Job 41:19

19 From his mouth go fiery torches, and sparks come flying out.

Job 41:19 Meaning and Commentary

Job 41:19

Out of his mouth go burning lamps, [and] sparks of fire leap
out.
] Which, though hyperbolical expressions, have some foundation for them in the latter; in the vast quantities of water thrown out by the whale, through its mouth or hole in its frontispiece, which in the sun may look like lamps and sparks of fire, as before observed; and especially in the "orcae", or whales with teeth, which eject in the same way an oily mucus, or the fat liquor of the brain, commonly called spermaceti, which may appear more bright and glittering. Ovid F20 says much the same of the boar as is here said of the leviathan.


FOOTNOTES:

F20 "Fulmen ab ore venit; frondesque adflatibus ardent". Metamorph. c. 8. Fab. 4.

Job 41:19 In-Context

17 they are stuck one to another, interlocked and impervious.
18 "When he sneezes, light flashes out; his eyes are like the shimmer of dawn.
19 From his mouth go fiery torches, and sparks come flying out.
20 His nostrils belch steam like a caldron boiling on the fire.
21 His breath sets coals ablaze; flames pour from his mouth.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.