Job 37:1
in Job 37“At this my heart also pounds and leaps from its place.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yea, at this my heart trembleth, And is moved out of its place.
KJV
At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place.
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This verse in Job 37
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAt this my heart trembled, and was moved from its place. Because, while fear strikes the mind, it estranges it from itself, the Latin translations sometimes call an ecstasy fear, as is said by the Psalmist, I said in my fear, I am cast out from the sight of Thine eyes; [Ps. 31, 22] Where, namely, it could have been called not fear, but a transport ['excessus']. But fear is in that place used for transport, because the mind is estranged from itself in fear, as it is a transport.
This site's exposition
At this my heart also pounds
on Job 37:1-5
Elihu describes the storm arriving as he speaks: “Listen closely to the thunder of His voice”. Delitzsch reads this as the thunder Elihu names becoming audible in the scene. Henry takes verse 5, “He does great things we cannot comprehend”, as Elihu's summary confession ahead of the catalogue that follows.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Now this is the most wonderful thing that earthly and corruptible man is advanced to the possession of spiritual and heavenly things, and so he says, "About this," that man can ascend to possess the light, "my heart trembled," from the fear of wonder and …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
At this also my heart trembleth,.... At the greatness and majesty of God, not only as displayed in those works of his before observed, but as displayed in those he was about to speak of: such terrible majesty is there with God, that all rational creatures tremble at it; the nations of the world, the kings and great men of the earth, and even the devils themselves, Isa 64:
Sodom and Gomorrah were laid in ruins by it. It is a sensible indication of what God could do to this sinful world, and what he will do, at last, by the fire to which it is reserved. Our hearts, like Elihu's should tremble at it for fear of God's judgments, Ps. cxix.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
At this also - That is, in view of the thunderstorm, for it is that which Elihu is describing. This description was commenced in Job 36:29, and is continued to Job 37:5, and should not have been separated by the division into chapters. Elihu sees a tempest rising. The clouds gather, the lightnings flash, the thunder rolls, and he is awed as with the conscious presence of God. There is nowhere to be found a more graphic and impressive description of a thunder-storm than this; compare Herder on Hebrew Poetry, vol. i., 85ff, by Marsh, Burlington, 18
My heart trembleth - This is what the Septuagint has anticipated; see under Job 36:28 (note). A proper consideration of God’s majesty in the thunder and lightning is enough to appall the stoutest heart, confound the wisest mind, and fill all with humility and devotion. This, to the middle of Job 37:5, should be added to the preceding chapter, as it is a continuation of the account of the thunder and lightning given at the conclusion of that chapter. Our present division is as absurd as it is unfortunate.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and spring Heb. ויתר, and spring, like (Lev.:21) “to hop (לנתר) with them upon the earth.” And this means that his heart is astonished.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַף־ | ʾaf- | also | H637 → | 134 times |
| לְ֭זֹאת | lezot | to this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| יֶחֱרַ֣ד | yecherad | it trembles | H2729 → | |
| לִבִּ֑י | libi | heart my | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וְ֝יִתַּ֗ר | veyitar | so it may leap | H5425 → | |
| מִמְּקוֹמֽוֹ׃ | mimekomo | from place its | H4725 → | 401 times |
אַף־also
ʾaf-H637 →134 times
לְ֭זֹאתto this
lezotH2063 →603 times
יֶחֱרַ֣דit trembles
yecheradH2729 →
לִבִּ֑יheart my
libiH3820 →595 times
וְ֝יִתַּ֗רso it may leap
veyitarH5425 →
מִמְּקוֹמֽוֹ׃from place its
mimekomoH4725 →401 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
Acts 16:26Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.
it leads to
- Acts 4:31
After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
- Acts 5:19
But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying,
- Acts 12:7
Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his…
- Acts 12:10
They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one…
- Psalms 146:7
He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,
- Acts 4:31
Through
Psalms 89:7In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared, and awesome above all who surround Him.
it leads to
- Psalms 47:2
How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!
- Psalms 76:7–11
You alone are to be feared. When You are angry, who can stand before You?
- Hebrews 12:28–29
Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
- Psalms 47:2
About Job
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.