Job 41:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 41:1-10

Whether this leviathan be a whale or a crocodile is a great dispute among the learned, which I will not undertake to determine; some of the particulars agree more easily to the one, others to the other; both are very strong and fierce, and the power of the Creator appears in them. The ingenious Sir Richard Blackmore, though he admits the more received opinion concerning the behemoth, that it must be meant of the elephant, yet agrees with the learned Bochart's notion of the leviathan, that it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 41:1

Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook ?.... That is, draw it out of the sea or river as anglers draw out smaller fishes with a line or hook? the question suggests it cannot be done; whether by the "leviathan" is meant the whale, which was the most generally received notion; or the crocodile, as Bochart, who has been followed by many; or the "orca", a large fish of the whale kind with many teeth, as Hasaeus, it is not easy to say "Leviathan" is a compound word of than the first syllable... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 41:1

Canst thou draw out leviathan - We come now to a subject not less perplexing than that over which we have passed, and a subject on which learned men are less agreed than on the preceding. What is leviathan? The Hebrew word לויתן livyathan is retained by the Vulgate and the Chaldee. The Septuagint have, Αξεις δε δρακοντα ; "Canst thou draw out the Dragon?" The Syriac and Arabic have the same. A species of whale has been supposed to be the creature in question; but the description suits... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 41:1

Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? The word leviathan , or more properly livyathan , which has previously occurred in Job 3:8 , and is found also in Psalms 74:14 ; Psalms 104:26 ; and Isaiah 27:1 , seems to be derived from לוי , "twisting," and תן , "a monster," whence the תּנּין or תּנּים of the Pentateuch and also of Job ( Job 7:12 ), Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 9:11 ), and Ezekiel ( Ezekiel 29:3 ). It is thus a descriptive epithet rather than a name, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 41:1-34

The crowning description of a natural marvel—the "leviathan," or crocodile—is now given, and with an elaboration to which there is no parallel in the rest of Scripture. It forms, however, a fit climax to the gradually more and more elaborate descriptions of Job 38:39-41 ; Job 39:1-30 ; and Job 40:15-24 . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 41:1-34

Jehovah to Job: the second answer: 3. Concerning leviathan. I. THE ANIMAL INTENDED . 1 . A serpentine creature. This implied in the name leviathan, which signifies "a wreathed or twisted animal," as distinguished from the tannin , or "long-extended monsters" ( Genesis 1:21 ). 2 . An aquatic monster. Though amphibious as to its habits, the behemoth was essentially a land animal; the entire description of leviathan points to a tenant of the deep (verses l, 2, 31, 32).... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 41:1-34

Description of the leviathan, or crocodile. The description is in two parts. I. The first part shows THE DIFFICULTY OR WELL - NIGH IMPOSSIBILITY OF CIRCUMVENTING AND CAPTURING THIS HUGE AND SLIPPERY CREATURE . ( Job 41:1-7 .) In language of irony and almost of taunt this fact is set forth. Here, then, is a mere creature of God before which man must feel his helplessness. If man cannot overcome the creature, how much less shall he pretend to vie with the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 41:1-34

Leviathan the terrible. This terrible monster has a whole chapter to himself. His portrait is painted on a broad canvas, and it is as full of life and movement as it is of form and colour. Representing the crocodile, though enlarged and idealized, leviathan is a picture of the most terrible of the works of nature. I. THERE ARE TERRIBLE THINGS IN NATURE . When we look at the cruel jaws of the crocodile, gaping in readiness for its prey, and the little snake-like eyes watching... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 41:1

Canst thou draw out - As a fish is drawn out of the water. The usual method by which fish were taken was with a hook; and the meaning here is, that it was not possible to take the leviathan in this manner. The whole description here is of an animal that lived in the water.Leviathan - Much has been written respecting this animal, and the opinions which have been entertained have been very various. Schultens enumerates the following classes of opinions in regard to the animal intended here.1. The... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 41:1

Job 41:1. Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook? It is a great question among learned men, what creature is meant by לויתן , leviathan. Our translators were evidently uncertain respecting it, and therefore have given us here and elsewhere, where the word occurs, the original term itself, untranslated. The LXX., however, (who are followed in two instances by the author of the Vulgate,) have not done so, but have everywhere rendered it δρακων , the dragon. But it is far from being... read more

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