Job 41:2 NIV

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 41:2

Canst thou put an hook into his nose ?.... Or a rush, that is, a rope made of rushes; for of such ropes were made, as Pliny F7 Nat. Hist. l. 19. c. 2. affirms; or bore his jaw through with a thorn ? as men do herrings, or such like small fish, for the convenience of carrying them, or hanging them up to dry; the whale is not to be used in such a manner: but the Tentyritae, a people in Egypt, great enemies to crocodiles, had methods of taking thorn in nets, and of binding and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 41:2

Canst thou put a hook onto his nose? - Canst thou put a ring in his nose, and lead him about as thou dost thine ox? In the East they frequently lead thy oxen and buffaloes with a ring in their noses. So they do bulls and oxen in this country. Bore his jaw through with a thorn? - Some have thought that this means, Canst thou deal with him as with one of those little fish which thou stringest on a rush by means of the thorn at its end? Or perhaps it may refer to those ornaments with which... 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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 41:2

Canst thou put an hook into his nose? rather, a reed , or a rope of reeds. The exact meaning is doubtful. Or bore his jaw through with a thorn? A hook or ring is meant, rather than a "thorn"—such a "hook" or "ring" as was commonly used for keeping fish captive in the water, or for bringing prisoners of rank into the presence of the monarchs who had captured them. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 41:2

Canst thou put a hook into his nose - Or rather, a “rope,” or “cord.” The word used here (אגמון 'agmôn) means “a caldron,” or “kettle” Job 41:20, also a reed, or bulrush, growing in marshy places, and thus a rope made of reeds, a rush-cord. The idea is, that he could not be led about by a cord, as tame animals may be. Mr. Vansittart, however, supposes that the words here are expressive of ornaments, and that the allusion is to the fact mentioned by Herodotus, that the crocodile was led about... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 41:2

Job 41:2. Canst thou put a hook Hebrew, אגמן , agmon, a bulrush, that is, a hook like a bulrush, with its head hanging down, as is expressed Isaiah 58:5; into his nose? To hang him up by it for sale, or to carry him home for use, after thou hast drawn him out of the sea or river. Or bore his jaw through with a thorn? Or with an iron hook, or instrument, as sharp as a thorn, wherewith thou usest to carry small fishes. Heath translates the former clause, Canst thou put a bandage... read more

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 41:2

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 41:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 41:1-34

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 41:1-34

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 41:1-34

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 41:1-34

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 41:2

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 41:2

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 41:2

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