Giobbe 41:7 Commento

The description here given of the leviathan, a very large, strong, formidable fish, or water-animal, is designed yet further to convince Job of his own impotency, and of God's omnipotence, that he might be humbled for his folly in making so bold with him as he had done. I. To convince Job of his own weakness he is here challenged to subdue and tame this leviathan if he can, and make himself master of him (Job 41:1-9), and, since he cannot do this, he must own himself utterly unable to stand before the great God (Job 41:10). II. To convince Job of God's power and terrible majesty several particular instances are here given of the strength and terror of the leviathan, which is no more than what God has given him, nor more than he has under his check, (Job 41:11, Job 41:12). The face of the leviathan is here described to be terrible (Job 41:12, Job 41:14), his scales close (Job 41:15-17), his breath and neesings sparkling (Job 41:18-21), his flesh firm (Job 41:22-24), his strength and spirit, when he is attacked, insuperable (Job 41:25-30), his motions turbulent, and disturbing to the waters (Job 41:31, Job 41:32), so that, upon the whole, he is a very terrible creature, and man is no match for him (Job 41:33, Job 41:34).

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 41 A large description is here given of the leviathan, from the difficulty and danger of taking it, from whence it is inferred that none can stand before God, Job 41:1; from the several parts of him, his face, teeth, scales, eyes, mouth and neck, flesh and heart, Job 41:11; and from various wonderful terrible things said of him, and ascribed to him, Job 41:25.

Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears? This seems not so well to agree with the whale; whose skin, and the several parts of his body, are to be pierced with harpoons and lances, such as fishermen use in taking whales; and their flesh to be cut in pieces with their knives: but better with the crocodile, whose skin is so hard, and so closely set with scales, that it is impenetrable; See Gill on Eze 29:4. Or if the words are rendered, as by some, "wilt thou fill ships with his skin? and the fishermen's boat with his head" (n)? it makes also against the whale; for this is done continually, ships of different nations are loaded every year with its skin, flesh, and the bones of its head. (n) Vid. Schultens in loc.

[“And all the ships come together would not be able to bear the mere skin of his tail.”] All the ships come together are not capable to mortify the extreme and main parts of the dragon. People using bodies or ships cannot by themselves lift a single piece of the skin of his tail. But with the favor of divine virtue, they can bear not only a piece of the skin of his tail but also his entire body, and [they can] mortify it. Each of us mortifies what is in him, that is, the devil, according to the words of the apostle, “Then God will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

Wilt thou fill nets with his skin, and the cabin of fishes with his head? 34. What is designated by 'nets,' or a 'cabin of fishes,' except the churches of the faithful which make one Catholic Church? Whence it is written in the Gospel, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net cast into the sea, and gathering of every kind of fishes. [Matt. 13, 47] The Church is in truth called the kingdom of heaven, for while the Lord exalts her conduct to things above, she already reigns herself in the Lord by heavenly conversation. And it is also rightly compared to a net cast into the sea, gathering of every kind of fishes; because when cast into this gentile world, it rejected no one, but caught the wicked with the good, the proud with the humble, the angry with the gentle, and the foolish with the wise. But by the 'skin' of this Leviathan we understand the foolish, and by his 'head,' the wise ones of his body. Or certainly by the 'skin,' which is outermost, are designated those who serve him as inferiors in these meanest offices, but by the 'head' those placed over them. And the Lord observing the proper order rightly declares that He will fill these 'nets,' or 'cabin of fishes,' that is, His Church, and the wishes of the faithful with his 'skin' first, and afterwards with his 'head.' Because, as we said before, He first chose the weak, that He might confound the strong afterwards. [l Cor. l, 27] He chose in truth the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise. For He gathered together the unlearned first, and philosophers afterwards; and He taught not fishermen by means of orators, but with wondrous power He subdued orators by means of fishermen. He says therefore, Wilt thou fill nets with his skin, or the cabin of fishes with his head? Thou understandest, As I, Who first gather within the Church of the faithful the most distant, and the lowest, as the 'skin' of the devil, and afterwards subdue to Myself his 'head,' that is, wise adversaries. It follows; Wilt thou lay thine hand upon him? That is, As I, Who restraining him by My mighty power, permit him not to rage more than is expedient, and Who, as far as I shall have permitted his cruelty, turn it to the benefit of My Elect. For certainly to lay a hand upon him, is to subdue him by the might of virtue. It is said then to blessed Job in a question;

Second, he shows that man cannot use Leviathan like he uses fish which have been caught. Fishermen fill large nets with these fish with the larger specimens, and he expresses this saying, "Will you fill the nets with his skin?" He clearly says "skin" perhaps to express the method in which the very large whales are captured, who "by very long stalks which they have, bind the whales to the rocks when they are sleeping in their grottos," as one source says, "and then, when the fisherman approaches up close, he loosens as much of the skin as he can from the fat next to the tail." For the animal is very fat, and because of this fat he does not feel the cut. So when the cords have been attached he ties him to the rocks or the trees, the fisherman excites the whale with stones from a sling, who leaves his skin trying to escape. They fill other smaller instruments with smaller fish, and as to this he says, "and a bow net of fish with his head?" For the bow net is an instrument made from willow-wands which the fishermen place in a stream to capture fish. But so great is the size of the whale that neither the whole nor the part of it, for example, the head, can be contained in a great bow net. For he is said to have a head so big that one can fill forty large jugs of fat with it. This is all a figure to show that the devil cannot be bound by human power, as the magicians are of the opinion they could bind him. This results completely from his cunning which he uses to deceive men. If anyone thinks rightly about this, all these premised words seem to confound the presumption of the magicians, who seek to enter into a pact with demons either to subject them to their power or to bind them in some other way.

God's great power in the leviathan, of which creature he gives a very circumstantial description, vv. 1-34.

Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? - This refers to some kind of harpoon work, similar to that employed in taking whales, and which they might use for some other kinds of animals; for the skin of the crocodile could not be pierced. Herrera says that he saw a crocodile defend itself against thirty men; and that they fired six balls at it without being able to wound it. It can only be wounded under his belly.

(Job 41:1-34) leviathan--literally, "the twisted animal," gathering itself in folds: a synonym to the Thannin (Job 3:8, Margin; see Psa 74:14; type of the Egyptian tyrant; Psa 104:26; Isa 27:1; the Babylon tyrant). A poetical generalization for all cetacean, serpentine, and saurian monsters (see on Job 40:15, hence all the description applies to no one animal); especially the crocodile; which is naturally described after the river horse, as both are found in the Nile. tongue . . . lettest down?--The crocodile has no tongue, or a very small one cleaving to the lower jaw. But as in fishing the tongue of the fish draws the baited hook to it, God asks, Canst thou in like manner take leviathan?

His hide is not penetrable, as that of fishes.