, especially the bullocks, and which were used for labour; and the number seven may point at the perfection of Christ's sacrifice; to which these men were directed in their sacrifices to look for the complete atonement of their sins: now though they were not at their own dwellings, and could not take these out of their own herds and flocks, and Job had none, yet they could purchase them of others; and which having done, they are bid to do as follows:



and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; that is, by Job, who was to offer it for them in their name, and at whose hands the Lord would accept it, and for his sake. Job, as the head and master of his family, was wont to sacrifice, as every such man did before the Aaronic priesthood took place, Job 1:5. Now this was doing Job a great deal of honour, both by calling him his servant, as before in Job 42:7, and twice more in this; which was plainly giving the cause on his side; confirming the character he always bore, and still retained; and declaring he had other thoughts of him than his friends had; as well by sending them to him with their sacrifices to offer for them; which was saying, that they had sinned, and must offer sacrifice, and that Job was in the right; and therefore must offer the sacrifice for them. This was putting them on a great piece of self-denial; that men, who were older than Job, great personages, heads of families, and who had been wont to offer sacrifices in them, yet are now sent to Job to offer them for them; a man now in mean circumstances, and who in they had treated with great contempt; and he in his turn had used them as roughly. And it was also a trial of Job's grace, and of his forgiving spirit, to do this for them, and pray to God on their behalf: and the Lord's design in it was, to exercise the graces of them both, and to reconcile them to one another, and to himself;



and my servant Job shall pray for you; that their sacrifice might be accepted, and their sin pardoned. In this Job was a type of Christ, as he was in many other things; see the notes on Job 16:9. There is an agreement in his name; Job, whether it signifies love or hatred, desired or hated, in both ways the etymology of it is given; it agrees with Christ, who is beloved of God and man, and the desire of all nations; who hates iniquity, and was hated for his inveighing against it. Job was a type of him in his threefold state; before his low estate, in it, and after it; see Php 2:6. In his temptations by Satan, and sufferings from men; and particularly in his office as a priest, who both offered himself a sacrifice for his people, and offers their services and sacrifices of prayer and praise to God; and who prayed for his disciples, and for all the Father has given him, for transgressors and sinners, and even for his enemies that used him ill;



for him will I accept; or his face, that is, hear his prayer, and grant what is asked by him; as well as accept his sacrifice;



lest I deal with you [after your] folly; as all sin is, being committed against God, a breach of his law, and injurious to men themselves; see

De 32:6. Though here it seems to be restrained to their particular sin and folly in their dispute with Job; want of wisdom in them was discerned by Elihu, Job 32:7. So it follows:



in that ye have not spoken of me [the thing which is] right, like my servant Job; and if by neglect of his advice, which would have been another instance of their folly, they had provoked the Lord to deal with them as their sin deserved, it must have gone hard with them. The Targum is,



"lest I should do with you "what would be" a reproach''



(or disgrace); would put them to shame, and make them appear ignominious to men; as by stripping them of their substance and honour, and reducing them to the condition Job was in.



{q} "----Septem mactare juvencos", &c. Virgil. Aeneid. 6. v. 38, 39.





Job 42:9



Ver. 9. So Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, [and] Zophar the Naamathite, went,.... Having taken the above creatures for sacrifice, as directed, they went to Job with them;



and did according as the Lord commanded them; offered them by Job for a burnt offering, and desired him to pray for them. This they did, both as to matter and manner, as the Lord ordered them; and they did it immediately, without consulting flesh and blood, the pride and other passions of their hearts; and they all united in it, and served the Lord with one consent, which showed them to be good men;



the Lord also accepted Job; the sacrifice he offered; perhaps by sending fire from heaven, which consumed the burnt offering: or "the face of Job"; he heard his prayer for his friends, and granted his request for them: or "the person of Job", as Mr. Broughton renders it; Job in this was a type of Christ also, who is always heard in his intercession and mediation for his people. God has respect to his person, which always acceptable to him, and in whom he is well pleased; and he has respect to his offering and sacrifice, which is of a sweet smelling savour to him. And the persons of his people are accepted in him the Beloved, and all their services and sacrifices of prayer and praise, Mt 3:17. The Targum is,



"they did as the Word of the Lord spake unto them, and the Word of the Lord accepted the face of Job.''





Job 42:10



Ver. 10. And the Lord turned the captivity of Job,.... Not literally, in such sense as Lot's captivity was turned, Ge 14:12; for Job's person was not seized on and carried away, though his cattle were: nor spiritually, being delivered from the captivity of sin; that had been his case many years ago, when first converted: but it is to be understood of his restoration from afflictions and calamities to a happy state; as of the return of his substance, his health and friends, and especially of his deliverance from Satan, in whose hands he had been some time, and by him distressed both in body and mind. But now his captivity was turned, and he was freed from all his distresses; and even from those which arose from the dealings of God with him, which he was now fully satisfied about; and this was done,



when he prayed for his friends; as he was directed to do. A good man will not only pray for himself, as Job doubtless did, but for others also; for his natural and spiritual friends, yea, for unkind friends, and even for enemies likewise: and the prayer of an upright man is very acceptable to the Lord; and many mercies and blessings come by it; and even prayer for others is profitable to a man's self; and sometimes he soon reaps the benefit of it, as Job now did. For when and while he was praying, or quickly upon it, there was a turn in his affairs: he presently found himself in better health; his friends came about him, and his substance began to increase; Satan had no more power over him, and the presence of God was with him. All which was of the Lord; and he enjoyed it in the way of prayer, and as the fruit of that;



also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before: or added to him double. Which chiefly respects his substance; his cattle, as appears from Job 42:12, and might be true both with respect to things temporal and spiritual. "Double" may denote an abundance, a large measure of good things; see Zec 9:12.





Job 42:11



Ver. 11. Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters,.... Which may be taken not in a strict sense, but in a larger sense for all that were related to him; the same with his kinsfolks,

Job 19:14;



and all they that had been of his acquaintance before; that knew him, visited him, conversed with him, and kept up a friendly correspondence with him; the circle of his acquaintance must have been large, for wealth makes many friends: now these had been shy of him, and kept at a distance from him, during the time of his affliction and distress; see

Job 19:13; but hearing he was in the favour of God, and the cause was given on his side, and against his friends, and his affairs began to take a more favourable turn, they came to him again, and paid him a friendly visit, even all of them;



and did eat bread with him in his house: expressing their joy for his recovery, and renewing their friendship with him: this was done either at their own expense or at Job's, for he might not be so poor at the worst as he is by most represented; for he had still an house of his own, and furniture in it, and servants to wait upon him, as appears from Job 19:15; nor do we read of anything being taken out of his house from him; he might still have gold and silver, and so could entertain his friends: and being a man of an excellent spirit received them kindly, without upbraiding them with their unkindness in deserting him when afflicted;



and they bemoaned him; shook their heads at him, pitying his case, that is, which he had been in; for this they might do, though things were now better with him, and might express themselves in such manner as this,



"Poor man, what hast thou endured? what hast thou gone through by diseases of body, loss of substance, and vexation from friends?''



and besides, though things began to mend with him, he was not come at once to the pitch of happiness he arrived unto; so that there might be still room for bemoaning, he being comparatively in poor circumstances to what he was before;



and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him; the evil of afflictions, of body and estate; which, though by means of Satan and wicked men, was according to the will of God, and might be said to be brought on him and done to him by the Lord, Am 3:6; and they congratulated him upon his deliverance from them;



every man also gave him a piece of money, or a "lamb"; which some understand in a proper sense, as being what might serve towards making up his loss of sheep, and increasing his stock of them; but others with us take it for a piece of money, in which sense it is used in

Ge 33:19, compared with Ac 7:16; which might have the figure of a lamb impressed upon it; as we formerly had a piece of money called an angel, having the image of one stamped on it; and it was usual with the ancients both to barter with cattle instead of money before the coining of it, and when it was coined to impress upon it the figure of cattle; hence the Latin word "pecunia", for money, is from "pecus", cattle {r}; this piece of money in Africa is the same with the Jewish "meah" {s}, which weighed sixteen barley corns; the value of a penny;



and everyone earring of gold; or a jewel set in gold; such used to wear in Arabia, as appears from, Jud 8:24; however Job could turn them into money, and increase his stock of cattle thereby. Though, perhaps, these presents were made him, not so much to enrich him, but as tokens of renewing their friendship with him; it being then usual in the eastern countries, as it is to this day, that whenever they pay visits, even to the greatest personages, they always carry presents with them; see 1Sa 9:7.



{r} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 18. c. 3. & l. 33. c. 3. Alex. ab. Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 15. {s} T Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 26. 1.





Job 42:12



Ver. 12. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning,.... Which verified the words of Bildad, Job 8:6; though they were spoken by him only by way of supposition. All blessings are of the Lord, temporal and spiritual; and sometimes the last days of a good man are his best, as to temporal things, as were David's, and here Job's; though this is not always the case: however, if their last days are but the best in spiritual things, that is enough: if they have more faith, hope, love, patience, humility, and self-denial, and resignation of will to the will of God; are more holy, humble, spiritually and heavenly minded; have more light and knowledge in divine things; have more peace and joy, and are more fruitful in every good work, and more useful; and often they are in their very last moments most cheerful and comfortable: the best wine is reserved till last;



for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses: just double the number of each of what he had before, Job 1:3.





Job 42:13



Ver. 13. He had also seven sons, and three daughters. The same number of children, and of the same sort he had before, Job 1:2; and according to Nachman the very same he had before, which the additional letter in the word "seven" is with him the notification of; so that the doubting of what he had before, Job 42:10; respects only his substance, and particularly his cattle; though the Targum says he had fourteen sons, and so Jarchi {t}; others think these may be said to be double to Job in their good qualities, external and internal, in their dispositions, virtues, and graces; and others, inasmuch as his former children were not lost, but lived with God, and would live for ever, they might now be said to be double; and so they consider this as a proof of the immortality of the soul, and of the resurrection of the body; but these senses are not to be trusted to; whether these children were by a former wife or another is uncertain.



{t} Vid. Balmes. Gram. Strat. 26.





Job 42:14



Ver. 14. And he called the name of the first Jemima,.... That is, the name of the first and eldest daughter was called by Job Jemima; which either signifies "day", so the Targum interprets it, and most do, and so is the same with Diana; or, as Spanheim {u} observes, it may be the same with the Arabic word "jemama", which signifies a turtle or dove {w}; and who also observes that a country in Arabia is so called, and perhaps from her; and which seems to be confirmed by the Arabic geographer {x}, who speaks of a queen called Jamama, who dwelt in a city of the country he describes as being on the north of Arabia Felix, and also speaks of a way from thence to Bozrah in Edom;



and the name of the second, Kezia; or Cassia; an aromatic herb of a very fragrant smell, as we render the word, Ps 45:8; and from this person the above learned writer conjectures Mount Casius in Arabia might have its name;



and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch; which signifies an horn or vessel of paint, such as the eastern women used to paint their faces, particularly their eyes with, Jer 4:30; and as Jezebel did, 2Ki 9:30; or "the ray of a precious stone"; some say the carbuncle {y} or ruby; according to the Targum, the emerald; in 1Ch 29:2, the word is rendered "glittering stones". Now these names may have respect to Job's daughters themselves, to their external beauty, afterwards observed, so the Targum,



"he called the one Jemima, because her beauty was as the day; the other he called Kezia, because she was precious like cassia; and another he called Kerenhappuch, because great was the brightness of the glory of her countenance, as the emerald.''



The complexion of the first might be clear as a bright day, though like that but of a short duration; see So 6:10; the next might have her name from the fragrancy and sweetness of her temper; and the third, as being so beautiful that she needed no paint to set her off, but was beauty and paint herself; or her beauty was as bright and dazzling as a precious stone; see La 4:7. Or these may respect their internal qualities, virtues, and graces; being children of the day, and not of the night; having a good name, which is better than all spices; and possessed of such graces as were comparable to jewels and precious stones. Though it might be, that Job, in giving them these names, may have respect to the change of his state and condition; his first daughter he called Jemima, or "day", because it was now day, with him: he had been in the night and darkness of adversity, temporal and spiritual, but now he enjoyed a day of prosperity, and of spiritual light and joy; the justness of his cause appeared, his righteousness was brought forth as the light, and his judgment as noonday; and the dispensations of divine Providence appeared to him in a different light than he had seen them in: his second daughter he called Kezia, or Cassia, an herb of a sweet smell, in opposition to the stench of his ulcers and of his breath, which had been so very offensive, and from which he was now free; and may denote also the recovery of his good name, better than precious ointment, in which cassia was an ingredient: his youngest daughter he called Kerenhappuch, the horn of paint, in opposition to his horn being defiled in the dust, and his face foul with weeping, Job 16:15; or if Kerenhappuch signifies the horn turned, as Peritsol interprets it, it may have respect to the strange and sudden turn of Job's affairs: and it is easy to observe, that men have given names to their children on account of their present state and condition, or on account of the change of a former one; see

Ge 41:51.



{u} Hist. Jobi, c. 12. s. 7. {w} Golii Lexic. Arab. col. 2767, 2768. {x} Geograph. Nub. Climat. 2. par. 6. {y} Hiller. Onomastic. Sacr. p. 356.





Job 42:15



Ver. 15. And in all the land were no women found [so] fair as the daughters of Job,.... Either in the whole world, which is not improbable: or it may be rather in the land or country in which they dwelt; and which may be gathered from their names, as before observed. The people of God, and children of Christ, the antitype of Job, are all fair, and there is no spot in them; a perfection of beauty, perfectly comely, through the comeliness of Christ put upon them, and are without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing;



and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren; which was done not on account of their beauty or virtue; nor is this observed so much to show the great riches of Job, that he could give his daughters as much as his sons, as his impartiality to his children, and his strict justice and equity in distributing his substance to them all alike, making no difference between male and female. And so in Christ, the antitype of Job, there is neither male nor female, no difference between them, Ga 3:28: but being all children, they are heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, and equally partake of the same inheritance with the saints in light, Ro 8:17.





Job 42:16



Ver. 16. After this lived Job an hundred and forty years,.... Not after he had arrived to the height of his prosperity; not after the birth of his children, and they were grown up, and had their portions given them, which must take in a considerable number of years; but after his afflictions were over, and his prosperity began: and if his years were doubled, as some think, though that is not certain, then he must be seventy years of age when he was so sorely afflicted and must live to the age of two hundred and ten; which is the common notion of the Jewish writers {z}: however, he must be fifty or sixty years of age at that time, since his former children were grown up and were for themselves; and it is said {a}, his afflictions continued seven years. So that it is not at all improbable that he lived to be about two hundred years of age; and which was a singular blessing of God to him, if you compare his age with that of Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Joshua, between the two former and the two latter he may be supposed to live;



and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, [even] four generations; Joseph saw but the third, Job the fourth, he was a great-great-grandfather. This was no doubt a pleasant sight to him, to see such a numerous offspring descending from him; and especially if they were walking in the ways of God, as probably they were, since no doubt he would take all the care of their education that in him lay. This is the great blessing promised to the Messiah, the antitype of Job, Isa 53:10; see also Isa 59:21.



{z} T. Bava Bathra, fol. 15. 1. Seder Olam Rabba, c. 3. {a} Suidas in voce iwb.





Job 42:17



Ver. 17. So Job died,.... As every man does, though he lived so long, and as Methuselah the oldest man did, Ge 5:27; and though a good man, the best of men die as well as others: so Job died, as a good man, in the Lord, in faith and hope of eternal life and happiness; and so he died in all his outward prosperity and happiness, having great substance and a numerous offspring;



[being] old; as he might be truly called, being two hundred years of age or thereabout:



and full of days; lived out all his days, the full term of life in common, and longer than it was usual for men to live. He had a long life to satisfaction, as is promised, Ps 91:16. He lived as long as he desired to live, was quite satisfied with living; not that he loathed life, as he once did, and in that sense he did, and from such principles and with such views as he then had, Job 7:15. But he had enough of life, and was willing to die; and came to his grave, as Eliphaz said, "like a shock of corn in his season", Job 5:26. Adrichomius {b}, from certain travellers, speaks of the sepulchre of Job, in the form of a pyramid, in the plains of the land of Uz, to the east of the city Sueta, shown to this day, and had in great honour by Greeks and others; and which is more probable than what some say {c}, that his grave is in Constantinople, where there is a gate called Job's gate, from thence: but the Job there buried was a general of the Saracens, who died besieging that city with a numerous army, and was there buried, A. D. 675 {d}. There is a fragment at the end of the Septuagint and Arabic versions of this book, said to be translated from a Syriac copy, which gives a very particular account of Job's descent as,



"that he dwelt in the land of Ausitis, on the borders of Idumaea and Arabia; that his name was first Jobab; that he married an Arabian woman, and begot a son, whose name was Ennon; that his father was Zare, a son of the sons of Esau; that his mother was Bosorra (or Bosra); and that he was the fifth from Abraham. And these are the kings that reigned in Edom, which country he reigned over; the first was Balac, the son of Beor, the name of whose city was Dennaba; after Balac, Jobab, called Job; after him Asom, who was governor in the country of Theman; after him Adad, the son of Barad, who cut off Midian in the field of Moab, the name of whose city was Gethaim. The friends that came to him (Job) were Eliphaz, of the sons of Esau, the king of the Themanites; Baldad, king of the Sauchseans; and Sophar, king of the Minaeans.''



The substance of this is confirmed by Aristaeus, Philo, and Polyhistor {e}, ancient historians.



{b} Theatrum Terrae S. p. 93. {c} Juchasin, fol. 9. 2. {d} Schindler. Lexic. Pentaglott. col. 64. {e} Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 25.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Psalms 1:1



INTRODUCTION TO PSALMS



The title of this book may be rendered "the Book of Praises", or "Hymns"; the psalm which our Lord sung at the passover is called an "hymn", Mt 26:30; and the one hundred forty fifth Psalm is entitled hlht, "an Hymn of David"; and the psalms in general are called "hymns" by Philo the Jew {a}, and songs and hymns by Josephus {b}; and to these several names of this book the apostle manifestly refers in Eph 5:19 Col 3:16. The Jews divided the writings of the Old Testament into three parts: the first division is the Law, or five books of Moses; the second is the Prophets, former and latter; and the third, the "Hagiographa", or holy writings; to which division Christ has a regard in Lu 24:44; and because the book of Psalms stand first in the last division, the whole goes by its name. This book by the Apostle Peter is entitled as here, Ac 1:20; the title in the Syriac version is,



"the Book of the Psalms of David, King and Prophet,''



with which agrees the Arabic version. As to the divine authority of it, that it was written by inspiration of God, we have not only the testimony of David, who says, "the Spirit of God spake by me",

2Sa 23:2; but the testimonies of Christ and his apostles,

Mt 22:43; and, as Aben Ezra {c} observes the whole of it was spoken vdwqh xwrb, "by the Holy Ghost". Concerning the penman or amanuensis, employed by the Spirit of God in writing it, there are different opinions. The Jews make mention of ten, which are differently reckoned by them. According to Jarchi {d}, they were Adam, Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Asaph, and the three sons of Korah. According to Kimchi {e}, they were Adam, the first, Melchizedek, Abraham, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, Moses, and the three sons of Korah; Asir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. Some ascribe all the Psalms to David {f}, and think that those which are said to be a psalm of Asaph, or of Heman, &c. should be rendered "a psalm to Asaph", &c. and only signify that they were psalms delivered to them, to be sung in a public manner. But the truest opinion seems to be, that the greater part of them were written by David, and for the most part those that have no title; and the rest by those whose names they bear. Some were written at and after the Babylonish captivity, as Ps 126:1 and Ps 137:1. The manner or form in which they were written was metre {g}, though some deny it that the Jews had metre: as appears by the different accentuation of them from other writings, and from their being sung vocally and on musical instruments. Josephus {h}, the Jewish historian, says, that



"David being free from war, and enjoying a profound peace, composed songs and hymns to God, of various metre; some trimeter, and some pentameter;''



that is, some of three feet, and others of five feet: for the Psalms of David are thought to be of the "lyric" kind; and Gomarus, in his Lyra, has given many instances out of them, which are of the "iambic", "trochaic" kind, &c. though the Jews for many years have lost the knowledge of the sacred poetry. R. Benjamin {i} indeed says, that in his time there were at Bagdad R. Eleazar and his brethren, who knew how to sing the songs, as the singers did when the temple was standing. The subject matter of this book is exceeding great and excellent; many of the psalms respect the person, offices, and grace of Christ; his sufferings and death, resurrection, ascension, and session at the right hand of God; and so are exceeding suitable to the Gospel dispensation. The whole book is a rich mine of grace and evangelical truths, and a large fund of spiritual experience; and is abundantly suited to every case, state, and condition, that the church of Christ, or particular believers, are in at any time.



{a} De Mutat. Nom. p. 1062. {b} Antiquitat. l. 7. c. 12. s. 3. {c} Praefat. in Psalm. {d} Praefat. in Psalm. {e} Praefat. in ibid. {f} R. Hona in Midrash Tillim, fol. 2. 1. {g} Vid. Lowth de Sacr. Poes. Heb. Praelect. 3. s. 32, &c. {h} Ut supra. (Antiquitat. l. 7. c. 12. s. 3.) {i} Itinerar. p. 70, 71.





INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 1



This psalm, though without a title, may reasonably be thought to be a psalm of David; since the next psalm, which is also without a title, is ascribed to him, Ac 4:25; and since both are joined together as one psalm by the Jews {k}; See Gill on "Ac 13:33"; and since this is the general preface to the whole book, which is chiefly of David's penning, it is entitled, in the metaphrase of Apollinarius,



"a Song of David, the Prophet and King.''



{k} T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 9. 2.



Ver. 1. Blessed [is] the man,.... This psalm begins in like manner as Christ's sermon on the mount, Mt 5:3; setting forth the praises and expressing the happiness of the man who is described in this verse and Ps 1:2. The words may be rendered, "O, the blessednesses of the man", or "of this man" {l}; he is doubly blessed, a thrice happy and blessed man; blessed in things temporal and spiritual; happy in this world, and in that to come. He is to be praised and commended as a good man, so the Targum:



"the goodness, or, Oh, the goodness of the man;''



or as others,



"Oh, the right goings or happy progress, or prosperous success of the man {m},''



who answers to the following characters; which right walking of his is next observed, and his prosperity in Ps 1:3. Some have interpreted this psalm of Christ, and think it is properly spoken of him {n};



that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly: all men are by nature and practice ungodly, without God, without the true knowledge, fear, and worship of God and are at enmity against him. It is a character that belongs to God's elect as well as others, while in a state of nature; and is sometimes used illustrate the love of Christ in dying for them, and the grace of God in the justification of them, Ro 4:5. But here it describes not such who are wicked in heart and life in common only, but the reprobate part of mankind, profligate and abandoned sinners, such as Jude speaks of, Jude 1:4; and for whom the law is made, and against whom it lies, 1Ti 1:9. The word {o} here used signifies such who are restless and continually in mischief; who are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, ever casting up mire and dirt: they are always disquieted themselves, and are ever disquieting others; nor do they cease from being so till they are laid in their graves. And to these "counsel" is ascribed, which supposes capacity and wisdom; as, generally speaking, such are wise and prudent in natural and civil things, and are wise to do evil, though to do good they have no knowledge: and counsel implies consultation and deliberation; they act deliberately in sinning, they cast about in their minds, form schemes, and contrive ways and means how to accomplish their vicious purposes; and sometimes they enter into a confederacy, and consult together with one consent, and their counsel is generally against the Lord, though it does not prosper and prevail; and against his Christ, his people, truths and ordinances: it takes in both their principles and practices; and the sum of their counsel is to indulge themselves in sin, to throw off all religion, and to cast off the fear and worship of God, Job 21:14. Now "not to walk" herein is not to hearken to their counsel, to give into it, agree with it, pursue it, and act according to it; and happy is the man, who, though he may fall in the way of it, and may have bad counsel given him by ungodly men, yet does not consent to it, take it, and act upon it. This may be applied to the times of the Messiah, and the men of the age in which he lived; and the rather, since the next psalm, in which mention is made of the counsel of the ungodly, manifestly belongs unto them. The men of that generation were a set of ungodly men, who consulted against Christ to take away his life; and blessed is the man, as Joseph of Arimathea, who, though he was in that assembly which conspired against the life of Christ, did not walk in, nor consent unto, their counsel and their deeds, Lu 23:51;



nor standeth in the way of sinners; all men are sinners through Adam's disobedience, and their own actual transgressions, and such were the elect of God, when Christ died for them; and indeed are so after conversion, for no man lives without sin. But here it intends notorious sinners, who are open, bold, and daring in iniquity; the word {p} signifies such, who in shooting miss the mark, and go aside from it, as such sinners do from the law of God; proceed from evil to evil, choose their own ways, and delight in their abominations. Now their "way" is not only their "opinion", as the Syriac version renders it, their corrupt sentiments, but their sinful course of life; which is a way of darkness, a crooked path, and a road that leads to destruction and death: and happy is the man that does "not stand" in this way, which denotes openness, impudence, and continuance; who, though he may fall into this way, does not abide in it; see Ro 6:1. The Pharisees in the time of Christ, though they were not openly and outwardly sinners, yet they were secretly and inwardly such, Mt 23:28; and the way they stood in was that of justification by the works of the law, Ro 9:31: but happy is the man, as the Apostle Paul and others, who stands not in that way, but in the way Christ Jesus, and in the way of life and righteousness by him;



nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful; by whom may be meant proud and haughty persons, in opposition to the humble and lowly, as in Pr 3:34; such who are proud of their natural abilities, knowledge, and wisdom, of their honours and riches, or of their own righteousness, and despise others; or such who are desperate in wickedness, of whom there is no hope; see Pr 9:7; and Deists and atheists, who scoff at divine revelation, and mock at a future state, at death, hell, and judgment, as in Isa 28:14. Now happy is the man that does not sit or keep company with such persons; who comes not into their secret and into their assembly; does not associate himself with them, nor approve of their dispositions, words, principles, and actions; see Ps 26:4. Such were the Scribes and Pharisees in Christ's time; they derided him and his doctrines, scoffed at him when he hung upon the cross, and despised him and his apostles, and his Gospel; but there were some that did not join with them, to whom he, his ministers, and truths, were precious and in high esteem, and to whom he was the power and wisdom of God.



{l} vyah yrva "beatitudines illius viri", Montanus, Vatablus, Gejerus. {m} "Recti incessus, felices progressus, ac prosperi successus", Michaelis; so Piscator. {n} Justinian. in Octapl. Psalt, in loc. Romualdus apud Mabillon. Itinerar. Ital. p. 181. {o} Myevr "significat eos qui sine quiete et indesinenter impie degunt", Vatablus. {p} Myajh "qui longissime aberrant a scopo legis"; Gerjerus.





Psalms 1:2



Ver. 2. But his delight [is] in the law of the Lord,.... Not the law of nature, which was inscribed on Adam's heart in innocence, but now greatly impaired by sin, and become very imperfect and very insufficient to make men happy, or to lead them to true felicity; nor the law of Moses, which is a fiery law, and works wrath, accuses of sin, pronounces guilty, curses and condemns to death; and therefore cannot be delighted in by a sensible sinner, unless as it is in the hands of Christ, and as fulfilled by him, who is the end of it; and as it is written on the heart of a regenerate man, who, so far as it is, delights in it after the inward man, and serves it with his spirit: but rather the Scriptures, as much and as many parts of them as were written in David's time; particularly the five books of Moses, which are called the Law and the Testimony of the Lord; which being inspired by God, were profitable and delightful to read, and to hear explained; and as they were David's delight, and the men of his council, Ps 119:24; so they were the delight of every good man, there being many things in them concerning the Messiah, his grace and kingdom; see Lu 24:44. Moreover the word hrwt, here used, signifies "doctrine", and may intend the evangelic doctrine, as it does in Ps 19:7; which is a psalm concerning the doctrine of the apostles that went into all the world; and in like sense is the word used in Isa 2:3; of the doctrine of the Messiah, that is, the Gospel; and is the same with the law, or doctrine of faith, in Ro 3:27. And this may be called the doctrine of the Lord, because he is the author of it; it came by him, he revealed it; and because he is the subject of it; it is concerning him, his person, office, grace, and righteousness; and so far as it was published in the times of David, it was a joyful sound, good news and glad tidings, and the delight of good men;



and in his law doth he meditate day and night; as Joshua was directed to do, and David did, Jos 1:8. This is to be understood of a diligent reading and serious consideration of it; and of the employment of the thoughts, and of deep study upon it, in order to find out the sense and meaning of it; and which is to be done constantly, every day, as often as there is leisure and opportunity for it; or, as Kimchi on the place observes, whenever a man is free from the business of life; unless this should be taken figuratively, of the day of prosperity and night of adversity, whether in things temporal or spiritual, which are each of them proper seasons to meditate in, upon the word of God and Gospel of Christ.





Psalms 1:3



Ver. 3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,.... Or, "for then shall he be", &c. as Alshech renders the words; and the Hebrew "vau" is often used for "then" {q}. As Ps 1:1 describe the man who is blessed, this points at his blessedness, and shows and proves him to be an happy man; for he is comparable to a "tree": not to a dry tree, or a tree without fruit, or whose fruit is withered, but to a fruitful tree, a green and flourishing one; green olive tree, or a palm tree, or a cedar in Lebanon; to which David compares himself and the righteous, Ps 52:8; and here such an one is compared to a tree "planted"; not to one that grows of itself, a wild tree, a tree of the wood; but to one that is removed from its native place and soil, and planted elsewhere; and so designs such who are broken off of the wild olive tree, and are grafted into the good olive tree; who are planted in Christ Jesus, and in the church, the house of the Lord; of which transplantation the removal of Israel into Canaan's land was an emblem, Ps 80:8; and such a spiritual plantation is of God the husbandman; whose planting the saints are efficiently, Isa 60:21. And it is owing to the word, the ingrafted word, Jas 1:21, which is the means of this ingrafture, and to the ministers of it instrumentally; some of whom plant, and others water, 1Co 3:6. Moreover, the happy man before described is like a tree that is situated "by the rivers of water", or "divisions" {r} and rivulets of water; which running about the plants, make them very fruitful and flourishing; see Eze 31:4; and which may intend the river of the love of God, and the streams of it, the discoveries and applications of it to regenerate persons; and also the fulness of grace in Christ, who is the fountain of gardens, the well of living waters and streams from Lebanon, to revive, refresh, supply, and comfort his people, So 4:15; as well as the graces of the Spirit of God, which are near the saints, and like rivers of water flow out of them that believe in Christ, Joh 7:38; to which may be added the word and ordinances of the Gospel, which are the still waters, to which they are invited and led, and by which and with which they are greatly refreshed, and made fruitful. Arama interprets it of the waters of the law; it is best to understand it of the Gospel; see Isa 55:1; it follows,



that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; and so appears to be a tree of righteousness, filled with the fruits of righteousness, the graces of the Spirit, and good works; which are brought forth by him under the influence of grace, as he has opportunity, and according to the measure of grace bestowed. His leaf also shall not wither; neither tree, nor fruit, nor leaf shall wither, but shall be always green; which is expressive of the saints' perseverance: the reasons of which are, they are ingrafted in Christ the true vine, and abide in him, from whom they have their sap, nourishment, and fruit, Joh 15:1; they are rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith of him; and so they hold fast the profession of it without wavering;



and whatsoever he doth shall prosper; meaning not so much in things temporal, of which Arama interprets it, for in these the good man does not always succeed, but in things spiritual: whatever he does in faith, from love, to the glory of God, and in the name of Christ, prospers; yea, those things in which he is concerned, that are adverse, and seem for the present to be against him, in the issue work for good to him: in short, such a man is blessed with grace here, and glory hereafter; and therefore must needs be an happy man.



{q} Vid. Noldii Concord. Part. Ebr. p. 308. {r} yglp le "juxta divisiones"; Musculus, Hammond; so Ben Melech.





Psalms 1:4



Ver. 4. The ungodly [are] not so,.... They are not as the good man is; their manner and course of life are different; they walk in the counsel of ungodly men, like themselves, and take counsel against the Lord, his Anointed, and his people: they stand in the way of sinners, and steer their conversation according to the course of the world, and sit in the seat of the scornful; laugh at divine revelation, lampoon the Scriptures, deride good men, make a jest of religion and a future state: they have no delight in the law of the Lord, they cast it away from them, and despise it; and are so far from a constant meditation on it, that they never read it, nor so much as look into it, nor is it ever in their thoughts. They are not like to a tree, as described in Ps 1:3: if they are like to trees, it is to dry trees, and not green ones, to trees without any sap, moisture, and verdure, and which are only fit fuel for the fire; to the trees of the wood, to wild olive trees; to trees on an heath, in a desert, in parched land, and not to trees by rivers of water, but to trees that have no root, and are without fruit, Jude 1:12. And though they may be in a seeming prosperous condition for a time, may be in great power, riches, and honour, and spread themselves like a green bay tree; yet suddenly they are cut down as the grass, and wither as the green herb; and even their outward prosperity destroys them; so that not anything they have or do in the issue prospers: and therefore they are not blessed or happy as the good man is; yea, they are wretched and miserable, nay, cursed; they are cursed now, and will be hereafter; they are cursed in their basket and store, their blessings are curses to them; the law pronounces them cursed; and they will hear, "go ye cursed", at the day of judgment, see Mt 25:41. The Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, and Arabic versions, repeat the words "not so", and read "not so the ungodly, not so:" which seems to be done for the confirmation of the truth of it:



but [are] like the chaff which the wind driveth away; they are like chaff, which has no root, moisture, greenness, nor fruitfulness; they have nothing in them solid and substantial; they are destitute of all that is good; are vain and empty; without the knowledge of God and Christ; without faith in Christ and love to him; and are sensual, not having the Spirit, his graces and fruits: they are like chaff for lightness, vain in their imaginations, light in their principles, frothy in their words, and unstable in all their ways: they are never long in any position, unsettled, disquieted, and tossed to and fro; and there is no peace unto them: they are like chaff, useless and unprofitable, nothing worth, fit only for everlasting burnings, which will be their case. For when Christ will gather his wheat, the righteous, which are of value, into his garner, the heavenly glory, he will burn the chaff, the wicked, with unquenchable fire. They are now like chaff, driven and carried about with every wind of doctrine, with divers and strange doctrines, and entertain every light and airy notion; and are easily drawn aside and carried away by the force of their own lusts, and with every temptation of Satan, who works effectually in then: and particularly they are like chaff before the wind of terrible judgments and calamities in this life, and of the awful judgment hereafter, when they will be driven away from the presence of the Lord into everlasting destruction. The metaphor is often used in this sense; see Job 21:17; and denotes the secret, sudden, sure, and easy ruin of the ungodly, which comes upon them like a whirlwind, in an instant, which they cannot avoid; and they can no more stand before God and against him, than chaff before the wind. It follows,





Psalms 1:5



Ver. 5. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,.... Neither in temporal judgment, when God comes forth in a way of wrath and sore displeasure; for who can stand before him when he is angry? what are chaff and stubble, thorns and briers, to consuming fire? nor in the last and great day of judgment, so the Targum and Kimchi interpret the words; for that day will burn like an oven the wicked, who will be as stubble, and leave neither root nor branch, Mal 4:1: when the great day of the Lamb's wrath is come, who will be able to stand? Ro 6:16; there will be no standing for the wicked when he appears; they will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to take their trial and hear their sentence, 2Co 5:10; but they shall not stand in the same place with the righteous, not at Christ's right hand, but at his left; they shall not stand with an holy confidence, with intrepidity, and without shame, as the blessed man will; they will not stand, but fall in judgment; they will not be acquitted and discharged, but be condemned to everlasting punishment, Mt 25:30; and this sense the Targum on the place expresses, "the ungodly shall not be justified in the great day"; the Vulgate Latin and Septuagint versions render the words, "the ungodly shall not rise again in judgment"; from whence some have concluded there will be no resurrection of the wicked: which seems, to be the sense of Kimchi and other Jewish writers; who assert that the souls of the wicked perish with their bodies at death, and that the latter rise not, contrary to Ec 12:7; but that the wicked will, rise may be concluded from the justice of God, which requires that the bodies which have sinned should be punished; and from the general judgment of good and bad, and from the account of the punishment of hell, which will be inflicted on the body as well as on the soul: besides, the contrary doctrine is a licentious one, and is calculated to harden wicked men in their sins, and is directly repugnant to the assertions of Christ, and the Apostle Paul, Joh 5:28; nor has it any foundation in this text, even admitting such a version; which does not absolutely affirm that the wicked shall not rise again, but that they shall not rise again in, judgment, in the first resurrection, the resurrection of the just, and so as to be acquitted and discharged, but they shall rise to the resurrection of damnation;



nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; who are made righteous by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, and have a work of grace and holiness wrought in them; and who, under the influence of grace, live soberly, righteously, and godly; these are the same with the blessed man, Ps 1:1; and who at the day of judgment will be perfectly holy, and free from all sin; and they will be all gathered together by the holy angels; the dead saints will be raised, the living ones will be changed, and both will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, and will make up one general assembly and church of the firstborn; and among these, and in this assembly, there will not be a single sinner; there are now sinners in Zion, foolish virgins with the wise, chaff and tares among Christ's wheat, and wolves and goats among his sheep; but then there will be an eternal separation, and no mixing together any more.





Psalms 1:6



Ver. 6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous,.... The way in which he walks by faith, which is in Jesus Christ; the way in which he goes to the Father, and carries to him his sacrifices of prayer and praise, which meet with acceptance through him; the way in which he seeks for and expects justification, pardon, and salvation, namely, through the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ: and also it may denote his course, his walk and conversation; for the righteous man is a follower of God, he takes up the cross and follows after Christ: he walks not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, according to the rule of the word, and as becomes the Gospel of Christ: and this way of his in every sense the Lord "knows"; not merely as he is omniscient, for by his omniscience his eyes are upon the ways of all men; he knows the way of the wicked as well as the way of the righteous; but the sense is, that the Lord approves of and is well pleased with his way of faith and holiness; he knows this person, so as to love him and take delight and pleasure in him; his countenance beholds him with a smile; he is well pleased with him in Christ and for his sake, on whose account he has respect to him and to his offerings, to his service and duty, to his ways and works; and hence he is a blessed man, is in a happy situation, and all he does prospers, for he and his ways please the Lord: and hence also it is that neither he nor his way shall perish; the way he is in leads to everlasting life, and he being a follower of the Lord in a way pleasing to him, he shall never perish, but have eternal life;



but the way of the ungodly shall perish; for his way is a wicked way, the way of sinners, Ps 1:1; it leads to destruction and death, and all that walk in it shall perish; for if is a way the Lord knows not, does not approve of, he abhors it; wherefore the man that continues in it will be unhappy, wretched, and miserable to all eternity. These last words therefore show the reason of the happiness of one sort of men, and the unhappiness of the other; and prove and confirm the same: the Lord knows, approves of, loves, and delights in the one; he does not approve of and delight in the other.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

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