Job 26 7

Job 26:7 kjv

He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

Job 26:7 nkjv

He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.

Job 26:7 niv

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.

Job 26:7 esv

He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing.

Job 26:7 nlt

God stretches the northern sky over empty space
and hangs the earth on nothing.

Job 26 verses

Job 26 7 Meaning

Job 26:7 vividly declares God's incomparable creative power and profound wisdom. It illustrates His divine ability to establish and sustain the vast expanse of the cosmos and to suspend the earth without any visible or material support, signifying His absolute sovereignty and transcendence over creation.

Job 26 7 Context

Job 26 is part of Job’s concluding response to his friend Bildad (Job 25), who had delivered a brief, conventional speech emphasizing God’s might and human sinfulness. In contrast, Job 26 sees Job agreeing with God's ultimate power and majesty but then elaborating on it in far more profound and intricate ways than his friends ever conceived. This verse serves as a powerful declaration of God's incomparable omnipotence, showcasing divine acts of creation that surpass human comprehension. It's Job's way of demonstrating his own deep theological understanding and profound reverence for God’s transcendent power, even amidst his personal suffering and unresolved questions about justice. By presenting such an advanced cosmological statement, Job implicitly highlights the limited scope of his friends' understanding of God.

Job 26 7 Word analysis

• He stretches out (נוֹטֶה, noteh): This is from the Hebrew verb נָטָה (natah), meaning to stretch, incline, or extend. It depicts a deliberate, expansive, and active exertion of divine power, similar to unfurling a scroll or canopy. This continuous action signifies God's active involvement in establishing the cosmic order.
• the north (צָפוֹן, tzafon): While literally "north," in ancient Semitic cosmology, it often denoted the remote celestial regions or divine mountains (like Mount Zaphon in Canaanite myths, a seat of divine authority). Here, it likely represents the vast, perhaps even dark and distant, reaches of the celestial sphere or the empty space beyond Earth. Its mention emphasizes the sheer scale and incomprehensibility of the area God has created and ordered.
• over the void (עַל־תֹּהוּ, al-tohu):
  • על (al): A preposition meaning "over" or "upon."
  • תֹּהוּ (tohu): This significant word is found elsewhere, notably in Gen 1:2, where the earth is described as "formless and empty" (tohu wa-bohu). It denotes a state of desolation, unformed emptiness, or chaos prior to creation. This phrase underscores God's ability to create, bring order, and expand reality not upon existing substance, but upon or from a state of formlessness and non-being. It hints at the principle of creation ex nihilo—not creating from pre-existent organized matter, but shaping from that which is void.
• and hangs (תֹּלֶה, toleh): From the verb תָּלָה (talah), meaning "to hang, suspend." This verb choice is crucial, as it visually conveys the Earth's seemingly unsupported suspension in space. It signifies a continuous act of divine sustenance and highlights the miraculous absence of visible physical support.
• the earth (אֶרֶץ, eretz): This refers to the habitable dry land and the planet itself as the physical realm of existence.
• on nothing (בְּלִימָה, belimah): This is a unique word (a hapax legomenon) in the Hebrew Bible. It is a compound of beli (בְּלִי), meaning "without," and mah (מָה), meaning "what" or "anything." Literally, it translates to "without anything," or "on no thing." This concept directly challenges all prevailing ancient cosmologies, which imagined the earth resting on elephants, a giant turtle, pillars, or primeval waters. It presents a radical, divinely inspired understanding of the cosmos where the earth is supernaturally upheld solely by the invisible, non-material power of God's will.

Job 26 7 Words-group analysis

• "He stretches out the north over the void": This phrase depicts God as the cosmic architect, unfurling the vast celestial canopy, particularly the seemingly boundless northern sky, not upon any discernible foundation but upon a state of utter formlessness or non-existence. This implies creation from nothing or raw chaos, demonstrating God's sovereign power to establish order and expansiveness where there was none.
• "and hangs the earth on nothing": This second clause offers a stark contrast to ancient Near Eastern mythological views of the world supported by pillars, an ocean, or deities. It declares that the Earth's stability is not reliant on any physical, tangible foundation but solely on God's invisible, non-material sustaining power. This pre-scientific statement hints at an understanding of cosmic mechanics that transcends human observation and rational explanation of that era, highlighting God's unmatched and mysterious omnipotence.

Job 26 7 Bonus section

• The striking nature of the term belimah as a hapax legomenon (appearing only once in the entire Hebrew Bible) serves to emphasize the unparalleled and profound nature of the concept being described – God's unique ability to support creation without any visible means.
• While not a scientific treatise, this verse presents an astonishingly accurate cosmological insight for its time, describing the Earth as suspended freely, which contrasts sharply with the flat-earth and foundational-pillar beliefs prevalent in most ancient cultures. This has led many to see it as a pre-scientific divine revelation of the universe's mechanics.
• The phrase "stretches out the north" might specifically allude to God's dominion over the celestial pole and the constellations around it, which would have been observed as constantly circling and "suspended" in the northern sky. It expands the scope of God's influence beyond just the Earth to the vast, encompassing cosmos.
• The profound polemic against ANE pagan myths embedded in this verse is significant. Rather than the sky being a solid dome held up by gods, or the earth resting on cosmic pillars or waters (as in Mesopotamian, Egyptian, or Canaanite cosmologies), Job proclaims a God who creates and sustains without such visible, finite supports, emphasizing God's singular power, wisdom, and transcendence over all mythical deities.

Job 26 7 Commentary

Job 26:7 encapsulates a profoundly unique and biblically advanced understanding of divine creation and cosmic sustenance. While his friends held limited perspectives on God's actions, Job here transcends the common mythical cosmologies of his day. In an ancient world where people conceived of the earth as a flat disc resting on physical foundations or mythical beings, Job asserts that God "hangs the earth on nothing." This is not a description of scientific gravity, but a theological declaration of God's unmatched ability to uphold the universe purely by His own will and power, requiring no material scaffolding or external support. The word "nothing" (בְּלִימָה, belimah) is a stark statement against all anthropomorphic attempts to limit or explain God's sustaining power within natural boundaries. Furthermore, His stretching out the "north over the void" speaks to His mastery over the vast, possibly dark and formless, expanse of space, bringing order and presence to emptiness. This verse underscores God's independence from His creation and His unparalleled, incomprehensible might.