Bible Strands
Job 41:32
He leaves a glistening wake behind him; one would think the deep had white hair!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The passage occurs within a poetic discourse addressing Job about a creature that defies human mastery. The speaker contrasts the Leviathan's chaotic movement with the limited power of humanity.
The words — The Hebrew phrase יָאִיר (ya.'Ir) means "it makes shine," paired with נָתִ֑יב (na.Tiv), "a path," to describe the glistening wake. The verb יַחְשֹׁ֖ב (yach.Sho), "anyone considers," introduces the simile that compares the sea's froth to aged hair.
The thread — The imagery of the deep (תְּה֣וֹם, te.Hom) echoes Genesis 1:2, where darkness covers the formless waters. The concept of shining light on the sea parallels Genesis 1:15, while the grey hair (לְ/שֵׂיבָֽה, le./sei.Vah) motif recalls the longevity language of Genesis 15:15.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that the creature's wake is not a navigable route but a chaotic, untamable disturbance. It asks the reader to acknowledge a force that operates beyond human measurement or control.
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
King James Version
He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary.
Cross-references
- Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
- Genesis 1:15 And let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so.
- Genesis 15:15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
- Genesis 25:8 And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
- Genesis 42:38 But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
- Job 28:14 The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’
- Job 38:16 Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?
- Job 38:30 when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen?
- Proverbs 16:31 Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.
- Proverbs 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength, and gray hair is the splendor of the old.