Job 26:7
in Job 26He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth upon nothing.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He stretcheth out the north over empty space, And hangeth the earth upon nothing.
KJV
He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
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This verse in Job 26
Commentary
13 notes on this verseHe stretcheth out the north over the empty place. [MYSTICAL INTERPRETATION] By the title of the 'north,' in Holy Writ the devil is used to be designated, who with the thought to bind up the hearts of the nations with the iciness of insensibility, said, I will sit also upon the mount of the Covenant, in the sides of the north. And he is 'stretched over the empty place,' because he has possession of those hearts, that are not filled with the grace of the love of God.
This site's exposition
He hangs the earth upon nothing
on Job 26:7-9
"He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth upon nothing" is the only place Scripture uses this phrase. The poem states it without pressing any modern cosmology. Delitzsch reads the empty space as the northern sky over a void, held up by God's will alone.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
And with regard to the earth it is again written in Job: He that hangeth the earth upon nothing; meaning, that it had nothing underneath it. And David in harmony with this, when he could discover nothing on which it was founded, says: He that …
"He stretches out the north wind upon nothing, and he upon nothing hangs the earth." Indeed the support of the earth is nothing but an understructure, but it is suspended and is sustained by divine will.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then he lists the effects of divine providence in natural things, and he begins from the two extremes, from earth and heaven. In each of these something appears instituted from divine power which exceeds human strength. As far as what appears to the senses, heaven …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is ponderibus librata suis--poised by its own weight, so says the poet; it is upheld by the word of God's power, so says the apostle. What is hung upon nothing may serve us to set our feet on, and bear the weight of our bodies, but it will never serve us to set our hearts on, nor bear the weight of our souls.
2 ); and he still continues to keep them stretched out, and will do so till the general conflagration, when they shall be rolled together as a scroll, Rev. vi. He mentions the north because his country (as ours) lay in the northern hemisphere; and the air is the empty place over which it is stretched out. What an empty place is this world in comparison with the other!
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6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
North - The northern part of the heavens, which is put for the whole visible heaven, because Job and his friends lived in a northern climate. Nothing - Upon no props or pillars, but his own power and providence.
He stretcheth out the north over the empty place,.... The northern hemisphere, which is the chief and best known, at least it was in the time of Job, when the southern hemisphere might not be known at all; though, if our version of Job 9:9 is right, Job seems to have had knowledge of it. Scheuchzer (u) thinks the thick air farthest north is meant, which expands itself everywhere, and is of great use to the whole earth.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
He stretcheth out the north - This whole passage is particularly interesting as giving a view of the cosmology which prevailed in those early times. Indeed, as has been already remarked, this poem, apart from every other consideration, is of great value for disclosing to us the prevailing views on the subject of astronomy, geography, and many of the arts, at a much earlier period than we have an account of them elsewhere. The word north here denotes the heavens as they appear to revolve around the pole, and which seem to be stretched out as a curtain.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"Sheol" comes from a Hebrew root--"ask," because it is insatiable (Pr 27:20); or "ask as a loan to be returned," implying Sheol is but a temporary abode, previous to the resurrection; so for English Version "formed," the Septuagint and Chaldee translate; shall be born, or born again, implying the dead are to be given back from Sheol and born again into a new state [MAGEE].
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Its suspension in empty space is stated in the second clause. The north in particular is specified in the first, being believed to be the highest part of the earth (Isa 14:13). The northern hemisphere or vault of heaven is included; often compared to a stretched-out canopy (Ps 104:2).
He stretcheth out the north over the empty place - על תהו al tohu, to the hollow waste. The same word as is used, Gen 1:2, The earth was without form, תהו tohu. The north must here mean the north pole, or northern hemisphere; and perhaps what is here stated may refer to the opinion that the earth was a vast extended plain, and the heavens poised upon it, resting on this plain all round the horizon. Of the south the inhabitants of Idumea knew nothing; nor could they have any notion of inhabitants in that hemisphere. Hangeth the earth upon nothing - The Chaldee says: “He lays the earth upon the waters, nothing sustaining it.”
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נֹטֶ֣ה | noteh | [he] stretches out | H5186 → | 214 times |
| צָפ֣וֹן | tzafon | [the] north | H6828 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| תֹּ֑הוּ | tohu | emptiness | H8414 → | 20 times |
| תֹּ֥לֶה | toleh | [he] hangs | H8518 → | |
| אֶ֝֗רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּלִי־ | beli- | not | H1097 → | 58 times |
| מָֽה׃ | mah | whatever | H4100 → | 752 times |
נֹטֶ֣ה[he] stretches out
notehH5186 →214 times
צָפ֣וֹן[the] north
tzafonH6828 →
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
תֹּ֑הוּemptiness
tohuH8414 →20 times
תֹּ֥לֶה[he] hangs
tolehH8518 →
אֶ֝֗רֶץ[the] earth
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בְּלִי־not
beli-H1097 →58 times
מָֽה׃whatever
mahH4100 →752 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 42:5This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to…
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:22
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zechariah 12:1
This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 45:12
It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.
- Jeremiah 10:12
The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
- Isaiah 48:13
Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together.
- Isaiah 40:22
Through
Isaiah 40:22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
it leads to
- Proverbs 8:27
I was there when He established the heavens, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
- Isaiah 66:1
This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
- Psalms 104:2
He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
- Proverbs 8:27
About Job
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 4; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XVII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOB 26:7-9 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.