Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears?

JOB 41:7KJV
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Job 41:7 (KJV)

What does Job 41:7 mean?

Job 41:7 asks whether a person can fill the skin of Leviathan with barbed irons or pierce its head with fish spears, highlighting the impossibility of capturing or harming this mighty creature with ordinary human tools. The verse uses these questions to emphasize human weakness compared to the power of what God has made.

In this verse, God is speaking to Job out of a whirlwind, describing the Leviathan—a great and fearsome sea creature. God challenges Job by asking if he could possibly subdue such a creature, using vivid images of fishing tools that would be useless against Leviathan. This is part of a larger speech where God shows Job the limits of human strength and understanding.

The Hebrew behind Job 41:7

  • skin (עוֹר, ʿôr): This word means the outer covering or hide. Mentioning Leviathan’s skin highlights its toughness and how it cannot be pierced by normal means.
  • irons (שְׂכִּינוֹת, sekkīnôt): This word refers to barbed irons or hooks, tools used for catching large fish. The verse suggests that even specialized tools are ineffective against Leviathan.
  • fish (דָּג, dāg): This word simply means "fish," but in this context, it points to fishing as a human activity, underscoring the futility of treating Leviathan like any ordinary sea creature.
  • spears (צִלְצָל, tsiltsāl): This word refers to a type of spear or harpoon used for fishing. The mention of this tool further stresses the creature’s invulnerability.

Why Job 41:7 matters

  • Job 41:7 clears up any idea that Leviathan could be caught or subdued by human effort, showing the creature’s extraordinary strength and resilience.
  • The verse emphasizes the vast difference between God’s power as Creator and human limitations, a key theme in God’s speech to Job.
  • This question connects to the wider passage by building a sense of awe and humility, preparing Job (and the reader) to recognize the greatness of God’s works.

Where else these words appear

“spears” Hebrew H6767 · used in 5 verses

  • Deuteronomy 28:42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.
  • 2 Samuel 6:5 And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
  • Psalms 150:5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

“fish” Hebrew H1709 · used in 18 verses

  • Genesis 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
  • Nehemiah 12:39 And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate.
  • Hosea 4:3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

“skin” Hebrew H5785 · used in 82 verses

  • Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
  • Leviticus 13:12 And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh;
  • Leviticus 13:59 This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woollen or linen, either in the warp, or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.