(12) Am I a sea, or a whale . . .?--This very hard verse it seems most reasonable to explain, if we can, from Scripture itself: e.g., in Jeremiah 5:22 we read, "Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea?" The writer was probably familiar with Egypt when the Nile, which is still called the sea, was carefully watched and guarded by dykes that its overflow might not destroy the land. So Job exclaims, "Am I like the sea, or one of its monsters--like that Leviathan which Thou hast made to take his pastime therein, that Thou keepest guard over me and makest me thy prisoner continually, shutting me up on every side so fast in prison that I cannot get free?"

Verse 12. - Job now begins his complaint, which is wholly addressed to God. The heads of it are:

(1) that he is confined and restrained, allowed no liberty (ver. 12);

(2) that he is terrified by visions in the night (vers. 13, 14);

(3) that he is not "let alone" (ver. 16);

(4) that so much attention is paid to him (vers. 17-19);

(5) that he is made a butt for God's arrows (ver. 20); and

(6) that he is not pardoned, but relentlessly persecuted (ver. 21). Am I a sea, or a whale? rather, Am I a sea or a sea-monster? Am I as wild and uncontrollable as the ocean, as fierce and savage as a crocodile or other monster of the deep? Do I not possess reason and conscience, by which I might be directed and guided? Why, then, am I treated as if I were without them? The sea must be watched, lest it break in upon the land; in Egypt there had been many such breaches, as the configuration of the coast, with its narrow belts of sand and its vast lagoons, shows; and crocodiles must be watched, lest they destroy human life; but is there any need that I should be watched, restrained, coerced, hedged in on every side (Job 3:23)? Am I so dangerous? Surely not. Some liberty therefore might have been safely given to me, instead of this irksome restraint. That thou settest a watch over me; or, a guard; i.e. a set of physical impediments, which leave me no freedom of action.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Am I
אָ֭נִי (’ā·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew 589: I

the sea,
הֲ‍ֽיָם־ (hăyām-)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 3220: A sea, the Mediterranean Sea, large river, an artifical basin

or
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's Hebrew 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

the monster of the deep,
תַּנִּ֑ין (tan·nîn)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 8577: A marine, land monster, sea-serpent, jackal

that
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's Hebrew 3588: A relative conjunction

You must keep me under
תָשִׂ֖ים (ṯā·śîm)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

guard?
מִשְׁמָֽר׃ (miš·mār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 4929: Place of confinement, jail, prison, guard, watch, observance


Deep Dragon Guard Monster Sea Sea-'Monster Settest Watch WhaleDeep Dragon Guard Monster Sea Sea-'Monster Settest Watch WhaleJob 7:12 NIV
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OT Poetry: Job 7:12 Am I a sea or a sea (Jb)