Job 38-39

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Job 38:1 sn This is the culmination of it all, the revelation of the Lord to Job. Most interpreters see here the style and content of the author of the book, a return to the beginning of the book. Here the Lord speaks to Job and displays his sovereign power and glory. Job has lived through the suffering—without cursing God. He has held to his integrity, and nowhere regretted it. But he was unaware of the real reason for the suffering, and will remain unaware throughout these speeches. God intervenes to resolve the spiritual issues that surfaced. Job was not punished for sin. And Job’s suffering had not cut him off from God. In the end the point is that Job cannot have the knowledge to make the assessments he made. It is wiser to bow in submission and adoration of God than to try to judge him. The first speech of God has these sections: the challenge (38:1-3), the surpassing mysteries of earth and sky beyond Job’s understanding (4-38), and the mysteries of animal and bird life that surpassed his understanding (38:39-39:30).
2. Job 38:1 sn Throughout the book of Job exchanges between speakers are stated as “[someone] answered and said.” However, when the Lord speaks, the formula is usually just “he said.” The rhetorical function in Job is likely to show that God initiates and others respond to him. The text only describes the Lord as “answering” when he responds to Job in 38:1; 40:1, 6. That God “responds” to Job shows his merit.
3. Job 38:1 sn This is not the storm described by Elihu—in fact, the Lord ignores Elihu. The storm is a common accompaniment for a theophany (see Ezek 1:4; Nah 1:3; Zech 9:14).
4. Job 38:2 tn The demonstrative pronoun is used here to emphasize the interrogative pronoun (see GKC 442 §136.c).
5. Job 38:2 sn The referent of “counsel” here is not the debate between Job and the friends, but the purposes of God (see Ps 33:10; Prov 19:21; Isa 19:17). Dhorme translates it “Providence.”
6. Job 38:3 tn Heb “Gird up your loins.” This idiom basically describes taking the hem of the long garment or robe and pulling it up between the legs and tucking it into the front of the belt, allowing easier and freer movement of the legs. “Girding the loins” meant the preparation for some difficult task (Jer 1:17), or for battle (Isa 5:27), or for running (1 Kgs 18:46). C. Gordon suggests that it includes belt-wrestling, a form of hand-to-hand mortal combat (“Belt-wrestling in the Bible World,” HUCA 23 [1950/51]: 136).
7. Job 38:4 tn The construction is the infinitive construct in a temporal clause, using the preposition and the subjective genitive suffix.
8. Job 38:4 tn The verb is the imperative; it has no object “me” in the text.
9. Job 38:5 tn The particle כִּי (ki) is taken here for a conditional clause, “if you know” (see GKC 498 §159.dd). Others take it as “surely” with a biting irony.
10. Job 38:6 tn For the interrogative serving as a genitive, see GKC 442 §136.b.
11. Job 38:6 sn The world was conceived of as having bases and pillars, but these poetic descriptions should not be pressed too far (e.g., see Ps 24:2, which may be worded as much for its polemics against Canaanite mythology as anything).
12. Job 38:7 sn The expression “morning stars” (Heb “stars of the morning”) is here placed in parallelism to the angels, “the sons of God.” It may refer to the angels under the imagery of the stars, or, as some prefer, it may poetically include all creation. There is a parallel also with the foundation of the temple which was accompanied by song (see Ezra 3:10, 11). But then the account of the building of the original tabernacle was designed to mirror creation (see M. Fishbane, Biblical Text and Texture).
13. Job 38:7 tn The construction, an adverbial clause of time, uses רָנָן (ranan), which is often a ringing cry, an exultation. The parallelism with “shout for joy” shows this to be enthusiastic acclamation. The infinitive is then continued in the next colon with the vav (ו) consecutive preterite.
14. Job 38:7 tn Heb “together.” This is Dhorme’s suggestion for expressing how they sang together.
15. Job 38:7 tn See Job 1:6.
16. Job 38:8 tn The MT has “and he shut up.” The Vulgate has “Who?” and so many commentaries and editions adopt this reading, if not from the Vulgate, then from the sense of the sequence in the text itself.
17. Job 38:8 tn The line uses two expressions, first the temporal clause with גִּיחַ (giakh, “when it burst forth”) and then the finite verb יֵצֵא (yetseʾ, “go out”) to mark the concomitance of the two actions.
18. Job 38:9 tn The temporal clause here uses the infinitive from שִׂים (sim, “to place; to put; to make”). It underscores the sovereign placing of things.
19. Job 38:9 tn This noun is found only here. The verb is in Ezek 16:4, and a related noun is in Ezek 30:21.
20. Job 38:10 tc The MT has “and I broke,” which cannot mean “set, prescribed” or the like. The LXX and the Vulgate have such a meaning, suggesting a verb עֲשִׁית (ʿashit, “plan, prescribe”). A. Guillaume finds an Arabic word with a meaning “measured it by span by my decree.” Would God give himself a decree? R. Gordis simply argues that the basic meaning “break” develops the connotation of “decide, determine” (2 Sam 5:24; Job 14:3; Dan 11:36).
21. Job 38:10 tn Dhorme suggested reversing the two verbs, making this the first, and then “shatter” for the second colon.
22. Job 38:11 tn The imperfect verb receives the permission nuance here.
23. Job 38:11 tn The text has תֹסִיף (tosif, “and you may not add”), which is often used idiomatically (as in verbal hendiadys constructions).
24. Job 38:11 tn The MT literally says, “here he will put on the pride of your waves.” The verb has no expressed subject and so is made a passive voice. But there has to be some object for the verb “put,” such as “limit” or “boundary”; the translations “confined; halted; stopped” all serve to paraphrase such an idea. The LXX has “broken” at this point, suggesting the verse might have been confused—but “breaking the pride” of the waves would mean controlling them. Some commentators have followed this, exchanging the verb in v. 11 with this one.
25. Job 38:12 tn The Hebrew idiom is “have you from your days?” It means “never in your life” (see 1 Sam 25:28; 1 Kgs 1:6).
26. Job 38:12 tn The verb is the Piel of יָדַע (yadaʿ, “to know”) with a double accusative.
27. Job 38:13 sn The poetic image is that darkness or night is like a blanket that covers the earth, and at dawn it is taken by the edges and shaken out. Since the wicked function under the cover of night, they are included in the shaking when the dawn comes up.
28. Job 38:14 sn The verse needs to be understood in the context: as the light shines in the dawn, the features of the earth take on a recognizable shape or form. The language is phenomenological.
29. Job 38:14 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the objects or features on the earth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30. Job 38:14 tc The MT reads “they stand up like a garment” (NASB, NIV) or “its features stand out like a garment” (ESV). The reference could be either to embroidered decoration on a garment or to the folds of a garment (REB “until all things stand out like the folds of a cloak”; cf. J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 497, “the early light of day makes the earth appear as a beautiful garment, exquisite in design and glorious in color”). Since this is thought to be an odd statement, some suggest with Ehrlich that the text be changed to תִּצָּבַּע (titsabbaʿ, “is dyed [like a garment]”). This reference would be to the colors appearing on the earth’s surface under daylight. The present translation follows the emendation.
31. Job 38:15 tn Heb “the raised arm.” The words “in violence” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.
32. Job 38:15 sn What is active at night, the violence symbolized by the raised arm, is broken with the dawn. G. R. Driver thought the whole verse referred to stars, and that the arm is the navigator’s term for the line of stars (“Two astronomical passages in the Old Testament,” JTS 4 [1953]: 208-12).
33. Job 38:16 tn Heb “the springs of the sea.” The words “that fill” are supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning of the phrase.
34. Job 38:17 tn Heb “uncovered to you.”
35. Job 38:17 tn Some still retain the traditional phrase “shadow of death” in the English translation (cf. NIV). The reference is to the entrance to Sheol (see Job 10:21).
36. Job 38:19 tn The interrogative with דֶרֶךְ (derekh) means “in what road” or “in what direction.”
37. Job 38:20 tn The suffixes are singular (“that you may take it to its border…to its home”), referring to either the light or the darkness. Because either is referred to, the translation has employed plurals, since singulars would imply that only the second item, “darkness,” was the referent. Plurals are also employed by NAB and NIV.
38. Job 38:21 tn The imperfect verb after the adverb אָז (ʾaz, “then”) functions as a preterite (“you were born”); אָז has been left untranslated because the past tense translation itself suffices to reflect the idiom. The pronoun “them,” referring to light and darkness mentioned in v. 19, has been added to clarify the sense of the statement. Clearly the line is sarcastic.
39. Job 38:22 sn Snow and ice are thought of as being in store, brought out by God for specific purposes, such as times of battle (see Josh 10:11; Exod 9:2ff.; Isa 28:17; Isa 30:30; Ps 18:12 [13]).
40. Job 38:22 tn The same Hebrew term (אוֹצָר, ʾotsar), has been translated “storehouse” in the first line and “armory” in the second. This has been done for stylistic variation, but also because “hail,” as one of God’s “weapons” (cf. the following verse) suggests military imagery; in this context the word refers to God’s “ammunition dump” where he stockpiles hail.
41. Job 38:23 sn The terms translated war and battle are different Hebrew words, but both may be translated “war” or “battle” depending on the context.
42. Job 38:24 tn Because the parallel with “light” and “east wind” is not tight, Hoffmann proposed עֵד (ʿed) instead, “mist.” This has been adopted by many. G. R. Driver suggests “parching heat” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 91-92).
43. Job 38:26 tn Heb “on a land, no man.”
44. Job 38:26 tn Heb “a desert, no man in it.”
45. Job 38:27 tn Heb “to cause to sprout a source of vegetation.” The word מֹצָא (motsaʾ) is rendered “mine” in Job 28:1. The suggestion with the least changes is Wright’s: צָמֵא (tsameʾ, “thirsty”). But others choose מִצִּיָּה (mitsiyyah, “from the steppe”).
46. Job 38:29 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
47. Job 38:30 tn Several suggest that the verb is not from חָבָא (khavaʾ, “to hide”) but from a homonym, “to congeal.” This may be too difficult to support, however.
48. Job 38:31 tn This word is found here and in 1 Sam 15:32. Dhorme suggests, with others, that there has been a metathesis (a reversal of consonants), and it is the same word found in Job 31:36 (“bind”). G. R. Driver takes it as “cluster” without changing the text (“Two astronomical passages in the Old Testament,” JTS 7 [1956] :3).
49. Job 38:32 tn The word מַזָּרוֹת (mazzarot) is taken by some to refer to the constellations (see 2 Kgs 23:5), and by others as connected to the word for “crown,” and so “corona.”
50. Job 38:32 sn See Job 9:9.
51. Job 38:34 tc The LXX has “answer you,” and some editors have adopted this. However, the reading of the MT makes better sense in the verse.
52. Job 38:36 tn This verse is difficult because of the two words, טֻחוֹת (tukhot, rendered here “heart”) and שֶׂכְוִי (sekhvi, here “mind”). They have been translated a number of ways: “meteor” and “celestial appearance”; the stars “Procyon” and “Sirius”; “inward part” and “mind”; even as birds, “ibis” and “cock.” One expects them to have something to do with nature—clouds and the like. The RSV accordingly took them to mean “meteor” (from a verb “to wander”) and “a celestial appearance.” But these meanings are not well-attested.
53. Job 38:37 tn The word actually means “to cause to lie down.”
54. Job 38:38 tn The word means “to flow” or “to cast” (as in casting metals). So the noun developed the sense of “hard,” as in cast metal.
55. Job 38:39 tn Heb “fill up the life of.”
56. Job 38:41 tn The verse is difficult, making some suspect that a line has dropped out. The little birds in the nest hardly go wandering about looking for food. Dhorme suggests “and stagger for lack of food.”
57. Job 39:1 tn The text uses the infinitive as the object: “do you know the giving birth of?”
58. Job 39:1 tn Or “ibex.”
59. Job 39:2 tn Here the infinitive is again a substantive: “the time of their giving birth.”
60. Job 39:3 tc The Hebrew verb used here means “to cleave,” and this would not have the object “their young.” Olshausen and others after him change the ח (khet) to ט (tet) and get a verb “to drop,” meaning “drop [= give birth to] young” as used in Job 21:10. G. R. Driver holds out for the MT, arguing it is an idiom, “to breach the womb” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 92-93).
61. Job 39:3 tn Heb “they cast forth their labor pains.” This word usually means “birth pangs” but here can mean what caused the pains (metonymy of effect). This fits better with the parallelism, and the verb (“cast forth”). The words “their offspring” are supplied in the translation for clarity; direct objects were often omitted when clear from the context, although English expects them to be included.
62. Job 39:4 tn The idea is that of the open countryside. The Aramaism is found only here.
63. Job 39:6 tn See the note at Job 24:5.
64. Job 39:7 sn The animal is happier in open countryside than in a busy town, and on its own rather than being driven by a herdsman.
65. Job 39:10 tn Some commentators think that the addition of the “wild ox” here is a copyist’s error, making the stich too long. They therefore delete it. Also, binding an animal to the furrow with ropes is unusual. So with a slight emendation Kissane came up with “Will you bind him with a halter of cord?” While the MT is unusual, the sense is understandable, and no changes, even slight ones, are absolutely necessary.
66. Job 39:11 tn Heb “leave.”
67. Job 39:12 tn The word is normally translated “believe” in the Bible. The idea is that of considering something dependable and acting on it. The idea of reliability is found also in the Niphal stem usages.
68. Job 39:12 tc There is a textual problem here: יָשׁוּב (yashuv) is the Kethib, meaning “[that] he will return”; יָשִׁיב (yashiv) is the Qere, meaning “that he will bring in.” This is the preferred reading, since the object follows it. For commentators who think the line too unbalanced for this, the object is moved to the second colon, and the reading “returns” is taken for the first. But the MT is perfectly clear as it stands.
69. Job 39:12 tn Heb “your seed”; this must be interpreted figuratively for what the seed produces.
70. Job 39:12 tn Heb “gather it”; the referent (the grain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
71. Job 39:12 tn Simply, the MT has “and your threshing floor gather.” The “threshing floor” has to be an adverbial accusative of place.
72. Job 39:13 tc This whole section on the ostrich is not included in the LXX. Many feel it is an interpolation and should therefore be deleted. The pattern of the chapter changes from the questions being asked to observations being made.
73. Job 39:13 tn The word occurs only here and means “shrill cries.” If the MT is correct, this is a poetic name for the ostrich (see Lam 4:3).
74. Job 39:13 tn Many proposals have been made here. The MT has a verb, “exult.” Strahan had “flap joyously,” a rendering followed by the NIV. The RSV uses “wave proudly.”
75. Job 39:13 tn The point of this statement would be that the ostrich cannot compare to the stork. But there are many other proposals for this line—just about every commentator has a different explanation for it. Of the three words here, the first means “pinion,” the third “plumage,” and the second probably “stork,” although the LXX has “heron.” The point of this whole section is that the ostrich is totally lacking in parental care, whereas the stork is characterized by it. The Hebrew word for “stork” is the same word for “love”: חֲסִידָה (khasidah), an interpretation followed by the NASB. The most likely reading is “or are they the pinions and plumage of the stork?” The ostrich may flap about, but cannot fly and does not care for its young.
76. Job 39:14 tn The meaning may have the connotation of “lays; places,” rather than simply abandoning (see M. Dahood, “The Root ʿzb II in Job,” JBL 78 [1959]: 307f.).
77. Job 39:15 tn Heb “an animal of the field.”
78. Job 39:16 sn This verb, “to deal harshly; to harden; to treat cruelly,” is used for hardening the heart elsewhere (see Isa 63:17).
79. Job 39:18 tn The colon poses a slight problem here. The literal meaning of the Hebrew verb translated “springs up” (i.e., “lifts herself on high”) might suggest flight. But some of the proposals involve a reading about readying herself to run.
80. Job 39:19 tn The second half of the verse contains this hapax legomenon, which is usually connected with the word רַעְמָה (raʿmah, “thunder”). A. B. Davidson thought it referred to the quivering of the neck rather than the mane. Gray thought the sound and not the movement was the point. But without better evidence, a reading that has “quivering mane” may not be far off the mark. But it may be simplest to translate it “mane” and assume that the idea of “quivering” is part of the meaning.
81. Job 39:20 sn The same ideas are found in Joel 2:4. The leaping motion is compared to the galloping of the horse.
82. Job 39:20 tn The word could mean “snorting” as well (see Jer 8:16). It comes from the root “to blow.” If the horse is running and breathing hard, this could be the sense here.
83. Job 39:21 tc The Hebrew text has a plural verb, “they paw.” For consistency and for stylistic reasons this is translated as a singular.
84. Job 39:21 tn The armies would prepare for battles that were usually fought in the valleys, and so the horse was ready to charge. But in Ugaritic the word ʿmk means “force” as well as “valley.” The idea of “force” would fit the parallelism here well (see M. Dahood, “Value of Ugaritic for textual criticism,” Bib 40 [1959]: 166).
85. Job 39:21 tn Or “in strength.”
86. Job 39:23 tn This may be the scimitar (see G. Molin, “What is a kidon?” JSS 1 [1956]: 334-37).
87. Job 39:24 tn “Swallow the ground” is a metaphor for the horse’s running. Gray renders the line: “quivering and excited he dashes into the fray.”
88. Job 39:24 tn The use of אָמַן (ʾaman) in the Hiphil in this place is unique. Such a form would normally mean “to believe.” But its basic etymological meaning comes through here. The verb means “to be firm; to be reliable; to be dependable.” The causative here would mean “to make firm” or “to stand firm.”
89. Job 39:26 tn This word occurs only here. It is connected to “pinions” in v. 13. Dhorme suggests “clad with feathers,” but the line suggests more the use of the wings.
90. Job 39:27 tn Heb “your mouth.”
91. Job 39:28 tn Heb “upon the tooth of a rock.”
92. Job 39:28 tn The word could be taken as the predicate, but because of the conjunction it seems to be adding another description of the place of its nest.
93. Job 39:29 tn The word means “search,” but can be used for a wide range of matters, including spying.
94. Job 39:29 tn Heb “food.”
95. Job 39:30 tn The word חֲלָלִים (khalalim) designates someone who is fatally wounded, literally the “pierced one,” meaning anyone or thing that dies a violent death.