Job 40:20

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 40:15-24

God, for the further proving of his own power and disproving of Job's pretensions, concludes his discourse with the description of two vast and mighty animals, far exceeding man in bulk and strength, one he calls behemoth, the other leviathan. In these verses we have the former described. ?Behold now behemoth, and consider whether thou art able to contend with him who made that beast and gave him all the power he has, and whether it is not thy wisdom rather to submit to him and make thy peace... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 40:20

Surely the mountains bring him forth food ,.... Grass, which grows on mountains, and is the food of the river horse as well as of the elephant; and therefore is furnished with teeth like a scythe to mow it down; and it is not a small quantity that will suffice it, mountains only can supply it; and marvellous it is that a creature bred in a river should come out of it to seek its food on mountains. There is a creature in the northern parts, as in Russia, Greenland, &c.; which is called... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 40:20

The mountains bring him forth food - It cannot therefore be the hippopotamus, as he is seldom found far from the rivers where he has his chief residence. Where all the beasts of the field play - He frequents those places where he can have most prey. He makes a mock of all the beasts of the field. They can neither resist his power, nor escape from his agility. All this answers to what we know of the mammoth, but not at all to the hippopotamus. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 40:6-24

Job's confession not having been sufficiently ample, the Divine discourse is continued through the remainder of this chapter, and through the whole of the next, the object being to break down the last remnants of pride and self-trust in the soul of the patriarch, and to bring him to complete submission and dependence on the Divine will. The argument falls under three heads—Can Job cope with God in his general providence (verses 6-14)? can he even cope with two of God's creatures—with behemoth... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 40:15-24

This passage, together with the whole of Job 41:1-34 ; has been regarded by some critics as an interpolation. Its omission would certainly not affect the argument; and it is thought, in some respects, to contain traces of a later age than that which most commentators assign to the remainder of the book, or, at any rate, to the greater portion of it. The recurrence to the animal creation, when the subject seemed to have been completed ( Job 39:30 ), is also a difficulty. But, on the other... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 40:15-24

Jehovah to Job: the second answer: 2. Concerning behemoth. I. THE RELATION OF BEHEMOTH TO OTHER ANIMALS . "He is the chief of the ways of God" (verse 19). This huge monster, this giant among beasts, as perhaps the above-cited phrase indicates, is commonly supposed to have been the hippopotamus, or Nile-horse. It is here described by a variety of particulars. 1 . Its terrific strength. Concerning this are noted: 2 . Its herbivorous appetite. "He eateth grass as an... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 40:15-24

Behemoth the great. Two monster animals, the hippopotamus and the crocodile, are set before us in typical characteristics, to idealize the great works of God in the animal kingdom. I. GOD IS THE CREATOR OF THE ANIMAL WORLD . "God made the beast of the earth after his kind" ( Genesis 1:25 ). We have not left the presence of God when we have come to study natural history. Here we may see indications of Divine thought. Even the coarsest wild animals are under the care of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 40:20

Surely the mountains bring him forth food . Neither the hippopotamus nor the elephant is an inhabitant of "mountains,'' according to our use of the word. But the harim ( הָרִים ) of the original is used of very moderate eminences. In the highly poetical language of Job, and especially of this passage, the term may well be applied to the hills on either side of the Nile, which approach closely to the river, and to this day furnish the hippopotamus with a portion of its food. Where all... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 40:20

Surely the mountains bring him forth food - That is, though he lies commonly among the reeds and fens, and is in the water a considerable portion of his time, yet he also wanders to the mountains, and finds his food there. But the point of the remark here does not seem to be, that the mountains brought forth food for him, but that he gathered it “while all the wild beasts played around him, or sported in his very presence.” It was remarkable that an animal so large and mighty, and armed with... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 40:20

Job 40:20. The mountains bring him forth food Though this creature be so vastly large, and require much food, and no man careth for it, yet God provides for it out of his own stores, and makes the desert mountains to afford it sufficient sustenance. This particular of the description seems more applicable to the elephant than the hippopotamus, which, though he fetches his food, in a great measure, from the land, feeding on the herbage on the banks of the Nile, and among the lakes and fens... read more

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