Job 41:20

20 Smoke comes from its nostrils as [from] a kettle boiling and [burning] bulrushes.

Job 41:20 Meaning and Commentary

Job 41:20

Out of his nostrils goeth forth smoke, as [out] of a seething
pot or caldron.
] In which flesh or anything else is boiling. It is observed that there is a likeness between the crocodile and the river horse, and particularly in their breathing ^F21: and of the former it is remarked ^F23, that its nostrils are very large and open, and that they breathe out a fiery smoke, as out of a furnace.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 Plin. l. 48. c. 8. Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 8. c. 2.
F23 Achilles Statius & Eustathius, apud Scheuchzer: ut supra. (vol. 4. p. 849.)

Job 41:20 In-Context

18 "Its snorting flashes forth light, and its eyes [are] {red like dawn}.

19 Torches go from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.

20 Smoke comes from its nostrils as [from] a kettle boiling and [burning] bulrushes.

21 Its breath kindles charcoal, and a flame comes from its mouth.

22 "Strength abides in its neck, and dismay dances {before it}.