The Meaning of Job 41:27 Explained

Job 41:27

KJV: He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.

YLT: He reckoneth iron as straw, brass as rotten wood.

Darby: He esteemeth iron as straw, bronze as rotten wood.

ASV: He counteth iron as straw, And brass as rotten wood.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He esteemeth  iron  as straw,  [and] brass  as rotten  wood. 

What does Job 41:27 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 41:1-34 - The Parable Of The Crocodile
The last paragraph described the hippopotamus; the whole of this chapter is devoted to the crocodile. In a series of striking questions the voice of the Almighty suggests his greatness. He is not an animal with whom you can play, or to whom you can speak soft words, or whose skin can be reached withsharpened weapons. His scales, Job 41:12-17; his eyes, mouth, and nostrils, Job 41:18-24; his fearlessness of human attack, Job 41:25-29; his power to lash the sea into a fury, making it to boil, Job 41:30-34 -each of these features is described in graphic terms.
As before, it is clear that the object is to throw into strong contrast the puniness and littleness of man. We may not be so much given to speculations about the organic world in which we live. But we are able to appreciate the argument. Surely He who tells the number of the stars, and weighs the mountains in scales, will have His pathway through the deep, and His footsteps in mighty waters. Being all that He is, He cannot but baffle the eye of man, but the heart can fully trust Him. We know that He does all things well. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 41

1  Of God's great power in the leviathan

What do the individual words in Job 41:27 mean?

He regards as straw iron as wood rotten [And] bronze
יַחְשֹׁ֣ב לְתֶ֣בֶן בַּרְזֶ֑ל לְעֵ֖ץ רִקָּב֣וֹן נְחוּשָֽׁה

יַחְשֹׁ֣ב  He  regards 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָשַׁב 
Sense: to think, plan, esteem, calculate, invent, make a judgment, imagine, count.
לְתֶ֣בֶן  as  straw 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: תֶּבֶן  
Sense: straw, stubble.
בַּרְזֶ֑ל  iron 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּרְזֶל  
Sense: iron.
לְעֵ֖ץ  as  wood 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֵץ  
Sense: tree, wood, timber, stock, plank, stalk, stick, gallows.
רִקָּב֣וֹן  rotten 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רִקָּבֹון  
Sense: rottenness, decay, decayed.
נְחוּשָֽׁה  [And]  bronze 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נְחוּשָׁה  
Sense: copper, bronze.

What are the major concepts related to Job 41:27?

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