Job 9:10

Job 9:10 Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.

Ver. 10. Which doth great things, &c.] {See Trapp on "Job 5:9"} whence this verse is taken verbatim. If Eliphaz say the truth of God’s wisdom and power, Job will soon seal to it; he can find in his heart to speak all good of a wounding God, of a killing God, and not wish, as Spira did, Oh that I were above God, and could overpower him! Or as Hacker here did, A.D. 1591, threaten God to fire the heaven about him, to pluck him out of his throne. (Camb. Eliz. fol. 408)

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.

Job_9:10-24

Which doeth great things past finding out.

Jobs idea of what God is to mankind

He regards the Eternal as--

I. Inscrutable.

1. In His works. Which doeth great things past finding out. How great are His works! great in their nature, minuteness, magnitude, variety, number. Ask the chemist, the astronomer, the entomologist, the physiologist, and the anatomist; and the more accurate and comprehensive their knowledge of the Divine workmanship is, the more ready will they be to acknowledge that His works are past finding out, and wonders without number.

2. He is inscrutable in His essence. He goeth by me, and I see Him not; He passeth on also, and I perceive Him not. I see His works, but I cannot detect the essence of the Worker.

II. As irresponsible. Behold He taketh away, and who can hinder Him? Who will say unto Him, What doest Thou?

III. As resistless. If God will not withdraw His anger, the proud helpers do stoop under Him.

1. God is an offendable Being. He is not an impassive existent, sitting at the head of the universe, utterly indifferent to the moral character of His creatures.

2. The proud have helpers and abettors. Were the whole universe to arm itself against Him, its opposition would be infinitely less than the opposition of the smallest insect to the eagle or the lion.

IV. As inexorable.

1. As uninfluenced by man.

(1) Uninfluenced by his appeals. The appeal of vindication has no power with Him. How much less shall I answer Him, and choose out any words to reason with Him? Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer. The appeal of prayer. But I would make supplication to my Judge. If I had called, and He had answered me; yet would not I believe that He had hearkened unto my voice. A most melancholy mental mood is this! The patriarch represents Him as--

(2) Uninfluenced by his sufferings. For He breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause. He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.

2. As unapproached by human argument.

3. As too holy to encourage anyone to have confidence in his own virtues. Were the patriarch even a perfect man, he feels that to plead his virtues before a God so holy would not only be utterly useless, but impious and pernicious.

(1) It would involve self-condemnation. No condemnation is so terrible as the condemnation of a mans moral self.

(2) It would prove self-ignorance. Yet would I not know my soul. Truly, a man who would dare to prove his merits before God would demonstrate thereby an utter ignorance of his own insignificance and moral character.

(3) It would secure self-contempt. I would despise my life. This would be the issue of such conduct. The Almighty is here represented--

4. As utterly regardless of the moral distinctions of society. This is one thing, therefore I said it. He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked, etc. (verses 22-24). Here Job hits the main point now in discussion between him and his friends. Their position was that God dealt with men here according to their moral characters, and that Job suffered because he was wicked. The patriarch again refutes it, and asserts the broad fact that the perfect and wicked are treated alike. This is not the scene of retribution, it is the domain of discipline. (Homilist.)

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

Job 9:10. Which doeth great things, &c. — Job here says the same that Eliphaz had said Job 5:9, and in the original, in the very same words, with design to show his full agreement with him, touching the divine perfections.

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

Repeated from Eliphaz (Job 5:9).

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 10. Great things past finding out] Great things without end; wonders without number. - Targum.

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

(10) Which doeth great things.—He adopts the very words his former antagonist, Eliphaz, had used in Job_5:9.

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

10. The description of the operation of God’s might in the material world concludes with a general statement that this operation surpasses all power of comprehension by the human mind. The words are exactly those of Eliphaz ch. Job_5:9, but while to Eliphaz all God’s operations have an ethical meaning and subserve one great purpose of goodness, to Job they seem the mere un-moral play of an immeasurable Force. This force was of course a Person, for an impersonal force is an idea unknown to the Shemitic mind. But this force seemed all the more tremendous to Job from his having no idea of second causes or of what we call laws of nature; the phenomena of the universe, even the most stupendous, were the immediate work of this mighty 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.

Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not,.... This is expressive of the invisibility of God; for though the angels in heaven always behold his face, and men, in the works of creation, may see his eternal power and Godhead, and other perfections of it displayed therein; and saints by faith have a comfortable and delightful view of him, of his countenance, his love, grace and mercy in his word and ordinances, and especially in the face and person of Christ, the image of the invisible God, and will in heaven most clearly see him as he is, in the greater display of his glory and his grace; yet his essence is invisible, not only not to be seen with corporeal eyes, but not to be comprehended in the mind:

he passeth on also, but I perceive him not; this "going and passing on", as, ascribed to God, must be understood in consistence with his omnipresence; he cannot be thought to move from place to place who is everywhere, who fills heaven and earth with his presence, and there is no going from it: local motion cannot be said of him; but this respects the operations of his providence; he is continually working all around us, by supporting us in being, and supplying us with what we want, and so is near us, and yet we see him not: Job experienced the bounties of his providence, as well as the blessings of his grace, in the time of his prosperity, and now he felt the weight of his afflicting hand upon him; but yet, as to his essence, he could not see him; he was sensible that he was nigh him, and find a concern in all that befell him, but he could neither see nor comprehend him, nor account for his dealings with him: he had "passed by" him in his state of nature, and had looked graciously on him, and had said unto him, Live; he had "passed on" from him, and hid his face so that he could not see him, nor find him backward nor forward, on the right hand, nor on the left, where he used to work, see Job 23:3.

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

Which doeth great things - This is almost the sentiment which had been expressed by Eliphaz; see the notes, Job 5:9. It was evidently a proverb, and as such was used by both Eliphaz and Job.

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

Which words were produced by Eliphaz, Job 5:9, (where they are explained,) and are here repeated by Job, to show his agreement with him therein.

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

He doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number. An almost exact repetition of the words of Eliphaz in Job_5:9. The repetition may have been conscious or unconscious. Job may have meant to say, "My view of God embraces all that you can tell me of him, and goes further;" or he may simply have used words concerning the Divine unsearchableness which were common in the mouths of religious men in his time. (comp. Psa_72:18; and infra, Job_11:7)

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

Doth great things, &c. - Job here says the same that Eliphaz had said, chap. v, 9, and in the original, in the very same words, with design to shew his full agreement with him, touching the Divine perfections.

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

General Information:

The writer uses parallelism in each of these verses, conveying a single idea using double statements to emphasize that God is great, unseen, and sovereign. (See: Parallelism)

unsearchable things

"things that cannot be understood"

See

"Look" or "Listen" or "Pay attention to what I am about to tell you."

he passes on

"he passes by" or "he moves on"

If he takes something away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?

These are rhetorical questions that expect an answer of "No one." They can be reworded as statements. AT: "If he takes something away, no one can stop him. No one can ask him, 'What are you doing?'" (See: Rhetorical Question)

If he takes something away

"If he takes someone away" or "If he wants to snatch something away"

translationWords

God

amazed

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