Albert Barnes Commentary Job 37

At this also - That is, in view of the thunderstorm, for it is that which Elihu is describing. This description was commenced in (Job 36:29) and is continued to (Job 37:5), and should not have been separated by the division into chapters. Elihu sees a tempest rising. The clouds gather, the lightning flashes, the thunder rolls, and he is awed as with the conscious presence of God. Nowhere is there found a more graphic and impressive description of a thunderstorm than this; compare Herder on Hebrew Poetry, vol. 1, 85 and following, by Marsh, Burlington, 1833.

My heart trembles - With fear. He refers to the palpitation or increased action of the heart produced by alarm.

And is moved out of its place - That is, by violent palpitation. The heart seems to leave its calm resting place and to burst away because of fright. The increased action of the heart under the effects of fear, as described here by Elihu, has been experienced by all.

The “cause” of this increased action is supposed to be this. The immediate effect of fear is on the extremities of the nerves of the system, which are diffused over the whole body. The first effect is to prevent the circulation of blood to the extremities and to drive it back to the heart, thus producing paleness.

The blood thus driven back on the heart produces an increased action there to propel it through the lungs and arteries.

This action then causes the increased effort of the heart, the rapid action of the lungs, and, of course, the quick breathing and palpitation observed in fear.

See Scheutzer, Physica. Sacra, in loc. An expression similar to that which occurs here is used by Shakespeare, in Macbeth:

“Why do I yield to that suggestion,
Whose horrid image does unfix my hair,
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs
Against the use of nature.”

Hear attentively - Margin, as in Hebrew “hear in hearing;” that is, listen with attention. It has been supposed by many, and not without probability, that the tempest was already seen rising, out of which God was to address Job (Job 38:0), and that Elihu here calls the special attention of his hearers to the gathering storm, and to the low muttering thunder in the distance.

The noise of his voice - Thunder is often represented as the voice of God, and this was one of the most natural of all suppositions when its nature was little understood, and is at all times a beautiful poetic conception; see the whole of (Psalms 29:1–11). The word rendered “noise” (רגז rôgez), means properly “commotion,” that which is fitted to produce perturbation, or disquiet (see Job 3:17, Job 3:26; Isaiah 14:3), and is used here to denote the commotion, or “raging” of thunder.

And the sound - The word used here (הגה hegeh) means properly a “muttering growling”—as of thunder. It is often used to denote sighing, moaning, and meditation, in contradistinction from clear enunciation. Here it refers to the thunder which seems to mutter or growl in the sky.

He directeth it under the whole heaven - It is under the control of God, and He directs it where He pleases. It is not confined to one spot, but seems to be complaining from every part of the heavens.

And his lightning - Margin, as in Hebrew “light.” There can be no doubt that the lightning is intended.

Unto the ends of the earth - Margin, as in Hebrew “wings.” The word “wings” is given to the earth from the idea of its being spread out or expanded like the wings of a bird (Ezekiel 7:2). The earth was spoken of as an expanse or plain that had corners or boundaries (see Isaiah 11:12, note; Isaiah 24:16, note; Isaiah 42:5, note), and the meaning here is that God spread the lightning as He pleased over the whole of that vast expanse.

After it a voice roars - After the lightning; that is, the flash is seen before the thunder is heard. This is apparent to all, the interval between the lightning and the hearing of the thunder depending on the distance. Lucretius, who has referred to the same fact, compares this with what occurs when a woodman is seen at a distance to wield an axe. The glance of the axe is seen long before the sound of the blow is heard:

Sed tonitrum fit uti post auribus accipiamus,
Fulgere quam cernunt oculi, quia semper ad aures
Tardius adveniunt, quam quae visum moveant res.
Nunc etiam licet id cognoscere, caedere si quem
Ancipiti videas ferro procul arboris actum.
Ante fit, ut cernas ictum, quam plaga per aures
Det sonitum: Sic fulgorem quoque cernimus ante.

Lib. vi.

He thunders with the voice of his excellency - That is, with a voice of majesty and grandeur.

And he will not stay them - That is, he will not hold back the rain, hail, and other things which accompany the storm, when he begins to thunder (Rosenmuller).

Or, according to others, he will not hold back and restrain the lightnings when the thunder commences. But the connection seems rather to demand that we should understand "them" as referring to the usual accompaniments of a storm: the wind, hail, rain, etc.

Herder renders it, “We cannot explore his thunderings.” Prof. Lee, “And none can trace them, though their voice be heard.” According to Lee, the meaning is that great and terrifying as this exhibition of God’s power is, the progress of these, his ministers, still cannot be followed by the mortal eye.

But the usual interpretation given to the Hebrew word is that of “holding back,” or “retarding,” and this idea accords well with the connection.

God thunders marvelously - He thunders in a wonderful manner. The idea is that the voice of His thunder is an amazing exhibition of His majesty and power.

Great things He does, which we cannot comprehend - This is true not only in regard to the thunder and the tempest, but in other things as well. The description of the storm properly ends here, and in the subsequent verses, Elihu proceeds to specify various other phenomena that were wholly incomprehensible by man. This reference to the storm and to the other grand and incomprehensible phenomena of nature is a most appropriate introduction to the manifestation of God Himself as described in the next chapter, and it could not but have done much to prepare Job and his friends for that sublime close of the controversy.

The passage before us (Job 36:29–33; Job 37:1–5) is probably the earliest description of a thunderstorm on record. A tempest is a phenomenon that must have attracted attention early on, and which we may expect to find described or alluded to in all early poetry. It may be interesting, therefore, to compare this description of a storm, in what is probably the oldest poem in the world, with what has been provided by the masters of song in ancient and modern times; we shall find that in sublimity and beauty the Hebrew poet suffers nothing in comparison.

In one respect, which constitutes the chief sublimity of the description, he surpasses them all: namely, in the recognition of God. In the Hebrew description, God is everywhere in the storm. He excites it; He holds the lightnings in both hands; He directs it where He pleases; He makes it the instrument of His pleasure and of executing His purposes.

Sublime, therefore, as is the description of the storm itself—furious as is the tempest, bright as is the lightning, and heavy and awful as is the roar of the thunder—yet the description derives its chief sublimity from the fact that "God" presides over all, riding on the tempest and directing the storm as He pleases. Other poets have rarely attempted to give this direction to the thoughts in their descriptions of a tempest, with the possible exception of Klopstock, and they fall, therefore, far below the sacred poet. The following is the description of a storm by Elihu, according to the exposition I have given:

Who can understand the outspreading of the clouds,
And the fearful thunderings in His pavilion?
Behold, He spreadeth His light upon it;
He also covereth the depths of the sea.
By these He executeth judgment upon the people,
By these He giveth food in abundance.
With His hands He covereth the lightning,
And commandeth it where to strike.
He pointeth out to His friends—
The collecting of His wrath is upon the wicked.
At this also my heart palpitates,
And is moved out of its place.
Hear, O hear, the thunder of His voice!
The muttering thunder that goes from His mouth!
He directeth it under the whole heaven,
And His lightning to the end of the earth.
After it, the thunder roareth;
He thundereth with the voice of His majesty,
And He will not restrain the tempest when His voice is heard.
God thundereth marvelously with His voice;
He doeth wonders, which we cannot comprehend.

The following is the description of a tempest by Aeschylus, in Prometheus Bound, beginning:

- Χθὼν σεσάλευται·
Βρυχία δ᾽ ἠχὼ παραμυκᾶται
Βροντῆς, κτλ. (and so on)

- Chthōn sesaleutai;
Bruchia d' ēchō paramukatai
Brontēs, etc.

- "I feel in very deed
The firm earth rock: the thunder’s deepening roar
Rolls with redoubled rage; the bickering flames
Flash thick; the eddying sands are whirled on high;
In dreadful opposition, the wild winds
Rend the vexed air; the boisterous billows rise
Confounding earth and sky: the impetuous storm
Rolls all its terrible fury."
– Potter

Ovid’s description is the following:

Aethera conscendit, vultumque sequentia traxit
Nubila; queis nimbos, immixtaque fulgura ventis
Addidit, et tonitrus, et inevitabile fulmen.

Metamorphoses 2

The description of a storm by Lucretius is the following:

Praeterea persaepe niger quoque per mare nimbus
Ut picis e caelo demissum flumen, in undas
Sic cadit, et fertur tenebris, procul et trahit atram
Fulminibus gravidam tempestatem, atque procellis,
Ignibus ac ventis cum primus ipse repletus:
In terris quoque ut horrescant ac tecta requirant.
Sic igitur supra nostrum caput esse putandum est
Tempestatem altam. Neque enim caligine tanta
Obruerat terras, nisi inaedificata superne
Multa forent multis exempto nubila sole.

De Rerum Natura 6

The well-known description of the storm by Virgil is as follows:

Nimborum in patriam, loca feta furentibus Austris,
Aeoliam venit. Hic vasto Rex Aeolus antro
Luctantes ventos tempestatesque sonoras
Imperio premit, ac vinclis et carcere frenat.
Illi indignantes, magno cum murmure, montis
Circum claustra fremunt. Celsa sedet Aeolus arce,
Sceptra tenens; mollitque animos, et temperat iras.

- Venti, velut agmine facto,
Qua data porta, ruunt, et terras turbine perflant.
Incubuere mari, totumque a sedibus imis,
Una Eurusque Notusque ruunt, creberque procellis
Africus, et vastos volvunt ad litora fluctus.

Aeneid 1:51-57, 82-86

One of the most sublime descriptions of a storm to be found anywhere is provided by Klopstock. It contains a beautiful recognition of the presence and majesty of God, and a most tender and affecting description of the protection which His friends experience when the storm rushes by. It is in the Frühlingsfeier—a poem that is regarded by many as his masterpiece. A small portion of it I will transcribe:

Wolken strömen herauf!
Sichtbar ist, der kommt, der Ewige!
Nun schweben sie, rauschen sie, wirbeln die Winde!
Wie beugt sich der Wald! Wie hebt sich der Strom!
Sichtbar, wie Du es Sterblichen sein kannst,
Ja, das bist Du, sichtbar, Unendlicher!
Zürnest Du, Herr,
Weil Nacht Dein Gewand ist?
Diese Nacht ist Segen der Erde.
Vater, Du zürnest nicht!
Seht ihr den Zeugen des Nahen, den zuckenden Strahl?
Hört ihr Jehovahs Donner?
Hört ihr ihn? Hört ihr ihn,
Den erschütternden Donner des Herrn?
Herr! Herr! Gott!
Barmherzig und gnädig!
Angebetet, gepriesen
Sei Dein herrlicher Name!
Und die Gewitterwinde! Sie tragen den Donner!
Wie sie rauschen! Wie sie mit lauter Woge den Wald durchströmen!
Und nun schweigen sie. Langsam wandelt
Die schwarze Wolke.
Seht ihr den neuen Zeugen des Nahen, den fliegenden Strahl!
Hört ihr hoch in der Wolke den Donner des Herrn?
Er ruft: Jehova! Jehova!
Und der geschmetterte Wald dampft!
Aber nicht unsre Hütte—
Unser Vater gebot
Seinem Verderber,
Vor unsrer Hütte vorüberzugehen!