Job 11:8

8 He is higher than heaven, and what shalt thou do? he is deeper than hell, and whereof shalt thou know? (It is higher than heaven, so what shalt thou do? it is deeper than Sheol, or hell, so what shalt thou know?)

Job 11:8 Meaning and Commentary

Job 11:8

[It is] as high as heaven; what canst thou do?
&c.] Or, "is higher than the heavens" F9; either the wisdom of God and the secrets of it; the perfection of his wisdom, by which he has made the heavens; or evangelical wisdom, hid in his heart, and which the highest of creatures, the angels, come at the knowledge of only by revelation; and therefore, what can man do to find it out, unless God reveals it? or wisdom displayed in dark providences, which can never be accounted for until the judgments of God are made manifest: or else, "he [that is] God", as the Vulgate Latin version, is "higher than the heavens"; the heaven is his throne on which he sits, and therefore he must be higher than that; the heavens, and heaven of heavens, cannot contain him; he fills up the infinite space beyond them; how is it possible therefore to find him out, to comprehend him?

deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
meaning, neither the grave nor the place of the damned, for both which "Sheol" is sometimes used, but the centre or lowest part of the earth; there is a depth in God, in his essence, in his thoughts, in his wisdom, displayed in nature, providence, and grace, that is unfathomable; we can know nothing of it but what he is pleased to make known; see ( Psalms 92:5 ) ( Romans 11:33 ) ; the Targum of the verse is,

``in the height of heaven, what canst thou do? in the law, which is deeper than hell, what canst thou know?''


FOOTNOTES:

F9 (Mymv yhbg) "altior est altissimis coelis", Junius & Tremellius.

Job 11:8 In-Context

6 to show to thee the privates of wisdom, and that his law is manyfold, and thou shouldest then understand, that thou art required of God to pay much less things, than thy wickedness deserveth. (to show thee the secrets of wisdom, and that his Law is manifold, and then thou wouldest understand, that thou art required by God to pay much less, than thy wickedness deserveth.)
7 In hap thou shalt comprehend the steps of God, and thou shalt find Almighty God unto perfection. (Perhaps thou shalt be able to comprehend the steps of God, and thou shalt discover the perfection of Almighty God!)
8 He is higher than heaven, and what shalt thou do? he is deeper than hell, and whereof shalt thou know? (It is higher than heaven, so what shalt thou do? it is deeper than Sheol, or hell, so what shalt thou know?)
9 His measure is longer than the earth (Its measurement is wider than the earth), and broader than the sea.
10 If he destroyeth all things, either driveth them straitly into one, who shall against-say him? (who shall say against him?) Either who may say to him, Why doest thou so?
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.