Job 40 Study Notes: Job's Silence and Behemoth's Might
The LORD challenges Job to answer Him, and Job admits he is small and will say no more. Speaking again from the storm, God asks whether Job would condemn Him to clear himself, dares him to rule the proud, and describes the mighty Behemoth that only its Maker can master.
General
In 40:8 the LORD asks Job two pointed questions. What is He charging Job with?
Answer: Putting God in the wrong in order to show that Job himself was right
In 40:8 the LORD asks whether Job would set aside God's justice and condemn God so that Job himself could be shown righteous. While insisting on his innocence, Job had gone further and said that God had wronged him and denied him justice (19:6; 27:2-6). The LORD does not accuse Job of the hidden sins the friends imagined; later He says Job spoke about Him accurately and the friends did not (42:7). But He does rebuke Job for defending himself at the cost of God's own justice. Scripture holds that God, as Judge of the whole world, always does right and that every one of His ways is just (Genesis 18:25; Deuteronomy 32:4), even when a suffering person cannot see the reason.
- Job 40:8 (BSB)“Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?”The LORD opens His second speech by naming the fault in Job's complaints.
- Job 19:6 (BSB)“then understand that it is God who has wronged me and drawn His net around me.”Job had said that God had wronged him, the kind of charge the LORD now confronts.
- Job 27:2-6 (BSB)““As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—the Almighty, who has embittered my soul— as long as my breath is still within me and the breath of God remains in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will not utter deceit. I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die. I will cling to my righteousness and never let go. As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.”Job swore that God had deprived him of justice while he clung to his own righteousness.
- Genesis 18:25 (BSB)“Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?””Abraham's question shows the settled conviction that the Judge of all the earth always does what is right.
- Deuteronomy 32:4 (BSB)“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.”Moses confesses that all God's ways are just and that He is without injustice.
Theological
What specific fault does the LORD expose in Job by His two questions in 40:8?
Answer: Putting God in the wrong in order to show that Job himself was right
The second speech opens (40:8) by identifying the core error in Job's complaints: in vindicating himself he had been willing to discredit God's justice and condemn God. The LORD does not question Job's integrity here; the fault lies in Job's move to accusing God of wrong and of withholding justice (19:6; 27:2-6). The LORD does not adopt the friends' theory of hidden guilt, which He later rejects (42:7); He rebukes Job's self-justification at God's expense. The justice of God is not answerable to the creature's verdict: the One who judges the whole world does right, and every one of His ways is just (Genesis 18:25; Deuteronomy 32:4), whether or not His reasons are disclosed.
- Job 40:8 (BSB)“Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?”The LORD opens His second speech by naming the fault in Job's complaints.
- Job 19:6 (BSB)“then understand that it is God who has wronged me and drawn His net around me.”Job had said that God had wronged him, the kind of charge the LORD now confronts.
- Job 27:2-6 (BSB)““As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—the Almighty, who has embittered my soul— as long as my breath is still within me and the breath of God remains in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will not utter deceit. I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die. I will cling to my righteousness and never let go. As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.”Job swore that God had deprived him of justice while he clung to his own righteousness.
- Genesis 18:25 (BSB)“Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?””Abraham's question shows the settled conviction that the Judge of all the earth always does what is right.
- Deuteronomy 32:4 (BSB)“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.”Moses confesses that all God's ways are just and that He is without injustice.
General
According to 40:9-14, under what condition would the LORD admit that Job's own right hand could save him?
Answer: If Job could clothe himself in splendor and bring every proud and wicked person low
In 40:9-14 the LORD asks whether Job has strength equal to God's and a voice that thunders like His. Then He invites Job to dress himself in majesty, pour out his anger on every proud person, bring them low, and crush the wicked. Only if Job could do all that would God admit that Job's own right hand could save him. The point is that ruling the world in justice, including humbling the proud and dealing with evil, belongs to God alone (Isaiah 2:17; Psalm 18:27). Job had questioned how God runs the world, but he cannot do God's work. Salvation, too, comes by God's arm, not ours (Isaiah 59:16).
- Job 40:9-14 (BSB)“Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like His? Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and clothe yourself with honor and glory. Unleash the fury of your wrath; look on every proud man and bring him low. Look on every proud man and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand. Bury them together in the dust; imprison them in the grave. Then I will confess to you that your own right hand can save you.”The LORD challenges Job to take up God's own majesty and rule over the proud and the wicked.
- Isaiah 2:17 (BSB)“So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,”The LORD alone humbles human pride and alone is exalted, the work Job is challenged to attempt.
- Psalm 18:27 (BSB)“For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.”David confesses that it is God who brings down those with haughty eyes.
- Isaiah 59:16 (BSB)“He saw that there was no man; He was amazed that there was no one to intercede. So His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness sustained Him.”When no one could intercede, it was God's own arm that brought salvation, not any human arm.
Theological
Under what condition, according to 40:9-14, would the LORD confess that Job's own right hand could save him?
Answer: If Job could clothe himself in splendor and bring every proud and wicked person low
The ironic challenge of 40:9-14 asks Job to assume the attributes and office of God: an arm and thundering voice like His, robes of glory and honor, and the power to pour out wrath on every proud person and bring the wicked to the grave. Only then would the LORD concede that Job's own right hand could save him. Governing the world in justice and abasing the proud is God's prerogative alone (Isaiah 2:17; Psalm 18:27), so Job is in no position to sit in judgment on that government. The phrase about saving oneself also anticipates the wider biblical teaching that salvation is by God's own arm, never by human strength (Isaiah 59:16).
- Job 40:9-14 (BSB)“Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like His? Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and clothe yourself with honor and glory. Unleash the fury of your wrath; look on every proud man and bring him low. Look on every proud man and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand. Bury them together in the dust; imprison them in the grave. Then I will confess to you that your own right hand can save you.”The LORD challenges Job to take up God's own majesty and rule over the proud and the wicked.
- Isaiah 2:17 (BSB)“So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,”The LORD alone humbles human pride and alone is exalted, the work Job is challenged to attempt.
- Psalm 18:27 (BSB)“For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.”David confesses that it is God who brings down those with haughty eyes.
- Isaiah 59:16 (BSB)“He saw that there was no man; He was amazed that there was no one to intercede. So His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness sustained Him.”When no one could intercede, it was God's own arm that brought salvation, not any human arm.
General
True or False: The LORD introduces Behemoth as a creature He made, just as He made Job.
Answer: True
This is true. In 40:15 the LORD tells Job to consider Behemoth, which He made along with Job, a creature that grazes the way an ox does. However powerful Behemoth is, it is a fellow creature, not a rival god. Every creature, great or small, is God's handiwork and lives by His hand (Genesis 1:21; Psalm 104:24; Job 12:10). Job is meant to see his own place: he too is a creature beside other creatures, all of them made and ruled by God.
- Job 40:15 (BSB)“Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you. He feeds on grass like an ox.”The LORD introduces Behemoth as a creature He made, as He made Job.
- Genesis 1:21 (BSB)“So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every winged bird after its kind. And God saw that it was good.”God created even the great creatures, so the mightiest animals are His handiwork.
- Psalm 104:24 (BSB)“How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.”The psalmist praises the wisdom of God displayed in all His many works and creatures.
- Job 12:10 (BSB)“The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.”Job himself had confessed that the life of every living thing is in God's hand.
Theological
True or False: In 40:15 the LORD presents Behemoth as His own creature, made just as Job was made.
Answer: True
This is true. The LORD introduces Behemoth in 40:15 as a creature He made alongside Job, a grass-eater like an ox. The detail sets Job and Behemoth side by side as fellow creatures under one Creator, so the description that follows magnifies God, not the beast. The doctrine of creation runs beneath the whole speech: each living creature is the work of God's wisdom and lives by His hand (Genesis 1:21; Psalm 104:24; Job 12:10).
- Job 40:15 (BSB)“Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you. He feeds on grass like an ox.”The LORD introduces Behemoth as a creature He made, as He made Job.
- Genesis 1:21 (BSB)“So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every winged bird after its kind. And God saw that it was good.”God created even the great creatures, so the mightiest animals are His handiwork.
- Psalm 104:24 (BSB)“How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.”The psalmist praises the wisdom of God displayed in all His many works and creatures.
- Job 12:10 (BSB)“The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.”Job himself had confessed that the life of every living thing is in God's hand.
General
In 40:16-19, what does the LORD say about who can overpower Behemoth?
Answer: Only the God who made Behemoth can bring a sword against him
The LORD describes Behemoth's huge strength: powerful muscles, a tail as sturdy as a cedar, and bones like bronze and iron (40:16-18). He calls Behemoth the first among God's works and says no one but the One who made him can bring a sword against him (40:19). Bible readers understand Behemoth in different ways, some as a large known animal such as the hippopotamus and others as a poetic picture of untamable power. Either way, the point is the same: a creature far too strong for Job is fully under the power of the God who made it (Job 9:4; Psalm 147:5).
- Job 40:19 (BSB)“He is the foremost of God’s works; only his Maker can draw the sword against him.”The LORD calls Behemoth the first of His works and says only its Maker can overpower it.
- Job 40:16-18 (BSB)“See the strength of his loins and the power in the muscles of his belly. His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. His bones are tubes of bronze; his limbs are rods of iron.”The LORD describes Behemoth's strength with images of bronze and iron.
- Job 9:4 (BSB)“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?”Job had confessed that God is mighty in strength and that no one resists Him and prospers.
- Psalm 147:5 (BSB)“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.”God is great and mighty in power, far above the mightiest of His creatures.
Theological
What does 40:19 say about the one who is able to master Behemoth?
Answer: Only the God who made Behemoth can bring a sword against him
After portraying Behemoth's strength in images of bronze tubes and iron rods (40:16-18), the LORD calls him the first of God's works and declares that none but his Creator can approach him with the sword (40:19). Interpreters identify Behemoth variously, as a large known animal such as the hippopotamus or as a poetic image of overwhelming, chaotic power. On any reading, the creature that dwarfs Job is subject to its Creator, whose power has no rival (Job 9:4; Psalm 147:5).
- Job 40:19 (BSB)“He is the foremost of God’s works; only his Maker can draw the sword against him.”The LORD calls Behemoth the first of His works and says only its Maker can overpower it.
- Job 40:16-18 (BSB)“See the strength of his loins and the power in the muscles of his belly. His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. His bones are tubes of bronze; his limbs are rods of iron.”The LORD describes Behemoth's strength with images of bronze and iron.
- Job 9:4 (BSB)“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?”Job had confessed that God is mighty in strength and that no one resists Him and prospers.
- Psalm 147:5 (BSB)“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.”God is great and mighty in power, far above the mightiest of His creatures.
General
True or False: The LORD pictures Behemoth as panicking and fleeing when the river rises.
Answer: False
This is false. In 40:23-24 the LORD says that even when the river rages and the Jordan surges up to his mouth, Behemoth is not afraid and stays secure. Then the LORD asks whether anyone could capture him while he watches or put a snare through his nose. The answer is no. Like the wild ox and the lion in the first speech (39:9-10; 38:39), Behemoth is far beyond Job's control, yet God made him and rules him.
- Job 40:23-24 (BSB)“Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid; he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth. Can anyone capture him as he looks on, or pierce his nose with a snare?”The LORD describes Behemoth's calm in a surging river and asks who could capture him.
- Job 39:9-10 (BSB)“Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night? Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you?”In the first speech the LORD had asked similar questions about whether Job could harness the wild ox.
- Job 38:39 (BSB)“Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions”The LORD's questions about animals beyond Job's control run through both speeches.
Theological
True or False: In 40:23-24 Behemoth is pictured as panicking when the river floods.
Answer: False
This is false. The LORD pictures Behemoth as unshaken when the river rages and the Jordan rises up to his mouth (40:23-24), and He asks whether anyone could take him while he watches or snare his nose. The implied answer is that no human can. The question continues the pattern of the first speech, where the LORD asked whether Job could harness the wild ox or hunt for the lion (39:9-10; 38:39): creatures beyond Job's mastery display the far greater mastery of their Maker.
- Job 40:23-24 (BSB)“Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid; he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth. Can anyone capture him as he looks on, or pierce his nose with a snare?”The LORD describes Behemoth's calm in a surging river and asks who could capture him.
- Job 39:9-10 (BSB)“Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night? Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you?”In the first speech the LORD had asked similar questions about whether Job could harness the wild ox.
- Job 38:39 (BSB)“Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions”The LORD's questions about animals beyond Job's control run through both speeches.
General
At the end of His first speech (40:1-2), what does the LORD demand of Job, whom He calls a faultfinder?
Answer: That anyone who brings charges against God must now give Him a reply
In 40:1-2 the LORD sums up His first speech with a question and a demand: the one who finds fault with the Almighty and argues with God must now answer Him. Earlier Job had longed to argue his case before God and had even signed his defense, asking the Almighty to reply (13:3; 31:35). Now God has spoken, and the burden of answering falls on Job. Paul raises the same point: a created person is in no place to argue back against the God who made him (Romans 9:20).
- Job 40:1-2 (BSB)“And the LORD said to Job: “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who argues with God give an answer.””The LORD closes His first speech by turning the challenge back on Job, who had wanted to argue his case.
- Job 13:3 (BSB)“Yet I desire to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God.”Job had said he wanted to speak to the Almighty and argue his case, the very contest the LORD now invites him to finish.
- Job 31:35 (BSB)“(Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment.”Job had signed his defense and called for the Almighty to answer him, so the LORD now asks Job to answer instead.
- Romans 9:20 (BSB)“But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?””Paul asks the same kind of question of anyone who talks back to God, the One who formed him.
Theological
In 40:1-2 the LORD names Job a faultfinder. What does He require of him?
Answer: That anyone who brings charges against God must now give Him a reply
The first divine speech closes in 40:1-2 by reversing Job's courtroom wish. Job had sought a hearing in which he would press his case and the Almighty would answer (13:3; 31:35); now the LORD has spoken from the whirlwind, and the one who contends with God must answer Him. The creature who brings charges against the Creator is put in the witness seat, a point Paul draws in his own terms when he asks who a man is to answer back to his Maker (Romans 9:20).
- Job 40:1-2 (BSB)“And the LORD said to Job: “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who argues with God give an answer.””The LORD closes His first speech by turning the challenge back on Job, who had wanted to argue his case.
- Job 13:3 (BSB)“Yet I desire to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God.”Job had said he wanted to speak to the Almighty and argue his case, the very contest the LORD now invites him to finish.
- Job 31:35 (BSB)“(Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment.”Job had signed his defense and called for the Almighty to answer him, so the LORD now asks Job to answer instead.
- Romans 9:20 (BSB)“But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?””Paul asks the same kind of question of anyone who talks back to God, the One who formed him.
General
How does Job respond in 40:3-5 when the LORD asks him to answer?
Answer: He says he is small, cannot answer, and will add nothing more
In 40:3-5 Job admits that he is insignificant and asks how he could possibly reply. He covers his mouth with his hand and says he has already spoken once and twice but has nothing more to add. This is a big change from the man who wanted to fill his mouth with arguments before God (23:3-4). The gesture of a hand over the mouth means falling silent out of respect, the same way princes once went quiet before Job himself (29:9; see also Proverbs 30:32). Job is humbled, but the LORD has more to say to him.
- Job 40:3-5 (BSB)“Then Job answered the LORD: “Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth. I have spoken once, but I have no answer—twice, but I have nothing to add.””Job gives his first brief reply to the LORD, falling silent rather than pressing his case.
- Job 29:9 (BSB)“The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands.”In Job's memory of better days, princes fell silent and covered their mouths when he came to the city gate, so the same gesture now shows Job yielding before One far greater.
- Proverbs 30:32 (BSB)“If you have foolishly exalted yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand over your mouth.”The proverb uses the same gesture of putting a hand over one's mouth as the right response after exalting oneself.
- Job 23:3-4 (BSB)“If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat. I would plead my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.”Job had wanted to fill his mouth with arguments before God, and now he has nothing to add.
Theological
What is the substance of Job's first reply to the LORD in 40:3-5?
Answer: He says he is small, cannot answer, and will add nothing more
Job's first response (40:3-5) is a confession of smallness and a vow of silence: he cannot reply, he lays his hand on his mouth, and he will add nothing to what he has already said. The man who once planned to fill his mouth with arguments before God's seat (23:3-4) now has none. The covered mouth is a gesture of deference used elsewhere in the book and in Proverbs (29:9; Proverbs 30:32). Silence is not yet full confession, and the LORD continues with a second speech before Job's fuller response in 42:1-6.
- Job 40:3-5 (BSB)“Then Job answered the LORD: “Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth. I have spoken once, but I have no answer—twice, but I have nothing to add.””Job gives his first brief reply to the LORD, falling silent rather than pressing his case.
- Job 29:9 (BSB)“The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands.”In Job's memory of better days, princes fell silent and covered their mouths when he came to the city gate, so the same gesture now shows Job yielding before One far greater.
- Proverbs 30:32 (BSB)“If you have foolishly exalted yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand over your mouth.”The proverb uses the same gesture of putting a hand over one's mouth as the right response after exalting oneself.
- Job 23:3-4 (BSB)“If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat. I would plead my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.”Job had wanted to fill his mouth with arguments before God, and now he has nothing to add.