Job 26:13

26:13 By his breath ¹  the skies became fair;

his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. ² 

Psalms 104:24

104:24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! ³ 

You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; ⁴ 

the earth is full of the living things you have made.

¹ tn Or “wind”; or perhaps “Spirit.” The same Hebrew word, רוּחַ (ruakh), may be translated as “wind,” “breath,” or “spirit/Spirit” depending on the context.

² sn Here too is a reference to pagan views indirectly. The fleeing serpent was a designation for Leviathan, whom the book will simply describe as an animal, but the pagans thought to be a monster of the deep. God’s power over nature is associated with defeat of pagan gods (see further W. F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan; idem, BASOR 53 [1941]: 39).

³ tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O Lord.” In this case the Lord’s “works” are the creatures he has made, as the preceding and following contexts make clear.

⁴ tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”