Commentary on Job Part 7 (No. F018vii)

Job Chapters 37-42 (RSV)

Chapter 37

¹“At this also my heart trembles, and leaps out of its place. ²Hearken to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth. ³Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth. ⁴After it his voice roars; he thunders with his majestic voice and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard. ⁵God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things which we cannot comprehend. ⁶For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth’; and to the shower and the rain, ‘Be strong.’ ⁷He seals up the hand of every man, that all men may know his work. ⁸Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens. ⁹From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds. ¹⁰By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast. ¹¹He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. ¹²They turn round and round by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world. ¹³Whether for correction, or for his land, or for love, he causes it to happen. ¹⁴“Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God. ¹⁵Do you know how God lays his command upon them, and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine? ¹⁶Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge, ¹⁷you whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of the south wind? ¹⁸Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a molten mirror? ¹⁹Teach us what we shall say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of darkness. ²⁰Shall it be told him that I would speak? Did a man ever wish that he would be swallowed up? ²¹“And now men cannot look on the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them. ²²Out of the north comes golden splendor; God is clothed with terrible majesty. ²³The Almighty—we cannot find him; he is great in power and justice, and abundant righteousness he will not violate. ²⁴Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”

Intent of Chapter 37

36:27 - 37:22 The Fifth Poem of Elihu

This text has no introduction but is taken as the Fifth Poem of Elihu. It is understood as dealing with God as the Sovereign Ruler of Nature. His purpose and His benevolence are seen in the unfolding of the seasons. It commences with autumn in 36:26-33 and then develops on in 37:1-13 with the winter system and then ends with summer in (vv. 14-22). The sequence is developed by the rabbinical and other commentators (see OARSV n.) to be based on the autumnal calendar with the commencement of the year in the fall of Tishri which is based on the Mystery and Sun Cults. Such claims by these devotees of the Babylonian Sun Cults are false and contrary to the Law of God (see No. 156). For this reason Judah was sent into captivity in 70 CE; because they would not, and still do not, repent. For this reason they went through the Holocaust, and they will go through the Tribulation under the Witnesses and the Messiah (see Nos 141D; 141D_2; 141E; 141E_2; 300B). The text, in 36:24-33, actually refers to the abundance of God's provision in the earth, both on land and sea. It is by these provisions that God judges people and declares with whom He is wrath, in their iniquity. Abib (determined from the New Moon nearest the equinox in March), is the beginning of years for all mankind (Ex. 12:2). 37:1-5 deals with the use of the thunder and lightning to do things we, as yet, do not understand, in the creation.

vv. 6-7 show that the snow and the rain, He causes to fall on the earth for His purpose.

vv. 8-13 God uses the forces of nature as in the winter to prepare the earth for His Will, either for correction or for the sake of the land or for His love of the creation, He causes it to happen.

vv. 14-20 Here Elihu addresses Job and asks him what is his knowledge concerning the workings of the universe under the Almighty. Can he emulate the works of God and spread out the skies. Can Job teach us what to say to God?

vv. 21-24 Final Admonition of Elihu

God (Eloah vv. 15,22) manifests His terrible majesty and although we cannot find Him, He is great in power and justice. He is far beyond man's knowledge and imagination but abundant righteousness He will not violate. So also human wisdom does not replace or equal the fear of God.

What now follows is the entry of God and His answer to Job out of the whirlwind. The God here is Eloah, who is the Father of the sons of Ha Elohim in Ch. 38:7. In this way Eloah achieved plurality as the centrality of the Elohim as Ha Elohim (No. 187).

Chapter 38

The Lord Answers Job

¹Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: ²“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? ³Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. ⁴“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. ⁵Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? ⁶On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, ⁷when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ⁸“Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth from the womb; ⁹when I made clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, ¹⁰and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, ¹¹and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’? ¹²“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, ¹³that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? ¹⁴It is changed like clay under the seal, and it is dyedlike a garment. ¹⁵From the wicked their light is withheld and their uplifted arm is broken. ¹⁶“Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? ¹⁷Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? ¹⁸Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this. ¹⁹“Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, ²⁰that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? ²¹You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! ²²“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, ²³which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? ²⁴What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth? ²⁵“Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt, ²⁶to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man; ²⁷to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground put forth grass? ²⁸“Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? ²⁹From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven? ³⁰The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. ³¹“Can you bind the chains of the Plei′ades, or loose the cords of Orion? ³²Can you lead forth the Maz′zaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? ³³Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth? ³⁴“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you? ³⁵Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? ³⁶Who has put wisdom in the clouds, or given understanding to the mists? ³⁷Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, ³⁸when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cleave fast together? ³⁹“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, ⁴⁰when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their covert? ⁴¹Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?

Intent of Chapter 38

38:1-42:6 The voice from the whirlwind

Many commentators used to consider these chapters not original and tried to separate them from the original text (see also OARSV n.). The purpose was to discredit the Monotheist basis of the theology that established the One True God as the Creator ab origine and the multiple elohim and multiple Morning Stars, as Sons of God. That position completely refutes Trinitarian Theology. However, the words of Chs. 38-42 are in complete harmony with the earlier text and are clearly part of the main body of the text.

God then intervenes and answers Job out of the whirlwind (38:1).

38:1-40:5 First Discourse of the Lord

v. 1 The whirlwind The whirlwind is a frequent setting of Theophanies or divine appearances as we see in Nah. 1:3; Zech. 9:14; Pss. 18:7-15; 50:3; Ezek. 1:4; Hab. Ch. 3.

vv. 2-3 He says to Job: Who is this that darkens counsel without knowledge. God tells him to gird up your loins like a man. I will question you and you shall declare to me. The deity here is the Elohim of v. 7. He is the Ha Elohim and is the One True God Eloah. This is the superior Deity of Psalm 45:6-7, whom no man has seen or ever can see (Jn. 1:18; 1Tim. 6:16) and not the subordinate deity, who also is the Christ of Heb. 1:8-9). He is one speaking to Job as the El of 38:41. In 39:17; 40:2 we again see Eloah listed as the Almighty in control of the creation. In 40:9, 19 we again see the El referred to as the Elohim of Israel as the subordinate God of Israel. Understanding this distinction is critical to understanding Scripture.

vv. 4-7 This text is one of the most important texts in the Scriptures. The text deals with the Creation hundreds of millions of years ago and not the re-creation of Genesis Ch. 1. under the elohim of Jn. 1:1-18.

v. 4 Here God tells us that it was He that laid the foundations of the earth. He asks Job in v. 5: Who determined its measurements when it was He that did so. This was also the test of Prov. 30:4-5. It is asked: what was His name and what was His son's name. There in the next verse (5) he answers: every word of Eloah is pure. This being is the Elahh of the Chaldean and Aramaic and the Allah' of Arabic. He is the One True God that sent Jesus Christ, see Jn. 17:3.

v. 6 The question is thrown at Job the fact that the earth is suspended in space and does not rest on anything and revolves around the sun as an elliptical spheroid.

v. 7 Here we see that the Deity summoned the Morning Stars who were the commanders of the Elohim host with all the sons of God. These were the sons of Ha Elohim or the Elohim who was Eloah before He created the Elohim and became the Father. This being is the Yahovih of SHD 3069 and not the subordinate Yahovah (see No. 024).

vv. 8-11 Job is given further questions regarding the bounds imposed on the creation of the sea.

vv. 12-21 He poses the question to Job, if he knew how to command the morning and further questions regarding the creation of time and the gates of death. He is urged to declare it if he has such knowledge.

v. 21 He asks an almost sarcastic question regarding Job knowing, because he was born then, and the number of his days is great.

vv. 16-38 He is the master of the deep, light and darkness, snow, hail, and lightning, constellations, clouds and mist and the waters of the heavens and the earth as dust and mud.

vv. 22-24 The questions here regard the regulation of wind and rain and snow and hail.

vv. 25-30 concern the control of water and ice.

vv. 31-33 He established the control of the stars.

He controls the ordinances of the heavens and their rule on earth.

vv. 34-38 Here He controls and regulates the heavens.

38:39-39:30 God as protector of animals.

This a general address to mankind in their arrogance.

Chapter 39

¹“Do you know when the mountain goats bring forth? Do you observe the calving of the hinds? ²Can you number the months that they fulfil, and do you know the time when they bring forth, ³when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their young? ⁴Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open; they go forth, and do not return to them. ⁵“Who has let the wild ass go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass, ⁶to whom I have given the steppe for his home, and the salt land for his dwelling place? ⁷He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver. ⁸He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing. ⁹“Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your crib? ¹⁰Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you? ¹¹Will you depend on him because his strength is great, and will you leave to him your labor? ¹²Do you have faith in him that he will return, and bring your grain to your threshing floor? ¹³“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; but are they the pinions and plumage of love? ¹⁴For she leaves her eggs to the earth, and lets them be warmed on the ground, ¹⁵forgetting that a foot may crush them, and that the wild beast may trample them. ¹⁶She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear; ¹⁷because God has made her forget wisdom, and given her no share in understanding. ¹⁸When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider. ¹⁹“Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with strength? ²⁰Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrible. ²¹He paws in the valley, and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons. ²²He laughs at fear, and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword. ²³Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear and the javelin. ²⁴With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet. ²⁵When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. ²⁶“Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and spreads his wings toward the south? ²⁷Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? ²⁸On the rock he dwells and makes his home in the fastness of the rocky crag. ²⁹Thence he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it afar off. ³⁰His young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there is he.”

Intent of chapter 39

39:1-30 In this text God asserts His control over, and protection of, animals, so that man is powerless to deal with these matters.

Chapter 40

¹And the Lord said to Job: ²“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Job’s Response to God

³Then Job answered the Lord: ⁴“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer thee? I lay my hand on my mouth. ⁵I have spoken once, and I will not answer twice, but I will proceed no further.”

God’s Challenge to Job

⁶Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: ⁷“Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me. ⁸Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified? ⁹Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? ¹⁰“Deck yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor. ¹¹Pour forth the overflowings of your anger, and look on every one that is proud, and abase him. ¹²Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked where they stand. ¹³Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below. ¹⁴Then will I also acknowledge to you, that your own right hand can give you victory. ¹⁵“Behold, Be′hemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. ¹⁶Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. ¹⁷He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. ¹⁸His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. ¹⁹“He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword! ²⁰For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play. ²¹Under the lotus plants he lies, in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh. ²²For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him. ²³Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth. ²⁴Can one take him with hooks, or pierce his nose with a snare?

Intent of Chapter 40

40:1-5 Here God challenges Job to answer the Almighty

Job wisely refuses to argue with him.

v. 1 Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Read with some ancient versions, “Will he who disputes with the almighty yield?” (So OARSV n.). We see in the texts that the Deity never condemns Job for moral faults. He clearly implies that he has been guilty of theological arrogance and insolence. It is this fault that is being corrected in this trial and we see that God has used this to bring Job further along to perfection under this period of his judgment and he clearly will be eligible for the First Resurrection (No. 143A) (Rev. 20:1-4) as part of the elect and an elohim.

40:6-41:34 Second Discourse of the Lord

40:6-9 The Divine challenge is renewed. It appears that Job is silenced, but his thoughts reveal that he is not convinced.

v. 8 will you condemn me that you may be justified Here we see that the main theme of the text is that self-righteousness leads man and the Host to condemn God, and it is from that lesson that Satan was judged here also.

v. 9 shows the supremacy of God over both the Host and mankind.

vv. 10-14 God challenges Job to do as He does and then God will acknowledge him.

vv. 15-24 God then uses Behemoth or the Hippopotamus as an example.

v. 19 says he is the first of the works of God (Heb. Ways). God says let him who made him bring near his sword. He is thus the primeval monster rather than a mere beast. So also Leviathan in 41:1-34 below is not the ordinary crocodile but the primeval sea monster (3:8; 26:13; Ps. 74:14), associated with chaos (see also OARSV n.).

Chapter 41

¹“Can you draw out Levi′athan with a fishhook, or press down his tongue with a cord? ²Can you put a rope in his nose, or pierce his jaw with a hook? ³Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak to you soft words? ⁴Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant for ever? ⁵Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on leash for your maidens? ⁶Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants? ⁷Can you fill his skin with harpoons, or his head with fishing spears? ⁸Lay hands on him; think of the battle; you will not do it again! ⁹Behold, the hope of a man is disappointed; he is laid low even at the sight of him. ¹⁰No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he that can stand before me? ¹¹Who has given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. ¹²“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame. ¹³Who can strip off his outer garment? Who can penetrate his double coat of mail? ¹⁴Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his teeth is terror. ¹⁵His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal. ¹⁶One is so near to another that no air can come between them. ¹⁷They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated. ¹⁸His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. ¹⁹Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth. ²⁰Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.²¹His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes from his mouth. ²²In his neck abides strength, and terror dances before him. ²³The folds of his flesh cleae together, firmly cast upon him and immovable. ²⁴His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the nether millstone. ²⁵When he raises himself up the mighty are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves. ²⁶Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail; nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin. ²⁷He counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. ²⁸The arrow cannot make him flee; for him slingstones are turned to stubble. ²⁹Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins. ³⁰His underparts are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire. ³¹He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. ³²Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be hoary. ³³Upon earth there is not his like, a creature without fear. ³⁴He beholds everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride.”

Intent of Chapter 41

41:1-34 Leviathan in 41:1-34 is not the ordinary crocodile but the primeval sea monster (3:8; 26:13; Ps. 74:14), associated with chaos (see also OARSV n.). Here God, the creator, is in control of all forces of power or evil in the creation despite appearances to the contrary (see also Ps. 104:26). He serves as an example of God's power.

The use of and reference to Behemoth and Leviathan in these texts are not simple references to the Hippopotamus and the Crocodile. There are probable references to the Key figures of the Fallen Host; the Aion and Satan as the two system commanders of the Host. They are covered in the text The Government of God (No. 174). Their rule is over from 2027 with the Advent of the Witnesses and the Messiah over 2027-2030.

Chapter 42

Job Is Humbled and Satisfied

¹Then Job answered the Lord: ²“I know that thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted. ³‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ⁴‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.’ ⁵I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees thee; ⁶therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Job’s Friends Are Humiliated

⁷After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eli′phaz the Te′manite: “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. ⁸Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” ⁹So Eli′phaz the Te′manite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Na′amathite went and did what the Lord had told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

Job’s Fortunes Are Restored Twofold

¹⁰And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. ¹¹Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house; and they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of moneyand a ring of gold. ¹²And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. ¹³He had also seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴And he called the name of the first Jemi′mah; and the name of the second Kezi′ah; and the name of the third Ker′en-hap′puch. ¹⁵And in all the land there were no women so fair as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers. ¹⁶And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations. ¹⁷And Job died, an old man, and full of days.

Intent of Chapter 42

42:1-6 God now knows from the divine activity here the purpose fulfilled

Job says that no purpose of God can be thwarted. (v. 2). v. 3a is a quotation from 38:2. Job acknowledges his finitude.

v. 4 a repeat of the divine questioning. (40:7). preparing for the following confession.

v. 5. Here we see the difference between hearing through the doctrines of tradition and now seeing and being given understanding through the words of God and the Holy Spirit (No. 117). Here Job is given faith through prophetic vision as were the prophets and the apostles and elect of the faith. God came to Job personally which is the purpose of the text in delineating the future of the faith of the elect from Pentecost 30 CE. God cared so much that He communicated with a mere man and set the scene for the Ministry of the Christ from 27 CE to 30 CE under the Sign of Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 013). Judah was given 40 years for repentance and they did not repent and were sent into captivity at the end of the Seventy Weeks of Years of Daniel 9:25 in 70 CE. The text does not simply justify Job’s innocence but confers greater benefit on him than a mere extension of his life as the longest living one of the descendants of Abraham, including Abraham, himself. The philosophical problems of Evil are now transformed into the rapport possible with the Creator through the religious experience and communion possible with God through the Holy Spirit

v. 6. Job says that I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. The Heb. verb to despise is obscure but the OARSV considers it is related to a Heb. verb meaning to melt to nothing.

I repent is not the usual one for repentance of sin, but one expressing the utmost grief and self deprecation (so the OARSV n.). The vision of God here even before the Law was given to Moses at Sinai, prepares us all for the journey to become elohim.

42:7-17 Epilogue

The OARSV holds that the 'style language and situation of the folktale (1:1-2:13) reappears abruptly (see Introduction). Here the Lord issues a rebuke to Eliphaz the Temanite and the other two friends. They are rebuked, and Job has been upheld, as more correct than they. He is placed in a position of being their mediator once they proffer a burnt offering as he did (1:5).

v. 10 Job's restoration followed, not just his repentance but his intercession on behalf of his friends. This was the lesson that was to be taught to the friends (v. 8) and one they should have known from the outset. Intercessory power is in accord with the ancient legend (see Ezek. 14:14, 20) (so also the OARSV n.).

vv. 10-17 Job receives a double restitution. The text makes no mention of healing, but it is implied in the benefits and extension of life given to him along with the many benefits he enjoyed that would have been impossible without healing.

v. 11 a piece of money Heb. A qesitah (see Gen. 33:19; Josh. 24:22).

v. 14 The names of Job's new daughters are Jemimah, Dove; Keziah, Cinnamon; Keren-Happuch, Horn of Eye-shadow.

v. 15b an exceptional procedure (comp. Num. 27:1-11).

vv. 16-17 Job was fit and of good capacity in his seventies before he was ill and then he lives after his trial a further 140 years and had sons and daughters again. Thus he was approx. 210 years of age and he was alive when Moses entered Midian under Hobab the Jethro, High Priest of Midian. This was used to prepare Moses for the Christ and the Exodus of Israel from Egypt twenty-five years after the death of Job.

Summary

Job was third son of Issachar (b. 1748 BCE). He was born the year after Joseph was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. He died at about 210+ years of age some 25 years before the Exodus. His life span appears to be from 1728 BCE to 1514 BCE. Moses was some fifty-five years of age and had been in Midian for about fifteen years. The Book of Job was most probably written by Moses, as part of his training, and indoctrination, under his father-in-law Hobab, the Jethro, or High Priest of Midian. The object of the Book is to show the end of the lord (Jas. 5:11), the end in steadfastness of the faith, the end to which Job was brought in 40:4-6, and of his impotence in attaining righteousness, and his reliance on God's Divine Omnipotence for salvation under God's Omniscience and Predestination (No. 296). The three friends show the impotence of Human Experience (Eliphaz), Human Tradition (Bildad), and Human Merit (Zophar). It is Elihu that points to God as the giver of Divine righteousness for helpless guilty sinners. The entire world was corrupted by these false ideas. The text shows us the sheer magnitude of the elohim host, as the sons of God. It also shows us clearly that there is One True God named Eloah, and here the focal point of the discussion. The Scriptures tell us that He alone is immortal, and whom no man has seen, or ever can see (Jn. 1:18; 1Tim. 6:16). He is the Almighty, who sent Jesus Christ and knowing them is eternal life (Jn. 17:3). Both Satan and the Elohim of Israel worked to him as sons of God. Both were anointed covering cherubs. That Elohim, appearing to the patriarchs (Gen. 48:15-16), and Job here, was the Angel of Redemption referred to in the body (see Ch. 19:25ff). He is the subordinate God of Israel we see in Psalm 45:6-7 and who, from Heb. 1:8-9, we are told was the Christ. It was this elohim that gave the Law to Moses some 165 years after he appeared to Job. Both the works of Job and the Pentateuch were penned by Moses and detail the Law of God and the Testimony. This deity never left Israel over the entire time of the Patriarchs and the prophets and the Body of Christ. The problem was that Israel and Judah, as a people, simply would not listen and obey. They thus were sent into captivity and dispersion; Israel (No. 212F) in 730-722 BCE and Judah (No. 212E) finally in 70 CE at the end of the Seventy weeks of years. (No. 013).

We see in Part 1 that the exemplary behaviours of Job are raised before the Heavenly Council and the elohim of the earth (2Cor. 4:4) is told by the Almighty of his quality. Satan denies he is doing it out of faith. Satan then places himself and the Host in his charge on trial because of what he is about to do to Job, to show his unworthiness. Remember that is was Satan that has opposed the creation of mankind to become elohim in the creation under the Plan of Salvation (Nos. 001, 001A; 001B; 001C; 001D). This entire process did not just involve Job; Satan and the Host here with him had been subverting the Human Creation since Adam and Eve in 4004 BCE and were responsible for human sin by religious misdirection, in the first instance. This was then Satan's test as to his unjust control of the creation. We see in Part 2 (F018ii) and Part 3 (F018iii) these friends completely abandon the Second Great Commandment (No. 257) when Job is tested. They turned on him completely.

Satan used the Law to kill Job's children as they kept the pagan festivals of Birthdays, where the self is elevated as a god, on that day. Satan used every breach of just conduct to break Job and did not do so. Job's glaring weakness was his excessive self-righteousness and his capacity to accuse God for his afflictions. Job introduces in his pleas the need for a mediator. It is in part 4 (F018iv) that we see Job reveal the details of that mediator, as the Redeemer (19:25ff). This is the Angel of Redemption stated by his grandfather Jacob to be the elohim of Israel, which were the tribes to stem from Jacob, as Israel (Gen. 48:15-16). Israel was given to him by Eloah in Deut. 32:8-9. This is the subordinate God of Psa. 45:6-7; Heb. 1:8-9, whose God was Eloah, now the Ha Elohim of the Host. It is the elohim of Israel that here speaks to Job and the patriarchs and prophets in Israel.

We see in Part 5 (F018v) the erroneous nature of what was identified as Zophar’s third discourse, as advanced by Oxbridge scholars and Bullinger. This aspect is explained more correctly there. It is here that the Covenant of God is also misunderstood, and that is explained more fully. Also in chapter 28 we see that the OARSV agrees that “the Orthodox model of the Jewish sages reveals an entirely different concept of wisdom from that implied” in the text of Job.

Part 6 (F018vi) shows, from Job's oaths of behaviour, his deep understanding of the moral responsibilities required of him under the Law of God. This was 165 years before it was given to Moses at Sinai by the Elohim of Israel, who became the Christ. He has a deep understanding of the requirements of the Law regarding widows and orphans. Here we see God sends Elihu, in the Holy Spirit, to deal with them all. He explains their errors. In Ch. 33 he explains the role of the Redeemer (vv. 23-28). He explains that man is granted a relationship with God, and that He teaches all men of their salvation. It is God that controls the world and its operations and He regulates it according to the works of man. He condemns the elders and Job for his self-righteousness. Elihu goes on to exalt God's goodness and he proclaims His majesty.

In Part 7 we end the address of Elihu (Ch. 37) and then we commence the address of the Elohim of Israel in Ch. 38 onwards. We explain who this God is here. We see Job answered out of the Whirlwind and we see that it is this God, who was the Creator, Eloah or Ha Elohim, and He summoned the Sons of God and their Morning Star Commanders to the earth to see the system here created. This was hundreds of millions of years before the re-creation after it became tohu and bohu when he sent the elohim of Israel and Satan as the Morning Star of the Southern Sector of the universe to refurbish the earth in 4004 BCE as we see in Gen. Ch. 1; Jn. 1:1-18).

In 38:39 – 39:30 we see Him (God) as the protector and regulator of animals.

In Ch. 40 we see the Second Discourse of the Lord, the Elohim of Israel. This continues over Chs. 40- 42. In Ch. 42 the Lord silences Job and then rebukes the three friends. He then orders their repentance and after Job has completed his repentance he is appointed as the priest of the friends in offering sacrifice for them and through his intercession they are forgiven. These lessons then proceed to delineate the steps ahead of mankind in order for him to be accepted and to become elohim (No. 001).

We then have the epilogue over vv. 7-17 and we see the way of salvation expounded.

Annex A

Use of the words Almighty, God and Lord in Job, from Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary

Almighty 7706 Shaddai 5:17; 6:4; 6:14; 8:3; 8:5; 11:17; 13:3; 15:25; 21:15; 21:20; 22:3; 22:17; 22:23; 22:25; 22:26; 23:16; 24:1; 27:2; 27:10; 27:11; 27:13; 29:5; 31:2; 31:35; 32:28; 33:4; 34:10; 34:12; 35:13; 37:23; 40:2;

Lord 3068 Yehovah 1:6; 1:7; 1:8; 1:9; 1:12; 1:21; 2:1; 2:2; 2:3; 2;4; 2:6; 2:7; 12:9; 38:1; 40:1; 40:3; 40:6; 41:1; 42:7; 42:942:10; 42:11;42:12.

Lord 136 Adonai 28:28;

God 430 Elohim 1:1; 1:5, 1:6, 1:8; 1:9, 1:16; 1:22; 2:1; 2:3; 2:9; 2:10; 5:8; 20:29; 28:23; 32:2; 34:9; 38:7;

God 433 Eloah 3:4; 3:23; 4:9; 4:17; 5:17; 6:4; 6:8; 6:9; 9:13; 10:2; 11:5; 11:6; 11:7; 12:4; 12:6; 15:8; 16:20; 16:21; 19:6; 19:21; 19:26; 21:9; 21:19; 22:12; 22:26; 24:12; 27:3; 27:5; 27:8; 27:10; 29:2; 29:4; 31:2; 31:6; 33:12; 32:26; 35:10; 37:15; 37:22; 39:17; 40:2;

God 410 el 5:8; 8:3; 5:8; 8:13; 8:20; 9:2; 12:6; 13:3; 13:7; 13:8; 15:4; 15:11; 15:13; 15:25; 16:11; 18:21; 19:22; 20:15; 20:23; 20:29; 21:14; 21:17; 21:22; 22:2; 22:13; 22:17; 23:16; 25:4; 27:2; 27:11; 27:13; 27:22; 27:9; 31:14; 31:23; 31:28; 32:13; 33:4; 33:14; 33:29; 34:5; 34:10; 34:12; 34:23; 34:31; 34:37; 35:13; 36:5; 36:22; 36:26; 37:5; 37:10; 37:14; 38:41; 40:9; 40:19;

Bullinger’s Notes on Chs. 37-42 (for KJV)

Chapter 37

Verse 2

His voice . His mouth. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. App-6 .

Verse 8

places = lurking-places, or lairs.

Verse 10

breath. Hebrew. neshamah. App-16 .

Verse 12

world = vast expanse, or the habitable world. Hebrew. tebel .

Verse 16

clouds = thick clouds.

Verse 18

sky = skies.

looking glass = mirror.

Verse 21

wind. Hebrew. ruach. App-9 .

Verse 23

THE ALMIGHTY. Hebrew Shaddai. App-4 .

power. The Hebrew accents mark off three distinct attributes: (1) power supreme; (2) righteousness abundant; (3) the consequent reverence from men, Job 37:24 .

Chapter 38 Jehovah ' s own ministry, and the theme is Himself. Elihu ' s ministry furnishes the text: "God is greater than man "(Job 33:12 ). This leads up to "the end of the Lord" (James 5:11 ). "How should mortal man be just with God? "See Job 4:17 ; Job 9:2 ; Job 15:14 ; Job 33:9 ; Job 34:5 . How different from the ministry of the three friends, which, like most ministries of to-day, consists in the effort to make men "good" by persuasion.

Verse 2

Who is this . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6 .

darkeneth. Hebrew. hashak. See note on Job 3:6 .

Verse 3

man. Hebrew. geber . App-14 .

answer thou Me = cause Me to know.

Verse 4

hast understanding = knowest.

Verse 6

foundations = sockets.

fastened = sunk.

Verse 7

stars sang. Figure of speech Prosopopoeia. App-6 . See App-12 .

sons of God = angels. See note on Genesis 6:2 , and the eight occurrences of the expression in O.T. See also App-23 and App-25 .

Verse 9

thick darkness. Hebrew. 'araphel. See note on Job 3:6 .

Verse 10

brake up = assigned.

Verse 12

the morning. See the Alternation below, verses: Job 38:12-14 .

Verse 13

the wicked = lawless. All the ancient versions and early printed editions read "the lawless"

Verse 16

search = secret.

Verse 17

doors = gates.

Verse 19

way. Supply Ellipsis: "Where is the way [to the place where] light", &c.

Verse 22

treasures = treasuries.

Verse 23

against the day, &c. . - e.g. as in Joshua 10:10 .

Verse 24

part = divide up into parts: as the rays of light in a prism.

Verse 26

man. Hebrew ' ish . App-14 .

man. Hebrew. 'adam. App-14 .

Verse 28

dew = night mist. See note on Psalms 133:3 .

Verse 31

Pleiades. Hebrew. kimah. See App-12 .

Orion. Hebrew kesil. App-12 .

Verse 32

Mazzarotli = the twelve signs of the Zodiac marking the path of the sun in the heavens. App-12 . Arcturus. Hebrew. 'ayish the greater sheepfold: known to day as "the great bear". See App-12 .

Verse 33

ordinances = statutes.

the = his.

Verse 36

in the inward parts. Hebrew. tuchoth: Occurs only here and Psalms 51:6 . See note on Job 28:28 and Proverbs 1:7 .

Chapter 39

Verse 1

Knowest thou . . . ? Note the Figure of speech Erotesis ( App-6 ), used by Jehovah throughout this chapter for emphasis.

Verse 4

with corn = in the open field. Hebrew. bar. A Homonym with three meanings: (1) pure, clear, clean (Job 11:4 .Song of Solomon 6:9 , Song of Solomon 6:10 . Psalms 19:8 ; Psalms 24:4 ; Psalms 73:1 , &c); hence corn winnowed and cleansed (Genesis 41:35 , Genesis 41:49 . Psalms 65:13 .Proverbs 11:26 . Joel 2:24 , &c); (2) the ground, or open field (Job 39:4 ), because bare and clean. Compare Proverbs 14:4 ; (3) ton: see note on Psalms 2:12 .

Verse 5

ass. Probably = mule.

Verse 10

the unicorn = the wild bull.

Verse 11

trust = confide in. Hebrew. batah. App-69 .

Verse 13

Gavest thou. The Ellipsis ( App-6 ) is correctly supplied.

Verse 19

thunder = rustling mane.

Verse 20

afraid = leap.

grasshopper = locust.

nostrils = snorting.

Verse 26

her. Hebrew = his.

Verse 28

She = He.

Verse 30

where the slain are, &c: i.e. on a field of battle. Compare Matthew 24:28 . Luke 17:37 .

she. Authorized Version, 1611, reads "he".

Chapter 40

Verse 1

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

Verse 2

he that contendeth = the caviller, or reprover.

THE ALMIGHTY. Hebrew Shaddai. App-4 .

he that reproveth = contender with, or disputer.

Verse 4

I am vile. This is true wisdom. This is "the end of the Lord" (James 5:11 ), and the "end" of this whole book.

what . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6 .

lay mine hand, &c. Symbolic of silence and submission.

Verse 5

Once . . . twice. Hebrew idiom ( App-6 ) for doing a thing repeatedly. Compare Psalms 62:11 .

but. Some codices, with Septuagint and Syriac, omit "but".

Verse 7

man. Hebrew. geber. App-14 .

Verse 9

an arm. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. App-6 .

GOD. Hebrew El. App-4 .

Verse 11

rage = overflowings.

Verse 12

wicked = lawless. Hebrew. rasha'. App-44 .

behemoth: probably the hippopotamus (Greek for river-horse).

Verse 16

Lo. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 .

navel = muscles.

Verse 23

trusteth = believeth. Hebrew. batah. App-69 .

Chapter 41

Verse 1

Canst thou . . . ? Note the Figure of speech Erotesis ( App-6 ) throughout this chapter.

leviathan : probably the crocodile.

Verse 2

hook = reed.

Verse 9

Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 .

Verse 11

prevented = anticipated.

is = that is.

Verse 13

discover = uncover.

with = within.

double bridle = double row of teeth.

Verse 16

air. Hebrew. ruach. App-9 .

Verse 18

neesings. Obsolete for sneezings. From A. S. fneosan. Chaucer spells it fnesen.

Verse 21

breath = soul Hebrew. nephesh. App-13 .

Verse 25

breakings = terrors.

purify themselves = mistake their way; are bewildered; or, beside themselves.

Verse 26

dart = missile. Not same word as in Job 41:29 . (Hebrew. massa').

habergeon = coat of mail.

Verse 29

darts = clubs. Not same word as in Job 41:26 . (Hebrew. tothak) .

laugheth. Figure of speech Prosopoaia . App-6 .

Verse 34

children of pride = sons of pride, or proud beasts.

Chapter 42

Verse 1

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

Verse 3

Who is he . . . ? Supply the obvious Ellipsis ( App-6 ) thus: "[Thou askedst] 'Who is this? ' "&c.; which Jehovah did ask in Job 38:1-3 .

Verse 4

Hear = Hear, now.

I will demand of thee. Supply the Ellipsis ( App-6 ): "[Thou saidst]; ' Let him answer Me' "(See Job 40:2 ).

Verse 6

I abhor myself, and repent. "The end of the Lord" (i.e. what Jehovah designed as the great lesson of this book) is at length reached. Compare James 5:11 .

Verse 7

these words: i.e. ch. Job 38:1 -- Job 41:34 .

not spoken of Me the thing that is right. We have, therefore, an inspired record of what they said; but all they said was not inspired, and cannot be quoted as the Word of Jehovah.

as My servant Job hath: i.e. in Job 42:1-6 .

Verse 8

seven. See App-10 .

burnt offering. Hebrew. 'olah . App-43 . See App-15 .

him = his face: face being put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part), App-6 , for the whole person.

Verse 9

Job. Hebrew the face of Job, as in Job 42:8 .

Verse 10

turned the captivity. Figure of speech Paronomasia ( App-6 ), shdb eth sh buth, emphasizing recovery or deliverance from any trouble, as in Psalms 126:1 , Psalms 126:4 , &c.

twice as much. This blessing was included in "the end of the Lord" (James 5:11 ). See note on p. 666.

Verse 11

evil = calamity. Hebrew. ra'a' . App-44 . Compare Isaiah 45:7 .

every man. Hebrew. 'ish . App-14 .

piece = weight, as in Genesis 33:19 . The Septuagint reads "a lamb, and four drachms weight of gold, even of unstamped [gold]"; or, "a piece of gold stamped with a lamb. "

every one. Hebrew. 'i s h . App-14 .

Verse 12

and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton ( App-6 ), in verses: Job 42:12-15 , to emphasize each particular thing.

Verse 14

Jemima = beautiful as the day (Septuagint and Vulgate) or as a dove.

Kezia = fragrant as cassia (i.e. cinnamon).

Keren-happuch = horn of beauty or plenty. Compare Job 42:15 .

Verse 16

an hundred and forty years: i.e. from 1656 to 1516.

Verse 17

full of days = satisfied with days. The Septuagint has a long subscription, for which see App-62 . The Arabic has a similar subscription, which professes to have been taken from the Syriac, but it is not in the Syriac version as given in Walton's Polyglot.

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