Commentary on Ezra Nehemiah Ester Job and Psalms, Commentary 4 · Chapter 41
CHAP. XLI. Verſe 1. Cauſt thou draw out Leviathan with an book?]
AS men uſe to do the leſſer fiſhes in angling? No, as little as thou canſt bore Behemoths noſe with a ſnare, chap. 40.24. Leviathan is a common name for all great Sea-Monſters, Pſal. 104.26. Beza and Deodate underſtand it of the Crocodile, others of the Sea-Dragon: others of the whirl-pool: But moſt of the Whale; in creating whereof, Creavit Deus vaſtitates & ſtupores, ſaith One.Lib. 9. cap. 2. Pliny writeth of them, when they ſwim and ſhew themſelves, an…are inſulas putes, you would think them to be ſo many Ilands. Another ſaith, they appear like huge mountaines; and that when they grow old they are ſo fat and corpulent, that they keep long together in a place, ſo that upon their backs (by the duſt and filth gathered and condenſed) graſs and ſhrubs grow, as if there were ſome Ilands there;Heidfeld. whereat Sea-men attempting to land, have caſt themſelves into no ſmall dangers.Olam. Some tell us of a Whale that would have covered four Acres of ground, his mouth ſo wide,Plin. lib 9. that he could have ſwallowed a whole Ship. Virgil calleth Whales Monſters, the Greeks call them. foreign, Wild Beaſts. The Majeſty and Power of the Creator, is much ſeen in theſe vaſt creatures. Pſal. 74.14. Thou brakeſt the hands of Leviathan in pieces, and gaveſt him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderneſſe. Here. upon the Jew-Doctors have fabled, that God at firſt made two Leviathans only; the one whereof he gave to the Iſraelites in the wilderneſs to feaſt with, the other he hath ſalted up for a feaſt to be made for the Jewes, to be gathered together by the Meſſias at the end of the world. Others have turned all this, and a great part of the former chapter into allegories: whereof ſee chap. 40, 24. Let us by the enſuing deſcription take notice of, 1. Gods Omnipotency, who hath made ſuch great wonders, whereof the ſea hath more ſtore then the earth, as they know well who are converſant therein. 2 His Juſtice, who by theſe creatures oft puniſheth Offenders Procopius telleth us, That in his time a great Whale much infeſted the coaſts of Conſtantinople. and did great miſchief for fifty yeers together, till at length being taken and brought to land he was found to be thirty cubits long, and ten broad. 3. His Wiſdome in making the Whale ſo complete in all its parts, which all have their ſeveral uſes; all which are here noted and numbred; how much more are our members, yea, our very haires? 4. His goodneſſe in creating ſuch Sea-monſters for mans uſe and benefit in many particulars; as his fleſh for meat, his fat for oyl his hide for thongs, his teeth for combs, his bones for building, mounding, Bodice making, &c. In Africa the Whales bones ſerve commonly for rafters of houſes. Leviathan he is called of the faſt joyning together of his ſcales and members, wherein conſiſteth his ſtrength: and ſo doth ours in unity.
Verſe 2. Canſt thou put a hook into his noſe?] Canſt thou ring him like a Swine, or rule him like a Bear? God can, and did Sennacherib that crooked Leviathan, Iſai. 27, 1. & 37.29. And doth ſtill the Great Turk, who deſireth to devour Chriſtendom.
Or bore his jaw through with a thorn] Or twig, as men do leſſer fiſhes, taken with an Angle, or Herrings from the fiſh-market. Theſe are facetious and ironical queſtions that are put to Job in theſe five firſt verſes: hinting to him, that although he could not do any of theſe things, yet God could with eaſe.
Verſe 3. Will he make many ſupplications unto thee?] As conquered Captives uſe to do; witneſſe Benhadad, 1 King. 20.32. and Teridates King of Parthians, who being brought priſoner to Nero, thus beſpake him; I come unto thee as unto my God,foreign. Dio in Neron. and will henceforth worſhip thee as I do the Sun in heaven; I will be whatſoever thou ſhalt appoint me; for thou art my Fate and Fortune, &c.
Will he ſpeak ſoft words unto thee?] Verba byſſina; as unto his Lord and Maſter. An elegant and pleaſant Proſopopaeia? No, his ſtomack is too great, to ſtoop ſo low.
Verſe 4 will he make a Covenant with thee?] And compound, where he cannot conquer.
Wilt thou take him for a ſervant for ever?] To be at thy diſpoſe, and to do thy drudgery? q.d. He ſcornes the motion. Before the fall, this and all other Creatures were at mans ſervice, Gen. 1.28. & 2.19, 20. But now alaſs it is otherwiſe. Howbeit to thoſe that are in Chriſt, this part of Gods loſt image is in part reſtored, Heb. 2.6. with Pſalm 8.4.5. and ſhall be perfectly, Revelat. 2.26. What ſingular ſervice the Whale did Jonas in ſhipping him to Land, who knows not?
Verſe 5. Wilt thou play with him as with a bird?] Shall he make thee ſport, as thoſe poor birds that ſerve as paſtime for little children? Or as the fooliſh Emperor Honorius, delighted in his bird Roma (ſo he called it) at the loſſe whereof, when the City was taken by the Vandals, he grieved more, then at all the reſt? I …diguum ſanè, regem aves praeferre viribus, ſaith the Divine Chronologer.
Wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?] Shall your daughters tye him with a thred. which lengthning or ſtraightning at their diſcretion ſhall make his priſon either larger on ſtraiter?Sena.
Verſe 6. Shall the companions make a Banquet of him?] The Cetarii Whale-fiſhers, who uſually go out in companies. It was anciently held impoſſible, and is ſtill perillous to take the Whale, and make a banquet of him; as the tongue and ſome other parts of the Whale are good meat. Or, Make a Banques for him; ſhall they feaſt thoſe Merchants they meane to ſell him to, they may get the better price for him?
Shall they part him among the Merchants?] Who might ſell him out for ſundry uſes. See verſ. 1.
Verſe 7. Canſt thou fill his skin with barbed irons?] Harpag…ibus. Heb. With thornes; ſcil. to pull him to the ſhore? Opianus, Albertus Magnus, Geſner, and others now write, how Whales are to be taken; and experience proves it to be feiſable. They are ſometimes caſt upon the Land by the ſurging rage or violence of the ſea, or by the ebbing thereof, left in a ford where they cannot ſwim, and ſo they become a prey to the fiſhermen with their guns, darts, &c.
Verſe 8. Lay thy hand upon him] Stroke him, clap him on the back, and ſee if that way thou canſt winne upon him, ſith by force thou canſt not catch and kill him. Or draw neer, and offer but the leaſt violence to him if thou dareſt, and he will quickly make thee repent it; ſo that thou wilt have little joy either to flatter him, or to fight it out with him, for he will be the death of thee.
Verſe 9. Behold the hope of him is in vain] Heb. Is lying. A man may promiſe himſelf or others to take the Whale, but how or when will he effect it? It is a miſery to lye languiſhing at Hopes Hoſpital, and after all, to be diſappointed; to labour all night, and take nothing &c.
Shall not one be caſt downe even at the fight of him] Surely there is cauſe enough to be caſt down, if he be ſo big and dreadful to bebold as is reported. See the Note on Verſe 1.
Verſe 10. None is ſo fierce that dare ſtir him up] Unleſſe he be ambitious of his own deſtruction: cruel (ſo the word here ſignifieth) to his owne life, which hereby he deſperately caſteth away. Ariſtotle telleth us, That fiſhes do ſleep; and perhaps theſe greater fiſhes take more ſleep. Now who dare awake them ſleeping, or encounter them waking, and rouling in the waters? None ſurely but a mad man.
Who then is able to ſtand before me?] Et eſt qui coram me ſtet? No more ſurely then a man before a Whale, or a glaſs bottle before a Cannon ſhot. Here then we have the accommodation and application of the former Diſcourſe, which we muſt not look upon as cunningly deviſed fables, 2 Pet. 1.16. or read as we do the old ſtories of forragne buſineſſes, but as that wherein our ſelves are nearly intereſted and concerned, that we may give God the glory of his Power, (as here, far beyond that of the Whale or any other creature) and of his Juſtice, as verſe 11, 12.
Verſe 11. Who hath prevented me that I ſhould repay him?] Who can tax me with injuſtice, who am bound to no man, but Owner of all things? If any one can ſay, I am beholding to him, let him prove it, and I ſhall readily requite it: he ſhall have no cauſe at all to complain of me as ungrateful, Rom. 11.34, 35.
Whatſoever is under the whole heavens is mine] The Divel told our Saviour that all was his, and to whomſoever he would, he gave it, Luke 4.6. The Pope alſo, (that firſt born of the Divel) takes upon him, as Lord of all, to diſpoſe of Spirituals or Temporals in all Countries, as Boniface the VIII wrote to Philip King of France, who anſwered him with a Sciat fatuitas tua, &c. And as the Pope that then was, gave our Henry the Eighth's Kingdome, prime occup… turo, to him that ſhould firſt take it; but he ſlighted him with Os Pupae & culus Diaboli in eodem ſunt praedicamento. It is for God alone to ſay, as Dan. 4.32. I rule in the Kingdome of men, and give it to whomſoever I will. How then can I do any man wrong who am obliged to none, but all are engaged to me for all they have?
Verſe 12 I will not conceal his parts nor his power] That therein, as in a picture of the moſt principal piece of my Workmanſhip, thou maiſt behold how great, and how glorious a God I am. In the year of Grace 1577, July 2. the Ship-men took a Whale not far from Antwerp. the picture whereof was printed and publiſhed to this effect, His hide was without ſcales, and of a leaden colour, he was 85 foot long, and ſixteen ſoot high. From his mouth to his eyes was fifteen foot; from his eyes to his finnes, four foot and three fingers, &c. Such a kind of picture, or character of this Sea-monſter we have here, from the moſt skilful hand of heaven. Pliny obſerveth that pictures of things exact and excellent, are ſeldom drawn but with great diſadvantage. Not ſo this in the text, as will appear in the ſequel.
Nor his comely proportion] Heb. Nor the grace of his diſpoſition. i.e. Dicam quàm egregiè & concinnè membra …jus compoſita ſint; I will declare how finely and fitly all his parts are proportioned,Vatab. and put together. In the moſt deformed Creatures (as we count them) there is no part ſuperfluous, uſeleſſe, or uncomely. Deus eſt magnus in minimis, nec parnus in maximis.
Verſe 13. Who can diſcover the face of his garment?] That is, ſaith Piſcator, Who can pull him out of the ſea, wherewith he is covered as with a garment? Who can ſlip off his skin whiles he is alive; as men do the Eels-skin, ſay others? Who (as men uſe to do when horſes are to be ſaddled) will take off his cloth, and ſet the ſaddle upon his back? This laſt is Beza's Paraphraſe: and it ſuits beſt with that which followeth.
Or who can come to him with his double bridle?] Let it be never ſo large, or ſtrong, his mouth is too wide, his jawes too ſtrong, to be held in with bit and bridle, leſt he come near unto thee.
Verſe 14. Who can open the doors of his face?] The two-leaved-doors of his jawes, to let in a bridle? Sampſon durſt venture upon a roaring Lion and rend him, as a man would rend a Kid. But never durſt any ſuch thing be done to a Whale.
His teeth are terrible round about] The Whales teeth are ſaid to be 120. each tooth four cubits long.
Verſe 15. His Scales are his pride] They are like ſo many gliſtering ſhields, wherein he puts his confidence, and takes his pride; as thinking them impenetrable.
Shut up together as with a cloſe ſeal] So cloſed and put together, like Paper ſealed with Wax, as that nothing can part them. The Jewes uſe to write upon the back of their ſealed Letters, Nun, Cheth, Shin; that is, Niddui, Cherem, and Shammatha; all ſorts of Excommunication to thoſe that open them.
Verſe 16. One is ſo near to another, that no air, &c.] One ſcale or flake is. This is more proper, ſay ſome, to the Crocodile, than to the Whale: but who can tell the ſeveral kinds of Whales,Vide Cocceium. in locum. ſome whereof are ſaid to have great and thick ſcales cloſely compacted as here? Quòd ſi ſquammae Leviathan ita cohareant, ut earum opere textili denſato, &c. Let the Saints ſtrengthen themſelves by cloſe-ſticking the one to the other, as the primitive Chriſtians did; ſo that the very heathens acknowledged, that no people under Heaven did ſo hold together and love one another; as they; being like that Sacra cohors, holy band of Souldiers in the Theban Army, which conſiſted foreign,Athenaeus. lib. 3. of ſuch only who were joyned together in the bonds of love: and theſe they eſteemed the prime of all their ſtrength in battel.
Verſe 17. They are joyned one to another, &c.] They are lapt over one another, like tiles on a houſe. See the Note on verſ. 16.
Verſe 18.In ſublime nimbos efflat. Plin. lib. 9. c. 6. By his neeſings, a light doth ſhine] When this dreadful Monſter ſneezeth, or ſnorteth, fire breaketh out at his eyes and noſe. By this neezing of the Whale is meant the abundance of white frothy water which he caſteth forth at his noſtrils.
And his eyes are like the eye-lids of the morning] Bright and beamy. Olaus writeth of the Norway Whales, that their eyes ſhine in a dark night like a fire: ſo that Marriners have oft thought, when they have ſeen them, that they ſaw a great fire.
Verſe 19. Out of his mouth go burning lampes] This and thoſe that follow are all hyperbolical expreſſions. Here he is brought in as a ſpit-fire, as the Devil was wont to be in Playes and Pageants. And by this paſſage, ſome conjecture, that not the Whale, but the Sea-dragon is here deſcribed. Let it be what it will, it muſt needs be a great heat within this great Fiſh, that ſendeth forth, as it were, burning lamps, and ſparks of fire; and a ſtrong ſulphurous breath he muſt have like the out-burſts of Aetna, by this deſcription. Ariſtotle ſaith the Whale is of an hot fiery nature; and that he hath Lungs, and breatheth: a pipe or paſſage alſo he hath in his fore-head,Lib. 4. … anim. cap. … whereat he throweth out the water he hath taken in, either by his breathing, or eating. This tranſparent water thus with a force thrown up againſt the Sun-beams, may bear a ſhew of lightning, or burning lamps.
Verſe 20. Out of his noſtrils goeth ſmoke, &c.] Whiles his meat heateth in his ſtomack for concoction;Sufflati. as if fire were put under ſome great reaking pot or Caldron boyling: Heb. blown; for of blowing comes boyling.
Verſe 21. His breath kindleth coals] Or, Would kindle coals (as a Smiths bellows) if there were any to kindle. Such a kindle-coal was Arrius and Hildebrand of old: the Jeſuites at this day, and not a few others, Prov. 26.21. Eſ. 33.10. your breath as fire ſhall devour you. Some mens tongues are like Gun-powder, which touched with the leaſt ſpark, will inſtantly be in the face, Jam. 3.6. A flame goeth out of their mouths, enough to ſet the whole courſe of Nature on fire.
Verſe 22. In his neck remaineth ſtrength] Ariſtotle ſaith, that among Fiſhes,De part … lib. 3. the Dolphin, Whale, and ſuch as breath; have necks proportionable to their bodies. The word rendred remaineth, is in the Hebrew, lodgeth, or abideth all night: ſo ſpoken, ſaith One, becauſe the Whale, as alſo the Dolphin, ſleepeth with his head erected above water.
And ſorrow is turned into joy before him] i.e. He knows no ſorrows, he fears no hurt, but alwayes rejoyceth, bearing himſelf bold upon his ſtrength, God having made him to ſport in the ſea, Pſal. 104.26. Others read it, And before him danceth fear; Pavor & Pallor, (Tullus Hoſtilius his two gods) men dance, or ſtart for fear.
Verſe 23. The flakes of his fleſh are joyned together] Heb. The fallings, Meland Tremellor the refuſe and vileſt parts, as the word is rendred, Am. 8.6. Now if God be ſo punctual in the deſcription of theſe alſo, can any one think that he hath let paſſe any thing in the holy Scriptures, that belong to our Salvation? What need is there then of humane traditions?
They are firm in themſelves] Heb. Moulton. Firm they muſt be, becauſe ſo joyned together. Vis unita fortior; but diſſention is the mother of diſſolution. England is a mighty Animal (ſaith a great Polititian) which can never die, except it kill it ſelf.
They cannot be moved] Or, He cannot be moved. He may ſay, as Terminus of old, Nullicedo, I give place to none, unleſſe I pleaſe.
Verſe 24. His heart is as firm as a ſtone] He is corpore & corde validiſſimus. Of the ſword-fiſh, Plutarch ſaith, that he hath a ſword, but not an heart to uſe it. But the Whale hath courage to his bulk; his heart is as firm as a ſtone,foreign. as his head (ſaith Scaliger) is as hard as a flint. In the hearts of ſome creatures, ſaith Ariſtotle, is found a bony, or griſly hardneſs; but the Whales heart is all as it were a bone; and this bone as a ſtone.
As a pair of the neather milſtone] Metae, upon which the whole weight lyeth: the Greek call it foreign, Mat. 18.6. the Mill-Aſs; becauſe it is the bigger and harder of the two. The vulgar here for the neather Mill-ſtone, hath the ſmiths-Anvil, which by hammering, is made harder.
Verſe 25. When he raiſeth up himſelf, the mighty are afraid] When he ſhewes himſelf like ſome moving mountain upon the ſurface of the water, the moſt aſſured Pilotes or paſſengers are ſeized with fear of death, and ſeek to make peace with God, as thoſe Marriners did, Jon. 1.5, 6, &c.
By reaſon of breakings] Broughton reads of ſhiverings.
They purifie themſelves] Expiantſe, they beg pardon of ſin, and prepare to die, Others render it aberrant, they are diſpirited; and know not what courſe to take. Others again, they purge downwards. their retentive faculty being weakned with fear, they let go their excrements: as Loper the traytour did, when he was upon his tryal before the Lords of the Council: and as God ſomewhere in Ezekiel threatneth his rebels, that for fear of his diſpleaſure they ſhall not be able to hold their water.
Verſe 26. The ſword of him that layeth at him cannot hold] So cloſe are his ſcales, ſo thick his skin, that there is no wounding of him. There was not of old, it ſeemeth. But now there is a way found of ſhooting and piercing of him, ſo that he dieth with an horrible noiſe, and out-cry.
Nor the Harbergeon] A defenſive weapon will be as uſeleſſe, as thoſe other offenſive: for the Whale will ſoon ſwallow up the armed, as well as the unarmed.
Verſe 27. He eſteemeth iron as ſtraw, and braſſe as rotten wood] He makes nothing of any thing that ſhall be done againſt him. Bears and Lions may be wounded with hunting-weapons: other Fiſhes with Eele-ſpears, and the like: not ſo the Whale, or not ſo eaſily.
Verſe 28. The arrow cannot make him flee] Heb. Sons of the bow, as chap. 5.7. Sparks are called ſons of the coal. Arrows were then as much in uſe as bullets are now.
Sling-ſtones are turned with him into ſtubble] Thoſe ſtones which the ſling caſtes with ſo much force, make as little impreſſion upon his body, as a feſtraw would, which the hand of a child ſhould puſh.
Verſe 29. Darts are counted as ſtubble] When any thing in the Decrees or Decretals likes not the Pope, he ſets Palea, that is, ſtubble upon it; or Hoe non credo: ſo doth this Leviathan upon all kind of weapons; he ſlightes them. The word here rendred darts, is as ſtrange, as the weapon it ſignifieth is to us unknown, lapides balliſtae, an engin, whereby great ſtones were thrown againſt Walles or Towers (as now Cannon-bullets) to make a breath in them. Catapulta, aries vel ſimile aliquod tormentum, Be they what they will, the Whale fears them not, no though they were as terrible to others, as thoſe two great pieces of Ordnance caſt by Alphonſus Duke of Ferrara; the one whereof he called the Earthquake, the other Grandiabolo, the great Devil
Verſe 30.Acumina teſtacea. Sharp ſtones are under him] Heb. Sharp pieces of the potſheard, which prick him no more than if he lay upon the ſofteſt couch…; ſo hard is his belly.
He ſpreadeth ſharp-pointed things upon the mine] When he might lye ſofter, he ſcorns it: as our hardy forefathers ſome two or three hundred years agoe. who ordinarily lay upon ſtraw-pallets covered with canvas, and around log under their heads inſtead of a bolſter.Hollinſhed. As for pillows, they ſaid they were fit only for women in childbed, &c.
Verſe 31.Plin. lib. 9. c. 3. & 6. He maketh the deep to boyl like a pot] He troubleth the whole Ocean: he maketh a mighty commotion in the ſea, when he rouls himſelf therein upward and downward, and caſts up water on high thorow a certain conveyance, that he hath in his head.
He maketh the ſea like a pot of oyntment] Turning it into a foam, like the ſcum of a boyling pot. Beza rendreth it thus, He maketh the ſea like a Mortar, wherein colours are beaten: that is, the whirling of the water is like unto a quern that is turned round of the painter, to temper his colours.
Verſe 32. He maketh a path to ſhine after him] A Ship doth ſo, much more a whale.
One would think the deep to be h…ary] By reaſon of the white ſhining foam left behind him.
Verſe 33. Ʋpon earth there is not his like] Heb. There is no compariſon of him: Much was ſaid before of Behemoth, but Leviathan is far beyond him for hugeneſſe and ſtrength: which yet Mercer noteth to be the work of God, and not of Nature, quòd humor ſolvat & infirmet; and therefore in reaſon earthly creatures would be harder and ſtronger, than thoſe in the ſea.
Who is made without fear] He ſeems not to come into the world but to fear nothing, and to defie all things. No creature carrieth it ſelf ſo ſtately or ſtoutly as the whale.
Verſe 34. He beholdeth all high things] As far below him (be they never ſo excellent) both for bulk of body, and ſtoutneſſe of minde.
He is a king over all the children of Pride] Or, Over all the wild creatures (ſo Tremellius and Buxtorf interpret it) which are proud and do domineer over the tame ones, no leſſe then Leviathan if he were amongſt them, would do over them.