Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
Job's Answer to ElipJiaz. JOB XXIII, XXIV. Wic/:edness goeth often Unpunisheil.
lift up . . . face, &c.—Repealed from Zopliar (ch. 11. 15.) 27. (Isaiah 58. 9, 14.) pny tliy vows—Which thou hast {•romised to God iu the event of tliy prayers being heard regarded as uninhabitable through heat (see ch. 3^1. 29X 10. But—Correcting liimself for the wish that his caus« should be Icnown before God. The omniscient One already knoivetli Hie u-ay in me (my inward princij)les: His outward way or course of acts is mentioned in v. H. So in:irod will give tliee occasion to pay the former, by hearing tlie latter. 38. llgUt—Success. 39. Rather, When (thu ways; from v. 28) are cast down (for a time), tliou shalt .(soon again have joyful cause to) say, Tliere is lifting up
ch.4. 21); though for some inscrutable cause He as yet hides himself (!•. 8, 9). wlien—Let Him only but try my cause, I shall, &c. 11. Iield—Fast by His steps. The law
(prosperity returns back to me). [Maurer.] lie—God. humble—ifebrew, him that is of low eyes. Eliphaz imis in Old Testament poetry regarded as a way, God going before us as our guide, in whose footsteps we must tread (Psalm 17. 5). declined—(Psalm 125. 5.) 11. esteemed— Rather, laid tip, viz., as a treasure found (Matthew 13. 14; Psalm 119. 11); ftlludim; to the words of Eliphaz (ch. 22.
plies, that Job is not so now In his affliction ; therefore it continues: with this he contrasts tlie blessed effect of being humble under it (James 4. 6, and 1 Peter 5. 5, probably quote this passage). Therefore it is better, I tliink, to take the first clause as referred to by " God resisteth the proud." When (men) are cast down, tliou shalt say (behold the effects of) jjride. Eliphai hereby justifies him-
There was no need to tell me so; I have done so already (Jeremiali 15. 16. Jiecessarj'—"Appointed portion"
(of food : as in Proverbs 30. 8). Umbreit and Maurer translate "More than my laic," my own will, in antithesis to "the words of His mouth" (John 6. oS). Probably under the general term, "what is apj Kiinted to me" (the same Hebreiv is in i'. 14), all that, ministers to the appetites of the body and carnal will is included. 13. in one mind —Notwithstanding my innocence. He is unallrred \r\ His purpose of proving me guilty (oh. 9. 12). sonl—His wiU (Psalm 115. 3). Gfxl's sovereignty. He has ohc great purpose; nothing is hap-hazard; everything lias its proper place with a view to His purpose. 14. many sneli—He has yet many more such ills in store for me, though hidden in His breast (ch. 10. 13). 15. God's decrees, impossible to be resisted, and leaving us in the dark as to what may come next, are calculated to fill the mind witii holy awe. [Barnes.] 16. soft—Faint. Hath melted my courage. Here again Job's language is that of Jesus Christ (Psalm 22. 14). 17. Because I was not taken away by death from the evil to come [lit., from before the fare of the darkness, Isaiali 57. 1). Alluding to the words of Eliphaz (ch.
self for attributing Job's calamities to hisphide. " Giveth grace to the humble," answers to the second clause. 30. Island—i. e., dwelling. But tlie Hebretv expresses tlie negative (1 Samuel 4.21), translate "Thus He (God) shall deliver liim who was not guiltless," viz., one, who like Job himself on conversion sliall be saved, but not because he
was, as Job so constantly aflirms of liimself, guiltless, but because he /iuwift/e* himself (r. 2!)); an oblique attack on Job, even to the last, and it—Rather, " ?te (the one not heretofore guiltless) shall be delivered tlrrougli the purity (acquired since conversion) of thy hands;" by thy intercession (as Genesis IS. 26, &c.). [Maurek.] The irony is strikingly exhibited in Eliphaz unconsciously uttering words whiclt exactly answer to wliat liappened at last: he and the other two were "delivered" by God accepting the intercession of Job for them (ch. 42. 7, 8).
CHAPTER XXIII. TUIRD SERIES.
22. 11), "darkness," i.e., calamity. "Cut off;"' rather, in the Arabic sense, Brought to the land of silence ; my sad complaint hushed in death. fUMnREiT.] "Darkness" in the second clause, not the same Hebrew word as in the
Ver. 1-17. Jon"s Answer. 3. to-day—Implying, perhaps, that the debate WHS carried on tlirougli more days tlian one (see Introduction), bittrr—(cli. 7. 11; 10. 1). my sti'oke—Tlie hand of God on me {mara. ; ch. 19.21; Psalm first, eloiid, obscurity. Instead oif "covering the cloud (of evil) from my face," He "covers" me with it (oh. 22. 11).
S2. 4). heavier tUan—Is so ht-avj' tlr.U I cannot relieve myself adequately by groaning. 3. The .same wisli as in ch. 13. 3 (cf. Hebrews II). 19-22). seat—The idea In the Hebrew is a u'ell-prepnred tlirone (Psalm 9. 7). 4. order—State metliodically (cli. 13. 18; I.saiah 43. 2ti.) till, etc.— I would have abundance of arguments to adduce. 5. lie—Emphatic: it little matters wliat man may say of me, if only 1 know what C'of/ judges of me. 0. An objection suggests
CHAPTER XXIV.
Ver. 1-2."). 1. Why is It that, seeing that the times of punishment (Ezekiel 3 ; " time" in the same sense) are not hidden from the Almighty, thejwho know Him (Hia true worsliippers, ch. 18. 21) do not see His days (of vengeance ; Joel 1. 15; 2 Peter 3. 10)? Or, with Umbreit less simply, malving the parallel c'nusesniore nicely balanced, Whyare not times of punishment hoarded up("laid up;" ch. 21.19; appointed) by the Almighty? i. e., whyare they not so appointed as that man may now aw them? as the second clause shows. ,Iob iloes not doubt that they are aiipointed: nay, he asserts it (eh. 21. 30); what he wishes itself, wliilst he utters the wish {v. r>). Do I hereby wislt, that he should plead against me with His omnipotence? Far froia it ! (cli. !1. 19, 34 ; 13. 21 ; 30. IS). streiigtJt—So as to prevail with Him: as in Jacob's case (Hoseiv 12.3,4). Umbreit and Maurer better translate as in ch.4. 20(1 only wish that He) "would attend to me," i.e., give me a patient hearing as an ordinary Judge, not using His omnipotence, but only His Divine knowledge of my Innocence. 7. there— Rat lier, Then : if God would "attend " is that God would let all now see that it is so. 3-'4-l. Instances of the wicked doi)ig the worstdeeds with seeming impunity. Some—The wicked, landmarks—Boundaries between dillcrcnt pastures (Deuteronomy 19. II; Proverbs
10 me (v. 6). riglitcous i.e., the result of my dixpute would be, He would iicknowledge me as riglitcous. delivered From suspicion of guilt on the pari of viy .Tudye.
22i 28). 3. pledge-Alluding to ch. 22. 0. OtherU really do, and with impunity, thai which Eliphaz falsely charges the at Tlicted .lob wilh. 4. J.itrriilly, they push the |>oor out of their road in meeting them. Figuratin 'y, th<.'y take advantage of them by fonre and Injustice (alluding to the charge of Eliphaz (ch. 22. 8; 1 Samuel S. 3). iioor—In spirit and In circumstances (Matthew 5.3). lilde— From the in-
8. Rut I wish in vain. For " l)elu)ld," Ac. forward . . . backward-Rather, " to the east—to the ire.it." The Hebrew geographers faced the east, i. e., sunrise: not the north, as we do. So "before" means east: "behind," west (so the Hindoos). "Para," before—east: "Apara," behind—went: " Daschlna," the right hand—Konth : " Rama," ;c/<—north. A similar reference to sunrise appears In the name Asia, .mnrise; Europe, siiiiitef: pure Babylonian names, as Rawi.inson shows. 9. Rather, "To the N." work—God's glorious works nrc especially seen towards the north region of the sky l)y one In the northern hemisphere. The antithesis is betwi'cn (foil ?Por/;ing ixnd yet not being beheld: as in ch. 9. ll,betvveen "He goclh by," and "I«cc Him If the ///^rc?/; bears it, the parallelism to the second clause is ))ctter suited by translat-
of tln'lropi)r('.ssoi's, who ha\'e robbed them of their all and drive)! Ihein Into untre<iuented places (ch. 20. 1!);
30. .3-0; Proverbs -28. 28). .'i. wild a.s«e«—(Ch. 11.1'.'.) So Ishmael is calle<l f? uild ass-man: Ilebrrw (Genesis 16.12). These Bedouin robbers, wilh the unbridled wlldness of the ass of the desert, go forth thither. Robbery Is ttudr lawless "work." The desert, which yields no food to other m(Mi, yields food for the robber and his children by the pluiuler of caravans, rising )>rtiinei«— In the East travelling Is begun very early, before the heat comes on. 0. Like the wild asses (i\ 5), they (these Bedouin rolibers) reap (metaphovlcally) their various grain (so the Jlebrcw ing, as UninKKiT, dolli hide leimscif; hut then theantlthesls to beliold \vo\\U\ he lost, right linnd—"In the south." hldetJi— .\pi)ropriately. of the unexplored south, then
3'Z8 jf'.'ie ii'u(2 0/ the Wicked. JOB XXV, XXVI. BildadJs Reply Co Job.
for " forn" means). The wild ass does not let man pile up in a stable his mixed pi ovender (Isaiali 30. 24); so tliese robbers liud their food in the open air, at one time in the desert (v. 5), at another in the fields, the vintage of the wicked—^The vintage of?obbery, not of honest industry.
say, "TTie sinner is swift, i. e., swiftly passes away (as a thing floating) on the surface of the waters" (Ecclesiastes 11.
1; Hosea 10. 7). Is cursed—By those who witness their " swift" destruction, beholdeth not—" Turneth not to.;" fig., for He cannot enjoy his pleasant possessions (ch. 20. 17; 15. 33). the way of the vineyards—Including his
If we translate "belonging to the wicked," then it will imply, that the wicked alone have vineyards, the "pious poor" (v. 4) have none. "Gather" in Heln-ew, is gather fields, tertile as vinejards; opposite to " tlie way of the desert." 19. Arabian image; melted snow, as contrasted with the living fountain, quickly dries up in the sunburnt sand, not leaving a trace bemnd (ch. 6. 16-18). The Hebrew is terse and elliptical to express tlie swift and utter destruction of the godless; (so) "the grave—they have sinned !" 30. Tl»e womb—The very mother that bare him, and wlio is the last to "forget" the child that sucked her (Isaiah 49. 15), sliall dismiss him from her memory (cli. 18. 17; Proverbs 10. 7). The worm shall suck, late: as thefirst clause refers to the early liai'vest of corn, so the second to the vintage late in autumn. 7. Umbreit undeistands It of the Bedouin robbers, wHo are quite regardless of the comforts of life, " Theypass thenight naked,
and uncovered," &c. But the allusion to ch. 22. 6, makes the English Fersion preferable (see note below, v. 10). Frost is not uncommon at night in those regions (Genesis
31. 40). 8. They—The plundered travellers, embrace the rock—Take refuge under it (Lamentations 4. 5). 9. from the breast—Of the widowed mother. Kidnapping children for slaves. Here Job passes from wrongs in the desert, to those done among tlie habitations of men. pledge—viz., the garment of tlie poor debtor, as next verse shows. 10. (Note ch. 22. 6.) In u. 7 a like sin is alluded to: but there he Implies open robbery of garments in the /Jesert; here, the more refined robljery in civilized life, under the name of a "pledge." Having stripped the poor, they make tliem liesides labour in their harvesti. e., "feed sweetly" on him as adelicate.morsel (eh. 21. 'Hi). wickedness i.e., the wicked; abstract for concrete (as cli. 5. 16). as a tree—Utterly (ch. 19. 10); Umbkkit better, "As a staff." A broken staff is tile ein Vilem of irreparable ruin (Isaiah 14. 5; Hosea 4. 12). ai. The reason given by the friends why the sinner deserves such a fate, barren—Without sons, who might have protected her. widow— Without a liusljand to support her. 3!J-!}5. Reply of Job to the opinion of tlie friends. Experience proves the contrary. Trunsldtc, " But He (God) prolongfields, and do not allow them to satisfy tlieir hunger with any of the very corn which tliey carry to tlie heap. Worse treatment than thatof the ox, according to Deuteronomy etli the life of {lit., draujeth out at length; ^furgin, Psalm
36. 10) the mighty with His (God's) power. He (the wicked) risetii up (from liis sick bed) although he had given up hope of [lit., wlien he no longer believed in) life" (Deuteronomy 28. 66). 33. Lit., lie (God omitted as often; cli. 3. 20; Ecclesiastes 9.9; reverentially) giveth to him (tlie wicked, to be) in safety, or security, yet—Job means. How strange tliat God should so favour them, and yet have his eyes all the time open to their wiclted waya (Proverbs 15. 3; Psalm 73. 4)! 34. Job repeats wliat he said (ch. 21. 13), that sinners die in exalted positions, not the painful and lingering death we miglit expect, but a quick mid easy death. Join " for a while" with. " are gone," not VIS English Version. Trnnslaie, " A moment—imd they are no more ! They are brought low, as all (others) gather up their feet to die" (so tlie Jlebrew of "are taken out of the way"). A natural death (Genesis 49. 3;!). ears of corn—In a ripe and full age, not prematurely (ch. 5. 26). 35. (So ch. 9. 24.) CHAPTER XXV.
2-5. 4. Translate, " they (the poor labourers) hungering carry tlie sheaves." [Umbreit.] 11. Which—" Tliey," the poor, "press the oil within their walls:" viz., not only in the open fields (v. 10), but also in tlie wall-enclosed vineyards and olive gardens of the oppressor (Isaiah .5.5). Yet they are not allowed to quench tlieir " thirst" witli the grapes and olives. Here, thirsty ; v. 10, hungry. 12. Men—Rather, " mortals" (not the common Hebrew for "men"); so tlie Masoretic vowel points read as English Version. But the vowel points are modern. Tlie true reading is, The dying: answering to "the wounded" in the next clause, .so Syriac. Not merely in tlie country
11). but also in the city tliere are oppressed sul Terers, who cry for lielp in vain. " From outot tlie city ;" i. e., they long toget lortl,\aud be free outside of i t (fJxodus 1. 11 ; 2. 23). wounded—By the oppressor (Kzekiel 30. 21). layeth not folly—Takes no account of (by punishing) tlieir sin (" folly" In Scripture; ch. 1.22). Tliis is the gist of tlie whole previous list of sins (Acts 17. 30). Umbreit with Syriac reads by changing a vowel point, " Regards not tlieir supplication." 13. So far as to openly-committed sins ; now, tliose done in the dark. Translate, " Tliere are those among them (the wicked) who rebel," &c. light—Both lit. and
THIRD SERIES. Ver. 1-6. BiLDAD's Reply. He tries to show Job's rashness (ch. 23. 3), by arguments borrowed from Elipliaz (ch. 15. 15), witli whicii cf. ch. 11. 17. 3. Power and terror, i. e., terror-inspiring power, peace in His high places Implying that His power is sucli on liigh as to quell all opposition, not merely there, but on earth also. The Holy Ghost here shadowed forth Gospel truths (Colossiana fig. (John 3. 1!), 20 ; Proverbs 2. 13). paths t!>ercof—Places where the light shines. 14. witli the light—At early dawn, whilst still dark, when the traveller in the East usually sets out, and the poor labourer to his work ; the murderous robber lies in wait then (Psalm 10. S). is as a thief— J'/iie?;es in the East steal whilst men sleep at night, robbers murder at early dawn. Tlie same man who steals at night, when light dawns not only robs, but murders to escape detection. 15. (Proverbs 7. 9; Psalm 10.
1. 20; Ephesians 1. 10). 3. armies— Angels and stars (Isaiah 40. 26; Jeremiah 3;3. 22; Genesis 15. 5; countless, Daniel 7. 10). His light—(James 1. 17.) 4. (ch. l. 17, IS; 14.
4; 15. 14.) 5. "Look up even unto the moon" (ch. 15. 15). "Stars" here answer to "saints" (angels) there; "the moon" here to "the heavens" there. Even the "stars," the most dazzling object to man's eye, and tlie angels, of wliicii the stars are emblems (ch. 4. IS; Revelation 9. 1), are imperfect in His sight. Theirs is tlie light and purity but of cre.attires; his of the Creator. G. (ch. 4. 19-21; 1.5.
11.) dlsgtilseth-Putsa veil on. IG. dig throngh—Houses In the Eastrare generally built of sun-dried mud bricks (so Matthew 6.19). "Thieves break tlirough," lit., dig through (Ezekiel 12. 7). had marked— IUiIIkm-, as in ch. 9. 7, "They shut themselves up (in their Jiouses); lit., they seal
16). worm . . . worm—Two distinct Hebrew words. The lip. for themselveg—For their own ends, viz., to escape detection, know not—Sliun. 17. Tiiey shrink from the "morning" liglit, as much as other men do from the blackfirst, a worm bred in putridity; alluding to man's oojTMption. The second, a crawling worm; implying that man est darkness ("the shadow of <leath"). If one know is weak and grovelling.
i. e., recognize tliem. Uather, "They know well (are familiar with) tlie terrors of," &c. [Umbreit.] Or, <>s Mauker, "They know the terrors of (this) darlcnes' ,"
CHAPTER XXVI.
THIKI) SERIES.
viz., of morning, the light, which is as terrible to them is darkness ("the shadow of death") is to other men. IS-ai. In tliese verses Job quotes the opinions of his adversaries Ironically; he (juoted ttiem so before (cli. 1. 21. 7-21). In v. Za-Zl he slates his ort-n observation as Uiu opposite. You
Ver. 1-14. Job's Reply. 3, 3. without power ... no strength . . . no wi.srtoiii—The negatives are used Instead of the positiv<'s, powertcssness, itc, designedly (no Isaiali31. S; Deuteronomy 32. 21). Granting I am, as yoa