Job · Chapter 11

V. 1. Then answered-How hard is it, to preserve calmness, in the heat of disputation! Eliphaz began modestly: Bildad was a little rougher: But Zophar falls upon Job without mercy. “Those that have a mind to fall out with their brethren, and to fall foul upon them, find it necessary, to put the worst colours they can upon them and their performances, and right or wrong to make them odious.”

Verse 1. Zophar the Naamathite] Of this man and his friends, see Job 2:11. He is the most inveterate of Job’s accusers, and generally speaks without feeling or pity. In sour godliness he excelled all the rest. This chapter and the twentieth comprehends all that he said. He was too crooked to speak much in measured verse.

Verse 1. Then answered Zophar the Naamathite — How hard is it to preserve calmness in the heat of disputation! Eliphaz began modestly: Bildad was a little rougher: but Zophar falls upon Job without mercy. “Those that have a mind to fall out with their brethren, and to fall foul upon them, find it necessary to put the worst colours they can upon them and their performances, and, right or wrong, to make them odious.” Zophar, highly provoked that Job should dare to call in question a maxim so universally assented to as that urged by his friends, immediately charges him home with secret wickedness. He tells him that he makes not the least doubt, were the real state of his heart laid open, that it would be found God had dealt very gently with him, verses 2-7. That he was highly blameworthy to pretend to fathom the depths of divine providence, a task to which he was utterly unequal: that, however his wickedness might be concealed from me, yet it was open and bare to God’s all-seeing eye; could he therefore imagine that God would not punish the wickedness he saw? verses 7-11. It would surely be far more becoming in him to submit, and give glory to God, by making an ample confession and full restitution. In that case, indeed, he might hope for a return of God’s goodness to him; but the way he was in at present was the common road of the wicked, whose only hope was annihilation, verses 12-20. — Heath and Dodd.

1. Then answered Zophar — Eliphaz had modestly confirmed his views by an appeal to the revelation of a spirit; Bildad, by recourse to the wisdom of the ancients; Zophar, the youngest of the three, relies upon himself. “At first,” says Jahn, “his discourse is characterized by rusticity; his second address adds but little to the first; and in the third dialogue he has no reply to make.” The other two friends had looked upon Job’s sufferings as the chastenings of God, rather than punishments. Zophar, on the other hand, regards them as solely punitive. The address opens with painful vituperation, but proceeds in noble language to describe the infinite wisdom of God — a wisdom that comprehends and arraigns the human heart. In contrast man at best is, as Zophar says, but hollow-headed and perverse from his birth. With beautiful imagery he portrays the happiness and security of the just, and concludes, like Bildad, with the doom of the wicked.

First division, double strophe — THE APPEARANCE OF GOD WOULD MAKE KNOWN THE

V. 2. Answered-Truly, sometimes it should not. Silence is the best confutation of impertinence, and puts the greatest contempt upon it.

Verse 2. Should not the multitude of words be answered?] Some translate, “To multiply words profiteth nothing.” And should a man full of talk be justified] µytpc vya ish sephathayim, “a man of lips,” a proper appellation for a great talker: he is “a man of lips,” i.e., his lips are the only active parts of his system.

Verse 2. Should not the multitude of words be answered? — Truly, sometimes it should not. Silence is the best confutation of impertinence, and puts the greatest contempt upon it. Zophar means, Dost thou think to carry thy cause by thy long, tedious discourses, consisting of empty words, without weight or reason? And should a man full of talk be justified? — Shall we, by our silence, seem to approve of thy errors? Or, shall we think thy cause the better because thou usest more words than we do?

TRUTH THAT JOB HAD BEEN TREATED MUCH MORE MILDLY THAN HE DESERVED, 2-6. a. Job’s false and boastful assumption of innocence. 2-4.

2. A man full of talk — Literally, a man of lips. A sneer at Job for loquaciousness, or an insinuation, perhaps, that he is insincere, a man of lips rather than of heart. Theocritus called an oration of Anaximenes a river of words with a drop of sense.

V. 3. Lies-Both concerning thy own innocency, and concerning the counsels and ways of God. Mockest-Our friendly and faithful counsels, Job 6:14,15,25,26.

Verse 3. Should thy lies make men hold their peace?] This is a very severe reproof, and not justified by the occasion.

And when thou mockest] As thou despisest others, shall no man put thee to scorn? Zophar could never think that the solemn and awful manner in which Job spoke could be called bubbling, as some would translate the term לעג laag. He might consider Job’s speech as sarcastic and severe, but he could not consider it as nonsense.

Verse 3. Should thy lies — That is, thy false opinions and assertions, both concerning thyself and thy own innocence, and concerning the counsels and ways of God, make men hold their peace? — As if thy arguments were unanswerable. And when thou mockest — Both God and us, and our friendly and faithful counsels; shall no man make thee ashamed? — By discovering thy errors and follies.

Verse 3. Thy lies; that is, thy device, as in the margin; jactantias tuas, thy boastings, the delicacy of thy turns of speech, to extenuate thy sins: He does not mean gross lies and untruths, because he speaks with deference in ver. 14, “If iniquity be in thy hand.” This princely patriarch possessed a mind highly enlightened with regard to providence, and was incomparably eloquent, yet totally dark with regard to the case of Job. Those three men ceased to answer Job, it is said, because he was righteous in his own eyes: Job 32:1.

3. Thy lies — The Hebrew also means babblings, boastings. “To say or to suggest that a man lies, is, with us, enough to kindle the weakest spirit, and is, with many, a murderous affront, while an Oriental will listen to the coarsest imputations of falsehood with an undisturbed countenance.” — KITTO, D. B. Illus. The present stage of the debate would hardly justify so offensive a word as that of the Authorized Version, lies. Zophar has in view such expressions as Job 9:21, 35; 10:7.

V. 4. Doctrine-Concerning God and his providence. Clean-I am innocent before God; I have not sinned either by my former actions, or by my present expressions. But Zophar perverts Job’s words, for he did not deny that he was a sinner, but only that he was an hypocrite.

Verse 4. My doctrine is pure] yjql likchi, “my assumptions.” What I assume or take as right, and just, and true, are so; the precepts which I have formed, and the practice which I have founded on them, are all correct and perfect. Job had not exactly said, My doctrine and way of life are pure, and I am clean in thine eyes; but he had vindicated himself from their charges of secret sins and hypocrisy, and appealed to God for his general uprightness and sincerity: but Zophar here begs the question, in order that he may have something to say, and room to give vent to his invective.

Verse 4. Thou hast said, My doctrine — Concerning God and his providence; is pure — That is, true and certain. The word yjql, likchi, according to R. Levi, signifies consuetudo mea, et dispositio mea, my way and manner of life; the same that St. Paul calls h biwsiv mou; my way of life. See Chappelow. And I am clean in thine eyes — I am innocent before God: I have not sinned either by my former actions or by my present expressions. But Zophar aggravates and perverts Job’s words; for he did not deny that he was a sinner in God’s sight; but only that he was a hypocrite or ungodly man, as they thought him to be.

4. Doctrine is pure — Not that he had used just such an expression, but this was the quintessence of Job’s speech.

b. Would that God might appear, even as Job desired, for then the divine insight would disclose Job’s deep guilt, and the many transgressions which still remained unpunished. The danger to Job lies not in God’s almightiness, as he claims, but in the deeps of God’s manifold knowledge, 5-6.

V. 5. Speak-Plead with thee according to thy desire: he would soon put thee to silence. We are commonly ready with great assurance to interest God in our quarrels. But they are not always in the right, who are most forward, to appeal to his judgment, and prejudge it against their antagonists.

Verse 5. But O that God would speak] How little feeling, humanity, and charity is there in this prayer!

Verse 5. O that God would speak — Plead with thee according to thy desire: he would soon put thee to silence. We are commonly ready, with great assurance, to interest God in our quarrels. But they are not always in the right who are most forward to appeal to his judgment, and prejudge it against their antagonists.

TRUTH THAT JOB HAD BEEN TREATED MUCH MORE MILDLY THAN HE DESERVED, 2-6. a. Job’s false and boastful assumption of innocence. 2-4.

2. A man full of talk — Literally, a man of lips. A sneer at Job for loquaciousness, or an insinuation, perhaps, that he is insincere, a man of lips rather than of heart. Theocritus called an oration of Anaximenes a river of words with a drop of sense.

V. 6. Secrets-The unsearchable depths of God’s wisdom in dealing with his creatures. Double-That they are far greater (the word double being used indefinitely for manifold, or plentiful) than that which is manifested. The secret wisdom of God is infinitely greater than that which is revealed to us by his word or works: the greatest part of what is known of God, is the least part of those perfections that are in him. And therefore thou dost rashly in judging so harshly of his proceedings with thee, because thou dost not comprehend the reasons of them, and in judging thyself innocent, because thou dost not see thy sins; whereas the all-knowing God sees innumerable sins in thee, for which he may utterly destroy thee.

Verse 6. The secrets of wisdom] All the depths of his own counsels; the heights, lengths, and breadths, of holiness. That they are double to that which is, hyvwt tushiyah, which we translate that which is, is a word frequent in Job and in the Book of Proverbs, and is one of the evidences brought in favour of Solomon as the author of this book. It signifies substance or essence, and is translated by a great variety of terms; enterprise, completeness, substance, the whole constitution, wisdom, law, sound wisdom, solid complete happiness, solidity of reason and truth, the complete total sum, &c., &c. See Taylor’s Hebrew and English Concord., under hvy. In this place the versions are various. Coverdale, following the Vulgate, translates: That he might shewe the (out of his secrite wissdome) how manyfolde his lawe is. The Septuagint, oti diplouv estai twn kata se, that it is double to what it is with thee. Mr. Good translates, “For they are intricacies to INIQUITY.” This is a meaning never before given to hyvwt tushiyah, and a meaning which even his own learned note will not make generally prevalent. Perhaps Zophar is here, in mind, comparing the wisdom which has been revealed with the wisdom not revealed. The perfection and excellence of the Divine nature and the purity of his law, are, in substance and essence, double or manifold to the revelation already made.

Less than thine iniquity deserveth.] Mr. Good translates, And the knowledge hath withdrawn from thee because of thy sins; and represents Zophar as praying that God would reveal to him the secrets of wisdom, and the knowledge which he had withdrawn from him because of his transgressions. That Zophar intends to insinuate that God afflicted Job because of his iniquities, is evident; and that he thought that God had inflicted less chastisement upon him than his sins deserved, is not less so; and that, therefore, Job’s complaining of harsh treatment was not at all well founded.

Verse 6. That he would show thee the secrets of wisdom — The unsearchable depths of his wisdom in dealing with his creatures. That they are double to that which is — That they are far greater (the word double being used indefinitely for manifold, or plentiful) than that which is manifested. The secret wisdom of God is infinitely greater than that which is revealed to us by his word or works: the greatest part of what is known of God is the least part of those perfections that are in him. And therefore thou art rash in judging so harshly of his proceedings with thee, because thou dost not comprehend the reasons of them, and in judging thyself innocent, because thou dost not see thy sins: whereas, the all-knowing God sees innumerable sins in thee, for which he may utterly destroy thee. God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth — Or, as the Hebrew, Ënw[m hvy, jashe magnavoneka, may be rendered, gives, or forgives thee part of thine iniquity; doth not deal with thee according to the full demerit of it, but remits thee a part of the punishment due to thee: which he affirms, on an ungrounded persuasion that Job was an ungodly hypocrite. “Strange presumption, says Dr. Dodd, “thus to pronounce positively upon a point of which he could not possibly be a judge. But it happened here, as usual, that this speaker, who sets out with the greatest heat, is the first whose arguments are spent. For, after this vehement speech, he makes but one reply, and it is over with him.” We may however, so far agree with Zophar, as to allow that when, and so far as the debt of duty is not paid, it belongs to justice to insist on the debt of punishment; and that whatever punishment is inflicted upon us in this world, it is less than our iniquities deserve, and that, therefore, instead of complaining of our troubles, we ought to be thankful that we are out of hell.

Ver. 6. The secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is. The LXX, oti diplouv estai twn kata se, “that it is double what is with thee;” it infinitely transcends the wisdom thou hast displayed, or art acquainted with.

6. The secrets of wisdom — Prof. Lee devotes several pages to showing that the wisdom referred to is Christ, who is called the wisdom of God. This is one of the many instances which commentators upon this book furnish of forced spiritual interpretations. Double to that which is — Michaelis and Dillmann render it, “double to (man’s) wisdom,” that is, God’s wisdom vastly exceeds ours: (Gesenius, p. 704:) others, “because there are complications of his wisdom;” that is, it is complicated, occult, inexplicable, and at the same time varied and infinite. Zockler’s reading is preferable “that it (wisdom) is twofold in true knowledge.” µylpk is dual in form, but used absolutely for manifold — fold upon fold! Compared with God’s, all human wisdom is vain, because one-sided. For the rendering of the difficult word toushiyyah, true knowledge, see Job 5:12 and 12:16. God exacteth of thee, etc. — Literally, God brings into forgetfulness to thee a part of thy fault; (Furst, Dillmann;) God remits to thee of thy guilt. This is evident from the smallness of Job’s sufferings compared with his deserts. God is as infinite in mercy as he is in knowledge. “He forgives more than he punishes.” (Comp. Psalm 103:10.) The truth is a precious one, but as applied to Job it was offensive. Second division, double strophe — THE PERFECTION OF DIVINE WISDOM NECESSITATES

V. 7. Find out-Discover all the depths of his wisdom, and the reasons of his actions?

Verse 7. Canst thou by searching find out God?] What is God? A Being self-existent, eternal, infinite, immense, without bounds, incomprehensible either by mind, or time, or space. Who then can find this Being out? Who can fathom his depths, ascend to his heights, extend to his breadths, and comprehend the infinitude of his perfections?

Verses 7, 8. Canst thou by searching find out God? — That is, discover all the depths of his wisdom, and the reasons of all his actions. It is as high as heaven — Thou canst not measure the heights of the visible heavens, much less of the divine perfections; what canst thou do? — Namely, to find him out. Deeper than hell; what canst thou know? — Concerning him and his ways, which are far out of thy sight and reach. God is unsearchable. The ages of his eternity cannot be numbered, nor the spaces of his immensity measured; the depths of his wisdom cannot be fathomed, nor the extent of his power bounded: the brightness of his glory can never be described, nor the treasures of his goodness counted. This is a good reason why we should always speak of God with humility and caution, and never prescribe to him, or quarrel with his dispensations; why we should be thankful for what he has revealed of himself, and long to be there where we shall see him as he is.

AN IMMEDIATE AND COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HEART, 7-12.

a. God’s wisdom is unsearchable — heaven, hell, earth, and sea may be measured, but this divine wisdom knows no limits, 7-9.

7. By searching find out God — Furst, Zockler in Lange, etc., read, “Canst thou reach the deep things (depths) in God;” but Umbreit, Hit-zig, (die Forschung Gottes erreichen,) Hengstenberg, etc., read substantially as in the A.V. The former interpret rqjh, the depths of God. Compare 1 Corinthians 2:10, ta baqh, the depths of God. The latter translate it, the searching of God, (Eloah,) either of which meanings the word will bear. The most satisfactory reading of the text is that of Delitzsch, Canst thou find out the nature of God — “The hidden ground of God,” (Ewald,) a reading favoured by the Hebraic order of the words. To attribute to hheker the idea of search savours too much of tautology.

Simonides, asked by Hiero what God is, desired a day to deliberate. When questioned the next day, he asked for two more; and after this doubled the days, until Hiero, wondering, again asked for his answer, when he replied, The longer I consider, the more obscure the subject appears to me. And Cicero declares, if asked the same question, he should follow the example of Simonides. — De Nat., i, sec. 22. (Compare Romans 1:19, 20. Meth. Quar. Revelation, 1869, p. 173, and In Memoriam, sec. 123.) Almighty unto perfection — Thus Conant, justified by the parallelism and the accentuation. Others interpret it, “Penetrate to the uttermost parts in the Almighty,” (Dillmann and Zockler,) a harsh reading; “canst thou arrive at the limit of God, “(Wordsworth;) “canst thou reach the perfection of the Almighty,” (Davidson and Hitzig,) both of which are questionable. (See a sermon by Archbishop Tillotson on “The Incomprehensibleness of God.”)

Verse 8. It is as high as heaven] High as the heavens, what canst thou work? Deep below sheol, (the invisible world,) what canst thou know? Long beyond the earth, and broad beyond the sea, is its measure. These are instances in the immensity of created things, and all out of the reach of human power and knowledge; and if these things are so, how incomprehensible must he be, who designed, created, preserves, and governs the whole!

We find the same thought in Milton:—

“These are thy glorious works, Parent of good!

Almighty! Thine this universal frame:

How wondrous fair! Thyself how wondrous then!”

Verses 7, 8. Canst thou by searching find out God? — That is, discover all the depths of his wisdom, and the reasons of all his actions. It is as high as heaven — Thou canst not measure the heights of the visible heavens, much less of the divine perfections; what canst thou do? — Namely, to find him out. Deeper than hell; what canst thou know? — Concerning him and his ways, which are far out of thy sight and reach. God is unsearchable. The ages of his eternity cannot be numbered, nor the spaces of his immensity measured; the depths of his wisdom cannot be fathomed, nor the extent of his power bounded: the brightness of his glory can never be described, nor the treasures of his goodness counted. This is a good reason why we should always speak of God with humility and caution, and never prescribe to him, or quarrel with his dispensations; why we should be thankful for what he has revealed of himself, and long to be there where we shall see him as he is.

8. High as heaven — Literally, the heights of heaven! The wisdom of God towers above the heavens; penetrates beneath the depths of sheol, (the underworld;) in length and breadth it surpasses earth and ocean. The apostle in like manner describes the perfection of love by giving the four dimensions “breadth, length, depth, and height,” (Ephesians 3:18,) the dimensions of a cube, which in the apocalypse stands as the symbol of perfection; Revelation 21:16. “The Pythagoreans represent the divine nature and every kind of perfection and completeness by a square.” — Heyne. The Fathers saw in this description of wisdom the similitude of the cross. Their idea J.F. Meyer thus reproduces: “Its head uplifts itself to the throne of God, and its root reaches down to hell. Its arms stretch from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, and from pole to pole. In it heaven and earth are united, in it appeased.”

Verse 9. The measure thereof is longer than the earth — From one end to the other. And broader than the sea — Called the great and wide sea, Psalm 104:25. It infinitely exceeds the limits of the whole creation. Examine the earth in its utmost dimensions: consider all the beauties and excellences belonging to it. Having done this, compare it with the vast, unbounded wisdom of God, and thou wilt soon be sensible how small and inconsiderable the one will be in proportion to the other. The sea, how wide and broad soever it may seem to be; though, at first view, it may appear to be immeasurable; yet, should you examine it in the scale with the divine perfections, the whole ocean, in its utmost extent, would be only as the drop of a bucket, and the waters thereof such as he could measure in the hollow of his hand.

9. Longer than the earth — Firdusi, Persia’s epic poet, exclaims: “The height and the depth of the whole world have their centre in thee, O my God! I do not know thee, what thou art; but I know that thou art what thou alone canst be.”

b. If consequently such divine wisdom suddenly arrest and irresistibly drag a sinner to judgment, even a witless man must become wise, and though refractory as the foal of an ass, learn subjection and restraint, 10-12.

Job had dwelt on the irresistible power of God; Zophar now assails him with both the wisdom and might of God, and whips him with his own words.

V. 10. Cut off-A person or family. Shut-Its a prison, or in the hands of an enemy. Gather-Whether it pleaseth God to scatter a family, or to gather them together from their dispersions. Hinder-Or, who can contradict him, charge him with injustice in such proceedings?

Verse 10. If he cut off] As he is unlimited and almighty, he cannot be controlled. He will do whatsoever he pleases; and he is pleased with nothing but what is right. Who then will dare to find fault? Perhaps Zophar may refer to Job’s former state, his losses and afflictions. If he cut off, as he has done, thy children; if he shut up, as he has done, thyself by this sore disease; or gather together hostile bands to invade thy territories and carry away thy property; who can hinder him? He is sovereign, and has a right to dispose of his own property as he pleases.

Verse 10. If he cut off — Namely, a person or family; and shut up — In prison, or in the hands of an enemy, or in the net of affliction and trouble, Psalm 66:11. Or gather together — Make our condition strait and narrow, as some interpret it; or, gather together as tares to the fire, or gather to himself man’s breath and spirit, Job 34:14. Then who can hinder him? — From doing what he pleaseth with his creatures? Who can either arrest the sentence, or oppose the execution? Who can control his power or arraign his wisdom and justice? If he, who made all out of nothing, think fit to reduce all to nothing; if he that separated between light and darkness, dry land and sea, at first, please to gather them together again; if he that made, think proper to unmake, wnbyvy ym, mi jeshibennu, who can turn him; alter his mind, or stay his hand, impede or impeach his proceedings?

10. If he cut off, etc. — If he pass by, and arrest and call to judgment, who will restrain Him? (Dillmann, Umbreit, Delitzsch.) Cut off — Pass by. The word hhalaph, to glide by, used also of the spirit in the vision of Eliphaz, Job 4:15, expresses the solemn stillness of the Divine Spirit as he moves among men, arresting this one and that one, and calling them to their final account. Not only in this word hhalaph, but in the whole verse, there is an evident, perhaps ironical, reproducing of Job, (Job 9:11, 12,) who is there the assailant of God’s justice, but now its presumable victim. Gather together — lhq, is used for the calling together of the people to take part in a trial, and in the inflicting of judgment. The ancient trials were in public.

V. 11. Knoweth-Though men know but little of God, yet God knows man exactly. He knoweth that every man in the world is guilty of much vanity and folly, and therefore seeth sufficient reason for his severity against the best men. Wickedness-He perceiveth the wickedness of evil men, though it be covered with the veil of religion. Consider-Shall he only see it as an idle spectator, and not observe it as a judge to punish it?

Verse 11. He knoweth vain men] awv ytm methey shau, “men of falsehood.”

He seeth wickedness] He sees as well what is in man, as what man does; and of his actions and propensities he cannot be an indifferent spectator.

Verse 11. For he knoweth vain men — Though men know but little of God, and therefore are very unfit judges of his counsels and actions, yet God knows man exactly. He knoweth that every man in the world is guilty of much vanity and folly, and therefore seeth sufficient reason for his severity against the best men. He seeth wickedness also — He perceiveth the wickedness of evil men, though it be covered with the veil of religion. Will he not then consider — Shall he only see it as an idle spectator, and not observe it as a judge to punish it?

11. Will he not then consider it — Literally, Even though he does not fix his mind upon it. (Gesenius, Hitzel, Dillmann.) He hath no need that he should consider for a long time, (Aben Ezra.) He sees wickedness at a glance — nay more, it is a necessity of his being that he should perceive all wickedness, whether of the overt act or of the most secret subtle thought. Man’s most hidden deeds and God’s knowledge of them are simultaneous.

V. 12. Man-That since the fall is void of all true wisdom, pretends to be wise, and able to pass a censure upon all God’s ways and works. Colt-Ignorant, and dull, and stupid, as to divine things, and yet heady and untractable.

Verse 12. For vain man would be wise] The original is difficult and uncertain,bwbn vyaw bbly veish nabub yillabeb, “And shall the hollow man assume courage,” or “pride himself?” Or, as Mr. Good rather paraphrases it, Will he then accept the hollow-hearted person? The Chaldee gives two renderings: An eloquent man shall become wiser in his heart, and the colt of the wild ass is born as the son of man. Or, The wise man shall ponder it; and the refractory youth, who at last becomes prudent, shall make a great man. Coverdale.—A vayne body exalteth him self; and the son of man is like a wylde asse’s foale. Houbigant translates thus:—A man who hath understanding will become prudent; but he who is as the wild ass hath no heart, i.e., sense. According to this critic, the meaning is this:—A man of sense, should he at any time transgress, will learn wisdom from it; but a man of a brutish mind, uncultivated and unreflecting, will plunge yet deeper into iniquity.

Though man be born like a wild ass’s colt] Is translated by Mr. Good, Or shall the wild ass colt assume the man? This is making a sense, but such as I fear the original will never allow. There is no end to the translations of this verse, and conjectures relative to its meaning. I shall conclude with the Vulgate.—Vir vanus in superbiam erigitur, et tanquam pullum onagri se liberum natum putat, “Vain man is puffed up with pride; and he supposes himself to be born free like the wild ass’s colt.” Man is full of self-conceit; and imagines himself born to act as he pleases, to roam at large, to be under no control, and to be accountable to none for his actions.

Verse 12. For, or, yet, vain man would be wise — Man, who since the fall is void of all true wisdom, pretends to be wise, and able to pass a censure upon all God’s ways and works. Born like a wild ass’s colt — Ignorant, and dull, and stupid, as to divine things, and yet heady and untractable. Such is man by his birth; this evil is now natural and hereditary, and therefore common to all men: of consequence it is not strange, if Job partake of the common distemper.

Ver. 12. Vain man would be wise. Ergo vir fungosus corde induatur. Schultens. Then man is elated with vanity of heart, though born like the ass’s colt, in all his efforts to justify himself before the Almighty. The Vulgate reads, Vir vanus in superbiam erigitur, et tanquam pullum onagri se liberum natum putat. “Vain man is elated with pride, and thinks himself born free as the wild ass’s colt;” that is, proud and self-sufficient, he asserts a haughty independence, and forgets his responsibility to God.

12. For — And or so. The transition of thought is, according to Hirtzel, “Over against this infinite knowledge of God man appears as a born fool.” Its drift, rather, is to show the effect of the divine arraignment upon men — meaning Job — who shows himself so ready to refer his case to God. This verse contains several ambiguous words, and has given rise to a great variety of interpretations. Thus Gesenius, Olshausen, and others: “But empty man is devoid of understanding, and (like) the foal of an ass man is born.” Others interpret it: “Before an empty man will become wise, a wild ass would be born a man.” (Oehler, Delitzsch.) Others yet, (Schultens and Dathe:) “Let, then, vain man be wise, and the wild ass’s colt become a man.” The rendering of most moderns approaches that of our translators, though with a modified sense. So would a witless man become wise, and a wild ass’s foal be born a man. In other words, were God to summon him before his tribunal, the most senseless man must get understanding, and the wildest and most stubborn sinner (here compared to a wild ass) become a man. “We have here,” says Hengstenberg, “the first passage of Scripture which speaks of a regeneration.” In the expressions, naboub, “hollow” (headed,) and yillabeb, “get wisdom,” (literally, heart,) there is, as Hitzig has remarked, a play on Job’s name, Iyyob, a personality which Job appreciates. See note on Job 12:3. “The void in his head is to be filled up, as it were, by a new heart.” Vain man — bwbn, hollow-headed. The word is used of a pillar. Jeremiah 52:21. Wild ass’s colt — This is evidently a proverbial expression, and as such is still used by the Arabs, who employ the terms, “an ass of the desert,” or “wild ass,” to describe an obstinate, indocile, and contumacious person. — KITTO, Pictorial Bible. “A young wild ass is the wildest and roughest of creatures.” — Wetzstein. Among classic writers Oppian describes the ass as “swift, rapid, with strong hoofs, and most fleet in his course.” Thus Confucius: “The Master said, Men all say, ‘We are wise;’ but being driven forward and taken in a net, a trap, or a pitfall, they know not how to escape. Men all say, ‘We are wise,’ but happening to choose the course of the mean, they are not able to keep it for a round month.” — The Doctrine of the Mean, section 7. Plato introduces the poets as “mentioning man’s predisposition to vice, and saying: —

How vice at once and easily we choose,

The way so smooth, its dwelling, too, so nigh!

Toil before virtue, thus forewilled the gods.”

— Republic, ii, chap. 7.

Third division, in three strophes: AN EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE AND NEWNESS OF

V. 13. Heart-To seek God; turning thy bold contentions with God into humble supplications.

Verse 13. If thou prepare thine heart] Make use of the powers which God has given thee, and be determined to seek him with all thy soul. And stretch out thine hands toward him] Making fervent prayer and supplication, putting away iniquity out of thy hand, and not permitting wickedness to dwell in thy tabernacle; then thou shalt lift up thy face without a blush, thou wilt become established, and have nothing to fear, Job 11:14, 15.

There is a sentiment in Proverbs 16:1, very similar to that in the 13th verse, which we translate very improperly:—

bl מערכי לאדם leadam maarchey leb.

To man are the preparations of the heart:

לשונ מענה hwhmw umeyehovah maaneh lashon.

But from Jehovah is the answer to the tongue.

It is man’s duty to pray; it is God’s prerogative to answer. Zophar, like all the rest, is true to his principle. Job must be a wicked man, else he had not been afflicted. There must be some iniquity in his hand, and some wickedness tolerated in his family. So they all supposed.

Verse 13. If thou prepare thy heart — Thy business, O Job, is not to quarrel with thy Maker, or his works; but to address thyself to him by prayer and supplication, sincerely repenting of all thy hard speeches, and other sins against God, and seeking him with a pure and upright heart; without which thy prayers will be in vain.

LIFE, 13-20.

a. Repentance toward God, and the putting away of sin, are the conditions of spiritual confidence and security, 13-15.

13. Prepare… heart — Zophar has just spoken (verse 12) of “getting a heart,” (becoming wise,) but this is not to be secured without the putting forth of effort. As if the pointed reference were not enough, the emphatic thou defines whom he meant by the cruel taunt of the preceding verse. And stretch… thine hands — The stretching out of the hands toward heaven in prayer was a very ancient and appropriate mode of worship. It symbolized an earnestness of desire that would not be satisfied with folded arms or hands, but that stretched them forth toward heaven as far as possible, as if it would drag a blessing down. Or, as Witsius, (on prayer, page 93,) suggests, it may denote sincerity, the attribute being that of one who would lay open what was hid. Or it may indicate hope, which relinquishes every other object and turns to God.

Verse 14. If iniquity be in thy hand — If thou hast in thy hand, or possession, any goods gotten by injustice or oppression, as it seems they supposed he had; or, he means, more generally, if thou allowest thyself in any sinful practices, the hand being put for action, whereof it is the instrument; put it far away — Keep thyself at a great distance, not only from such actions, but also from the very occasions and appearances of them. Let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles — That is, in thy habitation, either in thyself or in thy family; whose sins Job was obliged, as far as he could, to prevent or reform, as it seems he had done, Job 1:5. He saith, tabernacles, because anciently the habitations of great men consisted of several tents or tabernacles.

14. Tabernacles — The word tent, in course of time, was used for dwellings of any kind. It is quite certain that Job dwelt in the country. See Job 29:7.

V. 15. Lift up-Which denotes chearfulness, and holy boldness. Without spot-Having a clear and unspotted conscience. Steadfast-Shall have a strong and comfortable assurance of God’s favour.

Verse 15. For then shalt thou lift up thy face — With cheerfulness and holy boldness. Without spot — Having a clear and unspotted conscience. Yea, thou shalt be steadfast — Shalt have a strong and comfortable assurance of God’s favour, and shalt be settled, without any fear of losing thy happiness.

15. Lift up thy face — He refers to Job’s remark, (Job 10:15,) “I will not lift up my head.” Without spot — µwmm. The Septuagint gives the sentence: “For thus shall thy countenance shine again as pure water.” In the Arabic the word is applied to fever spots and marks of cutaneous disease. There is, apparently, a cruel allusion to the effects of Job’s disease upon his countenance. Steadfast — The word in the original is used of metal that has been melted and consolidated.

b. Then the sorrows of the present shall be forgotten in the brightness of future life, 16, 17.

V. 16. As waters-Thou shalt remember it no more, than men remember a land-flood, which as it comes, so it goes away suddenly.

Verse 16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery] Thou shalt have such long and complete rest, that thou shalt scarcely remember thy labour. As waters that pass away] Like as the mountain floods, which sweep every thing before them, houses, tents, cattle, and the produce of the field, and are speedily absorbed by the sandy plains over which they run, so shalt thou remember thy sufferings: they were wasting and ruinous for the time, but were soon over and gone.

Verse 16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery — Thy happiness shall be so great that it shall blot out the remembrance of thy past miseries; and remember it as waters that pass away — Thou shalt remember it no more than men remember either a land-flood, which, as it comes, so it goes away suddenly, and leaves few or no marks or memorials behind it; or the waters of a river, which pass by in constant succession.

16. Waters that pass away — He probably alluded to Job’s figure, (Job 6:15-17.) His grief, now so tumultuous, shall subside as completely as the waters of the mountain torrents. Of the wadies, or beds of such torrents, which are perfectly dry in the summer, Wilson, in his Lands of the Bible, enumerates eighty-five; while Ritter in his Geography speaks of as many as two hundred. Note Job 6:16. The figure is strikingly appropriate. Affliction is not like the river that flows on forever, but is like a torrent that rages for a brief winter day, and vanishes with the rising of the summer sun. God’s love has ordained that “the excess of grief makes it soon mortal.” But we are not to forget the law of the human mind, that leads it to take pleasure in remembering sorrows when they have once gone beyond the power of return. The joys of heaven will be heightened by the remembrance of life’s troubles, and the retrospective vision will be none the less bright that we can still see the rivers through which we have passed, (Isaiah 43:2,) though they be but dim lines in the distant vista. A few lines in the spectrum suffice to tell the make of clouds and storms as they still sweep over the surface of the sun. Thus shall the clouds and storms of life appear when once we have entered our heavenly home.

V. 17. Shine-Light in scripture commonly signifies prosperity and glory. Thy comfort, like the morning-light shall shine brighter and brighter, until the perfect day.

Verse 17. Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday] The rest of thy life shall be unclouded prosperity.

Thou shalt shine forth] Thou shalt be in this unclouded state, as the sun in the firmament of heaven, giving light and heat to all around thee. Thou shalt be as the morning.] Thus the sun of thy prosperity shall arise, and shine more and more unto the perfect day. This is the image which the sacred writer employs, and it is correct and elegant.

Verse 17. And thine age shall be clearer than the noon-day — The remainder of thy life in this world shall be more glorious than the sun at noon. Hebrew, µyqy, jakum, shall arise above the noon-day, or above the sun at noon-day, when it is at its greatest height, as well as in its greatest glory. Thou shalt shine forth — Thy light shall arise out of obscurity, and thou shalt be prosperous and happy; thou shalt be as the morning — Thy night of trouble shall certainly and speedily be followed with the morning of deliverance and comfort, which, like the morning light, shall shine brighter and brighter till the perfect day. Light, in the Scripture, commonly signifies prosperity and glory.

Ver. 17. Thine age shall be clearer than the noon-day. Nothing can exceed the pleasures felt in the contemplation of a countenance full of days, full of wisdom, and full of grace. Such, no doubt, were the aspects of Job, after his restoration.

17. Thine age, etc. — Brighter than the noonday shall thy life arise. dlj, life, human life, because it glides so swiftly away. (Thus Gesenius, 474.) Thou shalt shine forth, etc. — Rather, (Thy) darkness shall be as the morning. “If there be any dark shade it shall be only that of the morning twilight.” Though Job’s darkness shall have been like the inconsolable gloom of sheol, with which his speech had closed: even this shall be like the morning — serene and hopeful. “Job’s climax in Job 10:22, was that his daylight should be as darkness; Zophar’s promise is, that his darkness shall be daylight.” — DAVIDSON.

e. Beneath this noontide glory Job shall dwell with ever-increasing honour, secure against any dark forebodings of ill, 18-20.

V. 18. Secure-Thy mind shall be quiet and free from terrors, because thou shalt have a firm and well-grounded confidence in God. Dig-Either to fix thy tents, which after the manner of the Arabians were removed from place to place: or to plough the ground, as he had done, Job 1:14, or to make a fence about thy dwelling.

Verse 18. And thou shalt be secure] Thou shalt not fear any farther evils to disturb thy prosperity, for thou shalt have a well-grounded hope and confidence that thou shalt no more be visited by adversity. Yea, thou shalt dig] I believe this neither refers to digging his grave, nor to curiously investigating surrounding circumstances; but to the custom of digging for water in the places where they pitched their tents. It was a matter of high importance in Asiatic countries to find good wells of wholesome water; and they were frequently causes of contention among neighbouring chiefs, who sometimes stopped them up, and at other times seized them as their own. Through envy of Isaac’s prosperity the Philistines stopped up all the wells which Abraham had digged, Genesis 26:12-16. And we find the herdsmen of Gerar contending with Isaac’s servants about the wells which the latter had digged; so that they were obliged to abandon two of the chief of them, and remove to a distance in order to dig and find quiet possession. See Genesis 31:17-22. Zophar, in reference to all these sorts of contentions and petty wars about wells and springs, tells Job that in the state of prosperity to which he shall be brought by the good providence of God, he shall dig—find wells of living water; none shall contend with him; and he shall rest in safety, all the neighbouring chieftains cultivating friendship with him; see on Job 5:23, 24; and that this is the meaning of the passage the following verse shows: Thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee. Thou shalt be in perfect security; no enemy shall molest thee, and many shall seek thy friendship.

Verses 18, 19. Thou shalt be secure, because there is hope — Thy mind shall be quiet and free from terrors, because thou shalt have a firm and well-grounded confidence in God. Thou shalt dig — Either to fix thy tents, which, after the manner of the Arabians, were removed from place to place; or, to plough thy ground, as he had done, Job 1:14, or to make a fence about thy dwelling Thou shalt take thy rest in safety — Free from dangers and the fear of them; because of God’s fatherly providence watching over thee, when thou canst not watch over thyself. And none shall make thee afraid — Thou shalt be in perfect peace, and none shall disquiet thee; yea, many shall make suit unto thee — Desiring thy favour and friendship, because of thy great power and riches, and eminent felicity.

Ver. 18. Thou shalt be secure from the wild beasts, and invading foes. Two grand promises to patriarchs in ancient times.—Thou shalt dig; that is, prepare thy sepulchre in the assurance of hope. So all the fathers, and our Bede interpret this text. It cannot mean the low idea of digging wells for cattle; of wells he had an ample supply.

18. Dig about thee — rpj, “search about,” (Ewald, Dillmann, etc.,) to see that all is right — an uncalled-for weakening of the sense. Rosenmuller, etc., give it the sense of “being ashamed;” many others retain its ordinary meaning of dig, (Job 3:21;) for instance, “the fields,” (Furst,) or, “a well,” (Dr. A. Clarke.) Our translators had the true sense of digging for protection. Thus Hengstenberg.

Verses 18, 19. Thou shalt be secure, because there is hope — Thy mind shall be quiet and free from terrors, because thou shalt have a firm and well-grounded confidence in God. Thou shalt dig — Either to fix thy tents, which, after the manner of the Arabians, were removed from place to place; or, to plough thy ground, as he had done, Job 1:14, or to make a fence about thy dwelling Thou shalt take thy rest in safety — Free from dangers and the fear of them; because of God’s fatherly providence watching over thee, when thou canst not watch over thyself. And none shall make thee afraid — Thou shalt be in perfect peace, and none shall disquiet thee; yea, many shall make suit unto thee — Desiring thy favour and friendship, because of thy great power and riches, and eminent felicity.

19. Lie down — The image is Oriental, and is derived from flocks or herds in a state of repose. (Psalm 23:2.) Make suit unto thee — Literally, stroke thy face, that is, caress thee; (Proverbs 19:6;) hence, to entreat the favour of one. It is commonly used of the worship of God, and besides, only of the respect paid to men high in position.

V. 20. Fail-Either with grief and tears for their sore calamities: or with long looking for what they shall never attain. Their hope-They shall never obtain deliverance out of their distresses, but shall perish in them. Ghost-Shall be as vain and desperate as the hope of life is in a man, when he is at the very point of death.

Verse 20. The eyes of the wicked shall fail] They shall be continually looking out for help and deliverance; but their expectation shall be cut off. And they shall not escape] They shall receive the punishment due to their deserts; for God has his eye continually upon them. מנהם אבד swnmw umanos abad minnehem, literally, “And escape perishes from them.” Flight from impending destruction is impossible.

And their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.] cpn jpm µtwqtw vethikratham mappach naphesh, “And their hope an exhalation of breath,” or a mere wish of the mind. They retain their hope to the last; and the last breath they breathe is the final and eternal termination of their hope. They give up their hope and their ghost together; for a vain hope cannot enter into that place where shadow and representation exist not; all being substance and reality. And thus endeth Zophar the Naamathite; whose premises were in general good, his conclusions legitimate, but his application of them to Job’s case totally erroneous; because he still proceeded on the ground that Job was a wicked man, if not ostensibly, yet secretly; and that the sufferings he was undergoing were the means by which God was unmasking him to the view of men.

But, allowing that Job had been a bad man, the exhortations of Zophar were well calculated to enforce repentance and excite confidence in the Divine mercy. Zophar seems to have had a full conviction of the all-governing providence of God; and that those who served him with an honest and upright heart would be ever distinguished in the distribution of temporal good. He seems however to think that rewards and punishments were distributed in this life, and does not refer, at least very evidently, to a future state. Probably his information on subjects of divinity did not extend much beyond the grave; and we have much cause to thank God for a clearer dispensation. Deus nobis haec otia fecit. God grant that we may make a good use of it!

JOB

Verse 20. The eyes of the wicked shall fail — Either through grief and tears for their sore calamities, or with long looking for what they shall never attain. Failing of the eyes is one of those expressions in Scripture to be admired for its beauteous simplicity. It represents a very eager and passionate desire to obtain that which we are in pursuit of: and, at the same time, the great uneasiness which must unavoidably follow from a disappointment. One of the appeals which Job makes, in vindication of his integrity, is, that he had not caused the eyes of the widow to fail, chap. 31:16; that he had not frustrated her expectations when she applied to him for relief and assistance in her distress. The psalmist writes, Mine eyes fail while I wait for my God, Psalm 69:3. They shall not escape — Hebrew, dba cwnm, manos abad, flight perishes from them, or safety leaves them. This is another of those elegant Scripture phrases which suggests to us the strongest efforts made by a guilty person to escape punishment; but fainting and sinking by the way, through fatigue and weariness, and failing of attaining his purpose. The Prophet Jeremiah uses the same phraseology with regard to the shepherds, or principal men among the Jews, Job 25:35; which is literally, Flight shall perish from the shepherds. Compare Amos 2:14, where the exact and literal translation of the Hebrew is given: Flight shall perish from the swift. Their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost — Shall be as vain and desperate as the hope of life is in a man when he is at the very point of death. Shall be as a puff of breath, as the margin reads it; gone in a moment without any hope of recovery. Or their hope shall perish, as a man doth with respect to this world, when he gives up the ghost; it will fail them when they have most need of it; and, when they expected the accomplishment of it, it will die away and leave them in utter confusion.

20. They shall not escape — Refuge vanishes from them. Like “the fleeing shores of Italy,” it is in sight, but never reached. The giving up of the ghost — Or, The breathing forth of life. The downfall of the wicked is beyond recovery. Zophar seems to advert to Job’s ardent desire for death, (Job 6:9;) as if he would say, thus the wicked die; and thus, without repentance, Job will die. The sting of the scorpion was in the tail, Revelation 9:10; the last words of this address are tipped with a sting; its climax of bitterness is now reached. “Eliphaz barely appended a slight warning; Bildad briefly blends it with his promise by way of contrast; Zophar adds a verse which already looks like the advanced picket of an army of similar harsh menacers in chaps. 15, 18, 20.” — Ewald.