Job 26:7-9 New English Translation
7 He spreads out the northern skies[a] over empty space;[b]
he suspends the earth on nothing.[c]
8 He locks the waters in his clouds,
and the clouds do not burst with the weight of them.
9 He conceals[d] the face of the full moon,[e]
shrouding it with his clouds.
Footnotes
- Job 26:7 sn The Hebrew word is צָפוֹן (tsafon). Some see here a reference to Mount Zaphon of the Ugaritic texts, the mountain that Baal made his home. The Hebrew writers often equate and contrast Mount Zion with this proud mountain of the north. Of course, the word just means north, and so in addition to any connotations for pagan mythology, it may just represent the northern skies—the stars. Since the parallel line speaks of the earth, that is probably all that was intended in this particular context.
- Job 26:7 sn There is an allusion to the creation account, for this word is תֹּהוּ (tohu), translated “without form” in Gen 1:2.
- Job 26:7 sn Buttenwieser suggests that Job had outgrown the idea of the earth on pillars, and was beginning to see it was suspended in space. But in v. 11 he will still refer to the pillars.
- Job 26:9 tn The verb means “to hold; to seize,” here in the sense of shutting up, enshrouding, or concealing.
- Job 26:9 tc The MT has כִסֵּה (khisseh), which is a problematic vocalization. Most certainly כֵּסֶה (keseh), alternative for כֶּסֶא (keseʾ, “full moon”) is intended here. The MT is close to the form of “throne,” which would be כִּסֵּא (kisseʾ, cf. NLT “he shrouds his throne with his clouds”). But here God is covering the face of the moon by hiding it behind clouds.
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.