FocusCreation and the limits of human knowledge
Connection to the wholeThe LORD questions Job concerning the created order, confronting the limits of his knowledge and his attempt to contend with God.
interpretation Job 41:4
KJVWill he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
Read it in context
The LORD’s Power Shown in Leviathan
Start reading at Job 41:1 (Job 41:1 to Job 41:34).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
The LORD questions Job concerning the created order, confronting the limits of his knowledge and his attempt to contend with God.
- 41:1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
- 41:2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
- 41:3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
- 41:4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
- 41:5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
- 41:6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?
- 41:7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?
- 41:8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.
- 41:9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
- 41:10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?
- 41:11 Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
- 41:12 I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.
- 41:13 Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle?
- 41:14 Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about.
- 41:15 His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
- 41:16 One is so near to another, that no air can come between them.
- 41:17 They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.
- 41:18 By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
- 41:19 Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
- 41:20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
- 41:21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
- 41:22 In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
- 41:23 The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
- 41:24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
- 41:25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
- 41:26 The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.
- 41:27 He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.
- 41:28 The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
- 41:29 Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
- 41:30 Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
- 41:31 He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
- 41:32 He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
- 41:33 Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
- 41:34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.
Who
- Who wrote the book? The author is unknown. Moses is one ancient traditional proposal, but neither that proposal nor another named author can be established with confidence. Historical source: Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a (record of Jewish attribution, not contemporary proof). book background
- Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Job 38:1–41:34): The LORD addresses Job out of the whirlwind; Job gives a brief response within the exchange. stated in the text
- Who was the book written to? Readers within Israel's wisdom tradition, wrestling with innocent suffering, justice, and the limits of human judgment. No named individual or first community is identified. Biblical references: Job 28:28; Job 42:7. book background
What
- What is the topic of this reading unit? The LORD’s Power Shown in Leviathan. Read Job 41:1 through Job 41:34 as a connected unit. interpretation
- How does it contribute to the book? The LORD questions Job concerning the created order, confronting the limits of his knowledge and his attempt to contend with God. interpretation
When
- When are the events or message set? The book supplies no royal date or exact historical year for Job's experiences. Proposed patriarchal-era settings are historical inferences, not a date explicitly stated by the narrative. book background
Where
- What is the book’s geographic setting? Job is introduced as a man in the land of Uz. The poetic speeches range through imagined and remembered scenes that should not all be treated as the speakers' physical locations. book background
- Where does the context start? This passage sits in The LORD’s Power Shown in Leviathan (Job 41:1 to Job 41:34). Start reading at Job 41:1. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
- How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? James refers to Job's endurance and the Lord's compassion. Connections between Job's suffering and Christ may be considered as comparisons; Job's speeches should not all be treated as direct predictions of Jesus. See Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15. interpretation
- How should this book guide our response? Do not assume that a sufferer's losses prove a hidden sin. Listen carefully, distinguish the speakers, and read their claims alongside the LORD's concluding rebuke of the friends. interpretation
Cited: Job 41:1, Job 41:34, Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15
Who wrote it, and how we know
Uncertain; among the oldest books of Scripture
Not known
What Scripture saysThe book does not name its author.
Early traditionJewish tradition (Baba Bathra 14b) suggested Moses, but ancient opinion varied widely.
What is debatedThe author is unknown and the date is uncertain. The setting appears patriarchal, but the book could have been written far later.
Related passages
- Will he 1 Kgs 20:31-34
- wilt thou Gen 1:28 Ps 8:5-6
- a servant Exod 21:6 Deut 15:17
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Job 41
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Job
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated.
Job's losses and the friends' arrival
Job 1:1–2:13FocusSuffering and the opening test
Connection to the wholeThe narrative establishes Job's losses and integrity before the speeches begin, giving readers information the disputing friends do not possess.
interpretation The lament and first exchange
Job 3:1–14:22FocusSuffering questioned and explained
Connection to the wholeJob's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
interpretation The second exchange
Job 15:1–21:34FocusAccusation and protest intensify
Connection to the wholeThe argument sharpens as the friends connect suffering with wickedness and Job challenges their account of the wicked's fortunes.
interpretation The final exchange and Job's defense
Job 22:1–31:40FocusWisdom and the demand for an answer
Connection to the wholeThe later speeches, poem on wisdom, and Job's final defense bring the dispute to the point of his appeal for an answer.
interpretation Elihu speaks
Job 32:1–37:24FocusClaims about God's justice and instruction
Connection to the wholeA new speaker responds to Job and the friends before the LORD's speeches begin; his speech must be distinguished from the divine answer.
interpretation FocusCreation and the limits of human knowledge
Connection to the wholeThe LORD questions Job concerning the created order, confronting the limits of his knowledge and his attempt to contend with God.
interpretation Job's response and the conclusion
Job 42:1–17FocusRepentance, rebuke, and restoration
Connection to the wholeJob responds, the friends are rebuked, and the narrative closes with intercession and restoration without turning every speech into endorsed doctrine.
interpretation Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.