Job 26:5-14

2. No mysteries are hidden from God. (Job 26:5-14)

(Some would attribute this section to Bildad.)
a. There is no close connection between it and the preceding verses.
TEXT 26:5-14

5 They that are deceased tremble

Beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof.

6 Sheol Is naked before God,

And Abaddon hath no covering.

7 He stretcheth out the north over empty space,

And hangeth the earth upon nothing.

8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds;

And the cloud is not rent under them.

9 He incloseth the face of his throne,

And spreadeth his cloud upon it.

10 He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters,

Unto the confines of light and darkness.

11 The pillars of heaven tremble

And are astonished at his rebuke.

12 He stirreth up the sea with his power,

And by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab.

13 By his Spirit the heavens are garnished;

His hand hath pierced the swift serpent.

14 Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways:

And how small a whisper do we hear of hunt
But the thunder of his power who can understand?

COMMENT 26:5-14

Job 26:5From Job 26:5-14 we have the theme of God's omnipotence set forth again. He is absolute authority over heaven and earth and Sheol (cf. Matthew 28:19-20). Bildad has previously declared God's greatness; now Job declares his own faith in the greatness of God. The dead[271] (A. V. renders deceasedrepa-'imIsaiah 14:9; Isaiah 26:14; Psalms 88:10) are still in God's control. They cannot hide from Him, even in Sheol2 Samuel 22:5 and Psalms 18:4. Even the inhabitants of Sheol tremble before God. The reference here, according to the parallelism, is to the inhabitants of Sheol, not fishes, etc.[272]

[271] For an excellent discussion concerning the Rephaim, see A. R. Johnson, The Vitality of the Individual, 2nd ed., 1964, pp. 88ff.

[272] See Dhorme and Blommerde on the critical grammatical problems.

Job 26:6For this imagery see Psalms 89:8; Proverbs 15:11; and Amos 9:2. Abaddon is another name for Sheol and is a perfect parallel in this verse. This parallel description of Sheol is found only in the Wisdom Literature Job 28:22; Job 31:12; Psalms 88:11; Proverbs 15:11; and Proverbs 27:20. Abaddon comes from a root meaning ruin or destruction and is a personal name translated as Apollyon in Revelation 9:11. No one and no place holds secrets from God.

Job 26:7The Hebrew word for north (Sapon) originally was the name of the mountain of Hadad or Baal, the Syrian weather-god. The Ras Shamra texts from Ugarit relate how Baal-Hadad constructed his temple on the heights of Mount Sapon. The mountain lay directly north of Palestine; thus we know why Sapon[273] means north in the Old TestamentIsaiah 14:13. The parallel is between the stretched out heavensGenesis 1-3not firmament but that which is stretched out or pounded outward; Psalms 1, Job 4:2; Isaiah 40:22; Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 45:12; Jeremiah 10:12; Jeremiah 51:15. There is no mythological implication in this description which transcends all primitive concepts of cosmography. Nor need we recall the great advancements made in astronomy among the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Greeks, especially Pythagorasca 540-510 B.C.in order to understand Job's descriptions.[274] The earth stands on nothingJob 26:11.

[273] Note in Psalms 48:2Zion is the seat of Yahweh; some translations transcribe this as Zaphonsee Otto Eissfeldt. Baal Zaphon, Zeus Kasios und der Durchzug der Israeliten durchs Meer, 1934.

[274] See for detailscompare with Jacques Merleau-Ponty, Cosmologie du XXsiecle (Paris, 1965); Astronomischer Jahresbericht (Berlin) 1899 to the present, complete bibliography of astronomical literature; a Koyre, The Astronomical Revolution (E. T., Cornell University Press, 1975); P. Duhem, Le Systeme du Monde; histoires des doctrines cosmologiques de Platon a Copernic (Paris, 10 Tomes); Rene Taton, Histoire generate des sciences (Paris, 4 Tomes); I. L. E. Dreyer, A History of Astronomy from Thales to Kepeer (New York: Dover, 1953); all of G. Sarton's works; and F. Russo, Histoire des sciences et des Techniques bibliographie (Paris, 1954); also see my essay on Creation in Job in this commentary. For biblical data see the excellent work by E. W. Monder, Astronomy of The Bible which has been condensed in his article in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), Vol. I, pp. 300-316, Eerdman reprint.

Job 26:8Job stands in awe at the clouds pictured as full of water but which do not burst under the weight of their burdenJob 38:37; Proverbs 30:4.

Job 26:9The verse presents several problems, specifically as given in the A. V. God hides the face (Heb. -hzgrasp, holdused of barring gates in Nehemiah 7:3; Matthew 6:6; perhaps we should read kesefull mooninstead of kissethroneas in A. V.) of the full moon by covering it with the clouds. Even the bright light of the moon is under His authority. Though this requires some emendation, it keeps the parallelism and sets forth God's sovereignty which is Job's thesis in this verse.

Job 26:10God has described a circle, which means that He has set a limit or boundaryGenesis 1:4; Genesis 1:7; Genesis 1:14; Job 22:14; Proverbs 8:27. The editors of the Qumran Targum render the Hebrew aux bords de la limitereinforcing the limitation of a boundary suggested by the text and the paralleldarkness in line two2 Samuel 22:8; Isaiah 13:13; and Joel 2:10. Darkness suggests limitation. God here transcends all pagan mythological dualism; He alone controls chaos.

Job 26:11The earth is here called the pillars of heaven. The pillars quiver (Heb. yeropeputremble or shake) at God's rebuke. That which holds up heaven responds when God breaks His silencePsalms 18:14 ff; Psalms 29:6; and Psalms 104:32.

Job 26:12The verb (-rgdisturb or stir upIsaiah 51:15 and Jeremiah 31:35) suggests that the powerful water supply which the heavens sustain is powerless when He intervenesRahab might refer to EgyptPsalms 87:4and the experience of the parting of the waters. When God liberates, nothing stands in His wayJob 7:12; Job 9:13; Jeremiah 10:12. He is claiming that it is by God's wisdom and understanding, not His power, that He is victorious.

Job 26:13The text probably refers to the clearing of the skies after a storm. The word rendered garnished in the A. V. is siprahbrightness. The wind referred to is, in all probability, the wind which clears the clouds out of the skies after a stormJob 3:8; 40:25; Isaiah 27:1; and Revelation 12:3. The second line has the same word that appears in Isaiah 51:9 for pierced or wounded. If they are present, part of the author's literary style only, the mythological motifs, e.g. the fleeing serpent or LeviathonJob 3:8 and Isaiah 27:1are present only to show the sovereignty of God over nature.[275]

[275] See W. F. Albright, Bulletin of the American Society of Oriental Research, 1941, p. 39, for analysis of Ugaritic image of the primeval serpent.

Job 26:14Again the author skillfully evoked imagery portraying God's infinite power. The secret of God's power will forever elude the seeker, and the solution to God's providential control over creation will only baffle and frustrate until in complete faith-trust he rests in His everlasting arms through resignation to God's wisdom and justice. He finally confesses that only God has infinite wisdom and knowledge. Though man has only heard a soft whisperJob 4:12, he stands in awful dread at what he has heard. He must wait for The Shattering of Silence, but until then, He reveals all that we can manage. God's word, like thunder, cannot be leisurely contemplated and comprehendedJob 37:2; Job 37:5.