"Chapter 26 is one of the grandest recitals in the whole book. It is excelled only by the Lord's speeches, as is fitting. It sounds well in Job's mouth, and ends the dialogue, like the first movement of a symphony, with great crashing chords."105
Job began by rebuking Bildad's attitude (26:1-4). Sarcastically he charged Bildad with the same weakness and inability Bildad had attributed to all men (26:2-3). Bildad's words were not profound but quite superficial (26:4).
Next Job picked up the theme of God's greatness that Bildad had introduced (26:5-14). Some commentators have understood this pericope to be the words of Bildad or Zophar. However the lack of textual reference to either Bildad or Zophar, plus the content of the section that is more consistent with Job's words than theirs, makes this an unattractive hypothesis.106Job's beautiful description of God's omnipotence in these verses shows that he had a much larger concept of God than Bildad did (cf. 25:3, 5-6).
"Departed spirits"(26:5) is literally rephaimin Hebrew. The Rephaim, meaning giants, were both the mythical gods and human warlords of ancient Ugaritic (Canaanite) culture. They were the elite, and the Canaanites thought that those of them who had died were the most powerful and worthy of the dead.107Job said these trembled "under the waters"(i.e., in Sheol) because they are under God's authority. "Abaddon"is a poetic equivalent for Sheol (cf. 26:6; 28:23; 31:12; Ps. 88:11 margin; Prov. 15:11; 27:20). Job viewed the earth as sustained only by God (26:7). God bottles the rain in clouds, but they do not break (26:8). Probably the circle in view (26:11) is the horizon that appears as a boundary for the sun. The pillars of heaven (26:11) are doubtless the mountains that in one sense appear to hold up the sky. On "Rahab,"see my comments on 9:13. The "fleeing serpent"(26:13) is a synonym for Rahab.
"God's power over and knowledge of Sheol, His creation of outer space and the earth, His control of the clouds, His demarcating of the realms of light and darkness, His shaking of the mountains, His quelling of the sea, His destruction of alleged opposing deities--to call these accomplishments the bare outlines or fragmentary sketches of God's activities [26:14] gives an awareness of the vast immensity and incomprehensible infinity of God!"108
