Job 37:4 · Bible study
Job 37:4 Commentary: Study: God's Unrestrained Voice in Thunder
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Discover how Job 37:4 portrays God's unrestrained power in thunder, and what it means for Elihu's argument about divine justice and majesty.
Research Summary
- Meaning: After the lightning flash, God's thunder roars with majesty; He does not restrain the lightnings when His voice is heard.
- Key words: "roars" (shaʾag), "thunders" (raʿam), "majesty" (geʾon), "holds back" (ʿāqav in Piel), "voice" (qol).
- Main debate: The referent of "them", lightnings (most commentators) or storm accompaniments (JFB, Gill).
- Theological theme: God's unrestrained power demonstrates His incomprehensible majesty and sovereignty over creation.
- Best use: As part of a larger exposition on the book of Job, especially for sermons on divine sovereignty and human humility.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Then there comes a roaring sound; He thunders with His majestic voice. He does not restrain the lightning when His voice resounds.
WEB World English Bible 2000
After it a voice roars. He thunders with the voice of his majesty. He doesn’t hold back anything when his voice is heard.
KJV King James Version 1769
After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
After it a voice roareth; He thundereth with the voice of his majesty; And he restraineth not the lightnings when his voice is heard.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
After it roar doth a voice--He thundereth with the voice of His excellency, And He doth not hold them back, When His voice is heard.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency, and holdeth not back the flashes when his voice is heard.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
After it a noise shall roar, he shall thunder with the voice of his majesty, and shall not be found out, when his voice shall be heard.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Después de ella bramará el sonido, tronará él con la voz de su magnificencia; y aunque sea oída su voz, no los detiene.
Depois disso brama com estrondo; troveja com sua majestosa voz; e ele não retém seus relâmpagos quando sua voz é ouvida.
Puis éclate un rugissement: il tonne de sa voix majestueuse;
Ihm nach brüllt der Donner, und er donnert mit seinem großen Schall; und wenn sein Donner gehört wird, kann man's nicht aufhalten.
Daarna brult Hij met de stem; Hij dondert met de stem Zijner hoogheid, en vertrekt die dingen niet, als Zijn stem zal gehoord worden.
Dopo il lampo, una voce rugge; egli tuona con la sua voce maestosa; e quando s’ode la voce, il fulmine non e già più nella sua mano.
Dziwnie Bóg grzmi głosem swoim; sprawuje rzeczy tak wielkie, że ich rozumieć nie możemy.
За ним гремит глас; гремит Он гласом величества Своего и не останавливает его, когда голос Его услышан.
隨後 人聽見 有雷 聲 轟轟，大發威嚴，雷電 接連不 斷。
After it a voice is sounding, thundering out the word of his power; he does not keep back his thunder-flames; from his mouth his voice is sounding.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Job 37:4
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Job 37:4 describes thunder as the immediate sequel to lightning. The flash is seen first; then the roar follows. This physical sequence mirrors what Elihu is arguing: God's power comes in full force, with nothing held in reserve. The key verb yaʿaqqəvem (from ʿāqav) in the Piel stem means "to hold back" or "to restrain." The suffix "them" refers almost certainly to the lightnings of verse 3, as most commentators hold (Barnes, Keil, Wesley, Cambridge). A minority view (JFB, Gill) suggests it refers to the usual storm accompaniments, rain and hail. But all agree the verse portrays God as unrestrained in His display of power. As Matthew Henry puts it, God "will not stay them", He lets the full fury of the storm proceed. This fits Elihu's purpose: to humble Job by confronting him with a God whose ways are not subject to human interrogation.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Lightning referent view: Most commentators (Barnes, Keil, Cambridge, Wesley) read 'them' as the lightnings from v.3, emphasizing immediate display of power.
- Storm accompaniments view: JFB, Gill, and some others take 'them' as rain and hail, noting that these naturally follow thunder.
What is clear: God's voice (thunder) is majestic, and He holds nothing back when He speaks—this is a statement of unrestrained divine power.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The referent of the pronoun 'them' in verse 4 | It refers to something from the preceding context, either the lightnings (v.3) or the usual storm elements (rain, hail). | Most commentators (Barnes, Keil, Wesley, Cambridge) see it as lightnings. JFB and Gill suggest it refers to rain and hail that follow thunder. |
| The meaning of the verb 'hold back' (יְעַקְּבֵם) | The Piel stem indicates a conscious restraint or withholding. | Some see it as literal restraint (God could hold back but does not); others emphasize the deliberate release of power. |
| The function of this verse in Elihu's argument | It serves to highlight God's majestic power and to humble Job. | Whether it primarily answers Job's complaint about divine justice (Elihu's stated intent) or simply magnifies God's greatness as a broader theophanic purpose. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Elihu delivers these words in the final movement of his discourse (Job 32, 37), just before God speaks from the whirlwind in chapter 38. His purpose is to answer Job's complaint that God is unjust or indifferent. Unlike the three friends who insisted suffering proves personal sin, Elihu focuses on God's incomprehensible greatness as displayed in the natural world. Job 37 is his climactic description of a thunderstorm, likely an actual storm that Elihu sees or hears as he speaks. Poole and Matthew Henry both note that the storm described seems to be unfolding in real time, preparing for God's own theophany.
In the ancient Near East, thunder was regularly understood as the voice of a deity. The Canaanite god Baal was called "Rider of the Clouds" and associated with thunder. But the poet of Job deliberately strips away any pagan mythology. Here, the thunder is not a god acting independently; it is the voice of Yahweh, the God of Israel, who alone holds majesty in the heavens. The word for "majesty" (geʾōn) carries connotations of exaltation and pride, but only in a good sense when applied to God (Exodus 15:7; Deuteronomy 33:26).
The verb ʿāqav ("to hold back") is the same root as the name Jacob, who "supplanted" his brother. In the Piel stem, it means to restrain or detain. The Niphal verb yishāmāʿ ("is heard") is passive: the voice is heard, and then God does not restrain the lightnings. The point is that God's power is not partial; when He speaks, everything follows without delay or withholding. This description serves Elihu's argument that God's justice, like His storm, is beyond human comprehension. We can observe the display, but we cannot predict or control it. Job 37:4 therefore stands as a poetic answer to the question of divine justice: God is not answerable to human categories of fairness. He acts in unrestrained majesty.
Textual Notes
The consulted commentaries and critical editions note no significant textual variants for Job 37:4. The Hebrew text is well-established across the major manuscripts.
Reception History
Early Christian interpreters saw the storm in Job 37 as a figure of divine judgment and majesty. Medieval exegetes used the verse within natural theology, arguing that creation reveals God's attributes. Reformation commentators highlighted God's absolute sovereignty and the inadequacy of human reason to grasp His ways. Modern scholarship has focused on the verse's literary function within Elihu's speech and its relationship to Ancient Near Eastern storm-god imagery. Throughout these readings, the central conviction remains: God's voice is not subject to human restraint, and His majesty evokes awe.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- God's timing precedes our understanding. Lightning appears before the thunderclap. This natural order reminds us that God's actions often precede our comprehension. We see the flash before we hear the meaning.
- God's power is completely unrestrained. Elihu emphasizes that God "doesn't hold back anything." The verb ʿāqav in its Piel form means to restrain or detain. God does not restrain the lightnings; He lets them follow the thunder without delay. This is a picture of sovereign freedom.
- The proper response is humble awe. Job has been questioning God's justice. Elihu points to the storm and says, in effect, if you cannot contain God's power in nature, how can you question His moral governance? The answer is not argument but worship.
Five-Point Outline
- God's voice announces His power (the thunder precedes the lightning's full display).
- Lightning and thunder belong together; God's word and work are indivisible.
- Majesty is the content of God's voice, not mere noise but excellence (geʾōn).
- God restrains nothing when He reveals Himself; His power is absolute.
- The only fitting reply is to stand still and consider His wondrous works (Job 37:14).
Illustration Hooks
- Watching a storm from a safe distance: you see the lightning and count the seconds before the thunder. In this verse, there is no delay, God's voice and His action are simultaneous.
- A public speaker with full authority: when a leader speaks, people listen and act. God's voice carries the same immediacy and power.
- A parent who holds nothing back in providing for a child, love, discipline, instruction, all given freely. God gives the full weight of His majesty in every thunderclap.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- Why does God sometimes seem silent or slow to act?
- If God is so powerful, why does evil continue?
- How can I trust God's justice when I don't understand His ways?
Leading a Discussion
This passage confronts us with a God whose power is utterly unrestrained. Elihu uses the storm to shift the focus from human suffering to divine majesty. Let the poetic language shape your reflection.
Discussion Questions
- What physical phenomena does Elihu describe in verses 1, 5? How does verse 4 fit into the sequence?
- The verb translated "holds back" (ʿāqav) comes from a root meaning "to supplant." How does the Piel stem change the meaning? Why does Elihu choose this word?
- Most commentators take "them" as referring to the lightnings. What difference does this make for the meaning of the verse?
- How does this description of God's unrestrained power prepare the way for God's own speech from the whirlwind in chapter 38?
- Elihu ends this section by saying God does great things we cannot comprehend (v.5). How does this challenge our desire to fully understand God's ways?
- In what areas of your life do you find it hardest to trust God's sovereign goodness without full explanation?
- How can reflecting on nature, storms, seasons, creation, strengthen your faith when life is confusing?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 15:7 | In the greatness of your excellency, you overthrow those who rise up against you. You send out your wrath. It consumes them as stubble. |
| Exodus 15:8 | With the blast of your nostrils, the waters were piled up. The floods stood upright as a heap. The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. |
| Deuteronomy 33:26 | “There is no one like God, Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens for your help, in his excellency on the skies. |
| Job 36:27 | For he draws up the drops of water, which distill in rain from his vapor, |
| Job 36:33 | Its noise tells about him, and the livestock also, concerning the storm that comes up. |
| Psalms 29:3 | Yahweh’s voice is on the waters. The God of glory thunders, even Yahweh on many waters. |
| Psalms 29:9 | Yahweh’s voice makes the deer calve, and strips the forests bare. In his temple everything says, “Glory!” |
| Psalms 68:33 | to him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old; behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that lightning and thunder happen at the same instant yet are heard seconds later because sound moves much slower than light. He explains that when the flash and sound occur nearly together danger exists but at greater distances the shock never reaches living things.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights the natural observation that lightning flashes before thunder is heard, using this sequence to picture God's voice roaring from the storm. He interprets the phrase "he will not stay them" to mean God does not restrain the accompanying rain and hail when the thunder begins.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that God does not hold back his lightning when his voice is heard. His flashes follow his thunder quickly so they carry out his command against his enemies.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Geneva Bible Notes sees God’s voice as so powerful that once it is heard no one can stop him. This means his judgment will surely happen.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill sees God’s thundering voice as a sign that he will not deceive those who hear it. It is clear and unmistakable so his people know it is him and follow him.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary notes that some read Job 37:4 as referring to rain and hail following thunder. Others understand it as describing the sound of thunder itself.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch see the repeated word for sound in this verse as meaning hearing attentively rather than constantly. They also understand the word for thunder as a future tense meaning to set free rather than give direction.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that the thunderstorm described by Elihu is not a poetic invention but an actual event happening as he speaks. This approaching storm provides the immediate occasion for Elihu's majestic descriptions and serves as the direct preparation for God's own appearance from the whirlwind. For Lange, Elihu's discourse is thus both original and dramatically grounded in the visible storm.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that God uses thunder and lightning to show his glory and power so that people will notice him. You may find comfort in knowing he also shows his goodness through other things.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley notes that the flashes of light appear before the sound of thunder. He also says these flashes are the same ones mentioned at the start of the chapter.