Job 41:9–10

Footnotes

1. 14 Job 41:9 in the English Bible is 41:1 in the Hebrew text (). From here to the end of the chapter the Hebrew verse numbers differ from those in the English Bible, with 41:10 = 41:2 , 41:11 = 41:3 , etc. See also the note on .
2. 15 The line is difficult. “His hope [= expectation]” must refer to any assailant who hopes or expects to capture the creature. Because there is no antecedent, Dhorme and others transpose it with the next verse. The point is that the man who thought he was sufficient to confront Leviathan soon finds his hope—his expectation—false (a derivative from the verb כָּזַב [kazab, “lie”] is used for a mirage).
3. 16 There is an interrogative particle in this line, which most commentators ignore. But others freely emend the . Gunkel, following the mythological approach, has “his appearance casts down even a god.” Cheyne likewise has: “even divine beings the fear of him brings low” ( 9 [1896/97]: 579). Pope has, “Were not the gods cast down at the sight of him?” There is no need to bring in this mythological element.
4. 17 The description is of the animal, not the hunter (or fisherman). Leviathan is so fierce that no one can take him on alone.
5. 18 has “before me” and can best be rendered as “Who then is he that can stand before me?” (ESV, , , , ). The following verse (11) favors the since both express the lesson to be learned from Leviathan: If a man cannot stand up to Leviathan, how can he stand up to its creator? The translation above has chosen to read the text as “before him” (cf. , ).