Hiob 38:18

18 Hast du Einsicht genommen in die Breiten der Erde? Sage an, wenn du es alles weißt!

Hiob 38:18 Meaning and Commentary

Job 38:18

Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth?
&c.] Which may be put for all the dimensions of it, length, breadth, diameter, and circumference, but especially it regards the surface of it, and the measurement of that; hast thou gone over the whole face of the earth and measured it, all its parts, its hills and dales, rocks and mountains, and took a survey of all the cities, towns and villages, woods, forests, fountains, rivers, &c? no; if a man lived as long as Methuselah, and spent all his days in this way, he could never be able to do it; and some parts are inaccessible, and not to be measured by the most skilful geometer;

declare, if thou knowest it all;
the whole earth and every part of it, and all that is in it. Whether the other hemisphere and the antipodes were known in Job's time is a question; however not America, or the new world, which is a late discovery; and even now, in our most exact maps of the world, some parts are marked with "terra incognita", the unknown land.

Hiob 38:18 In-Context

16 Bist du gekommen bis zu den Quellen des Meeres, und hast du die Gründe der Tiefe durchwandelt?
17 Wurden dir die Pforten des Todes enthüllt, und sahest du die Pforten des Todesschattens?
18 Hast du Einsicht genommen in die Breiten der Erde? Sage an, wenn du es alles weißt!
19 Welches ist der Weg zur Wohnung des Lichtes, und die Finsternis, wo ist ihre Stätte?
20 Daß du sie hinbrächtest zu ihrer Grenze, und daß du der Pfade zu ihrem Hause kundig wärest.
The Elberfelder Bible is in the public domain.