Job 38:12

12 "Have you ever ordered the morning to begin, or shown the dawn where its place was

Job 38:12 Meaning and Commentary

Job 38:12

Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days;
&c.] Job had lived to see many a morning, but it never was in his power to command one; he had been in such circumstances as to wish for morning light before it was, but was obliged to wait for it, could not hasten it, or cause it to spring before its time; see ( Job 7:3 Job 7:4 ) ; one of the Targums is,

``wast thou in the days of the first creation, and commandedst the morning to be?''

he was not, God was; he was before the first morning, and commanded it into being, ( Genesis 1:3-5 ) ( Isaiah 43:13 ) ;

[and] caused the dayspring to know his place;
the first spring of light or dawn of day; which though it has a different place every day in the year, as the sun ascends or descends in the signs of the Zodiac, yet it knows and observes its exact place, being taught of God.

Job 38:12 In-Context

10 when I put limits on the sea and put its doors and bars in place,

11 when I said to the sea, 'You may come this far, but no farther; this is where your proud waves must stop'?

12 "Have you ever ordered the morning to begin, or shown the dawn where its place was

13 in order to take hold of the earth by its edges and shake evil people out of it?

14 At dawn the earth changes like clay being pressed by a seal; the hills and valleys stand out like folds in a coat.