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Job 38 Bible study: Where were you?
When the LORD at last answers Job out of the whirlwind, he doesn't tell him why he suffered. He asks him questions, from "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" (38:4) to "Who provides for the raven his prey" (38:41). And his "you answer me" (38:3) is in Hebrew a form of know, not of answer.
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“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“Earlier in the book, Job himself said that God makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades.”
Is that in Job 38, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
The LORD answers
From chapter 3 the book is almost all speeches, each under a heading: "Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered" (4:1), "Then Job answered" (6:1). Now the heading is "Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind" (38:1) (tap answered, whirlwind). It is the first time the WEB has printed the LORD since Job's words in 12:9. Job had asked for this: "Let the Almighty answer me!" (31:35). But the LORD turns the asking around: "Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me!" (38:3). In Hebrew you answer me isn't the verb of 38:1's answered. It is a form of yada', know, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives in this form as "make known, declare". The LORD says it again when he speaks the second time: "Now brace yourself like a man. I will question you, and you will answer me" (40:7). And the same words come once more in Job's last answer: "I will question you, and you will answer me" (42:4).
Where it leads to Jesus
Who feeds the raven
Job 38:41leads toLuke 12:24
The chapter's last question, after one about the lioness (38:39-40), is "Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God, and wander for lack of food?" (38:41). Jesus said, "Consider the ravens: they don’t sow, they don’t reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds!" (Luke 12:24). Luke doesn't name Job, so setting the two side by side is a reading, resting on a shared subject: who feeds the ravens. Some read the two together: 38:41 asks who provides for the raven, and Jesus says plainly that God feeds them, and goes on to the worth of the people he is speaking to. Others read each in its own setting: in Job the verse is one of the questions the LORD puts to Job, and doesn't answer itself; Jesus spoke to his disciples (Luke 12:22) and said nothing of Job. Neither reading makes Job or the ravens a picture of Jesus.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Job 38
That was a taste
The rest of Job 38 is waiting in Favor
- From the earth to the raven
- What the LORD doesn't say
- Words without knowledge
- Born, wrapped and fathered
- 11 questions as you read
- 12 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Job 38 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
סְעָרָהse'arahsay se-a-RAH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "tempest, storm-wind". Strong's: "a hurricane storm(-y), tempest, whirlwind". "Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind" (38:1). In Job it comes only here and in 40:6, where the WEB's words are the same: "Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind" (40:6). In Hebrew 38:1 has the whirlwind, with the article, and 40:6 has none; the book doesn't say why. It is the word of "Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven" (2 Kings 2:11).
For your group
Job 38 Bible study questions
- 1"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" (38:4). Has seeing how big the world is ever changed the size of what you were carrying? How?
- 2Job asked why, and the LORD answered with questions (38:2-4). What would it be like for you to get questions from God instead of reasons?
- 3"Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God" (38:41). Where have you seen God's care for things no one else notices, and what does that tell you about his care for you?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Job 38 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Can I read Job 38 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Job 38 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home