Bible Commentaries

But Job answered and said,

No JFB commentary on this verse.

How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength?

Without power ... no strength ... no wisdom. The negatives are used instead of the positives, powerlessness, etc., designedly (so Isaiah 31:8; Deuteronomy 32:21, "That which is not God ... those which are not a people"): Granting I am, as you say (Job 18:17; Job 15:2). powerlessness itself, etc. How hast thou helped such a one?

Savest - helpest, supportest.

Plentifully ... the thing as it is - rather, 'abundantly-wisdom' [ tuwshiyaah ]. Bildad had made great pretensions to abundant wisdom. How has he shown it?

To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?

For whose instruction were thy words meant? If for me, I know the subject (God's omnipotence) better than my instructor: Job 26:5-14 is a sample of Job's knowledge of it.

Whose spirit - not that of God (Job 32:8): nay, rather, the spirit that came from thee in what thou hast just said is the borrowed sentiment of Eliphaz (Job 4:17-19; Job 15:14-16).

Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof. As before, in Job 9:1-35; Job 12:1-25, Job had shown himself not inferior to the friends in ability to describe God's greatness, so now he describes at 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 [ r***