| Barnes' Notes on the Bible Hell - Hebrew שׁאול she'ôl, Sheol; Greek ᾅδης Hadēs Hades. The reference is to the abode of departed spirits - the nether world where the dead were congregated; see the notes at Job 10:21-22. It does not mean here, as the word hell does with us, a place of punishment, but the place where all the dead were supposed to be gathered together. Is naked before him - That is, be looks directly upon that world. It is hidden from us, but not from him. He sees all its inhabitants, knows all their employments, and sways a scepter over them all. And destruction - Hebrew אבדון 'ăbaddôn, Abaddon; compare Revelation 9:11, "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." The Hebrew word means destruction, and then abyss, or place of destruction, and is evidently given here to the place where departed spirits are supposed to reside. The word in this form occurs only here and in Proverbs 15:11; Psalm 88:11; Job 26:6, in all which places it is rendered destruction. The idea here is, not that this is a place where souls are destroyed, but that it is a place similar to destruction - as if all life, comfort, light, and joy, were extinguished. Hath no covering - There is nothing to conceal it from God. He looks down even on that dark nether world, and sees and knows all that is there. There is a passage somewhat similar to this in Homer, quoted by Longinus as one of unrivaled sublimity, but which by no means surpasses this. It occurs in the Iliad, xx. 61-66: Εδδεισεν δ ̓ ὑτένερθεϚ ἄναξ ἐνέρων Αιδωνεὺς, κ. τ. λ. Eddeisen d' hupenerthen anac enerōn Aidōneus, etc. Deep in the dismal regions of the dead Th' infernal monarch reared his horrid head, Leaped from his throne, lest Neptune's arm should lay His dark dominions open to the day, And pour in light on Pluto's drear abodes, Abhorred by men, and dreadful e'en to gods. Pope
Clarke's Commentary on the BibleHell is naked before him - Sheol, the place of the dead, or of separate spirits, is always in his view. And there is no covering to Abaddon - the place of the destroyer, where destruction reigns, and where those dwell who are eternally separated from God. The ancients thought that hell or Tartarus was a vast space in the center, or at the very bottom of the earth. So Virgil, Aen. lib. vi., ver. 577: - - Tum Tartarus ipse Bis patet in praeceps tantum, tenditque sub umbras, Quantus ad aethereum coeli suspectus Olympum Hic genus antiquum terrae, Titania pubes, Fulmine dejecti, fundo volvuntur in imo. "Full twice as deep the dungeon of the fiends, The huge Tartarean gloomy gulf, descends Below these regions, as these regions lie From the bright realms of yon ethereal sky. Here roar the Titan race, th' enormous birth; The ancient offspring of the teeming earth. Pierced by the burning bolts of old they fell, And still roll bellowing in the depths of hell." continued...
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleHell is naked before him,.... Which may be taken either for the place of the damned, as it sometimes is; and then the sense is, that though it is hidden from men, and they know not where it is, or who are in it, and what is done and suffered there; yet it is all known to God: he knows the place thereof, for it is made, ordained, and prepared by him; he knows who are there, even all the wicked dead, and all the nations that forget God, being cast there by him; he knows the torments they endure, for the smoke of them continually ascends before him; and he knows all their malice and envy, their enmity to him, and blasphemy of him; for thither are they gone down with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, Ezekiel 32:27; or for Hades, the invisible world of spirits, or state of the dead, as the Septuagint version renders the word; though that is unseen to men, it is naked and open to the eye of God; or for the grave, in which the bodies of men are laid; which is the frequent sense of the word used, Psalm 88:11; and though this is a land of darkness, and where the light is as darkness, yet God can look into it; and the dust of men therein is carefully observed and preserved by him, and will be raised again at the last day; who has the keys of death and hell, or the grave, and can open it at his pleasure, and cause it to give up the dead that are therein: and destruction hath no covering; and may design the same as before, either hell, the place of the damned, where men are destroyed soul and body with an everlasting destruction; or the grave, which the Targum calls the house of destruction, as it sometimes is, the pit of destruction and corruption; because bodies cast into it corrupt and putrefy, and are destroyed in it; and there is nothing to cover either the one or the other from the all seeing eye of God; see Psalm 139:7; as hell is supposed to be under the earth, and the grave is in it, Job is as yet on things below, and from hence rises to those above, in the following words.
Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testamentשׁאול is seemingly used as fem., as in Isaiah 14:9; but in reality the adj. precedes in the primitive form, without being changed by the gender of שׁאול. אבדּון alternates with שׁאול, like קבר in Psalm 88:12. As Psalm 139:8 testifies to the presence of God in Shel, so here Job (comp. Job 38:17, and especially Proverbs 15:11) that Shel is present to God, that He possesses a knowledge which extends into the depths of the realm of the dead, before whom all things are γυμνὰ καὶ τετραχηλισμένα (Hebrews 4:13). The following partt., Job 26:7, depending logically upon the chief subject which precedes, are to be determined according to Job 25:2; they are conceived as present, and indeed of God's primeval act of creation, but intended of the acts which continue by virtue of His creative power.
Geneva Study BibleHell is {e} naked before him, and {f} destruction hath no covering. (e) There is nothing hidden in the bottom of the earth but he sees it. (f) Meaning, the grave in which things putrify.
Wesley's Notes 26:6 Hell - Is in his presence, and under his providence. Hell itself, that place of utter darkness, is not hid from his sight. Destruction - The place of destruction.
Scofield Reference NotesMargin hell Heb. "Sheol," See Scofield Note: "Hab 2:5". Also, Ps 139:8,11 Prov 15:11 Heb 4:13.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary6. (Job 38:17; Ps 139:8; Pr 5:11). destruction-the abode of destruction, that is, of lost souls. Hebrew, Abaddon (Re 9:11). no covering-from God's eyes.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary26:5-14 Many striking instances are here given of the wisdom and power of God, in the creation and preservation of the world. If we look about us, to the earth and waters here below, we see his almighty power. If we consider hell beneath, though out of our sight, yet we may conceive the discoveries of God's power there. If we look up to heaven above, we see displays of God's almighty power. By his Spirit, the eternal Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters, the breath of his mouth, Ps 33:6, he has not only made the heavens, but beautified them. By redemption, all the other wonderful works of the Lord are eclipsed; and we may draw near, and taste his grace, learn to love him, and walk with delight in his ways. The ground of the controversy between Job and the other disputants was, that they unjustly thought from his afflictions that he must have been guilty of heinous crimes. They appear not to have duly considered the evil and just desert of original sin; nor did they take into account the gracious designs of God in purifying his people. Job also darkened counsel by words without knowledge. But his views were more distinct. He does not appear to have alleged his personal righteousness as the ground of his hope towards God. Yet what he admitted in a general view of his case, he in effect denied, while he complained of his sufferings as unmerited and severe; that very complaint proving the necessity for their being sent, in order to his being further humbled in the sight of God.
Matthew Henry's Whole Bible CommentaryVerses 5-14 The truth received a great deal of light from the dispute between Job and his friends concerning those points about which they differed; but now they are upon a subject in which they were all agreed, the infinite glory and power of God. How does truth triumph, and how brightly does it shine, when there appears no other strife between the contenders than which shall speak most highly and honourably of God and be most copious in showing forth his praise! It were well if all disputes about matters of religion might end thus, in glorifying God as Lord of all, and our Lord, with one mind and one mouth (Rom. 15:6); for to that we have all attained, in that we are all agreed. I. Many illustrious instances are here given of the wisdom and power of God in the creation and preservation of the world. 1. If we look about us, to the earth and waters here below, we shall see striking instances of omnipotence, which we may gather out of these verses. (1.) He hangs the earth upon nothing, v. 7. The vast terraqueous globe neither rests upon any pillars nor hangs upon any axle-tree, and yet, by the almighty power of God, is firmly fixed in its place, poised with its own weight. The art of man could not hang a feather upon nothing, yet the divine wisdom hangs the whole earth so. It is ponderibus librata suis-poised by its own weight, so says the poet; it is upheld by the word of God's power, so says the apostle. What is hung upon nothing may serve us to set our feet on, and bear the weight of our bodies, but it will never serve us to set our hearts on, nor bear the weight of our souls. (2.) He sets bounds to the waters of the sea, and compasses them in (v. 10), that they may not return to cover the earth; and these bounds shall continue unmoved, unshaken, unworn, till the day and night come to an end, when time shall be no more. Herein appears the dominion which Providence has over the raging waters of the sea, and so it is an instance of his power, Jer. 5:22. We see too the care which Providence takes of the poor sinful inhabitants of the earth, who, though obnoxious to his justice and lying at his mercy, are thus preserved from being overwhelmed, as they were once by the waters of a flood, and will continue to be so, because they are reserved unto fire. (3.) He forms dead things under the waters. Rephaim-giants, are formed under the waters, that is, vast creatures, of prodigious bulk, as whales, giant-like creatures, among the innumerable inhabitants of the water. So bishop Patrick. (4.) By mighty storms and tempests he shakes the mountains, which are here called the pillars of heaven (v. 11), and even divides the sea, and smites through its proud waves, v. 12. At the presence of the Lord the sea flies and the mountains skip, Ps. 114:3, 4. See Hab. 3:6, etc. A storm furrows the waters, and does, as it were, divide them; and then a calm smites through the waves, and lays them flat again. See Ps. 89:9, 10. Those who think Job lived at, or after, the time of Moses, apply this to the dividing of the Red Sea before the children of Israel, and the drowning of the Egyptians in it. By his understanding he smiteth through Rahab; so the word is, and Rahab is often put for Egypt; as Ps. 87:4; Isa. 51:9. 2. If we consider hell beneath, though it is out of our sight, yet we may conceive the instances of God's power there. By hell and destruction (v. 6) we may understand the grave, and those who are buried in it, that they are under the eye of God, though laid out of our sight, which may strengthen our belief of the resurrection of the dead. God knows where to find, and whence to fetch, all the scattered atoms of the consumed body. We may also consider them as referring to the place of the damned, where the separate souls of the wicked are in misery and torment. That is hell and destruction, which are said to be before the Lord (Prov. 15:11), and here to be naked before him, to which it is probable there is an allusion, Rev. 14:10, where sinners are to be tormented in the presence of the holy angels (who attended the Shechinah) and in the presence of the Lamb. And this may give light to v. 5, which some ancient versions read thus (and I think more agreeably to the signification of the word Rephaim): Behold, the giants groan under the waters, and those that dwell with them; and then follows, Hell is naked before him, typified by the drowning of the giants of the old world; so the learned Mr. Joseph Mede understands it, and with it illustrates Prov. 21:16, where hell is called the congregation of the dead; and it is the same word which is here used, and which he would there have rendered the congregation of the giants, in allusion to the drowning of the sinners of the old world. And is there any thing in which the majesty of God appears more dreadful than in the eternal ruin of the ungodly and the groans of the inhabitants of the land of darkness? Those that will not with angels fear and worship shall for ever with devils fear and tremble; and God therein will be glorified. 3. If we look up to heaven above, we shall see instances of God's sovereignty and power. (1.) He stretches out the north over the empty place, v. 7. So he did at first, when he stretched out the heavens like a curtain (Ps. 104:2); and he still continues to keep them stretched out, and will do so till the general conflagration, when they shall be rolled together as a scroll, Rev. 6:14. He mentions the north because his country (as ours) lay in the northern hemisphere; and the air is the empty place over which it is stretched out. See Ps. 89:12. What an empty place is this world in comparison with the other! (2.) He keeps the waters that are said to be above the firmament from pouring down upon the earth, as once they did (v. 8): He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, as if they were tied closely in a bag, till there is occasion to use them; and, notwithstanding the vast weight of water so raised and laid up, yet the cloud is not rent under them, for then they would burst and pour out as a spout; but they do, as it were, distil through the cloud, and so come drop by drop, in mercy to the earth, in small rain, or great rain, as he pleases. (3.) He conceals the glory of the upper world, the dazzling lustre of which we poor mortals could not bear (v. 9): He holds back the face of his throne, that light in which he dwells, and spreads a cloud upon it, through which he judges, ch. 22:13. God will have us to live by faith, not by sense; for this is agreeable to a state of probation. It were not a fair trial if the face of God's throne were visible now as it will be in the great day. Lest his high throne, above expression bright, With deadly glory should oppress our sight, To break the dazzling force he draws a screen Of sable shades, and spreads his clouds between. -Sir R. Blackmore (4.) The bright ornaments of heaven are the work of his hands (v. 13): By his Spirit, the eternal Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters, the breath of his mouth (Ps. 33:6), he has garnished the heavens, not only made them, but beautified them, has curiously bespangled them with stars by night and painted them with the light of the sun by day. God, having made man to look upward (Os homini sublime dedit-To man he gave an erect countenance), has therefore garnished the heavens, to invite him to look upward, that, by pleasing his eye with the dazzling light of the sun and the sparkling light of the stars, their number, order, and various magnitudes, which, as so many golden studs, beautify the canopy drawn over our heads, he may be led to admire the great Creator, the Father and fountain of lights, and to say, "If the pavement be so richly inlaid, what must the palace be! If the visible heavens be so glorious, what are those that are out of sight!" From the beauteous garniture of the ante-chamber we may infer the precious furniture of the presence-chamber. If stars be so bright, what are angels! What is meant here by the crooked serpent which his hands have formed is not certain. Some make it part of the garnishing of the heavens, the milky-way, say some; some particular constellation, so called, say others. It is the same word that is used for leviathan (Isa. 27:1), and probably may be meant of the whale or crocodile, in which appears much of the power of the Creator; and why may not Job conclude with that inference, when God himself does so? ch. 41. II. He concludes, at last, with an awful et caetera (v. 14): Lo, these are parts of his ways, the out-goings of his wisdom and power, the ways in which he walks and by which he makes himself known to the children of men. Here, 1. He acknowledges, with adoration, the discoveries that were made of God. These things which he himself had said, and which Bildad had said, are his ways, and this is heard of him; this is something of God. But, 2. He admires the depth of that which is undiscovered. This that we have said is but part of his ways, a small part. What we know of God is nothing in comparison with what is in God and what God is. After all the discoveries which God has made to us, and all the enquiries we have made after God, still we are much in the dark concerning him, and must conclude, Lo, these are but parts of his ways. Something we hear of him by his works and by his word; but, alas! how little a portion is heard of him? heard by us, heard from us! We know but in part; we prophesy but in part. When we have said all we can, concerning God, we must even do as St. Paul does (Rom. 11:33); despairing to find the bottom, we must sit down at the brink, and adore the depth: O the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God! It is but a little portion that we hear and know of God in our present state. He is infinite and incomprehensible; our understandings and capacities are weak and shallow, and the full discoveries of the divine glory are reserved for the future state. Even the thunder of his power (that is, his powerful thunder), one of the lowest of his ways here in our own region, we cannot understand. See ch. 37:4, 5. Much less can we understand the utmost force and extent of his power, the terrible efforts and operations of it, and particularly the power of his anger, Ps. 90:11. God is great, and we know him not. |
