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Texts -- Job 41:1-33 (NET)

Context
The Description of Leviathan
41:1 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook , and tie down its tongue with a rope ? 41:2 Can you put a cord through its nose , or pierce its jaw with a hook ? 41:3 Will it make numerous supplications to you, will it speak to you with tender words? 41:4 Will it make a pact with you, so you could take it as your slave for life ? 41:5 Can you play with it, like a bird , or tie it on a leash for your girls ? 41:6 Will partners bargain for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants ? 41:7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears ? 41:8 If you lay your hand on it, you will remember the fight , and you will never do it again ! 41:9 See , his expectation is wrong , he is laid low even at the sight of it. 41:10 Is it not fierce when it is awakened ? Who is he, then, who can stand before it? 41:11 (Who has confronted me that I should repay ? Everything under heaven belongs to me !) 41:12 I will not keep silent about its limbs , and the extent of its might , and the grace of its arrangement . 41:13 Who can uncover its outer covering ? Who can penetrate to the inside of its armor ? 41:14 Who can open the doors of its mouth ? Its teeth all around are fearsome . 41:15 Its back has rows of shields , shut up closely together as with a seal ; 41:16 each one is so close to the next that no air can come between them. 41:17 They lock tightly together, one to the next ; they cling together and cannot be separated . 41:18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light ; its eyes are like the red glow of dawn . 41:19 Out of its mouth go flames , sparks of fire shoot forth ! 41:20 Smoke streams from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning rushes . 41:21 Its breath sets coals ablaze and a flame shoots from its mouth . 41:22 Strength lodges in its neck , and despair runs before it. 41:23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined ; they are firm on it, immovable . 41:24 Its heart is hard as rock , hard as a lower millstone . 41:25 When it rises up , the mighty are terrified , at its thrashing about they withdraw . 41:26 Whoever strikes it with a sword will have no effect , nor with the spear , arrow, or dart . 41:27 It regards iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood . 41:28 Arrows do not make it flee ; slingstones become like chaff to it. 41:29 A club is counted as a piece of straw ; it laughs at the rattling of the lance . 41:30 Its underparts are the sharp points of potsherds , it leaves its mark in the mud like a threshing sledge . 41:31 It makes the deep boil like a cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment , 41:32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had a head of white hair . 41:33 The likes of it is not on earth , a creature without fear .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Leviathan

    [ebd] a transliterated Hebrew word (livyathan), meaning "twisted," "coiled." In Job 3:8, Revised Version, and marg. of Authorized Version, it denotes the dragon which, according to Eastern tradition, is an enemy of light; in 41:1 ...
    [isbe] LEVIATHAN - le-vi'-a-than (liwyathan (Job 41:1-34), from [~lawah, "to fold"; compare Arabic name of the wry neck, Iynx torquilla, abu-luwa, from kindred lawa, "to bend"): (1) The word "leviathan" also occurs in Isa 27:1, whe...
    [smith] (jointed monster) occurs five times in the text of the Authorized Version, and once in the margin of (Job 3:8) where the text has "mourning." In the Hebrew Bible the word livyathan , which is, with the foregoing exception, al...
    [nave] LEVIATHAN Possibly a crocodile, Job 41; Psa. 104:26. The crooked serpent, Isa. 27:1. Figurative Psa. 74:14. See: Dragon.

  • Job

    [nave] JOB 1. A man who dwelt in Uz, Job 1:1. Righteousness of, Job 1:1, 5, 8; 2:3; Ezek. 14:14, 20. Riches of, Job 1:3. Trial of, by affliction of Satan, Job 1:13-19; 2:7-10. Fortitude of, Job 1:20-22; 2:10; Jas. 5:11. Visite...

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • Condescension of God

    [nave] CONDESCENSION OF GOD In reasoning with his creatures: Sets forth his reasons for sending the flood, Gen. 6:11-13. Enters into covenant with Abraham, Gen. 15:1-21; 18:1-22. Indulges Abraham's intercession for Sodom, Gen. 18...

  • Animals

    [nave] ANIMALS Creation of, Gen. 1:24, 25; 2:19; Jer. 27:5. Food of, Gen. 1:30. Named, Gen. 2:20. Ordained as food for mankind, Gen. 9:2, 3; Lev. 11:3, 9, 21, 22; Deut. 14:4-6, 9, 11, 20. God's care of, Gen. 9:9, 10; Deut. 25:4...

  • Euthanasia

    [nave] EUTHANASIA Euthanasia is an attempt to prevent painful, excessive or prolonged death. It may be passive (stop treatment) or direct acts aimed at terminating life (active). The latter is wrong because it does not see God, as ...

  • NIGHT-MONSTER

    [isbe] NIGHT-MONSTER - nit'-mon-ster (lilith; Septuagint onokentauros; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) lamia): I. THE ACCEPTED TRANSLATION 1. Professor Rogers' Statement 2. Exception to the Statement II. FOLKLORE IN TH...

  • HOOK

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. hah, a "ring" inserted in the nostrils of animals to which a cord was fastened for the purpose of restraining them (2 Kings 19:28; Isa. 37:28, 29; Ezek. 29:4; 38:4). "The Orientals make use of this contrivance for ...
    [isbe] HOOK - hook: (1) chakkah, is rendered "fishhook" in Job 41:1 the Revised Version (British and American) (the King James Version "hook"). the Revised Version (British and American) is correct here and should have used the sam...

  • CALDRON

    [isbe] CALDRON - kol'-drun (the rendering of qallachath, cir, dudh 'aghmon) : Qallachath is found only in 1 Sam 2:14; Mic 3:3. It is a pot for cooking, of undefined size and characteristics, in the former passage for sanctuary use,...
    [smith] a vessel for boiling flesh, for either ceremonial or domestic use. (1 Samuel 2:14; 2 Chronicles 35:13; Job 41:20; Micah 3:3)

  • HABERGEON

    [ebd] an Old English word for breastplate. In Job 41:26 (Heb. shiryah) it is properly a "coat of mail;" the Revised Version has "pointed shaft." In Ex. 28:32, 39:23, it denotes a military garment strongly and thickly woven and cov...
    [isbe] HABERGEON - hab'-er-jun, ha-bur'-jun, the King James Version (tachara'): In the Revised Version (British and American), Ex 28:32; 39:23, etc., "coat of mail"; in Job 41:26, "pointed shaft," margin "coat of mail." See ARMS, A...

  • FLAKE

    [isbe] FLAKE - flak (mappal, a word of uncertain meaning): It is used in the sense of "refuse (husks) of the wheat" in Am 8:6. With regard to the body we find it used in Job 41:23 in the description of leviathan (the crocodile): "T...

  • RUSH

    [isbe] RUSH - (1) (gome'; papuros, "bulrushes," margin "papyrus" (Ex 2:3); "rush," margin "papyrus" (Job 8:11); "papyrus," the King James Version "rush" (Isa 18:2); "rushes" (Isa 35:7)): This is almost certainly the famous papyrus,...

  • Fish

    [isbe] FISH - (dagh, daghah, da'gh; ichthus, ichthudion, opsarion): 1. Natural History: Fishes abound in the inland waters of Palestine as well as the Mediterranean. They are often mentioned or indirectly referred to both in the Ol...
    [nave] FISH Creation of, Gen. 1:20-22. Appointed for food, Gen. 9:2, 3. Clean and unclean, Lev. 11:9-12; Deut. 14:9, 10. Taken with nets, Eccl. 9:12; Hab. 1:14-17; Matt. 4:21; Luke 5:2-6; John 21:6-8; hooks, Isa. 19:8; Amos 4:2;...

  • FISHHOOK

    [isbe] FISHHOOK - fish'-hook (cir dughah, chakkah): The word "fishhooks" occurs but twice in the American Standard Revised Version (Job 41:1; Am 4:2). In other passages the word hook or "angle" is applied to this instrument for fis...

  • STRAW; STUBBLE

    [isbe] STRAW; STUBBLE - stro, stub'-'-l: The cognates of Hebrew tebhen, "straw" and qash, "stubble," have been retained in the modern Arabic terms tibn and qashsh. Tibn applies to the straw which has been cut up into short pieces a...

  • PALESTINE, 3

    [isbe] PALESTINE, 3 - IV. Palestine in the Poetic Books of the Old Testament. 1. Book of Job: In Job the scene is distinctively Edomite. Uz (Job 1:1; compare Gen 22:21 the English Revised Version; Jer 25:20; Lam 4:21) and Buz (Job ...

  • KETTLE

    [isbe] KETTLE - ket'-'l: In English Versions of the Bible only in 1 Sam 2:14 for dudh, "a vessel for cooking." The same word in 2 Ch 35:13 is rendered "caldrons," and in Job 41:20 (Hebrew 12), "pot." Ps 81:6 (Hebrew 7) (the King Ja...
    [smith] a vessel for culinary or sacrificial purposes. (1 Samuel 2:14) The Hebrew word is also rendered "basket" in (Jeremiah 24:2) "caldron" in (2 Chronicles 35:13) and "pot" in (Job 41:20)

  • HUNTING

    [isbe] HUNTING - hunt'-ing (tsayidh): The hunting of wild animals for sport, or for the defense of men and flocks, or for food, was common in Western Asia and Egypt, especially in early times. Some of the Egyptian and Assyrian king...

  • Mill

    [ebd] for grinding corn, mentioned as used in the time of Abraham (Gen. 18:6). That used by the Hebrews consisted of two circular stones, each 2 feet in diameter and half a foot thick, the lower of which was called the "nether mil...
    [nave] MILL. Jer. 25:10. Upper and nether stones of, Deut. 24:6; Job 41:24; Isa. 47:2. Used in Egypt, Ex. 11:5. Operated by women, Matt. 24;41; and captives, Judg. 16:21; Lam. 5:13. Maa ground in, Num. 11:8. Sound of, to ceas...

  • Fish-hooks

    [ebd] were used for catching fish (Amos 4:2; comp. Isa. 37:29; Jer. 16:16; Ezek. 29:4; Job. 41:1, 2; Matt. 17:27).
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Arts

Questions

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Isaiah 27:1; Job 41:21; Symbolic Of Satan

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • What this book is all about has been the subject of considerable debate. Many people think God gave it to us to provide His answer to the age-old problem of suffering. In particular, many believe it is in the Bible to help us...
  • I. Prologue chs. 1-2A. Job's character 1:1-5B. Job's calamities 1:6-2:101. The first test 1:6-222. The second test 2:1-10C. Job's comforters 2:11-13II. The dialogue concerning the basis of the divine-human relationship 3:1-42...
  • The writer composed the prologue and epilogue of this book in prose narrative and the main body (3:1-42:6) in poetry. The prologue and epilogue form a frame around the main emphasis of the revelation, the poetic section, and ...
  • Verse 2 is irony; his companions were not as wise as they thought. Job pointed out that much of what they had said about God was common knowledge (cf. 5:9-10; 8:13-19; 11:7-9). Nonetheless their conclusion, that the basis of ...
  • "But it is just here, when everything is blackest, that his faith . . . like the rainbow in the cloud . . . shines with a marvelous splendor."89This short section contains probably the best known verses in the book (vv. 23-27...
  • Because the speech in this chapter is more soliloquy than dialogue some scholars have concluded that someone other than Job spoke it: Zophar, Bildad, or God. One writer argued for its being a speech by none of the characters,...
  • Elihu began by voicing his respect for Job's three friends (vv. 6-10). They were older than he, and for this reason he said he had refrained from speaking until now. However he had become convinced that advancing age does not...
  • Elihu focused next on God's activities in nature. There may be reference to autumn conditions in 36:27-33, winter in 37:1-13, and summer in 37:17-18.150Elihu's third "Behold"(36:26) draws attention to the infinite wisdom of G...
  • As Job's friends had done, God began to break Job down blow by verbal blow. Finally all his pride was gone. However where Job's friends had failed, God succeeded."The function of the questions needs to be properly understood....
  • Yahweh's purpose in directing Job's attention to such inexplicable animals on land (Behemoth) and in the water (Leviathan) seems to have been the same as His purpose in His first speech. He intended to humble Job by reminding...
  • Andersen, Francis I. Job. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series. Leicester, Eng. and Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1976.Archer, Gleason L., Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. Revised ed. Chicago: Moody...
  • 104:24-30 The psalmist broke out in praise to Yahweh for His wisdom in creating as He did. He also acknowledged that all God created belonged to Him. This even included the sea with all its hidden treasures. Leviathan probabl...
  • Agur began with three declarations. The subject of each is God.30:2-4 Behind this ironical section one can perhaps imagine Agur's sons claiming to be wiser than their father. Agur confessed his own limited understanding while...
  • Though his view of and awareness of God are very much behind what Agur said in the rest of this chapter, his counsel deals primarily with practical prudence from this point on.30:10 It is unwise to meddle in the domestic affa...
  • Leviathan was something very horrific (Job 3:8). It seems to have been a water beast either in reality or in myth (Job 41). The psalmist used it figuratively to describe Egypt, a powerful and deadly enemy of Israel (Ps. 104:2...
  • The writer now turned from reviewing the plight of the people to consider the greatness of their God."In 5:19-20 the writer carefully chose his words to summarize the teaching of the entire book by using the split alphabet to...
  • This doxology corresponds to the one at the end of chapter 8 where Paul concluded his exposition of God's plan for bringing His righteousness to humankind (8:31-39). There the emphasis was on the people of God. Here it is on ...
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