In this chapter the Lord takes up the controversy with Job; calls upon him to prepare to engage with him in it, and demands an answer to posing questions he puts to him, concerning the earth and the fabric of it, Job 38:1–7; concerning the sea, compared to an infant in embryo, at its birth, in its…

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind As soon as Elihu had done speaking, who saw the tempest rising, and gave hints of it, (Job 37:2, Job 37:14) ; and hastened to finish his discourse.

Who is this Meaning not Elihu the last speaker, as some think; and there are some who suppose not only that these words are directed to him, but all that is said in this and the following chapter: but it was Job the Lord spoke to and answered, as expressed in ; and these words are taken by Job to…

Gird up now thy loins like a man Like a man of valour that girds on his harness for battle: Job is bid to prepare for the controversy the Lord was entering into with him; and bring forth his strong reasons and most powerful arguments in his own defence.

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? &c.] The earth has foundations, and such firm ones that it cannot be moved; but what are they, since it is hung in the air on nothing! No other than the power and will of God, who laid these foundations, and the Son of God, who has created…

Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? &c.] Did God or a creature? The Lord, no doubt. He laid them out in his divine mind, and laid them forth by his divine power; who does all things by weight and measure.

Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? &c.] Or the pillars of it, as Ben Gersom interprets it; see ; and which Aben Ezra understands of the mountains: but be they what they may, on what can they be fastened or sunk into, when the earth hangs on nothing, and there is nothing visible to…

When the morning stars sang together Either all the stars in a literal sense; for though, strictly speaking, there is but one morning star, yet all may be called so, because early created in the morning of the world; and are all stars of light, shine till the morning; and it is observed by some,…

Or who shut up the sea with doors From the earth the transition is to the sea, according to the order of the creation; and this refers not to the state and case of the sea as at the flood, of which some interpret it, but as at its first creation; and it is throughout this account represented as an…

When I made the cloud the garment thereof For this newborn babe, the sea; and thick darkness a swaddling band for it; which was the case of the sea when it burst out of the bowels of the earth and covered it, for then darkness was upon the face of the deep, a dark, foggy, misty air, ; and this was…

And brake up for it my decreed place Or, as Mr. Broughton translates it, “and brake the earth for it by my decree”: made a vast chasm in the earth to hold the waters of the sea, which was provided as a sort of cradle to put this swaddled infant in; God cleaved the earth, raised the hills and sank…

And said, hitherto shalt thou come, but no further The waters of the sea shall spread themselves to such and such shores, and wash them, but go no further; its rolling tides shall go up so far in rivers that go out of it, and then return, keeping exactly to time and place; this is said by Jehovah,…

Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; &c.] Job had lived to see many a morning, but it never was in his power to command one; he had been in such circumstances as to wish for morning light before it was, but was obliged to wait for it, could not hasten it, or cause it to spring before its…

That it might take hold of the ends of the earth As when the morning light springs forth, it quickly does, reaching in a short time the extreme part of the hemisphere; which, and what goes before, may be applied to the light of the Gospel, and the direction of that under divine Providence in the…

It is turned as clay to the seal As the clay receives a different form by the impress of the seal upon it, so the earth appears in a different manner by the spring of morning light upon it; in the darkness of the night nothing of its form and beauty is to be seen; it is a mere “tohu” and “bohu”,…

And from the wicked their light is withholden Whose light is darkness, and whose day is the night, of which they are deprived when the morning light breaks forth; see ; it may be figuratively understood of the light of prosperity being removed from them, or the light of life, when they shall be…

Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? &c.] The subterraneous passages through which the waters flow into the sea and supply it; or the springs and fountains that rise up at the bottom of it [[8]]; and some tell us of springs of sweet water that rise there, even though the water at the…

Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? &c.] Meaning not by which death has entered into the world, and which have been the causes and occasion of it; as the sin of man, the appointment of God, and various providences, calamities and diseases; but by which men enter into the state of the…

Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? &c.] Which may be put for all the dimensions of it, length, breadth, diameter, and circumference, but especially it regards the surface of it, and the measurement of that; hast thou gone over the whole face of the earth and measured it, all its parts,…

Where is the way where light dwelleth? &c.] Or the way to the place where it dwells, and what that is; and as for darkness, where is the place thereof? where these were placed when they were first separated at the creation? where light goes and dwells, when it departs from us at sun setting? and…

That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof Either darkness, or rather the light; take it as it were by the hand, and guide and direct its course to its utmost bound.

Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? &c.] When light and darkness were first separated, and had their several apartments assigned them; their laws and rules given them, and their bounds and limits set them? No; he was not: and, had he been the first man, could not have been early enough to…

Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail? ] The vapours raised, and clouds formed in the atmosphere, which is the storehouse of those meteors; and may be called treasures, because hidden in the clouds, and not seen by man until the fall of them;…

Which I have reserved against the time of trouble For the punishment or affliction of men; and is explained as follows, against the day of battle and war? as his artillery and ammunition to light his enemies with.

By what way is the light parted That is, dost thou know by what way it is parted or divided? as at the first creation, when God divided the light from darkness, ; or at sun rising and sun setting; and so in the two hemispheres, when there is darkness on the one, and light on the other; or under the…

Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, &c.] For a very large shower of rain, as the Vulgate Latin version: for this is not to be understood of an aqueduct, channel, or canal made on earth, either for the draining of waters off of land overflowed thereby, or for the conveyance…

To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man. ] Which is uninhabited by men, being so dry and barren; where there is no man to cultivate and water it, as gardens are; and where is no man to receive any advantage by the rain that comes upon it; and…

To satisfy the desolate and waste ground Which is exceeding desolate, and therefore two such words are used to express it; which is so dry and thirsty that it is one of the four things that say not it is enough, ; and yet God can and does give it rain to its full satisfaction, ; so the Lord…

Hath the rain a father? &c.] None but God; hence the Heathens themselves call God (γετιος) [[23]], and (ομβριος) [[24]]; see ; he that is our Father in heaven is the Father of rain, and him only; whatever secondary causes there be, God only is the efficient cause, parent, and producer of it: so the…

Out of whose womb came the ice? &c.] The parent of the rain and dew is the parent of the ice also, and he only; it is therefore called “his ice”, his child, his offspring, .

The waters are hid as with a stone The surface of the waters by frost become as hard as a stone, and will bear great burdens, and admit of carriages to pass over them [[2]] where ships went before; so that the waters under them are hid and quite out of sight: an emblem of the hard heart of man,…

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades Of which (See Gill on Job 9:9); and this constellation of the seven stars which is meant, rising in the spring, the pleasantnesses of the season, as the word may be rendered, may be intended here; which cannot be restrained or hindered from taking…

Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? &c.] Which are thought to be the same with “the chambers of the south”, ; the southern pole [[11]] with its stars, signified by chambers, because hidden from our sight in this part of the globe; and here by Mazzaroth, from, “nazar”, to separate,…

Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? &c.] Settled by the decree, purpose, and will of God, and are firm and stable; see (Jer. 31:35, Jer. 31:36) ; the laws and statutes respecting their situation, motion, operation, influence, and use, which are constantly observed; these are so far from being…

Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? ] Thy gardens, fields, and farms; canst thou, in a magisterial way, call to and demand of the clouds to let down rain in large quantities, sufficient to water them and make them fruitful? no, thou canst not: thou…

Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are? ] Thy humble servants; we have been where thou didst send us, and have executed what we were bid to do, and are returned, and here we are waiting further orders; see ; no; lightnings are only at the command of God, and…

Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? &c.] That is, of man, in his heart, as explained in the next clause; such wisdom as to guide the stars, know the ordinances of heaven, set their dominion on earth, manage and direct the clouds and lightning; no such wisdom is put in man: or who hath, given…

Who can number the clouds in wisdom? &c.] Or has such wisdom as to be able to count them when the heavens are full of them; hence they are used to denote a great multitude, ; or “declare” them [[18]], set forth and explain the nature of them, their matter, motion, and use; none can do this…

When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together? ] When the dust is attenuated, and ground, as it were, into powder; and the clods cleave together, as if glued, as in a drought for want of rain: or the bottles of heaven being unstopped and poured out; or “sprinkling the dust…

Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? &c.] From meteors the Lord passes to animals, beasts, and birds, wherefore some here begin the thirty ninth chapter, which only treats of such; and he begins with the lion, the strongest among beasts, and most fierce; cruel, and voracious; and asks, who hunts…

When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? ] Which some understand of old lions, who, for want of strength, lie couchant in their dens, or in some covert place, waiting for any prey that passes by, to seize upon it.

Who provideth for the raven his food? &c.] Not man, but God; he feeds the ravens, creatures very voracious, mean, and useless, ; when his young ones cry unto God; cry for want of food; which is interpreted by the Lord as a cry unto him, and he relieves them, ; when deserted by the old ones; either…