36:26 “Yes, God is great – beyond our knowledge! 1
The number of his years is unsearchable.
37:5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; 2
he does great things beyond our understanding. 3
1 tn The last part has the verbal construction, “and we do not know.” This clause is to be used adverbially: “beyond our understanding.”
2 tn The form is the Niphal participle, “wonders,” from the verb פָּלָא (pala’, “to be wonderful; to be extraordinary”). Some commentators suppress the repeated verb “thunders,” and supply other verbs like “shows” or “works,” enabling them to make “wonders” the object of the verb rather than leaving it in an adverbial role. But as H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 236) notes, no change is needed, for one is not surprised to find repetition in Elihu’s words.
3 tn Heb “and we do not know.”