Job 36:26 - Behold, God is great, and we don’t know him. The number of his years is unsearchable.

Generated Verse: Job 36:26

What does "Job 36:26" mean?


Job 36:26, "Behold, God is great, and we don’t know him. The number of his years is unsearchable," expresses two key ideas about God's nature:

God is great, and we don't know him: This highlights the vastness, power, and incomprehensibility of God. He is beyond human understanding and our ability to fully grasp His essence or attributes. We can know about God through revelation (Scripture, creation), but we can never exhaustively know God in His entirety. This speaks to God's transcendence.

The number of his years is unsearchable: This emphasizes God's eternal nature. He exists outside of time, without beginning or end. Humans, bound by the limits of time, cannot fathom eternity or the full scope of God's existence. It underscores His timelessness and everlasting presence.

In the context of the Book of Job, these lines are spoken by Elihu, a younger man who tries to offer wisdom and understanding about God's ways. Elihu is attempting to correct what he perceives as Job's flawed understanding of God's justice. He's asserting that Job, in his suffering, shouldn't presume to fully comprehend God's actions because God is so far beyond human comprehension.