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12 [a]Am I the Sea, or the dragon,
    that you place a watch over me?[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 7:12–21 Job now speaks not to his friends (who never speak to God), but to God. He does this frequently; cf. 9:28; 10:2–22; 13:20–28; 14:13–22.
  2. 7:12 An allusion to the personification of primeval chaos as a monstrous ocean vanquished by God; see note on 3:8.

Chapter 27

The Judgment and Deliverance of Israel

    On that day,
The Lord will punish with his sword
    that is cruel, great, and strong,
Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
    Leviathan the coiled serpent;
    he will slay the dragon[a] in the sea.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 27:1 Leviathan…dragon: the description of Leviathan is almost identical to a passage from a much earlier Ugaritic text. The sea dragon became a symbol of the forces of evil which God vanquishes even as he overcame primeval chaos; cf. notes on 30:7; 51:9–10; Jb 3:8; 7:12; no power can challenge God. Leviathan is even spoken of playfully in Ps 104:26.