THE SECOND SPEECH OF THE ALMIGHTY (CONCLUDED) The second great creature, the Crocodile (with which the 'leviathan' is generally identified) is now described. If Job cannot control the crocodile, dare he contend with Him who made it? The crocodile is found in the Crocodile River under Carmel as well... [ Continue Reading ]
HOOK] RM 'rope of rushes.' THORN] RV 'hook.'... [ Continue Reading ]
WILT THOU TAKE] RV 'That thou shouldest take.' 6A. RV 'Shall the bands _of fishermen_ make traffic of him?' MERCHANTS] lit. 'Canaanites' or 'lowlanders'on the trading route from Syria to Egypt, who were great merchants. Their name is sometimes used for merchants generally: cp. Proverbs 31:24; Isaia... [ Continue Reading ]
LAY THINE HAND UPON HIM] i.e. if you dare. DO NO MORE] or, 'do not repeat it.'... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HOPE OF HIM] i.e. of overcoming him. 10, 11. If the creature is so great, who can withstand the Creator? 11. PREVENTED ME] RV 'first given unto me.'... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS PARTS] i.e. the crocodile's.... [ Continue Reading ]
RV 'Who can strip off his outer garment? Who shall come within his double bridle?'... [ Continue Reading ]
DOORS OF HIS FACE] his mouth. 14B. RV 'Round about his teeth is terror.' 18A. RV 'His neesings (i.e. sneezings or snortings) flash forth light.' This and the following vv. poetically describe the snorting and heated breath and spray thrown from the crocodile's mouth. 18B. In the Egyptian hieroglyph... [ Continue Reading ]
CALDRON] The crocodile's breath is likened to vapour that rises from a steaming pot. 22B. RV 'And terror danceth before him.' 25B. RV 'By reason of consternation they are beside themselves.' But the v. may perhaps, with a slight alteration of the text, be rendered: 'When he raiseth himself up the... [ Continue Reading ]
HABERGEON] RV 'pointed shaft.' An ordinary bullet will not pierce a crocodile's scales.... [ Continue Reading ]
RV 'His underparts are _like_ sharp potsherds: He spreadeth _as it were_ a threshing wain upon the mire.'... [ Continue Reading ]
He lashes the water into foam. LIKE A POT OF OINTMENT] perhaps a reference to the strong musky smell of the crocodile.... [ Continue Reading ]
The meaning is probably, 'Everything that is high feareth him: He is king over all the sons of pride,' i.e. the other great beasts (Job 28:8). THE SPEECHES OF THE ALMIGHTY When the human debate was over, and Job had proudly asserted his readiness to confront God, conscious of his innocence (Job 31:... [ Continue Reading ]