Where wast thou when I laid up the foundations of the earth? tell me if thou hast understanding.

“Where wast thou when I was laying the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if thou hast understanding. ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION Behold all things are put together in historical narration, as if concerning the origin of the world. But something is immediately subjoined, which seems to be said of the creation, not of the world, but of the Church. For it is said; Or who hath laid the corner stone thereof? For by this, which was not done at the beginning of the world, it is shewn that that former expression was not used of the creation of the world. For some obscure subjects of a different character are blended with those that are plain and obvious, for this very purpose; that in consequence of that which agrees not with the literal meaning, that also may be examined mystically, which sounds as if spoken literally. For as, by some things which are opened we learn others which are closed; so are we compelled by those which are closed, to knock with a deeper understanding at those which we believed to be open. Let Him say then; Where wast thou, when I was laying the foundations of the earth? In Holy Scripture what else do we understand by foundations but holy preachers? For since God had placed them first in the Church, the whole structure of the subsequent fabric has risen up upon them. Whence also the priest is ordered, when he enters the tabernacle, to bear twelve stones on his breast. [Ex. 28, 21] Because, namely, our High Priest, in offering Himself a sacrifice for us, when He set forth mighty preachers at the very beginning, carried twelve stones under His head in the front of His body. The holy Apostles therefore are stones on the breast, to be displayed as an ornament in front, and foundations in the ground for the first firm basis of the edifice. And hence when David the Prophet beheld Holy Church established and built on the lofty minds of the Apostles, he says; Her foundations are on the holy hills. [Ps. 87, l] But when in holy Scripture 'foundations' are not spoken of, but 'a foundation,' in the singular number, no one is designated, except the Lord Himself, by the power of Whose Divinity the tottering hearts of our infirmity are made strong. Of Whom also Paul says; Other foundation can no man lay, but that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. For He is in truth the foundation of the foundations, because He is the first commencement of beginners, and the constancy of the strong. Because then they who have borne the freight of our iniquities are our foundations, lest blessed Job should be puffed up with pride by the power of his own virtues, he is, in the very commencement of the Lord's address, tested by the mention of holy preachers; in order that the more worthy of admiration he beheld them approach, the more vilely he might think of himself in comparison with them. But that is described by the Lord, as if already passed: for the very reason that, whatever is outwardly still future in act, has been already effected within by predestination. It is said therefore to him, Where wast thou, when I was laying the foundations of the earth? As if it were openly said; Consider the virtue of the mighty, and think on Me their Maker before all ages: and when thou beholdest those wonderful beings whom I made in time, consider how entirely thou oughtest to be subject to Me, Whom thou acknowledgest as the Author of Wonders without time. MORAL INTERPRETATION But these things which have been said, as descriptive of Holy Church, it seems good to repeat briefly in a moral sense. For it is right for us to be brought back to our own hearts by those things which we know were said to blessed Job; because the mind then understands more truly the words of God, when it searches for itself therein. For behold it is said, Where wast thou when I was laying the foundations of the earth? If the mind of a sinner is dust, which is borne on the surface, and is swept away by the breeze of temptation, (whence it is written, Not so are the ungodly, not so; but as the dust, which the wind driveth away from the face of the earth;) [Ps. 1,4] nothing prevents the earth being understood to mean the soul of a just man, of which it is written, For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth the herbs meet for those by whom it is dressed, receiveth a blessing. [Heb. 6, 7] But the foundation of this earth is faith. The foundation of this earth is laid, when the first cause of firmness, the fear of God, is breathed in the secret places of the heart. This man does not as yet believe the eternal truths which he hears; when faith is given him, a foundation is now laid for the building up of the subsequent work. He now believes eternal truths, but yet fears them not; he despises the terror of the coming judgment: he boldly involves himself in sins of the flesh and of the spirit. But when the fear of future things is suddenly infused into him, in order that the edifice of a good life may rise up, the foundations are now erected. When the foundation then of a wholesome dread has been laid, and the fabric of virtue is being raised on high, it is necessary for every one to measure his strength, as he is making progress. So that though he has already begun to be great by the Divine building, he may without ceasing look back to what he was; in order that humbly remembering what he was found in merit, he may not arrogate to himself what he has been made by grace. Whence also blessed Job is now brought back to himself by the voice from above, and, that he may not dare to boast of his virtues, he is reminded of his past life. And it is said to him, Where wast thou when I was laying the foundations of the earth? As if the Truth openly said to the justified sinner; Attribute not to thyself the virtues which were received from Me. Exalt not thyself against Me by reason of My own gift. Call to mind where I found thee, when I laid the first foundations of virtue in thee, in My fear. Call to mind where I found thee, when I confirmed thee in My fear. In order then that I may not destroy in thee that which I have built up, thou must not cease to consider with thyself, what I found thee. For whom has the Truth not found either in sins or excesses? But after this we can well preserve that which we are, if we never neglect to consider what we were. But pride is yet sometimes wont to steal secretly even into careful hearts, so that the thought of good deeds, though slight and feeble, as it advances to a great height of virtue, forgets its own infirmity, and does not recall to mind what it was in sins. Whence also Almighty God, because He sees that our weakness is increased even by salutary remedies, places limits to our very progress, that we may have some excellencies of virtues, which we have never sought for, and that we may seek after others, and yet be unable to possess them. In order that our mind, when unable to attain these things which it desires, may understand that it possesses not of itself those even which it does possess, and that, from those which are present, those which are wanting may be thought of, and that, by means of those that are profitably wanting, those goods that are present may be humbly preserved.”

“"But the Lord answering Job," etc. The disputation of Job and his friends concerning divine providence having been set forth, Eliud had taken upon himself the role of one determining the matter, refuting Job in certain respects, and in certain respects his friends; but because human wisdom does not suffice to comprehend the truth of divine providence, it was necessary that the aforesaid disputation be settled by divine authority. But because Job thought rightly concerning divine providence, yet in his manner of speaking had gone to excess, to such a degree that scandal thereby arose in the hearts of others, who thought that he was not showing God the reverence due to him, therefore the Lord, as the one determining the question, both refutes Job's friends for not thinking rightly, and Job himself for his disordered manner of speaking, and Eliud for his unfitting determination. Hence it is said, "But the Lord answering Job," because indeed this response was made on his account, although he had not been the one speaking immediately before. The manner of the response is shown when it adds "out of a whirlwind," which indeed can be understood literally, so that it is said that the voice of God was formed miraculously in the air with a certain disturbance of the air, just as is read to have happened on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:18), or just as a voice came to Christ when some said that it had thundered, as is read in John 12:29; or it can be understood as spoken metaphorically, so that this response of the Lord be an interior inspiration made divinely to Job himself, and thus it is said that the Lord answered him "out of a whirlwind" both on account of the disturbance which he was still suffering, and also on account of the obscurity of the whirlwind, because indeed we cannot clearly perceive divine inspiration in this life but only under a certain shadowing of sensible likenesses, as Dionysius says in chapter 1 of the Celestial Hierarchy; and the Lord also signified this if he made his voice sensibly heard out of a bodily whirlwind. Now the disputation having been settled, as it were, by a judicial sentence, nothing further remains to be said unless the sentence of the determination be disproved; and therefore the Lord first disapproves the determination of the disputation which Eliud had made. He disapproves it because he had wrapped up the true statements which he had proposed in many false and frivolous words; hence it follows: "Who is this that wraps up sentences in unskillful words?" Eliud had indeed uttered true statements in arguing against Job for having said that he wished to dispute with God, and for having called himself just to such a degree that he seemed almost to derogate from the justice of the divine judgment; but he had wrapped up these statements in many presumptuous and even false words, as is clear from what was said above, which are here called "unskillful words" because all disorder seems to proceed from a defect of reason. Thus, therefore, with Eliud's determination excluded, the Lord himself begins to determine the disputation, and first he rouses Job to attention when he says, "Gird up your loins like a man," which is spoken metaphorically: for men are accustomed to gird up their loins in order to be ready for a journey or for any action; hence the Lord wished him to be ready to consider what was being said to him, with every impediment removed. Hence he pointedly makes mention of the girding of the loins, because by the loins is understood carnal pleasure, which especially impedes spiritual hearing, according to that saying of Isaiah 28:9: "Whom shall he teach knowledge, and whom shall he make to understand the hearing? Them that are weaned from the milk, that are drawn from the breasts." He first begins, in his determination, to argue against Job for having seemed to speak presumptuously in provoking God to dispute; and because above, in chapter 13:22, he seems to have given God a choice between two things when he said, "Call me, and I will answer you: or else I will speak, and you answer me," since Job had already spoken enough, the Lord as it were chooses the other part when he adds, "I will ask you, and answer me"; which questioning of God is indeed not that he may learn, but that he may convict man of his ignorance. Now he questions him about his own effects, which lie ready to human senses, since when man is shown to be ignorant of these, he is all the more convicted of not having knowledge of the more sublime things. Among the other sensible effects, he begins to ask about the principal parts of the world, among which the earth is better known to us as being nearer; beginning to ask about it, he says, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" Rightly does he compare the earth to a foundation, because just as the foundation is the lowest part of a building, so too the earth is the lowest of bodies, which lies beneath all others. And because the earth is especially the matter of the human body, and matter precedes in time that which is made from it, and much more does the reason of the artificer who established the matter precede it, therefore he pointedly says, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" As if he were to say: you cannot know the reason of the founding of the earth, because when the earth was founded you did not yet exist in the nature of things. Now it is to be considered that certain of the ancients did not attribute the position of the earth and of the other elements to any ordaining reason, but to the necessity of matter, according to which heavy things settle beneath light ones. But so that this opinion may be excluded, the Lord consequently compares the founding of the earth to the founding of a building, which is done according to the reasons of the builder; and likewise the founding of the earth was made according to divine providence, which human intelligence is not able to comprehend, and this he signifies when he adds, "Tell me, if you have understanding," as if he were to say: you cannot indicate the reason of these things because your intelligence does not suffice to grasp them. Now it is to be considered that the artificer, in the founding of a building, disposes of four things. First, indeed, how great the foundation ought to be; and likewise it was disposed by divine reason how great the quantity of the earth ought to be, and not greater or less, and as to this he adds, "Who has set its measures," namely according to all its dimensions; and pointedly he says "has set": for the species of earth does not of necessity require such a quantity, but this quantity was imposed upon the earth by divine reason alone, which man cannot know, and therefore he adds, "if you know," because indeed man can neither know nor indicate this. Second, the artificer by his own reason disposes the determined position of the foundation, which he comprehends by the extension of the measuring line; hence he adds, "Or who stretched the line upon it," by which is signified the reason of the divine disposition designating the determined position of the earth among the parts of the universe. Third, the quantity of the foundation and where it is to be placed having been thought out, the artificer disposes in what it may be firmly placed, and as to this he adds, "Upon what are its bases founded," namely of the earth, because it is founded upon the center of the world. Fourth, the three aforesaid things having been thought out, the artificer now begins to lay stones for the foundation, and first the cornerstone, to which the different walls are joined; and as to this he adds, "Or who let down," that is, sent down, "the cornerstone thereof," by which is signified the very center of the earth to which the different parts of the earth are joined. Now man is accustomed to place the foundation of a building on account of the need for habitation; but that it may be shown that God did not lay the foundations of the earth out of need, he adds, "When the morning stars praised me together," as if he were to say: although the habitation of heaven was present to me, whose stars praise me, yet I founded the earth not out of need of servants who might inhabit it, but from will alone. Now this is not said as though heaven were made before the earth, especially since it is read in Genesis that in the beginning God created heaven and earth, whereas the stars of which mention is here made are read to have been made on the fourth day; but this is said to show that in the order of nature heaven and the stars are prior to the earth, as the incorruptible is prior to the corruptible, and the mover to the moved. He says "morning stars," that is, newly established, just as among us those stars are called morning stars which are accustomed to appear at the beginning of the day. Now that the morning stars are said to praise God can be understood in one way materially, inasmuch as, on account of their brightness and nobility, they were matter for divine praise, even if not for men, who did not yet exist, at least for the angels, who already existed; in another way, according to those who say the heavenly bodies are animated, the stars at the beginning of their institution praised God not with vocal praise but with mental praise; which can also be referred to the angels, by whose ministry the heavenly bodies are moved, so that what follows, "and all the sons of God made a joyful melody," may be referred to the angels of the highest hierarchy, whom Dionysius says are stationed in the vestibules of the deity; and therefore he pointedly attributes praise to the former as inferior, but to the latter, as superior, jubilation, which implies a certain excellence of praise. Having set forth, then, the matter concerning the founding of the earth, he next adds concerning the waters which lie immediately above the earth. Now the natural order of the elements would seem to require that water surround the earth on every side, just as air surrounds the earth and water on every side; but by divine disposition it was brought about, for the generation of men, animals, and plants, that some part of the earth should remain uncovered by the waters, God by his own power holding back the waters of the sea within fixed bounds. Hence he adds, "Who shut up the sea with doors," that is, with fixed boundaries? Now there were some who thought that some part of the earth was dried up by the action of the sun, but the Lord shows that it was so disposed from the beginning that the sea should not cover the earth on every side. Now he describes the production of the sea under the likeness of the birth of a living thing, namely a child, because water is most formable into living things, hence also the seeds of all things are moist. Now a child first indeed comes forth from his mother's womb, and this he signifies when he says, "When it broke forth as issuing out of a womb." Now he uses the word "breaking forth" in the production of the sea, because it is indeed proper to water to be, as it were, continually in motion; and it is said "as issuing out of a womb," not that it took its origin from some other bodily matter, but because it proceeded from the hidden recess of divine providence as if from a certain womb. Second, the child once born is clothed, and as to this he adds, "When I made a cloud its garment": for since clouds are generated from vapors resolved out of water, it follows that in maritime places clouds of this kind are multiplied the more. Third, the child once born is wrapped in certain swaddling bands, and as to this he adds, "And wrapped it in darkness as in swaddling clothes of infancy"; and by "darkness" may be designated vapors not lifted up nor condensed into clouds, but darkening the air over the surface of the sea; and perhaps he alludes to what is said in Genesis 1:2, that "darkness was upon the face of the deep." These things, then, having been set forth which pertain to the new production of the sea, he explains its confinement, as if he were to say: when the sea was newly made, then "I compassed it with my bounds"; and he seems to set down three things pertaining to the confinement of the sea, the first of which is signified when he says "with my bounds," that is, set by me; the second is signified when he says, "and I set a bar"; the third when he says, "and doors." Now these three pertain to the command of the divine power; hence, as if expounding what was said, he adds, "And I said: Hitherto shall you come," which pertains to the notion of bounds, for a bound is the end point of motion; "and no further," which pertains indeed to the bar by which someone's advance is impeded; "and here you shall break your swelling waves," which pertains to the doors, which are set up for this, that someone should not go out or come in indiscriminately but according to a fixed rule; so also the sea does not overstep its shore indiscriminately, but according to a certain measure of its swelling waves. After the earth and the waters he proceeds further to the air, which by its appearance is continuous with the heaven; now the first disposition common to the whole body which lies above the water and the earth is the variation of night and day, which come about according to the diurnal motion, which is the first of motions; and therefore he next says, "Did you since your birth command the morning?" As if he were to say: is it by your command that night and day alternate upon the earth? For the dawn is a certain boundary of day and night. And he pointedly says "since your birth," just as above, when he was speaking of the earth, he had said "where were you?" Because just as the earth is chiefly the material principle of man, so too the highest heaven, which by its motion varies day and night, is the chief principle of the human body among bodily causes. Now it is to be considered that the brightness of the dawn, or of the aurora, is diversified according to the different degrees of elevation of the signs through which the sun passes: for when it is in a sign of swift ascension, by which it rises quickly, the dawn lasts a short while; but when the sun is in a sign of slow ascension, it lasts longer; and there is a fixed measure of place from which, the sun being there, the brightness of dawn begins to appear; and this is what he adds, "and showed the dawn its place?" As if he were to say: have you appointed the places in heaven from which the dawn shines forth? As if to say, no. And from all these things it is given to be understood that your reason falls short of the comprehension of the divine works; whence it is clear that you are not fit to dispute with God. "Did you hold the extremities of the earth shaking them," etc. After the Lord has enumerated the principal parts of bodily creation, namely the earth, the sea, and the heaven, he here begins to pursue the marvels of the divine works which appear in the disposition of the aforesaid three parts of the world. And he begins from the earth, in which what chiefly appears wondrous is what happens concerning an earthquake, of which he speaks metaphorically after the likeness of a man who, holding some body, shakes it; hence he says, "Have you held," that is, comprehended by your power, "shaking the extremities of the earth?" Which is not to be understood as though the whole earth were shaken at once in an earthquake, but because certain extremities of the earth are shaken. Now all things which happen in bodily creation redound to the utility of men: earthquakes, then, and other such terrible things are useful for this, that men, terrified, may desist from sins; hence he adds, "and have you shaken the wicked out of it?" And he speaks after the likeness of a man who shakes out a garment in order to shake dust or a moth out of it: so too God seems to shake the earth in order to shake sinners out of it, sometimes indeed through death, sometimes through the amendment of life. Now it is accustomed to happen in an earthquake that certain things are openly split apart, such as walls or something of this sort; and as to this he adds, "the seal shall be restored as clay": for clay, when it is divided, is easily reintegrated into the same disposition; so too some seal, say in a wall or in anything else of this sort, which seemed to be altered by the opening of the wall, is sometimes by divine power restored to its former state. It also happens sometimes that towers and trees and other such things are shaken by an earthquake and do not fall; and as to this he adds, "and it shall stand as a garment," namely, that if it is shaken it does not lose its former integrity. Now it happens sometimes, on the contrary, that men either swallowed up by the earth or crushed by walls falling in an earthquake die; and as to this he adds, "their light shall be taken away from the wicked," namely through death. It also happens sometimes that the strongest fortifications and towers are cast down by an earthquake; and as to this he adds, "and the high arm shall be broken," that is, some very strong fortification, or some powerful friend in whom a man trusts as in his own arm. These things, then, having been set forth concerning the earthquake and its effects, he proceeds to the disposition of the middle element, namely the sea, in which hidden and wondrous things appear to men. First, indeed, those things which are in the depth of the sea, such as the dispositions of the fish living in the sea; and as to this he says, "Have you entered into the depth of the sea," so as to know the animals which lie hidden in it? Another thing which appears hidden and wondrous in the sea is the disposition of the earth lying beneath the waters of the sea; and as to this he adds, "and walked in the lowest parts of the deep," that is, in its lowest parts? After the disposition of the earth and the sea, he proceeds to the disposition of the heaven, under which the air also is contained, and in this he lingers more at length on account of the many wonders which appear in it; and first he begins from the disposition of light and darkness, which commonly regards the whole upper body. Now it is to be considered that the heavenly bodies act upon these lower things by their light, since light is, as it were, the active quality of the heavenly bodies, just as heat and cold are of the elements; and therefore the effect of the heavenly bodies on these lower things is joined with the consideration of light and darkness. Now among the other effects of the heavenly bodies on these lower things, the more common is generation and corruption, and from this he begins, saying, "Have the gates of death been opened to you?" For death is the corruption of a living body, and thus properly pertains to man, to whom the present discourse is directed; now the gates of death are the causes of corruption as regards the powers of the heavenly bodies, through which one first proceeds to such an effect; but it is most difficult to know what is the period of life and duration of any thing, and therefore the gates of death are not opened to us, because we cannot know in the heavenly bodies the proper cause of the corruption of each thing. Now darkness is fitting to death, both because through death man is deprived of bodily sight, whose knowledge is by light, and also because after death man goes, as it were, into oblivion as into a certain darkness; and therefore he adds, "and have you seen the darksome doors?" So that it may be understood that he calls by the same name, on account of the property of death, "darksome doors," what he had before called the "gates of death"; or what he says, "darksome doors," can be referred to another effect of the heavenly bodies, which is the darkening of the air, so that what he said of the gates of death be referred only to living bodies, but what he said of the darksome doors, to transparent bodies. Now he adds concerning the diversity of heat and cold about the earth, saying, "Have you considered the breadth of the earth?" Where it is to be considered that, according to the astronomers, the length of the earth is measured according to the progression from east to west, but its breadth is measured from south to north, because in any given thing the greater dimension is called the length, and the lesser dimension is called the breadth; now it is proven by experience that the dimension of the earth inhabited by us is greater from east to west than from south to north, hence the breadth of the earth is taken according to the progression from south to north, in which progression there is a diversity of heat and cold, because the more one approaches the south in our habitable region, the hotter the place is, on account of the nearness of the sun; hence what is said of the breadth of the earth can be referred to the diversity of hot and cold places. These things, then, having been set forth which pertain to the effect of celestial light in these lower things, he makes mention of light itself when he adds, "Tell me, if you know all things," namely, so that you may be fit to dispute with God, who knows all things, "in what way light dwells." Where it is to be considered that light is found in the luminaries of the world, which are for this reason called luminaries because they are the vessels of light; but because "way" refers to motion, the question of the way in which light dwells refers to the motion of the luminaries; now it exceeds human knowledge how the luminaries are moved, which is shown by the different opinions of men concerning their motions, some asserting that they are moved by eccentrics and epicycles, others by the motions of different spheres. And just as light is caused from the motion of the luminaries as they move in the upper hemisphere, so too darkness proceeds from their motion as they move in the lower hemisphere, which also has the same difficulty; hence he adds, "and where is the place of darkness." Now the motion of any body cannot be perfectly measured unless the way through which it travels is known, because magnitude is measured by motion and motion by magnitude, as the Philosopher says in Book IV of the Physics; and therefore, since the way of the motion of the luminaries cannot be known with certainty by man, it follows that neither can the measure of their motions be perfectly known; hence he adds, "that you may lead each one," namely light and darkness, "to its bounds," showing, that is, the reason of the appearance and hiding of each of the luminaries as to their beginning and end; and also as to the middle, to which pertains what he adds, "and that you may understand the paths of its house," namely of light: for when it moves at noon around the summit of heaven, then it as it were walks through the paths of its own house; but its bounds are at its rising and its setting. Now according to the motions of the heavenly bodies are measured the durations of the lower bodies and the times of generation and corruption, as Dionysius says in chapter 4 of the Divine Names; and therefore, those causes being unknown, it follows that these effects are unknown, and therefore he adds, "Did you know then that you should be born?" As if he were to say: could you have foreknown, by considering the motion of heaven, the time of your birth? And indeed you could not have done this, because before you were born you did not exist; but neither could any other man have foreknown this, on account of the weakness of human knowledge: for God speaks to Job in the person of all men. And just as you could not foreknow the time of your birth, so you cannot foreknow the end of your life; hence he adds, "and did you know the number of your days?" As if he were to say: you cannot know this from the computation of the celestial motions, of whose exact measure you are ignorant. These things having been set forth which pertain to the change of light and darkness, he proceeds to the various changes of the air according as the air is varied by storm and by fair weather, and he begins from snow and hail, saying, "Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow, or have you beheld the storehouses of the hail?" He calls the vapors lifted up on high, out of which snows and hails are generated, "storehouses of snow and of hail"; but because hails are of a coarser substance and are generated in a place nearer to us, the cold being driven to the interior of the cloud by the surrounding heat, therefore concerning hails he makes mention of sight, because they can be more subject to sight, but concerning snows, of entering, because on account of their fineness they can be more penetrated. Now God sometimes uses things of this kind for the correction of men, just as it was held above, in chapter 36:31, "by these he judges peoples"; hence he adds, "which I have prepared for the time of the enemy," that is, for the time in which vengeance is to be taken on enemies; against whom God uses these as if they were weapons of war; hence he adds, "against the day of battle," that is, of the actual conflict, "and war," that is, of the campaign in which preparation for battle is made. Now the storm of snow and hail having ended, fair weather follows, in which the brightness and heat of the air are prepared; hence he adds, "By what way is the light spread," which pertains to brightness, "the heat divided upon the earth?" Which pertains to heat. Where it is to be considered that above, when he was speaking of light as regards the very luminaries in which it dwells, he made mention only of its way, because indeed light completes its way through the motion of the luminaries whether it be storm or fair weather; but brightness and heat do not reach us from it except when the storm has ceased; now the degree of brightness is not sensibly diversified in different lands when the air is clear, but the degree of heat is sensibly diversified; and therefore he said that light is "spread," as it were poured out indifferently, but that the heat is "divided," as being distributed in different measure according to the diversity of places. Consequently he proceeds to certain effects of the winds in the air, from which, while rain is driven along, a downpour is caused; hence he says, "Who has given a course to the most violent shower?" For the violence of the course of the shower is from the strong impulse of the winds, which the divine power produces. Likewise, while the clouds are driven along by the winds, the sound of thunder is caused, on account of which this sound is not heard in one place, but as if of a certain body passing by; hence he adds, "and a way for the sounding thunder?" Now he adds the reason why the rains and clouds are driven along by the winds, when he says, "that it should rain on the earth without man in the wilderness," which indeed cannot be inhabited on account of the dryness of the earth: for rainy vapors are lifted up chiefly from moist places; hence if the clouds and rains were not driven by the winds, it would follow that it would never rain in dry places. Now it happens sometimes that certain places are irrigated by human industry, that is, when the rains cease; but this cannot happen there, hence he adds, "where no mortal dwells," and thus that land cannot be provided for by human industry. And on account of this God ordained that the clouds and rains should be driven by the winds, so that it might rain even in the desert places; hence he adds, "that it might fill," namely with rains, "the pathless and desolate land," that is, the earth through which man cannot pass, and destitute of human care; and thus by divine care alone it might "bring forth green grass," namely for the beauty of the earth and for the pasture of wild animals, which are also provided for by divine providence. Consequently he makes mention of rains without wind when he says, "Who is the father of rain?" That is, the efficient cause not out of necessity but out of the order of providence, which befits a father: for by God the sun and the other heavenly bodies are moved, which are the proximate efficient cause of the generation of rains. Now dew is generated from the same cause as rain, nor does it differ except according to the greater or lesser amount of matter; hence he adds, "or who has begotten the drops of dew?" He pointedly names "drops" so as to designate the smallness of the droplets. Now it is to be considered that just as rains congealed are snows, so dew congealed is hoarfrost; hence he adds, "out of whose womb came the ice?" Where it is to be noted that the cause of ice is cold, which is a feminine quality, whereas the cause of rains and dew is heat, which resolves and does not permit the vapor to congeal; but heat is a masculine quality; and therefore, pointedly, concerning the generation of rain and dew he has used the name of father, but concerning the generation of ice he has used the name of womb, which pertains to the mother. Now from cold a twofold ice is caused: one indeed in the air, which pertains to the hoarfrost falling from heaven; hence he adds, "and the frost from heaven, who has begotten it?" Which he still attributes to a father, because so great a power of cold does not appear in hoarfrost as in the further degree of ice. But the other is ice which is generated in the lower waters, in which a greater force of cold appears; hence he adds, "the waters are hardened like a stone," namely, condensed into ice by vehement cold; and this sometimes proceeds so far that in the coldest lands even the seas are frozen, and this is what is added, "and the surface of the deep is bound fast," namely, the water which is on its surface, condensed by cold; for the cold of the air cannot break through as far as the depth of the sea. These things, then, having been recounted concerning the various changes of the air, he proceeds further to the unchangeable changes of the heavenly bodies, concerning which, first, in the fixed stars is considered the immobility of their configuration, because each of them preserves its own position such that one does not draw nearer to or farther from another; and this appears chiefly in neighboring stars, which are never joined together; hence he adds, "Shall you be able to join together the shining stars, the Pleiades?" The stars called the Pleiades are certain stars which shine in the head of Taurus, of which six appear quite close together, but the seventh is dimmer. Second, there is considered in the heavenly bodies the uniformity of the first motion, by which the whole heaven and all the stars in it are revolved once in a day and a night about the poles of the world; now this motion is more sensibly perceived from the stars near the North Pole, which are of perpetual appearance to us on account of the elevation of the pole above our horizon, among which stars the constellation of Arcturus is especially noted, which is the Great Bear, whose stars manifestly appear to move uniformly in a circle about the pole of the world; and as to this he adds, "or will you be able to scatter the turning of Arcturus," so that it may not circle about the pole? Third, there appears in the heavenly bodies a wondrous motion of the planets, in which, although it is altogether uniform, a certain irregularity appears to sense, and this can especially be perceived in the star Venus, which sometimes rises before the sun, and then is called the Lightbearer (Lucifer), and sometimes sets after the sun, and then is called the Evening Star. Now it is manifest that the stars which are always of slower motion than the sun begin first to appear in the morning before the sun's rising, because the sun by its own motion, by which it is moved from west to east, leaves them behind, as is clear in Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars; but the moon, which has a faster motion than the sun, always begins to appear in the evening, as if leaving the sun behind and going before it toward the east; but Venus and Mercury sometimes begin to appear in the morning, sometimes in the evening; but concerning Mercury, because it is rarely seen and is of small size, this is not so manifest; but in Venus it is apparent to all, hence it is manifest that it sometimes has a faster motion than the sun, sometimes a slower. From which the irregularity in the motion of the planets appears manifestly, and to designate this he adds, "Will you bring forth the Lightbearer," that is, Venus appearing in the morning, "in its time," that is, at a determined time, because this diversity always occurs at a fixed point; "and the Evening Star," that is, the same Venus appearing in the evening, "cause to rise over the sons of the earth?" And it is to be noted that by his saying "will you bring forth" and "cause to rise" is designated the new appearance of the star. Fourth, there appears wondrous in the heavenly bodies their order, position, and motion; hence he says, "Do you know the order of heaven," which indeed cannot be comprehended by man? Fifth, there is wondrous the disposition of the lower bodies according to the higher ones; and as to this he adds, "and can you set down the reason thereof on the earth," so that, namely, you may know the proper effects of each of the heavenly causes? Now the aforesaid effects of the divine power are indeed the greatest, yet the greatness of the divine power is not so apprehended by the multitude of common people in them as in thunder and lightning, and therefore he sets down these effects last; hence as to thunder he says, "Will you lift up your voice to the clouds?" For thunder is generated in a cloud, whose sound seems, as it were, the voice of God. Now after thunders great rains for the most part follow, on account of the condensation of the clouds from the commotion of the winds from which the thunder is caused; hence he adds, "and will a rush of waters cover you?" For the abundance of rain seems, as it were, to cover God, insofar as the heaven, which is called the seat of God, is hidden from us. Consequently he adds concerning lightning, saying, "Will you send lightnings," that is, will it be by your power that they move? "And will they go," as if, that is, they obey your command? Now the motions of lightnings are accustomed to be reflected from one place to another, and this he designates when he adds, "and returning shall say to you: here we are," as if in their return they are ready to obey the divine command again, so that they may be sent to another place. Now all these things are brought forward to show that man can attain neither to the wisdom nor to the power of God. "Who has put wisdom in the heart of man?" After the Lord has recounted the marvels of his effects as regards the principal parts of the world, which are the earth, the sea, and the heaven, and as regards their dispositions, he now proceeds to recount the marvels of his works specially as regards the various properties of animals. Among these, knowledge is preeminent, which indeed is found more perfectly in man than in the other animals; and therefore, beginning from man, he says, "Who has put wisdom in the inward parts of man?" By the "inward parts" of man are understood the inmost powers of his soul, namely intellect and reason, in which God has implanted wisdom, insofar as he has given man the light of reason: for he has naturally implanted certain seeds of wisdom and knowledge in his reason, in the knowledge of first principles. Now in other animals many indications appear of a certain natural prudence, but this is chiefly manifested in the cock, as in a known and domestic animal; hence he says, "or who has given the cock understanding?" "Understanding" is here taken for a certain natural estimation according to which it operates in the manner of one understanding, because this natural estimation of his is given to him by the divine intellect. Now in this the cock seems to have a certain likeness of understanding, that at determined hours it bursts forth into song, as if it knew the proportions of the celestial motions; hence he adds, "who has told," namely the cock, "the reckoning of the heavens," that is, the proportion of the celestial motions, so that from this it may be able to discern determined hours for crowing? Now watchmen are accustomed to declare the nearness of day, and of certain hours of the night, by a certain song or by the sound of some instrument; but it cannot be said that some sound of heaven is heard at determined times and is silent at other times, so that from this the cock might discern when to crow; hence he adds, "and who shall make the harmony of heaven sleep?" As if he were to say: the harmony of heaven does not fall silent like a sleeping watchman, so that from hearing it or its silence the cock might be instructed to crow. Now it is to be considered here that the Pythagoreans held that a harmonized sound arises from the motion of the heavens on account of the most fitting proportion of the celestial motions, and because they held the heavenly bodies to be animated, therefore such a consonance of sounds could be called the harmony of heaven; but Aristotle proves in Book II of On the Heavens that no sound proceeds from the motion of the heavenly bodies, and therefore we can here take "harmony" as metaphorically put for the mere fittingness of the celestial motions, which never come to rest. Now this kind of inspiration of wisdom or understanding, or even the harmony of heaven, existed from the beginning of the founding of the earth; hence he adds, "when the dust was founded in the earth," which refers to the position of the earth, which is placed at the bottom as in a foundation, "and the clods were fastened together," which refers to the moisture holding the parts of the earth together as one, lest, namely, the earth on account of its dryness should dissolve into dust. Then he proceeds to another property of animals, which is observed as regards the acquisition of nourishment, concerning which something wondrous appears in the lioness: for since the lion needs much food, it seems wondrous how in some region it can capture so much prey from the animals as suffices for itself and its cubs; hence he adds, "Will you take the prey for the lioness?" That is, will you prepare for her so great an abundance of prey that she may have enough for herself and her cubs? Hence he adds, "and fill the appetite of her whelps?" Now this does not seem very difficult when they range about through different places, but it is difficult when they remain in the same place, either on account of the necessity of nourishing their young, to which pertains what he says, "when they crouch in their dens," or because they lie in wait for other animals: "and lie in ambush in their coverts," namely, for animals to be caught. Something wondrous also appears among birds concerning the raven: for it is said that the raven does not feed its young hatched from the eggs until, perceiving them to be its own, it sees them turn black with feathers; hence for seven days it does not administer food to them, but they are sustained by God through the natural power implanted in them; hence he adds, "Who provides for the raven her food, when her young ones cry to God, wandering about," that is, looking here and there, "because they have no food," as if abandoned by their parents? Now this is not to be understood as though the young ravens know God, but this is said because every natural thing, by its own desire, in this very fact that it seeks some good, as it were intends to acquire something from God, who is the author of all goods.”

“For the humbling of Job, God here shows him his ignorance even concerning the earth and the sea. Though so near, though so bulky, yet he could give no account of their origination, much less of heaven above or hell beneath, which are at such a distance, or of the several parts of matter which are so minute, and then, least of all, of the divine counsels. I. Concerning the founding of the earth. "If he have such a mighty insight, as he pretends to have, into the counsels of God, let him give some account of the earth he goes upon, which is given to the children of men." 1. Let him tell where he was when this lower world was made, and whether he was advising of assisting in that wonderful work (Job 38:4): "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Thy pretensions are high; canst thou pretend to his? Wast thou present when the world was made?" See here, (1.) The greatness and glory of God: I laid the foundations of the earth. This proves him to be the only living and true God, and a God of power (Isa 40:21, Jer 10:11, Jer 10:12), and encourages us to trust in him at all times, Isa 51:13, Isa 51:16. (2.) The meanness and contemptibleness of man: "Where wast thou then? Thou that hast made such a figure among the children of the east, and settest up for an oracle, and a judge of the divine counsels, where was thou when the foundations of the earth were laid?" So far were we from having any hand in the creation of the world, which might entitle us to a dominion in it, or so much as being witnesses of it, by which we might have gained an insight into it, that we were not then in being. The first man was not, much less were we. It is the honour of Christ that he was present when this was done (Pro 8:22, etc., Joh 1:1, Joh 1:2); but we are of yesterday and know nothing. Let us not therefore find fault with the works of God, nor prescribe to him. He did not consult us in making the world, and yet it is well made; why should we expect then that he should take his measures from us in governing it? 2. Let him describe how this world was made, and give a particular account of the manner in which this strong and stately edifice was formed and erected: "Declare, if thou hast so much understanding as thou fanciest thyself to have, what were the advances of that work." Those that pretend to have understanding above others ought to give proof of it. Show my thy faith by thy works, thy knowledge by thy words. Let Job declare it if he can, (1.) How the world came to be so finely framed, with so much exactness, and such an admirable symmetry and proportion of all the parts of it (Job 38:5): "Stand forth, and tell who laid the measures thereof and stretched out the line upon it." Wast thou the architect that formed the model and then drew the dimensions by rule according to it? The vast bulk of the earth is moulded as regularly as if it had been done by line and measure; but who can describe how it was cast into this figure? Who can determine its circumference and diameter, and all the lines that are drawn on the terrestrial globe? It is to this day a dispute whether the earth stands still or turns round; how then can we determine by what measures it was first formed? (2.) How it came to be so firmly fixed. Though it is hung upon nothing, yet it is established, that it cannot be moved; but who can tell upon what the foundations of it are fastened, that it may not sink with its own weight, or who laid the corner-stone thereof, that the parts of it may not fall asunder? Job 38:6. What God does, it shall be for ever (Ecc 3:14); 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. The church stands as fast as the earth. 3. Let him repeat, if he can, the songs of praise which were sung at that solemnity (Job 38:7), when the morning-stars sang together, the blessed angels (the first-born of the Father of light), who, in the morning of time, shone as brightly as the morning star, going immediately before the light which God commanded to shine out of darkness upon the seeds of this lower world, the earth, which was without form and void. They were the sons of God, who shouted for joy when they saw the foundations of the earth laid, because, though it was not made for them, but for the children of men, and though it would increase their work and service, yet they knew that the eternal Wisdom and Word, whom they were to worship (Heb 1:6), would rejoice in the habitable parts of the earth, and that much of his delight would be in the sons of men, Pro 8:31. The angels are called the sons of God because they bear much of his image, are with him in his house above, and serve him as a son does his father. Now observe here, (1.) The glory of God, as the Creator of the world, is to be celebrated with joy and triumph by all his reasonable creatures; for they are qualified and appointed to be the collectors of his praises from the inferior creatures, who can praise him merely as objects that exemplify his workmanship. (2.) The work of angels is to praise God. The more we abound in holy, humble, thankful, joyful praise, the more we do the will of God as they do it; and, whereas we are so barren and defective in praising God, it is a comfort to think that they are doing it in a better manner. (3.) They were unanimous in singing God's praises; they sang together with one accord, and there was no jar in their harmony. The sweetest concerts are in praising God. (4.) They all did it, even those who afterwards fell and left their first estate. Even those who have praised God may, by the deceitful power of sin, be brought to blaspheme him, and yet God will be eternally praised. II. Concerning the limiting of the sea to the place appointed for it, Job 38:8, etc. This refers to the third day's work, when God said (Gen 1:9), Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and it was so. 1. Out of the great deep or chaos, in which earth and water were intermixed, in obedience to the divine command the waters broke forth like a child out of the teeming womb, Job 38:8. Then the waters that had covered the deep, and stood above the mountains, retired with precipitation. At God's rebuke they fled, Psa 104:6, Psa 104:7. 2. This newborn babe is clothed and swaddled, Job 38:9. The cloud is made the garment thereof, with which it is covered, and thick darkness (that is, shores vastly remote and distant from one another and quite in the dark one to another) is a swaddling-band for it. See with what ease the great God manages the raging sea; notwithstanding the violence of its tides, and the strength of its billows, he manages it as the nurse does the child in swaddling clothes. It is not said, He made rocks and mountains its swaddling bands, but clouds and darkness, something that we are not aware of and should think least likely for such a purpose. 3. There is a cradle too provided for this babe: I broke up for it my decreed place, Job 38:10. Valleys were sunk for it in the earth, capacious enough to receive it, and there it is laid to sleep; and, if it be sometimes tossed with winds, that (as bishop Patrick observes) is but the rocking of the cradle, which makes it sleep the faster. As for the sea, so for every one of us, there is a decreed place; for he that determined the times before appointed determined also the bounds of our habitation. 4. This babe being made unruly and dangerous by the sin of man, which was the original of all unquietness and danger in this lower world, there is also a prison provided for it; bars and doors are set, Job 38:10. And it is said to it, by way of check to its insolence, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further. The sea is God's for he made it, he restrains it; he says to it, Here shall thy proud waves be stayed, Job 38:11. This may be considered as an act of God's power over the sea. Though it is so vast a body, and though its motion is sometimes extremely violent, yet God has it under check. Its waves rise no higher, its tides roll no further, than God permits; and this is mentioned as a reason why we should stand in awe of God (Jer 5:22), and yet why we should encourage ourselves in him, for he that stops the noise of the sea, even the noise of her waves, can, when he pleases, still the tumult of the people, Psa 65:7. It is also to be looked upon as an act of God's mercy to the world of mankind and an instance of his patience towards that provoking grace. Though he could easily cover the earth again with the waters of the sea (and, methinks, every flowing tide twice a day threatens us, and shows what the sea could do, and would do, if God would give it leave), yet he restrains them, being not willing that any should perish, and having reserved the world that now is unto fire, Pe2 3:7.”

“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?.... The earth has foundations, and such firm ones that it cannot be moved; but what are they, since it is hung in the air on nothing! No other than the power and will of God, who laid these foundations, and the Son of God, who has created and upholds all things by the word of his power, Heb 1:3. Where was Job then? In a state of nothingness, a mere nonentity: he was not present when this amazing work of nature was done, and saw not how the Lord went about it; and yet takes upon him to dive into the secret works and ways of Providence, for which he is rebuked by this question and the following; declare, if thou hast understanding: Job had the understanding of a man in things natural and civil, and of a good man in things spiritual and divine; but he had no understanding of this, of what he is questioned about; could not declare in what place he was, and where he stood, when the earth was founded.”

“4 Where wast thou when I established the earth? Say, if thou art capable of judging! 5 Who hath determined its measure, if thou knowest it, Or who hath stretched the measuring line over it? 6 Upon what are the bases of its pillars sunk in, Or who hath laid its corner-stone, 7 When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy? The examination begins similarly to Job 15:7. In opposition to the censurer of God as such the friends were right, although only negatively, since their conduct was based on self-delusion, as though they were in possession of the key to the mystery of the divine government of the world. ידע בּינה signifies to understand how to judge, to possess a competent understanding, Ch1 12:32; Ch2 2:12, or (ידע taken not in the sense of novisse, but cognoscere) to appropriate to one's self, Pro 4:1; Isa 29:24. כּי, Job 38:5, interchanges with אם (comp. Job 38:18), for כּי תדע signifies: suppose that thou knowest it, and this si forte scias is almost equivalent to an forte scis, Pro 30:4. The founding of the earth is likened altogether to that of a building constructed by man. The question: upon what are the bases of its pillars or foundations sunk (טבע, Arab. ṭb‛, according to its radical signification, to press with something flat upon something, comp. Arab. ṭbq, to lay two flat things on one another, then both to form or stamp by pressure, and to press into soft pliant stuff, or let down into, immergere, or to sink into, immergi), points to the fact of the earth hanging free in space, Job 26:7. Then no human being was present, for man was not yet created; the angels, however, beheld with rejoicing the founding of the place of the future human family, and the mighty acts of God in accordance with the decree of His love (as at the building of the temple, the laying of the foundation, Ezr 3:10, and the setting of the head-stone, Zac 4:7, were celebrated), for the angels were created before the visible world (Psychol. S. 63; Genesis, S. 105), as is indeed not taught here, but still (vid., on the other hand, Hofmann, Schriftbew. i. 400) is assumed. For בּני אלהים are, as in Job 1-2, the angels, who proceeded from God by a mode of creation which is likened to begetting, and who with Him form one πατριά (Genesis, S. 121). The "morning stars," however, are mentioned in connection with them, because between the stars and the angels, which are both comprehended in צבא השׁמים (Genesis, S. 128), a mysterious connection exists, which is manifoldly attested in Holy Scripture (vid., on the other hand, Hofm. ib. S. 318). כּוכב בּקר is the morning star which in Isa 14:12 is called הילל (as extra-bibl. נגהּ) from its dazzling light, which exceeds all other stars in brightness, and בּן־שׁחר, son of the dawn, because it swims in the dawn as though it were born from it. It was just the dawn of the world coming into being, which is the subject spoken of, that gave rise to the mention of the morning star; the plur., however, does not mean the stars which came into being on that morning of the world collectively (Hofm., Schlottm.), but Lucifer with the stars his peers, as כּסילים, Isa 13:10, Orion and the stars his peers. Arab. suhayl (Canopus) is used similarly as a generic name for stars of remarkable brilliancy, and in general suhêl is to the nomads and the Hauranites the symbol of what is brilliant, glorious, and beautiful; (Note: A man or woman of great beauty is called suhêli, suhelı̂je. Thus I heard a Hauranitish woman say to her companion: nahâr el-jôm nedâ, shuft ledsch (Arab. lk) wâhid Suhêli, To-day is dew, I saw a Suhêli, i.e., a very handsome man, for thee. - Wetzst.) so that even the beings of light of the first rank among the celestial spirits might be understood by כוכבי בקר. But if this ought to be the meaning, Job 38:7 and Job 38:7 would be in an inverted order. They are actual stars, whether it is intended of the sphere belonging to the earth or to the higher sphere comprehended in השׁמים, Gen 1:1. Joy and light are reciprocal notions, and the scale of the tones of joy is likened to the scale of light and colours; therefore the fulness of light, in which the morning stars shone forth all together at the founding of the earth, may symbolize one grandly harmonious song of joy.”