Job 38:8
Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
Original Language Analysis
וַיָּ֣סֶךְ
Or who shut up
H5526
וַיָּ֣סֶךְ
Or who shut up
Strong's:
H5526
Word #:
1 of 6
properly, to entwine as a screen; by implication, to fence in, cover over, (figuratively) protect
בִּדְלָתַ֣יִם
with doors
H1817
בִּדְלָתַ֣יִם
with doors
Strong's:
H1817
Word #:
2 of 6
something swinging, i.e., the valve of a door
יָ֑ם
the sea
H3220
יָ֑ם
the sea
Strong's:
H3220
Word #:
3 of 6
a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water; specifically (with the article), the mediterranean sea; sometimes a large river, or an artif
Cross References
Genesis 1:9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.Jeremiah 5:22Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?Proverbs 8:29When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:Psalms 33:7He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
Historical Context
Ancient Near Eastern chaos myths featured divine combat with sea monsters. God's rhetorical question asserts His sovereign containment of chaos without combat.
Questions for Reflection
- What does God's mastery over chaotic seas teach about His control of your chaos?
- How does creation's order speak to life's apparent disorder?
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Analysis & Commentary
God asks: 'Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?' This poetic description of creation's boundaries (sea contained, womb imagery) reveals divine power ordering chaos. Job who questions God's governance wasn't present when God established cosmic order.