Job 9:9

9:9 he makes the Bear, ¹  Orion, ²  and the Pleiades, ³ 

and the constellations of the southern sky; ⁴ 

Job 25:2

25:2 “Dominion ⁵  and awesome might ⁶  belong to ⁷  God;

he establishes peace in his heights. ⁸ 

Job 27:18

27:18 The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon, ⁹ 

like a hut ¹⁰  that a watchman has made.

[9:9]  ¹ sn The Hebrew has עָשׁ (’ash), although in 38:32 it is עַיִשׁ (’ayish). This has been suggested to be Aldebaran, a star in the constellation Taurus, but there have been many other suggestions put forward by the commentaries.

[9:9]  ² sn There is more certainty for the understanding of this word as Orion, even though there is some overlap of the usage of the words in the Bible. In classical literature we have the same stereotypical reference to these three (see E. Dhorme, Job, 131).

[9:9]  ³ sn The identification of this as the Pleiades is accepted by most (the Vulgate has “Hyades”). In classical Greek mythology, the seven Pleiades were seven sisters of the Hyades who were pursued by Orion until they were changed into stars by Zeus. The Greek myth is probably derived from an older Semitic myth.

[9:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the chambers of the south.”

[25:2]  ⁵ tn The word הַמְשֵׁל (hamshel) is a Hiphil infinitive absolute used as a noun. It describes the rulership or dominion that God has, that which gives power and authority.

[25:2]  ⁶ tn The word פָּחַד (pakhad) literally means “fear; dread,” but in the sense of what causes the fear or the dread.

[25:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “[are] with him.”

[25:2]  ⁸ sn The line says that God “makes peace in his heights.” The “heights” are usually interpreted to mean the highest heaven. There may be a reference here to combat in the spiritual world between angels and Satan. The context will show that God has a heavenly host at his disposal, and nothing in heaven or on earth can shatter his peace. “Peace” here could also signify the whole order he establishes.

[27:18]  ⁹ tn Heb כָעָשׁ (kha’ash, “like a moth”), but this leaves room for clarification. Some commentators wanted to change it to “bird’s nest” or just “nest” (cf. NRSV) to make the parallelism; see Job 4:14. But the word is not found. The LXX has a double expression, “as moths, as a spider.” So several take it as the spider’s web, which is certainly unsubstantial (cf. NAB, NASB, NLT; see Job 8:14).

[27:18]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew word is the word for “booth,” as in the Feast of Booths. The word describes something that is flimsy; it is not substantial at all.