Job 40 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Job 40

40:1 And the LORD said to Job:

2 “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Job Promises Silence

3 Then Job answered the LORD and said:

4   “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
    I lay my hand on my mouth.
5   I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
    twice, but I will proceed no further.”

The Lord Challenges Job

6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

7   “Dress for action¹ like a man;
    I will question you, and you make it known to me.
8   Will you even put me in the wrong?
    Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
9   Have you an arm like God,
    and can you thunder with a voice like his?
10   “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
    clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
11   Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
    and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
12   Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
    and tread down the wicked where they stand.
13   Hide them all in the dust together;
    bind their faces in the world below.²
14   Then will I also acknowledge to you
    that your own right hand can save you.
15   “Behold, Behemoth,³
    which I made as I made you;
    he eats grass like an ox.
16   Behold, his strength in his loins,
    and his power in the muscles of his belly.
17   He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
    the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18   His bones are tubes of bronze,
    his limbs like bars of iron.
19   “He is the first of the works⁴ of God;
    let him who made him bring near his sword!
20   For the mountains yield food for him
    where all the wild beasts play.
21   Under the lotus plants he lies,
    in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.
22   For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
    the willows of the brook surround him.
23   Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
    he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
24   Can one take him by his eyes,⁵
    or pierce his nose with a snare?

Footnotes

[1] 40:7 Hebrew Gird up your loins
[2] 40:13 Hebrew in the hidden place
[3] 40:15 A large animal, exact identity unknown
[4] 40:19 Hebrew ways
[5] 40:24 Or in his sight

Commentary

v1-2: The Lord's challenge to Job; there had been no criticism, except in 38.2, but only a declaration of His greatness.

v3-5: Job sees his own unworthiness, and is silent; Gen 18.27; 32.10; Is 6.5; Luke 14.27.

v6-7: The storm continued, and the voice of God continued. There are more questions that Job cannot answer. The knowledge of God must humble us, and enable us to see ourselves in the right light.

v8-14: 'Are you like God? Have you the strength of God?' Job is compared to Almighty God - a powerful antidote to pride. Statement after statement declares that God is different from man; since we are human, we are unable to save or deliver ourselves.

v15-24: The behemoth (or elephant or hippopotamus); described as the most powerful land animal. The behemoth was made "along with you", a creature made by God, and totally subject to God. Job would know what God was speaking about, and would recognise that even an animal is greater than himself.