וַיָּ֣סֶךְ בִּדְלָתַ֣יִם יָ֑ם בְּ֝גִיחֹ֗ו מֵרֶ֥חֶם יֵצֵֽא׃
(Job 38:8)
And He shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth, it came out from the womb.
Word-by-Word Explanation
- וַיָּסֶךְ – “And He shut in”Verb, Qal stem, imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular, with vav-consecutive
– From the root סָכַךְ, meaning “to shut in,” “cover,” or “enclose”
– וַ = “And” (vav-consecutive) makes this a past narrative action
This begins the poetic picture of YHWH’s creation power—shutting in the sea like closing a door. - בִּדְלָתַיִם – “with doors”Preposition + noun
– בְּ = “with” or “by means of”
– דְּלָתַיִם = “two doors” (dual form of דֶּלֶת, “door”)
Picture double doors enclosing the sea—strong imagery! - יָם – “the sea”Noun, masculine singular
– Refers to the sea as a mighty, untamed force
Placed after the verb and prepositional phrase for emphasis—what was shut in? - בְּגִיחוֹ – “when it burst forth”Preposition + infinitive construct + suffix
– בְּ = “in/when”
– גִיחַ = “to gush out,” “to break forth”
– וֹ = “its” (referring to the sea)
This verb gives a powerful image of the sea surging out like birth contractions. - מֵרֶחֶם – “from the womb”Preposition + noun
– מִן = “from” (contracted to מֵ before a guttural)
– רֶחֶם = “womb”
Hebrew portrays the sea as being “born” — a poetic metaphor for creation. - יֵצֵא – “it came out”Verb, Qal stem, imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
– From the root יָצָא (“to go out”)
– Imperfect used here for past habitual or completed poetic action
Completes the vivid image: the sea came out from the womb, like a living being.
Word Order and Sentence Flow
This verse uses Hebrew poetic style, with surprising and dramatic structure:
🡒 וַיָּסֶךְ בִּדְלָתַיִם יָם
→ “And He shut in the sea with doors”
– Starts with action, then shows what was acted upon (sea)
🡒 בְּגִיחוֹ מֵרֶחֶם יֵצֵא
→ “When it burst forth, it came out from the womb”
– Two verbs work together here, emphasizing violent emergence
This verse is full of motion and contrast: wild sea vs. divine control, chaos vs. structure.
Sea Imagery in Motion: Visual Breakdown
| Hebrew Phrase | English Meaning | Function |
|---|---|---|
| וַיָּסֶךְ | And He shut in | Action verb |
| בִּדְלָתַיִם | with doors | Means of enclosure |
| יָם | sea | Subject acted upon |
| בְּגִיחוֹ | when it burst forth | Time of action |
| מֵרֶחֶם | from the womb | Source of bursting |
| יֵצֵא | it came out | Final action |
What This Verse Just Taught You
> You just walked through a poetic creation scene in Hebrew!
You’ve learned:
– How Hebrew uses imagery and metaphor (the sea as a child, the womb as origin)
– How verbs like וַיָּסֶךְ and יֵצֵא build dramatic movement
– How dual nouns like דְּלָתַיִם express paired objects (“double doors”)
– That Hebrew poetry often leaves subjects until after verbs for impact
You now understand one of the most vivid creation images in the Bible—straight from the source text. And each time you see the sea, you might remember that it, too, has a beginning and a boundary.
You’re reading the Hebrew Bible in its original voice—one beautiful verse at a time.
