Job 26:12-13

Verses 11-13 seem to describe a particular event.

The original language of the Book of Job is called Hebrew. To understand these verses we need to look at the Hebrew words.

• The proud enemy in verse 12 is called RAHAB in Hebrew. This word is also in Isaiah 51:9. Isaiah seems to be describing a terrible sea animal. But he uses the animal as a description of the army from Egypt. Or, as a description of the sea. When the army from Egypt attacked God’s people, they could not escape because of the sea. But God made the sea dry. So God’s people escaped (Isaiah 51:10). But the army from Egypt drowned (Exodus chapter 14).

• The enemy in verse 13 is called NACHASH in Hebrew. This word usually means a snake. In the garden called Eden, the devil appeared as a NACHASH (snake). And he told Eve not to obey God (Genesis 3:1-4). This word is also in Isaiah 27:1. Isaiah described the same event as Job 26:13. But in Isaiah, the NACHASH has another name too. This name is LEVIATHAN. The word LEVIATHAN is in Job 3:8 and Job chapter 41. We have translated LEVIATHAN as ‘crocodile’. A crocodile is a dangerous animal that lives in rivers. The crocodile seems to be the animal that God described in Job chapter 41. But in both Isaiah and Job, LEVIATHAN really seems to mean the devil.

So, in the end, God will punish the devil (Revelation 20:10). This is the event that Isaiah described in Isaiah 27:1. But the words in Isaiah 27:1 are similar to Isaiah 51:9. So we think that Job was describing the devil’s final punishment in verses 11-13.