Job 38:16
in Job 38Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?
KJV
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?
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This verse in Job 38
Commentary
9 notes on this verseHast thou entered into the depth of the sea, and hast thou walked in the lowest parts of the abyss? As if He said, As I, Who not only sought the sea, that is this world, by assuming the flesh and soul of a man, but also descended by that flesh voluntarily subjected to death, to the bottom of the pit, as if to the depths of the sea. For if the 'sea' must be understood to mean the world after the manner of Scripture language, nothing hinders the 'depths of the sea' from meaning the bars of the pit.
This site's exposition
the vents of the sea
on Job 38:16-18
The questions move from sky to deep, asking whether Job has reached “the vents of the sea”. Clarke reads the paired “gates of death” and of “the shadow of death” as deliberate. The deep and the grave are both closed to a man who complains he cannot see God's reasons.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
After these premises about the earthquake and its effects, he proceeds to the disposition of the middle element, i.e., the sea, where man believes there are marvelous things hidden. First, those things which are in the depths of the sea, for example, the habitats of …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Or canst thou give an account of the rise and original of the waters of the sea? Vapours are continually exhaled out of the sea. Dost thou know how the recruits are raised by which it is continually supplied?
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?....
It is an unknown undiscovered region to which they are removed; we can neither hear from them nor send to them. While we are here, in a world of sense, we speak of the world of spirits as blind men do of colours, and when we remove thither we shall be amazed to find how much we are mistaken.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? - Of these springs, inlets, or outlets of the sea, we know just as much as Job. There was prevalent among philosophers an opinion, that through a porous bottom fresh matter was constantly oozing by which the sea was supplied with new materials. But through such pores these materials might as well ooze out as ooze in. Walked in the search of the depth? - Hast thou walked from the shallow beach through the great ocean’s bed, till thou hast arrived at its profoundest depths?
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
springs--fountains beneath the sea (Ps 95:4, 5). search--Rather, "the inmost recesses"; literally, "that which is only found by searching," the deep caverns of ocean.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? - The word here rendered “springs” (נבך nêbek), occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures. It is rendered by the Vulgate “profunda,” the deep parts; and by the Septuagint πηγὴν pēgēn - “fountains.” The reference seems to be to the deep fountains at the bottom of the sea, which were supposed to supply it with water. A large portion of the water of the ocean is indeed conveyed to it by rivers and streams that run on the surface of the earth. But it is known, also, that there are fountains at the bottom of the ocean, and in some places the amount of water that flows from them is so great, that its action is perceptible at the surface. One such fountain exists in the Atlantic ocean near the coast of Florida. Or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? - Or, rather, in the deep places or caverns of the ocean. The word rendered “search” here (חקר chêqer), means “searching,” investigation, and then an object that is to be searched out, and hence, that which is obscure, remote, hidden. Then it may be applied to the deep caverns of the ocean, or the bottom of the sea. This is to man unsearchable. No line has been found long enough to fathom the ocean, and of course what is there is unknown. It is adduced, therefore, with great propriety as a proof of the wisdom of God, that he could look on the deep caverns of the ocean, and was able to search out all that was there. A sentiment similar to this occurs in Homer, when speaking of Atlas: Ὅατε θαλάσσης; Πάσης βένθεα οἷδεν. Hoate thalassēs; Pasēs benthea oiden. Odyssey Job 1:5. “Who knows the depths of every sea.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲ֭בָאתָ | havata | ¿ have you gone | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| נִבְכֵי־ | nivkhei- | [the] springs of | H5033 → | |
| יָ֑ם | yam | [the] sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| וּבְחֵ֥קֶר | uvecheker | and in [the] depth of | H2714 → | 12 times |
| תְּ֝ה֗וֹם | tehom | [the] deep | H8415 → | 36 times |
| הִתְהַלָּֽכְתָּ׃ | hithalakheta | have you walked about? | H1980 → | 1546 times |
הֲ֭בָאתָ¿ have you gone
havataH935 →2568 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
נִבְכֵי־[the] springs of
nivkhei-H5033 →
יָ֑ם[the] sea
yamH3220 →396 times
וּבְחֵ֥קֶרand in [the] depth of
uvechekerH2714 →12 times
תְּ֝ה֗וֹם[the] deep
tehomH8415 →36 times
הִתְהַלָּֽכְתָּ׃have you walked about?
hithalakhetaH1980 →1546 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
Psalms 77:19Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found.
it leads to
- Exodus 14:28
The 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.
- Habakkuk 3:15
You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters.
- Nehemiah 9:11
You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.
- Psalms 29:10
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
- Exodus 14:28
Through
Jeremiah 51:36Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 50:38
A drought is upon her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and the people go mad over idols.
- Romans 12:19
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Psalms 140:12
I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy.
- Jeremiah 50:38
Through
Proverbs 8:24When there were no watery depths, I was brought forth, when no springs were overflowing with water.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:20
By His knowledge the watery depths were broken open, and the clouds dripped with dew.
- Proverbs 3:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
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); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIX; 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 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.