PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Job
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 410,186 words · 582 reading sections
Job 37:4
Job 37:4 Ver. 4. After it a voice roareth,.... After the lightning comes a violent crack or clap of thunder, which is like the roaring of a lion. Such is the order of thunder and lightning, according to our sense and apprehension of them; otherwise in nature they are together: but the reasons given why the lightning i…
632 wordsSECTION 482Job 37:5
Job 37:5 Ver. 5. God thundereth marvellously with his voice,.... Or "marvels" {c}, or marvellous things, which may respect the marvellous effects of thunder and lightning: such as rending rocks and mountains; throwing down high and strong towers; shattering to pieces high and mighty oaks and cedars, and other such lik…
441 wordsSECTION 483Job 37:6
Job 37:6 Ver. 6. For he saith to the snow, be thou [on] the earth,.... In the original it is, be thou earth: hence one of the Rabbins formed a notion, that the earth was created from snow under the throne of glory, which is justly censured by Maimonides {f}; for there is a defect of the letter b, as in 2Ch 34:30; as A…
649 wordsSECTION 484Job 37:7
Job 37:7 Ver. 7. He sealeth up the hand of every man,.... That is, by deep snows and heavy rains being on the earth; where, as travellers are stopped in their journeys, and cannot proceed, so various artificers are hindered from their work, and husbandmen especially from their employment in the fields; so that their h…
304 wordsSECTION 485Job 37:8
Job 37:8 Ver. 8. Then the beasts go into dens,.... When snow and rains are on the earth in great abundance, then the wild beasts of the field, not being able to prowl about, betake themselves to dens; where they lie in wait, lurking for any prey that may pass by, from whence they spring and seize it; and remain in th…
180 wordsSECTION 486Job 37:9
Job 37:9 Ver. 9. Out of the south cometh the whirlwind,.... Or "from the chamber" {n}; from the chamber of the cloud, as Ben Gersom, from the inside of it; or from the treasury of God, who bringeth the wind out of his treasures; alluding to chambers where treasures are kept; or from the heavens, shut up and veiled aro…
245 wordsSECTION 487Job 37:10
Job 37:10 Ver. 10. By the breath of God frost is given,.... By the word of God, as the Targum; at his command it is, at his word it comes, and at his word it goes, Ps 147:15; or by his will, as Ben Gersom interprets it, when it is his pleasure it should be, it appears; it may be understood of a freezing wind from the …
282 wordsSECTION 488Job 37:11
Job 37:11 Ver. 11. Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud,.... By filling it with a multitude of water, it is as it were loaded and made weary with it; and especially by sending it about thus loaded from place to place before discharged, when it becomes as a weary traveller; and then by letting down the water in…
210 wordsSECTION 489Job 37:12
Job 37:12 Ver. 12. And it is turned round about by his counsels,.... The cloud is, and that by the wind, which is turned about to all points of the compass, according to the will of God; by the counsels of him who sits at the helm, as the word signifies, and orders all things according to the counsel of his own will: …
3,443 wordsSECTION 490Job 38:1
Job 38:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 38 In this chapter the Lord takes up the controversy with Job; calls upon him to prepare to engage with him in it, and demands an answer to posing questions he puts to him, concerning the earth and the fabric of it, Job 38:1; concerning the sea, compared to an infant in embryo, at its bir…
284 wordsSECTION 491Job 38:2
Job 38:2 Ver. 2. Who [is] this,.... Meaning not Elihu the last speaker, as some think; and there are some who suppose not only that these words are directed to him, but all that is said in this and the following chapter: but it was Job the Lord spoke to and answered, as expressed in Job 38:1; and these words are taken…
194 wordsSECTION 492Job 38:3
Job 38:3 Ver. 3. Gird up now thy loins like a man,.... Like a man of valour that girds on his harness for battle: Job is bid to prepare for the controversy the Lord was entering into with him; and bring forth his strong reasons and most powerful arguments in his own defence. The allusion is to the custom in the easter…
156 wordsSECTION 493Job 38:4
Job 38:4 Ver. 4. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?.... The earth has foundations, and such firm ones that it cannot be moved; but what are they, since it is hung in the air on nothing! No other than the power and will of God, who laid these foundations, and the Son of God, who has created and u…
192 wordsSECTION 494Job 38:5
Job 38:5 Ver. 5. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest?.... Did God or a creature? The Lord, no doubt. He laid them out in his divine mind, and laid them forth by his divine power; who does all things by weight and measure. He fixed the dimensions of the earth, how long, how thick, and how broad it shoul…
328 wordsSECTION 495Job 38:6
Job 38:6 Ver. 6. Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?.... Or the pillars of it, as Ben Gersom interprets it; see Ps 75:3; and which Aben Ezra understands of the mountains: but be they what they may, on what can they be fastened or sunk into, when the earth hangs on nothing, and there is nothing visible to s…
111 wordsSECTION 496Job 38:7
Job 38:7 Ver. 7. When the morning stars sang together,.... Either all the stars in a literal sense; for though, strictly speaking, there is but one morning star, yet all may be called so, because early created in the morning of the world; and are all stars of light, shine till the morning; and it is observed by some, …
449 wordsSECTION 497Job 38:8
Job 38:8 Ver. 8. Or [who] shut up the sea with doors,.... From the earth the transition is to the sea, according to the order of the creation; and this refers not to the state and case of the sea as at the flood, of which some interpret it, but as at its first creation; and it is throughout this account represented as…
306 wordsSECTION 498Job 38:9
Job 38:9 Ver. 9. When I made the cloud the garment thereof,.... For this newborn babe, the sea; and thick darkness a swaddling band for it; which was the case of the sea when it burst out of the bowels of the earth and covered it, for then darkness was upon the face of the deep, a dark, foggy, misty air, Ge 1:2; and …
236 wordsSECTION 499Job 38:10
Job 38:10 Ver. 10. And brake up for it my decreed [place],.... Or, as Mr. Broughton translates it, "and brake the earth for it by my decree": made a vast chasm in the earth to hold the waters of the sea, which was provided as a sort of cradle to put this swaddled infant in; God cleaved the earth, raised the hills and …
215 wordsSECTION 500Job 38:11
Job 38:11 Ver. 11. And said, hitherto shalt thou come, but no further,.... The waters of the sea shall spread themselves to such and such shores, and wash them, but go no further; its rolling tides shall go up so far in rivers that go out of it, and then return, keeping exactly to time and place; this is said by Jehov…
315 wordsSECTION 501Job 38:12
Job 38:12 Ver. 12. Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days;.... Job had lived to see many a morning, but it never was in his power to command one; he had been in such circumstances as to wish for morning light before it was, but was obliged to wait for it, could not hasten it, or cause it to spring before its t…
161 wordsSECTION 502Job 38:13
Job 38:13 Ver. 13. That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,.... As when the morning light springs forth, it quickly does, reaching in a short time the extreme part of the hemisphere; which, and what goes before, may be applied to the light of the Gospel, and the direction of that under divine Providence in th…
207 wordsSECTION 503Job 38:14
Job 38:14 Ver. 14. It is turned as clay [to] the seal,.... As the clay receives a different form by the impress of the seal upon it, so the earth appears in a different manner by the spring of morning light upon it; in the darkness of the night nothing of its form and beauty is to be seen; it is a mere "tohu" and "boh…
218 wordsSECTION 504Job 38:15
Job 38:15 Ver. 15. And from the wicked their light is withholden,.... Whose light is darkness, and whose day is the night, of which they are deprived when the morning light breaks forth; see Job 24:17; it may be figuratively understood of the light of prosperity being removed from them, or the light of life, when they…
114 wordsSECTION 505Job 38:16
Job 38:16 Ver. 16. Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?.... The subterraneous passages through which the waters flow into the sea and supply it; or the springs and fountains that rise up at the bottom of it {i}; and some tell us of springs of sweet water that rise there, even though the water at the bottom o…
6,110 wordsSECTION 506Job 39:1
Job 39:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 39 This chapter treats of various creatures, beasts and birds, which Job had little knowledge of, had no concern in the making of them, and scarcely any power over them; as of the goats and hinds, Job 39:1; of the wild ass, Job 39:5; of the unicorn, Job 39:9; of the peacock and ostrich, J…
316 wordsSECTION 507Job 39:2
Job 39:2 Ver. 2. Canst thou number the months [that] they fulfil?.... Which some understand both of wild goats and hinds. Common goats fulfil five months, they conceive in November, and bring forth in March, as Pliny {f} observes; but how many the wild goats of the rock fulfil is not said by him or any other I know of…
230 wordsSECTION 508Job 39:3
Job 39:3 Ver. 3. They bow themselves,.... That they may bring forth their young with greater ease and more safety: for it seems the hinds bring forth their young with great difficulty; and there are provisions in nature made to lessen it; as thunder, before observed, which causes them to bring forth the sooner; and th…
211 wordsSECTION 509Job 39:4
Job 39:4 Ver. 4. Their young ones are in good liking,.... Plump, fat, and sleek, as fawns are: they grow up with corn; by which they grow, or without in the field, as the word also signifies; and their growth and increase is very quick, as Aristotle observes {l}; they go forth, and return not unto them: they go fort…
96 wordsSECTION 510Job 39:5
Job 39:5 Ver. 5. Who hath sent out the wild ass free?.... Into the wide waste, where it is, ranges at pleasure, and is not under the restraint of any; a creature which, as it is naturally wild, is naturally averse to servitude, is desirous of liberty and maintains it: not but that it may be tamed, as Pliny {m} speaks …
224 wordsSECTION 511Job 39:6
Job 39:6 Ver. 6. Whose house I have made the wilderness,.... Appointed that to be his place of residence, as being agreeable to his nature, at a distance from men, and in the less danger of being brought into subjection by them. Such were the deserts of Arabia; where, as Xenophon {n} relates, were many of these creatu…
166 wordsSECTION 512Job 39:7
Job 39:7 Ver. 7. He scorneth the multitude of the city,.... Choosing rather to be alone in the wilderness and free than to be among a multitude of men in a city, and be a slave as the tame ass; or it despises and defies a multitude of men, that may come out of cities to take it, Leo Africanus says {r} it yields to non…
254 wordsSECTION 513Job 39:8
Job 39:8 Ver. 8. The range of the mountains [is] his pasture,.... It ranges about the mountains for food; it looks about for it, as the word signifies, and tries first one place and then another to get some, it having short commons there; and he searcheth after every green thing; herb or plant, be it what it will tha…
111 wordsSECTION 514Job 39:9
Job 39:9 Ver. 9. Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee,.... Whether there is or ever was such a creature, as described under the name of an unicorn, is a question: it is thought the accounts of it are for the most part fabulous; though Vartomannus {y} says he saw two at Mecca, which came from Ethiopia, the largest…
649 wordsSECTION 515Job 39:10
Job 39:10 Ver. 10. Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow?.... Put the yoke and harness upon him, and fasten it to the plough to draw it, that he may make furrows with it in the field, or plough up the ground as the tame ox does? thou canst not; or will he harrow the valleys after thee? draw the harr…
100 wordsSECTION 516Job 39:11
Job 39:11 Ver. 11. Wilt thou trust him, because his strength [is] great?.... No; tame oxen are employed because they are strong to labour, Ps 144:14; and they are to be trusted, in ploughing or treading out the corn, under direction, because they are manageable, and will attend to business with constancy; but the wild…
197 wordsSECTION 517Job 39:12
Job 39:12 Ver. 12. Wilt thou believe him that he will bring home thy seed?.... Draw in the cart, and bring home the ripe sheaves of corn, as the tame ox does? no; thou knowest him too well to believe he will bring it home in safety; and gather [it into] thy barn; to be trodden out, which used to be done by oxen in th…
108 wordsSECTION 518Job 39:13
Job 39:13 Ver. 13. [Gavest thou] the goodly wings unto the peacocks?.... Rather "ostriches", as the Vulgate Latin and Tigurine versions render it; some render it, "the wing of those that exult is joyful", so Montanus; that is, of the ostriches; who, in confidence of their wings, exult and glory over the horse and his …
478 wordsSECTION 519Job 39:14
Job 39:14 Ver. 14. Which leaveth her eggs in the earth,.... Lays them and leaves them there. Aelianus, agreeably to this, says {w}, that it builds a low nest in the ground, making a hollow in the sand with its feet; though he seems to be mistaken as to the number of its eggs, which he makes to be more than eighty; mor…
354 wordsSECTION 520Job 39:15
Job 39:15 Ver. 15. And forgetteth that the foot may crush them,.... The foot of the traveller, they being laid in the ground, where he may walk, or on the sand of the seashore, where he may tread and trample upon them unawares, and crush them to pieces; to prevent which this creature has no foresight; or that the wil…
112 wordsSECTION 521Job 39:16
Job 39:16 Ver. 16. She is hardened against her young ones, as though [they were] not hers,.... Hence said to be cruel, La 4:3; not against the young ones she hatches, for Aelianus {c} reports her as very tender of her young, and exposing herself to danger for the preservation of them; but being a very forgetful creatu…
182 wordsSECTION 522Job 39:17
Job 39:17 Ver. 17. Because God hath deprived her of wisdom,.... Or "made her to forget" {d} what she had; an instance of her forgetfulness is mentioned Job 39:15; and so Leo Africanus {e} says of it, that it is of a very short memory, and presently forgets the place where its eggs are laid; neither hath he imparted t…
316 wordsSECTION 523Job 39:18
Job 39:18 Ver. 18. What time she lifted up herself on high,.... It is sometimes eight foot high {l}; when alarmed with approaching danger she raises up herself, being sitting on the ground, and erects her wings for flight, or rather running; she scorneth the horse and his rider; being then, as Pliny {m} says, higher …
173 wordsSECTION 524Job 39:19
Job 39:19 Ver. 19. Hast thou given the horse strength?.... Not only to bear burdens and draw carriages, but for war; for it is the war horse that is here spoken of, as what follows shows, and his strength denotes; not strength of body only, but fortitude and courage; for which, as well as the other, the horse is emine…
292 wordsSECTION 525Job 39:20
Job 39:20 Ver. 20. Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper?.... Which is frightened at every noise, and at any approach of men; but not so the horse; or canst thou move him, or cause him to skip and jump, or rather leap like a grasshopper? that is, hast thou given, or canst thou give him the faculty of leaping ove…
152 wordsSECTION 526Job 39:21
Job 39:21 Ver. 21. He paweth in the valley,.... Where armies are usually pitched and set in battle army, and especially the cavalry, for which the valley is most convenient; and here the horse is impatient of engaging, cannot stand still, but rises up with his fore feet and paws and prances, and, as the word signifies…
2,045 wordsSECTION 527Job 40:1
Job 40:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 40 In this chapter Job is called upon to give in his answer, Job 40:1, which he does in the most humble manner, acknowledging his vileness and folly, Job 40:3; and then the Lord proceeds to give him further conviction of his superior justice and power, Job 40:6; and one thing he proposes …
172 wordsSECTION 528Job 40:2
Job 40:2 Ver. 2. Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct [him]?.... Is he capable of it? He ought to be that takes upon him to dispute with God, to object or reply to him; that brings a charge against him, enters the debate, and litigates a point with him; which Job wanted to do. But could he or any other …
377 wordsSECTION 529Job 40:3
Job 40:3 Ver. 3. Then Job answered the Lord,.... Finding that he was obliged to answer, he did, but with some reluctance: and said; as follows:…
27 wordsSECTION 530Job 40:4
Job 40:4 Ver. 4. Behold, I am vile,.... Or "light" {a}; which may have respect either to his words and arguments, which he thought had force in them, but now he saw they had none; or to his works and actions, the integrity of his life, and the uprightness of his ways, which he imagined were weighty and of great import…
332 wordsSECTION 531Job 40:5
Job 40:5 Ver. 5. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer,.... Some think this refers to what he had just now said of his vileness, he had owned that, and that was all he had to say, or would say, he would give no other answer; Jarchi says, some suppose he has respect to his words in Job 9:22; yea, twice; but I will…
145 wordsSECTION 532Job 40:6
Job 40:6 Ver. 6. Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind,.... Some think that the whirlwind ceased while the Lord spake the words in Job 40:2; which encouraged Job to make the answer he did; but others are of opinion that it continued, and now increased, and was more boisterous than before. The Targum cal…
193 wordsSECTION 533Job 40:7
Job 40:7 Ver. 7. Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and, declare thou unto me,.... And prepare to give an answer to what should be demanded of him. The same way of speaking is used in Job 38:3; See Gill on "Job 38:3".…
53 wordsSECTION 534Job 40:8
Job 40:8 Ver. 8. Wilt thou also disannul my judgment?.... The decrees and purposes of God concerning his dealings with men, particularly the afflictions of them, which are framed with the highest wisdom and reason, and according to the strictest justice, and can never be frustrated or made void; or the sentence of God…
325 wordsSECTION 535Job 40:9
Job 40:9 Ver. 9. Hast thou an arm like God?.... Such power as he has, which is infinite, almighty, and uncontrollable, and therefore there is no contending with him; as he has an arm on which good men may lean on and trust in, and by which they are supported, protected, and saved, so he has an arm to crush like a moth…
183 wordsSECTION 536Job 40:10
Job 40:10 Ver. 10. Deck thyself now [with] majesty and excellency,.... With excellent majesty, as I am decked and clothed, Ps 93:1; and array thyself with glory and beauty; appear in the most glorious and splendid manner thou canst, make the best figure thou art able, put on royal robes, and take thy seat and throne,…
114 wordsSECTION 537Job 40:11
Job 40:11 Ver. 11. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath,.... Work thyself up into a passion, at least seemingly; put on all the airs of a wrathful and enraged king on a throne of state, whose wrath is like the roaring of a lion, and as messengers of death; pour out menaces plentifully, threatening what thou wilt do; and …
150 wordsSECTION 538Job 40:12
Job 40:12 Ver. 12. Look on everyone [that is] proud, [and] bring him low,.... As the Lord often does; see Isa 2:11; this is the same as before; and tread down the wicked in their place; the same with the proud, for pride makes men wicked; it is a sin, and very odious in the sight of God, and is highly resented by him…
125 wordsSECTION 539Job 40:13
Job 40:13 Ver. 13. Hide them in the dust together,.... Either in the dust of death, that they may be seen no more in this world, in the same place and circumstances where they showed their pride and haughtiness; or in the dust of the grave, and let them have an inglorious burial, like that of malefactors thrown into s…
319 wordsSECTION 540Job 40:14
Job 40:14 Ver. 14. Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee. From all his enemies temporal and spiritual, and out of all evils and calamities whatsoever; and that he stood in no need of his help and assistance, yea, that he was a match for him, and might be allowed to contend with him…
215 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.