Job 38:14

14 A sealing shall be restored as clay, and it shall stand as a cloth. (It shall be as clear as the mark of a seal on a piece of clay, and it shall stand out like the folds of a cloak.)

Job 38:14 Meaning and Commentary

Job 38:14

It is turned as clay [to] the seal
As the clay receives a different form by the impress of the seal upon it, so the earth appears in a different manner by the spring of morning light upon it; in the darkness of the night nothing of its form and beauty is to be seen; it is a mere "tohu" and "bohu", like the chaos, ( Genesis 1:2 ) ; its rising hills, and spreading dales, and beautiful landscapes, cannot be observed with pleasure; but when the light breaks forth in the morning, it is seen in all its beauty and glory: of the change the light of the Gospel makes in men, see ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 ) ;

and they stand as a garment;
or things stand upon it as a garment, as Mr. Broughton renders the words; herbs, plants, and trees, unseen in the night, stand up like a vesture to the earth in the morning light; and as they are clothed themselves, they are a garment to that, which now puts on another and beautiful habit; the pastures are clothed with flocks, and the valleys covered with corn, and the whole earth with light itself, as with a garment: and as beautifully do men made light in the Lord appear; see ( Isaiah 41:10 ) ( Revelation 3:4 Revelation 3:5 ) ( 12:1 ) .

Job 38:14 In-Context

12 Whether after thy birth thou commandedest to the beginning of the day, and showedest to the morrowtide his place? (and hast shown, or told, the morning its place?)
13 Whether thou heldest shaking together the last parts of [the] earth, and shakedest away [the] wicked men therefrom? (Hast thou taught it to take hold of the last parts of the earth, and shakedest out the wicked from there?)
14 A sealing shall be restored as clay, and it shall stand as a cloth. (It shall be as clear as the mark of a seal on a piece of clay, and it shall stand out like the folds of a cloak.)
15 The light of wicked men shall be taken away from them, and an high arm shall be broken.
16 Whether thou hast entered into the depth of the sea, and hast walked in the last parts of the depth, that is, the ocean, or the great west sea? (Hast thou entered into the depths of the sea? or hast thou walked in the deep parts of the ocean?)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.