Job 26:5 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Dead things are formed from under the waters— Shall the Rephaim be brought forth from under the waters; and their inhabitants, or their neighbours? It follows, Job 26:6, Sheol is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. Job is here giving instances of the almighty power of God. Our translators have been a little unhappy in their version. The word רפאים Rephaim never signifies dead things. It originally denotes those giants in impiety who were overwhelmed by the flood; and from thence it came afterwards to signify the manes of wicked men, or men of violence like them, who, as they died, were gathered to their assembly, to the lowest depths of שׁאול sheol. See Proverbs 9:18. The Chaldee paraphrast, LXX. and Vulgate, all translate rephaim here by a word which signifies giants; and from a view of their translations, compared with the Hebrew, the meaning of the verse seems to be, "Shall the Rephaim be brought forth again from under the waters, with which they were overwhelmed at the flood; or their neighbours, those wicked souls who have since been gathered to their assembly?" See Peters, Proverbs 21:16, and Isaiah 14:9. Houbigant renders this verse, Behold the giants tremble beneath the waters, in their inhabitants: Job means those giants, says he, who were overwhelmed with the flood; having their overthrow as immediately present before his eyes, because the deluge at this time was fresh in the memory of men.