Job 36:30
in Job 36See how He scatters His lightning around Him and covers the depths of the sea.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, he spreadeth his light around him; And he covereth the bottom of the sea.
KJV
Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
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This verse in Job 36
Commentary
11 notes on this verseBehold, he spreadeth his light upon it,.... Upon his tabernacle; that is, upon the clouds, which are his tabernacle; either the light of the sun, whereby the clouds are dispersed and blotted out; an emblem of the blotting out of sin, or the forgiveness of it, Isa 44:22, which is like a clear shining after rain, 2Sa 23:4, or on a thin cloud, whereby the rainbow is formed, an emblem of peace and reconciliation by Christ; or lightning, which bursting out of the dark cloud is spread over it, when it seems to be all in flames.
This site's exposition
He draws up drops of water
on Job 36:27-33
The rain cycle opens a weather catalogue running into chapter 37. Delitzsch reads “by these He judges the nations” as rain doing double duty, feeding and disciplining. Gill takes “The thunder declares His presence” as the speech overtaken by the storm it describes, the whirlwind heard before it speaks.
This site's exposition
scatters His lightning around Him
Albert Barnes sees the lightning flash across the sky at once. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown picture God's garment woven of light and of the depths of the sea raised into clouds. Matthew Henry follows the sunbeams down to the sea, which then supplies the clouds with rain.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
The lightening proceeds from the clouds because of the collision of the winds, and so he says, "and to make lightening with his light from above." Sometimes the clouds cover heaven as far as the horizon of some region and seem to enclose the farthest …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXVII · Written before 604.
proposed
If He will spread out clouds as His tent, and lighten with His light from above, He will cover also the ends of the sea. The Lord 'spreads out the clouds,' when, opening the way of preaching to His ministers, He disperses them in every direction, through the breadth of the world. But it is well said, As His tent. For a tent is wont to be pitched, on a journey. And, when holy preachers are sent into the world, they make a way for God.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
There is a clear shining after rain, 2 Sam. xxiii. The sunbeams are darted forth, and reach to cover even the bottom of the sea, thence to exhale a fresh supply of vapours, and so raise recruits for the clouds,
1 Elihu also proceeded, and said, 2 Suffer me a little, and I will show thee that I have yet to speak on God's behalf. 3 I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. 4 For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:89%@v2-4
Light - The lightning; fitly God's light, because God only can light it. It - Upon the cloud, which is in a manner the candlestick in which God sets up this light.
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)
God's garment is woven of celestial light and of the watery depths, raised to the sky to form His cloudy canopy. The phrase, "cover Himself with the roots of the sea," is harsh; but the image is grand.
He spreadeth his light upon it - Or, as Mr. Good translates, “He throweth forth from it his flash.” These two verses may both have an allusion to the sudden rarefaction of that part of the atmosphere whence the thunder proceeds, by the agency of the electric fluid; the rushing in of the air on each side to restore the equilibrium, which the passage of the fire had before destroyed.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it - That is, upon his tabernacle or dwelling-place - the clouds. The allusion is to lightning, which flashes in a moment over the whole heavens. The image is exceedingly beautiful and graphic. The idea of “spreading out” the light in an instant over the whole of the darkened heavens, is that which Elihu had in his mind, and which impressed him so forcibly. On the difficulty in regard to the translation of the Septuagint here, see Schleusner on the word ἡδὼ hēdō. And covereth the bottom of the sea - Margin, “roots.” The word roots is used to denote the bottom, as being the lowest part of a thing - as the roots of a tree. The meaning is that he covers the lowest part of the sea with floods of waters; and the object of Elihu is to give an exalted conception of the greatness of God, from the fact that his agency is seen in the higlest and the lowest objects. He spreads out the clouds, thunders in his tabernacle, diffuses a brilliant light over the heavens, and at the same time is occupied in covering the bottom of the sea with the floods. He is Lord over all, and his agency is seen every where. The highest and the lowest objects are under his control, and his agency is seen above and below. On the one hand, he covers the thick and dense clouds with light; and on the other, he envelopes the depth of the ocean in impenetrable darkness.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵן־ | hen- | there! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| פָּרַ֣שׂ | paras | he spreads out | H6566 → | 67 times |
| עָלָ֣יו | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אוֹר֑וֹ | ʾoro | light his | H216 → | 121 times |
| וְשָׁרְשֵׁ֖י | veshareshei | and [the] roots of | H8328 → | 33 times |
| הַיָּ֣ם | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| כִּסָּֽה׃ | kisah | he covers | H3680 → | 152 times |
הֵן־there!
hen-H2005 →316 times
פָּרַ֣שׂhe spreads out
parasH6566 →67 times
עָלָ֣יוon him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
אוֹר֑וֹlight his
ʾoroH216 →121 times
וְשָׁרְשֵׁ֖יand [the] roots of
vesharesheiH8328 →33 times
הַיָּ֣םthe sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
כִּסָּֽה׃he covers
kisahH3680 →152 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
Genesis 1:9And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 3:5
But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water,
- Jonah 1:9
“I am a Hebrew,” replied Jonah. “I worship the LORD, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”
- Jeremiah 5:22
Do you not fear Me?” declares the LORD. “Do you not tremble before Me, the One who set the sand as the boundary for the sea, an enduring barrier it cannot cross? The waves…
- Psalms 95:5
The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.
- Psalms 33:7
He piles up the waters of the sea; He puts the depths into storehouses.
- 2 Peter 3:5
Through
Job 38:25Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt,
it leads to
- Job 28:26
when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,
- Job 28:26
Through
Exodus 14:28The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:53
He led them safely, so they did not fear, but the sea engulfed their enemies.
- Psalms 106:9–11
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; He led them through the depths as through a desert.
- Psalms 78:53
About Job
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 XXVII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.