Iyov 38:18

18 Hast thou perceived the expanse of eretz? Tell Me if thou hast da’as of it all.

Iyov 38:18 Meaning and Commentary

Job 38:18

Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth?
&c.] Which may be put for all the dimensions of it, length, breadth, diameter, and circumference, but especially it regards the surface of it, and the measurement of that; hast thou gone over the whole face of the earth and measured it, all its parts, its hills and dales, rocks and mountains, and took a survey of all the cities, towns and villages, woods, forests, fountains, rivers, &c? no; if a man lived as long as Methuselah, and spent all his days in this way, he could never be able to do it; and some parts are inaccessible, and not to be measured by the most skilful geometer;

declare, if thou knowest it all;
the whole earth and every part of it, and all that is in it. Whether the other hemisphere and the antipodes were known in Job's time is a question; however not America, or the new world, which is a late discovery; and even now, in our most exact maps of the world, some parts are marked with "terra incognita", the unknown land.

Iyov 38:18 In-Context

16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the yam? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the tehom?
17 Have the sha’arei mavet been disclosed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the sha’arei tzalmavet?
18 Hast thou perceived the expanse of eretz? Tell Me if thou hast da’as of it all.
19 Where is the derech where ohr dwelleth? And as for choshech, where is the place thereof,
20 That thou shouldest take it to its border, and that thou shouldest have da’as of the paths to its bais?
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.