Job 38:40
in Job 38when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When they couch in their dens, And abide in the covert to lie in wait?
KJV
When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
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This verse in Job 38
Commentary
9 notes on this verseWhen they couch in their dens, and lie in wait in their caves. 26. For when the holy Apostles did not at all rise up against the limbs of the devil in the voice of bold preaching, and, not being yet strengthened after the Lord's Passion with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, did not preach their Redeemer with firm authority, they were still lying in wait, as it were, in dens against their adversaries.
This site's exposition
hunt the prey for a lioness
on Job 38:39-41
“Who provides food for the raven” names the least likely creature for divine care, and Delitzsch notes that “its young cry out to God”. Henry reads the lion and raven as opposite ends, the fiercest hunter and the most despised scavenger, both fed by the hand Job has questioned.
This site's exposition
crouch in their dens
Adam Clarke explains the crouching of young lions. Until they are swift enough to run down their prey, they lie hidden in the thicket and surprise it. John Gill applies the same waiting to old lions whose strength has failed them.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
This does not seem very difficult when they range through many different places, but when they stay in the same place, it is difficult either from necessity of feeding the cubs which he discusses saying, "when they lie in their dens," or because they are …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? Which some understand of old lions, who, for want of strength, lie couchant in their dens, or in some covert place, waiting for any prey that passes by, to seize upon it. But the same pasture and places are used by younger lions, as well as old ones; who are emblems of wicked men, cruel persecutors, and bloodthirsty tyrants, who fill their palaces and kingdoms with murder and rapine; see Psa 10:8, Nah 2:11.
Elihu had said, God speaks to men and they do not perceive it ( ch. xxxiii. 14 ); but this they could not but perceive, and yet we have a more sure word of prophecy, 2 Pet. i. When they had all had their saying, and yet had not gained their point, then it was time for God to interpose, whose judgment is according to truth.
And see its sovereignty, that it suffers some creatures to be killed for the support of other creatures. The harmless sheep are torn to pieces, to fill the appetite of the young lions, who yet sometimes are made to lack and suffer hunger, to punish them for their cruelty, while those that fear God want no good thing.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
When they couch in their dens - Before they are capable of trusting themselves abroad. Abide in the covert - Before they are able to hunt down the prey by running. It is a fact that the young lions, before they have acquired sufficient strength and swiftness, lie under cover, in order to surprise those animals which they have not fleetness enough to overtake in the forest; and from this circumstance the כפירים kephirim, “young lions, or lions’ whelps,” have their name: the root is כפר caphar, to cover or hide.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
When they couch in their dens - For the purpose of springing upon their prey. And abide in the covert to lie in wait? - The usual posture of the lion when he seeks his prey. He places himself in some unobserved position in a dense thicket, or crouches upon the ground so as not to be seen, and then springs suddenly upon his victim. The common method of the lion in taking his prey is to spring or throw himself upon it from the place of his ambush, with one vast bound and to inflict the mortal blow with one stroke of his paw. If he misses his aim, however, he seldom attempts another spring at the same object, but deliberately returns to the thicket in which he lay in concealment. See the habits of the lion illustrated in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, “Mazology.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יָשֹׁ֥חוּ | yashochu | they will crouch | H7817 → | |
| בַמְּעוֹנ֑וֹת | vameonot | in <the> dens | H4585 → | |
| יֵשְׁב֖וּ | yeshevu | they will remain | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בַסֻּכָּ֣ה | vasukah | in <the> thicket | H5521 → | 31 times |
| לְמוֹ־ | lemov- | for | H3926 → | 4 times |
| אָֽרֶב׃ | ʾarev | lying-in-wait | H695 → |
כִּי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יָשֹׁ֥חוּthey will crouch
yashochuH7817 →
בַמְּעוֹנ֑וֹתin <the> dens
vameonotH4585 →
יֵשְׁב֖וּthey will remain
yeshevuH3427 →1079 times
בַסֻּכָּ֣הin <the> thicket
vasukahH5521 →31 times
לְמוֹ־for
lemov-H3926 →4 times
אָֽרֶב׃lying-in-wait
ʾarevH695 →
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 49:9Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
it leads to
- Revelation 5:5
Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 23:24
Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 24:9
He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”
- Revelation 5:5
Through
Numbers 24:9He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”
it leads to
- Genesis 49:9
Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
- Genesis 27:29
May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you…
- Genesis 49:9
Through
Numbers 23:24Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.”
it leads to
- Genesis 49:27
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
- Genesis 49:27
Through
Job 37:8The wild animals enter their lairs; they settle down in their dens.
it leads to
- Psalms 104:22
The sun rises, and they withdraw; they lie down in their dens.
- Psalms 104:22
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); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXX; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.