to fill or (intransitively) be full of · interrogative particle + verb, piel imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
skin
עוֹר֑וֹo.Ro
H5785
skin (as naked) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
irons
בְשֻׂכּ֣וֹתve.su.Kot
H7905
a dart (as pointed like a thorn) · preposition + noun, common feminine plural absolute
head
רֹאשֽׁוֹro.Sho
H7218
the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
fish
דָּגִ֣יםda.Gim
H1709
a fish (often used collectively) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
spears
וּבְצִלְצַ֖לu.ve.tzil.Tzal
H6767
a clatter · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
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 41:1-10
Whether this leviathan be a whale or a crocodile is a great dispute among the learned, which I will not undertake to determine; some of the particulars agree more easily to the one, others to the other; both are very strong and fierce, and the power of the Creator appears in them. The ingenious Sir Richard Blackmore, though he admits the more received opinion concerning the behemoth, that it must be meant of the elephant, yet agrees with the learned Bochart's notion of the leviathan, that it is the crocodile, which was so well known in the river of Egypt. I confess that that which inclines me rather to understand it of the whale is not only because it is much larger and a nobler animal, but…
Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? - This refers to some kind of harpoon work, similar to that employed in taking whales, and which they might use for some other kinds of animals; for the skin of the crocodile could not be pierced. Herrera says that he saw a crocodile defend itself against thirty men; and that they fired six balls at it without being able to wound it. It can only be wounded under his belly.
John Gill on Job 41:7
Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears? This seems not so well to agree with the whale; whose skin, and the several parts of his body, are to be pierced with harpoons and lances, such as fishermen use in taking whales; and their flesh to be cut in pieces with their knives: but better with the crocodile, whose skin is so hard, and so closely set with scales, that it is impenetrable; See Gill on Ezekiel 29:4. Or if the words are rendered, as by some, "wilt thou fill ships with his skin? and the fishermen's boat with his head" (n)? it makes also against the whale; for this is done continually, ships of different nations are loaded every year with its skin, fles…
["And all the ships come together would not be able to bear the mere skin of his tail."] All the ships come together are not capable to mortify the extreme and main parts of the dragon. People using bodies or ships cannot by themselves lift a single piece of the skin of his tail. But with the favor of divine virtue, they can bear not only a piece of the skin of his tail but also his entire body, and [they can] mortify it. Each of us mortifies what is in him, that is, the devil, according to the words of the apostle, "Then God will soon crush Satan under your feet."
Wilt thou fill nets with his skin, and the cabin of fishes with his head? 34. What is designated by 'nets,' or a 'cabin of fishes,' except the churches of the faithful which make one Catholic Church? Whence it is written in the Gospel, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net cast into the sea, and gathering of every kind of fishes. [Matt. 13, 47] The Church is in truth called the kingdom of heaven, for while the Lord exalts her conduct to things above, she already reigns herself in the Lord by heavenly conversation. And it is also rightly compared to a net cast into the sea, gathering of every kind of fishes; because when cast into this gentile world, it rejected no one, but caught the wicked with the good, the proud with the humble, the angry with the gentle, and the foolish with the wise. But by the 'skin' of this Leviathan we understand the foolish, and by his 'head,' the wise ones of his body. Or certainly by the 'skin,' which is outermost, are designated those who serve him as inferiors in these meanest offices, but by the 'head' those placed over them. And the Lord observing the proper order rightly declares that He will fill these 'nets,' or 'cabin of fishes,' that is, His Church, and the wishes of the faithful with his 'skin' first, and afterwards with his 'head.' Because, as we said before, He first chose the weak, that He might confound the strong afterwards. [l Cor. l, 27] He chose in truth the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise. For He gathered together the unlearned first, and philosophers afterwards; and He taught not fishermen by means of orators, but with wondrous power He subdued orators by means of fishermen. He says therefore, Wilt thou fill nets with his skin, or the cabin of fishes with his head? Thou understandest, As I, Who first gather within the Church of the faithful the most distant, and the lowest, as the 'skin' of the devil, and afterwards subdue to Myself his 'head,' that is, wise adversaries. It follows; Wilt thou lay thine hand upon him? That is, As I, Who restraining him by My mighty power, permit him not to rage more than is expedient, and Who, as far as I shall have permitted his cruelty, turn it to the benefit of My Elect. For certainly to lay a hand upon him, is to subdue him by the might of virtue. ...
Dictionary and topics
Fish · .Spears — .Spears
Fish Spear · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Fishes · Taken with: Spears — Taken with: Spears
Iron · Weapons — Weapons
Leviathan · Nature and habits of — Nature and habits of
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Keil & Delitzsch on Job 41:6-9
6 Do fishermen trade with him,
Do they divide him among the Canaanites?
7 Canst thou fill his skin with darts,
And his head with fish-spears?
8 Only lay thy hand upon him
Remember the battle, thou wilt not do it again!
9 Behold, every hope becometh disappointment:
Is not one cast down even at the sight of him?
The fishermen form a guild (Arab. ṣunf, sunf), the associated members of which are called חבּרים (distinct from חברים). On כּרה על, vid., on Job 6:27. "When I came to the towns of the coast," says R. Akiba, b. Rosch ha-Schana, 26b, "they called selling, which we call מכירה, כירה, there," according to which, then, Gen 50:5 is understood, as by the Syriac; the word is Sanscrito-Semitic,…
Unlike the peaceful Behemoth (40:15-24), Leviathan was menacing (see also 3:8; Pss 74:14; 104:26; Isa 27:1). Most commentators identify Leviathan with the crocodile, with its terrible jaws (Job 41:14) and armored hide (41:15-17, 23), thrashing the water (41:31-32). But Leviathan is a fire-breathing dragon (41:18-21) that wraps its coils around the sun to cause an eclipse (3:8-9). The background for Leviathan is the seven-headed sea monster that represents chaos in ancient Near Eastern mythology. In the biblical record, this unruly maritime monster is a frequent biblical image for chaos and wickedness, whose head the Lord crushes (Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1; cp. Job 9:13; 26:12; Ps 89:9-10; Isa 30:7;…
There is pride in his strong shields He takes great pride in the strength of his shields; they are the scales that are on him, which protect him like a shield.
closed That is the seal of his coat of mail, which is narrow, closed, and strong, for each scale is attached to him and attached to the next one, so that no creature can strike him between the scales. This is what is stated: They are so close to each other, that all of them are brought together and are close to each other.
