Job 37:21
in Job 37Now no one can gaze at the sun when it is bright in the skies after the wind has swept them clean.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And now men see not the light which is bright in the skies; But the wind passeth, and cleareth them.
KJV
And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them.
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This verse in Job 37
Commentary
9 notes on this verseBut now they see not the light. The air will suddenly be gathered into clouds. And the wind passing over will drive them away. Of which light doubtless it is said even by the Prophet, The people which was sitting in darkness, saw a great light. [Is. 9, 2] But he shews how this light is seen by men, when he immediately adds; The air will suddenly be gathered into clouds. For the air is so diffused by its own tenuity, as not to be consolidated with any firmness. But clouds are firmer, the denser they are.
This site's exposition
Teach us what we should say to Him
on Job 37:19-22
Elihu confesses his speech has failed, “Teach us what we should say to Him”. The older commentators divide over “Out of the north He comes in golden splendor”. Delitzsch and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the verse sits just before the Lord answers Job out of the whirlwind.
This site's exposition
no one can gaze at the sun
John Wesley draws the lesson. If no one can look at the sun in a clear sky, no one should wonder that God cannot be seen. Umbreit, cited by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, adds that God's majesty revealed at once would darken Job's eyes.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
But to preclude one from believing that the knowledge of divine truth must be withdrawn from man forever he says, "But now," in the present time, "they (men) do not see the light," which is the clarity of divine knowledge. Yet he proclaims to the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds,.... Here Elihu returns to his subject, it may be, occasioned by black clouds gathering in the heavens, as a preparation for the whirlwind, storm, and tempest, out of which the Lord is said to speak in the next chapter.
Light - The sun; which is emphatically called light, and here the bright light: which men cannot behold or gaze on, when the sky is very clear: and therefore it is not strange if we cannot see God, or discern his counsels and ways.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds - Either the lightning that plays on the clouds in an approaching tempest, or a glorious light spread over the sky on the approach of God. There is reason to believe that as Elihu delivered the sentiments recorded in the close of this chapter, he meant to describe God as if he were seen to be approaching, and that the symbols of his presence were discovered in the gathering tempest and storm.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
When the "bright light" of the sun, previously not seen through "clouds," suddenly shines out from behind them, owing to the wind clearing them away, the effect is dazzling to the eye; so if God's majesty, now hidden, were suddenly revealed in all its brightness, it would spread darkness over Job's eyes, anxious as he is for it (compare, see on Job 37:19) [UMBREIT].
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And now men see not the bright light - Mr. Good gives the sense clearer: - “Even now we cannot look at the light When it is resplendent in the heavens. And a wind from the north hath passed along and cleared them.” Elihu seems to refer to the insufferable brightness of the sun. Can any man look at the sun shining in his strength, when a clear and strong wind has purged the sky from clouds and vapours? Much less can any gaze on the majesty of God. Every creature must sink before him. What execrably dangerous folly in man to attempt to arraign His conduct!
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֤ה׀ | veatah | and now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| לֹ֘א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| רָ֤אוּ | rau | people see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| א֗וֹר | ʾor | a light | H216 → | 121 times |
| בָּהִ֣יר | bahir | [is] brilliant | H925 → | |
| ה֭וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בַּשְּׁחָקִ֑ים | bashechakim | in the clouds | H7834 → | 21 times |
| וְר֥וּחַ | veruach | and [the] wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| עָ֝בְרָ֗ה | ʾaverah | it has passed by | H5674 → | 556 times |
| וַֽתְּטַהֲרֵֽם׃ | vatetaharem | and it has cleansed them | H2891 → |
וְעַתָּ֤ה׀and now
veatahH6258 →433 times
לֹ֘אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
רָ֤אוּpeople see
rauH7200 →1300 times
א֗וֹרa light
ʾorH216 →121 times
בָּהִ֣יר[is] brilliant
bahirH925 →
ה֭וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
בַּשְּׁחָקִ֑יםin the clouds
bashechakimH7834 →21 times
וְר֥וּחַand [the] wind
veruachH7307 →378 times
עָ֝בְרָ֗הit has passed by
ʾaverahH5674 →556 times
וַֽתְּטַהֲרֵֽם׃and it has cleansed them
vatetaharemH2891 →
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
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
Job 26:9He covers the face of the full moon, spreading over it His cloud.
it leads to
- Psalms 97:2
Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
- Job 22:14
Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us as He traverses the vault of heaven.’
- Exodus 20:21
And the people stood at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
- Exodus 33:20–23
But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”
- Exodus 34:3
No one may go up with you; in fact, no one may be seen anywhere on the mountain—not even the flocks or herds may graze in front of the mountain.”
- Psalms 97:2
Through
Job 36:32He fills His hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.
it leads to
- Job 37:15
Do you know how God dispatches the clouds or makes the lightning flash?
- Psalms 18:11
He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.
- Job 37:15
About Job
This page draws on 9 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; Jamieson, Fausset and 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 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.