Job 41:24

41:24 Its heart ¹  is hard as rock,

hard as a lower millstone.

Job 37:18

37:18 will you, with him, spread out ²  the clouds,

solid as a mirror of molten metal?

Job 38:38

38:38 when the dust hardens ³  into a mass,

and the clumps of earth stick together?

[41:24]  ¹ tn The description of his heart being “hard” means that he is cruel and fearless. The word for “hard” is the word encountered before for molten or cast metal.

[37:18]  ² tn The verb means “to beat out; to flatten,” and the analogy in the next line will use molten metal. From this verb is derived the word for the “firmament” in Gen 1:6-8, that canopy-like pressure area separating water above and water below.

[38:38]  ³ tn The word means “to flow” or “to cast” (as in casting metals). So the noun developed the sense of “hard,” as in cast metal.