dust (as powdered or gray) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
groweth
בְּצֶ֣קֶתbe.Tze.ket
H3332
properly · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
hardness
לַמּוּצָ֑קla.mu.Tzak
H4165
properly · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
clods
וּרְגָבִ֥יםu.re.ga.Vim
H7263
a lump of clay · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural absolute
together
יְדֻבָּֽקוּye.du.Ba.ku
H1692
properly · verb, pual imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 38:25–end
Hitherto God had put such questions to Job as were proper to convince him of his ignorance and short-sightedness. Now he comes, in the same manner, to show his impotency and weakness. As it is but little that he knows, and therefore he ought not to arraign the divine counsels, so it is but little that he can do, and therefore he ought not to oppose the proceedings of Providence. Let him consider what great things God does, and try whether he can do the like, or whether he thinks himself an equal match for him.
I. God has thunder, and lightning, and rain, and frost, at command, but Job has not, and therefore let him not dare to compare himself with God, or to contend with him. Nothing is more…
groweth, &c.--rather, pour itself into a mass by the rain, like molten metal; then translate Job 38:38, "Who is it that empties," &c., "when," &c.? The English Version, however, is tenable: "Is caked into a mass" by heat, like molten metal, before the rain falls; "Who is it that can empty the rain vessels, and bring down rain at such a time?" (Job 38:38).
Adam Clarke on Job 38:38
When the dust groweth into hardness - That is, Who knows how the dust - the elementary particles of matter, were concreted; and how the clods - the several parts of the earth, continue to cohere? What is the principle of cohesion among the different particles of matter, in all metals and minerals? Even water, in a solid form, constitutes a part of several gems, called thence water of crystallization. Who can solve this question? How is it that 90 parts of alumine, 7 of silex, and 1.2 of oxide of iron, constitute the oriental ruby? and that 90 parts of silex and 19 of water, form the precious opal? And how can 46 parts of silex, 14 of alumine, 28 of carbonate of lime, 6.5 of sulphate of lime,…
When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together? When the dust is attenuated, and ground, as it were, into powder; and the clods cleave together, as if glued, as in a drought for want of rain: or the bottles of heaven being unstopped and poured out; or
"sprinkling the dust with this sprinkling,''
as Mr. Broughton. Or rather, pouring on the dust with pouring; that is, pouring down rain, by unstopping the bottles of heaven. The dust, as meal, by water poured into it, cements, unites, and is compacted, and becomes earth, that may be cultivated; is clodded and cleaves together, and may be ploughed and sown.
The Church Fathers
"Ashes are scattered like the earth; he tied it up like food to the stone. Everywhere in the distance has been preached humility. wherefore the Lord who resisteth the upright, and giveth his grace unto the lowly, 4 in making himself man, hath bound himself with men by the bond of charity; became a mediator between God and men (5), gave himself to them for food in the Sacrament of his body and blood, and chose as stone of the edifice what is foolish in the world, to confuse the wise (6). As the Word of God, dwelling in God, he is the food of angels; but to be the food of stones, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (7). He will thus unite himself closely with men, when penance has prepared them there, as if the ashes were poured out to chart his way. And when he cried out, "Do ye worthy fruits of penance, and say not, We have Abraham our father; "For God is strong enough to bring out, from these stones, the children of Abraham," he showed with what stones he wanted to unite as food. But if the humility of repentance does not prepare for it, this union can never be fulfilled, for it looks from a distance at those who rise.
When the dust was hardened into earth, and the clods were bound together. 18. For the sacred language describes, after its custom, things still future, as though already passed: observing, namely, in itself, that which is said by it; Who made the things that are to come. [Is. 45, 11] The dust is therefore hardened at that time into earth, because it is brought back to solid limbs. And the clods are bound together, doubtless, because solid bodies arise together gathered from the dust. But after we have stated how these words of the Lord are to be understood of the future, let us now point out what they mean concerning the present. 19. Who will declare the system of the heavens, and who will make the harmony of the heaven to sleep? The Lord declares the system of the heavens, whilst He now illuminates the minds of His Elect by teaching heavenly secrets. But He makes the harmony of heaven to sleep, whilst by a righteous judgment He conceals from the hearts of the reprobate the harmonious hymns of angels, and those joys of heavenly virtues. For this harmony of heaven, though inwardly wakeful in itself, yet slumbers outwardly through the very ignorance of the reprobate. The system of the heavenly mystery is therefore proclaimed, and yet the harmony of heaven is permitted to sleep; because to some the knowledge of the heavenly retribution is disclosed by inspiration, and what is the sweetness of inward praise is concealed from others. 20. The system of the heavens is set forth, because to the minds of the Elect there is unceasingly laid open what is the recompense of heavenly rewards; in order doubtless that they may unceasingly advance, and, passing over visible things, may stretch themselves forward to invisible. For every visible object which arrests the reprobate in this life, urges the Elect onward to other things. For whilst they behold the good deeds which have been done, they burn with love towards Him by Whom they have been done; and they love Him the more surpassingly, the more they consider that He was prior to that which He Himself created good. For the silently sounding invisible tongue of compunction speaks this to them within. And they hear it the louder within, the more entirely they turn away from the din of outward desires. To these then the harmony of heaven sleeps not, because their mind learns, by applying the ear of love, how great is the…
Keil & Delitzsch on Job 38:34-38
34 Dost thou raise thy voice to the clouds
That an overflow of waters may cover thee?
35 Dost thou send forth lightnings, and they go,
And say to thee: Here we are?
36 Who hath put wisdom in the reins,
Or who hath given understanding to the cock?
37 Who numbereth the strata of the clouds with wisdom
And the bottles of heaven, who emptieth them,
38 When the dust flows together into a mass,
And the clods cleave together?
As Job 38:25 was worded like Job 28:26, so Job 38:34 is worded like Job 22:11; the ך of תכסך is dageshed in both passages, as Job 36:2, Job 36:18, Hab 2:17. What Jehovah here denies to the natural power of man is possible to the power which man has by faith, as the history of…
heart . . . mind: These words can also be translated ibis . . . rooster. The Egyptians thought the ibis was wise about the flooding of the Nile, the most important seasonal event in Egypt; and Israel’s rabbis thought the rooster could forecast rain or that its crow distinguished day from night. The idea would then be Who taught the ibis and the rooster? See also Ps 51:6; Prov 2:6; Jas 1:5, 17.
Rashi on Job 38:38
When the dust was poured On the day that I poured the dust.
into a mass for the foundation of the world, into its midst.
and the clods cleaved together around it on all sides, until its length and width were filled.
