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?
Armour Without a Gap
One writer sums up the chapter, moving from the sealed shields to the weapons that fail against them.
William KellyThen 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.
Scales as Pride
The tight fit is not only a fact about the animal. One writer reads that gap-free covering as a picture of pride.
Samuel RidoutThe 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.
What Lies Behind the Creature
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:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinIf 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:
Leslie M. GrantSo 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.
Why God Described It
The chapter is not there to turn us into students of the animal.
William KellyMen 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.
Charles StanleyGod 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 Seal Turned the Other Way
The same picture works the other way round. One writer lists what sealing means in Scripture, and this verse gives him his sharpest example:
W. H. WestcottA 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:
G. C. WillisLong 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.
Summary
- 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.