God Talks Astrophysics

Job 38:31 NIV - "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion's belt?"

I checked an interlinear to make sure that yes, the NIV version of Job 38:31 is a reliable translation of the original Hebrew. Recall that God Himself does all the talking in Job chapters 38 - 41. In Job 38:31 God refers to the bright winter constellation Orion as "loosened" and the nearby Pleiades star cluster (which is visible to the naked eye) as "bound." For centuries nobody understood what this meant. But like Job's "friends" who confidentlyspoke fine-sounding words without knowledge, Bible commentators of the past confidently offered numerous uninformed explanations of Job 38:31.

It is now known that the stars in the Pleiades cluster are bound together by their mutual gravitational attraction. Consequently they are moving in a common direction through space, like a flock of geese flying together. But the stars in the bright constellation Orion are not gravitationally bound. Consequently, they follow different trajectories and are gradually receding from one another. So in regard to Job 38:31, how interesting that the correct explanation comes from the scientists, not the theologians!