Job 26:5

“Dead [things] are formed from under the waters, etc.] It is difficult to say what things are here meant; it may be understood of “lifeless” things, as Mr. Broughton renders it; things that never had any life, things inanimate, that never had at least an animal life, though they may have a vegetable one; and so may be interpreted of grains of corn, and which indeed die before they are quickened; to which both Christ and the apostle allude, (<431224>John 12:24 <461536>1 Corinthians 15:36); and which, as they cannot grow without water, and their fructification and increase are owing to the earth being plentifully watered with rain, may be said to be formed under the waters; and of these Aben…”

“As before in the ninth and twelfth chapters, Job had shown himself not inferior to the friends' inability to describe God's greatness, so now he describes it as manifested in hell (the world of the dead), Job 26:5-6; on earth, Job 26:7; in the sky, Job 26:8-11; the sea, Job 26:12; the heavens, Job 26:13. Dead things are formed--Rather, "The souls of the dead (Rephaim) tremble." Not only does God's power exist, as Bildad says (Job 25:2), "in high places" (heaven), but reaches to the region of the dead. Rephaim here, and in Pro 21:16 and Isa 14:9, is from a Hebrew root, meaning "to be weak," hence "deceased"; in Gen 14:5 it is applied to the Canaanite giants; perhaps in derision, to express…”

“Dead things - Job here commences his description of God, to show that his views of his majesty and glory were in no way inferior to those which had been expressed by Bildad, and that what Bildad had said conveyed to him no real information. In this description he far surpasses Bildad in loftiness of conception, and sublimity of description. Indeed, it may be doubted whether for grandeur this passage is surpassed by any description of the majesty of God in the Bible. The passage here has given rise to much discussion, and to a great variety of opinion. Our common translation is most feeble, and by no means conveys its true force. The object of the whole passage is to assert the universal…”

“Dead things - Job having censured Bildad's discourse, proceeds to shew how little he needed his information in that point. Here he shews that the power and providences of God reaches not only to the things we see, but also to the invisible parts of the world, not only to the heavens above and their inhabitants, and to men upon earth, of which Bildad discoursed, Job 25:2-3, but also to such persons or things as are under the earth, or under the waters; which are out of our sight and reach; yet not out of the ken of Divine providence. These words may be understood; either, of dead, or lifeless things, such as amber, pearl, coral, metals, or other minerals, which are formed or brought forth; by…”

“26:5-6 The underworld (Hebrew Sheol), the abode of all the dead, is located beneath the waters of the sea. • The place of destruction (Hebrew Abaddon) existed specifically for the wicked.”

“Dead things: Or, "The giants rephaim are in anguish under the waters and their inhabitants;" probably in allusion to the destruction of the earth by the deluge. Job 41:1-34; Gen 6:4; Psa 104:25, Psa 104:26; Eze 29:3-5 and: or, with Job 26:6”

“5 - The shades are put to pain Deep under the waters and their inhabitants. 6 Shel is naked before him, And the abyss hath no covering. 7 He stretched the northern sky over the emptiness; He hung the earth upon nothing. Bildad has extolled God's majestic, awe-inspiring rule in the heights of heaven, His immediate surrounding; Job continues the strain, and celebrates the extension of this rule, even to the depths of the lower world. The operation of the majesty of the heavenly Ruler extends even to the realm of shades; the sea with the multitude of its inhabitants forms no barrier between God and the realm of shades; the marrowless, bloodless phantoms or shades below writhe like a woman in…”