Ezekiel 8:12(v13)Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his rooms of imagery?…
Psalms 10:11(v13)He says in his heart, “God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see it.”
Psalms 73:11(v13)They say, “How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Ezekiel 9:9(v13)Then he said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full…
Psalms 59:7(v13)Behold, they spew with their mouth. Swords are in their lips, “For”, they say, “who hears us?”
Show all 24 cross-references
Psalms 94:7-9(v13)They say, “Yah will not see, neither will Jacob’s God consider.” Consider, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you be…
Psalms 97:2(v14)Clouds and darkness are around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Isaiah 29:15(v13)Woe to those who deeply hide their counsel from Yahweh, and whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us?” and “Who knows us?”
Job 11:8(v12)They are high as heaven. What can you do? They are deeper than Sheol. What can you know?
Psalms 8:3-4(v12)When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained; what is man, that you think of…
Psalms 33:14(v14)From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
Psalms 64:5(v13)They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, “Who will see them?”
Psalms 139:11-12(v14)If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me. The light around me will be night,” even the darkness doesn’t hide from you, but the…
Ecclesiastes 5:2(v12)Don’t be rash with your mouth, and don’t let your heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and you on earth.…
Isaiah 66:1(v12)Yahweh says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build to me? Where will I rest?
Job 26:9(v14)He encloses the face of his throne, and spreads his cloud on it.
Job 34:22(v14)There is no darkness, nor thick gloom, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
Psalms 115:3(v12)But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases.
Psalms 139:1-2(v14)Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.
Isaiah 57:15(v12)For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a…
Jeremiah 23:24(v14)Can anyone hide himself in secret places so that I can’t see him?” says Yahweh. “Don’t I fill heaven and earth?” says Yahweh.
Zephaniah 1:12(v13)It will happen at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in…
Luke 12:2-3(v14)But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the…
Psalms 115:16(v12)The heavens are Yahweh’s heavens, but he has given the earth to the children of men.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv12–13He accuseth Job of impiety and contempt of God,…
He accuseth Job of impiety and contempt of God, as though he would say, If thou pass not for men, yet consider the height of God’s majesty.
That so much the more by that excellent work thou mayest fear God, and reverence him.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Job 22:12 [Is] not God in the height of…
Job 22:12 [Is] not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
Ver. 12. Is not God in the height of heaven?] Some add out of the next verse these words, Sayest thou; making Job’s atheistic speeches (here mimetically fathered upon him by Eliphaz) an argument of his great wickedness; as if Job should say, and so discover himself ("for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," Mat 12:34) to be of Protagoras’s opinion, who doubted Deity, De Diis, utrum sint non ausim affirmare ( Prot.); or of Diagoras’s, who flatly denied it; or, at least, of Aristotle’s, who pent up God in heaven, and taught that he took little or no care of things done on earth. But what saith the psalmist (and Job was of the same mind whatever the Jewish doctors affirm of him to the contrary)? "Our God is in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he pleased" in heaven and in earth. "The Lord is high above all nations; and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth! He raiseth up the poor out of the dust," &c., Psa 115:3; Psa 113:4-7. "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth to show himself strong," &c., 2Ch 16:9. His wrath "is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men," Rom 1:18. Job had frequently acknowledged and celebrated the power and providence of God, his judgments upon the wicked, his fatherly chastisements upon himself; deeply detesting all such thoughts and speeches as he is here wrongfully made the author of.
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And behold the height of the stars] Heb. The head of the stars; those that are the very highest, and at the top of the visible heaven, the eighth heaven, beyond which some of the ancients acknowledged not any other. Aristotle saith, That beyond the aspect and movement in the heavens, there is neither body, nor time, nor place, nor vacuum. But the Scripture teacheth us that there is beyond the stars, how high set soever, a third heaven, a heaven of heavens, the throne of God, and habitation of the blessed; the starry sky is but as the brick wall encompassing this lofty palace, the glorious and glittering rough cast thereof.
How high they are!] Ut vix eo noster possit aspectus pertingere, so high that our eyes can hardly reach them (Mercer). It is a wonder that we can look up to so admirable a height, and that the very eye is not tired in the way. Now God is far, far above the stars, omnium supremus, altissimorum altissimus. "The high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity," Isa 57:15, dwelleth in light inaccessible, 1Ti 6:16, such as whereof no natural knowledge can be had, nor any help by human arts, geometry, optics, &c. How, then, can he see from such a distance what is here done on earth? saith the atheist; who thinks to hide himself from God, because he hath hidden God from himself. Propterea quod tantum Chaos sit inter nos et Deum (Vat.). Hear him else in the next verse. See also Eze 8:12; Eze 9:9.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Is not God in the height of heaven? Surely…
Is not God in the height of heaven? Surely he is; and from that high tower he looketh down upon men, Psa 14:2, to behold, and govern, and recompense all their actions, whether good or bad. And therefore, O Job, thou art grossly mistaken, in thinking that all things in this lower world are managed by chance, and without any regard to justice, or to just men, and not by the wise and holy providence of God; for this is the genuine consequence of thy great principle, that good men suffer as deeply as any others, whilst the vilest of men are exalted and flourish.
Behold the height of the stars, how high they are; yet God is far higher than they, and from thence can easily spy all men and things here below; as the highest places afford the best prospects.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv12–14And thou sayest, how doth God know?.... What is…
And thou sayest, how doth God know?.... What is done on earth, the works of the children of men, their sinful actions, when he dwells at such a distance, and so remote from the earth, as the height of the stars, and highest heavens, be; not that Job said this expressly with his lips, but in his heart; Eliphaz imagined and supposed that such was the reasoning of his mind; it was an invidious consequence he had drawn from what Job had said concerning the afflictions of the godly, and the prosperity of the wicked; which he interpreted as a denial of the providence of God, as if he had no regard to human affairs, but things took place in a very disorderly and confused way, without any regard to right or wrong; and he concluded that Job was led into these sentiments by the consideration of the distance of God from the earth; that, dwelling in the highest heavens, he could not and did not see what was done here, and therefore men might commit all manner of sin with impunity; that their sins would never be taken notice of, or they be called to an account for them; which are the very language and sentiments of the most abandoned of men, see Psa 10:11;
can he judge through the dark clouds? if he cannot see and know what is done, he cannot judge of it, whether it is good or bad, and so can neither justify nor condemn an action. By "the dark cloud" is not meant the matter, or corporeal mass, with which man is covered, as a Jewish commentator (x) interprets it; rather the cloudy air, or atmosphere around us; or that thick darkness in which Jehovah dwells, clouds and darkness being around him, Psa 97:2; but all this hinders not his sight of things done here below; what is thick darkness to us is pure light to him, in which also he is said to dwell, and with which he covers himself as with a garment; and the darkness and the light are both alike to him, he can see and judge through the one as well as the other.
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(x) Peritzol.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv12, 14Heaven - And from that high tower looketh down…
Heaven - And from that high tower looketh down upon men, to behold, and govern, and recompense all their actions, whether good or bad. How high - Yet God is far higher than they, and from thence can easily see all things.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv12, 14Verse 12. Is not God in the height of…
Verse 12. Is not God in the height of heaven?] It appears, from this and the following verses, that Eliphaz was attributing infidel and blasphemous speeches or sentiments to Job. As if he had said: "Thou allowest that there is a God, but thou sayest that he is infinitely exalted above the heavens and the stars, and that there is so much dense ether and thick cloud between his throne and the earth, that he can neither see it nor its inhabitants." These were sentiments which Job never held, and never uttered; but if a man be dressed in a bear's skin, he may be hunted and worried by his own dogs. Job's friends attribute falsities to him, and then dilate upon them, and draw inferences from them injurious to his character. Polemic writers, both in theology and politics, often act in this way.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Job 22:12. Is not God in the height of…
Job 22:12. Is not God in the height of heaven? — Surely, he is; and from that high tower he looketh down upon men, to behold, and govern, and recompense all their actions, whether good or bad. And, therefore, O Job, thou art grossly mistaken, in thinking that good men suffer as deeply as any others in this lower world, while the vilest of men flourish and are exalted; which would imply that all things are managed here by chance, or without any regard to justice and to just men, and not by the wise and holy providence of God. Behold the stars, how high they are — Yet God is far higher than they, and from thence can easily observe all men and things here below.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Is not God in the height of heaven? -…
Is not God in the height of heaven? - In the highest heaven. That is, Is not God exalted over all worlds? This seems to be intended to refer to the sentiments of Job, as if he had maintained that God was so exalted that he could not notice what was occurring on earth. It should, therefore, be read in connection with the following verse: “God is so exalted, that thou sayest, How can he know? Can he look down through the thick clouds which intervene between him and man?” Job had maintained no such opinion, but the process of thought in the mind of Eliphaz seems to have been this. Job had maintained that God did “not” punish the wicked in this life as they deserved, but that they lived and prospered. Eliphaz “inferred” that he could hold that opinion only because he supposed that God was so exalted that he could not attend to worldly affairs. He knew no other way in which the opinion could be held, and he proceeds to argue “as if” it were so.
Job had in the previous chapter appealed to plain “facts,” and had rested his whole argument on them. Eliphaz, instead of meeting the “facts” in the case, or showing that they did not exist as Job said they did, considered his discourse as a denial of Divine Providence, and as representing God to be so far above the earth that he could not notice what was occurring here. How common is this in theological controversy! One man, in defending his opinions, or in searching for the truth, appeals to “facts,” and endeavors to ascertain their nature and bearing. His adversary, instead of meeting them, or showing that they are not so, at once appeals to some admitted doctrine, to some established article of a creed, or to some tradition of the fathers, and says that the appeal to fact is but a denial of an important doctrine of revelation. It is easier to charge a man with denying the doctrine of Providence, or to call him by a harsh name, than it is to meet an argument drawn from fact and from the plain meaning of the Bible.
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And behold the height of the stars - Margin, as in Hebrew “head” - ראשׁ rô'sh. God is more exalted than the highest of the stars. The stars are the highest objects in view, and the sense, therefore, is, that God is infinitely exalted.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv12, 14Stars: and of course, that his Providence regardeth not…
Stars: and of course, that his Providence regardeth not human affairs. (Calmet) --- When an infidel observed, "I think the gods are too great to want my adoration," Socrates well replied, "The greater they appear to thee, the more oughtest thou to treat them with respect and honour." (Xenophon, Memor.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Eliphaz says this to prove that God can from…
Eliphaz says this to prove that God can from His height behold all things; gratuitously inferring that Job denied it, because he denied that the wicked are punished here.
height--Hebrew, "head of the stars"; that is, "elevation" (Job 11:8).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Second double strophe — THE FATE OF THE ANTEDILUVIANS…
Second double strophe — THE FATE OF THE ANTEDILUVIANS A WARNING TO Job , vv12-20.
a. The sceptical views of Job, which exalted God above all concern for and knowledge of the universe, have led Job into the commission of the sins alleged, and aggravated the punishment they called forth, Job_22:12-15.
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12. In the height of heaven — The abrupt original appears by omitting in. Is not God high as the heavens? (Job_11:8,) — exalted so high that he cannot see. The language that Milton attributes to Eve after her terrible sin breathes the same godless spirit.
And I perhaps am secret: heaven is high;
High and remote to see from thence distinct
Each thing on earth.
— Paradise Lost, book 9.
It belongs to sinful nature to solace itself with the treacherous sense of secrecy. “They will gladly allow God his heavens, if he will only allow them their earthly life of pleasure.” — Starke.
Height of the stars — The highest stars.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv12, 1412, 13. Eliphaz points to God’s place of abode…
12, 13. Eliphaz points to God’s place of abode in the lofty heavens (Job_22:12); and under this feeling of His infinite distance from the earth Job said, How doth God know? Men’s conduct was not observed by Him; the thick clouds obscured His vision.
And thou sayest] Rather, and thou saidst. On this mode of thought comp. Psa_94:7; Isa_29:15; Eze_8:12.
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12–20. Eliphaz, having in Job_22:6-10 suggested what Job’s offences must have been, now suggests under what feeling in regard to God he must have committed them. He thought God so far removed from the world that He did not observe men’s conduct.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Is not God in the height of heaven? From…
Is not God in the height of heaven? From taxing Job with definite open sins, Eliphaz proceeds to accuse him of impious thoughts and principles. He does not acknowledge, Eliphaz says, either the majesty or the omniscience of God. Here he has, at any rate, some tangible ground for his reproaches. Job"s words have been over-bold, over-venturesome. He has seemed to forget the distance between God and man, (Job_9:30-33 Job_10:2, 3 13:3, etc.) and to call in question either God"s omniscience or his regard for moral distinctions. (Job_9:22, 23 21:7-13, 23-26) Hence Eliphaz is enabled to take a high tone and ask, "Hast thou forgotten that God is in the height of heaven, far up above all us poor wretched mortals? Dost thou need to be reminded of this? He is above the stars, and yet behold the height of the stars, how high they are! Even they are infinitely above men, yet how far below him!". (comp. Job_35:5)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v12Is not God in the height of heaven?
Job_22:12-13
Is not God in the height of heaven?
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God brought near
Is there anything that can make God a present God? Bring Him from the height of heaven beyond the stars into conscious contact with the experience of daily life? There is. What? Philosophic reasoning. Correct reasoning on the subject must indeed convince man that if there be a God, He must be everywhere, and, therefore, ever at hand. But men may reach this conclusion, and yet practically regard their God as distant. Will natural science do it? True natural science must connect God with everything. Will scriptural theology do it? (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v12Warning to Avoid Further Punishments
Warning to Avoid Further Punishments
v. 12. Is not God in the height of heaven, the infinitely Exalted One, ruling the world and punishing evil? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are! God is immensely exalted over puny man with his feeble criticism of divine justice and every suspicion of God’s wisdom.
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v. 13. And thou sayest, How doth God know? His wisdom cannot extend to the every-day affairs of men. Can He judge through the dark cloud? The idea is that God is wholly separated and shut off from the business of men, so that He does not concern Himself about them.
v. 14. Thick clouds are a covering to Him that He seeth not; and He walketh in the circuit of heaven, on its immense vault, so engrossed in His own exaltation that He overlooks and neglects the affairs of the insignificant world of men.
v. 15. Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Did Job intend to observe and follow the way of the wicked children of the world?
v. 16. Which were cut down out of time, being swept away by a calamity before they had reached the normal span of life, whose foundation was overflown with a flood, the place where they and their dwellings stood became fluid as quicksand, causing them to sink down;
v. 17. which said unto God, Depart from us! and what could the Almighty do for them? Both speeches are attributed to the ungodly, with whom Eliphaz here classes Job, in allusion to 21:14. 15.
v. 18. Yet He filled their houses with good things, it was God who had granted to these very scoffers the prosperity which they enjoyed; but the counsel of the wicked is far from me! Eliphaz here echoes the declaration of Job 21:16, but includes Job in the number of the wicked.
v. 19. The righteous see it and are glad, namely, over the destruction which would surely come upon the wicked; and the innocent laugh them to scorn, mocking at those whose insolence has such a shameful end.
v. 20. Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. That is the sum of the mocking speeches which the righteous heap upon the ungodly: Verily, destroyed is our adversary, and what is left of their prosperity the fire has devoured! In this sneering manner Eliphaz attempted to apply the doctrine of divine retribution to the case of Job.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v12Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Eliphaz continues speaking to Job.
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Is not God in the heights of heaven?
Eliphaz uses this question to say that God sees Job's sin and will judge him. AT: "God is in the heights of heaven and sees everything that happens on earth." (See: Rhetorical Question and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Look at the height of the stars, how high they are!
Eliphaz implies that God is higher than the stars. This can be made explicit. AT: "Look at how high the stars are. God is even higher than the stars!" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?
Eliphaz uses these questions to imply that Job has said these things against God. AT: "God does not know what happens on earth. He sits in dark clouds and cannot see to judge us." (See: Rhetorical Question)
he walks on the vault of heaven
Here "vault" refers to the barrier that ancient people believed separated the earth from heaven. AT: "he lives too far away in heaven to see what happens here" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv12–13 He accuseth Job of impiety and contempt of God,…
He accuseth Job of impiety and contempt of God, as though he would say, If thou pass not for men, yet consider the height of God’s majesty.
That so much the more by that excellent work thou mayest fear God, and reverence him.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Job 22:12 [Is] not God in the height of…
Job 22:12 [Is] not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
Ver. 12. Is not God in the height of heaven?] Some add out of the next verse these words, Sayest thou; making Job’s atheistic speeches (here mimetically fathered upon him by Eliphaz) an argument of his great wickedness; as if Job should say, and so discover himself ("for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," Mat 12:34) to be of Protagoras’s opinion, who doubted Deity, De Diis, utrum sint non ausim affirmare ( Prot.); or of Diagoras’s, who flatly denied it; or, at least, of Aristotle’s, who pent up God in heaven, and taught that he took little or no care of things done on earth. But what saith the psalmist (and Job was of the same mind whatever the Jewish doctors affirm of him to the contrary)? "Our God is in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he pleased" in heaven and in earth. "The Lord is high above all nations; and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth! He raiseth up the poor out of the dust," &c., Psa 115:3; Psa 113:4-7. "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth to show himself strong," &c., 2Ch 16:9. His wrath "is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men," Rom 1:18. Job had frequently acknowledged and celebrated the power and providence of God, his judgments upon the wicked, his fatherly chastisements upon himself; deeply detesting all such thoughts and speeches as he is here wrongfully made the author of.
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And behold the height of the stars] Heb. The head of the stars; those that are the very highest, and at the top of the visible heaven, the eighth heaven, beyond which some of the ancients acknowledged not any other. Aristotle saith, That beyond the aspect and movement in the heavens, there is neither body, nor time, nor place, nor vacuum. But the Scripture teacheth us that there is beyond the stars, how high set soever, a third heaven, a heaven of heavens, the throne of God, and habitation of the blessed; the starry sky is but as the brick wall encompassing this lofty palace, the glorious and glittering rough cast thereof.
How high they are!] Ut vix eo noster possit aspectus pertingere, so high that our eyes can hardly reach them (Mercer). It is a wonder that we can look up to so admirable a height, and that the very eye is not tired in the way. Now God is far, far above the stars, omnium supremus, altissimorum altissimus. "The high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity," Isa 57:15, dwelleth in light inaccessible, 1Ti 6:16, such as whereof no natural knowledge can be had, nor any help by human arts, geometry, optics, &c. How, then, can he see from such a distance what is here done on earth? saith the atheist; who thinks to hide himself from God, because he hath hidden God from himself. Propterea quod tantum Chaos sit inter nos et Deum (Vat.). Hear him else in the next verse. See also Eze 8:12; Eze 9:9.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Is not God in the height of heaven? Surely…
Is not God in the height of heaven? Surely he is; and from that high tower he looketh down upon men, Psa 14:2, to behold, and govern, and recompense all their actions, whether good or bad. And therefore, O Job, thou art grossly mistaken, in thinking that all things in this lower world are managed by chance, and without any regard to justice, or to just men, and not by the wise and holy providence of God; for this is the genuine consequence of thy great principle, that good men suffer as deeply as any others, whilst the vilest of men are exalted and flourish.
Behold the height of the stars, how high they are; yet God is far higher than they, and from thence can easily spy all men and things here below; as the highest places afford the best prospects.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv12–14 And thou sayest, how doth God know?.... What is…
And thou sayest, how doth God know?.... What is done on earth, the works of the children of men, their sinful actions, when he dwells at such a distance, and so remote from the earth, as the height of the stars, and highest heavens, be; not that Job said this expressly with his lips, but in his heart; Eliphaz imagined and supposed that such was the reasoning of his mind; it was an invidious consequence he had drawn from what Job had said concerning the afflictions of the godly, and the prosperity of the wicked; which he interpreted as a denial of the providence of God, as if he had no regard to human affairs, but things took place in a very disorderly and confused way, without any regard to right or wrong; and he concluded that Job was led into these sentiments by the consideration of the distance of God from the earth; that, dwelling in the highest heavens, he could not and did not see what was done here, and therefore men might commit all manner of sin with impunity; that their sins would never be taken notice of, or they be called to an account for them; which are the very language and sentiments of the most abandoned of men, see Psa 10:11;
can he judge through the dark clouds? if he cannot see and know what is done, he cannot judge of it, whether it is good or bad, and so can neither justify nor condemn an action. By "the dark cloud" is not meant the matter, or corporeal mass, with which man is covered, as a Jewish commentator (x) interprets it; rather the cloudy air, or atmosphere around us; or that thick darkness in which Jehovah dwells, clouds and darkness being around him, Psa 97:2; but all this hinders not his sight of things done here below; what is thick darkness to us is pure light to him, in which also he is said to dwell, and with which he covers himself as with a garment; and the darkness and the light are both alike to him, he can see and judge through the one as well as the other.
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(x) Peritzol.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv12, 14 Heaven - And from that high tower looketh down…
Heaven - And from that high tower looketh down upon men, to behold, and govern, and recompense all their actions, whether good or bad. How high - Yet God is far higher than they, and from thence can easily see all things.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv12, 14 Verse 12. Is not God in the height of…
Verse 12. Is not God in the height of heaven?] It appears, from this and the following verses, that Eliphaz was attributing infidel and blasphemous speeches or sentiments to Job. As if he had said: "Thou allowest that there is a God, but thou sayest that he is infinitely exalted above the heavens and the stars, and that there is so much dense ether and thick cloud between his throne and the earth, that he can neither see it nor its inhabitants." These were sentiments which Job never held, and never uttered; but if a man be dressed in a bear's skin, he may be hunted and worried by his own dogs. Job's friends attribute falsities to him, and then dilate upon them, and draw inferences from them injurious to his character. Polemic writers, both in theology and politics, often act in this way.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Job 22:12. Is not God in the height of…
Job 22:12. Is not God in the height of heaven? — Surely, he is; and from that high tower he looketh down upon men, to behold, and govern, and recompense all their actions, whether good or bad. And, therefore, O Job, thou art grossly mistaken, in thinking that good men suffer as deeply as any others in this lower world, while the vilest of men flourish and are exalted; which would imply that all things are managed here by chance, or without any regard to justice and to just men, and not by the wise and holy providence of God. Behold the stars, how high they are — Yet God is far higher than they, and from thence can easily observe all men and things here below.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Is not God in the height of heaven? -…
Is not God in the height of heaven? - In the highest heaven. That is, Is not God exalted over all worlds? This seems to be intended to refer to the sentiments of Job, as if he had maintained that God was so exalted that he could not notice what was occurring on earth. It should, therefore, be read in connection with the following verse: “God is so exalted, that thou sayest, How can he know? Can he look down through the thick clouds which intervene between him and man?” Job had maintained no such opinion, but the process of thought in the mind of Eliphaz seems to have been this. Job had maintained that God did “not” punish the wicked in this life as they deserved, but that they lived and prospered. Eliphaz “inferred” that he could hold that opinion only because he supposed that God was so exalted that he could not attend to worldly affairs. He knew no other way in which the opinion could be held, and he proceeds to argue “as if” it were so.
Job had in the previous chapter appealed to plain “facts,” and had rested his whole argument on them. Eliphaz, instead of meeting the “facts” in the case, or showing that they did not exist as Job said they did, considered his discourse as a denial of Divine Providence, and as representing God to be so far above the earth that he could not notice what was occurring here. How common is this in theological controversy! One man, in defending his opinions, or in searching for the truth, appeals to “facts,” and endeavors to ascertain their nature and bearing. His adversary, instead of meeting them, or showing that they are not so, at once appeals to some admitted doctrine, to some established article of a creed, or to some tradition of the fathers, and says that the appeal to fact is but a denial of an important doctrine of revelation. It is easier to charge a man with denying the doctrine of Providence, or to call him by a harsh name, than it is to meet an argument drawn from fact and from the plain meaning of the Bible.
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And behold the height of the stars - Margin, as in Hebrew “head” - ראשׁ rô'sh. God is more exalted than the highest of the stars. The stars are the highest objects in view, and the sense, therefore, is, that God is infinitely exalted.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv12, 14 Stars: and of course, that his Providence regardeth not…
Stars: and of course, that his Providence regardeth not human affairs. (Calmet) --- When an infidel observed, "I think the gods are too great to want my adoration," Socrates well replied, "The greater they appear to thee, the more oughtest thou to treat them with respect and honour." (Xenophon, Memor.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Eliphaz says this to prove that God can from…
Eliphaz says this to prove that God can from His height behold all things; gratuitously inferring that Job denied it, because he denied that the wicked are punished here.
height--Hebrew, "head of the stars"; that is, "elevation" (Job 11:8).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Second double strophe — THE FATE OF THE ANTEDILUVIANS…
Second double strophe — THE FATE OF THE ANTEDILUVIANS A WARNING TO Job , vv12-20.
a. The sceptical views of Job, which exalted God above all concern for and knowledge of the universe, have led Job into the commission of the sins alleged, and aggravated the punishment they called forth, Job_22:12-15.
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12. In the height of heaven — The abrupt original appears by omitting in. Is not God high as the heavens? (Job_11:8,) — exalted so high that he cannot see. The language that Milton attributes to Eve after her terrible sin breathes the same godless spirit.
And I perhaps am secret: heaven is high;
High and remote to see from thence distinct
Each thing on earth.
— Paradise Lost, book 9.
It belongs to sinful nature to solace itself with the treacherous sense of secrecy. “They will gladly allow God his heavens, if he will only allow them their earthly life of pleasure.” — Starke.
Height of the stars — The highest stars.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv12, 14 12, 13. Eliphaz points to God’s place of abode…
12, 13. Eliphaz points to God’s place of abode in the lofty heavens (Job_22:12); and under this feeling of His infinite distance from the earth Job said, How doth God know? Men’s conduct was not observed by Him; the thick clouds obscured His vision.
And thou sayest] Rather, and thou saidst. On this mode of thought comp. Psa_94:7; Isa_29:15; Eze_8:12.
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12–20. Eliphaz, having in Job_22:6-10 suggested what Job’s offences must have been, now suggests under what feeling in regard to God he must have committed them. He thought God so far removed from the world that He did not observe men’s conduct.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Is not God in the height of heaven? From…
Is not God in the height of heaven? From taxing Job with definite open sins, Eliphaz proceeds to accuse him of impious thoughts and principles. He does not acknowledge, Eliphaz says, either the majesty or the omniscience of God. Here he has, at any rate, some tangible ground for his reproaches. Job"s words have been over-bold, over-venturesome. He has seemed to forget the distance between God and man, (Job_9:30-33 Job_10:2, 3 13:3, etc.) and to call in question either God"s omniscience or his regard for moral distinctions. (Job_9:22, 23 21:7-13, 23-26) Hence Eliphaz is enabled to take a high tone and ask, "Hast thou forgotten that God is in the height of heaven, far up above all us poor wretched mortals? Dost thou need to be reminded of this? He is above the stars, and yet behold the height of the stars, how high they are! Even they are infinitely above men, yet how far below him!". (comp. Job_35:5)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v12 Is not God in the height of heaven?
Job_22:12-13
Is not God in the height of heaven?
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God brought near
Is there anything that can make God a present God? Bring Him from the height of heaven beyond the stars into conscious contact with the experience of daily life? There is. What? Philosophic reasoning. Correct reasoning on the subject must indeed convince man that if there be a God, He must be everywhere, and, therefore, ever at hand. But men may reach this conclusion, and yet practically regard their God as distant. Will natural science do it? True natural science must connect God with everything. Will scriptural theology do it? (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v12 Warning to Avoid Further Punishments
Warning to Avoid Further Punishments
v. 12. Is not God in the height of heaven, the infinitely Exalted One, ruling the world and punishing evil? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are! God is immensely exalted over puny man with his feeble criticism of divine justice and every suspicion of God’s wisdom.
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v. 13. And thou sayest, How doth God know? His wisdom cannot extend to the every-day affairs of men. Can He judge through the dark cloud? The idea is that God is wholly separated and shut off from the business of men, so that He does not concern Himself about them.
v. 14. Thick clouds are a covering to Him that He seeth not; and He walketh in the circuit of heaven, on its immense vault, so engrossed in His own exaltation that He overlooks and neglects the affairs of the insignificant world of men.
v. 15. Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Did Job intend to observe and follow the way of the wicked children of the world?
v. 16. Which were cut down out of time, being swept away by a calamity before they had reached the normal span of life, whose foundation was overflown with a flood, the place where they and their dwellings stood became fluid as quicksand, causing them to sink down;
v. 17. which said unto God, Depart from us! and what could the Almighty do for them? Both speeches are attributed to the ungodly, with whom Eliphaz here classes Job, in allusion to 21:14. 15.
v. 18. Yet He filled their houses with good things, it was God who had granted to these very scoffers the prosperity which they enjoyed; but the counsel of the wicked is far from me! Eliphaz here echoes the declaration of Job 21:16, but includes Job in the number of the wicked.
v. 19. The righteous see it and are glad, namely, over the destruction which would surely come upon the wicked; and the innocent laugh them to scorn, mocking at those whose insolence has such a shameful end.
v. 20. Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. That is the sum of the mocking speeches which the righteous heap upon the ungodly: Verily, destroyed is our adversary, and what is left of their prosperity the fire has devoured! In this sneering manner Eliphaz attempted to apply the doctrine of divine retribution to the case of Job.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v12 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Eliphaz continues speaking to Job.
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Is not God in the heights of heaven?
Eliphaz uses this question to say that God sees Job's sin and will judge him. AT: "God is in the heights of heaven and sees everything that happens on earth." (See: Rhetorical Question and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Look at the height of the stars, how high they are!
Eliphaz implies that God is higher than the stars. This can be made explicit. AT: "Look at how high the stars are. God is even higher than the stars!" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?
Eliphaz uses these questions to imply that Job has said these things against God. AT: "God does not know what happens on earth. He sits in dark clouds and cannot see to judge us." (See: Rhetorical Question)
he walks on the vault of heaven
Here "vault" refers to the barrier that ancient people believed separated the earth from heaven. AT: "he lives too far away in heaven to see what happens here" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
God
heaven
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v12 22:12-14 That’s why: Job had not claimed that God…
22:12-14 That’s why: Job had not claimed that God can’t see, but others have (Pss 10:11; 73:11; 94:7).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.