to remove (intransitive or transitive) figuratively · definite article + verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
mountains
הָ֭רִיםHa.rim
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · noun, common masculine plural absolute
know
יָדָ֑עוּya.Da.'u
H3045
to know (properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
overturneth
הֲפָכָ֣םha.fa.Kham
H2015
to turn about or over · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
anger
בְּאַפּֽוֹbe.'a.Po
H639
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
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).
Cross-references
Matthew 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven…
Habakkuk 3:10 The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on hi…
Revelation 11:13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand:…
Revelation 16:18-20 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mig…
Psalms 46:2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Psalms 68:8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
Psalms 114:6 Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 9:1-13
Bildad began with a rebuke to Job for talking so much, Job 8:2. Job makes no answer to that, though it would have been easy enough to retort it upon himself; but in what he next lays down as his principle, that God never perverts judgment, Job agrees with him: I know it is so of a truth, Job 9:2. Note, We should be ready to own how far we agree with those with whom we dispute, and should not slight, much less resist, a truth, though produced by an adversary and urged against us, but receive it in the light and love of it, though it may have been misapplied. "It is so of a truth, that wickedness brings men to ruin and the godly are taken under God's special protection. These are truths which…
and they know not--Hebrew for "suddenly, unexpectedly, before they are aware of it" (Psa 35:8); "at unawares"; Hebrew, which "he knoweth not of" (Joe 2:14; Pro 5:6).
John Gill on Job 9:5
Which removeth the mountains,.... This and what follow are instances of the power of God, and are full proofs of his being mighty in strength; and may be understood, either literally, not only of what God is able to do if he will, but of what he has done; and history (y) furnishes us with instances of mountains being removed from one place to another; and Scheuchzer (z) makes mention of a village in Helvetia, called Plurium, which, in 1618, was covered with the sudden fall of a mountain, and swallowed up in the earth, with 1800 inhabitants, and not the least trace of it to be seen any more; and in the sacred Scriptures is a prediction of the mount of Olives being removed from its place, one…
5 Who removeth mountains without their knowing,
That He hath overturned them in His wrath;
6 Who causeth the earth to shake out of its place,
And its pillars to tremble;
7 Who commandeth the sun, and it riseth not,
And sealeth up the stars.
ידעוּ ולא (Job 9:5) may also be translated: without one's perceiving it or knowing why; but it is more natural to take the mountains as the subject. אשׁר, quod, that (not "as," Ewald, 333, a), after ידע, as Eze 20:26; Ecc 8:12. Even the lofty mountains are quite unconscious of the change which He effects on them in a moment. Before they are aware that it is being done, it is over, as the praet. implies; the destructive power of His anger is irresistible,…
The Church Fathers
"He makes the mountains grow old and they do not know it. He weakens them little by little, as it is said: "I have aged in the midst of my enemies." - "He throws them into his anger. When he is angry with them, he overthrows them so that they can not find what they have sought, since he who raises himself will be humbled (2).
"He removes mountains," Job says, "and they do not know it." The mountains, he says, and they do not notice it. And this is in perfect accordance with what David said: "He touches the mountains, and they smoke." In this passage he speaks about the power of God by stating that God can do anything through his avenging power. In fact, Job has testified to his justice and, at the same time, testifies to his power.
Which removed the mountains, and they knew not whom He overturned in His anger. ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION Oftentimes in Holy Writ by the title of 'mountains,' the loftiness of Preachers is set forth. Of whom it is said by the Psalmist, The mountains shall receive peace for Thy people. For the Elect Preachers of the eternal Land are not unjustly called 'mountains,' in that by the loftiness of their lives they leave the low bottoms of earthly regions, and are brought near to heaven. Now 'Truth' 'removed the mountains' when He withdrew the holy Preachers from the stubbornness of Judaea. Whence too it is rightly said by the Psalmist, The mountains shall be carried into the heart of the sea. For 'the mountains were removed into the heart of the sea,' when the Apostles in their preaching, thrust off by the faithlessness of Judaea, came to the understanding of the Gentiles. Hence they themselves say in their Acts, It was necessary that the word should first have been spoken to you but seeing ye put it from you and Judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. Now this same 'removing of the mountains' they themselves 'knew nothing of, who were overthrown in the wrath of the Lord;' for when the Hebrew people drove the Apostles from their coasts, they supposed that they had made gain, in that they had parted with the light of preaching, since as their deserts demanded, being struck with a just visitation, they were blinded by so great a delusion of the understanding, that their losing the light they accounted to be joy; but upon the rejection of the Apostles, Judaea is at once brought to destruction by the hands of the Roman Emperor Titus, and she is dispersed and scattered abroad among all nations.
Dictionary and topics
Mountain · Overturning and removing of — Overturning and removing of
Mountains · God: Removes — God: Removes
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).
When God moves the mountains and when the foundations of the earth tremble, it is a sign of his presence as lawgiver (Exod 19:18), judge (Jer 4:24), or rescuer (Ps 18:7; Isa 13:13; 29:6).
Rashi on Job 9:5
He Who moved mountains He moved them away when He overturned Sodom.
and they knew not until He turned them over.