Job 9:6

⁵He moves mountains without their knowledge and overturns them in His anger. ⁶He shakes the earth from its place, so that its foundations tremble. ⁷He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars.

Summary

In this verse, Job reflects on the greatness and power of God, acknowledging His ability to shake the earth from its place and make its pillars tremble. Job's words reveal a deep sense of awe and reverence for the Almighty, recognizing God's sovereignty over all creation. This verse underscores the majesty and authority of God, highlighting His unmatched strength and control over the universe. Job's contemplation serves as a reminder of the divine power and wisdom that surpass human understanding, inspiring humility and trust in God's divine plan.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

The pillars thereof tremble - This also refers to an earthquake, and to that tremulous motion which sometimes gives warning of the approaching catastrophe, and from which this violent convulsion of nature has received its name. Earthquakes, in Scripture language, signify also violent commotions and disturbances in states; mountains often signify rulers; sun, empires; stars, petty states. But it is most likely that the expressions here are to be understood literally.

John Gill Bible Commentary

Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not,.... Either he could do it if he would, by a word speaking, as he ordered it to stand still in the times of Joshua, Jos 10:13, and caused the shadow to return ten degrees it had gone back in the dial of Ahaz, in the times of Hezekiah, Kg2 20:11; or else the sense is, it rises not at any other time and place but when and where he commands it; or he commands it not to rise in the same place at one time of the year as at another, and it rises not; or this may be understood of eclipses, or of its being covered with clouds in tempestuous weather for a considerable time together, when it seems as if it was not risen: some think this respects the three days' darkness in Egypt, when the Israelites were there, Exo 10:22, which was a little before, or about the time of Job; or rather it refers to the general flood, in the times of Noah, when it rained forty days and forty nights, Gen 7:12, during which time the sun appeared not, and so seemed as if it was not risen; see Amo 8:9; Herodotus (b) relates, from the memoirs of the Egyptians, that the sun rose four times out of its usual course; twice it rose where it now sets, and twice it set where it now rises: and sealeth up the stars: either by the light of the sun in the daytime, which hides them that they are not visible, or by dark clouds and tempestuous weather in the night; such a season as that was in which the Apostle Paul and the mariners with him were, when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, Act 27:20, and so the Targum paraphrases it, and"sealeth up the stars with clouds;''this may also refer to the time of the flood, during the rain of forty days and nights, Gen 7:4; or to the annual motion of the sun through the ecliptic, which makes the point of the sun's rising and setting vary, and is the reason why some stars appear in summer and are sealed up in winter, and others that are seen in winter are not visible in summer; and so Cocceius interprets it. (b) Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 149.