Job 9:7

9:7 he who commands the sun and ¹  it does not shine ² 

and seals up ³  the stars;

Job 38:7

38:7 when the morning stars ⁴  sang ⁵  in chorus, ⁶ 

and all the sons of God ⁷  shouted for joy?

Job 3:9

3:9 Let its morning stars ⁸  be darkened;

let it wait ⁹  for daylight but find none, ¹⁰ 

nor let it see the first rays ¹¹  of dawn,

Job 22:12

22:12 “Is not God on high in heaven? ¹² 

And see ¹³  the lofty stars, ¹⁴  how high they are!

Job 25:5

25:5 If even the moon is not bright,

and the stars are not pure as far as he is concerned, ¹⁵ 

[9:7]  ¹ tn The form could also be subordinated, “that it shine not” (see further GKC 323 §109.g).

[9:7]  ² tn The verb זָרַח (zarakh) means “rise.” This is the ordinary word for the sunrise. But here it probably has the idea of “shine; glisten,” which is also attested in Hebrew and Aramaic.

[9:7]  ³ tn The verb חָתַם (khatam) with בְּעַד (bÿ’ad) before its complement, means “to seal; to wall up; to enclose.” This is a poetic way of saying that God prevents the stars from showing their light.

[38:7]  ⁴ sn The expression “morning stars” (Heb “stars of the morning”) is here placed in parallelism to the angels, “the sons of God.” It may refer to the angels under the imagery of the stars, or, as some prefer, it may poetically include all creation. There is a parallel also with the foundation of the temple which was accompanied by song (see Ezra 3:10,11). But then the account of the building of the original tabernacle was designed to mirror creation (see M. Fishbane, Biblical Text and Texture).

[38:7]  ⁵ tn The construction, an adverbial clause of time, uses רָנָן (ranan), which is often a ringing cry, an exultation. The parallelism with “shout for joy” shows this to be enthusiastic acclamation. The infinitive is then continued in the next colon with the vav (ו) consecutive preterite.

[38:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “together.” This is Dhorme’s suggestion for expressing how they sang together.

[38:7]  ⁷ tn See Job 1:6.

[3:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “the stars of its dawn.” The word נֶשֶׁף (neshef) can mean “twilight” or “dawn.” In this context the morning stars are in mind. Job wishes that the morning stars – that should announce the day – go out.

[3:9]  ⁸ tn The verb “wait, hope” has the idea of eager expectation and preparation. It is used elsewhere of waiting on the Lord with anticipation.

[3:9]  ⁹ tn The absolute state אַיִן (’ayin, “there is none”) is here used as a verbal predicate (see GKC 480 §152.k). The concise expression literally says “and none.”

[3:9]  ¹⁰ sn The expression is literally “the eyelids of the morning.” This means the very first rays of dawn (see also Job 41:18). There is some debate whether it refers to “eyelids” or “eyelashes” or “eyeballs.” If the latter, it would signify the flashing eyes of a person. See for the Ugaritic background H. L. Ginsberg, The Legend of King Keret (BASORSup), 39; see also J. M. Steadman, “‘Eyelids of Morn’: A Biblical Convention,” HTR 56 (1963): 159-67.

[22:12]  ¹⁰ tn This reading preserves the text as it is. The nouns “high” and “heavens” would then be taken as adverbial accusatives of place (see GKC 373-74 §118.g).

[22:12]  ¹¹ tn The parallel passage in Isa 40:26-27, as well as the context here, shows that the imperative is to be retained here. The LXX has “he sees.”

[22:12]  ¹² tn Heb “head of the stars.”

[25:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “not pure in his eyes.”