Job 26:9
in Job 26He covers the face of the full moon, spreading over it His cloud.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He incloseth the face of his throne, And spreadeth his cloud upon it.
KJV
He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.
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This verse in Job 26
Commentary
11 notes on this verseHe holdeth back the face of His Throne, and spreadeth His cloud upon it. [LITERAL INTERPRETATION] In the face there is wont to be shewn forth acquaintanceship. Thus 'the face of His Throne is held back,' in that by us in this life the gloriousness of His kingdom is not perceived, so great as it is had within; 'upon which the cloud' is rightly said 'to be stretched;' because that glory of the heavenly kingdom is not seen such as it is.
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.
This site's exposition
He covers the face of the full moon
The Berean reads full moon where older versions read throne. Barnes and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the older reading, God spreading His cloud as a veil over His throne, as at Psalm 18:11. His hand works in the skies while His face stays covered.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"He constrains the elements with his purposes hidden, stretching out his cloud upon them." Heaven is often called "the throne of God" in holy Scripture. Air is placed before the face of heaven. Therefore, he says that God, by containing the air and expanding the …
The Medieval Church1 voice
After rain falls from the clouds, some remnants of the vapors remain behind, from which the clouds are formed. These conceal heaven from our point of view which is like the throne of God, according to the last chapter of Isaiah, "Heaven is my throne." …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): He holds back the face of his throne, that light in which he dwells, and spreads a cloud upon it, through which he judges, ch. xxii. God will have us to live by faith, not by sense; for this is agreeable to a state of probation.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
He holdeth back the face of his throne,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
He holdeth back the face of his throne - That is, he does not exhibit it - he covers it with clouds. The idea seems to be, that God sometimes comes forth and manifests himself to mankind, but that he comes encompassed with clouds, so that his throne cannot be seen. So in Psa 18:11, “He made darkness his secret place, his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.” God is often represented as encompassed with clouds, or as accompanied with tempests.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
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)
proposed
Rather, He encompasseth or closeth. God makes the clouds a veil to screen the glory not only of His person, but even of the exterior of His throne from profane eyes. His agency is everywhere, yet He Himself is invisible (Ps 18:11;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
He holdeth back the face of his throne - Though all these are most elegant effects of an omniscient and almighty power, yet the great Agent is not personally discoverable; he dwelleth in light unapproachable, and in mercy hides himself from the view of his creatures. The words, however may refer to those obscurations of the face of heaven, and the hiding of the body of the sun, when the atmosphere is laden with dense vapours, and the rain begins to be poured down on the earth.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מְאַחֵ֥ז | meachez | [he] covers | H270 → | 67 times |
| פְּנֵי־ | penei- | [the] presence of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כִסֵּ֑ה | khiseh | [the] throne | H3678 → | |
| פַּרְשֵׁ֖ז | parshez | he spreads | H6576 → | |
| עָלָ֣יו | ʾalav | over it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עֲנָנֽוֹ׃ | anano | cloud his | H6051 → | 87 times |
מְאַחֵ֥ז[he] covers
meachezH270 →67 times
פְּנֵי־[the] presence of
penei-H6440 →2123 times
כִסֵּ֑ה[the] throne
khisehH3678 →
פַּרְשֵׁ֖זhe spreads
parshezH6576 →
עָלָ֣יוover it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
עֲנָנֽוֹ׃cloud his
ananoH6051 →87 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
1 Kings 8:12Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
it leads to
- Psalms 97:2
Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 6:1–11
Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud;
- Leviticus 16:2
And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he…
- Isaiah 45:15
Truly You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
- Psalms 97:2
Through
Psalms 97:2Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
it leads to
- Psalms 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.
- Exodus 19:9
The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in…
- Proverbs 16:12
Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, for a throne is established through righteousness.
- Psalms 89:14
Through
Exodus 20:21And the people stood at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:12
Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
- 1 Kings 8:12
About Job
This page draws on 11 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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOB 26:7-9 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.