Job 38:8 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 38:4-11

For the humbling of Job, God here shows him his ignorance even concerning the earth and the sea. Though so near, though so bulky, yet he could give no account of their origination, much less of heaven above or hell beneath, which are at such a distance, or of the several parts of matter which are so minute, and then, least of all, of the divine counsels. I. Concerning the founding of the earth. ?If he have such a mighty insight, as he pretends to have, into the counsels of God, let him give... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 38:8

Or who shut up the sea with doors ,.... From the earth the transition is to the sea, according to the order of the creation; and this refers not to the state and case of the sea as at the flood, of which some interpret it, but as at its first creation; and it is throughout this account represented as an infant, and here first as in embryo, shut up in the bowels of the earth, where it was when first created with it, as an infant shut up in its mother's womb, and with the doors of it; see ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 38:8

Who shut up the sea with doors - Who gathered the waters together into one place, and fixed the sea its limits, so that it cannot overpass them to inundate the earth? When it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? - This is a very fine metaphor. The sea is represented as a newly born infant issuing from the womb of the void and formless chaos; and the delicate circumstance of the liquor amnii, which bursts out previously to the birth of the foetus, alluded to. The allusion to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:1-41

The tone of the appeal is sustained at a high pitch, and the entire passage is one of extraordinary force and eloquence. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:4-15

Jehovah to Job: the first answer-the examination: 1. Concerning the creation. I. THE CREATION OF THE EARTH THE HANDIWORK OF GOD . 1 . An exclusively Divine work. Jehovah claims not simply to have been the Framer of the mighty fabric of the globe, but to have shared the honour of that stupendous achievement with no co-worker. Hence certainly not with Job. "Where wast thou when I established the earth?" Not taking part or even looking on, since thou wast not then in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:4-33

Human impotence and ignorance exposed. Job's affliction is a mystery—a mystery that needs to be revealed. Job has not given the explanation of it. He has not known it. His friends have failed. It has been attributed to his sin; but he is confident in his honest integrity, and cannot be persuaded that he is suffering punishment, for he has not a consciousness of guilt. Elihu has indicated the hidden nature of the Divine works, and has not made the mystery clearer. But he has closed the lips... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:8

Or who shut up the sea with doors? From the earth a transition is made to the sea, as the second great wonder in creation (comp. Genesis 1:9 , Genesis 1:10 ; Exodus 20:11 ; Psalms 104:24 , Psalms 104:25 ). God's might is especially shown in his power to control and confine the sea, which rages so terribly and seems so utterly uncontrollable. God has blocked it in "with doors"— i.e. with "bounds that it cannot pass, neither turn again to cover the earth" ( Psalms 145:9 ).... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:8-11

Jehovah to Job: the first answer-the examination: 2. Concerning the sea. I. THE PRODUCTION OF THE SEA . 1 . The place whence it issued. The sea, by a bold metaphor, is represented as a child proceeding from its mother's womb. The allusion apparently is to the third day's creative work, when the terrestrial waters were collected into seas by "the upheaval of the land through the action of subterranean fires, or the subsidence of the earth's crust in consequence of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:8-11

Lessons of the sea. Passing from the thought of the joy of creation, when the morning stars sang together, we find our thoughts directed to the sea in its power and pride, first formed by the hand of God, and ever reined in by his commanding voice. I. GOD 'S POWER OVER WHAT IS MOST GREAT . The sea strikes our imagination chiefly because of its vastness. It only consists of water, which, when we see it in the trickling rill or hold it in the cup, is one of the most simple... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 38:8

Or who shut up the sea with doors - This refers also to the act of the creation, and to the fact that God fixed limits to the raging of the ocean. The word “doors” is used here rather to denote gates, such as are made to shut up water in a dam. The Hebrew word properly refers, in the dual form which is used here דלתים delethiym), to “double doors,” or to folding doors, and is also applied to the gates of a city; Deuteronomy 3:5; 1 Samuel 23:7; Isaiah 45:1. The idea is, that the floods were... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 38:4-11

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 38:8

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 38:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:1-41

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:4-15

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:4-33

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:8-11

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:8-11

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 38:8

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