Job 9:7
in Job 9He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
That commandeth the sun, and it riseth not, And sealeth up the stars;
KJV
Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.
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This verse in Job 9
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not - Schultens supposes that all this is a description of the deluge - when the mountains were removed, when the fountains of the deep were broken up, and when the sun was obscured and seemed not to rise. Others have supposed that it refers to the fact that the sun is darkened by clouds and tempests, and appears not to rise and shine upon the earth.
This site's exposition
He moves mountains without their knowledge
on Job 9:5-10
Job answers his own hard question with praise for the God who "moves mountains," "shakes the earth from its place," and "seals off the stars". "He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion" reaches into the created order the whirlwind speeches return to in chapters 38 and 39.
This site's exposition
He commands the sun not to shine
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown tie the sun that does not shine to an eclipse or the darkness of an earthquake. Clarke pictures the stars sealed off like a letter folded and sealed. The Maker commands His lights.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
Here the author is probably speaking about what happened in Egypt for three days, or about what happens sometimes to the stars that become hidden. Perhaps he is alluding to what occurred at the beginning: God kept the light close to him, as though it …
Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not, and shutteth up the stars as under a seal. Now sometimes in Holy Writ by the title of 'sun,' we have the brightness of the Preachers represented, as it is said by John, And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. For at the end of time the sun is exhibited 'like sackcloth of hair,' in that the shining life of them that preach is set forth before the eyes of the lost as hard and contemptible.
Finally, he proceeds to the heavenly bodies, which also result from divine power. Consider that as the nature of the earth is to be unmoved and at rest, so the nature of the heavens is constant motion. Just as then the power of the earth …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
By the common law of nature the mountains are settled and are therefore called everlasting mountains, the earth is established and cannot be removed ( Ps. xciii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not,....
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)
The sun, at His command, does not rise; namely, in an eclipse, or the darkness that accompanies earthquakes (Job 9:6). sealeth up the stars--that is, totally covers as one would seal up a room, that its contents may not be seen.
Which commandeth the sun - Obscures it either with clouds, with thick darkness, or with an eclipse. Sealeth up the stars - Like the contents of a letter, wrapped up and sealed, so that it cannot be read. Sometimes the heavens become as black as ebony, and no star, figure, or character, in this great book of God can be read.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הָאֹמֵ֣ר | haomer | the [one who] speaks | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לַ֭חֶרֶס | lacheres | to the sun | H2775 → | |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִזְרָ֑ח | yizrach | it shines | H2224 → | |
| וּבְעַ֖ד | uvead | and behind | H1157 → | 105 times |
| כּוֹכָבִ֣ים | kokhavim | [the] stars | H3556 → | 37 times |
| יַחְתֹּֽם׃ | yachtom | he puts a seal | H2856 → | 26 times |
הָאֹמֵ֣רthe [one who] speaks
haomerH559 →5305 times
לַ֭חֶרֶסto the sun
lacheresH2775 →
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִזְרָ֑חit shines
yizrachH2224 →
וּבְעַ֖דand behind
uveadH1157 →105 times
כּוֹכָבִ֣ים[the] stars
kokhavimH3556 →37 times
יַחְתֹּֽם׃he puts a seal
yachtomH2856 →26 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
Amos 4:13For behold, He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind and reveals His thoughts to man, who turns the dawn to darkness and strides on the heights of the earth—the LORD, the God…
it leads to
- Amos 5:8
He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth—the LORD…
- Micah 1:3
For behold, the LORD comes forth from His dwelling place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
- Amos 9:6
He builds His upper rooms in the heavens and founds His vault upon the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth. The LORD is…
- Amos 5:8
Through
Amos 8:9And in that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime.
it leads to
- Mark 15:33
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
- Matthew 27:45
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
- Luke 23:44
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour.
- Mark 15:33
Through
Isaiah 13:10For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.
it leads to
- Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will…
- Joel 2:31
The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- Matthew 24:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Job
This page draws on 9 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); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book IX; Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON JOB 9:7; 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.