# Job 40 đź“–: Behemoth and God's Power
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[[-Job Overview]] | [[Job 39]] | [[Job 41]]
> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Job’s Reply to God’s Challenge
[[#Verse 01.]] Then the Lord answered Job:
[[#Verse 02.]] “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”
[[#Verse 03.]] Then Job answered the Lord:
[[#Verse 04.]] “Indeed, I am completely unworthy—how could I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth to silence myself.
[[#Verse 05.]]Â I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;
twice, but I will say no more.”
### The Lord’s Second Speech
[[#Verse 06.]] Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
[[#Verse 07.]] “Get ready for a difficult task like a man.
I will question you and you will inform me.
[[#Verse 08.]] Would you indeed annul my justice?
Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?
[[#Verse 09.]] Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
[[#Verse 10.]]Â Adorn yourself, then, with majesty and excellency,
and clothe yourself with glory and honor.
[[#Verse 11.]] Scatter abroad the abundance of your anger.
Look at every proud man and bring him low;
[[#Verse 12.]]Â Look at every proud man and abase him;
crush the wicked on the spot.
[[#Verse 13.]] Hide them in the dust together,
imprison them in the grave.
[[#Verse 14.]] Then I myself will acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can save you.
### The Description of Behemoth
[[#Verse 15.]] “Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you;
it eats grass like the ox.
[[#Verse 16.]] Look at its strength in its loins,
and its power in the muscles of its belly.
[[#Verse 17.]] It makes its tail stiff like a cedar,
the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.
[[#Verse 18.]]Â Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like bars of iron.
[[#Verse 19.]]Â It ranks first among the works of God,
the One who made it
has furnished it with a sword.
[[#Verse 20.]]Â For the hills bring it food,
where all the wild animals play.
[[#Verse 21.]]Â Under the lotus trees it lies,
in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh.
[[#Verse 22.]] The lotus trees conceal it in their shadow;
the poplars by the stream conceal it.
[[#Verse 23.]] If the river rages, it is not disturbed,
it is secure, though the Jordan
should surge up to its mouth.
[[#Verse 24.]]Â Can anyone catch it by its eyes,
or pierce its nose with a snare?
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Job's first response to God is brief (40:3-5).
2. Putting a hand over the mouth (40:4) was a gesture of silence and respect (21:5; 29:9; Proverbs 30:32).
3. God's second speech begins with the same command as the first: brace yourself like a man (38:3; 40:7).
4. God's question in 40:8 shows Job's error: he defended his own righteousness by questioning God's justice.
5. God challenges Job to humble the proud and crush the wicked (40:11-13), work that belongs only to God.
6. "Behemoth" is a plural form of the Hebrew word for beast, likely meaning "the beast of beasts."
7. Behemoth has been identified with the hippopotamus or elephant, though some see a larger symbolic creature.
8. Behemoth lies under lotus plants and among the reeds of the marsh (40:21-22), a fitting home for a hippopotamus.
9. God calls Behemoth the first or chief of His works (40:19).
10. The Jordan in 40:23 may be used as a general picture of a rushing river.
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One whose arm truly saves (40:9, 14). Job could not save himself, but the arm of the Lord has been revealed in Jesus, the Servant who bore our sins (Isaiah 53:1-5; John 12:37-38).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. Job puts his hand over his mouth and says no more (40:4-5). When is silence the best response to God?
2. God asks Job whether he would condemn God to justify himself (40:8). How do we sometimes do the same thing?
3. God tells Job that if he could humble every proud person, then his own right hand could save him (40:11-14). Why can't we save ourselves?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verses 4-5: Job admits he is insignificant and puts his hand over his mouth.
- đź“– verse 8: God asks Job whether he would discredit God's justice to justify himself.
- đź“– verse 15: God points to Behemoth, which He made just as He made Job.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[Isaiah 53#Verse 01.|Isaiah 53:1-5]] - The arm of the Lord revealed in the Suffering Servant.
- đź”— [[Romans 03#Verse 04.|Romans 3:4]] - Let God be proved true.
- đź”— [[James 04#Verse 06.|James 4:6, 10]] - God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
- đź”— [[Psalm 98#Verse 01.|Psalm 98:1]] - His right hand and holy arm have won the victory.
- đź”— [[Isaiah 02#Verse 11.|Isaiah 2:11-12]] - The Lord alone will be exalted.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Job 40 - SOAP|If We Truly Saw God]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes