Job 12:9

Job 12:9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?

Ver. 9. Who knoweth not in all these, &c.] Or, by all these before mentioned creatures, &c., and therefore, Zophar, you have showen no more wisdom in your lofty discourse than the birds, beasts, and fishes have taught and told us. It is a silly vanity to pretend mysteriousness about vulgar truths; to dig deep for that which lieth above ground, Theologia cryptica; to talk of new truths, and never before heard of, when as the hearer may well say, as here, Who knows not such things as these? Of some in these days it is observed, that they call upon their hearers to mark, it may be they shall hear that which they have not heard before; when the thing is either false, or if true, no more than ordinarily is taught by others.

That the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?] That he alone made all without tool or toil, and that he alone manageth and ordereth all according to the good pleasure of his will; neither need he subscribe his name to his work; for the very things that he hath made proclaim that he made them. Meanwhile, hereby we may see how much we are beholden to Aristotle, Aelian, Gesner, and other learned men, who have written books concerning the nature of living creatures.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who knoweth not in all these - Who cannot see in all these the proofs of the same divine and sovereign agency? Who cannot see the hand of the same God and the same great principles of administration? The meaning of Job is, that the position which he defends is so plain, that it may be learned from the very earth and the lowest orders of animals which God has made.

That the hand of the Lord hath wrought this - In this place the original word is יהוה yehovâh. On the meaning of the word see the notes at Isa 1:2. The Chaldee also renders it here יה yâhh. It is remarkable that this is the only place where the name yahweh occurs in poetical parts of the book of Job, in the printed editions. In Job 28:28, yahweh is found in some manuscripts, though the word “Adonai” is in the printed copies. Eichhorn, Einleit. section 644, Note. In Job 12:9, the word yahweh, though found in the printed editions, is missing in nine ancient manuscripts. Dr. John P. Wilson on the “Hope of Immortality,” p. 57. The word yahweh constantly occurs in the historical parts of the book. On the argument derived from this, in regard to the antiquity of the Book of Job, see the introduction, Section 4.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Job_12:9-10

Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?

God and nature

If one could possibly laugh the laugh of the scornful, surely there is temptation enough in the teachings of a modern science, and in the attempt to build up before us a self-created world without God. But we are not endowed with such a scornful spirit. Modern science is too wonderful, and its discoveries too fascinating for us to laugh at it. We never dream of suggesting that a vast edifice crammed with machinery and automatic looms, which can produce webs of finest texture and perfect design, could possibly have evolved itself from some primary simple structure. And why should we commit such an outrage on our common reason, as to suggest that this world, unaided by any outside hand, could have made itself? But if we add to this evolutionary theory, the teaching that God may have endowed the materials and life of the world with an inner spirit of development and adaptation, it would become, at least, reasonable. No one who is familiar with the types of life on the earth, and their remarkable history, can fail to perceive that there is in all forms, even in the lowly fungus and the blade of grass, a certain power of choice and adaptation. But whence came that power of choice and adaptation? No combination of chemical elements could make it. None other could impart it than the hand of a Person. We can observe, too, a wonderful linking together of all the forms of life from the lowly creature to the highest man, though there are more blanks in the chain than the links which have been discovered. Yet, how is it possible for one species to pass on to a higher stage without some external directing power?

I. The Christian sees nature as a scientist. As the Christian studies a flower he marks the secret intelligence which directs every part of it. The embryo in the seed knows which part of it must descend to the earth, and which part must be raised up to the heavens. The leaves place themselves at proper intervals, and follow out their cyclical order. The plant creeps or climbs or shoots upwards with an intelligent adaptation, and the flowers mix their colours and exhale their odours to allure the passing bee. A Christian watches all this intelligence in a flower, and with deeper reason than ever he can add, God is the maker of that flower. The Christian, as he delights in spelling out the arithmetical principles on which the chemical elements unite, asks who taught them the laws of their combinations. Or as he takes his stand on the great orbit, and marvels as he sees planet after planet come up in sublime order, and roll on majestically in its marked and bounded path, he repeats with deeper conception his belief in the greatness and power of the Almighty. He can read, too, the records of the rocks, the story of the fire and water, of the grinding and building up of the earths crust, of life that existed long before the advent of man. As a scientist he can do all this, but to him it is all the work of God, who is infinite in His power and duration, who works His great works by these methods, and in these marvellous ways which science discovers and unfolds.

II. The Christian sees nature as a poet. A flower is not a clever piece of machinery of subtle forces and delicate laws. Beautiful must have been the hands, and beautiful the thoughts of Him who could, out of gross earth, cause the primrose to make its petals or the wild briar its tinted flowers. The Christian looks at the flower, and to him it is a poem written by the hand of God. Even uncouth flowers and hideous creatures become transformed when looked at in this light, and suggest far-reaching thoughts of that wisdom which makes things useful as well as beautiful. It is delightful to have the poets eye, and thus to look on Gods nature. The spiked blade of grass, the curving stalk of corn, the uplifted bole of the pine, the waving autumn field, and the moving life of the spring, are the visible lines and measures of a great Divine poem. The crawling worm, the soaring bird, the chirp of the sparrow, and the melody of the lark, the cows in the field, and the snake in the grass, all repeat and increase the lines-Earths crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God.

III. The Christian sees nature as a pantheist. As scientific men, we open up our senses to impressions from the outer world. As they come in by this way, they spell out God, the Creator, the Architect, Infinite and Omnipotent. As we open other and deeper sensibilities, and the charm, the grace, the tenderness, the strength and life of nature flow in, they write out in measured form God the Ever Glorious and Wondrous. (J. D. Watters, M. A.)

The hand of the Lord

Nothing can be disposed of without the good pleasure and providence of God, who hath the life and breath of all creatures, men as well as others, in His hand. Learn--

1. A providence is not seen and adored in dispensations which do not please us. When we do not distinctly see and adore providence in ordinary, we meet with intricate and thorny questions about it.

2. Though men, in their sins, presume to debate and question the matter of Gods providence, yet they will not get it shifted nor denied.

3. When men turn atheists, and fall a questioning the providence of God, they ought to be sharply dealt with and refuted. It is the common interest of saints not to let the providence of God be denied in the faith whereof they are so often comforted in darkness. And zeal for God should cause them to abhor any thoughts prejudicial to His glory.

4. As God hath a dominion over all His creatures, particularly over living things, and man in special, so the study of this dominion will help to open our eyes to see Him and His providence, and to clear His providence in every particular.

5. As Gods dominion over every living thing, so, particularly, His dominion over man is to be studied and improved. Therefore it is particularly instanced here that the breath of all mankind is in His hand.

6. Gods dominion over man reacheth even to his life, and no less. The study of this invites us to stand in awe of God. To trust Him in difficulties. To look upon ourselves, not as made for ourselves, but to be subservient to His dominion. When we thus submit to and acknowledge His absolute dominion, we should be without anxiety, as knowing in whose hand we and our concernments are, and should leave it on Him to give a good account of everything He doeth, and believe that His actings will be like the worker, who is God, and our God, though we cannot discern it for the present. (George Hutcheson.)

Everywhere and yet forgotten

There is much temper here, but there is very much also of good common sense. Job wished to show that the fact of the presence of God in all things was so clearly discernible that men need not borrow the eagles wing to mount to heaven, nor need they enter into the bowels of Leviathan to find a chariot wherein to enter the depths of the sea.

I. The present hand of God upon everything.

1. This is one of the doctrines which men believe, but are constantly forgetting.

2. This is a fact of universal force.

3. A truth worthy of perpetual remembrance.

II. Our absolute dependence upon a present God at this very moment.

1. Our life is entirely dependent upon God.

2. So are our comforts.

3. So is the power to enjoy those comforts. If this be true concerning temporals, how doubly true is it with regard to spiritual things. There is no Christian grace which has in it a particle of self-existence.

III. Lessons from this subject. Child of God, see where thou art. Thou art completely in the hand of God. Thou art absolutely and entirely, and in every respect, placed at the will and disposal of Him who is thy God. Art thou grieved because of this? Does this doctrine trouble thee? Let your conversation be as becometh this doctrine. Speak of what thou wilt do, and of what will happen, always in respect to the fact that man proposes, but God disposes. To the sinner we say, Man, you are in the hand of God. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Divine domination

I. A sense of our own extreme insignificance.

II. A consciousness of our absolute dependence. II we are in Gods hands, He can do with us as He will.

III. A mighty influence in life and behaviour. It impresses us with a feeling of--

1. Intense humility.

2. Great thankfulness.

3. Earnest effort. Effort to develop our moral nature.

IV. A readiness to acquiesce in all the dispensations of so great a being. (J. J. S. Bird.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Job 12:9. Who knoweth not in all these — Or, by all these brute creatures; that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this — That God, by his power and wisdom, hath created and ordered all that is in them, or that is done by and among them. Job meant in these verses to express his firm opinion that all animate and inanimate nature clearly bore testimony to the creating power and overruling providence of God: see Neh 9:6. This is the only time that we meet with the name Jehovah in all the discourses between Job and his friends. For God in that age was more known by the name of Shaddai, the Almighty.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12:9 from the hand of the Lord: This is the only place in the dialogues (chs 3–27; 29–37) that the Hebrew Yahweh (“the Lord”) is used. For Job, the dispute was not about who caused his misery but why it happened.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

In all these cases, says Job, the agency must be referred to Jehovah, though they may seem to man to imply imperfection (Job 12:6; Job 9:24). This is the only undisputed passage of the poetical part in which the name "Jehovah" occurs; in the historical parts it occurs frequently.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(9) Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?—This is the only place in the dialogue parts of Job in which the sacred name of Jehovah is found, and Job’s very use of the word in such a context is the clearest evidence of the superior knowledge that he claims. No one of his friends makes use of the name; but Job uses it here, and shows thereby his knowledge of the covenant name.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. in all these] Or, by all these, Gen_15:8.

hath wrought this] Rather, doeth this, viz. as Zophar had taught and as Job_12:10 explains, rules with an absolute sway in all the world of life upon the earth, men and creatures. We should say in English here, acts thus (as Zophar had said), cf. Isa_41:20, though the point prominently referred to is the infliction of suffering.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,.... Of every animal, of every brute creature, as distinct from man, in the next clause: the life of everyone of them is from him, and it is continued by him as long as he pleases, nor can it be taken away without his leave; two sparrows, which are not worth more than a farthing, not one of them falls to the ground, or dies without the knowledge and will of God, Mat 10:29; of the soul or spirit of beasts, see Ecc 3:21;

and the breath of all mankind; the breath of man is originally from God, he at first breathed into man the breath of life; and though this is in his nostrils, which makes him of little account, yet it would not continue there long, was it not in the hand, and under the care and providence of God; the breath of a king, as well as the heart of a king, is in the hand of the Lord: the breath of that great monarch Belshazzar, king of Babylon, was in the hand of God, Dan 5:23; and so is the breath of every peasant; and as when he takes away the breath of other creatures, they die and return to the dust; such is the case of man when God takes away his breath; all our times are in his hand, to be born, to live and die, all is at his dispose: or "the spirit of all the flesh of men" (p), or of all men's flesh; his rational soul, as distinguished from his flesh or body, this is from God, supported in its being by him, and ever will be, being immortal, and will never die.

(p) "spiritus omnis carnis viri?" Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt, Schultens, Michaelis.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

In all these, or, by all these, brute creatures, that God by his power and wisdom hath created and ordered all this which is in them, or is done by and among them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. Lord — Jehovah. This is the only place in the poetical part of this book (if we except Job_28:28) where the name Jehovah appears. Jehovah, the Self-existent, is the source of life to all these — “the things seen.” Heb_11:3. Compare Isa_66:2.

This — The totality of creation, corresponding to, but more comprehensive than, “all these;” or better — “the administration of God among his creatures.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who knoweth not in all these; or, by all these; i.e. by all these instances. That the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? literally, the hand of Jehovah. The name "Jehovah does not occur elsewhere in the dialogue, though it is employed frequently in the historical sections. (Job_1:6-12, 21 2:1-7 38:1 40:1, 3, 6 42:1, 7-12) The writer probably regards the name as unfamiliar, if not unknown, to Job"s neighbours, and therefore as avoided by him in his discussions with them. But here, for once, he forgets to be consistent with himself. Outside Scripture, the name is first found on the Moabite Stone (about B.C. 890), where it designates the God worshipped by the Israelites (see "Records of the Past," vol. 11. p. 166, 1. 18).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lord - This is the only time that we meet with the name Jehovah in all the discourses between Job and his friends. For God in that age was more known by the name of Shaddai, the Almighty.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Which animal among all these does not know ... this?

This question emphasizes the point that all the animals know that Yahweh has done this. This question can be worded as a statement. AT: "Every animal among all these knows ... this." (See: Rhetorical Question)

the hand of Yahweh has done this

Yahweh's hand represents his power. AT: "Yahweh has done this by his power" (See: Metonymy)

In his hand is the life ... and the breath of all mankind

Yahweh's hand represents his control or power. AT: "God controls the life of every living thing and gives breath to all mankind" (See: Metonymy)

the breath of all mankind

Here "breath" represents life or the ability to live. (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

know

hand

Yahweh

life

breath

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.