Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
/oi'.s Reproof Cuntinued. JOB VILHe Excuses his Desire for Death, matter. .30. Will yon say that my guilt lie" in the organ of speech, and will you call it to accounf or is it that my taste (palate) or discernment is not capable to fcn-ni a judg' ment of pervei-se things f Is it thus you will explain the fact of my having no consciousness of giult ? [Um bkeit j tame rppetition of tlie drying up of the waters in v. 17;
Insteiui of waters, tliey find an "empty xvildcrnenn and, not liavinf? strength to regain their road, bitterly disappointed, Ifu'i/ perish. The terse brevity is most expressive.
19. flit toop^4— t. e.. Caravans. Tcma, north of Arabia Deserta. near tlie S.yrian desert; called from Tenia son of Ishmael (tienesis 25. 15; Isaiah 21. 14; Jeremiah 25. 23). Still
CHAPTER VII.
80 ealled by the Arabs. Verses 1!), 20 give another picture
Vcr. 1-21. .loB Excu.SES His De.sire for Death. 1. appoii>te<I time—Better, warfare, har<l conflict with evil
the mortitieation of disappointed liopes, viz., those of the caravans on the direct road, anxiously awaiting the return of (heir companions from the distant valley. The Tnenlion of the locality whence the caravans came gives living reality to the picture. Sheba refers here not to the marauders in Nortli Arabia Deserta (ch. 1. 15), but to the merthfnls (Kzekiel 27.22) in the soiUh, in Arabia Felix or Vemei.. "afarolf" (.leremiah 6.20; Matthew 12.42; Genesis
(HO in Isaiah 40.2; Daniel 10. 1; an<l cii. J 1. 14); translate it appointed time (ch. 14. 5, 13 ; Psalm 39. 4). Job reverts to t he sad picture of m.an, however great, which he had drawn
(ch. 3. 14), and details in this cliapter the miseries which his friends will see, if, according to liis request(ch. (i. 28), they will look on him. Even the Christian soldier, " warring a good warfare," rejoices when it is coiiiplcted (1 Timothy 1. 18; 2 Timothy 2.3; 4.7,8). a. earnestly <lesiretU Hebrew, pants for the (evening) shadow. Kasterns measure time by the length of their shadow. If the servant longs for the evening when his wages are i)aid, wiiy may not Jolj long for the close of his hard service, when he shall enter on h\»rewardf This proves that Job did
1 2.S\ Caravans are first mentioned (Genesis 87. 25) ; mn needed to travel thus in companies across the desert, for defence against the roving robbers, and for mutual accommodation. "Tlie companies waited for them," cannot refer to the caravans irho liad gone in quest of tlie waters for V. 18 describes their utterdestruction. !iO. lit. , each liad hoped, viz., Iliat their companions would find water. The greater had been their hopes the more bitter now their disappointment; th<;i/ came thither, to the place, and were ashamed : lit., t\\e\v eountrnances &»»«, an Oriental phrase lor the shame and consternation of deceived expectation. So as/iavied as to disappointment (Romans 5. 5;. 31. As the dried-up brook is to the caravan, so are ye to me, viz., a notliing; ye might as well not be in existence. [UmBREIT.] The Margin, like to them or it (viz., the waters of not, as many maintain, regard the grave as a mere sleep.
3. Months o/ comfortless misfortune. "I am made lo possess," lit., to be heir to. Irony. 2'o 6f heir to, is usually a matter of Joy; but here it is the entail an involuntary and dismal inheritance. Months, for days, to expri-ss its long duration. Aj>pointcd, lit., they have numbered lo me ; marking well the unavoidable doom a.ssigned to liim. 4-.
Lit., " when shall be the.flight of the night?" [Gesenius.] UMBitEiT, not so well, "the niglit is long exlended:" lit., measured out: so Marg. 5. In elephantiasis maggots are bred in tlie sores (Acts 12.23; Isaiah 14. 11). cloils of diist — liillhcr, a o-ust of dried filth and accumulated corruption tlie brook), is not so good a reading, ye see, aixl are afraid—Ye are struck aghast at the sight of my ini.sery, and ye lose presence of mind. .Tob iiuts this mild construction on tlieir failing to relieve him with atl'e(ttionate consolation. And yit I did not ask you to bring me a
(ch. 2. 7, S). iny skin Is broken and loatlisome—Halher, comes together so as to heal up, and again breaks out with running matter. [GE.SENIUS.] More simply the Hebrew is, " My skin rests (for a time) and (again) melts away" (Psalm gift ; or to pay for me out of your substance a rervard (to the Judge, to redeem me from my punishment); all I asked from you was affectionate treatment. !23. the mlglity
'I'lie oppressor, or creditor, in whose power the debtor was. [IlMliKEIT.] ii4:,-i5. Irony—If you can teach me the right view, I am willing to be set right, and hold my tojtg-ue; and oS. 7). 0. (Isaiah 38. 12.) Every day like the weaver's shuttle leaves a thread behind; and each shall wear, as he weaves. But Job's thouglit is, that his days must swiftly be cut otr as a web ; without hope, viz., of a recovery and renewal of life (ch. 14. 19; 1 Chronicles 29. 15). 7. Address to God. Wind, a picture of evanescence (Psalm 78. 39). sitall no more see—Rather, "shall no more return to see good." This change from the dilferent wish in cli. 3. 17, &c., is most true to nature. Pie is now in a softer mood; and a beam from former days of prosperity falling upon memory, and the thonglit of the unseen world, where; one to be made to see my error. Buc then if j'our words be really the right words, liow is it that they are so feeblef " Yet how feeble are the words of what you call the right view." So U\e Hebrew is used (in Micali 2.10; 1.9). The
Kngli.ih Version, "How powerful," &c., does not agree so well with the last clause of the v. "And what will your argulngs reprove?" lit., " the reproofs which proceed from you;" I he emphasis is on you ; you may find fault, who are not in ni.i/ situation. [Umbreit.] 26. Do you imagine, or mean, to reprove words, and (to reprove) the speeches of one desperate, (which are) as wind, mere notliings, not to be so narrowly taken to task ? Umbueit not so well takes the Hebrew for as wind, "as sentiments;" m.iking formal .Kntiments antithetical to mere speeches, and supplying, not the word "reprove," but "would you regard," from the first clause. 2T. " Ye overwhelm :" lit.., "j/e cawse (supply, your anger) [Umbreit], a. net, viz., of sophistry |Noyes and ScnUTTENS], lo fall upon the desolate (one bereft of help, like tlie fatherless orphan) ; and ye dig (a pit) for your friend," i.e., try to ensnare him, to catch him in the use ,of unguarded language. [Noye.s.] (Psalm .57. 0); metaphor from hunters catching wild beasts in a pit covered with l)rushwood to conceal it. Umbreit from the Syriae, and answering to his interpretation of the first clause, is see7i no more (v. 8), drew from him an expression of regret at leaving this world of light (Ecclesiastes U. 7). So llezekiah (Lsaiah 38. U). Grace rises above nature (2 Corinthians 5. 8). 8. The eye of him who beholds me [present, not past English Veision], i.e., in the very act of beholding me, seeth me no more. "Thine eyes (are) upon me, and I am not?" He disappears, even while Ood is looking upon him. Job cannot survive the gaze of Jehovah (Psalm 104. 32; Revelation 20. 11). Not " Thine eyes seek me and I am not to be found;" for God's eye penetrates even to tlie unseen world (Psalm 139. 8). Umbreit unnaturally takes Thine to TCier to one of the three friends. 9. (2 Samuel 12. '23.) the grave—The Sheol, or place of departed spirits, not disproving Job's belief in tlie resurrection. It inei'ely means. " He shall come up no more" in the present order of things. 10. (P.salm 103. Ifi.) The Oriental keenly loves his dwelling. In Arabian elegies the desertion of abodes by their occupants is often a tlieme of sorrow. Grace overcomes this also (Luke 18. 29 ; Acts 4. 34). 11. Therefore, as such is my hard lot, I will at least have the melancholy satisfaction of venting my sorrow in words. The Hebrew opening words, therefore I, at cdl events, express self-elevation. [Umbreit.] 13-14:. Why doest thou deny me the comfort of care-assuaging sleep ? Why .nearest thou me with frightlias " Would you be indignant against your friend ?" The Hebrew in ch. 41. 6, means to feast vpon. As the flrst cl.'iuse asks, " Would you catch'him in a net f" so this follows up the Image, "And would you next feast upon him, and his miseries?" So LXX. 28. be content—Ratlier, 6p ptowed to—look. Since you have so falsely judged my words, lock upoti me, i.e., upon my countenance: for (it is evident before j'our faces) if J lie; my countenance will betray me. If I be the hypocrite that you suppose. 39. Return— Ilather, retract your cliarges : " Let it not be iniquity ;" i. e., ful dreamsi Am I, then,« sea (regarded in Old Testament poetry as a violent rebel against God, the Lord of nature, who th(^refore curbs his violence) (Jeremiah 5. 22)? or a whale (or some other sch monster) (Isaiah 27. 1), that thou
'. retract ) thai injustice may not be done me. Y'ea retract, " my righteousness is in it;" i.e., my right is involved iu this