Job 26:5-13

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:5

Dead things are formed from under the waters - This verse, as it stands in our version, seems to convey no meaning; and the Hebrew is obscure; הרפאים , harephaim , "the Rephaim," certainly means not dead things; nor can there be any propriety in saying that dead things, or things without life, are formed under the waters, for such things are formed everywhere in the earth, and under the earth, as well as under the waters. The Vulgate translates: Ecce gigantes gemunt sub aquis, et qui... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:6

Hell is naked before him - Sheol, the place of the dead, or of separate spirits, is always in his view. And there is no covering to Abaddon - the place of the destroyer, where destruction reigns, and where those dwell who are eternally separated from God. The ancients thought that hell or Tartarus was a vast space in the center, or at the very bottom of the earth. So Virgil, Aen. lib. vi., ver. 577: - - Tum Tartarus ipse Bis patet in praeceps tantum, tenditque sub umbras, Quantus ad... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:7

He stretcheth out the north over the empty place - תהו על al tohu , to the hollow waste. The same word as is used, Genesis 1:2 , The earth was without form, תהו tohu . The north must here mean the north pole, or northern hemisphere; and perhaps what is here stated may refer to the opinion that the earth was a vast extended plain, and the heavens poised upon it, resting on this plain all round the horizon. Of the south the inhabitants of Idumea knew nothing; nor could they have any... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:8

He bindeth up the waters - Drives the aqueous particles together, which were raised by evaporation, so that, being condensed, they form clouds which float in the atmosphere, till, meeting with strong currents of wind, or by the agency of the electric fluid, they are farther condensed; and then, becoming too heavy to be sustained in the air, fall down in the form of rain, when, in this poetic language, the cloud is rent under them. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:9

He holdeth back the face of his throne - Though all these are most elegant effects of an omniscient and almighty power, yet the great Agent is not personally discoverable; he dwelleth in light unapproachable, and in mercy hides himself from the view of his creatures. The words, however may refer to those obscurations of the face of heaven, and the hiding of the body of the sun, when the atmosphere is laden with dense vapours, and the rain begins to be poured down on the earth. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:10

He hath compassed the waters with bounds - Perhaps this refers merely to the circle of the horizon, the line that terminates light and commences darkness, called here חשך עם אור תכלית עד ad tachlith or im chosech , "until the completion of light with darkness." Or, if we take תכלית tachlith here to be the same with תכלת techeleth , Exodus 25:4 , and elsewhere, which we translate blue, it may mean that sombre sky-blue appearance of the horizon at the time of twilight, i.e.,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:11

The pillars of heaven tremble - This is probably a poetical description either of thunder, or of an earthquake: - "He shakes creation with his nod; Earth, sea, and heaven, confess him God." But there may be an allusion to the high mountains, which were anciently esteemed by the common people as the pillars on which the heavens rested; and when these were shaken with earthquakes, it might be said the pillars of heaven tremble. Mount Atlas was supposed to be one of those pillars, and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:12

He divideth the sea with his power - Here is a manifest allusion to the passage of the Red Sea by the Israelites, and the overthrow of Pharaoh and his host, according to the opinion of the most eminent critics. He smiteth through the proud - רהב Rahab , the very name by which Egypt is called Isaiah 51:9 , and elsewhere. Calmet remarks: "This appears to refer only to the passage of the Red Sea, and the destruction of Pharaoh. Were we not prepossessed with the opinion that Job died... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:13

By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens - See the observations below. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:6

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:7

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:8

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:9

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:10

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:11

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:12

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 26:13

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 26:1-14

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