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النشر الإلكتروني

b. Respecting the inaccessible depths and heights below and above the earth, and the forces proceeding from

them. VERS. 16-27.

16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?

or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? 17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? 18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

19 Where is the way where light dwelleth?

and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

20 that thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,

and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? 21 Knowest thou it because thou wast then born?

or because the number of thy days is great?

22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

23 which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

24 By what way is the light parted,

which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

25 Who hath divided a water course for the overflowing of waters,

or a way for the lightning of thunder;

26 to cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is;

on the wilderness, wherein there is no man ;

27 to satisfy the desolate and waste ground;

and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

c. Respecting the phenomena of the atmosphere, and the wonders of the starry heavens.

28 Hath the rain a father?

VERS. 28-38.

or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

29 Out of whose womb came the ice?

and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

30 The waters are hid as with a stone,

and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades,
or loose the bands of Orion?

32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season?
or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven?

canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth

34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go,
and say unto thee, Here we are?

36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?
or who hath given understanding to the heart?

37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom?
or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
38 when the dust groweth into hardness,
and the clods cleave fast together?

d. Respecting the preservation and propagation of wild animals, especially of the lion, raven, wild goat, oryx, ostrich, war-horse, hawk, and eagle.

CHAP. XXXVIII. 39-XXXIX. 30.

39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion?

or fill the appetite of the young lions,

40 when they couch in their dens,

and abide in the covert to lie in wait? 41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.

CHAP. XXXIX.

1

Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?

2 Canst thou number the months that they fulfil ?

or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?

3 They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows.

4 Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them.

5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free?

or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? 6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.

7 He scorneth the multitude of the city,

neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. 8 The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.

9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?

10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow?

or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

11 Wilt thou trust him because his strength is great?

or wilt thou leave thy labor to him?

12 Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?

13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks?

or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?

14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth,

and warmeth them in the dust,

15 and forgetteth that the foot may crush them,

or that the wild beast may break them.

16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labor is in vain without fear;

17 because God hath deprived her of wisdom,

neither hath He imparted unto her understanding.

18 What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.

19 Hast thou given the horse strength?

hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? 20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.

21 He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength:

he goeth on to meet the armed men.

22 He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted;

neither turneth he back from the sword.

23 The quiver rattleth against him,

the glittering spear and the shield.

24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage;
neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.

25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha!

and he smelleth the battle afar off,

the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

26 Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom,

and stretch her wings toward the south?

27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy command,

and make her nest on high?

28 She dwelleth and abideth on the rock,

upon the crag of the rock and the strong place.

29 From thence she seeketh the prey,

and her eyes behold afar off.

30 Her young ones also suck up blood;

and where the slain are, there is she.

3. Conclusion of the discourse, together with Job's answer, announcing his humble submission.

CHAP. XL.

1

CHAPTER XL. 1-5.

And Jehovah answered Job, and said,

2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him?

he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

3 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,

4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee?
I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
5 Once have I spoken, but I will not answer:
yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL.

It testifies against him by means of the deep
humiliation which the majesty of the Almighty
occasions to him, by means of the consciousness
1. The appearance of God, which Job had again wrought within him of his own insignificance
and again expressly wished for, a wish which and limitation in contrast with this fulness of
recurs in ch. xxiii. 3 seq., and especially towards power and wisdom, and by means of the princi-
the end of his last discourse (ch. xxxi. 35), and for ple which in this very way is brought forth into
which Elihu's preaching of doctrine and of repent- full expression, and which is expressly acknow-
ance had prepared the way-this appearance now ledged by him at the close of this first address
takes place during that storm, of fearful beauty, of Jehovah-the principle, namely, that from
which had supplied the last of Elihu's discourses henceforth he must lay aside entirely all con-
with the material for its impressive descriptions demnation of God's ways, and be willing to sub-
of the greatness of God in His works. This mit himself in absolute humility to His decree.
Divine manifestation, which is not to be under--Again the rich illustration, elaborated in the
stood as taking place corporeally in a human
form; see on ch. xxxviii. 1-corresponds more-
over to the preparatory representations proceed-
ing from Elihu in this respect, that like those
representations it bears testimony at the same
time in behalf of Job and against him. It testi-
fies for Job in that it brings about the actual
realization of the ardent longing which he had
so often uttered, and in that it is not accompa-
nied by that terrifying and crushing effect on
the bold challenger which he himself had several
times dreaded as possible (ch. ix. 34; xiii. 21;
xxiii. 6), and had on that account deprecated.

most elevated style of poetic discourse, which in
this first address God gives of His all-transcend-
ing majesty in contrast with man's insignificance
(chs. xxxviii. 4-xxxix. 30) is also such as tes-
tifies at once for and against Job, and thus con-
tinues with increased emphasis the strain already
begun by Elihu (especially in his fourth dis-
course). On the one side it serves to confirm
the previous descriptions given by Job himself
of God's greatness, wonderful power, and pleni-
tude of wisdom; on the other side it transcends
the same in the incomparably more elevated and
impressive power of its representation, under

the influence of which the last remainder of insolent pride still adhering to Job must of necessity dissolve and disappear. The discourse forms one well-conceived, harmoniously constructed whole, consisting of two principal divisions of almost equal length, of which the first (ch. xxxviii. 4-38) refers to the creation and to inanimate nature, the second (chs. xxxviii. 39; xxxix. 30) to the animal kingdom, as sources of evidence proving the divine majesty. It is not necessary to resolve these two divisions into two separate discourses, as is done by Köster and Schlottmann, the former of whom even deems it necessary to resort to the violent operation of transposing the conclusion in ch. xl. 1-5, and putting it after ch. xxxviii. 36.-Each of these divisions may be subdivided into three strophegroups, or long strophes, consisting of 11-12 verses each, which may again be subdivided, according to the subjects described, into subordinate strophes or paragraphs, now longer and now shorter. Of these simple, short strophes the three long strophes of the first principal division (a, b and c) contain respectively three to four, whereas the last two long strophes, at least of the second chief division, which dwell on themes derived from the animal world, consist of but two short strophes respectively.

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also here a similar presence and self-manifesta-
tion of the Highest is intended, taking place
under the veil of those mighty phenomena of
nature; hence only a symbolical, not a corporeal
appearance of God. For this reason we may
with some propriety describe the solution of the
whole problem of our poem which is introduced
by this divine appearance as "a solution in the
consciousness" (Delitzsch). In any case the the-
ophany which effects it is to be conceived of as
one in which God "drew near to the earth
veiled, perceptible indeed to the ear, and in His
shining veil visible to the eye, but nevertheless
veiled, and not presenting a bodily appearance"
(Ewald). [In accordance with the explanation
given above of ch. xxxvii. 21, 22, the yout
of which Jehovah speaks is not to be limited to
the storm while raging, but refers rather to
"the dark materials of the storm now pacified,"
the mountainous cloud-masses in the north,
which having spent their thunder, were now
looming up in "terrible majesty," while their
open rifts disclosed the golden irradiation of the
sunlight, a scene we may suppose not unlike
that described by Wordsworth near the close of
the Second Book of the Excursion. Such a
scene, just preceded as it had been by the awe-
inspiring phenomena of the storm at its height
would fitly usher in the Divine Presence, from
which the words which are to end the contro-
versy are about to proceed.-E.]

2. The Introduction: ch. xxxviii. 1–3.—Then Jehovah answered Job out of the storm. -The "answering" or "replying" refers back to Job's repeated challenges, and especially to Ver. 2. Who is this that darkens counthe last, found in ch. xxxi. 35: Let the sel: lit. "who is this, who is here (, Almighty answer me!"-non (here, as comp. Gesenius, 122 [? 120], 2) darkening also in ch. xl. 6 with medial ; comp. Ewald, & counsel ?" without the article (instead of 9, 11, c [Green, 4, a]; which the K'ri in both, or instead of 'ny) is used intentionally cases sets aside) "out of the storm (thunder- in order to describe that which is darkened by storm);" not (as Luther translates) "out of a Job qualitatively, as something "which is a storm." It is beyond question an unsatisfac-counsel (or a plan)," as opposed to a whim, or tory explanation of the definite article to say a cruel caprice, such as Job had represented that as applied to D it means that storm God's dealings with him as being. which "always, or as a rule, is wont to announce things are implied in what is here said to Job: ["Two and to accompany the appearance of God, when- that his suffering is founded on a plan of God's, ever He draws nigh to the earth in majesty and and that he by his perverse speeches is guilty in the character of a judge" (Dillmann). In of distorting and mistaking this plan (in repreview of the way in which the most ancient Old senting it as caprice without a plan)." Dillm. Testament sources describe the theophanies of Job's ignorant words had "darkened" God's plan the patriarchal age in general, this generic ren- by obscuring or keeping out of sight its intelligent dering of the article is not at all suitable (comp. benevolent features]. The participle one is also 1 Kings xix. 11: "the Lord was not in the wind"). The only explanation of the used rather than the Perf., because down to the very end of his speaking Job had misunderstood he had recalled nothing of what he had said in God's counsel, and even during Elihu's discourses this particular. For to the instruction and reproofs of this last speaker he had made no other response than persistent profound silence. He when Jehovah himself began to speak as still a actually appeared accordingly at the moment. be that his conversion to a better frame of mind "darkener of counsel," however true it might had already begun inwardly to take place under the influence of the addresses of his predecessor. This participle T accordingly furnishes no argument against the genuineness of chap. xxxii. xxxvii. (against Ewald, Delitzsch, Dillmann, etc.): and all the less seeing that a direct inter ruption of Job at the moment when he had last spoken contentiously and censoriously in respect

here, as well as in ch. xl. 6, which is linguistically and historically satisfactory, is that which finds in it a reference to Elihu's description of a violent thunder-storm in his last discourse (ch. xxxvi. 37)—a reference which at the same time confirms not only our interpretation of this discourse given above, but also its genuineness, and the authenticity of Elihu's discourses in general. Placing ourselves (along with the commentators cited above on ch. xxxvi.) on this, the only correct point of view, we see at once the impossibility of viewing "God's speaking out of the storm" as taking place through a corporeal appearance of Jehovah in human form. On the contrary, precisely in the same way that Elihu's description pre-supposed only an invisible approach and manifestation of God in the storm-clouds, in their thunder and lightning, so

ner-stone?" where the "laying down" (17), jacere) of the corner-stone points to the wonderful ease with which the entire work was accomplished.

to God's plan (ch. xxxi. 35 seq.) by the appearance of God cannot be intended even if these chapters were in fact not genuine (comp. remarks on that passage). And especially would the assumption that the interpolator of the Elihu Ver. 7. When the morning-stars sang discourses had been prompted by this expres-out together, and all the sons of God sion, , purposely to avoid introducing shouted for joy.-The Infinitive is conJob within the limits of that section as making tinued in 6 by the finite verb, as in ver. 13, and any confession whatever of his penitence, pre- often. The whole description determines the suppose on the part of the interpolator a degree time of the fact of the founding of the earth of artistic deliberation, nay more, of crafty cun- (karaẞoλǹ) kóσμov) spoken of in ver. 6. The ning absolutely without a parallel in the entire founding is here set forth as a festal celebration Bible literature. (comp. Ezra iii. 10; Zech. iv. 7) attended by all the heavenly hosts, which are here mentioned by the double designation "sons of God" (comp. ch. i. 6; ii. 1) and "morning stars, i. e., creatures of such glory, that they surpass all other creatures of God in the same way that the brightness of the morning-star (p =

Ver. 3. Gird up now thy loins like a man-i. e., in preparation for the contest with me (comp. ch. xii. 21). According to b this contest is to consist in a series of questions to be addressed by God to Job and to be answered by the latter; hence formally or apparently in the very thing which Job himself had in ch. xiii. 22, Is. xiv. 12, Lucifer) eclipses all the other wished for; in reality however God so overwhelms him by the humiliating contents of these questions that the absolute inequality of the contending parties and Job's guilt become apparent

at once.

3. The argument. a. God's questions respecting the process of creation: vers. 4-15. [This division consists of three minor strophes of four verses each, the fourth verse in each forming, as Schlottmann observes, a climax in the thought]. a. Questions touching the foundation of the

earth: vers. 4-7.

Ver. 4. Where wast thou when I founded the earth? (A question similar to that of Eliphaz above: ch. xv. 7 seq.). Declare it if thou hast understanding-to wit, of the way in which this process was carried on. This same How of the process of founding the earth is also the unexpressed object of declare!" In respect to "to have an understanding of anything," comp. Is. xxix. 24; Prov. iv. 1; 2 Chron. ii. 12.

"

Ver. 5. Who hath fixed its measure that thou shouldest know it?-y, not: "for thou surely knowest it" (Schlottmann) [Good, Lee, Barnes, Carey, Renan, Elzas], but "so that thou shouldest know it" (as in ch. iii. 12). [Dillmann objects to the rendering, "for thou knowest," that the verb should be in

ז־:

that case ; an objection which may also be urged against the rendering of E. V., Sept., Vulg., Umbreit, Rosenmüller, Bernard, "if thou knowest." Compare TDN in ver. 4 b.]. "The inquires not after the person of the Architect, the same being sufficiently known, but rather after His character, and that of His activity-what kind of a being must He be who could fix the earth's measure like that of a building?" (Dillmann).

stars. As another example of this generic generalized form of expression here found, in the word "morning-stars," compare the DD of Is. xiii. 10, i. e., the Orion-like constellations. The expression "morning-stars" moreover is scarcely to be understood as a tropical designation of that which is literally designated by the expression "sons of God," that is to say, the angels (Hirzel, Dillmann [Carey, Wemyss, Barnes] etc.). Rather are the angels and stars mentioned together here in precisely the same way that in chap. xv. 15 "heaven" and "the holy ones" of God are mentioned together, this being in accordance with the mysterious connection which the Holy Scriptures generally set forth as existing between the starry and angelic worlds (comp. also on ch. xxv. 5). Such a representation of the brightly shining and joyously "jubilating" stars (comp. Ps. xix. 2; cxlviii. 3) as present when the earth was founded by God by no means contradicts the Mosaic account of creation in Gen. i. where verse 14 (according to which the sun, moon and stars were not made until the fourth day) is assuredly to be interpreted phenomenally, not as descriptive of the literal fact.

B. Questions respecting the shutting up of the sea within bounds: vers. 8-11.

Ver. 8. And (who) shut up the sea with

doors?-, which is attached to in

ver. 6, is used with reference to the waters of the wildly swelling and raging had in consequence sea in the newly-created earth, which at first to be enclosed, penned up, as it were, behind the doors (comp. ch. iii. 23) of a prison (comp. Gen. i. 2, 9 seq.). The second member introduces a clause determining the time of the first which continues to the end of ver. 11.-When it burst forth, came out from the wombi. e., out of the interior of the earth (comp. ver. Ver. 6. Whereon were its pillars sunken 16). The verb ', which is used in Ps. xxii. 10 ―i. e., on what kind of a foundation? D'IN [9] of the bursting forth of the foetus out of the lit. "pedestals," comp. Ex. xxvi. 19 seq.; Can- womb, is explained by the less bold word NY' ticles v. 15. The meaning of the question is of (which follows the Infinitive in the same way as course that already indicated in ch. ix. 6, and the finite verb above in ver. 7). The represen xxvi. 7, according to which passages the earth tation of the earth as the womb, out of which hangs free in space. The question in b refers the waters of the sea barst forth, seems to conto the same thing: "or who laid down her cor-tradict the modern geological theory, which on

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