Wilt thou draw out the leviathan with the hook, and press down his tongue with a cord?
God turns from behemoth to a creature of the water. The question He puts to Job sounds almost comic: could Job land this one on a fishing line, or pin his tongue down with a cord? The point is not the animal. It is the distance between a man's strength and God's.
Commentators take Leviathan to be the crocodile. The verse offers him ordinary fishing gear.
Leviathan was a water creature. He appears to be the crocodile, the most fearsome of all water animals — unless he was some similar animal that is now extinct. Job could use a hook to catch fish, but how futile the thought of a hook for a crocodile! No attack can get through his jaws or his nose. Could Job persuade him to answer softly and give in? The very appearance of the crocodile is hostile and intimidating. No one could ever tame him for play, as people tame some birds and animals, and certainly not as a pet for girls!
This animal does not keep away from people.
In Job 41 comes a still longer description of "leviathan," and I understand that to be the crocodile. The crocodile is a very dangerous beast. It is not so shy of people; on the contrary, it preys on men, women, and children, if it can get hold of them.
God's tone here is sharp. Job had spoken as a man who could judge God's ways.
"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?" You who can do such wonders! You can talk about God. You can judge for God. You can find fault with God! Well, can you catch Leviathan with a hook? You ought to be able to do that. "Or press down his tongue with a cord?" Stay away from him! Do not fight him. "Behold, the hope of a man is false." Spears and arrows are nothing to him. Even a musket ball cannot pierce the skin of a crocodile.
The verse names a hook and a cord on the tongue. The questions after it run through every other way a man might master an animal.
Can a net or hook take him, or a line pressing down on his tongue? Can you tie him up like an ordinary fish, with a reed rope through the gills? Is he shy and eager to please, or loyal and obedient? Will he become a plaything, like a pet bird, to amuse the household? Is he a regular item in the markets, bought and sold? If he cannot be caught as a fish, can darts and weapons bring him down? Anyone who has tried it will remember the terrible fight, and never try it again.
The chapter is not really about the animal. The creature is an argument about its Maker.
If this is so with this mere creature, who can stand before the Creator? Who has first given to the LORD, that he can demand it back again? Or, as the apostle asks, "Who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid?" (Rom. 11:35).
Job had wanted to argue his case with God.
Job however could not tackle Leviathan or behemoth, nor could he subdue proud man. How then could he contend with God? This was powerfully driven home into his heart.
Commentators differ over how far this description reaches. Some see only a lesson from creation. Others see a picture of human power set against God.
This creature comes up out of the water, and so suggests the first Beast of Revelation 13, the great world-power. In behemoth we see the spirit of falling away from revealed truth in religion; in leviathan we see the same spirit in civil government. And it is not limited to nations wanting to be first. The same strong self-will, which puts up with no contradiction, shows up in the single person too — a refusal to be tamed or to submit to authority. Who has ever tied down and held the proud will of man?
Read that way, the description points past the animal — and back at Job himself.
Both the behemoth and the leviathan picture Satan, his character and his rule. He is king over all the sons of pride. Now see the conclusion Job could easily draw. If he is proud, then he belongs to leviathan, the king who rules over the sons of pride. The LORD has touched the secret in Job's heart. He has searched out the depths of it. Job has cherished pride, the Devil's crime.
- Hook. God offers Job ordinary fishing tackle for a creature no tackle can hold. That is the whole point of the question.
- Creature. Commentators take Leviathan to be the crocodile: no one can tame him, sell him, play with him, or fight him and want a second try.
- Creator. If no one can master the creature, who can stand before the Creator who made him?
- Pride. Read as a picture, the beast portrays self-will that submits to no authority — in world-powers, and in Job's own heart.
- Surrender. Job could not master the animal. He could not master proud man. So how could he contend with God? That was driven home into his heart.
Wilt thou put a rush-rope into his nose, and pierce his jaw with a spike?
God ends His questioning of Job with Leviathan, the last and greatest creature He names. This verse is one of a string of mocking questions: if Job cannot rope and lead this one creature, why is he arguing with the God who made it?
One writer hears God turning Job's own confidence back on him.
You who can do such wonders; you can talk about God, and judge for God, and find fault with God! Well, can you catch Leviathan with a hook? You ought to be able to do that. … Be off with you! Do not fight him.
The questions of these verses run through the ordinary uses a man has for a fish or a pet.
Can he be captured with a net or hook, by a line pressing down on his tongue? Can he be tied up like an ordinary fish, with a rush rope passed through the gills? Is he timid and fawning, or loyal and obedient? Can he be made into a plaything, like a bird, to amuse the household?
One writer takes the creature to be a crocodile. The parts a fisherman grabs first are the parts no one can grab.
Job could use a hook to catch fish, but how pointless the thought of a hook for a crocodile! No attack of any kind can get through his jaws or his nose.
The questions are not about wildlife. No man can answer one of them, and they all drive at a single conclusion.
If this is true of a mere creature, who can stand before the Creator? Who has first given to the Lord, that he can demand it back again?
These chapters can read like poetry about the wonders of the animal world. One writer says that misses the point.
Men talk as if God's object was merely to occupy us with His works. God, on the contrary, brings forward His works to turn us away from our own thoughts and bow us before Himself. For if the works of God are so wonderful, who is He that made them, and what is man if he dares to judge such a God? … Do you think that after this Job was occupied with behemoth or with Leviathan? Not at all, but with God; and this was the design of it all.
Writers agree the beast stands for something beyond itself, but they differ on what. Some read him as the adversary of God and man:
God now shows Job, under the figure of Leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him. What a terrible one this king over all the children of pride is. … But what could be God's object in describing the power of the adversary like this? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself.
Others read him as human power in revolt. This writer sets Leviathan beside behemoth, the great creature God described just before:
If in behemoth we have the spirit of turning away from revealed truth in religion, in Leviathan we see that spirit in civil government. … This is not limited to nations. The same spirit of strong self-will, which will take no contradiction, shows itself in the individual too. It is an untamable refusal to submit to authority. Who has ever bound and held the proud will of man?
Job cannot put a hook in this creature's nose. God says elsewhere what He will do to a proud king who raged against Him.
God's answer is, "Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come into my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came" (Isaiah 37:29). Compare these words with God's words to Gog in Ezekiel 38:4, "I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out."
- Ridicule. The question mocks Job: a rope and a hook are fishing gear, and no attack gets through this creature's jaws and nose.
- Creature. No man can rope, lead or tame this one creature. So no man can stand before the One who made it.
- Creator. God's object in the whole description was to lead Job into complete dependence on Him.
- Pride. Commentators differ on what Leviathan pictures: Satan, human government in revolt, or the proud will no one has ever bound. All read him as pride that will not submit.
- Reversal. What no man can do, God does: He puts His own hook in the nose of the proud and turns them back the way they came.
Will he make many supplications unto thee? or will he speak softly unto thee?
God is questioning Job, and He turns to one more creature: leviathan. The question in this verse is absurd on purpose — would such a monster ever beg Job for mercy or speak softly to him? — and its point is not the animal, but the God who made it.
The verse sits inside a long run of questions. God asks Job whether he can catch this creature, tame it, or sell it. Here is one writer's own rendering of those lines:
Do you put a rush rope in his nose, or pierce his jaw with a thorn? Will he beg you again and again? Will he speak tender words to you? Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him as a slave forever? Will you play with him like a pet bird, or tie him up for your girls?
"Many pleas" and "soft words" are the language of a beaten enemy asking for terms. God asks Job to picture it, and the picture falls apart at once.
Job could use a hook to catch fish, but how useless the thought of a hook for a crocodile! (v.1). No attack can get through his jaws or his nose (v.2). Could Job persuade him to answer softly and so submit to him? (v.4). The very look of the crocodile is hostile and frightening.
The questions keep coming, and each one runs into the same wall.
Is he timid and cringing, or loyal and obedient? If he cannot be caught as a fish, can he be attacked with darts or weapons? Anyone who has tried it will remember the terrible battle, and never try again. Everyone who opposes him gives up in despair; no one dares stir him up or stand before him.
The argument does not stop at the animal. If one creature is this far beyond Job, what must its Maker be?
Like the behemoth, the leviathan is a strong beast that cannot be tamed… Then He declares that he is fierce, and that the very sight of him overwhelms a man. And if a creature is so mighty and strong, what must the One be who called this creature into existence? Verses 10 and 11 should be read: "Who then is able to stand before Me (the Creator)?… all beneath the heavens is Mine."
Some read these chapters as nature writing. One writer says that this misses the reason God brought them up.
Men talk as if God's object was only to occupy us with His works. God, on the contrary, brings forward His works to turn us away from our own thoughts and bow us to Himself. If the works of God are so wonderful, who is He that did the work? And what is man, if he dares to judge such a God?… He would turn us away from ourselves to trust in Himself. Do you think that after this Job was occupied with behemoth or with leviathan? Not at all, but with God; and this was the design of it all.
Commentators differ on the identity of the animal and on how far it pictures something beyond itself. Some keep it plain and literal:
Well now, in Job 41, comes a still longer description of "leviathan," and I understand that to be the crocodile. The crocodile is a very formidable beast. It is not so shy of the human kind; on the contrary, it preys upon men, women, and children, if it can get hold of them.
Others read the portrait as a picture of an enemy no human can negotiate with:
God now shows to Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him. What a terrible one he is — this king over all the children of pride… But what could be God's purpose in describing the power of the enemy like this? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself.
The picture is frightening. But notice who is painting it, and the fear turns to relief.
Now what a relief this is. Looked at in himself, the believer has no power to overcome Satan… Independence from God is what opened the door to Satan at the start. Simple dependence on God alone is what can shut it… It is very gracious of God to tell us how great the power of the enemy is. He does it so that we may know that our only resource is a firm trust in Himself.
- Question — God asks if leviathan will beg Job for mercy or speak softly to him. The answer is no, and it is meant to be obvious.
- Refusal — soft words would mean surrender. This creature surrenders to no one: not to hook, thorn, weapon or cage.
- Creator — if one made thing is beyond taming, the One who made it is beyond arguing with.
- Redirection — God describes the animal so that we will stop studying ourselves and look at Him.
- Dependence — God tells us how strong the enemy is, and that is a kindness. It drives the helpless to trust Him, and that trust is their only strength.
Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him as a bondman for ever?
God is questioning Job about leviathan — a beast he cannot catch, cannot fight, and cannot tame. Verse 4 asks whether this creature would ever come to terms with a man and serve him for life.
Writers usually identify leviathan with the crocodile. One follows God's questions from the creature back to its Maker.
The leviathan has generally been identified with the crocodile. Like the behemoth, the leviathan is a strong and untamable beast. Jehovah asks, Can you draw up leviathan with a hook? Can you pierce his jaw with a reed? Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him for a servant forever? Then He declares that he is fierce, and even at the sight of him one is cast down. And if a creature is so mighty and strong, what must the One be who called this creature into existence?
A covenant needs two parties who agree on terms. A servant forever means one party holds the other for life. Leviathan gives neither, even to a man who could catch him.
But suppose he is caught. Is he soft and yielding, ready to serve forever? Can you play with him as you would with a bird or a deer, a toy for girls? No, he is no commodity for traders, no game for the hunter, no safe opponent in battle. The very sight of him might knock a man flat, and the man who would provoke him is reckless. Yet what is that compared with standing before God? Who has ever given anything to Him that He should repay it, when all under heaven is His?
The wording of the verse before it — about soft words — is read as an attempt to talk the animal into surrender.
Could Job persuade him to respond softly to him in order to bring about his submission? (v.4). The very appearance of the crocodile is hostile and intimidating. He would certainly never be tamed to engage in play like some birds or animals, and certainly not as a pet for girls! (v.5).
These chapters are often quoted as nature writing. One writer says that is the opposite of their purpose.
Men talk as if God's object was merely to occupy us with His works. God, on the contrary, brings forward His works to turn us away from our own thoughts and bow us to Himself. For if the works of God are so wonderful, who is He that made them, and what is man if he dares to judge such a God?
Commentators differ over whether leviathan carries a meaning beyond the animal itself. Some stay with the creature and its Maker. Others read it as a picture of an enemy no man can bind.
God now shows Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him. What a terrible one he is — this king over all the children of pride! This world has rejected the King of Righteousness. It has preferred the horrible slavery of Satan. But what could be God's object in describing the power of the adversary like this? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Him.
Another writer reads the water-creature as pointing forward to a future world power.
But let us remember it is God who made this beast: who then could possibly stand against God? This shows the fearful, untamable character of leviathan, as wild and unapproachable as behemoth, and it reminds us of the first beast of Revelation 13, the beast who rises out of the sea. … This Beast, along with the Antichrist, will form a powerful union of such strength that they will not be afraid to challenge their own Creator! While no man can stand before them, however, the Lord will bring them down to a crushing, humiliating defeat.
Job's own words at the end show what all these questions accomplished.
"I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you." It was nothing external now, no mere distant rumour. … Do you think that searching into the structure or habits of behemoth and leviathan would have led to anything of the sort? Certainly not. He had to do with God Himself, who used them for this very purpose, and had by them turned Job away from everything to Himself.
- Untamable. Writers identify leviathan with the crocodile: a strong, untamable beast — no hook, no reed, no bargain.
- No covenant. A covenant needs two parties who can hold each other to terms. Job cannot even catch this creature, let alone keep him for life.
- The Maker. If one creature is this mighty, what must the One be who called it into existence?
- Beyond man. Some read leviathan as a picture of an enemy stronger than any man: Satan, or a world power bold enough to challenge its Creator.
- The point. God shows His works to turn us from our own thoughts and bow us to Himself. Job ended up occupied with God, not with the beast.
Wilt thou play with him as with a bird, and wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
God has been questioning Job about a creature no man can catch or tame. Now He asks something stranger still: could Job keep this monster on a string, a pet for the girls?
The picture behind the verse is a household pet — a small bird tied by a thread, handled by girls. Commentators place the crocodile beside that picture.
The very appearance of the crocodile is hostile and intimidating. He would certainly never be tamed to engage in play like some birds or animals, and certainly not as a pet for girls!
The verse sits inside a chain of refusals. God names every use a man might have for a creature, then rules each one out.
But if he is caught, is he soft and yielding, ready to give lifelong service? Or can you play with him like a bird or a deer, as a plaything for girls? No — he is no commodity for traders, no game for the hunter, no safe opponent in battle. The very sight of him could knock a man flat, and anyone who would provoke him is a fool.
God is speaking to a man who had been ready to judge His ways. The questions carry a sting.
"Can you draw out leviathan with a hook?" You who can do such wonders! You can talk about God. You can judge on God's behalf, and you can find fault with God! Well, can you catch leviathan with a hook? You ought to be able to do that. "Or press down his tongue with a cord?" Off with you! Don't you fight him.
If a man cannot leash an animal, what is he doing squaring up to the One who made it?
If this is true of a mere creature, who can stand before the Creator? (That is how verse 10 should be translated. It leads into verse 11: "Who will stand before Me?") Who has first given to the Lord, so that he can demand it back again?
Kelly draws the same conclusion from both creatures — behemoth, the great beast of the chapter before, and leviathan here.
Nothing could be more vivid than these two accounts, or more forceful than the conclusion for Job and anyone else. These are mere animals, made by God's creative will. If their might is so great, how foolish it is to resist, criticise, or even judge His ways!
The untamable creature has a human parallel. What no one can tame in the water, no one has tamed in the human heart.
This spirit is not only national. The same strong self-will, which puts up with no contradiction, shows itself in individuals too — an untamable refusal to submit to authority. Who has ever bound and held the proud will of man?
Grant turns the creature into a question Job must answer about himself.
So he is untamable and uncontrollable. Man could do nothing with him as he does with an ox or a horse. He was also completely selfish: he was of no use to any man or animal. Would Job want to be like this — strong and self-confident, with no real aim of being a help to others?
Commentators differ on what the creature stands for beyond itself. Some see the power of Satan behind it. Others see the same proud will at work in nations and in single people. Both readings land in the same place: Job needs to depend on God, not on himself.
God now shows Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him. What a terrible one this king over all the children of pride is... But what could God's aim be in describing the power of the adversary like this? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that You can do everything."
- Untamable. No hook, no rope, no leash — you can tie a bird for a child's amusement, but never leviathan.
- Unusable. The chapter dismisses every human use in turn: no servant, no trade goods, no game, no safe opponent.
- Unanswerable. If a made thing defeats you, the Maker is beyond argument — "who can stand before the Creator?"
- Unbridled. The same wild self-will lives in a man's heart; no one has ever leashed human pride.
- Undone. Job's only way out is not mastery but dependence: "I know that You can do everything."
Shall partners make traffic of him, will they divide him among merchants?
God's questions to Job about leviathan fill a whole chapter, and verse 6 uses market language: could traders bargain over him and sell him off in pieces? The question sounds almost comic, and that is the point — but commentators also ask what larger power the creature stands for.
The verse sits in a chain of questions. Each one tests a different way to master an animal, and the market question is one more failed method:
Can you catch him with a net or a hook, or with a line pressing down on his tongue? Can you tie him up like an ordinary fish, with a rope of reeds through his gills? Is he timid and eager to please, or loyal and obedient? Can you make him a plaything, like a bird, to amuse the household? Is he a regular item in the markets, bought and sold? If he cannot be caught like a fish, can you attack him with darts and weapons?
The mockery is deliberate. Another writer runs through the same failures and ends with the man who tries anyway:
If secured, is he soft and yielding, ready to do perpetual service? Or can you play with him as you would with a bird or a deer, a toy for girls? No — he is no commodity for traders, no game for the hunter, no safe opponent in a fight. The very sight of him might knock you flat, and the man who would provoke him is a fool.
The word for "merchants" here is the same Hebrew word used in other trade verses:
The same Hebrew word is translated "merchant" in Job 41:6, Proverbs 31:24 and Isaiah 23:8. So Zechariah 14:21 may mean, "there shall no more be the merchant in the house of the LORD of hosts."
Traders buy meat in order to sell it. One writer asks the obvious follow-up question:
Who would think of trying to get his flesh and make a dinner of him? Harpoons were useless against him, because they could not pierce his outer covering.
The chain of questions has an aim. It moves from the creature to its Maker, and then to what any man could claim from Him:
If this is so with a mere creature, who can stand before the Creator? Who has first given to the LORD, that he can demand it back again? Or, as the apostle asks, "Who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid?" (Romans 11:35).
Commentators differ on how far the picture reaches. Some stay at the level of nature and set the creature beside man himself:
They had brute strength but no human intelligence. It would be easier to subdue them than to bring down proud man. In Job's day human inventions had hardly begun. So this was probably not as clear then as it is now, when we subdue these mighty creatures with ease — but not proud man!
Others read a further layer, linking leviathan to the dragon and to the world-power:
The description is not only of a mighty power, but of a power for evil. So Satan is called the dragon (Revelation 20:2). He rules the earth through his instrument, the ruler of Egypt, and of him it is said, "In that day the LORD with His hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1).
If that reading is right, the chapter has a purpose beyond natural history. God shows Job a strength far greater than his own, and the effect on Job is the point:
God now shows Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him. What a terrible one this king over all the children of pride is. But what could be God's object in describing the power of the adversary like this? Surely it was to lead Job into entire dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that You can do all things."
- Untamable. Hook, rope, pet, dinner, harpoon — the questions change, the answer never does. It is always no.
- Unsellable. No trader can price him, cut him into portions or carry him to market.
- Unassailable. The sight of him alone can knock a man flat, and only a fool provokes him.
- Unanswerable. The argument climbs from creature to Creator: if a made thing defeats you, who can stand before the One who made it?
- Undone. Some see Satan and the world-power in leviathan; others see only brute strength. The aim is the same — Job's pride gives way to dependence on God.
Wilt thou fill his skin with darts, and his head with fish-spears?
God's questions to Job move from the land to the water. Here they settle on one creature that no weapon can touch. Verse 7 asks if Job can drive harpoons into its hide. Behind that question stands a bigger one: who can master anything in God's world?
Commentators identify leviathan with the crocodile. Verse 7 names the gear a hunter would reach for, and rules it out.
Leviathan was a water creature. He appears to be the crocodile, the most fearsome of all water animals, unless he was another animal like it that is now extinct... Harpoons were useless against him, because they could not get through his outer covering (v.7). If anyone was bold enough to lay a hand on him, let him remember the fight that came of any such attempt, and never do it again! (v.8).
A harpoon was made to hold fast once it struck.
Irons shaped like a harpoon, which go into the flesh easily but cannot be pulled out again. God, to show His wisdom and power to Job, speaks of the leviathan, or crocodile, which barbed irons cannot enter. Job 41:7.
Job had talked about God's ways and found fault with them. So God asks him to handle one animal.
"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?" You who can do such wonders; you can talk about God; and you can judge for God, and you can find fault with God! Well, can you catch leviathan with a hook?... Do not fight him. "Behold, the hope of him is in vain." Spears or arrows are nothing to him. Even a musket ball cannot pierce the skin of a crocodile. "His scales are his pride." It is not only that he has enormous strength, and that no ordinary weapon can wound him; he is also so confident in it himself.
Chapters like this are often read as nature study. Kelly says that misses what God is doing.
People talk as if God's only purpose was to occupy us with His works. God does the opposite. He brings forward His works to turn us away from our thoughts and bow us to Himself. If the works of God are so wonderful, who is He that did the work? And what is man, if he dares to judge such a God?... Do you think that after this Job was occupied with behemoth or with leviathan? Not at all, but with God; and this was the design of it all.
Several writers see more here than an animal.
In all this first part of the description, we see the fierce, unapproachable, untameable character of this creature. The clear conclusion is the one already pointed out: if the creature is so mighty, what must the Creator be? But, as I have said, we should expect something more here than a declaration of God's greatness and power. This is not only a mighty power; it is a power for evil. So Satan is spoken of as the dragon (Revelation 20:2)... "In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1).
Commentators differ on what leviathan pictures. Ridout points to Satan himself. Grant points to a world empire still to come.
Leviathan is a water creature. He plainly pictures the non-Jewish power that will rise during the Tribulation, a revival of the Roman Empire... Of him people will say, "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?" (Revelation 13:4)... While no man can stand before them, however, the Lord will bring them down to a defeat of abject humiliation.
If no weapon works, what is left for a believer to do?
Now what a relief this is. The believer looked at in himself has no power to overcome Satan. Man failed before him while he was still innocent. How much less can he stand now that he has fallen. It was independence of God that opened the door for Satan at first; and it is simple dependence on God alone that can shut it... It is very gracious of God to tell us how great the power of the enemy is. He does it so we may know that our only resource is a firm trust in Himself.
- Weapon — the harpoon was built to sink in and never come out; against this creature it does not even enter.
- Failure — God names every tool Job could reach for and rules each one out. Job's own strength comes up short.
- Redirection — God describes His works not to make us study them, but to turn us from ourselves to Himself.
- Enemy — writers see a power for evil here. Some read leviathan as Satan. Others read it as a coming world empire.
- Resource — God tells us how strong the enemy is as a kindness. It leaves dependence on Him as the one thing needed.
Lay thy hand upon him; remember the battle, -- do no more!
God ends His answer to Job with a long look at one creature. In verse 8 the description turns into a dare. God tells Job to lay a hand on leviathan — and warns him, in the same breath, that one round will cure him of ever trying again.
The question is not an invitation but a dismissal. Job has talked about God and judged His ways, so God asks whether he can handle one animal.
"Can you draw out leviathan with a hook?" You who can do such wonders; you can talk about God, and you can judge for God, and you can find fault with God! Well, can you catch leviathan with a hook? You ought to be able to do that. "Or press down his tongue with a cord?" (vv. 1–8). Be off with you! Do not fight him. "Behold, the hope of him is in vain." Spears or arrows are nothing to him, and even a musket ball has no power to pierce the skin of a crocodile.
Verse 8 sits at the end of a list. Each earlier question rules out one way of handling him: fishing, taming, selling, spearing. Only bare hands are left. One memory of that battle then settles the matter for good.
Can he be captured with a net or hook, by a line pressing down on his tongue? Can he be bound like an ordinary fish with a rush rope passed through the gills? Is he timid and fawning, or loyal and obedient? Can he be made into a plaything, like a bird, for the amusement of the household? Is he a regular item in the markets, bought and sold? If he cannot be caught as a fish, can he be attacked with darts, with weapons? Whoever has tried this will surely remember the fearful battle, and will never try again. He is the despair of all opposition; none dare stir him up or stand before him.
A closer rendering shows how compressed the line is — three short blows, with the memory of the fight doing the arguing.
Do you fill his skin with pikes, or his head with fish-spears? Put your hand on him — remember the battle — you will not do it again: Behold, his hope proves false.
The animal is never the point. The argument runs upward: if a made thing is beyond Job, what is the One who made it?
If such is the might of mere brutes, the effect of God's creative will, what folly to resist, censure, or even judge His ways!
Commentators differ here. Some read the chapter as a description of a crocodile. Others say it points to more than natural history.
In all this first part of the description we see how fierce, unapproachable and untamable this creature is. The obvious conclusion is the one already drawn: if the creature is so mighty, what must the Creator be? But, as already said, we should expect something more here than this declaration of God's greatness and power. This is not only a mighty power; it is a power for evil. So Scripture calls Satan the dragon (Rev. 20:2).
Ridout finds the same defiance in the great empires of history.
Man's rule, as opposed to God's — how common it has been! In Nebuchadnezzar we have this pride displayed at the very summit of Babylon's greatness. And ever since his day, how kings have dreamed of world-empire — Median, Grecian, Roman, and all the lesser Caesars since that day. How fierce and cruel they have been — how intractable, how untamable. Who could dispute with them at the height of their power — "remember the battle, do so no more."
Learning that a fight is unwinnable sounds crushing. Taken the right way, it is the opposite.
Now what a relief this is. The believer, looked at in himself, has no power to overcome Satan. Man failed before him when innocent; much less, then, now that he is fallen, is he able to stand. It was independence of God that opened the door to Satan at first, and it is simple dependence on God alone that can shut it. May God give us a deep sense of dependence on Himself. It is very gracious of God to tell us what the power of the enemy is, so that we may know that our only resource is a firm trust in Himself.
- Dare — The invitation to lay a hand on leviathan is not encouragement but a warning: "Do not fight him."
- Defeat — Hook, rope, market, spear: God rules out every method first. Whoever tries the last one will "remember the fearful battle" and never try again.
- Deduction — If one creature of God's making is beyond Job, then to "resist, censure, or even judge His ways" is folly.
- Depth — Some read leviathan as the crocodile. Others see "a power for evil" behind it — the pride that rose in Nebuchadnezzar and in every empire since.
- Dependence — God tells us how strong the enemy is, and that comes as a relief. It drives us off self and onto Him, where "our only resource is a firm trust in Himself."
Lo, hope as to him is belied is not one cast down even at the sight of him?
God's final speech to Job ends with a long portrait of leviathan, a creature no man can capture or fight. Verse 9 draws the conclusion, and it is aimed at Job himself. Who is this creature, and why does God press it on a suffering man who has been demanding a hearing?
The verse belongs to a run of taunting questions about catching, taming and fighting the beast. One commentator hears God telling Job to give up the fight before it starts. Ordinary weapons cannot even pierce the creature's skin:
"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?" You who can do such wonders; you can talk about God; and you can judge for God, and you can find fault with God! "Or press down his tongue with a cord?" (vv. 1-8). Be off with you! Do not fight him. "Behold, the hope of a man is false." Spears or arrows are nothing to him, and even a musket ball has no power to pierce the skin of a crocodile.
The hope that fails belongs to the attacker. The man who survives one fight with this creature never comes back for a second:
Anyone who has tried this will remember the terrible battle, and will never try again. He is the despair of all who oppose him. No one dares stir him up or stand before him.
One writer settles on the crocodile rather than the whale or dolphin. He draws his point straight from the creature's strength:
The leviathan described here seems beyond doubt to be the crocodile, not the dolphin or the whale, as some learned men have argued. Nothing could be more vivid than these descriptions, and nothing more forceful than the conclusion they press on Job and on everyone else. If mere animals are this mighty, and God made them by His will, what folly it is to resist His ways, or criticise them, or even judge them!
The description of the animal is only a step. The verses that follow turn the question to God Himself:
If this is true of a mere creature, who can stand before the Creator? (That is how we should translate verse 10, and it leads on to verse 11: "Who will stand before Me?") Who has first given to the Lord, so that he can demand it back again? Or, as the apostle asks, "Who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid?" (Rom. 11:35).
Several writers see more here than a strong animal. The name reappears in the prophets for a hostile power that God alone can destroy:
The chapter describes not only a mighty power, but a power for evil. So Scripture calls Satan the dragon (Rev. 20:2). And as ruler of the earth, acting through his instrument the ruler of Egypt, he is the one spoken of here: "In that day the LORD with His hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea" (Isa. 27:1).
Commentators differ on where this points. Some see Satan himself. Others see a ruler still to come. Either way, the end is settled:
The Lord assures Job that any hope of overcoming Leviathan is futile: the very sight of the beast should overwhelm his would-be attacker. No human is so fierce that he would dare to stir up such a creature (v.10). But let us remember it is God who made this beast: who then could possibly stand against God? … This Beast, along with the Antichrist, will form a union so strong that they will not be afraid to challenge their own Creator! While no man can stand before them, however, the Lord will bring them down to a defeat of abject humiliation.
Read this way, the description does more than humble Job. It clears away a false hope so a true one can take its place:
The believer looked at in himself has no power to overcome Satan. Man failed before him while still innocent. Now that he has fallen, he is even less able to stand. It was independence of God that opened the door for Satan at first; and it is simple dependence on God alone that can shut it. It is very gracious of God to tell us how strong the enemy is. Then we know that our only resource is a firm trust in Himself.
- Vain hope. The hope that fails is the attacker's own. Hook, cord and weapon all fail, and one battle cures a man of trying again.
- Vain against a creature. Leviathan, most likely the crocodile, is only something God made. Resisting or judging its Maker is folly.
- Vain before the Creator. The argument climbs from the beast to verse 10: "Who will stand before Me?" No one has ever given God anything He must repay.
- Vain against the enemy. Read as a picture of the power of evil, leviathan is beyond any man's strength. Yet the Lord will bring it down.
- Hope that holds. Independence from God opened the door to the enemy. Only dependence on God shuts it. He shows us the enemy's power so that we will trust Him alone.
None is so bold as to stir him up; and who is he that will stand before me?
God's questions to Job end with a creature no one would dare to wake. The point is not the animal. It is the One who made it. If a man will not face leviathan, how could he face leviathan's Maker?
The chapter argues by comparison, from the hook and the reed up to the closing question:
Most identify leviathan with the crocodile. Like behemoth, leviathan is a strong and untamable beast. Jehovah asks: Can you draw out leviathan with a hook? Can you pierce his jaw with a reed? Will you take him for a servant forever? Then He declares that he is fierce, and even the sight of him casts a man down. And if a creature is so mighty and strong, what must the One be who called this creature into existence? Verses 10 and 11 should read: "Who then is able to stand before Me (the Creator)? Who gave to Me first, that I should repay him? Since all beneath the heavens is Mine."
The chapter runs through every use a man might make of leviathan. Each one is absurd. And that is nothing next to the real subject.
Can you play with him like a bird or a deer, a toy for girls? He is no commodity for traders, no game for the hunter, no safe opponent in battle. The very sight of him might knock you flat, and the man who would provoke him is a fool. Yet what is that compared with making a stand before God?
The second half of the verse turns from the beast to God. The next verse says why: no one has ever put God in their debt.
If this is true of a mere creature, who can stand before the Creator? (This is how verse 10 should read. It leads up to verse 11, "Who will stand before Me?") Who has ever given to Jehovah first, so that he can demand it back? Or, as the apostle asks, "Who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" (Romans 11:35).
Commentators differ on what leviathan pictures. Some see a power for evil, and behind it Satan himself:
This describes not only a mighty power, but a power for evil. Scripture calls Satan the dragon (Revelation 20:2). As ruler of the earth, working through his instrument the ruler of Egypt, he is the one spoken of here: "In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1).
Others link the same creature to the beast of Revelation, whom no one will dare to fight:
No human is so fierce that he would dare to stir up such a creature (v.10). But let us remember it is God who made this beast. Who then could stand against God?… Of him people will say, "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?" (Revelation 13:4). No man can stand before the beast and the Antichrist. Yet the Lord will bring them down to a humiliating defeat.
So why did God describe such an enemy to Job at all?
Under the figure of leviathan, God now shows Job that the power of Satan is too great for him. … But what could be God's purpose in describing the power of the enemy? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Him. "I know," says Job, "that you can do all things." … It was independence of God that opened the door to Satan at first, and simple dependence on God alone can shut it.
God did not put these creatures before Job as a subject to study. He put them there to bow Job before Himself.
God brings forward His works to turn us away from our own thoughts and bow us to Himself. If the works of God are so wonderful, who is He who made them, and what is man if he dares to judge such a God?… "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you." It was nothing external now, no distant rumour… "Therefore I despise myself." Do you think that studying the build or habits of behemoth and leviathan would have led to anything like that? Certainly not. He was dealing with God Himself. God used those creatures for that very purpose, and through them turned Job away from everything else to Himself.
- Stand: the creature. No one dares wake leviathan. No hook holds him, no trader wants him, no one tames him.
- Stand: the Creator. The verse turns on a comparison — if a made thing is beyond you, the One who made it is further beyond you still.
- Stand: no claim. Verse 10 leads into verse 11. No one can stand before God, and no one has ever given Him anything He must repay.
- Stand: the evil power. Commentators differ here. Some see Satan the dragon. Others see the coming beast people call unbeatable. Both say God will bring it down.
- Stand: Job's collapse. God's aim was dependence, not zoology. Job stopped defending himself when his eye saw God.
Who hath first given to me, that I should repay [him]? [Whatsoever is] under the whole heaven is mine.
God's speech from the whirlwind ends with leviathan, a creature no one can hook, tame, or fight. If no one dares face that beast, who can face its Maker — and what could anyone ever hand God that was not already His?
The whole leviathan description builds to this verse. One writer reads verse 10 as the lead-in, so the challenge shifts from the animal to God Himself.
If this is true of a mere creature, who can stand before the Creator? (For this is how verse 10 should be rendered — "Who will stand before Me?" — leading up to verse 11.) Who has first given to Jehovah, that he can demand it back again? Or, as the apostle asks, "Who has first given to Him, and it shall be repaid to him again?" (Rom. 11:35).
Another writer lists what nobody can do with this creature, then asks what facing God would be like.
He is no commodity for traders, no game for the hunter, no safe opponent for battle. The very sight of him might knock a man flat, and the man who provokes him is reckless. Yet what is that compared to making a stand before God? And who ever gave to Him that He should repay, since all under heaven is His?
The creature no one can tame has a human counterpart. One writer traces the same refusal to be mastered in the will of man.
The principle — independence of God, seeking to make a name for itself — has been visible since the days of Cain, who built a city, and of Nimrod, who founded the first great world-empire (Gen. 10:8-10). This is not limited to national greatness. The same spirit of strong self-will, which puts up with no contradiction, shows up in the individual too — an untamable refusal to be under authority. Who has ever bound and held the proud will of man?
The first half of the verse rules out a whole way of relating to God. Man keeps trying to reverse the roles, and Scripture keeps refusing.
Man would gladly make God a receiver instead of a giver. But this cannot be. "It is more blessed to give than to receive," and God must have the more blessed place. God can accept the smallest gift from a heart that has learned the deep truth in those words, "Of your own have we given you." But the moment a man dares to take the place of the first giver, God's reply is, "If I were hungry, I would not tell you." For "He is not served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life and breath and everything." Praise is all that we can offer to God. But we can only offer it when we know clearly that our sins are all put away, and that comes only through faith in the accomplished atonement.
Another writer turns the question on people who treat their own good works as a claim on God.
We have neither known His mind, nor had anything to do with His counsel. Still less have we given to Him first, so that He should be in debt to repay us. This has been Israel's folly, and the folly of many more. They would gladly make themselves creditors of God, as though their good works and assumed righteousness were a claim upon Him! Elihu rightly demanded of Job, "If you are righteous, what do you give Him? Or what does He receive from your hand?" (Job 35:7).
The second half of the verse gives the ground for the first: since all is His already, no gift of ours can be first. One writer notes how easily talk of rights leaves God out.
How seldom those who talk of rights seem to think that God has any! They are absorbed in themselves, in man; God is in none of their thoughts. Yet if any rights are to be respected at all, His must come first — the One whose sovereign will gave us being and everything else. If we think ourselves entitled to do what we like with what is ours, what shall we say of Him? We ourselves and all that we have belong to Him.
All of this aimed at one man: Job, who had been judging God's ways.
If such is the strength of mere animals, made by God's creative will, what folly to resist, criticise, or even judge His ways!
- Creature, then Creator. No one dares provoke leviathan. So no one can make a stand before the One who made him.
- Nothing given first. No one has ever put God under obligation. The same question turns up again in Romans 11:35.
- Because all is His. Since everything under heaven already belongs to God, no gift can be original — "of your own have we given you."
- The reversed roles. Man keeps trying to make God a receiver and himself a creditor, treating good works as a claim. But God gives to all life and breath and everything.
- The result in Job. If mere animals are beyond him, it is folly to resist, criticise, or judge God's ways.
I will not be silent as to his parts, the story of his power, and the beauty of his structure.
At verse 12 God promises to hold nothing back about leviathan — its limbs, its strength, its frame. Why spend so many words on a monster no one can catch, and what was Job meant to learn from it?
God begins by refusing to stay quiet about the creature. That refusal says as much about God as about leviathan:
But the Lord says of Leviathan, "I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame" (v.12). The Lord would not hesitate to describe him exactly as he is. He describes him so we would know that He knew him perfectly and took full account of his strength.
This verse opens the door to the rest of the chapter, where even the creature's shields carry a kind of majesty:
Details are then given, from verse 12 to the end. … Then what majesty the curved shields have! They close as tight as a seal, so no breath can get in, and every part holds together and cannot be pulled apart.
Another writer runs through the creature's parts and lands on its pride:
A more detailed description of the leviathan follows. His frame is strong; his outer garment is so invulnerable — who can strip it off? His teeth are terrible; who can open the doors of his face, that is, his mouth? His scales, his armour, are his pride.
God is not giving Job a nature lesson. The greatness of the work points to the greatness of the One who made it:
Men talk as if God's object was merely to occupy us with His works. God, on the contrary, brings forward His works to turn us away from our thoughts and bow us to Himself; for if the works of God are so wonderful, who is He that did the work, and what is man if he dares to judge such a God?
Yet greatness is not the whole lesson. The creature also stands for something evil:
In all this first part of the description, we have the fierce, unapproachable, untamable character of this creature. The conclusion is clear, as already shown: if the creature is so mighty, what must the Creator be? But, as we said, we should expect something more than this declaration of God's greatness and power. This is not only a mighty power; it is a power for evil.
Commentators differ on what leviathan pictures. One writer pairs leviathan with behemoth and reads both as figures of the same enemy:
Both beasts typify power and pride. So we must admit that Wordsworth's comment does not seem entirely far-fetched: "It seems probable that behemoth represents the Evil One acting in the animal and fleshly parts of man's own makeup. Leviathan symbolises the Evil One working as his enemy from outside. Behemoth is the enemy within us; leviathan is the enemy outside us."
Another writer turns the creature's title on Job himself:
He is king over all the sons of pride. … And now the conclusion which Job could easily draw. If he is proud, then he belongs to leviathan, the king who rules over the sons of pride. Jehovah has touched the secret in Job's heart. He has searched out its depths. He had cherished pride, the Devil's crime.
Learning how strong his enemy is leaves Job one place to go:
God now shows Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him. … But what could God's object be in describing the power of the adversary like this? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that You can do all things."
- Speaks — God refuses to keep silent about leviathan. He names the enemy's power out loud.
- Measures — God lists the limbs, the strength, the frame. He knows this creature perfectly and has taken full account of what it can do.
- Outmatches — If the creature is this mighty, what must the Creator be?
- Exposes — Leviathan's armour is his pride, and he is king over the sons of pride. A proud person belongs to that king.
- Bends — The whole description moves Job off himself and onto God, who can do all things.
Who can uncover the surface of his garment? who can come within his double jaws?
God speaks to Job out of the storm and points him to one creature: who could handle it? The questions about stripping its hide and bridling it are not lessons in zoology — they take aim at a man who had been arguing with God.
Commentators take leviathan to be the crocodile. They read the pictures in this verse as plain descriptions of its body. One writer ties each question to a part of the animal:
A more detailed description of the leviathan follows. His body is strong. His outer garment cannot be pierced — who can strip it off? His teeth are terrible — who can open the doors of his face (his mouth)? His scales, his armour, are his pride. This is a good description of the crocodile's hide.
Others have argued for the dolphin or the whale. One commentator notes that most settled on the crocodile once they studied the question closely, and that no description could be more vivid, or the lesson for Job more forceful.
Just before this verse, God says He will not hide the creature's limbs or strength. Holding nothing back is part of the argument:
The Lord would not hesitate to describe him exactly as he is. He wanted us to know that He knew this creature through and through, and took full account of his strength… Men have caught crocodiles and kept them in large pools of water. But who would dare get into the same pool, as some people do with dolphins?
The "outer garment" is the creature's hide, and no one can peel it off. One writer reads that seamless armour as a picture of something in the heart:
The scales on his head and body are an armour nothing can get through, and so is pride — each scale linked to the next, with no gap in the armour where an arrow could pierce.
A bridle goes on an animal someone has already tamed, and older translations read this second question as coming within the creature's double jaws. Either way, no one gets that close. The same writer takes the question past the riverbank, first to a nation and then to a single person:
The principle (independence from God), trying to make a name for itself, has been on show since the days of Cain, who built a city, and of Nimrod, who founded the first great world empire (Gen. 10:8-10). It is not limited to nations that want to be first. The same spirit of strong self-will, which allows no contradiction, shows up in the individual as well — a refusal to bow to authority that no one can tame. Who has ever tied down and held the proud will of man?
Commentators differ on what the creature stands for. Some read him as a picture of world power. Another sees in him the strength of the enemy:
God now shows Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him… Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself.
The danger is to stop at the animal and admire it. God's aim runs in the opposite direction:
People talk as if God's aim was just to keep us busy with His works. God does the opposite. He brings His works forward to turn us away from our own thoughts and bow us before Himself. If the works of God are so wonderful, who is He who made them? And what is man, if he dares to judge such a God?
God's questions press hard on a broken man. One writer calls that pressure mercy:
Is it cruel of the Lord to treat a poor, broken-hearted man like this? Ask instead: would it have been kind to leave him wrapped in his pride like a garment, shouting against the Almighty? Pride can only be brought low one way — by standing face to face with its own nothingness before the majesty and boundless goodness of God.
- Garment — the "outer garment" is the crocodile's hide. No one can strip it off. The picture starts with a real animal, not a symbol.
- Bridle — you bridle an animal you have already tamed, and no one has tamed this one. Its scales are its pride, sealed so tight no arrow finds a gap.
- Will — the same untamed will runs through empires since Nimrod and through one stubborn heart. That is why the picture lands on Job.
- Purpose — God shows His works to turn us from our own thoughts and bow us before Himself. He is not making us students of wildlife.
- Kindness — leaving Job wrapped in his pride would not have been mercy. Pride only bows when it stands face to face with God.
Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his teeth is terror.
God's final questions to Job move from the whole creature to its head — and stop at the one place no one would ever put a hand. Why does God spend so many verses on a mouth, and what is a broken man meant to learn from it?
One writer works through the description and explains the phrase in the verse:
A more detailed description of the leviathan follows. His body is strong. His outer covering cannot be pierced — who can strip it off? His teeth are terrible. Who can open the doors of his face (his mouth)? His scales, his armour, are his pride.
Another renders the Hebrew line by line, and the word order itself carries the menace — the jaws come first, and terror is what surrounds the teeth:
Who has uncovered the face of his garment? Into his double jaws who enters in? The doors of his face, who has opened? Round about his teeth is terror.
God does not ask whether anyone can catch the creature. He asks who would go near its face. Commentators identify leviathan with the crocodile:
Men have captured crocodiles and put them in large pools of water. But who would dare to get into the same pool, as some do with dolphins?
These chapters are often read as nature writing. One writer insists that misses the whole point of them:
Men talk as if God's object was merely to occupy us with His works. God does the opposite. He brings forward His works to turn us away from our own thoughts and bow us to Himself. If the works of God are so wonderful, who is He that made them? And what is man, if he dares to judge such a God? ... Do you think that after this Job was occupied with behemoth or with leviathan? Not at all, but with God; and this was the design of it all.
Commentators see more than an animal here. One gives the reason:
It is not only a mighty power that is described, but a power for evil. So Satan is spoken of as the dragon (Revelation 20:2). And as ruler of the earth, through his instrument the ruler of Egypt, it is said of him, "In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1).
The title at the close of the chapter then turns on Job himself:
Both the behemoth and the leviathan typify Satan, his character and his rule. He is king over all the sons of pride... And now the deduction which Job could easily make. If he is proud then he belongs to leviathan the king who rules over the sons of pride. The LORD has touched the secret in Job's heart.
The armoured jaw that will not be opened has a counterpart nearer home. One writer turns the untameable creature into a mirror:
Applied to each person, this "crooked serpent" is a picture of the perverted will of man. All sin has its roots in disobedience. Men may smile at it, but what more terrible thing is there than this self-will — the carnal mind... What use is the effort to reform the world, to tame the crocodile? Men may dream and plan, and try to drive misery off the earth. But even while it groans, creation mocks at human efforts to subdue its own perverted will.
Why describe an enemy Job could never beat? One writer gives the purpose:
God now shows to Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him... But what could be God's object in describing the power of the adversary in this way? Surely it was to lead Job into entire dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that you can do all things."
The chapter asks who can open those doors. One writer sets that question beside victories no human sword could win:
Could Joshua's or David's sword have won such victories as these? Would the principalities of darkness have yielded to them? Would death and hell have submitted themselves? "Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?" But "He who made him can bring near His sword."
- Terror. The doors of the face are the beast's mouth, ringed with teeth. No one would dare open it.
- Turn. The works are not the destination; God displays them to draw a man off his own reasoning and bow him before the Maker.
- Pride. Behind the crocodile stands a power for evil. The chapter calls him king over all the sons of pride — so every proud heart sits under his rule.
- Powerless. The untameable jaw pictures the self-will in man that no reform or effort can subdue.
- Dependence. Shown an enemy too strong for him, Job is left with only one refuge: the One who made leviathan can bring His sword near.
The rows of his shields are a pride, shut up together [as with] a close seal.
God is still speaking out of the storm, describing leviathan — a creature no man can catch or tame. Here He points to its back, and the question is why such armour should matter to a suffering man.
One writer reads the verse first of all as a description of a real animal:
His frame is strong. His outer garment cannot be pierced — who can strip it off? His scales, his armour, are his pride. Here is a good description of the crocodile's hide. The scales are so close to each other that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another and stick together, so that they cannot be pulled apart.
Older translations read the first line as "his scales are his pride." One writer points to what lies behind that pride:
"His scales are his pride." It is not only his enormous strength, and the fact that no ordinary weapon can pierce him. He is also so confident in that armour himself.
The Bible uses a seal in more than one sense. One of them shapes the picture in this verse:
A second idea connected with it is the closing up for safety of something important and vital... Job 41:15-17 gives a remarkable illustration: the scales of "leviathan" are like a close seal, and not even air can get through them.
The scales do more than describe a body. One writer sees in them the way pride guards a person:
The scales on his head and body are, like pride, an armour nothing can get through — each scale linked to the next, with no gap in the armour where an arrow could pierce.
If the creature cannot be tamed, neither can the thing it pictures in man:
Coming to how this applies to each person, we see in this "crooked serpent" a picture of the twisted will of man. All sin has its roots in disobedience. Men may smile at it, but what is more terrible than this self-will — the mind of the flesh... What use is the effort to reform the world, to tame the crocodile? Men may dream and plan, and try to drive misery off the earth. But even while it groans, creation mocks at human efforts to subdue its own twisted will.
Commentators differ on what the creature stands for. Some see Satan behind leviathan and behemoth, the other great creature God has just described. They read the scales as a mirror held up to Job's own heart:
Both the behemoth and the leviathan picture Satan, his character and his rule. He is king over all the sons of pride... And now comes the conclusion Job could easily draw. If he is proud, then he belongs to leviathan, the king who rules over the sons of pride. God has touched the secret in Job's heart. He has searched out its depths. Job has cherished pride, the Devil's own sin.
Others take it as a portrait of a coming world ruler who guards himself the same way:
These rows of scales are shut up tightly as with a seal, so that he is protected as by a coat of armour. The Roman Beast too will use every means of protecting himself against the attacks of any enemy.
The chapter is not a nature lesson. Its aim is to move Job off his own ground:
Men talk as if God's aim was only to occupy us with His works. God does the opposite. He brings forward His works to turn us away from our own thoughts and bow us to Himself. For if the works of God are so wonderful, who is He that made them? And what is man, if he dares to judge such a God?... Do you think that after this Job was taken up with behemoth or with leviathan? Not at all, but with God. That was the design of it all.
- Sealed — the rows of shields fit so tightly that not even air passes between them. A seal here means a closing up that nothing can enter.
- Proud — the same armour that keeps the creature safe makes it sure of itself. Strength it can trust in becomes pride.
- Impervious — pride works the same way in a person: linked scale to scale, with no gap where an arrow could reach.
- Untameable — writers differ on what leviathan pictures: Satan, or a coming world ruler. Either way, no human effort can tame it.
- Bowed — God does not show the creature for us to study. He shows it so Job stops judging Him and trusts Him instead.
One is so near to another that no air can come between them;
God answers Job with a whole chapter about one creature, and here He lingers on its skin: scale locked to scale, with no gap anywhere. Why would God settle a suffering man's questions by describing an animal's armour?
One writer sums up the chapter, moving from the sealed shields to the weapons that fail against them.
Then what majesty (or pride) in those curved shields! They close like a seal, so that breath cannot enter, and every part holds to the next so that nothing can pull them apart. ... No wonder the mightiest tremble when he rises. They miss their mark through fear. If one of them does reach him, the sword does not hold, nor spear, mace, nor lance, for he counts iron as straw and copper as rotten wood.
The tight fit is not only a fact about the animal. One writer reads that gap-free covering as a picture of pride.
The scales on his head and body are, like pride, an armour nothing can get through — each scale linked to the next, and no joint in the armour where an arrow could pierce.
Commentators agree the language fits a real animal, and they differ on what it stands for. One reads the verse as an exact account of a crocodile's hide, and reasons from the creature back to its Maker:
If a creature is so mighty and strong, what must the One be who called this creature into existence? ... Here is a good description of the crocodile's hide. The scales are so near each other that no air can come between them; they are joined one to another, they stick together, so that they cannot be pulled apart. ... The final statement about leviathan is that he is king over all the sons of pride.
Another sees in the sealed plating a picture of the last world ruler, who will make himself untouchable:
So he is protected as if by a coat of armour. The Roman Beast too will use every means to protect himself against the attacks of any enemy.
The chapter is not there to turn us into students of the animal.
Men talk as if God's object was only to occupy us with His works. God, on the contrary, brings forward His works to turn us away from our thoughts and bow us to Himself. For if the works of God are so wonderful, who is He that did the work? And what is man, if he dares to judge such a God? ... Do you think that after this Job was occupied with behemoth or with leviathan? Not at all, but with God; and this was the design of it all.
Another writer reaches the same point from Job's side. A power too great for Job drove him to lean on God.
God now shows Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him. ... But what could be God's object in describing the power of the adversary like this? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that You can do all things."
The same picture works the other way round. One writer lists what sealing means in Scripture, and this verse gives him his sharpest example:
A second idea connected with sealing is the closing up for safety of something important and vital... Job 41:15-17 gives a remarkable illustration: there the scales of "leviathan" are like a close seal, so tight that not even air can pass through.
One writer starts from the two marks of a fish that Israel was allowed to eat:
Long ago there were creatures the people of Israel were not allowed to eat, because they were unclean; others were clean. A clean fish was known by two marks: it had to have both fins and scales. The fins let it swim against the stream... There are times when a fish must swim through filthy water, and to protect it God has given it scales... Fitted with this armour, the fish can pass safely through the filth. So God has provided a way for His own to pass unharmed through all the filth around us, as well as the power to go against the stream.
- Sealed shut. Scale locks to scale like a seal. Not even breath gets in — no seam, no gap, no place for a weapon.
- Sealed by pride. One writer reads that gap-free armour as a picture of pride: no joint anywhere for an arrow to pierce.
- Sealed enemy. Writers differ on what the creature pictures. Some see the power of Satan; another sees the last world ruler. Both read the armour as self-protection.
- Sealed lips. God's aim is not to make Job study the animal but to leave him with nothing to say against God. He brings forward His works to turn us from our own thoughts to Himself.
- Sealed safe. The same picture turns kind. A seal can also mean closing something precious up for safety. God gives His own an armour for the filth around them and power to swim against the stream.
They are joined each to its fellow; they stick together, and cannot be sundered.
The verse sits inside God's long description of leviathan, the creature Job could never catch or tame. One writer identifies the animal and explains why the detail about the scales matters so much:
Commentators have generally identified the leviathan with the crocodile. Like the behemoth, the leviathan is a strong and untameable beast... And if a creature is so mighty and strong, what must the One be who called this creature into existence? Verses 10 and 11 should read: "Who then is able to stand before Me (the Creator)? Who gave to Me first, that I should repay him? Since all beneath the heavens is Mine."
Verse 15 compares the rows of scales to a seal. One writer picks up that image to show what sealing means in Scripture:
One of the meanings of sealing in Scripture is the closing up for safety of something important and vital. Job 41:15-17 gives a remarkable illustration: it compares the scales of "leviathan" to a close seal and describes them as so tight that not even air can get through.
The chapter itself names what the scales stand for. In the older translation this writer uses, verse 15 reads, "His scales are his pride."
"His scales are his pride." It is not only his enormous strength, and the fact that no ordinary weapon can pierce him. He is also completely confident in that strength himself.
Another writer goes over the creature piece by piece. He finds the same sealed hardness in every part:
The scales on his head and body are, like pride, an armour nothing can get through — each scale linked to the next, with no gap in the armour where an arrow could pierce... In most animals the flanks are a weak spot, since the ribs do not cover them; his flanks are solid and cannot be pierced. Within is a heart like stone, indifferent to all fear.
Commentators differ on how far the picture reaches. Some read the chapter as the portrait of a real animal. Others see a figure behind it, and point to the chapter's closing line, that leviathan is king over all the sons of pride:
In Isaiah 27:1 we read: "In that day the LORD ... will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea." Here leviathan stands for the power of darkness... And now the deduction which Job could easily make. If he is proud, then he belongs to leviathan, the king who rules over the sons of pride. Jehovah has touched the secret in Job's heart.
Others carry the picture forward to a coming world ruler, and read the sealed scales as his defences:
So he is protected as if by a coat of armour. The Roman Beast too will use every means to protect himself against the attacks of any enemy.
The point of the whole speech was never the creatures themselves.
So God's purpose in describing them in such grand language is not at all to make us stop there, turning them into a study that fills our minds and holds our souls. His purpose is the opposite. He would turn us away from ourselves to trust in Himself. Do you think Job spent his time on behemoth or leviathan after this? Not at all — his thoughts were on God, and that was the design of it all.
Another writer draws the same conclusion, and names the enemy he sees behind the picture:
God now shows to Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him... But what could be God's object in thus describing the power of the adversary? Surely it was to lead Job into entire dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that You can do all things."
- Sealed. The scales lock so tightly that not even air passes between them — a seal closed for safety, with no gap an arrow could find.
- Pride. The chapter calls that seamless armour the creature's pride: strength, safety from every weapon, and self-confidence in one covering.
- Stone. The same hardness runs inward — compact flanks, a heart like stone, indifferent to all fear. Pride armours the outside and deadens the inside.
- King. Commentators differ on the figure. Those who look past the crocodile see the power of darkness, or a coming world ruler, who shields himself the same way. The chapter calls him king over all the sons of pride, and Isaiah says the LORD's sword will slay him.
- Dependence. God showed Job an enemy he could not scratch. The aim was not to fascinate him with nature but to turn him from himself. Job ended by saying that God can do all things.
His sneezings flash light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
God speaks last in the book of Job, and He answers a suffering man by describing His own creation. That answer ends with leviathan, and verse 18 puts one question to Job: if you cannot face this creature, how will you argue with the One who made it?
God does not take Job through all of nature. He shows him just enough.
In the last two chapters of Jehovah's answer (Job 40, Job 41), which I must cover very briefly, God surveys not the whole realm of nature, but quite enough — more than enough — to prove Job ignorant and unable to speak before God. Job needed to learn this, so that he would distrust himself and trust God.
The description of leviathan falls into three parts. Verse 18 belongs to the middle one.
Most interpreters agree that the "leviathan" here is the crocodile of Egypt, and it is described in great detail… There seem to be three parts: (1) His fierceness that nothing can tame (verses 1-11). (2) An analysis of his various parts (verses 12-24). (3) His outstanding strength (verses 25-34).
Older English Bibles print "neesings" here, which the reference works simply translate:
"Sneezings." Job 41:18.
The second half of the verse draws on something ancient readers would have recognised at once.
His scales, his armour, are his pride. This is a good description of the crocodile's hide. The scales sit so close together that no air can get between them. They are joined to one another and stick together, so that they cannot be pulled apart. His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. You can see a crocodile's eyes from quite a distance under water. So the Egyptians used the crocodile's eyes in their picture-writing as the sign for daybreak.
The sneeze and the eyes are not stray details. They belong to a survey of the creature part by part.
Coming to the details, Jehovah shows that the beast is not only irresistible when you look at him as a whole. Each of his parts declares the same all-conquering power… The very sneezing of such a creature is like a flash of burning sulphur from hidden fires inside him (verses 18-21); his eyes flash out like rays of the rising sun.
The beast's own attitude belongs to the picture too.
"His scales are his pride." He has enormous strength, and no ordinary weapon can pierce him. More than that, he is sure of it himself.
Commentators differ on how far the picture reaches. Some read leviathan simply as one of God's creatures. Others hear a warning in the flash of light about a ruler still to come.
Of course this is figurative language. It speaks of the vicious words that come out of the mouth of the Beast, as Revelation 13:5-6 tells us about him… But the appearance of light, as though the beast brought light and wisdom with him, is a false show. Leviathan pictures this man's boastful pride and his frightening threats.
The picture of the creature is an argument about the Creator.
Nothing could be more vivid than the account of each creature, and nothing could press the conclusion home more forcefully for Job, or for anyone else. If mere animals have such might, and they are only the result of God's creative will, how foolish it is to resist God's ways, to find fault with them, or even to judge them!
And all of this was still about things we can see.
And, after all, what was God speaking about? Earthly things. Every one of these things belongs to the natural world, and has to do with what we can see, with what is visible and temporary… still, if that is true of earthly things, what about the heavenly things? What about the eternal things? There we depend on God completely.
- Creature. Most interpreters take leviathan to be the crocodile of Egypt. In Egypt, crocodile eyes stood for the dawn.
- Detail. God goes over the beast part by part in verses 12-24. Scales, sneeze, eyes — each one declares the same unbeatable power.
- Pride. His armour is also his pride. No ordinary weapon can pierce him, and he is sure of it himself.
- Shadow. Some readers see in the flashing light a picture of a coming ruler, whose light and wisdom are only a false show.
- Surrender. If one animal leaves Job speechless, it is folly to judge the ways of the God who made it. In eternal things we depend on God completely.
Out of his mouth go forth flames; sparks of fire leap out
God's speech from the storm ends with a long portrait of leviathan, and verse 19 sits at its heart — a mouth that seems to throw out fire. The chapter is not really asking about an animal: if a creature is like this, what is the Creator like, and who is man to judge His ways?
Verse 19 sits inside a run of images (verses 18-21) where God takes the creature apart limb by limb. One writer shows how each part says the same thing about its power.
Coming to details, Jehovah shows that the beast is not only irresistible as a whole; each of its parts declares the same all-conquering power. The Lord starts with its dreadful mouth, ringed with sharp, cruel teeth, and points out that everything about the beast has the same character. The very sneezing of such a creature is like sulphurous light from hidden fires within (verses 18-21); his eyes flash out like rays of the rising sun.
Most writers here identify leviathan with the crocodile. One draws out the lesson the whole description is meant to teach.
Again, the leviathan described here (Job 41) seems to be beyond doubt, not the dolphin or the whale, as some learned men have argued, but the crocodile. Nothing could be more vivid than these descriptions, and nothing more forceful than the lesson they press on Job or on anyone else. If mere animals have such might, and they exist only because God willed to create them, what folly it is to resist, criticise, or even judge His ways!
Another writer asks it as a plain question: "if a creature is so mighty and strong, what must the One be who called this creature into existence?" (Arno Clemens Gaebelein).
One writer takes the flaming torches of verse 19 as a picture of words — the words of the Beast, a man described in Revelation — and says the light he seems to bring is not real.
Of course this is figurative language, and speaks of the vicious words that come out of the mouth of the Beast, as Revelation 13:5-6 tells us about him. But the appearance of light, as though the beast brought light and wisdom with him, is a false show. Leviathan's character gives a vivid picture of this man's boastful pride and his frightening threats.
Commentators differ on how far the picture reaches. Some keep to the animals themselves. Leviathan and behemoth "had brute strength but no human intelligence", and "it would be easier to subdue them than to bring down proud man" (F. B. Hole). Others see something darker behind the description, and point to another place where the same name appears.
This is not only a mighty power; it is a power for evil. So Satan is called the dragon (Revelation 20:2). And as ruler of the earth, working through his instrument the ruler of Egypt, he is the one described here: "In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1). How remarkable that the world-ruler should be spoken of in this way.
Read that way, each creature stands for a different enemy: "Behemoth is the enemy within us; leviathan is the enemy outside us" (Samuel Ridout).
God had a reason for showing Job a power he could never handle.
God now shows Job, under the figure of leviathan, that the power of Satan is too great for him. What a terrible one he is, this king over all the children of pride! This world has rejected the King of Righteousness and chosen the horrible slavery of Satan instead. But why would God describe the enemy's power like this? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that you can do all things."
One writer sees design in the choice of these two creatures.
There was clearly divine design in the detailed description of the hippopotamus on one side, and in the still more detailed picture of the crocodile on the other. To an upright mind like Job's, they were fitted to overwhelm him with one thought. He who could do everything stooped to make man the object of His ways on earth. He ordered all things to bring man's heart into submission to Himself... So Job should be ashamed of his self-sufficiency.
- Creature — Most writers take leviathan as the crocodile. The flaming mouth is one detail in a limb-by-limb portrait of a beast no weapon can open.
- Creator — The argument runs upward. If the creature is this mighty, what must its Maker be? To judge His ways is folly.
- Counterfeit — The fire looks like light, but it is a false show. The mouth stands for vicious, boastful, threatening words.
- Contest — Commentators differ. Some stay with the animal. Others see a power for evil behind it: the dragon of Isaiah 27:1 and Revelation 20:2, an enemy outside Job that he cannot fight.
- Conclusion — God shows Job a power too great for him. The aim is to shame his self-sufficiency and lead him into full dependence on the God who can do all things.
Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a boiling pot and cauldron.
Job 41 closes God's answer to Job, and the whole chapter describes one creature: leviathan. The smoke from its nostrils is a small part of a portrait built to raise one question — what did God want Job to learn?
The verse sits in a run of lines about the creature's head — its sneezing, eyes, mouth and nostrils. Where the ESV reads "a boiling pot and burning rushes," the older translation these writers used has "a cauldron":
What light in his sneezing! Eyes and mouth give off brightness, or sparks of fire, and smoke out of his nostrils as from a cauldron.
Most commentators settle on the crocodile, though not all with the same confidence. One writer names it and then draws out what it means for Job:
The leviathan described here seems beyond doubt to be the crocodile, not the dolphin or the whale, as some learned men have argued… Nothing could be more graphic than these descriptions. Nothing could be more forceful than the conclusion for Job, or for anyone else. Mere animals have such might, and they are the effect of God's creative will. What folly, then, to resist, criticise, or even judge His ways!
Another leaves room for doubt, calling leviathan "the most fearsome of all water beasts, unless it was another similar animal, now extinct."
The chapter is not a nature lesson. God aimed the description at the man listening. A reader can admire the writing and still miss the point:
Men talk as if God's object was simply to occupy us with His works. God does the opposite. He brings forward His works to turn us away from our own thoughts and bow us to Himself. If the works of God are so wonderful, who is He that made them? And what is man if he dares to judge such a God?… Do you think that after this Job was occupied with behemoth or with leviathan? Not at all, but with God. This was the design of it all.
Several writers see more than an animal here. They read the fire and smoke as a picture of a coming world ruler. One traces that fire through each part of the creature's head:
The very sneezing of such a creature is like sulphurous light from hidden fires within (vv. 18-21). His eyes flash out like rays of the rising sun. Like the horses of the sixth trumpet, his mouth belches out "fire and smoke and sulfur" (Revelation 9:17). His neck is strength itself. It makes despair, not joy, dance before him — he is the herald of misery.
Another reads the same lines as speech, not breath:
Of course this is figurative language. It speaks of the vicious words that come out of the mouth of the Beast, as we are told of him in Revelation 13:5-6… But the appearance of light, as though the beast brought light and wisdom with him, is a false show. Leviathan's character is a striking picture of this man's boastful pride and his ominous threats.
Commentators differ here. Some point to Satan himself, others to a human ruler.
The chapter ends by calling leviathan king over all the sons of pride. That title turns the whole description back on Job:
Both the behemoth and the leviathan represent Satan, his character and his rule. He is king over all the sons of pride… And now the conclusion which Job could easily draw. If he is proud then he belongs to leviathan, the king who rules over the sons of pride. Jehovah has touched the secret in Job's heart. He has searched out its depths. Pride, the Devil's sin, has been cherished by him.
Another writer asks why God would show Job such power at all:
What could God's purpose be in describing the power of the adversary like this? Surely it was to lead Job into complete dependence on Himself. "I know," says Job, "that you can do all things."… Looked at in himself, the believer has no power to overcome Satan. Independence of God opened the door to Satan at first. Simple dependence on God alone can shut it.
- Smoke. Fire, light and smoke pour from leviathan's eyes, mouth and nostrils, as from a boiling pot — a head no one dares face.
- Creature. Most writers identify leviathan as the crocodile. One allows it may be a similar animal, now extinct.
- Figure. Writers read the flame and smoke as the blasphemous words and threats of a coming ruler. His show of light is counterfeit.
- Pride. Leviathan is king over the sons of pride — the title that exposed the pride hidden in Job's own heart.
- Purpose. God shows a power Job cannot touch. Job stops studying the creature and starts depending on the Creator.