Job 38 36

Job 38:36 kjv

Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

Job 38:36 nkjv

Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?

Job 38:36 niv

Who gives the ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding?

Job 38:36 esv

Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind?

Job 38:36 nlt

Who gives intuition to the heart
and instinct to the mind?

Job 38 verses

Job 38 36 Meaning

Job 38:36 presents a profound challenge from God to Job, questioning the source of intellect and intuition within human beings. Interpreted broadly, this verse poses the question of who endowed humanity with the capacity for insight, wisdom, and the ability to discern. It points to God as the sole provider of these faculties, highlighting His sovereignty over both human thought and the intricate workings of the natural world. There exist two primary interpretive traditions for the Hebrew words tuchot and sekhvi, leading to different but interconnected understandings. One view emphasizes divine wisdom imparted to human inward parts (mind/heart); the other points to divine wisdom manifest in natural phenomena like clouds or celestial signs (like a rooster's intuitive sense or meteor/celestial body). Regardless of the specific interpretation, the core message remains that all true wisdom and understanding, whether human or observed in creation, ultimately originate from God alone.

Job 38 36 Context

Job chapter 38 marks a pivotal shift in the book of Job as God finally speaks, breaking the silence and responding to Job's earlier lamentations and demands for an explanation. Rather than providing answers to Job's suffering, God begins a long series of rhetorical questions, powerfully asserting His omnipotence, omniscience, and unfathomable wisdom through His works in creation. These questions highlight Job's human limitations, ignorance, and inability to comprehend or control the vast complexities of the natural world, from the depths of the seas to the heights of the heavens. Job 38:36 falls within this grand divine monologue, specifically following inquiries about atmospheric phenomena like clouds, rain, snow, and lightning. The questions are designed not to humble Job vindictively but to broaden his perspective and reveal that the world operates on a scale of wisdom far beyond human grasp. Historically, ancient Near Eastern cultures often attributed such natural phenomena or even human intellectual abilities to various deities or cosmic forces. God's speech here serves as a potent polemic against any such belief, firmly establishing Himself as the sole Creator and controller of all things, thereby implicitly demonstrating His right and capacity to govern human life as well. The immediate context of verse 36 places it within questions concerning meteorological patterns (Job 38:22-38:38), thus setting the stage for either understanding inner wisdom as a divine gift or connecting it to the subtle intelligence observed in creation itself.

Job 38 36 Word analysis

• Who: This interrogative pronoun immediately sets a rhetorical tone, challenging Job and, by extension, all humanity. It implicitly asserts that the answer can only be God. It stands in contrast to Job’s previous questioning of God's actions.

• has put: (Hebrew: מִי־שָׁת - mi-shat) The verb שָׁת (shat) means "to put," "to place," "to appoint." It conveys the idea of deliberate, purposeful action. It’s an act of divine installation, not something that arose naturally or randomly.

• wisdom: (Hebrew: חָכְמָה - chokmah) This fundamental biblical term denotes skill, insight, prudence, and understanding in both practical and moral matters. It refers to a deep comprehension of God's ways and the ability to apply that knowledge rightly. Its source here is shown to be external and divine.

• in the inward parts: (Hebrew: בַּטֻּחֹ֖ות - battochot) This is a highly debated word.

  • One interpretation (often found in older translations like KJV/NIV footnotes, or deriving from some ancient versions like the Septuagint) connects it to טְחוֹת (techot), meaning "inward parts," "reins," or "kidneys," which were considered the seat of emotions, conscience, and profound thought in Hebrew anthropology. This aligns with the idea of wisdom imparted to the human inner being.
  • Another significant interpretation (preferred by NASB, ESV, NIV main text) relates it to טַח (tach) "dark, overcast," and thus refers to "dark clouds," "storm clouds," or "cloud phenomena." This fits the surrounding context of meteorological questions in Job 38. If tuchot means clouds, the question then becomes "Who endowed the dark clouds with wisdom (i.e., regularity, predictability, ordered behavior)?"
  • The ambiguity reflects scholarly efforts to reconcile the linguistic evidence with contextual flow.

• or given: (Hebrew: אוֹ־מִֽי־נָתַ֥ן - o-mi-nathan) The particle אוֹ (o) means "or," connecting two similar ideas, emphasizing God's sole action. נָתַן (nathan) means "to give," "to place," "to bestow." This repetition underscores the active, volitional bestowal by God, parallel to "put."

• understanding: (Hebrew: בִּֽינָה֙ - binah) This term signifies discernment, insight, comprehension, and the ability to grasp the meaning of things. It's the cognitive ability to perceive distinctions and grasp complex truths, complementing chokmah (wisdom).

• to the mind?: (Hebrew: לַשֶּׂכְוִ֥י - lashechvi) This is another profoundly difficult and debated word.

  • If tuchot means "inward parts," sekhvi can mean "mind," "intellect," or "heart," referring to the mental faculties of human beings. This maintains the parallel with human inner attributes.
  • If tuchot means "clouds," sekhvi becomes highly problematic. Possibilities include:
    • "rooster" (KJV, connecting to its natural ability to distinguish times/predict dawn).
    • "celestial phenomena," "meteor," "shooting star" (based on Akkadian roots, suggesting some intuitive or sudden manifestation of divine wisdom in the heavens, like atmospheric phenomena that give understanding).
    • "intuition" or "prescience" more generally (a quality possessed by nature or certain creatures).
  • The LXX translates it as phasma (vision/apparition), aligning with an astral or celestial phenomenon. The Syriac škhwṭ can relate to clouds. The varying ancient interpretations highlight the word's obscurity even in antiquity.

• words-group analysis:

  • "Who has put wisdom in the inward parts / clouds?": This phrase points to the origin of complex, often unseen processes – whether the profound, intuitive understanding within human beings or the intricate, mysterious workings of meteorological patterns. It attributes the intelligent design and operational intelligence of these to a singular, ultimate source: God. It asks, "Who is capable of installing such an elusive yet fundamental quality?"
  • "or given understanding to the mind / rooster / celestial phenomena?": This parallel question reinforces the previous one. It focuses on the discerning aspect, the ability to grasp, predict, or signify. If wisdom is the what, understanding is the how. It elevates both human cognition and natural patterns (like a rooster's instinctual crowing at dawn, or a meteor's predictive appearance) to a divinely bestowed faculty, demonstrating God's sovereign hand over all intellectual and intuitive capacities.

Job 38 36 Bonus section

The obscurity of the Hebrew terms tuchot and sekhvi in Job 38:36 highlights a common challenge in biblical translation and interpretation – how to handle hapax legomena (words appearing only once in a text) or words with uncertain etymology, especially in ancient poetic literature. This verse showcases the importance of considering linguistic context (the surrounding verses and chapter's theme) as well as the broader biblical theology of God's wisdom in both creation and human understanding. The fact that the Septuagint, an early Greek translation, struggled with these words (rendering them vaguely as "prudence in women" for tuchot and "discernment of skills" or "reverence of craftsmen" for sekhvi, depending on manuscripts and critical choices), indicates their difficulty even thousands of years ago. Despite this textual uncertainty, the overarching message of God's ultimate sovereignty and singular source of all wisdom remains robust across interpretations. The rhetorical questions in Job 38 aim not for an answer from Job, but for Job to recognize God’s incomprehensible wisdom and control over everything, from the smallest human thought to the largest cosmic phenomena.

Job 38 36 Commentary

Job 38:36 functions as a divine rhetorical query that lays bare the limits of human knowledge and the profound extent of God's wisdom, which permeates all existence. While some translations lean into the idea of God imparting wisdom and understanding directly into the human heart and mind, underscoring human reliance on divine intellect for cognitive and intuitive capacities, others view the verse as another instance of God pointing to the subtle, seemingly intelligent workings of nature – such as the intrinsic "wisdom" governing cloud formations or the "understanding" exhibited by phenomena like a rooster's unerring sense of dawn, or even more profound, the movements of celestial bodies that silently proclaim order and foresight.

Both interpretations converge on the truth that ultimate wisdom originates solely with God. Whether He grants the deep knowing to our innermost being, or instills a hidden intelligence within the very fabric of His creation, all discerning capacity traces back to Him. This challenge to Job reveals God as the sole Giver of true insight, silencing any human presumption of self-originated wisdom or mastery over life's complexities. It serves as a reminder that before a sovereign and omniscient Creator, human knowledge and ability are finite, calling for humility and trust.