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Job

About this book
Chapter 37

1 At this also my heart pounds and leaps from its place. 2 Listen carefully to the thunder of his voice, to the rumbling that proceeds from his mouth.⁠ 3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go, even his lightning to the far corners of the earth. 4 After that a voice roars; he thunders with an exalted voice, and he does not hold back his lightning bolts when his voice is heard. 5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. 6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall to earth,’ and to the torrential rains, ‘Pour down.’ 7 He causes everyone to stop working, so that all people may know his work. 8 The wild animals go to their lairs, and in their dens they remain. 9 A tempest blows out from its chamber, icy cold from the driving winds. 10 The breath of God produces ice, and the breadth of the waters freeze solid. 11 He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through the clouds.⁠ 12 The clouds go round in circles, wheeling about according to his plans, to carry out all that he commands them over the face of the whole inhabited world. 13 Whether it is for punishment, or for his land, or for mercy, he causes it to find its mark. 14 “Pay attention to this, Job! Stand still and consider the wonders God works.⁠ 15 Do you know how God commands them, how he makes lightning flash in his storm cloud? 16 Do you know about the balancing of the clouds, that wondrous activity of him who is perfect in knowledge? 17 You, whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of the south wind, 18 will you, with him, spread out the sky, solid as a mirror of molten metal?⁠ 19 Tell us what we should say to him. We cannot prepare a case because of the darkness. 20 Should he be informed that I want to speak? If a man speaks, surely he will be swallowed up! 21 But now, the sun cannot be looked at—it is bright in the skies—after a wind passed and swept the clouds away. 22 From the north he comes in golden splendor; around God is awesome majesty. 23 As for the Almighty, we cannot attain to him! He is great in power, but justice and abundant righteousness he does not oppress. 24 Therefore people fear him, for he does not regard all the wise in heart.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Job 37:1 and John 12:28

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

John 12 echoes Job 37 in connecting the voice of God with the sound of thunder. In Job, thunder is described as the mode of divine speech, itself an echo of ancient Near Eastern traditions that describe a storm deity.

Passages

Job 37:1

Hebrew Bible
1 At this also my heart pounds and leaps from its place. 2 Listen carefully to the thunder of his voice, to the rumbling that proceeds from his mouth. 3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go, even his lightning to the far corners of the earth. 4 After that a voice roars; he thunders with an exalted voice, and he does not hold back his lightning bolts when his voice is heard. 5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Job

John 12:28

New Testament
27 “Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’? No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard the voice said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, “This voice has not come for my benefit but for yours. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
90–110 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in John

References

"... The pairing of a sound from heaven and the quaking of the earth emphasizes the cosmic dimension of the scene. What does Noah hear from heaven? Is it a voice or a sound or noise? ... For thunder as the voice of God, see Job 37:1-5... For a sound from heaven perceived both as thunder and as the voice of an angel, see John 12:28-29. For the voice of God from heaven in the context of cosmic catastrophe, see 1 Enoch 102:1-2. That the author does in fact think of the sound as God's voice is indicated by Noah's response. Like Enoch and Noah respectively in the epiphany scenes in 14:8-14 and 60:1-3, here Noah prostrates himself ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 37-82 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2012), 282.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Job 37:1 and John 12:28

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