Job 38:13

Job 38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

Ver. 13. That it might take hold of the ends of the earth] That is, suddenly illighten the whole horizon; for which cause also David ascribeth wings to the morning, Psa 139:9, so that the light is not a body, nor, as some will have it, a substance, but an accident. The truth is, no man can tell what it is of any certainty; an admirable creature it is, surely a divine and heavenly thing, than which nothing is more desirable, nothing more profitable. Two excellent uses of it are here set forth: 1. To refresh men by the sight of the earth, and the things thereon. 2. To set us upon serious employment, such as is the punishment of evil doers, for so some interpret those next words.

That the wicked might be shaken out of it?] sc. By banishment, or rather by death, inflicted upon them in the light, for their deeds of darkness. Or, at least, that those Lucifugae, tenebriones, those inauspicate night birds, who hate the light, because their works are evil, might be shamed and shunned. Their motto is, Iam lux inimica propinquat (Virg.). See Job 24:13; Job 24:17.

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 having in the night been given to wickedness, cannot abide the light, but hide themselves.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

take hold of the ends, &c.--spread itself over the earth to its utmost bounds in a moment.

wicked--who hate the light, and do their evil works in the dark (Job 24:13).

shaken out of it--The corners (Hebrew, "wings" or "skirts") of it, as of a garment, are taken hold of by the dayspring, so as to shake off the wicked.

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

Verse 13. That the wicked might be shaken out of it?] The meaning appears to be this: as soon as the light begins to dawn upon the earth, thieves, assassins, murderers, and adulterers, who all hate and shun the light, fly like ferocious beasts to their several dens and hiding places; for such do not dare to come to the light, lest their works be manifest, which are not wrought in God. To this verse the fifteenth appears to belong, as it connects immediately with it, which connection the introduction of the fourteenth verse disturbs. "And from the wicked," such as are mentioned above "their light is withholden;" they love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil; and as they prowl after their prey in the night-season, they are obliged to sleep in the day, and thus its "light is withholden" from them. "And the high arm shall be broken;" or, as Mr. Good translates, "The roving of wickedness is broken off." They can no longer pursue their predatory and injurious excursions.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(13) Shaken out of it.—The figure is that of a man shaking a cloth (Job_24:15-17).

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

13. ends of the earth] lit. skirts or wings of the earth. The figure is beautiful; the dawn as it pours forth along the whole horizon, on both sides of the beholder, lays hold of the borders of the earth, over which night lay like a covering; and seizing this covering by its extremities it shakes the wicked out of it. The wicked flee from the light. The dawn is not a physical phenomenon merely, it is a moral agent.

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.

That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,.... As when the morning light springs forth, it quickly does, reaching in a short time the extreme part of the hemisphere; which, and what goes before, may be applied to the light of the Gospel, and the direction of that under divine Providence in the several parts of the world, and unto the ends of it; see Psa 19:4;

that the wicked might be shaken out of it? the earth, by means of the light; which may be understood either of wicked men who have been all night upon works of darkness, and be take themselves on the approach of light to private lurking places, like beasts of prey, so that the earth seems to be, as it were, clear of them; or of their being taken up in the morning for deeds done in the night, and brought to justice, which used to be exercised in mornings, Jer 21:12; and so the earth rid of them: thus wicked men shun the light, of the Gospel, and are condemned by it; and in the latter day light and glory they will cease from the earth; see Joh 3:19.

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

That it might take hold of the ends of the earth - Margin, as in Hebrew “wings.” Wings are in the Scriptures frequently given to the earth, because it seems to be spread out, and the expression refers to its extremities. The language is derived from the supposition that the earth was a plain, and had limits or bounds. The idea here is, that God causes the light of the morning suddenly to spread to the remotest parts of the world, and to reveal everything which was there.

That the wicked might be shaken out of it - Out of the earth; that is, by the light which suddenly shines upon them. The sense is, that the wicked perform their deeds in the darkness of the night, and that in the morning light they flee away. The effect of the light coming upon them is to disturb their plans, to fill them with alarm, and to cause them to flee. The idea is highly poetic. The wicked are engaged in various acts of iniquity under cover of the night. Robbers, thieves, and adulterers, go forth to their deeds of darkness as though no one saw them. The light of the morning steals suddenly upon them, and they flee before it under the apprehension of being detected. “The dawn,” says Herder, “is represented as a watchman, a messenger of the Prince of heaven, sent to chase away the bands of robbers.” It may illustrate this to observe that it is still the custom of the Arabs to go on plundering excursions before the dawn. When on their way this faithful watchman, the aurora, goes out to spread light about them, to intimidate them, and to disperse them; compare the notes at Job 24:13-17.

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

And didst. Some explain Hebrew, "that it (Aurora) might spread at once to the extremities of the earth. Then the wicked flee before it;" as they hate the light, chap. xxxiv. 26., and John iii. 20. (Calmet) --- Septuagint and Protestants may be understood in this sense. (Haydock) --- Allusion may also be made to the shaking of a sieve, to separate the wheat from the chaff; (Amos ix. 9., and Luke xxii. 31.; Calmet) or of a carpet, to clean it from the dust. (Du Hamel) --- Did God ask thee to help him to exterminate the wicked? The short digression in these three verses, shews the punishment exercised on offenders. It is not contrary to the true spirit of poetry. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

That this morning light should in a moment spread itself over the face of the whole earth, from one end of the hemisphere to the other.

Shaken out of it, from the face of the earth. And this effect the morning light hath upon the wicked, partly because it discovers them, and drives them into their lurking holes; whereas the darkness hides them, and draws them forth, and gives them opportunity to execute their villanies without observation, Job 24:15-17; and partly because it brings them to condign punishment, the morning being the most fit and the most usual time for executing judgment; of which see Psa 101:8; Jer 21:12.

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

13. Ends of the earth — See note on Job_37:3. Daylight, as it chases evil-doers back to their hiding places, seems “to take hold of the carpet of the earth, as it were, by the edges,” and shake from it the wicked. The dawn shines forth under the figure of “a watchman, a messenger of the prince of heaven sent to chase away bands of robbers,” with their deeds of darkness. In ancient times justice was administered in the early morning, (Jer_21:12,) as Drusius has fully shown. There is an unmistakable allusion to Job’s complaint, (Job_24:16-17.) The constant return of the light of the day “thus becomes an image of the perpetual flight and destruction of wicked men before God.” — Ewald, 297.

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

That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? The idea seems to he that the dawn, suddenly appearing, seizes hold of all the ends of the earth "at one rush" (Canon Cook), and lights up the whole terrestrial region. The wicked, lovers of darkness, are taken by surprise, and receive a shock from which they recover with difficulty. (comp. Job_24:16, Job_24:17) That they are "shaken from the earth" must be regarded as Oriental hyperbole.

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

That - That this morning light should in a moment spread itself, from one end of the hemisphere to the other. Shaken - From the face of the earth. And this effect the morning-light hath upon the wicked, because it discovers them, whereas darkness hides them; and because it brings them to condign punishment, the morning being the usual time for executing judgment.

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

To grasp the corners of the earth Moreover, in all your days, did you command [anyone] to grasp the corners of the earth like a man who grasps the corners of a garment and shakes it? So am I destined to grasp it [the earth] by its corners and shake the wicked [out of it]. Likewise, Scripture states (Isa. 31:3): “and the Lord shall turn His hand, and the helper shall stumble,” like a person who, holding something in his hand, drops it by inclining his hand.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.