Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
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 picture in the words
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":
William KellyWhat light in his sneezing! Eyes and mouth give off brightness, or sparks of fire, and smoke out of his nostrils as from a cauldron.
Naming the creature
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:
William KellyThe 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."
Why God describes it at all
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:
William KellyMen 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.
Smoke and fire as a figure
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:
Samuel RidoutThe 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:
Leslie M. GrantOf 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.
King over the sons of pride
The chapter ends by calling leviathan king over all the sons of pride. That title turns the whole description back on Job:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinBoth 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:
Charles StanleyWhat 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.
Summary
- 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.