Job 38:19 kjv
Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
Job 38:19 nkjv
"Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place,
Job 38:19 niv
"What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?
Job 38:19 esv
"Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness,
Job 38:19 nlt
"Where does light come from,
and where does darkness go?
Job 38 19 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 1:3-4 | "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light... God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness." | God creates and separates light and darkness. |
| Isa 45:7 | "I form the light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things." | God's absolute sovereignty over both. |
| Ps 104:19-20 | "You appointed the moon for seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep out." | God's ordered creation of night and day. |
| Amos 4:13 | "For behold, He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and declares to man what is His thought... who makes the dawn into darkness, and treads on the high places of the earth: the Lord, the God of hosts, is His name!" | God's power over light and darkness. |
| Ps 27:1 | "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" | Light as God's presence and deliverance. |
| Ps 119:105 | "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." | God's word provides spiritual light/guidance. |
| Jn 1:4-5 | "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." | Jesus as the divine light in a dark world. |
| Jn 8:12 | "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" | Jesus as the source of spiritual light. |
| 1 Jn 1:5 | "This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." | God's absolute purity and holiness. |
| Eph 5:8-9 | "For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true)." | Believers transformed from darkness to light. |
| Jn 3:19-20 | "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil." | Spiritual preference for darkness/evil. |
| 1 Thes 5:5 | "For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness." | Distinction between spiritual light and darkness. |
| Acts 26:18 | "...to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins..." | Salvation as a turn from darkness to light. |
| Col 1:13 | "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son," | Deliverance from spiritual darkness. |
| Rom 11:33 | "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!" | God's incomprehensible wisdom. |
| Isa 55:8-9 | "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." | Human limitation vs. divine transcendence. |
| Ps 139:6 | "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it." | Acknowledging God's knowing exceeds human capacity. |
| Job 40:4-5 | "Behold, I am of small account; what can I answer you? I lay my hand over my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further." | Job's immediate response of humility to God. |
| Job 42:2-3 | "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted... Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." | Job's final confession of ignorance and God's sovereignty. |
| 1 Cor 1:25 | "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than men's strength." | Divine wisdom surpasses human wisdom. |
| Gen 1:2 | "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." | Darkness as a pre-creation state of chaos. |
| Ex 10:21 | "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be pitch darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.'" | Darkness as an act of divine judgment. |
Job 38 verses
Job 38 19 Meaning
Job 38:19 forms part of God's first discourse to Job from the whirlwind, challenging Job's limited understanding of the created world and God's wisdom. This verse specifically asks where light and darkness originate or reside. It is a rhetorical question that highlights humanity's profound inability to comprehend, much less control, the most fundamental elements of the universe. God, by posing unanswerable questions about the cosmos, asserts His ultimate knowledge, sovereignty, and wisdom, contrasting it sharply with Job's finite human perception and lack of divine insight. The verse serves to humble Job, demonstrating that he cannot even grasp the "dwelling places" or underlying principles of light and darkness, let alone understand God's complex providential dealings.
Job 38 19 Context
Job 38 marks the dramatic entry of God into the narrative, speaking directly to Job out of a whirlwind. For 37 chapters, Job and his friends have debated the nature of divine justice and suffering. Job, feeling wronged and despairing, has frequently wished for an audience with God to present his case. God's response, however, does not directly address Job's suffering or accusations. Instead, it systematically brings Job back to reality by exposing the vast disparity between his finite understanding and God's infinite wisdom and power as Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos.Verse 19 is part of a series of rhetorical questions regarding fundamental natural phenomena that lie beyond human comprehension or control. These questions cover cosmology (foundations of the earth), meteorology (seas, clouds, rain, ice, snow), and zoology (instincts of animals). By highlighting Job's ignorance of these basic aspects of the created order, God intends to demonstrate Job's profound inadequacy to judge divine justice or understand the intricate workings of His sovereignty. Historically and culturally, such questions would challenge prevailing ancient Near Eastern beliefs that attributed aspects of creation to various gods or impersonal forces. By demonstrating singular control over light and darkness, the one God of Israel asserts absolute power over phenomena often personified or deified by other cultures.
Job 38 19 Word analysis
- Where (אֵי זֶה, ʾê zeh): This is a strong interrogative in Hebrew, meaning "Where, which, what kind of?" Here, it functions rhetorically, not seeking an answer but implying that no human could possibly know. It emphasizes the inscrutable nature of these cosmic phenomena to mankind, and thus God's unique knowledge.
- is the way (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh): Literally "path" or "road," but often used metaphorically for a course of life, manner, custom, or underlying principle. In this context, it refers to the fundamental origin, governing principle, or established order by which light exists and operates within the cosmos. God is asking about the very essence and source of light's existence.
- where light (אוֹר, ʾôr): Refers to physical light, the first thing God commanded into existence after chaos (Gen 1:3). Biblically, "light" also signifies God's presence, knowledge, truth, purity, and spiritual understanding, as opposed to darkness, which represents ignorance, evil, and chaos. God challenges Job on something so fundamental yet beyond his grasp.
- dwelleth? (יִשְׁכָּן, yishkan): From the verb שָׁכַן (shākan), meaning "to settle down, abide, dwell, inhabit, tabernacle." This verb suggests a permanent dwelling or fixed abode. God uses this personification to highlight the profound mystery: where could an abstract phenomenon like light, which permeates everywhere and emanates from different sources, truly have a home discoverable by man? It underscores the supernatural nature of its origin.
- and as for darkness, (וְחֹשֶׁךְ, veḥōshekh): This conjunction introduces the parallel question for the opposite element. ḥōshekh means "darkness, obscurity, night." Like light, darkness is a fundamental cosmic element created and controlled by God (Isa 45:7), not an independent force. It often symbolizes chaos, ignorance, and spiritual evil in scripture.
- where is the place thereof? (מְקוֹמוֹ, meqōmô): Literally, "its place" or "its location." The parallel phrasing with "way...where light dwelleth" emphasizes that even for darkness, its ultimate "place" or "source" is not something human beings can determine or grasp. God is challenging Job's inability to comprehend the fixed arrangements and underlying principles that God Himself ordained for the universe.
Words-group Analysis
- "Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof?": This rhetorical parallelism showcases God's exclusive, exhaustive knowledge and power over the most basic and pervasive elements of creation. By posing unanswerable questions about both light and its antithesis, darkness, God demonstrates Job's intellectual limitation concerning the cosmos. This dual question effectively challenges any perception that these elements have an independent existence or origin apart from God's creative command and ongoing sustaining power. It moves beyond asking if Job simply "knows" these things, to question if he comprehends their very nature and fixed principles of existence which God alone established.
Job 38 19 Bonus section
God's questioning in Job 38, particularly verse 19, carries a polemical thrust against common ancient Near Eastern cosmologies which often personified or even deified natural phenomena like light and darkness, or saw them as products of chaotic struggles. The rhetorical challenge of the one true God asserting His absolute creative and sustaining power over these fundamental forces reinforces His unique omnipotence and monotheism. The inability of man to provide answers to such basic cosmic questions emphasizes that the world is ordered by divine wisdom beyond human calculation or scientific investigation. God's wisdom, demonstrated through the consistent ordering of light and darkness, precedes and undergirds creation itself. This demonstrates that all of existence, even seemingly contradictory forces, falls under the sovereign design and continuous control of the Lord.
Job 38 19 Commentary
Job 38:19 is a potent declaration of divine sovereignty disguised as an interrogation. God confronts Job not by arguing directly about his suffering, but by exposing his utter lack of knowledge regarding the universe's most fundamental components—light and darkness. These elements, essential to life and the rhythm of creation, have no perceivable 'home' or discoverable 'way' known to man, precisely because they are manifestations of God's immediate and constant power. The question humbles Job, forcing him to recognize his finite understanding compared to God's infinite wisdom, which governs creation from its deepest principles to its outward displays. This divine interrogation corrects Job's self-centered focus, redirecting him from his grievances to an awestruck contemplation of God's incomprehensible greatness and meticulous control over all things. It implies that if Job cannot even fathom the origin of light and darkness, how can he possibly grasp the complexities of divine justice or providence concerning human suffering?