1 Kings 18:27-29

18:27 At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” ¹  18:28 So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, ²  mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood. ³  18:29 Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, ⁴  but there was no sound, no answer, and no response. ⁵ 

Job 8:5-6

8:5 But ⁶  if you will look ⁷  to God,

and make your supplication ⁸  to the Almighty,

8:6 if you become ⁹  pure ¹⁰  and upright, ¹¹ 

even now he will rouse himself ¹²  for you,

and will restore ¹³  your righteous abode. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 44:23-24

44:23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?

Wake up! ¹⁵  Do not reject us forever!

44:24 Why do you look the other way, ¹⁶ 

and ignore ¹⁷  the way we are oppressed and mistreated? ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 51:9-10

51:9 Wake up! Wake up!

Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! ¹⁹ 

Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!

Did you not smash ²⁰  the Proud One? ²¹ 

Did you not ²²  wound the sea monster? ²³ 

51:10 Did you not dry up the sea,

the waters of the great deep?

Did you not make ²⁴  a path through the depths of the sea,

so those delivered from bondage ²⁵  could cross over?

Matthew 8:25

8:25 So they came ²⁶  and woke him up saying, “Lord, save us! We are about to die!”

Luke 8:24

8:24 They ²⁷  came ²⁸  and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, ²⁹  we are about to die!” So ³⁰  he got up and rebuked ³¹  the wind and the raging waves; ³²  they died down, and it was calm.

[18:27]  ¹ sn Elijah’s sarcastic proposals would have been especially offensive and irritating to Baal’s prophets, for they believed Baal was imprisoned in the underworld as death’s captive during this time of drought. Elijah’s apparent ignorance of their theology is probably designed for dramatic effect; indeed the suggestion that Baal is away on a trip or deep in sleep comes precariously close to the truth as viewed by the prophets.

[18:28]  ² tn Or “as was their custom.”

[18:28]  ³ tn Heb “until blood poured out on them.”

[18:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “when noon passed they prophesied until the offering up of the offering.”

[18:29]  ⁵ tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta include the following words here: “When it was time to offer the sacrifice, Elijah the Tishbite spoke to the prophets of the abominations: ‘Stand aside for the time being, and I will offer my burnt offering.’ So they stood aside and departed.”

[8:5]  ⁶ tn “But” is supplied to show the contrast between this verse and the preceding line.

[8:5]  ⁷ tn The verb שִׁחַר (shikhar) means “to seek; to seek earnestly” (see 7:21). With the preposition אֶל (’el) the verb may carry the nuance of “to address; to have recourse to” (see E. Dhorme, Job, 114). The LXX connected it etymologically to “early” and read, “Be early in prayer to the Lord Almighty.”

[8:5]  ⁸ tn The verb תִּתְחַנָּן (titkhannan) means “to make supplication; to seek favor; to seek grace” (from חָנַן, khanan). Bildad is saying that there is only one way for Job to escape the same fate as his children – he must implore God’s mercy. Job’s speech had spoken about God’s seeking him and not finding him; but Bildad is speaking of the importance of Job’s seeking God.

[8:6]  ⁹ tn A verb form needs to be supplied here. Bildad is not saying to Job, “If you are pure [as you say you are].” Bildad is convinced that Job is a sinner. Therefore, “If you become pure” makes more sense here.

[8:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “innocent” (i.e., acquitted).

[8:6]  ¹¹ tn Many commentators delete this colon as a moralizing gloss on v. 5; but the phrase makes good sense, and simply serves as another condition. Besides, the expression is in the LXX.

[8:6]  ¹² tn The verb יָעִיר (ya’ir, “rouse, stir up”) is a strong anthropomorphism. The LXX has “he will answer your prayer” (which is probably only the LXX’s effort to avoid the anthropomorphism [D. J. A. Clines, Job (WBC), 198]). A reading of “watch over you” has been adopted because of parallel texts (see H. L. Ginsberg, “Two North Canaanite Letters from Ugarit,” BASOR 72 [1938]: 18-19; and H. N. Richardson, “A Ugaritic Letter of a King to His Mother,” JBL 66 [1947]: 321-24). Others suggest “his light will shine on you” or “he will bestow health on you.” But the idea of “awake” is common enough in the Bible to be retained here.

[8:6]  ¹³ tn The Piel of שָׁלַם (shalam) means “to make good; to repay; to restore something to its wholeness; to reestablish.” The best understanding here would be “restore [Job] to his place.” Some take the verb in the sense of “reward [Job himself] with a righteous habitation.”

[8:6]  ¹⁴ tn The construct נְוַת (nÿvat) is feminine; only the masculine occurs in Hebrew. But the meaning “abode of your righteousness” is clear enough. The righteousness of Job is pictured as inhabiting an estate, or it pictures the place where Job lives as a righteous man. A translation “rightful habitation” would mean “the habitation that you deserve” – if you are righteous.

[44:23]  ¹⁵ sn Wake up! See Ps 35:23.

[44:24]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Why do you hide your face?” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[44:24]  ¹⁷ tn Or “forget.”

[44:24]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “our oppression and our affliction.”

[51:9]  ¹⁹ tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.

[51:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text has ַהמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”

[51:9]  ²¹ tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).

[51:9]  ²² tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”

[51:9]  ²³ tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.

[51:10]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Are you not the one who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made…?”

[51:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the redeemed” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV “the ransomed.”

[8:25]  ²⁶ tn The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:24]  ²⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:24]  ²⁸ tn The participle προσελθόντες (proselqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:24]  ²⁹ tn The double vocative shows great emotion.

[8:24]  ³⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the connection to the preceding events.

[8:24]  ³¹ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[8:24]  ³² sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the wind and the raging waves he was making a statement about who he was.