Job 38 – Skeptic's Annotated Bible answered

A response and reply to the notes on Job 38 in the Skeptic's Annotated Bible (SAB).

King James Version

SAB comment

My comment


1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

(38:4-6) The earth is set on foundations and does not move.
"All the sons of God shouted for joy."
How many sons does God have?
When were the stars made?
How are Jesus and Satan alike?
The phrase “laying the foundations of the earth” means the creation of the earth. To the author of the SAB that is unscientific. The current scientific theory that is in vogue is that everything that is, is because of the big bang. But before that theory became popular, scientists strongly objected against it, because it implied that the universe had a beginning. If our foundations are set upon the feeble and changing nature of scientific understanding, we build our wisdom upon sand.

5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

(38:4-6) The earth is set on foundations and does not move.
"All the sons of God shouted for joy."
How many sons does God have?
When were the stars made?
How are Jesus and Satan alike?
The sons of God in this verse are the angels. They are called sons of God, because God created them. The Bible uses the word son in a few different contexts: for Christ, as in begotten Son, or for saints, as in sons by adoption.
We know that God created all things in six days, Ex. 20:11. And because of this verse, it seems the angels were created on the first day.
On the author of the SAB's pityful comparison between Jesus and Satan, see 1 Pet. 5:8.

8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

"That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it"
God could (if he wanted to) pick up the earth by its ends and shake all the wicked people off of it.
Capella's Guide to Atheism - The Bible's Flat Earth
“Ends of the earth, ” well, that proves it, the Bible says the earth has ends! With that handy guide to spotting people who believe in the flat earth, it's amazing how many still believe it. We won't be surprised that New Zealand television journalists believe in a flat earth, or that MSNBC even went to the ends of the earth. But even astronomers regularly drive there! There's clearly a conspiracy against true science going on.
See also biblical cosmology.

14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.

16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?

22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

God has snow and hail stored up to use later "in time of trouble."
Life must lose a lot of its colors if one cannot read poetry.

23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

24 By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;

26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

28 Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

Does God live in the Pleiades?
Jehovah's Witnesses used to believe that God lives on the planet Alcyone in the Pleiades cluster. The only biblical justification for this was this verse and 2 Chr.6:21. This belief was clearly stated in "Reconciliation" (1928): "But the greatness in size of other stars or planets is small when compared with the Pleiades in importance, because the Pleiades is the place of the eternal throne of God." This is just one of many JW beliefs that has since died a quiet death and is no longer mentioned in the Watchtower.
Indeed, the Jehovah's witnesses have little use for the Bible. They appreciate their own fantasies much more.

32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?

36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,

"Who can stay the bottles of heaven?"
Are there bottles in heaven?
The bottles of heaven are the clouds in sky that are full of rain.

38 When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,

(38:39-41) "Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion?"
God seems pleased to have created prey for lions and ravens to eat.
God did not create lions who ate meat. He created them to eat grass. And they can still survive very well without meat.
This text simply takes as example nature as Job knew it.

40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?

41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.