Job 38:6
in Job 38On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
KJV
Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
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This verse in Job 38
Commentary
11 notes on this verseWhereupon are the bases thereof fastened? Or who hath laid the corner stone thereof? ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION What else do we understand by the foundations of this earth, but the teachers of Holy Church? For columns are raised on the bases, but on the columns the weight of the whole fabric is raised. Holy teachers are then not improperly designated by the name of bases.
This site's exposition
laid the foundations of the earth
on Job 38:4-6
The “measuring line” and the “cornerstone” borrow the words of a building site. Delitzsch notes the same terms return at Isaiah 28:16 for the stone laid in Zion. Gill reads the questions as pressing one point, that a man absent from creation's laying has no standing to indict its Governor.
This site's exposition
who laid its cornerstone
Barnes notes the Hebrew word names a column's base. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the foundations as made to sink, like a stone let down until it settles firm in clay. Gill presses the question further, for the earth hangs on nothing and rests on the hand of God alone.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And who created at the same time the morning stars?" that is, those stars that also rise and appear in the evening. But in a different sense [we may intend], when we refer to these stars to the substances that are separated from our senses, …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, after the artisan has determined the size of the foundation and where it is to be located, he determines on what the foundation can be solidly laid. As to this he says, "On what were the bases," of the land, "sunk," because it was …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?.... Or the pillars of it, as Ben Gersom interprets it; see Psa 75:3; and which Aben Ezra understands of the mountains: but be they what they may, on what can they be fastened or sunk into, when the earth hangs on nothing, and there is nothing visible to support it, nothing but the mighty hand of God? or who laid the corner stone thereof? which unites, cements, and keeps the fabric together, and is the ornament and beauty of it; but who can tell what that is?
14 ); and therefore, as we cannot find fault with God's work, so we need not be in fear concerning it; it will last, and answer the end, the works of his providence as well as the work of creation; the measures of neither can never be broken; and the work of redemption is no less firm, of which Christ himself is both the foundation and the corner-stone.
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The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
foundations--not "sockets," as Margin. fastened--literally, "made to sink," as a foundation-stone let down till it settles firmly in the clay (Job 26:7).
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3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? - How does it continue to revolve in the immensity of space? What supports it? Has it foundations like a building, and is it fastened with a key-stone, to keep the mighty fabric in union?
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Whereupon are the foundations - Margin, “sockets.” The Hebrew word (אדן 'eden) means “a basis,” as of a column, or a pedestal; and then also the foundation of a building. The language here is evidently figurative, comparing the earth with an edifice. In building a house, the securing of a proper foundation is essential to its stability; and here God represents himself as rearing the earth on the most permanent and solid basis. The word is not used in the sense of sockets, as it is in the margin. Fastened - Margin, “made to sink.” The margin rather expresses the sense of the Hebrew word הטבעוּ hāṭâba‛û. It is rendered “sink” and “sunk” in Psa 69:2, Psa 69:14; Psa 9:15; Lam 2:9; Jer 38:6, Jer 38:22; “drowned” in Exo 15:4; and were settled in Pro 8:25. The word does not elsewhere occur in the Scriptures, and the prevailing sense is that of “sinking,” or “settling down,” and hence, to “impress” - as a seal “settles down” into wax. The reference here is to a foundation-stone that sinks or settles down into clay or mire until it becomes solid. Or who laid the corner stone thereof - Still an allusion to a building. The cornerstone sustains the principal weight of an edifice, as the weight of two walls is concentrated on it, and hence, it is of such importance that it should be solid and firmly fixed. The question proposed for the solution of Job is, On what the earth is founded? On this question a great variety of opinions waft entertained by the ancients, and of course no correct solution could be given of the difficulty. It was not known that it was suspended and held in its place by the laws of gravitation. The meaning here is, that if Job could not solve this inquiry, he ought not to presume to sit in judgment on the government of God, and to suppose that he was qualified to judge of his secret counsels.
Modern Voices1 voice
Without once relaxing the rigid impenetrability of Jehovah in His deliberate declaration, he has contrived to let fall here and there in the metaphors, in the parenthetical imagery, sudden and splendid suggestions that the secret of God is a bright and not a sad one …
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מָ֭ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אֲדָנֶ֣יהָ | ʾadaneiha | bases its | H134 → | |
| הָטְבָּ֑עוּ | hatebau | were they sunk | H2883 → | |
| א֥וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| מִֽי־ | mi- | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יָ֝רָ֗ה | yarah | did he lay | H3384 → | 80 times |
| אֶ֣בֶן | ʾeven | [the] stone of | H68 → | 273 times |
| פִּנָּתָֽהּ׃ | pinatah | corner its | H6438 → |
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מָ֭הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
אֲדָנֶ֣יהָbases its
ʾadaneihaH134 →
הָטְבָּ֑עוּwere they sunk
hatebauH2883 →
א֥וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
מִֽי־who?
mi-H4310 →423 times
יָ֝רָ֗הdid he lay
yarahH3384 →80 times
אֶ֣בֶן[the] stone of
ʾevenH68 →273 times
פִּנָּתָֽהּ׃corner its
pinatahH6438 →
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 118:22The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
it leads to
- Luke 20:17
But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
- Matthew 21:42
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
- 1 Peter 2:4–8
As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- Acts 4:11
This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
- Mark 12:10–11
Have you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
- Luke 20:17
Through
2 Peter 3:5But 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,
it leads to
- Psalms 24:2
For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 11:3
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
- Psalms 24:2
Through
Psalms 93:1The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty; the LORD has clothed and armed Himself with strength. The world indeed is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
it leads to
- Psalms 96:10
Declare among the nations: “The LORD reigns!” The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 96:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Job
This page draws on 11 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); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON JOB 38:7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; GK Chesterton, Introduction to the Book of Job (1907); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXVIII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.