Job 41:12

I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Job 41:12. I will not conceal his parts — That is, I will particularly speak of them. Hebrew, בדיו, bad-dav, his bars, or the members of his body, which are strong like bars of iron. R. Levi interprets it of his strength; nor his power — ודבר גבורות, udebar geburoth, nec verbum fortitudinum, nor the word, or the matter, of his fortitude; nor his comely proportion — Which is more remarkable and admirable in a creature of such vast bulk: Hebrew, וחין ערכו, vechin gnercho, nor the gracefulness of his disposition, that is, the disposition or adjustment of his parts.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

41:1-34 Concerning Leviathan. - The description of the Leviathan, is yet further to convince Job of his own weakness, and of God's almighty power. Whether this Leviathan be a whale or a crocodile, is disputed. The Lord, having showed Job how unable he was to deal with the Leviathan, sets forth his own power in that mighty creature. If such language describes the terrible force of Leviathan, what words can express the power of God's wrath? Under a humbling sense of our own vileness, let us revere the Divine Majesty; take and fill our allotted place, cease from our own wisdom, and give all glory to our gracious God and Saviour. Remembering from whom every good gift cometh, and for what end it was given, let us walk humbly with the Lord.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I will not conceal his parts - This is the commencement of a more particular description of the animal than had been before given. In the previous part of the chapter, the remarks are general, speaking of it merely as one of great power, and not to be taken by any of the ordinary methods. A description follows of the various parts of the animal, all tending to confirm this general impression, and to fill the hearer with a deep conviction of his formidable character. The words rendered, "I will not conceal," mean, "I will not be silent;" that is, he would speak of them. The description which follows of the "parts" of the animal refers particularly to his mouth, his teeth, his scales, his eyelids, his nostrils, his neck, and his heart.

Nor his comely proportion - The crocodile is not an object of beauty, and the animal described here is not spoken of as one of beauty, but as one of great power and fierceness. The phrase used here (ערכוּ חין chı̂yn ‛êrekô) means properly "the grace of his armature," or the beauty of his armor. It does not refer to the beauty of the animal as such, but to the armor or defense which it had. Though there might be no beauty in an animal like the one here described, yet there might be a "grace" or fitness in its means of defense which could not fail to attract admiration. This is the idea in the passage. So Gesenius, Umbreit, and Noyes render it.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

12. I will not conceal—a resumption of the description broken off by the digression, which formed an agreeable change.

his power—literally, "the way," that is, true proportion or expression of his strength (so Hebrew, De 19:4).

comely proportion—literally, "the comeliness of his structure" (his apparatus: so "suit of apparel" Jud 17:10) [Maurer]. Umbreit translates, "his armor." But that follows after.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

i.e. I will particularly speak of them. Here is a meiosis, as there is Job 14:11 15:18, and oft elsewhere.

His parts, Heb. His bars, i.e. the members of his body, which are strong, like bars of iron.

His comely proportion, which is more amiable and admirable in so vast a bulk.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

I will not conceal his parts,.... The parts of the leviathan; or "his bars", the members of his body, which are like bars of iron:

nor his power; which is very great, whether of the crocodile or the whale:

nor his comely proportion; the symmetry of his body, and the members of it; which, though large, every part is in just proportion to each other.

Geneva Study Bible

I will not conceal {c} his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.

(c) The parts and members of the whale?

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

12–34. Description of the parts of Leviathan.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 12. - I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion. The further description is introduced by this formal announcement, which is perhaps best rendered, I will not keep silence concerning his limbs nor concerning the matter of his might or the comeliness of his proportion (see the Revised Version); i.e. I will enter upon these points seriatim and set them forth severally. Job 41:12

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

12 I will not keep silence about his members,

The proportion of his power and the comeliness of his structure.

13 Who could raise the front of his coat of mail?

Into his double teeth-who cometh therein?

14 The doors of his face-who openeth them?

Round about his teeth is terror.

The Ker לו authorized by the Masora assumes an interrogative rendering: as to it, should I be silent about its members (לו at the head of the clause, as Leviticus 7:7-9; Isaiah 9:2), - what perhaps might appear more poetic to many. החרישׁ (once, Job 11:3, to cause to keep silence) here, as usually: to be silent. בּדּיו, as Job 18:13. דּבר signifies the relation of the matter, a matter of fact, as דּברי, facts, Psalm 65:4; Psalm 105:27; Psalm 145:5. חין (compared by Ew. with הין, a measure) signifies grace, χάρις (as synon. חסד), here delicate regularity, and is made easy of pronunciation from חנן, just as the more usual חן; the language has avoided the form חנן, as observed above. לבוּשׁ . clothing, we have translated "coat of mail," which the Arab. libâs usually signifies; פּני לבוּשׁו is not its face's covering (Schlottm.), which ought to be לבוּשׁ פּניו; but פּני is the upper or front side turned to the observer (comp. Isaiah 25:7), as Arab. wjh, (wag'h), si rem desuper spectes, summa ejus pars, si ex adverso, prima (Fleischer, Glossae, i. 57). That which is the "doubled of its mouth" (רסן, prop. a bit in the mouth, then the mouth itself) is its upper and lower jaws armed with powerful teeth. The "doors of the face" are the jaws; the jaws are divided back to the ears, the teeth are not covered by lips; the impression of the teeth is therefore the more terrible, which the substantival clause, Job 41:14 (comp. Job 39:20), affirms. שׁנּיו gen. subjecti: the circle, ἓρκος, which is formed by its teeth (Hahn).