Go to Related Reading
About this book

Job

About this book
Chapter 40

1 Then the Lord answered Job: 2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!” 3 Then Job answered the Lord: 4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy—how could I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth to silence myself. 5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer; twice, but I will say no more.” 6 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: 7 “Get ready for a difficult task like a man. I will question you, and you will inform me.⁠ 8 Would you indeed annul my justice? Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right? 9 Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s, and can you thunder with a voice like his? 10 Adorn yourself, then, with majesty and excellency, and clothe yourself with glory and honor. 11 Scatter abroad the abundance of your anger. Look at every proud man and bring him low. 12 Look at every proud man and abase him; crush the wicked on the spot. 13 Hide them in the dust together; imprison them in the grave. 14 Then I myself will acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you. 15 “Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you;⁠ it eats grass like the ox.⁠ 16 Look at its strength in its loins and its power in the muscles of its belly. 17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound. 18 Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like bars of iron. 19 It ranks first among the works of God; the One who made it has furnished it with a sword. 20 For the hills bring it food, where all the wild animals play. 21 Under the lotus trees it lies, in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh. 22 The lotus trees conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream conceal it. 23 If the river rages, it is not disturbed; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge up to its mouth. 24 Can anyone catch it by its eyes or pierce its nose with a snare?

Texts in conversation

Compare Job 40:7 and LXX Job 40:7

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

Share:

Summary

Job 40 has God telling Job to prepare for questioning and declares that Job will “inform” him, language that suggests Job might teach or correct God. The Greek Septuagint softens this and uses neutral language to say that Job will “answer” God.

Passages

Job 40:7

Hebrew Bible
6 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: 7 “Get ready for a difficult task like a man. I will question you, and you will inform me. 8 Would you indeed annul my justice? Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Job

LXX Job 40:7

Septuagint
6 And the Lord yet again answered and spoke to Job out of the cloud, saying, 7 No, secure your clothing at your waist now like a man; and I will ask you, and answer me. 8 Do not set aside my judgment: and do you think that I have dealt with you in any other way, than that you might appear to be righteous? 9 Have you an arm like the Lord's? or do you thunder with a voice like his?
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Job

References

"... Michael Klein has argued that the Job Targum from Qumran (11QtgJob) does not employ any circumlocutions in speaking of God. It is true that several anthropomorphic expressions are left unchanged in this Targum, and none of the later terms such as “Glory,” “Presence,” and “Word” described above are employed. Nevertheless, there are at least two verses where the targumist has not translated literally, probably because God’s honor or abilities would be impugned by doing so. The first is an expression found twice, in Job 38:3 and 40:7. God is speaking ... the Septuagint Job gives a similar rendering: “I will ask you and you answer me.” Since it would have been easy to translate literally (as the later rabbinic Job Targum would do), it is likely that the targumist simply shrunk from the idea that Job could actually instruct or inform the all-knowing God about anything. Another example is found in Job 42:2 ..."
Edward M. Cook, “The Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in the Targums,” in A Companion to Biblical Interpretation in Early Judaism, ed. Matthias Henze (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 92–117.

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

Tags

Your feedback

Job 40:7 and LXX Job 40:7

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library