Job 4:16

It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice:

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Eliphaz recounts a personal nocturnal vision in which a spirit passes his face and causes his hair to bristle. He describes a moment of sudden stillness and dread during this private encounter.

The words — The Hebrew יַעֲמֹד (ya.'a.Mod) translates literally as "it stood still," and דְּמָמָה (de.ma.Mah) means "a whisper." These terms anchor the passage in a quiet, unrecognizable manifestation.

The thread — The text notes a whispering voice after a form appears, paralleling the quiet auditory phenomenon in 1 Kings 19:12. Both passages record a subdued voice following a visible disturbance.

Why it lands — The passage states that the speaker could not discern the appearance and only heard a whisper. It requires the reader to acknowledge that divine communication does not always arrive with clear visual or auditory definition.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

יַעֲמֹ֤ד׀ya.'a.Modit stood still וְֽלֹא־ve./lo'-and/ not אַכִּ֬יר'a.KirI recognized מַרְאֵ֗הוּmar.'E./huappearance/ its תְּ֭מוּנָהTe.mu.naha form לְנֶ֣גֶדle./Ne.ged[was] to/ before עֵינָ֑י'ei.Na/ieyes/ my דְּמָמָ֖הde.ma.Maha whisper וָק֣וֹלva./Koland/ a voice אֶשְׁמָֽע׃'esh.Ma'I heard

King James Version

It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,

Cross-references

1 Kings 19:12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice.