Job 41:22
in Job 41Strength resides in his neck, and dismay leaps before him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In his neck abideth strength, And terror danceth before him.
KJV
In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
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This verse in Job 41
Commentary
10 notes on this verseIn his neck remaineth strength,.... This is thought to be an argument against the whale, which is said to have no neck: but whatever joins the head and body may be called the neck, though ever so small; and the shorter the neck is, the stronger it is.
This site's exposition
Strength resides in his neck
on Job 41:22-29
His chest is “as hard as a rock, as hard as a lower millstone”, a doubled figure Barnes reads as courage nothing within can shake. Every weapon fails, “the spear or dart or arrow”. Clarke hears in these useless weapons an answer to Job's demand for legal means against God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"In its neck" means in arrogant self-estimation; "its strength abides," because it does not stand still but always overestimates itself. The souls that advance with a high neck (as is confirmed by Isaiah) are [like the devil's] neck, because they have the power to deceive. …
The Medieval Church2 voices
When he has described what pertains to the power of the head of Leviathan, God moves on the describe what pertains to the power of his members. Consider that, as Aristotle says, in The History of Animals II, "no fish has a neck," except those …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXXIV · Written before 604.
proposed
In his neck will remain strength. 1. Because we bear about us a body from this world, let us consider the end of the universe, from the part of it in which we ourselves are [al. 'which we are']. For we learn more quickly of what kind is the end of the world, if we carefully consider that which we bear about us from the world.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And sorrow - Sorrow is his companion and harbinger, which attends upon him wheresoever he goes. So anger and fear are said by the poets to accompany the God of war.
His head and his body are well set together. Sorrow rejoices (or rides in triumph) before him, for he makes terrible work wherever he comes. Or, Those storms which are the sorrow of others are his joys; what is tossing to others is dancing to him.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
In his neck remaineth strength - Literally, “strength has its dwelling in his neck.” The neck is the seat of strength of most animals; but the head and shoulders must be here meant, as the crocodile has no neck, being shaped nearly like a lizard. And sorrow is turned into joy before him - ולפניו תדוץ דאבה ulephanaiv taduts deabah; “And destruction exulteth before him.” This is as fine an image as can well be conceived. It is in the true spirit of poetry, the legitimate offspring of the genie createur. Our translation is simply insignificant.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
remaineth--abideth permanently. His chief strength is in the neck. sorrow--anxiety or dismay personified. is turned into joy--rather, "danceth," "exulteth"; wherever he goes, he spreads terror "before him."
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
In his neck remaineth strength - That is, strength is “permanently residing” there. It is not assumed for the moment, but his neck is so constructed as to be the abode of strength. The word here rendered “remaineth” (ילין yālı̂yn), means properly to pass the night; then to abide or dwell; and there is a designed contrast here with what is said of “sorrow” in this verse. This description of strength residing in the neck, agrees well with the crocodile; see the figure of the animal on p. 255. It is not easy, however, to see how this is applicable to the whale, as Prof. Lee supposes. The whale is endowed, indeed, with great strength, as Prof. Lee has shown, but that strength is manifested mainly by the stroke of the tail. And sorrow is turned into joy before him - Margin, “rejoiceth.” The proper meaning of the word used here (תדוץ tādûts) is “to dance, to leap, to skip;” and the sense is, that “terror dances before him.” It does not refer to the motion of the animal, as if he were brisk and rapid. but it is a poetic expression, as if terror played or pranced along wherever he came. Strength “resided” in his neck, but his approach made terror and alarm play before him wherever he went; that is, produced terror and dread. In his neck is permanent, calm strength; before him, everything trembles and is agitated. The beauty of the passage lies in this contrast between the strength and firmness which repose calmly in the neck of the animal, and the consternation which he everywhere produces, causing all to tremble as he approaches. Bochart has well illustrated this from the Classical writers.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּֽ֭צַוָּארוֹ | betzavaro | in neck its | H6677 → | 42 times |
| יָלִ֣ין | yalin | it lodges | H3885 → | 84 times |
| עֹ֑ז | ʾoz | strength | H5797 → | 92 times |
| וּ֝לְפָנָ֗יו | ulefanav | and <to> before it | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| תָּד֥וּץ | tadutz | it leaps | H1750 → | |
| דְּאָבָֽה׃ | deavah | dismay | H1670 → |
בְּֽ֭צַוָּארוֹin neck its
betzavaroH6677 →42 times
יָלִ֣יןit lodges
yalinH3885 →84 times
עֹ֑זstrength
ʾozH5797 →92 times
וּ֝לְפָנָ֗יוand <to> before it
ulefanavH6440 →2123 times
תָּד֥וּץit leaps
tadutzH1750 →
דְּאָבָֽה׃dismay
deavahH1670 →
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
Hosea 13:14I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
- 1 Corinthians 15:52–57
in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
- Revelation 21:4
‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
- Isaiah 26:19
Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her…
- Psalms 49:15
But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah
- Isaiah 25:8
Through
Job 39:19Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane?
it leads to
- Psalms 93:1
The 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.
- Psalms 104:1
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
- Psalms 147:10
He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legpower of the man.
- Psalms 93:1
About Job
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXXIV; Jamieson, Fausset & 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; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOB 41:13 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.