Job 40:14 Kommentar

Many humbling confounding questions God had put to Job, in the foregoing chapter; now, in this chapter, I. He demands an answer to them (Job 40:1, Job 40:2). II. Job submits in a humble silence (Job 40:3-5). III. God proceeds to reason with him, for his conviction, concerning the infinite distance and disproportion between him and God, showing that he was by no means an equal match for God. He challenges him (Job 40:6, Job 40:7) to vie with him, if he durst, for justice (Job 40:8), power (Job 40:9), majesty (Job 40:10), and dominion over the proud (Job 40:11-14), and he gives an instance of his power in one particular animal, here called "Behemoth," (Job 40:15-24).

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 to him, to humble the proud, if he could, and then he would own his own right hand could save him, Job 40:10; and observes to him another instance of his power in a creature called behemoth, which he had made, and gives a description of, Job 40:15.

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; but whereas he was not able to do the above things proposed to him, it could not be admitted that his own right hand could save him; and therefore ought quietly to submit to the sovereignty of God over him, and to all the dispensations of his providence, and be humbled under his mighty hand, since no hand but his could save him; as no man's right hand can save him from temporal evils and enemies, and much less from spiritual ones, or with an everlasting salvation; nor any works of righteousness done by him, only the arm of the Lord has wrought salvation, and his right hand only supports and saves. Two instances are given in this and the following chapter, the one of a land animal, the other of a sea animal, as is generally supposed; or it may be of amphibious ones, that live both on land and water. 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; but whereas he was not able to do the above things proposed to him, it could not be admitted that his own right hand could save him; and therefore ought quietly to submit to the sovereignty of God over him, and to all the dispensations of his providence, and be humbled under his mighty hand, since no hand but his could save him; as no man's right hand can save him from temporal evils and enemies, and much less from spiritual ones, or with an everlasting salvation; nor any works of righteousness done by him, only the arm of the Lord has wrought salvation, and his right hand only supports and saves. Two instances are given in this and the following chapter, the one of a land animal, the other of a sea animal, as is generally supposed; or it may be of amphibious ones, that live both on land and water. Job 40:15 job 40:15 job 40:15 job 40:15Behold, now behemoth,.... The word is plural, and signifies beasts, and may be used to denote the chiefest and largest of beasts, and therefore is commonly understood of the elephant; and certain it is that a single beast is described in the following account, and so the word is rendered, Psa 73:22; The word is here rendered by the Septuagint "beasts"; which is the word used by the Greeks (c) for elephants as "belluae", a word of the same signification, is by the Latins (d): and so the Sabines called an elephant "barrus", and the Indians "barro" (e), a "beast"; and it may be observed, that ivory is called "shenhabbim", Kg1 10:22; that is, "shenhabehim", "behem" or "behemoth" (f), the tooth of the beast: and it may be also observed, that Seneca (g) says, that the Nile produces beasts like the sea; meaning particularly the crocodile and hippopotamus. Bochart dissents from the commonly received opinion of the elephant being meant; and thinks the "hippopotamus", or river horse, is intended so called from its having a head like a horse; and is said to have a mane, and to neigh like one, and to bear some resemblance to it in its snout, eyes, ears, and back (h). And the reasons that celebrated author has given for this his opinion have prevailed on many learned men to follow him; and there are some things in the description of behemoth, as will be observed, which seem better to agree with the river horse than with the elephant. It is an amphibious creature, and sometimes lives upon the land, and sometimes in the water; and by various (i) writers is often called a beast and four footed one: which I made with thee; or as well as thee; it being equally the work of my hands, a creature as thou art: or made on the continent, as than art, so Aben Ezra; and made on the same day man was made; which those observe, who understand it of the elephant; or, which cometh nearest to thee, the elephant being, as Pliny (k) says, the nearest to man in sense; and no beast more prudent, as Cicero (l) affirms. But the above learned writer, who interprets it of the river horse, takes the meaning of this phrase to be; that it was a creature in Job's neighbourhood, an inhabitant of the river Nile in Egypt, to which Arabia joined, where Job lived; which is testified by many writers (m): and therefore it is thought more probable that a creature near at hand, and known should be instanced in, and not one that it may be was never seen nor known by Job. But both Diodorus Siculus (n) and Strabo (o) speak of herds of elephants in Arabia, and of that as abounding: with them; and of various places called from them, and the hunting of them, and even of men from eating them; he eateth grass as an one; which is true both of the elephant and of the river horse: that a land animal should eat grass is not so wonderful; but that a creature who lives in the water should come out of it and eat grass is very strange and worthy of admiration, it is observed: and that the river horse feeds in corn fields and on grass many writers (p) assure us; yea, in the river it feeds not on fishes, but on the roots of the water lily, which fishermen therefore use to bait their hooks with to take it. Nor is it unlike an ox in its shape, and in some parts of its body: hence the Italians call it "bomaris", the "sea ox"; but it is double the size of an ox (q). Olaus Magnus (r) speaks of a sea horse, found between Britain and Norway; which has the head of a horse, and neighs like one; has cloven feet with hoofs like a cow; and seeks its food both in the sea and on the land, and grows to the bigness of an ox, and has a forked tail like a fish. (See Definition for 0930. Editor) (c) Suidas in voce Plutarch in Eumenc. (d) Terent. Eunuch. Act. 3. Sc. 1. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 3. (e) Isidor. Origin. l. 12, c. 2. Vid. Horat. Epod. 12. v. 1. (f) Hiller. Oaomastic, Sacr. p. 434. (g) Nat. Quaest. l. 4. c. 2. (h) Vid. lsidor. Origin. l. 12. c. 6. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 25. Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 7. (i) Herodot. Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 71. Plin. ib. Ammian, Marcellin. l. 22. Leo African. Descript. African, l. 9. p. 758. (k) Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 1. (l) De Natur. Deor. l. 1. (m) Solin. Polyhist. c. 45. Aelian. de Animal. l. 5. c. 53. Philo de Praemiis, p. 924. Plin. Afric. ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 1.) (n) Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 136. & l. 3. p. 173, 174, 175. (o) Geograph. l. 16. p. 531, 533. (p) Diodor. Sic. l. 1. p. 31. Aelian. Plin. Solin. Ammian. ut supra. (q) Ludolf. Ethiop. Hist. l. 1. c. 11. (r) De Ritu Septent. Gent. l. 21. c. 26.

These words are not spoken with an offended mind but with zealous affection, so that they may be useful in consoling and instructing him and that he may understand that to perform such a great judgment is beyond human strength. “Then I will also acknowledge you that your own right hand can give you victory.” If you could play the role of such a judge, as I described it in my speech, evidently you would not need any further help.

And I will confess that thy right hand can save thee. 14. As if He were openly saying, If thou art able to do these terrible things, which I Myself have displayed, I attribute to thee, and not to Myself, all the good things thou hast done. But if thou canst not destroy others, that sin, by a look, it is plain that thou canst not set thyself free from the guilt of wickedness, by thy own power. Behold! it is said by the Divine voice to blessed Job, that he is not saved by his own right hand, and yet certain men, who are far from the strength of this man, despising the assistance of God, trust that they can be saved by their own strength. And for these what else ought we to pray, except that, if they have already received the gifts of good works, they may receive also this gift, to know from Whom they have received them? But since the Lord in the preceding words mentioned the greatness of His power, He now in what follows points out the wickedness of the ancient enemy: in order that the good servant, having first heard of the virtues of the Lord, might know how much to love, and having known afterwards the craft of the devil, might learn how much to fear. Whence it is well said by the Prophet, The lion will roar, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who will not prophesy? [Amos 3, 8] For after the power of his Creator has been made known to him, the strength of his adversary ought not to be concealed from him, in order that he might submit himself the more humbly to his defender, the more accurately he had learned the wickedness of his enemy, and might more ardently seek his Creator, the more terrible he found the enemy to be, whom he had to avoid. For it is certain that he who less understands the danger he has escaped, loves his deliverer less; and that he who considers the strength of his adversary to be feeble, regards the solace of his defender as worthless. Whence the Prophet rightly said, ascribing his deliverance to the Lord; I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength, [Ps. 18, 1] plainly saying, that is, I love Thee the more, the more, feeling my own infirmity, I acknowledge Thee to be my strength. Hence he says again, Make Thy loving-kindness marvellous, O Thou that savest them that trust in Thee: [Ps. 17, 7] because the loving-kindnesses of the Lord doubtless then become wonderful to us who are delivered, when, by the same loving-kindnesses, it is found how grievous were the perils we have escaped. 15. And because the Lord, in the preceding part of His speech, disclosed to blessed Job the marvellous works of subsequent Saints, that he might learn, on hearing them, how humbly he ought to think of the height of his own virtues; it is now shewn him with what enemy he is waging war, and his strength and his crafts are more accurately pointed out, in order that he who has been led to converse with his Maker, may know plainly the arguments of the adversary. For in the words which follow, the Lord makes known to His faithful servant all the machinations of the crafty enemy, all wherein he seizes by oppressing, all wherein he flies around with insidiousness, all wherein he frightens by threatening; all wherein he allures by persuasion, all wherein he crushes by desperation, all wherein he deceives by promising. He commences therefore all his contests of craftiness, saying;

The Lord had treated these things first as to his own proper works. It is proper to him also to not need anyone else's help, something which does not befit man as he cannot do these works, and so he says, "And I will admit that your right hand can save you," as if to say: If you can do these works just mentioned which are proper to God alone, you can reasonably attribute to yourself that you do not need divine help to be saved. But as you cannot do the former, so neither can you do the latter. Thus you ought not to glorify yourself in your own justice.

Job humbles himself before the Lord, Job 40:1-5. And God again challenges him by a display of his power and judgments, Job 40:6-14. A description of behemoth, Job 40:15-24.

Thine own right hand can save thee - It is the prerogative of God alone to save the human soul. Nothing less than unlimited power, exerted under the direction and impulse of unbounded mercy, can save a sinner. This is most clearly asserted in this speech of Jehovah: When thou canst extend an arm like God, i.e., an uncontrollable power - when thou canst arm thyself with the lightning of heaven, and thunder with a voice like God - when thou canst deck thyself with the ineffable glory, beauty, and splendor of the supreme majesty of Jehovah - when thou canst dispense thy judgments over all the earth, to abase the proud, and tread down the wicked - when thou canst as having the keys of hell and death, blend the high and the low in the dust together; then I will acknowledge to thee that thy own right hand can save thee. In other words: Salvation belongeth unto the Lord; no man can save his own soul by works of righteousness which he has done, is doing, or can possibly do, to all eternity. Without Jesus every human spirit must have perished everlastingly. Glory be to God for his unspeakable gift!

GOD'S SECOND ADDRESS. (Job 40:1-24) the Lord--Hebrew, "JEHOVAH."

confess--rather, "extol"; "I also," who now censure thee. But since thou canst not do these works, thou must, instead of censuring, extol My government. thine own . . . hand . . . save-- (Psa 44:3). So as to eternal salvation by Jesus Christ (Isa 59:16; Isa 63:5).