Job 40:1–2 The Lord asks Job to answer, but the questions of chs. 38–39 have helped Job see that some things are beyond the reach of human power or understanding.
Job 40:3–5 In response to the Lord’s questions, Job puts his hand over his mouth, just as princes had previously done in Job’s presence (see 29:9). He pledges silence.
Job 40:6–41:34 Job knew what it was like to be misunderstood and misjudged by his friends. The Lord now shows Job how he had misjudged the Lord’s rule over the world (40:6–9). Job had displayed godly character (see 29:11–17), but in speaking about divine justice Job was going beyond what he could comprehend (40:10–14). The Lord illustrates this point further by describing Behemoth (40:15–24) and Leviathan (ch. 41). If Job is unable to subdue these powerful beasts, who are themselves a part of God’s creation, how much less should he presume to challenge God’s ways in his life (41:9–11).
Job 40:6–14 Will you even put me in the wrong? . . . that you may be in the right? Job has tried to defend his own integrity in a way that seems to imply that God is acting against his own character (v. 8).
Job 40:13 Hide them . . . in the dust is a euphemism for “bury.”
Job 40:15 Behemoth is probably a hippopotamus. Verses 16–18 can be read as poetic exaggeration.
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