Job’s suffering had not cut him off from God, now Job sees the end the point that he cannot have the knowledge to make the assessments he made, so it is wiser to bow in submission and adoration of God than to try to judge him. The first speech focuses on God's design and control of the world (verse 2; in contrast to Job's limited knowledge), whereas the second speech raises the issue of God's justice (verse 8; in contrast to Job seeking to justify himself). Theme verse and summons (38:1–3) Verse 1 reintroduces God as YHWH, who speaks out of the whirlwind (different word from Job 37:9). The speech of God starts by asking the question "who?" but it is not meant for Job to identify himself, but rather to explain why Job takes the current stance toward God (verse 2), so despite being considered right, Job's understanding is too limited to see God's purposes. Verse 1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: Cross reference: Job 40:6 "Whirlwind": or "storm", a common accompaniment for a theophany (cf. Ezekiel 1:4; Nahum 1:3; Zechariah 9:14). It was a sign of the arrival of YHWH before speaking to the people of Israel (Exodus 19:16–20:21). In the early part of the book of Job, a storm caused Job's pain (Job 1:19; 9:17), and now becomes the setting of YHWH's direct communication to Job. The mysteries of God's physical worlds (38:4–41) After posing the challenge to Job (38:1-3), God's speech covers the surpassing mysteries of earth and sky beyond Job’s understanding (4-38), and the mysteries of animal and bird life that surpassed Job's understanding (38:39-39:30). The key point here, as introduced by the "who" questions (verses 5–6), is to show how limited Job's knowledge to understand the whole situation. The use of lighthearted (almost comical) illustrations softens God's questioning of Job, that it is not intended to be a strong rebuke to Job, but to open Job's "eyes". Verse 31 [YHWH said:] "“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion?" "Cluster": translated from the Hebrew word , , which is found here and in , or possibly in Job 31:36 (“bind”; with a 'metathesis' or a 'reversal of consonants'). "Pleiades (star cluster)": or "the Seven Stars". See also Related Bible parts: Job 1, Job 37, John 1 References Sources External links Jewish translations: