Job 38:9

"“Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb,"

Key Reflection

In Job 38:9, God asks, “Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb?” This rhetorical question highlights the power and control attributed to God in creation. The original audience would have understood this image as referring to the divine act of setting limits on the vast oceans, much like closing a door or sealing a birth canal. This metaphor vividly describes how God established boundaries for the seas at the time of their creation, emphasizing His sovereignty over natural forces.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

When I made the cloud the garment thereof -Referring to the garment in which the new-born infant is wrapped up. This image is one of great beauty. It is that of the vast ocean just coming into being, with a cloud resting upon it and covering it. Thick darkness envelopes it, and it is swathed in mists; compareGenesis 1:2,” And darkness was upon the face of the deep.” The time here referred to is that before the light of the sun arose upon the earth, before the dry land appeared, and before annuals and people had been formed. Then the new-born ocean lay carefully enveloped in clouds and darkness under the guardian care of God.

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