Job 26:5

A Better Description of God’s Greatness ¹ 

26:5 “The dead ²  tremble ³  –

those beneath the waters

and all that live in them. ⁴ 

Job 27:20

27:20 Terrors overwhelm him like a flood; ⁵ 

at night a whirlwind carries him off.

Job 28:25

28:25 When he made ⁶  the force of the wind

and measured ⁷  the waters with a gauge.

Job 34:7

34:7 What man is like Job,

who ⁸  drinks derision ⁹  like water!

Job 38:30

38:30 when the waters become hard ¹⁰  like stone,

when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?

Job 38:34

38:34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds

so that a flood of water covers you? ¹¹ 

[26:5]  ¹ sn This is the section, Job 26:5-14, that many conclude makes better sense coming from the friend. But if it is attributed to Job, then he is showing he can surpass them in his treatise of the greatness of God.

[26:5]  ² tn The text has הָרְפָאִים (harÿfa’im, “the shades”), referring to the “dead,” or the elite among the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14; Ps 88:10 [11]). For further discussion, start with A. R. Johnson, The Vitality of the Individual, 88ff.

[26:5]  ³ tn The verb is a Polal from חִיל (khil) which means “to tremble.” It shows that even these spirits cannot escape the terror.

[26:5]  ⁴ tc Most commentators wish to lengthen the verse and make it more parallel, but nothing is gained by doing this.

[27:20]  ⁵ tn Many commentators want a word parallel to “in the night.” And so we are offered בַּיּוֹם (bayyom, “in the day”) for כַמַּיִם (khammayim, “like waters”) as well as a number of others. But “waters” sometimes stand for major calamities, and so may be retained here. Besides, not all parallel structures are synonymous.

[28:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “he gave weight to the wind.” The form is the infinitive construct with the ל (lamed) preposition. Some have emended it to change the preposition to the temporal בּ (bet) on the basis of some of the versions (e.g., Latin and Syriac) that have “who made.” This is workable, for the infinitive would then take on the finite tense of the previous verbs. An infinitive of purpose does not work well, for that would be saying God looked everywhere in order to give wind its proper weight (see R. Gordis, Job, 310).

[28:25]  ¹⁰ tn The verb is the Piel perfect, meaning “to estimate the measure” of something. In the verse, the perfect verb continues the function of the infinitive preceding it, as if it had a ו (vav) prefixed to it. Whatever usage that infinitive had, this verb is to continue it (see GKC 352 §114.r).

[34:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “he drinks,” but coming after the question this clause may be subordinated.

[34:7]  ¹⁴ tn The scorn or derision mentioned here is not against Job, but against God. Job scorns God so much, he must love it. So to reflect this idea, Gordis has translated it “blasphemy” (cf. NAB).

[38:30]  ¹⁷ tn Several suggest that the verb is not from חָבָא (khava’, “to hide”) but from a homonym, “to congeal.” This may be too difficult to support, however.

[38:34]  ²¹ tc The LXX has “answer you,” and some editors have adopted this. However, the reading of the MT makes better sense in the verse.