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Expanded Comments | Additional Comments |
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| 1 Then Yahweh responded to Job, out of a storm, and said:– |
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| 2 Who is it that darkeneth counsel, by words, without knowledge?
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Darkeneth ... by words – "Except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken?" (1 Cor. 14:9) R1481:4*
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| 3 Gird, I pray thee–like a strong man–thy loins, that I may ask thee, and inform thou me: |
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| 4 Where wast thou, when I founded the earth? Tell, if thou knowest understanding! |
The foundations – Illustrated by the rock on which the Great Pyramid is built. C318; R1813:5
Of the earth – "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Gen. 1:1) F17
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| 5 Who set the measurements thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched out over it a line? |
Laid the measures – The Great Pyramid abounds in significant measurements. C318
The line upon it – The perfection and exactness of the Great Pyramid show it was constructed by a master architect. C318
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| 6 Whereon were the pedestals thereof sunk? Or who laid the corner stone thereof;– |
The foundations – The socket stones (margin). R1813:5; C329
Fastened – Or, made to sink. The Great Pyramid has four corner socket-stones sunk into solid rock. C318
The corner stone – "The chief corner stone" (Eph. 2:20); The top stone; "The stone which the builders rejected" (Matt. 21:42); "He shall bring forth the head stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." (Zech. 4:7) C318, C329
A pyramid has five cornerstones, but the reference here is to one particular cornerstone, the top stone. It is a perfect pyramid in itself, to which the lines of the entire structure conform. C318
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| 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? |
The morning stars – Early bright ones. R1005:1
All the sons of God – The angelic sons, to whom he was the life-giver. F51; E105; R816:5, R1005:1, R2843:5, R5290:3
Shouted for joy – At the creation of this earth. R1005:1; F17, F18
In the dawn of earth's creative week of 49,000 years. F51
Their interest in the human race was manifested in singing over the works of creation. A220
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| 8 Or [who] shut in, with double doors, the sea, when, bursting out of the womb, it came forth; |
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| 9 When I put a cloud as the garment thereof, and a thick cloud as the swaddling-band thereof; |
Swaddlingband – Heavy rings enveloping the earth. F31, F23-26
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| 10 And brake off for it my boundary, and fixed a bar and double doors; |
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| 11 And said–Hitherto, shalt thou come, and no further,–and, here, shalt thou set a limit to the majesty of thy waves? |
But no further – For 6,000 years the Lord has been letting mankind learn their own lessons, except as their course of sin might interfere with the outworking of God's great plan. R5771:3
God's providence has often interfered in the past, but now we have apparently reached the time when the Lord is saying, "Let loose the winds of strife." R5825:4[R5825]
God can harness even every opposing element, animate or inanimate, and make them all work together for the accomplishment of his grand designs. R1560:2
That which would work no good, serve no purpose or teach no lesson, he restrains. A250
God has not given present rulers unlimited power, but only so far as it does not interfere with his plans--there it must stop. R799:1
Even the wrath of men and devils shall be controlled by God's providence and made to praise him; and the remainder, which would in any way thwart his ultimate purpose, he will restrain. R1778:4
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| 12 Since thy days [began] hast thou commanded the morning? or caused the dawn to know its place; |
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| 13 That it might lay hold of the wings of the earth, and the lawless be shaken out of it? |
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| 14 It transformeth itself like the clay of a seal, so that things stand forth like one arrayed; |
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| 15 That their light may be withdrawn from the lawless, and, the lofty arm, be shivered. |
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| 16 Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? Or, through the secret recesses of the resounding deep, hast thou wandered? |
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| 17 Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee? And, the gates of the death-shade, couldst thou descry? |
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| 18 Hast thou well considered, even the breadths of the earth? Tell–if thou knowest it all! |
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| 19 Where then is the way, the light shall abide? And, the darkness, where then is its place? |
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| 20 That thou mayest conduct it unto the bound thereof, and that thou mayest perceive the paths to its house. |
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| 21 Thou knowest, for, then, hadst thou been born! And, in number, thy days are many! |
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| 22 Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snow? And, the treasuries of the hail, couldst thou see? |
Hast thou – Verses 22 and 23 seem to be figurative language, not prophetic. R1762:4[R1762:4]
Hail – Stones of congellation, hail of frozen water. R3344:3*
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| 23 Which I have reserved for a time of distress, for the day of conflict and of war? |
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| 24 Where then is the way the lightning is parted? The east wind spreadeth itself abroad over the earth. |
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| 25 Who hath cloven–for the torrent–a channel? Or a way for the lightning of thunders; |
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| 26 To give rain over the no-man's land, the desert, where no son of earth is; |
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| 27 To satisfy the wild and the wilderness, to cause to spring forth the meadow of young grass? |
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| 28 Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew? |
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| 29 Out of whose womb, came forth the ice? And, the hoar-frost of the heavens, who hath given it birth? |
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| 30 Like a stone, are the waters congealed, and, the face of the roaring deep, becometh firm! |
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| 31 Canst thou bind the fetters of the Pleiades? Or, the bands of Orion, canst thou unloose? |
Canst thou bind – By their numberless multitude, orderly grouping, continual yet never conflicting movements, perfect harmony, magnitude and mutual benign influence, do the shining host of heaven declare the glory of God. R1391:1
The Lord desired to reassure Job of his superior power and grace. R1390:6, R3424:4
Of Pleiades – While the planets of our solar system revolve around our sun, there is a far mightier center around which countless millions of suns revolve, seemingly associated with the Pleiades, particularly with Alcyone, its central star--thus possibly representing the residence of Jehovah. R5710:2
The probable seat of divine empire. D653; C327; Q813:2
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Bind – Knit together, keep from separating and moving apart.
The sweet influences – The cluster (AV, RV, RVIC).
Of Pleiades – The Pleiades is special in this regard: As seen from earth most star groupings are an illusion, i.e., they are not really a grouping of stars moving together through space. The apparent grouping only works for one standing on the earth. The stars that make up the various constellations are actually hundreds and often thousands of light years apart, often moving in different directions. - Not so with the Pleiades. This is actually a genuine star group, one that is indeed bound together (in a cluster) by gravity and the laws of motion.
The above information does not change the thought that the Pleiades may very well be the symbol of God's throne.
Loose the bands of Orion – This is a most fascinating phrase which could not have been fully understood by the ancients, nor even by those living at the time of our Lord's return. It is only through modern science with the aid of the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes that astronomers have given us the information which lets us know just how remarkable is this statement which God uttered to Job over three thousand years ago.
First let us examine the the Hebrew word that is here translated 'bands.' According to professor Strong (#4189) it is: "Active participle feminine of H4900; something drawing, that is, (figuratively) a cord: - band." In other words it is a 'feminine chord.' This suggests (the only natural feminine chord we can think of), an umbilical chord.
This is most appropriate as it turns out that the Orion nebula is now being referred to by scientists as 'a stellar nursery,' the birthplace of new stars. |
| 32 Canst thou bring forth the signs of the Zodiac each in its season? Or, the Bear and her Young, canst thou lead? |
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| 33 Knowest thou, the statutes of the heavens? Or didst thou appoint his dominion over the earth? |
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| 34 Canst thou lift up, to the thick cloud, thy voice, and the overflow of waters cover thee? |
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| 35 Canst thou send forth the lightnings, so that they go, and say to thee, Behold us? |
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| 36 Who hath put–into cloud-forms–wisdom? Or who hath given–to the meteor–understanding? |
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| 37 Who can count the thin clouds, in wisdom? And, the bottles of the heavens, who can empty out; |
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| 38 When the dust is cast into a clod, and the lumps are bound together? |
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| 39 Wilt thou hunt–for the Lioness–prey? Or, the craving of the Strong Lion, wilt thou satisfy; |
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| 40 When they settle down in dens, abide in covert, for lying in wait? |
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| 41 Who prepareth for the Raven his nourishment,–when his young ones–unto GOD–cry out, [when] they wander for lack of food? |
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