Job 41:24

Job 41:24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether [millstone].

Ver. 24. His heart is as firm as a stone] He is corpore et corde validissimus. Of the sword fish, Plutarch saith, that he hath a sword, but not a heart to use it, μαχαιραν μεν εχει, εχει, καρδιαν δε μη εχει. But the whale hath courage to his bulk: his heart is as firm as a stone, as his head (saith Scaliger) is as hard as a flint. In the hearts of some creatures, saith Aristotle, is found a bony or grisly hardness; but the whale’s heart is all as it were a bone; and this bone as a stone.

As a piece of the nether millstone] Metae, upon which the whole weight lieth. The Greek call it ονος μυλικος, Mat 18:6, the mill ass; because it is the bigger and harder of the two. The Vulgate here for the nether millstone hath the smith’s anvil, which, by hammering, is made harder.

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.

heart--"In large beasts which are less acute in feeling, there is great firmness of the heart, and slower motion" [BOCHART]. The nether millstone, on which the upper turns, is especially hard.

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 24. Hard as a piece of the nether millstone.] Which is required to be harder than that which runs above.

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

(24) His heart—i.e., his nature, his disposition. This seems to be the meaning, rather than the physical organ of life.

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

24. The second clause reads,

Yea, firm as the nether millstone.

Gen. “as hard as the nether millstone.” The term “firm,” lit. cast, is repeated from the first clause (cf. Job_41:23). The nether millstone, bearing all the pressure upon it, needs to be harder even than the upper stone.

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.

When he raiseth up himself,.... Not out of the waters, but above the surface of them, so as that his large bulk, his terrible jaws and teeth, are seem;

the mighty are afraid; not only fishes and other animals, but men, and these the most stouthearted and courageous, as mariners and masters of vessels;

by reason of breakings they purify themselves: either because of the breaches of the sea made through the lifting up of this creature, threatening the overturning of vessels; or of the breaches of men's hearts through fear, they are thrown into a vomiting, and purging both by stool and urine, which are often the effects of fear, so Ben Gersom; or they acknowledge themselves sinners, or expiate themselves, endeavouring to do it by making confession of sin, declaring repentance for it, praying for forgiveness of it, and promising amendment; which is frequently the case of seafaring men in distress; see Jon 1:4.

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

His heart is as firm as a stone - As hard; as solid. Bochart remarks that the word “heart” here is not to be regarded as denoting the “courage” of the animal, as it sometimes does, but the heart literally. The statement occurs in the description of the various parts of the animal, and the object is to show that there was special firmness or solidity in every one of his members. There is special firmness or strength needed in the “hearts” of all animals, to enable them to propel the blood through the arteries of the body; and in an animal of the size of the crocodile, it is easy to see that the heart must be made capable of exerting vast force. But there is no reason to suppose that the affirmation here is made on the supposition that there is need of extraordinary strength in the heart to propel the blood. The doctrine of the circulation of the blood was not then known to mankind, and it is to be presumed that the argument here would be based on what “was” known, or what might be easily observed. The presumption therefore is, that the statement here is based on what had been “seen” of the remarkable compactness and firmness of the heart of the animal here referred to. Probably there was nothing so unique in the heart of the crocodile that this description would be applicable to that animal alone, but it is such doubtless as would apply to the heart of any animal of extraordinary size and strength.

Yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone - The mills commonly used in ancient times were hand-mills; see a description of them in the notes at Mat 24:41. Why the lower stone was the hardest, is not quite apparent. Perhaps a more solid stone might have been chosen for this, because it was supposed that there was more wear on the lower than the upper stone, or because its weight would make the machine more solid and steady.

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

Power. Hebrew and Septuagint, "none like him on earth," for bulk. --- One. Septuagint, "made to be played with, or beaten, by my angels." (Haydock)

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).

His heart; either,

1. That part of the body is most firm, and hard, and strong. Or,

2. His courage is invincible; he is void of fear for himself, and of compassion to others, which is oft called hardness of heart.

Hard as a piece of the nether millstone; which being to bear the weight of the upper, ought to be the harder and stronger of the two.

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

24. Hard… millstone — Hard as the nether millstone. This was, in general, compact and heavy, often made of sandstone, and quite thick, while the upper one, having to be driven round by the hand, was made lighter, and of more porous texture. The hardness spoken of may be the cold, sluggish action of the heart, that characterizes all the saurians, which, on this account, are distinguished as cold-blooded; or the disposition of the reptile, of which AElian says, he is the most pitiless of animals.

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

His heart is firm as a stone. Some regard this as intended physically, and note that the great saurians, with their cold and sluggish circulation, have hearts which are comparatively torpid, not contracting or expanding readily. Others take the "stony heart" to mean a fierce and obstinate disposition. In either case, the description will well suit the crocodile. Yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone. A repetition and slight exaggeration of the preceding idea.

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

Nether mill-stone - Which being to bear the weight of the upper, ought to be the harder and stronger of the two.

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

He makes a path shine after him When he swims and floats in the sea, he makes the path of the deep shine, for at the time he swims, there is no water because of the speed of his swimming.

he considers the deep to be hoary To him, the deep is considered to be weak and feeble.

to be hoary The weakness of old age and hoariness.

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.