Job 40:23

23. Behold, he drinketh… Jordan into his mouth Behold the river swelleth, he trembleth not: he trusteth, though a Jordan rush to his mouth. By making the river the object rather than the subject of the verb עשׁק , oppress, (margin,) “do violence,” “swell,” the A.V. obscures the true sense. The word ‘ ha-shak, “swell,” is now by almost universal consent admitted to be used of the river metaphorically, and to indicate the violence that comes from a flood. With this agrees the Septuagint, “should there come a flood he would not regard it.” In like manner the Syriac and Arabic.

Trusteth Is confident; partly from the fact that the water is his habitat.

That כ , though; thus Noldius. Being amphibious, he is at home in the water as well as on the land, and is not driven away by any flood. His comparative serenity at the sight of a flood arises rather from his natural sluggishness than from his innate courageousness. With this agree Dr. Livingstone’s observations: “The rapids in that part of the river [the Leeambye] are relieved by several reaches of still, deep water, fifteen or twenty miles long. In these, very large herds of hippopotami are seen, and the deep furrows they make in ascending the banks to graze during the nights, are everywhere apparent. They are guided back to the water by the scent, but a long continued pouring rain makes it impossible for them to perceive, by that means, in which direction the river lies, and they are found bewildered on the land. The hunters take advantage of their helplessness on these occasions to kill them. It is impossible to judge of the numbers in a herd, for they are almost always hidden beneath the waters; but as they require to come up every few minutes to breathe, when there is a constant succession of heads thrown up, then the herd is supposed to be large. They love a still reach of the stream, as in the more rapid parts of the channel they are floated down so rapidly that much exertion is necessary to regain the distance lost, by frequently swimming up again. Such constant exertion disturbs them in their nap. They prefer to remain by day in a drowsy, yawning state, and, though their eyes are open, they take but little notice of things at a distance. The males utter a long succession of snorting grunts which may be heard a mile off.… In the rivers of Londa, where they are in much danger of being shot, even the hippopotamus gains wit by experience.”… ( Trav. in South Africa, 261, 262.) “They spend most of their time in the water, lolling about in a listless, dreamy manner. When they come out of the river by night they crop off the soft, succulent grass very neatly. When they blow, they puff up the water about three feet high.” Ibid., 284. With greater particularity Sir Samuel Baker remarks: “Although the animal is amphibious, he requires a large and constant supply of air; the lungs are of enormous size, and he invariably inflates them before diving. From five to eight minutes is the time that he usually remains under water. He then comes to the surface and expends the air by blowing; he again refills the lungs almost instantaneously, and, if frightened, he sinks immediately. In places where they have become exceedingly shy from being hunted or fired at, they seldom expose the head above the surface, but merely protrude the nose, to breathe through the nostrils. It is then impossible to shoot them.” Nile Tributaries, p. 341. Jordan Here used generically for any turbulent river, whose sudden overflow is an occasion of fear to the wild beasts along its banks. Dr. Tristram says of a sudden rise of the Jordan: “By measurement, we found that the river had been lately fourteen feet higher than its present margin, and yet it was still many feet above its ordinary level.… Everywhere are traces of wild boar, hyena, and jackal, washed probably out of their usual lairs, and taking refuge in the higher grounds.” Land of Israel, page 223. The original family relationship of the Hebrew Yarden (Jordan) to the Egyptian Jor or Aur, words used for the Nile, may have possibly led to its appearance in the text. See on Job 28:10.