Job 41:2

2 Can you lasso him with a rope, or snag him with an anchor?

Job 41:2 Meaning and Commentary

Job 41:2

Canst thou put an hook into his nose?
&c.] Or a rush, that is, a rope made of rushes; for of such ropes were made, as Pliny F7 affirms;

or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
as men do herrings, or such like small fish, for the convenience of carrying them, or hanging them up to dry; the whale is not to be used in such a manner: but the Tentyritae, a people in Egypt, great enemies to crocodiles, had methods of taking thorn in nets, and of binding and bridling them, and carrying them as they pleased F8.


FOOTNOTES:

F7 Nat. Hist. l. 19. c. 2.
F8 Strabo. Geograph. l. 17. p. 560. Aelian. de Animal. l. 10. c. 21. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 25.

Job 41:2 In-Context

1 Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod and stuff him in your creel?
2 Can you lasso him with a rope, or snag him with an anchor?
3 Will he beg you over and over for mercy, or flatter you with flowery speech?
4 Will he apply for a job with you to run errands and serve you the rest of your life?
5 Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish? Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children?
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.