Job 38:14 BSB — MannaFest

Job 38:14

The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

It is changed as clay under the seal; And all things stand forth as a garment:

KJV

It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

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Commentary

3 voices

Gregory the Dialogist

Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIX (604)

The seal shall be restored as clay, and shall stand as a garment. [ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION] What else but 'clay' did the Lord find the people of Israel, whom He came unto when given up to the practices of the Gentiles, and toiling at bricks in Egypt? And whilst He led it forth by so many miracles to the land of promise, and filled it, when brought thither, with the knowledge of His wisdom, whilst He conferred on it so many secret mysteries by means of Prophecy, what else did He make it but a 'seal' for preserving His mystery?

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

It is turned as clay to the seal - The earth, like soft clay, is capable of modifying itself in endless ways, and assuming infinite forms. As a proof of this, see the astonishing variety of plants, flowers, and fruits, and the infinitely diversified hues, odours, tastes, consistency, and properties, of its vegetable productions. There seems to be an allusion here to the sealing of clay, which I believe has been, and is now, frequent in the East.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Passing from creation to phenomena in the existing inanimate world. Hast thou--as God daily does. commanded the morning--to rise. since thy days--since thou hast come into being. his place--It varies in its place of rising from day to day, and yet it has its place each day according to fixed laws.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

6 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
תִּ֭תְהַפֵּךְ	Tit.ha.pekh	it is changed	H2015 →
כְּחֹ֣מֶר	ke.Cho.mer	like [the] clay of	H2563 →
חוֹתָ֑ם	cho.Tam	a seal	H2368 →
וְ֝יִֽתְיַצְּב֗וּ	ve.yit.ya.tze.Vu	so they may stand forth	H3320 →
כְּמ֣וֹ	ke.Mo	like	H3644 →
לְבֽוּשׁ׃	le.Vush	clothing	H3830 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Psalms 104:2
He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
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.
- 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.
- Daniel 7:9
  As I continued to watch, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool.…
- 1 John 1:5
  And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
- 1 Timothy 6:16
  He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
Through
Psalms 104:6
You covered it with the deep like a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
leads to
- Genesis 7:19
  Finally, the waters completely inundated the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered.
- 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,
- Genesis 1:2–10
  Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

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Mazzaroth

Twelve constellation groupings; one biblical word (Job 38:32). Bullinger and Seiss read them as a gospel-arc; modern critics trace their figures to Albumazar, not Adam. The objections below are presented at full strength, and the founder's own slot on the page is his to fill.

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The Star of Bethlehem — Edward Burne-Jones

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About Job

Job Hears of His Misfortunes — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Job: the study guide →Read chapter 38 →The featured study →

Continue: Job 38 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Job

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Job