Job · Chapter 31

V. 1. I made-So far have I been from any gross wickedness, that I have abstained from the least occasions and appearances of evil.

Verse 1. I made a covenant with mine eyes] לעיני כרתי ברית berith carats leeynai: “I have cut” or divided “the covenant sacrifice with my eyes.” My conscience and my eyes are the contracting parties; God is the Judge; and I am therefore bound not to look upon any thing with a delighted or covetous eye, by which my conscience may be defiled, or my God dishonoured.

Why then should I think upon a maid?] hlwtb l[ אתבונן ומה umah ethbonen al bethulah. And why should I set myself to contemplate, or think upon, Bethulah? That Bethulah may here signify an idol, is very likely. Sanchoniatho observes, that Ouranos first introduced Baithulia when he erected animated stones, or rather, as Bochart observes, ANOINTED stones, which became representatives of some deity. I suppose that Job purges himself here from this species of idolatry. Probably the Baithulia were at first emblems only of the tabernacle; hwla tyb beith Eloah, “the house of God;” or of that pillar set up by Jacob, Genesis 28:18, which he called אלהים בית beith Elohim, or Bethalim; for idolatry always supposes a pure and holy worship, of which it is the counterfeit. For more on the subject of the Baithulia, see Clarke’s notes on “Genesis 28:19”.

Verse 1. I made a covenant with mine eyes, &c. — So far have I been from any gross wickedness, that I have abstained from the least occasions and appearances of evil. It was possible Job’s friends might make quite another use than he intended of the relation which he had made of his miserable condition in the foregoing chapter. And, therefore, lest it should confirm them in their old error, and they should take what he had said to be an argument of his guilt, he gives, in this chapter, a large and particular account of his integrity, which, in general, he had so often asserted; laying his very soul, and the most secret inclinations of it, open before them; together with the actions of his whole life in his private capacity, (for of his public he had spoken before, chap. 29.,) both in respect of his neighbours of all sorts, and in respect of God, to whom he again most solemnly appeals, in the conclusion of this discourse, for the truth of what he here asserts. Why then should I think upon a maid? — This is generally understood to mean the great care and circumspection which Job had used to avoid all temptations and occasions of sin; and he subjoins, in the following verses, the very high and reasonable motives which had urged him, and should urge every man, to such a circumspection; namely, to avoid destruction, the sure consequence of it. Which is a further proof that his prospects were to another life; for, had he spoken of a temporal destruction, it would have been the very thing which his antagonists had repeated over and over to him, and had urged as an argument of his guilt that he was thus miserably destroyed. When Job, therefore, says the same thing, namely, that a sure destruction attends the wicked; it is their portion, an inheritance from God; it is plain he must understand it in another sense than his antagonists did; namely, of their final retribution in a future state. See Peters, and the note on verses 13, 23.

Verse 1. A maid. The LXX, followed by the Chaldaic, read virgin; but our English version has the most ancient support. Job was pure and spotless in conversation with women. He abhorred seduction, and all its associate crimes. Genesis 34.

1. With mine eyes — The eyes, says a Talmudic proverb, are “the procuresses of evil.” So intimately is this most delicate and precious of the senses related to the soul, that Pliny said of the mind. “it certainly dwells in the eyes.” Here the eye is singled out as a representative sense, as if he who had the mastery of this were lord of all. Job has “made a covenant” to (l) or for his eyes — prescribed limitations with all the form and solemnity of a covenant, which, through the divine strength of grace, he has determined they shall not transgress. Why then should I think — How then should I look, or gaze, look wistfully upon, ˆnwbta. Thus translated, there is a striking resemblance in this question to the saying of Christ, (Matthew 5:28.) At a time when polygamy or some other form of concubinage almost universally prevailed, Job stands conspicuously forth as a high-toned moralist, who looked upon chastity of the heart as no less important than chastity of the life.

V. 2. For-What recompence may be expected from God for those who do otherwise. Above-How secretly soever unchaste persons carry the matter, so that men cannot reprove them, yet there is one who stands upon an higher place, whence he seeth in what manner they act.

Verse 2. For what portion of God is there from above?] Though I have not, in this or in any other respect, wickedly departed from God, yet what reward have I received?

Verse 2. For what portion of God is there, &c. — What recompense may be expected from God for those who do otherwise? From above — How secretly soever unchaste persons carry the matter, so that men cannot reprove them, yet there is one who stands upon a higher place, whence he seeth in what manner they act.

2. What portion of God — In the sense of retribution. These questions are answered by the questions of verses three and four.

Verse 3. Is not destruction to the wicked] If I had been guilty of such secret hypocritical proceedings, professing faith in the true God while in eye and heart an idolater, would not such a worker of iniquity be distinguished by a strange and unheard-of punishment?

Verses 3, 4. Is not destruction to the wicked? — Destruction is their portion. And a strange punishment — Some extraordinary and dreadful judgment, which of right belongs to them. Hebrew, rknw, venecher, an alienation, or estrangement, namely, from God and his favour: had I been such a one, I neither should nor could have expected any kindness or mercy from God in a future world, as now I do. Doth not he see my ways? — That is, all my counsels and courses. This was another reason why he was so circumspect and exact in restraining his thoughts, and senses, and whole man from sinful practices, because he knew that God would discern them, and therefore punish them, as he said, verse 3.

3. A strange punishment — rkn. The word bears a similar meaning in the Arabic. Thus Mohammed: “He shall visit him with a strange, (nukran,) or awful, penalty.” The punishment of such “workers of iniquity” is strange, extraordinary. The diseases and the remorse that spring from a life of licentiousness are markedly exceptional, and argue peculiar punishment in the next life.

b. Job’s first protestation is, that he has not practiced deceit, nor acted on dishonest principles, nor departed from the way of chastity, (as indicated in verse 1,) a specification which prepares the way for the next protestation, 5-8.

Verse 4. Doth not he see my ways] Can I suppose that I could screen myself from the eye of God while guilty of such iniquities?

Verses 3, 4. Is not destruction to the wicked? — Destruction is their portion. And a strange punishment — Some extraordinary and dreadful judgment, which of right belongs to them. Hebrew, rknw, venecher, an alienation, or estrangement, namely, from God and his favour: had I been such a one, I neither should nor could have expected any kindness or mercy from God in a future world, as now I do. Doth not he see my ways? — That is, all my counsels and courses. This was another reason why he was so circumspect and exact in restraining his thoughts, and senses, and whole man from sinful practices, because he knew that God would discern them, and therefore punish them, as he said, verse 3.

V. 5. Walked-Dealt with men. Vanity-With lying, or falsehood. Deceit-If when I had an opportunity of enriching myself, by wronging others, I have readily and greedily complied with It.

Verse 5. If I have walked with vanity] If I have been guilty of idolatry, or the worshipping of a false god: for thus wav shau, which we here translate vanity, is used Jeremiah 18:15; (compare with Psalm 31:6; Hosea 12:11; and Jonah 2:9,) and it seems evident that the whole of Job’s discourse here is a vindication of himself from all idolatrous dispositions and practices.

Verses 5, 6. If I have walked with vanity — Conversed in the world, or dealt with men, with lying, falsehood, or hypocrisy, as the word vanity is often used; or if my foot hath hasted to deceit — If, when I had an opportunity of enriching myself by wronging others, I have readily and greedily complied with it. Let me be weighed, &c. — I desire nothing more than to have my heart and life weighed in just balances, and searched out by the all-seeing God. That God may know — Or, and he will know (upon search he will find out: which is spoken of God after the manner of men) mine integrity — So this is an appeal to God to be witness of his sincerity.

5. If — The usual form of oaths. See note on Job 27:2, 4, and 5. He means to attest his innocence under the most solemn sanctions. Vanity — The prime meaning of the Hebrew is, falsity. A sad companionship is that of a false, hollow, hypocritical nature; such every corrupt man must “walk with.”

V. 6. Let me-I desire nothing more than to have my heart and life weighed in just balances, and searched out by the all-seeing God. That God-Or, and he will know; (upon search he will find out: which is spoken of God after the manner of men:) Mine integrity-So this is an appeal to God to be witness of his sincerity.

Verse 6. Mine integrity.] ytmt tummathi, my perfection; the totality of my unblameable life.

Verses 5, 6. If I have walked with vanity — Conversed in the world, or dealt with men, with lying, falsehood, or hypocrisy, as the word vanity is often used; or if my foot hath hasted to deceit — If, when I had an opportunity of enriching myself by wronging others, I have readily and greedily complied with it. Let me be weighed, &c. — I desire nothing more than to have my heart and life weighed in just balances, and searched out by the all-seeing God. That God may know — Or, and he will know (upon search he will find out: which is spoken of God after the manner of men) mine integrity — So this is an appeal to God to be witness of his sincerity.

6. Let me be weighed, etc. — Literally, let him weigh me in a balance of righteousness, and God shall know mine integrity. Balance — See note, Job 6:2. According to the Egyptian mythology, when the soul appears before Osiris it is weighed in a balance. A series of questions (amounting to as many as forty-two) are proposed, of the most severe and searching character, which “illustrate the nature of that secret and self-judging law which everywhere, in spite of intellectual aberrations, is still active in the cause of truth and righteousness, among the inmost fibres of the human heart.” — HARDWICK. (See his work, “Christ,” etc., 2:301-303; also Bib. Sac., 25:97-103.)

In this picture, taken from Champollion, the good deeds of an entire life, supposed to have been deposited in a vase, are being weighed in the one scale; while an ostrich feather, the emblem of truth or justice, serves as a weight in the other. A report of the issue is in process of reading to Osiris, before whom sits the dog Cerberus, the keeper of the gates of the invisible world. The trial has evidently gone against the dead man, who is being ferried back to earth in the form of a hog under the guidance of a monkey.

V. 7. Heart-If I have let my heart loose to covet forbidden things, which mine eyes have seen: commonly sin enters by the eye into the heart. A blot-Any unjust gain.

Verse 7. If my step hath turned out of the way] I am willing to be sifted to the uttermost-for every step of my foot, for every thought of my heart, for every look of mine eye, and for every act of my hands.

Verses 7, 8. If my step hath turned out of the way — If I have knowingly and willingly swerved from the way of truth and justice, which God hath prescribed to me; and my heart walked after mine eyes — A strong and beautiful expression, signifying, if my eyes have seduced my heart. If I have let my heart loose to desire forbidden objects, which my eyes have seen. Commonly sin enters by the eye into the heart: thus David, letting his heart walk after his eyes, was led into the sin, first, of adultery, and then, of murder. How careful then ought we to be, how deeply should this be fixed in our minds, not to let our heart walk after our eyes. It is a maxim which deserves to be written, we will not say in letters of gold, but, what is of more importance, on the table of every heart! And if any blot hath cleaved to my hands — Any unjust gain. If I have had or have in my hands, or possession, any goods, gotten from others by fraud or violence, which would be a great scandal and a blot to my reputation: Then let me sow, and let another eat — Let strangers enjoy the fruit of my labours. Yea, let my offspring be rooted out — Or, rather, my increase; all my plants, and fruits, and improvements, as the word yaxax, tzeetzaai, properly signifies. Indeed, Job had not now any children to be rooted out.

7. The way — Used figuratively for the law of God. Mine heart — bl here, as in many other places, denotes the will or active reason, rather than the mere feeling. It is what Socrates calls the reversal, or turning upside down, or wrong end foremost, of human nature, indicating a dire catastrophe; the reason following the sense, and submitting to the sense instead of controlling it. (Tayler Lewis.) Mine eyes — As in verse 1. Blot — See the gloss of Elihu upon Job’s self-righteousness, Job 33:9.

V. 8. Increase-All my plants, and fruits, and improvements.

Verse 8. Let me sow, and let another eat] Let me be plagued both in my circumstances and in my family.

My offspring be rooted out.] It has already appeared probable that all Job’s children were not destroyed in the fall of the house mentioned Job 1:18, 19.

Verses 7, 8. If my step hath turned out of the way — If I have knowingly and willingly swerved from the way of truth and justice, which God hath prescribed to me; and my heart walked after mine eyes — A strong and beautiful expression, signifying, if my eyes have seduced my heart. If I have let my heart loose to desire forbidden objects, which my eyes have seen. Commonly sin enters by the eye into the heart: thus David, letting his heart walk after his eyes, was led into the sin, first, of adultery, and then, of murder. How careful then ought we to be, how deeply should this be fixed in our minds, not to let our heart walk after our eyes. It is a maxim which deserves to be written, we will not say in letters of gold, but, what is of more importance, on the table of every heart! And if any blot hath cleaved to my hands — Any unjust gain. If I have had or have in my hands, or possession, any goods, gotten from others by fraud or violence, which would be a great scandal and a blot to my reputation: Then let me sow, and let another eat — Let strangers enjoy the fruit of my labours. Yea, let my offspring be rooted out — Or, rather, my increase; all my plants, and fruits, and improvements, as the word yaxax, tzeetzaai, properly signifies. Indeed, Job had not now any children to be rooted out.

8. Let me sow, etc. — A proverbial phrase. See John 4:37. Offspring — Produce of the land.

Second strophe — Job affirms that he has practised righteousness in all the relationships of DOMESTIC life; and at the same time protests, first, with contempt and detestation, that he had never been be-fooled by a woman, and thus led away into adultery; and again, that he had never despised the cause of his servant, whose rights were co-equal with his own in the sight of God, 9-15.

Verse 9. If mine heart have been deceived by a woman] The Septuagint add, androv eterou, another man’s wife.

Verses 9, 10. If my heart have been deceived by a woman — Namely, by a strange woman, or rather, by my neighbour’s wife, as the next words limit the clause; for of a maid he had spoken before. If I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door — Watching for his absence, or some fair opportunity to enter his house and defile his bed. Then let my wife grind unto another — Let another take away my wife from me, make her the vilest slave, and use her at his pleasure. Not as if Job desired this, but that if God should give up his wife to such wickedness, he would acknowledge his justice in it.

9. Deceived — Enticed or befooled. At the root of the Hebrew lies the idea of simplicity. Compare ver. 27; Proverbs 7:7; 9:4. He now declares himself guiltless of adultery, as he had before of fornication, (verse 1.)

V. 10. Then-Not as if Job desired this; but that if God should give up his wife to such wickedness, he should acknowledge his justice in it.

Verse 10. Let my wife grind unto another] Let her work at the handmill, grinding corn; which was the severe work of the meanest slave. In this sense the passage is understood both by the Syriac and Arabic. See Exodus 11:5, and Isaiah 47:2; and see at the end of the chapter. See Clarke “Job 31:40”.

And let others bow down upon her.] Let her be in such a state as to have no command of her own person; her owner disposing of her person as he pleases. In Asiatic countries slaves were considered so absolutely the property of their owners, that they not only served themselves of them in the way of scortation and concubinage, but they were accustomed to accommodate their guests with them! Job is so conscious of his own innocence, that he is willing it should be put to the utmost proof; and if found guilty, that he may be exposed to the most distressing and humiliating punishment; even to that of being deprived of his goods, bereaved of his children, his wife made a slave, and subjected to all indignities in that state.

Verses 9, 10. If my heart have been deceived by a woman — Namely, by a strange woman, or rather, by my neighbour’s wife, as the next words limit the clause; for of a maid he had spoken before. If I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door — Watching for his absence, or some fair opportunity to enter his house and defile his bed. Then let my wife grind unto another — Let another take away my wife from me, make her the vilest slave, and use her at his pleasure. Not as if Job desired this, but that if God should give up his wife to such wickedness, he would acknowledge his justice in it.

10. Grind — Burckhardt, speaking of the people of Medina, says, “The women of the cultivators and of the inhabitants of the suburbs serve in the families of the towns-people as domestics, principally to grind corn in the hand-mills.” — Arabia, 2:265. The oldest versions understand the word to express a deeper degradation, in illustration of which Dr. Clarke gives an excursus. The second clause is explained by Job 24:15.

V. 11. This-Adultery. It is-Heb. an iniquity of the judges; which belongs to them to take cognizance of, and to punish, even with death; and that not only by the law of Moses, but even by the law of nature, as appears from the known laws and customs of the Heathen nations.

Verse 11. For this is a heinous crime] Mr. Good translates, “For this would be a premeditated crime,

And a profligacy of the understanding.”

See also Job 31:28.

That is, It would not only be a sin against the individuals more particularly concerned, but a sin of the first magnitude against society; and one of which the civil magistrate should take particular cognizance, and punish as justice requires.

Verses 11, 12. For this is a heinous crime — Namely, adultery, whether committed by choice and design, or by the solicitation of a woman; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished, &c. — Hebrew, an iniquity of the judges; which it belongs to them to take cognizance of, and to punish, even with death; and that not only by the law of Moses, but even by the law of nature, as appears from the known laws and customs of the heathen nations. For it is a fire that consumeth, &c. — Lust is a fire in the soul; it consumes all that is good there, convictions of sin, desires after God, devout affections, pious resolutions, holy comforts, and lays the conscience waste. The sin of adultery, or fornication, consumes the body, the reputation, the substance, rooting out all the increase: it kindles the fire of God’s wrath, which, if not quenched by the blood of Christ, in consequence of repentance and faith in him, will burn to the lowest hell.

11. A heinous crime — hmz, the usual Thorah word for the shameless, subtle encroachments of sensual desires. (Delitzsch.) The various stages of meaning through which this word has passed — first, of thought or intent; second, of (supposed) cunning; third, of lewdness, (of the mind;) fourth, of heinous deed, Leviticus 18:17, (adultery, incest,) — paint in brief the descent and degradation of vice.

V. 12. Destruction-Lust is a fire in the soul; it consumes all that is good there, the convictions, the comforts; and lays the conscience waste. It consumes the body, consumes the substance, roots out all the increase. It kindles the fire of God’s wrath, which if not quenched by the blood of Christ, will burn to the lowest hell.

Verse 12. For it is a fire] Nothing is so destructive of domestic peace. Where jealousy exists, unmixed misery dwells; and the adulterer and fornicator waste their substance on the unlawful objects of their impure affections.

Verses 11, 12. For this is a heinous crime — Namely, adultery, whether committed by choice and design, or by the solicitation of a woman; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished, &c. — Hebrew, an iniquity of the judges; which it belongs to them to take cognizance of, and to punish, even with death; and that not only by the law of Moses, but even by the law of nature, as appears from the known laws and customs of the heathen nations. For it is a fire that consumeth, &c. — Lust is a fire in the soul; it consumes all that is good there, convictions of sin, desires after God, devout affections, pious resolutions, holy comforts, and lays the conscience waste. The sin of adultery, or fornication, consumes the body, the reputation, the substance, rooting out all the increase: it kindles the fire of God’s wrath, which, if not quenched by the blood of Christ, in consequence of repentance and faith in him, will burn to the lowest hell.

12. Destruction — Hebrews Abaddon. The sin spoken of is a fire that ceases not to burn till it has taken hold of hell itself. (Proverbs 7:27.) “It drags him whom it has seized down with it into the deepest depth of ruin, and as it were melts him away.” — Delitzsch. See Caryl, in loc. In the earliest ages adultery was punished by burning. Genesis 38:24.

Verse 13. The cause of my man-servant] In ancient times slaves had no action at law against their owners; they might dispose of them as they did of their cattle, or any other property. The slave might complain; and the owner might hear him if he pleased, but he was not compelled to do so. Job states that he had admitted them to all civil rights; and, far from preventing their case from being heard, he was ready to permit them to complain even against himself, if they had a cause of complaint, and to give them all the benefit of the law.

Verses 13-15. If I did despise the cause of my man-servant — If I used my power over him to overthrow him and his just rights; when they contended with me — Either for requiring more work from them than they could perform, or for not providing for them those supports which their nature and necessity required, or for any other plausible cause. I heard them patiently, considered the matters complained of impartially, and did them right even against myself, if through any misinformation, or fancied provocation, I had done them an injury. What then shall I do when God riseth up? — Namely, to plead the cause of the oppressed against the oppressor, and to execute judgment. I used my servant like one who knew that I myself also was a servant, and had a master in heaven, to whom I was to give an account of my conduct toward my servant and all men. And when he visiteth — That is, when he shall call me to his tribunal, and strictly examine all my actions, and particularly the cause between me and my servant; what shall I answer him? — What apology shall I make for myself? Did not he that made me, &c. — I considered that, though he was my servant, he was my fellow-creature, made by the same God, and therefore one of God’s subjects, whom I could not injure without injustice to the supreme Lord. And did not one fashion us, &c. — With a body and soul of the same nature and quality, a rational and immortal creature, and made after God’s image no less than myself, to whom therefore I owed some respect for God’s sake.

13. The cause of my manservant — The importance of the subject is indicated by the form of oath, if, now for the fourth time introduced. His servants were regarded not as chattels, but as human beings. True nobility of character is as truly displayed in the proper treatment of dependents as in any of the so-called higher relationships of life.

Verses 13-15. If I did despise the cause of my man-servant — If I used my power over him to overthrow him and his just rights; when they contended with me — Either for requiring more work from them than they could perform, or for not providing for them those supports which their nature and necessity required, or for any other plausible cause. I heard them patiently, considered the matters complained of impartially, and did them right even against myself, if through any misinformation, or fancied provocation, I had done them an injury. What then shall I do when God riseth up? — Namely, to plead the cause of the oppressed against the oppressor, and to execute judgment. I used my servant like one who knew that I myself also was a servant, and had a master in heaven, to whom I was to give an account of my conduct toward my servant and all men. And when he visiteth — That is, when he shall call me to his tribunal, and strictly examine all my actions, and particularly the cause between me and my servant; what shall I answer him? — What apology shall I make for myself? Did not he that made me, &c. — I considered that, though he was my servant, he was my fellow-creature, made by the same God, and therefore one of God’s subjects, whom I could not injure without injustice to the supreme Lord. And did not one fashion us, &c. — With a body and soul of the same nature and quality, a rational and immortal creature, and made after God’s image no less than myself, to whom therefore I owed some respect for God’s sake.

14. Riseth up — To judgment: such is the divine indignation at the contemplation of man’s cruelty to man. Stephen in the hour of martyrdom saw the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

Verse 15. Did not he that made me-make him?] I know that God is the Judge of all; that all shall appear before him in that state where the king and his subject, the master and his slave, shall be on an equal footing, all civil distinctions being abolished for ever. If, then I had treated my slaves with injustice, how could I stand before the judgment-seat of God? I have treated others as I wish to be treated.

Verses 13-15. If I did despise the cause of my man-servant — If I used my power over him to overthrow him and his just rights; when they contended with me — Either for requiring more work from them than they could perform, or for not providing for them those supports which their nature and necessity required, or for any other plausible cause. I heard them patiently, considered the matters complained of impartially, and did them right even against myself, if through any misinformation, or fancied provocation, I had done them an injury. What then shall I do when God riseth up? — Namely, to plead the cause of the oppressed against the oppressor, and to execute judgment. I used my servant like one who knew that I myself also was a servant, and had a master in heaven, to whom I was to give an account of my conduct toward my servant and all men. And when he visiteth — That is, when he shall call me to his tribunal, and strictly examine all my actions, and particularly the cause between me and my servant; what shall I answer him? — What apology shall I make for myself? Did not he that made me, &c. — I considered that, though he was my servant, he was my fellow-creature, made by the same God, and therefore one of God’s subjects, whom I could not injure without injustice to the supreme Lord. And did not one fashion us, &c. — With a body and soul of the same nature and quality, a rational and immortal creature, and made after God’s image no less than myself, to whom therefore I owed some respect for God’s sake.

15. Did not one fashion us — “There is,” said Seneca, “the same beginning, the same origin, for all; no one is more noble than another.” — De Benef., 3:28. Nature, as she contemplates her two great estates, life and death, man’s entrance into and his departure from life, has many a moral for man, such as humility, forbearance, charity, and brotherly love. The charter of human rights rests upon our oneness in nature, and our equality before the ONE who made us — God.

Third strophe — In CIVIL life, also, Job declares he had practised righteousness towards the dependent, and shown mercy to the suffering and defenceless. — The entire strophe contemplates the false charges Eliphaz had made upon this very point, (Job 22:6-9,) and is enforced by a threefold appeal to God, and an imprecation that if he speak not the truth great bodily harm may come upon him, 16-23.

V. 16. If I-Denied them what they desired of me. To fail-With tedious expectation of my justice or charity. Job is most large upon this head, because in this matter Eliphaz had most particularly accused him.

Verses 16, 17. If I have withheld the poor, &c. — If I have denied them what they desired of me, either in justice or from necessity; for he was under no obligation to grant their vain or inordinate desires. Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail — With tedious expectation of my justice or charity. I durst neither deny nor delay my help, when they needed or required it. Or have eaten my morsel alone — Without communicating part of my provisions or property to the poor, as it follows; and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof — This one kind of necessitous persons is put for all the rest. Job is most large upon these heads of doing justice to the widows and fatherless, and relieving the poor, because Eliphaz had most particularly accused him in these respects.

Verse 17. Or have eaten my morsel myself alone] Hospitality was a very prominent virtue among the ancients in almost all nations: friends and strangers were equally welcome to the board of the affluent. The supper was their grand meal: it was then that they saw their friends; the business and fatigues of the day being over, they could then enjoy themselves comfortably together. The supper was called coena on this account; or, as Plutarch says, To men gar deipnon fasi koina dia thn koinwnian kaleisqai, kaqJ eautouv gar hristwn epieikwv oi palai

rwmaioi, sundeipnountev toiv filoiv. “The ancient Romans named supper COENA, (koina,) which signifies communion (koinwnia) or fellowship; for although they dined alone, they supped with their friends.”—PLUT. Symp. lib. viii., prob. 6, p. 687. But Job speaks here of dividing his bread with the hungry: Or have eaten my morsel myself alone. And he is a poor despicable caitiff who would eat it alone, while there was another at hand, full as hungry as himself.

Verses 16, 17. If I have withheld the poor, &c. — If I have denied them what they desired of me, either in justice or from necessity; for he was under no obligation to grant their vain or inordinate desires. Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail — With tedious expectation of my justice or charity. I durst neither deny nor delay my help, when they needed or required it. Or have eaten my morsel alone — Without communicating part of my provisions or property to the poor, as it follows; and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof — This one kind of necessitous persons is put for all the rest. Job is most large upon these heads of doing justice to the widows and fatherless, and relieving the poor, because Eliphaz had most particularly accused him in these respects.

V. 18. Youth-As soon as I was capable of managing mine own affairs. With me-Under my care. A father-With all the diligence and tenderness of a father. Her-The widow mentioned ver. 16. From-From my tender years; ever since I was capable of discerning good and evil.

Verse 18. This is a very difficult verse, and is variously translated. Take the following instances:—For from his youth he (the male orphan) was brought up with me as a father. Yea, I have guided her (the female orphan) from her mother’s womb.—Heath.

Nam a pueris educavit me commiseratio; jam inde ab utero matris meæ illa me deduxit.—Houbigant.

“For commiseration educated me from my childhood;

And she brought me up even from my mother’s womb.” This is agreeable to the Vulgate.

“Behold, from my youth calamity hath quickened me; Even from my mother’s womb have I distributed it.” This is Mr. Goods version, and is widely different from the above. For mercy grewe up with me fro my youth,

And compassion fro my mother’s wombe.

Coverdale.

JOti ek neothtov mou exetrefov wv pathr, kai ek gastrov mhtrov mou wdhghsa.—Septuagint. “For from my youth I nourished them as a father; and I was their guide from my mother’s womb.” The Syriac. “For from my childhood he educated me in distresses, and from the womb of my mother in groans.” The Arabic is nearly the same. The general meaning may be gathered from the above; but who can reconcile such discordant translations?

Verse 18. For from my youth — As soon as I was capable of managing my own affairs, and doing good to others; he was brought up with me as with a father — Under my care and protection, with all the diligence and tenderness of a father. And I have guided her — The widow, mentioned verse 16; from my mother’s womb — From my tender years; ever since I was capable of discerning good from evil, I have made conscience of this duty.

18. He — The fatherless. Her — The widow.

V. 19. Perish-When it was in my power to help them.

Verses 19-22. If I have seen any perish — When it was in my power to help them. If his loins have not blessed me — That is, if my covering his loins hath not given him occasion to bless me, and to pray to God to bless me; the loins being put for the whole body. If he were not warmed, &c. — With clothing made of my wool. If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless — An expression signifying an act of power and hostility. If I have ever beaten or ill used him; if I have brought him to the judgment-seat, that, under the colour of justice, I might take away his right, or any ways to threaten, injure, or crush him; when I saw my help in the gate — When I saw myself superior in the gate, Houbigant. That is, superior in authority. When I understood my advantage against him, and that I could influence the judges to do what I pleased. Then let mine arm fall, &c. — I am contented that that arm which hath been so wickedly employed, may either rot off or fall out of joint, and so be useless and burdensome to me.

Verse 20. If his loins have not blessed me] This is a very delicate touch: the part that was cold and shivering is now covered with warm woollen. It feels the comfort; and by a fine prosopopœia, is represented as blessing him who furnished the clothing.

Verses 19-22. If I have seen any perish — When it was in my power to help them. If his loins have not blessed me — That is, if my covering his loins hath not given him occasion to bless me, and to pray to God to bless me; the loins being put for the whole body. If he were not warmed, &c. — With clothing made of my wool. If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless — An expression signifying an act of power and hostility. If I have ever beaten or ill used him; if I have brought him to the judgment-seat, that, under the colour of justice, I might take away his right, or any ways to threaten, injure, or crush him; when I saw my help in the gate — When I saw myself superior in the gate, Houbigant. That is, superior in authority. When I understood my advantage against him, and that I could influence the judges to do what I pleased. Then let mine arm fall, &c. — I am contented that that arm which hath been so wickedly employed, may either rot off or fall out of joint, and so be useless and burdensome to me.

20. The loins, previously naked, are personified and poetically described as invoking upon him every blessing.

V. 21. When-When I saw I could influence the judges to do what I pleased.

Verse 21. If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless] I have at no time opposed the orphan, nor given, in behalf of the rich and powerful, a decision against the poor, when I saw my help in the gate—when I was sitting chief on the throne of judgment, and could have done it without being called to account.

There are sentiments very like these in the poem of Lebeid, one of the authors of the Moallakhat. I shall quote several verses from the elegant translation of Sir William Jones, in which the character of a charitable and bountiful chief is well described:—

“Oft have I invited a numerous company to the death of a camel bought for slaughter, to be divided with arrows of equal dimensions.”

“I invite them to draw lots for a camel without a foal, and for a camel with her young one, whose flesh I distribute to all the neighbours.”

“The guest and the stranger admitted to my board seem to have alighted in the sweet vale of Tebaala, luxuriant with vernal blossoms.”

“The cords of my tent approaches every needy matron, worn with fatigue, like a camel doomed to die at her master’s tomb, whose venture is both scanty and ragged.”

“There they crown with meat (while the wintry winds contend with fierce blasts) a dish flowing like a rivulet, into which the famished orphans eagerly plunge.”

“He distributes equal shares, he dispenses justice to the tribes, he is indignant when their right is diminished; and, to establish their right, often relinquishes his own.”

“He acts with greatness of mind, and nobleness of heart: he sheds the dew of his liberality on those who need his assistance; he scatters around his own gains and precious spoils, the prizes of his valour.”—Ver. 73-80.

Verses 19-22. If I have seen any perish — When it was in my power to help them. If his loins have not blessed me — That is, if my covering his loins hath not given him occasion to bless me, and to pray to God to bless me; the loins being put for the whole body. If he were not warmed, &c. — With clothing made of my wool. If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless — An expression signifying an act of power and hostility. If I have ever beaten or ill used him; if I have brought him to the judgment-seat, that, under the colour of justice, I might take away his right, or any ways to threaten, injure, or crush him; when I saw my help in the gate — When I saw myself superior in the gate, Houbigant. That is, superior in authority. When I understood my advantage against him, and that I could influence the judges to do what I pleased. Then let mine arm fall, &c. — I am contented that that arm which hath been so wickedly employed, may either rot off or fall out of joint, and so be useless and burdensome to me.

21. Help in the gate — Patrons and friends, ready to defend him in case of mal-administration of justice. The gate is the forum in Eastern towns, where all kinds of important business are transacted. See note, Job 29:7.

Verse 22. Let mine arm fall] Mr. Good, as a medical man, is at home in the translation of this verse:—

“May my shoulder-bone be shivered at the blade, And mine arm be broken off at the socket.” Let judgment fall particularly on those parts which have either done wrong, or refused to do right when in their power.

Verses 19-22. If I have seen any perish — When it was in my power to help them. If his loins have not blessed me — That is, if my covering his loins hath not given him occasion to bless me, and to pray to God to bless me; the loins being put for the whole body. If he were not warmed, &c. — With clothing made of my wool. If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless — An expression signifying an act of power and hostility. If I have ever beaten or ill used him; if I have brought him to the judgment-seat, that, under the colour of justice, I might take away his right, or any ways to threaten, injure, or crush him; when I saw my help in the gate — When I saw myself superior in the gate, Houbigant. That is, superior in authority. When I understood my advantage against him, and that I could influence the judges to do what I pleased. Then let mine arm fall, &c. — I am contented that that arm which hath been so wickedly employed, may either rot off or fall out of joint, and so be useless and burdensome to me.

22. Mine arm — There is a striking grandeur in this imprecation on the arm that was lifted up to threaten an orphan in the court of justice. (Scott.)

V. 23. For-I stood in awe of God and of his judgments. I could not-I knew myself unable either to oppose his power, or to bear his wrath. Even good men have need to restrain themselves from sin, with the fear of Destruction from God. Even when salvation from God is a comfort to us, yet destruction from God should be a terror to us. Adam in innocency was awed by a threatning.

Verse 23. Destruction from God was a terror] I have ever been preserved from outward sin, through the fear of God’s judgments; I knew his eye was constantly upon me, and I could “Never in my Judge’s eye my Judge’s anger dare.”

Verse 23. For destruction, &c. — I stood in awe of God, and his justice and wrath, and therefore made it my care and business to shun sin, and to please him. And by reason of his highness — His excellence or majesty, which is most glorious and terrible; I could not endure — I knew myself unable, either to oppose his power, or to bear his wrath, and therefore I did not dare to provoke him by any impiety or injustice. Even good men have need to restrain themselves from sin, with the fear of destruction from God. Even when salvation from God is a comfort to us, yet destruction from God should be a terror to us. Adam, in innocence, was awed by a threatening.

23. Destruction… a terror — It was not unworthy of Job to confess that the fear of God — even of destruction “from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9) — was the mainspring of his moral life. Religious life may have its roots in the wintry soil of fear, but it matures and ripens under the summer sun of divine love.

Fourth strophe — Job declares himself to have discharged his more secret and private obligations to God and man. He was not only free from covetous extortion, as he had previously declared, (verse 21,) but also from avaricious idolatry of glittering wealth and a concealed adoration of the most conspicuous of the heavenly bodies. Nor had he cherished emotions of retaliation and revenge, nor neglected the rites of hospitality, nor in general laid claim to virtues which he possessed not, 24-34. Dillmann and others make the fourth strophe end with verse 32; Hengstenberg continues it to verse 34, and calls it a new decalogue of trespasses with an appended curse. The strophe divides itself into halves — the first, treating of sin directly against God; the second, of sin against man.

Verse 24. Gold my hope] For the meaning of bhz zahab, polished gold, and כתם kethem, stamped gold, see on Job 28:15-17.

Verse 24. If I have made gold my hope — That is, the matter of my hope and trust, expecting safety and happiness from it, and placing my chief joy in the increase of my riches.

24. Gold my hope — Job here links the love of the shining metals with the worship of the shining luminaries — covert idolatry with overt idolatry — and thus anticipates the apostle in his estimate of covetousness. Colossians 3:5. “They whose God is gold have not God.” Dr. Chalmers has a sermon (in loc., 24-28) on “The Love of Money.”

Verse 25. If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great — Esteeming myself happy in the possession of it, though without God’s love and favour; because my hand had gotten much — Ascribing my acquisition of it to my own skill or industry, rather than to God’s goodness and mercy. And these sins Job the rather mentions, partly for his own vindication, lest it should be thought that God took away his property because he had abused it to pride, or luxury, or the oppression of others; and partly for the instruction of mankind in succeeding generations, that they might take notice of the evil of such practices, though by most men they are reputed laudable or harmless, or, at the worst, but light and trivial instances of misconduct.

V. 26. I-This place speaks of the worship of the host of heaven, and especially of the sun and moon, the most eminent and glorious of that number, which was the most ancient kind of idolatry, and most frequent in the eastern countries. Shined-In its full strength and glory.

Verse 26. If I beheld the sun when it shined] In this verse Job clears himself of that idolatrous worship which was the most ancient and most consistent with reason of any species of idolatry; viz., Sabæism, the worship of the heavenly bodies; particularly the sun and moon, Jupiter and Venus, the two latter being the morning and evening stars, and the most resplendent of all the heavenly bodies, the sun and moon excepted. “Job,” says Calmet, “points out three things here:

“1. The worship of the sun and moon; much used in his time, and very anciently used in every part of the East; and in all probability that from which idolatry took its rise.

“2. The custom of adoring the sun at its rising, and the moon at her change; a superstition which is mentioned in Ezekiel 8:16, and in every part of profane antiquity.

“3. The custom of kissing the hand; the form of adoration, and token of sovereign respect.”

Adoration, or the religious act of kissing the hand, comes to us from the Latin; ad, to, and os, oris, the mouth. The hand lifted to the mouth, and there saluted by the lips.

Verses 26, 27. If I beheld the sun when it shined — Namely, in its full strength and glory; when it most affected men’s minds and hearts with admiration of its beauty, and of the benefits which it is instrumental in communicating to the world, and thereby moved them to worship it; or the moon walking in brightness — When it shined most clearly, or was at the full, at which time especially the idolaters worshipped it. Job, in this passage, evidently speaks of the worship of the host of heaven, and especially of the sun and moon, the most eminent and glorious of that number, which was the most ancient kind of idolatry, and most frequent in the eastern countries. And my heart hath been enticed — Or seduced, or deceived, by their plausible and glorious appearances, to believe that there was something of a divinity in them, and so should be induced to worship them, and that secretly, or inwardly, in my thoughts or affections, while I professed outwardly to adhere to God and the true religion. This emphatical expression, enticed, seems to be used here with a design to teach the world this necessary and important truth: that no mistake, or error of mind, would excuse the practice of idolatry. My mouth hath kissed my hand — In token of worship, whereof this was a sign.

26. The sun… the moon — Traces of the worship of these bodies are found in the most ancient heathen religions. 2 Kings 17:16; 21:3; Psalm

19. “The first generation of men in Egypt,” says Diodorus Siculus, (book i, chapter 1,) “contemplating the beauty of the superior world, and admiring with astonishment the frame and order of the universe, supposed that there were two chief gods that were eternal, that is to say, the sun and the moon, the first of which they called Osiris and the other Isis, both names having proper etymologles: for Osiris, in the Greek language, signifies a thing with many eyes, which may be very properly applied to the sun, darting his rays into every corner, and, as it were, with so many eyes viewing and surveying the whole land and sea; with which agrees the poet — The sun from his lofty sphere all sees and hears.

… They hold that these gods govern the whole world, cherishing and increasing all things.” See also PLUTARCH’S Treatise Concerning Isis and Osiris, section 52. The Persians (B.C. about 523) conquered Egypt, and replaced, as far as lay in their power, the sculptural representations made by the Egyptians of their divinity Ra, (the sun,) by representations of their own divinity, of which the following figure is an illustration. The sun in this is distinguished from the sun of the Egyptians by the absence of wings or asps, and more particularly by the want of the human figure or statue of the god, and by its sending forth a number of rays, each ending with a human hand. The ancient Egyptians worshipped the sun under the title of not only Ra or Re, but of Amun Ra, “the hidden” sun. The Papyri furnish extensive and important invocations and hymns to Ra and Amun Ra, illustrations of which may be seen in The Records of the Past, 2:117-136. The Nabataeans (commonly regarded as Arabs) worshipped the sun at “an altar constructed on the top of a house, pouring out libations and burning frankincense upon it every day.” — Strabo, xvi, c. 4. section 26. “The astral character of the old Arabian idolatry,” says Rawlinson, “is indubitable.” (See his Herodotus, ii, p. 336.) In Egyptian hieroglyphics the idea of prayer was represented by a man holding up his hands accompanied by a star. The ancient Assyrians subordinated the worship of the sun (Shamas) to that of (Sin) the moon-god. (RAWLINSON’S Anc. Mon., 2:16, 17.) That the rising sun was also worshipped in Syria is affirmed by Tacitus, (Hist., 3:24.) Such worship spread all over the world, and lasted in England even to the times of Canute, who, according to Dupuis, prescribed the form of worship to be rendered to the sun, etc. Evidences of this idolatry still linger in the names of the first two days of the week, Sun-day, Mon or Moon-day. Walking in brightness — Job dwells upon the dazzling beauty and great glory of these heavenly bodies as though they might be the sources of a subtle power to entice the affections of mortals. The Arabs have a proverb, “Take care of looking at the splendour of the stars.” Most forms of ancient idolatry — certainly the worship of the powers of nature — drifted into the grossest licentiousness, which may have been the chief reason that, in the days of Job, it was “punished by the judges.”

V. 27. Kissed-In token of worship, whereof this was a sign.

Verses 26, 27. If I beheld the sun when it shined — Namely, in its full strength and glory; when it most affected men’s minds and hearts with admiration of its beauty, and of the benefits which it is instrumental in communicating to the world, and thereby moved them to worship it; or the moon walking in brightness — When it shined most clearly, or was at the full, at which time especially the idolaters worshipped it. Job, in this passage, evidently speaks of the worship of the host of heaven, and especially of the sun and moon, the most eminent and glorious of that number, which was the most ancient kind of idolatry, and most frequent in the eastern countries. And my heart hath been enticed — Or seduced, or deceived, by their plausible and glorious appearances, to believe that there was something of a divinity in them, and so should be induced to worship them, and that secretly, or inwardly, in my thoughts or affections, while I professed outwardly to adhere to God and the true religion. This emphatical expression, enticed, seems to be used here with a design to teach the world this necessary and important truth: that no mistake, or error of mind, would excuse the practice of idolatry. My mouth hath kissed my hand — In token of worship, whereof this was a sign.

27. Mouth… kissed… hand — Literally, My hand hath kissed my mouth, as in the margin. “In the act of worship,” says Pliny, we “kiss the right hand, and turn the whole body to the right,” Job 28:2, 5; also Job 11:45, 103. Worshippers of the rising sun in Western Asia and Greece, according to Lucian, also kissed the hand to this luminary, “and then thought their adoration complete.” The act was expressive of affection for these objects.

V. 28. The judge-The civil magistrate; who being advanced and protected by God, is obliged to maintain and vindicate his honour, and consequently to punish idolatry. Denied God-Not directly but by consequence, because this was to rob God of his prerogative, by giving to the creature, that worship which is peculiar to God.

Verse 28. For I should have denied the God that is above.] Had I paid Divine adoration to them, I should have thereby denied the God that made them.

Verse 28. This also were an iniquity — No less than the other fore-mentioned sins of adultery, oppression, &c.; to be punished by the judge — The civil magistrate; who, being advanced and protected by God, is obliged to maintain and vindicate his honour, and consequently to punish idolatry. For I should have denied God — Not directly, but by consequence, because this was to rob God of his prerogative, by giving to the creature that worship which is peculiar to God.

Ver. 28. I should have denied the God that is above. Job here describes the manner in which the ancient Sabian idolaters worshipped the sun, moon, and stars, by kissing the hand; and his abhorrence of it shows that he was himself educated in the faith of Abraham. A French traveller in Louisiana describes the manner in which the Indians on certain mornings go to the top of a hill to see the rising sun, and blow towards him a full quiff of tobacco. The names of the planets are confirmations of this idolatry; and if ascribing the omnipresence of the Deity to an idol be the very essence of idolatry, let that idol be what it may; what a condition must the poor papists be in, who everywhere pray to the Virgin Mary, as though she was more merciful than her Son!

28. Denied the God above — The transfer of the predominant affection of the heart from the Creator to the creature is a practical denial of God.

V. 29. Lift up-Heb. stirred up myself to rejoice and insult over his misery.

Verse 29. If I rejoiced] I did not avenge myself on my enemy; and I neither bore malice nor hatred to him.

Verses 29, 30. If I rejoiced, &c. — I was so far from being malicious toward, and from revenging myself on, an enemy, which is the common and allowed practice of ungodly men, that I did not so much as delight in his ruin, when it was brought upon him by other hands. By this, and other passages of the Old Testament, (see Exodus 23:4; Proverbs 24:17, 18,) we see that to love, forgive, and do good to our enemies, is not a duty peculiar to Christianity, but a part of that charity which now is, and ever was, by the law of nature, of indispensable obligation upon all men. Or lifted up myself when evil found him — Hebrew, ytrr[th, hithgnorarti, stirred up himself, to rejoice and insult over his misery. Neither have I suffered my mouth — Hebrew, ykj, chicchi, my palate, which, being one of the instruments of speech, is put for all the rest; to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. The sense is, if any desire of his hurt did arise in me, I forthwith suppressed it, and did not suffer it to break forth in my uttering an imprecation against him.

29. Rejoiced at the destruction, etc. — Rejoicing in the sufferings of others is a most hateful form of evil. (See note on Job 15:27.) In Job’s bitterest invectives there is no trace of hate. Here he speaks of him who hated me. Noble as Job appears in such a light, Christ demands more than this negative moral action, even the love of an enemy; “a voice,” says Lord Bacon, “beyond the light of nature.” Comp. Exodus 23:4, 5; Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 23:7; Proverbs 20:22; 24:17; 25:21, 22; and Cicero, De Officiis, 1, 25.

Verse 30. Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin] I have neither spoken evil of him, nor wished evil to him. How few of those called Christians can speak thus concerning their enemies; or those who have done them any mischief!

Verses 29, 30. If I rejoiced, &c. — I was so far from being malicious toward, and from revenging myself on, an enemy, which is the common and allowed practice of ungodly men, that I did not so much as delight in his ruin, when it was brought upon him by other hands. By this, and other passages of the Old Testament, (see Exodus 23:4; Proverbs 24:17, 18,) we see that to love, forgive, and do good to our enemies, is not a duty peculiar to Christianity, but a part of that charity which now is, and ever was, by the law of nature, of indispensable obligation upon all men. Or lifted up myself when evil found him — Hebrew, ytrr[th, hithgnorarti, stirred up himself, to rejoice and insult over his misery. Neither have I suffered my mouth — Hebrew, ykj, chicchi, my palate, which, being one of the instruments of speech, is put for all the rest; to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. The sense is, if any desire of his hurt did arise in me, I forthwith suppressed it, and did not suffer it to break forth in my uttering an imprecation against him.

Ver. 30. Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin. Hebrews “I have not permitted my palace [or household] to sin, in wishing his death with a curse.”

30. Wishing a curse to his soul — Rather, demanding his life with a curse. See note, Job 3:8. Job denies that he has by any imprecation sought to enlist deity against his enemy. Tacitus, speaking of the interference of Piso with the offering of sacrifices for the recovery of Germanicus from dangerous illness, says, “Even the victims already at the altar were driven away, and the apparatus for sacrifice overturned,” etc. — Annals, 2:69. Compare 1 Kings 3:11.

V. 31. If-My domesticks and familiar friends. His flesh-This is farther confirmation of Job’s charitable disposition to his enemy. Although all who were daily conversant with him, and were witnesses of his and their carriage, were so zealous in Job’s quarrel, that they protested they could eat their flesh, and could not be satisfied without. Yet he restrained both them and himself from executing vengeance upon them.

Verse 31. If the men of my tabernacle said] I believe the Targum gives the best sense here:—”If the men of my tabernacle have not said, Who hath commanded that we should not be satisfied with his flesh?” My domestics have had all kindness shown them; they have lived like my own children, and have been served with the same viands as my family. They have never seen flesh come to my table, when they have been obliged to live on pulse. Mr. Good’s translation is nearly to the same sense:—

“If the men of my tabernacle do not exclaim,

Who hath longed for his meat without fulness?”

“Where is the man that has not been satisfied with his flesh?” i.e., fed to the full with the provisions from his table. See Proverbs 23:20; Isaiah 23:13, and Daniel 10:3.

Verses 31, 32. If the men of my tabernacle — My domestics and familiar friends; said not, O that we had of his flesh! — Heath and Schultens read the words, Who can show the man that hath not filled himself with his victuals? And many commentators understand Job as asserting here, that it was a common thing among those who lived in his family, on beholding his boundless beneficence, to cry out, “Who is there that has not eaten of his flesh?” That is, who has not tasted of his generosity? Others consider it as an exclamation of gratitude, uttered by those who were sustained by Job; as if he had said, O that we had wherewithal to support ourselves, that we might not thus be a burden to this generous man; that we might not be obliged thus to feed upon his flesh or substance! But the connection of the words with the preceding seems most apparent if we understand them as an amplification, and further confirmation, of Job’s charitable disposition toward his enemies. Although his cause was so just, and the malice of his enemies so notorious and unreasonable, that all who were daily conversant with him, and were witnesses of his and their carriage, were so zealous in his quarrel, that they protested they could eat their very flesh; yet he restrained both them and himself from executing vengeance upon them. The stranger — Or traveller, as it follows; did not lodge in the street — But in my house, according to the laws of hospitality; see Genesis 18:3, and 19:2.

31. Oh that we had, etc. — Rather, Who can show any one not satisfied with his meat. His hospitality was such that the men of his tent, who had the best opportunities to know, could not point out any one who had not been fed at his table. Flesh is used for slaughtered food, as in 1 Samuel 25:11.

Verse 32. The stranger did not lodge in the street] My kindness did not extend merely to my family, domestics, and friends; the stranger—he who was to me perfectly unknown, and the traveller—he who was on his journey to some other district, found my doors ever open to receive them, and were refreshed with my bed and my board.

Verses 31, 32. If the men of my tabernacle — My domestics and familiar friends; said not, O that we had of his flesh! — Heath and Schultens read the words, Who can show the man that hath not filled himself with his victuals? And many commentators understand Job as asserting here, that it was a common thing among those who lived in his family, on beholding his boundless beneficence, to cry out, “Who is there that has not eaten of his flesh?” That is, who has not tasted of his generosity? Others consider it as an exclamation of gratitude, uttered by those who were sustained by Job; as if he had said, O that we had wherewithal to support ourselves, that we might not thus be a burden to this generous man; that we might not be obliged thus to feed upon his flesh or substance! But the connection of the words with the preceding seems most apparent if we understand them as an amplification, and further confirmation, of Job’s charitable disposition toward his enemies. Although his cause was so just, and the malice of his enemies so notorious and unreasonable, that all who were daily conversant with him, and were witnesses of his and their carriage, were so zealous in his quarrel, that they protested they could eat their very flesh; yet he restrained both them and himself from executing vengeance upon them. The stranger — Or traveller, as it follows; did not lodge in the street — But in my house, according to the laws of hospitality; see Genesis 18:3, and 19:2.

32. To the traveller — Literally, to the way. The Mishna has a precept, “Let thy house be open to the way, and may the poor be thy guests.” Christ was crucified near to the way. “Certainly the place of his execution was upon a frequented way.” (Meyer on Matthew 27:39.) His heart is open for all wayfaring, sorrowing ones.

V. 33. As Adam-As Adam did in Paradise.

Verse 33. If I covered my transgressions as Adam] Here is a most evident allusion to the fall. Adam transgressed the commandment of his Maker, and he endeavoured to conceal it; first, by hiding himself among the trees of the garden: “I heard thy voice, and went and HID myself;” secondly, by laying the blame on his wife: “The woman gave me, and I did eat;” and thirdly, by charging the whole directly on God himself: “The woman which THOU GAVEST ME to be with me, SHE gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” And it is very likely that Job refers immediately to the Mosaic account in the Book of Genesis. The spirit of this saying is this: When I have departed at any time from the path of rectitude, I have been ready to acknowledge my error, and have not sought excuses or palliatives for my sin.

Verse 33. If I covered my transgressions as Adam — As Adam did in paradise. By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom — In my own breast, and from the sight of all men; or, in secret, as R. Levi renders ybjb, bechobbi. Job alludes to Adam’s hiding himself among the trees of the garden, and palliating his sin; a circumstance in the history of the fall, recorded by Moses, Genesis 3:7, and doubtless imparted by the godly patriarchs to their children before Moses’s time, and therefore well known to Job, who here says he did not act thus, but was ever ready to acknowledge his errors. The allusion is quite proper and apposite: but if we should render the passage, agreeably to the marginal reading, after the manner of men, it becomes an accusation of others; and the vindication of himself has a mixture of pride in it, which does not suit the character of the speaker. See Sherlock on Prophecy, p. 212.

Ver. 33. As Adam; a name in Hebrew common for man. It is the moderns only who translate it as the name of our first father. The LXX read, If when I offended inadvertently, I had concealed my sin. Jerome reads, concealed it after the manner of men. The readings in ancient versions make no reference to Adam. He hid himself, not his sin. The wide variations of the versions, mark obscurity in the original, through the latter part of this chapter.

33. As Adam — Hosea 6:7. Many expositors translate as in the margin; but others, Samuel Wesley. (Diss. in Jobum, xiv,) Schultens, (in loc.,) and Hitzig, satisfactorily defend the reading, “as Adam.” The following verse furnishes, as the point of comparison, the sinner’s dread of the light — a universal fact of our fallen nature, for which fallen Adam will ever stand as the prototype. Genesis 3:8-11. There is no reason for supposing that Job was ignorant of “the fall.”

V. 34. Did I fear-No: all that knew Job knew him to be a man of resolution, that boldly appeared, spoke and acted, in defence of religion and justice. He durst not keep silence, or stay within, when called to speak or act for God. He was not deterred by the number, or quality, or insults of the injurious, from reproving them, and doing justice to the injured.

Verse 34. Did I fear a great multitude] Was I ever prevented by the voice of the many from decreeing and executing what was right? When many families or tribes espoused a particular cause, which I found, on examination, to be wrong, did they put me in fear, so as to prevent me from doing justice to the weak and friendless? Or, in any of these cases, was I ever, through fear, self-seeking, or favour, prevented from declaring my mind, or constrained to keep my house, lest I should be obliged to give judgment against my conscience? Mr. Good thinks it an imprecation upon himself, if he had done any of the evils which he mentions in the preceding verse. He translates thus:—

“Then let me be confounded before the assembled multitude, And let the reproach of its families quash me!

Yea, let me be struck dumb! let me never appear abroad!” I am satisfied that Job 31:38-40, should come in either here, or immediately after Job 31:25; and that Job’s words should end with Job 31:37, which, if the others were inserted in their proper places, would be Job 31:40. See the reasons at the end of the chapter. See Clarke “Job 31:40”.

Verse 34. Did I fear a great multitude? — No: all that knew Job, knew him to be a man of resolution, that boldly appeared, spoke, and acted, in defence of religion and justice. He durst not keep silence, or stay within, when called to speak or act for God. He was not deterred by the number, or quality, or insults of the injurious, from reproving them, and doing justice to the injured.

34. Did I fear, etc. — Because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and went not out of the door. He affirms with renewed solemnity (with the if as before) that he has covered no transgression (verse 33) because he feared the stigma of the families, and the consequent loss of reputation. (Verse 34.) Had he been such a secret sinner as the friends represented him to be, he would rather have slunk away from society. Brentius cites the case of Demosthenes, who feared to enter the popular assembly lest he should be accused of corruption, and alleged as an excuse for his silence and absence that he had the quinsy, when, so his enemies said, he had the silver-quinsy. — PLUTARCH, Demos., 25.

Fifth strophe — The statement he has made, Job would dare to sign in the presence of God, and carry about as a triumphant declaration that he has not been guilty of deceit and hypocrisy. Nor, in conclusion, has he been guilty of the certain nameless sin which his friends had cowardly insinuated, but dared not mention. See note, Job 13:23. In view of the infliction of a like curse upon Adam because of his sin, (compare verses 40 and 33 with Genesis 3:17, 18,) the final imprecation of a curse upon the ground, his widespread domain, which was his only remaining wealth, forms a pre-eminent climax to Job’s defence, and more especially to this series of imprecations, 35-40.

V. 35. Had written-Had given me his charge written in a book or paper, as the manner was in judicial proceedings. This shews that Job did not live, before letters were in use. And undoubtedly the first letters were those wrote on the two tables, by the finger of God. He wishes, his friends, who charged him with hypocrisy, would draw up the charge in writing.

Verse 35. O that one would hear me!] I wish to have a fair and full hearing: I am grievously accused; and have no proper opportunity of clearing myself, and establishing my own innocence.

Behold, my desire is] Or, תוי הנ hen tavi, “There is my pledge.” I bind myself, on a great penalty, to come into court, and abide the issue. That the Almighty would answer me] That he would call this case immediately before himself; and oblige my adversary to come into court, to put his accusations into a legal form, that I might have the opportunity of vindicating myself in the presence of a judge who would hear dispassionately my pleadings, and bring the cause to a righteous issue. And that mine adversary had written a book] That he would not indulge himself in vague accusations, but would draw up a proper bill of indictment, that I might know to what I had to plead, and find the accusation in a tangible form.

Verse 35. O that one would hear me! — O that I might have my cause heard by any just and impartial judge! Behold, my desires, &c. — So the Vulgate and the Targum understand ywt, tavi, here, deriving it from hwa, ivvah, he desired, he coveted. Some, however, deriving it from hwt, tivvah, to mark, to design, to define, render the clause, Lo, here is my sign, mark, or pledge, namely, that I will stand the trial. But the former seems to be the true sense, and is approved by A. Ezra and R. Levi. That the Almighty would answer me — Answer my desire herein, either by hearing me himself, or by appointing some impartial person to judge whether I be such a hypocrite as my friends make me, or an upright person. And that mine adversary — Whosoever he be that shall contend with, or accuse me; had written a book — Had put down in writing the charges he has against me, and brought them in. He alludes to what is usual in judicial proceedings. This shows that letters were in use in Job’s time.

35. The most probable reading is, Oh that I had one who would hear me! Behold my signature! Let the Almighty answer me. My desire — ywt, tavi: literally, my sign, (tav,) as in the margin. Compare Ezekiel 9:4. In the

opinion of some this mark was cruciform, as in the Phoenician letter Taw, which, being the last of the letters, served as the signature of the alphabet. Job now declares that he is ready to sign all the protestations he has just made. The ancient Egyptian courts required the accused to sign his reply. Mine adversary, etc. — Some read, “Oh that I had the charge mine adversary had written!” Comp. Job 19:23. Job speaks of God, who he assumes has “written bitter things against him,” Job 13:26. Job has made his statement; conscious of his innocence, he would now see the divine statement. With the ancient Egyptian it was necessary that the charge of the accuser should be a written one, and read in open court. If it were not that Job, like all human beings, was frail and sinful, this challenge of God to judgment, with which he crowns his defence, would partake of the morally sublime. “Bolder words than these Job had not uttered in the whole dispute. These provoked Elihu to renew the debate; and these are the expressions for which the Almighty chiefly reprimanded him.” — Michaelis on Lowth. Book — See note on Job 19:23.

V. 36. Take it-As a trophy or badge of honour.

Verse 36. Surely I would take it upon my shoulder] I would be contented to stand before the bar as a criminal, bearing upon my shoulder the board to which the accusation is affixed. In a book of Chinese punishments now before me, containing drawings representing various criminals brought to trial, in trial, and after trial, charged with different offences; in almost all of them a board appears, on which the accusation or crime of which they are accused, or for which they suffer, is fairly written. Where the punishment is capital, this board appears fastened to the instrument, or stuck near the place of punishment. In one case a large, heavy plank, through which there is a hole to pass the head,—or rather a hole fitting the neck, like that in the pillory,—with the crime written upon it, rests on the criminal’s shoulders; and this he is obliged to carry about for the weeks or months during which the punishment lasts. It is probable that Job alludes to something of this kind, which he intimates he would bear about with him during the interim between accusation and the issue in judgment; and, far from considering this a disgrace, would clasp it as dearly as he would adjust a crown or diadem to his head; being fully assured, from his innocence, and the evidence of it, which would infallibly appear on the trial, that he would have the most honourable acquittal. There may also be an allusion to the manner of receiving a favour from a superior: it is immediately placed on the head, as a mark of respect; and if a piece of cloth be given at the temple, the receiver not only puts it on his head, but binds it there.

Verse 36. Surely I would take it — The book, or writing, containing the charges against me; upon my shoulder — As a trophy, or badge of honour; and bind it as a crown to me — I would be so far from being ashamed or terrified, that I would glory, and rejoice, and triumph in it, nay, and openly expose it to be read by all, well knowing that so groundless and impotent an accusation would only serve the more to clear my innocence.

36. Surely — If not. God do so and more to me if I would not display it as a visible badge of honour; for Job was sure that his life contained nothing grossly criminal. Wilkinson tells us that the ancient Egyptian is sometimes represented after death as wearing round his neck the same vase which in the scales typified his good actions, or bearing on his head the ostrich feather of truth. They were both intended to show that he had been deemed worthy of admission to the mansions of the just. — The Ancient Egyptians, P.A., 2:383. Crown — Literally, crowns. The word differs from that of Job 29:14. The plural, twrc[, is either the plural of excellence, or is used descriptively of diadems arising each but of the other. Revelation 19:12.

V. 37. Him-My judge, or adversary. My steps-The whole course of my life. A prince-With undaunted courage and confidence.

Verse 37. I would declare unto him the number of my steps] I would show this adversary the different stations I had been in, and the offices which I had filled in life, that he might trace me through the whole of my civil, military, and domestic life, in order to get evidence against me. As a prince would I go near] Though carrying my own accusation, I would go into the presence of my judge as the dygn nagid, chief, or sovereign commander and judge, of the people and country, and would not shrink from having my conduct investigated by even the meanest of my subjects.

In these three verses we may observe the following particulars:—

1. Job wishes to be brought to trial, that he might have the opportunity of vindicating himself: O that I might have a hearing!

2. That his adversary, Eliphaz and his companions, whom he considers as one party, and joined together in one, would reduce their vague charges to writing, that they might come before the court in a legal form: O that my adversary would write down the charge!

3. That the Almighty, ydv Shaddai, the all-sufficient GOD, and not man, should be the judge, who would not permit his adversaries to attempt, by false evidence, to establish what was false, nor suffer himself to cloak with a hypocritical covering what was iniquitous in his conduct: O that the Almighty might answer for me—take notice of or be judge in the cause!

4. To him he purposes cheerfully to confess all his ways, who could at once judge if he prevaricated, or concealed the truth.

5. This would give him the strongest encouragement: he would go boldly before him, with the highest persuasion of an honourable acquittal.

Verse 37. I would declare to him — To the Almighty, my judge; the number of my steps — The whole course of my life and actions, step by step, as far as I could remember: as a prince would I go near him — That is, with courage and confidence of success: I would stand before him with a look as upright and assured as that of a prince. Nothing can be plainer than that the book, or libel, here supposed to be written by Job’s adversary, cannot be meant of one drawn up by God. For how was it possible for him to triumph in this? If it were a bill of accusation, coming from the God of truth, he had more reason to tremble, certainly, than to triumph. We must therefore conclude that by the adversary must be meant one or all of Job’s friends, who were his only accusers that we know of: and God is here appealed to as a hearer or judge between them. In this it is that Job, with reason, rejoices and triumphs as being conscious of his integrity before God, and his sincere desire and endeavour to know and do his will in all things. See Peters and Dodd.

37. Near unto him — In the hour of fancied triumph he regards as his highest honour that of drawing near unto God.

V. 38. Cry-Because I have gotten it by fraud or violence.

Verse 38. If my land cry] The most careless reader may see that the introduction of this and the two following verses here, disturbs the connection, and that they are most evidently out of their place. Job seems here to refer to that law, Leviticus 25:1-7, by which the Israelites were obliged to give the land rest every seventh year, that the soil might not be too much exhausted by perpetual cultivation, especially in a country which afforded so few advantages to improve the arable ground by manure. He, conscious that he had acted according to this law, states that his land could not cry out against him, nor its furrows complain. He had not broken the law, nor exhausted the soil.

Verses 38-40. If my land cry against me — To wit, to God, for revenge, (as the like phrase signifies, Genesis 4:10; Habakkuk 2:11,) because I have gotten it from the right owners by fraud or violence, as my friends accuse me. If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money — Either without paying the price required by the right owner of the land, or by defrauding the workmen of the wages of their labours. Or have caused the owners to lose their life — Killing them, that I might have undisturbed possession of it, as Ahab did Naboth. The words of Job are ended — To wit, in answer to his friends: for he speaks but little afterward, and that is to God.

38. Complain — Weep. The rabbinical proverb embodies a similar figure, “The altar of God weeps over him who separates himself from the wife of his youth.” Comp. Habakkuk 2:11.

V. 39. Without money-Either without paying the price for the land, or by defrauding my workmen of their wages. Life-Killing them that I might have undisturbed possession of it, as Ahab did Naboth.

Verse 39. If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money] I have never been that narrow-minded man who, through a principle of covetousness, exhausts his land, putting himself to no charges, by labour and manure, to strengthen it; or defrauds those of their wages who were employed under him. If I have eaten the fruits of it, I have cultivated it well to produce those fruits; and this has not been without money, for I have gone to expenses on the soil, and remunerated the labourers.

Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life] Coverdale translates, Yee yf I have greved eny of the plowmen. They have not panted in labour without due recompense.

Verses 38-40. If my land cry against me — To wit, to God, for revenge, (as the like phrase signifies, Genesis 4:10; Habakkuk 2:11,) because I have gotten it from the right owners by fraud or violence, as my friends accuse me. If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money — Either without paying the price required by the right owner of the land, or by defrauding the workmen of the wages of their labours. Or have caused the owners to lose their life — Killing them, that I might have undisturbed possession of it, as Ahab did Naboth. The words of Job are ended — To wit, in answer to his friends: for he speaks but little afterward, and that is to God.

39. To lose their life — Literally, breathe out their life. The idea seems to be, not of direct murder, but of “harassing to death” (thus Maurer) the rightful owners, in order that their lands might be secured.

Verse 40. Let thistles grow instead of wheat] What the word jwj choach means, which we translate thistles, we cannot tell: but as jj chach seems to mean to hold, catch as a hook, to hitch, it must signify some kind of hooked thorn, like the brier; and this is possibly its meaning. And cockle] hvab bashah, some fetid plant, from vab baash, to stink. In Isaiah 5:2, 4, we translate it wild grapes; and Bishop Lowth, poisonous berries: but Hasselquist, a pupil of the famous Linnæus, in his Voyages, p. 289, is inclined to believe that the solanum incanum, or hoary nightshade is meant, as this is common in Egypt, Palestine, and the East. Others are of opinion that it means the aconite, which [Arabic] beesh, in Arabic, denotes: this is a poisonous herb, and grows luxuriantly on the sunny hills among the vineyards, according to Celsus in Hieroboticon. [Arabic] beesh is not only the name of an Indian poisonous herb, called the napellus moysis, but [Arabic] beesh moosh, or [Arabic] farut al beesh, is the name of an animal, resembling a mouse, which lives among the roots of this very plant. “May I have a crop of this instead of barley, if I have acted improperly either by my land or my labourers!”

The words of Job are ended.] That is, his defence of himself against the accusations of his friends, as they are called. He spoke afterwards, but never to them; he only addresses God, who came to determine the whole controversy.

These words seem very much like an addition by a later hand. They are wanting in many of the MSS. of the Vulgate, two in my own possession; and in the Editio Princeps of this version.

I suppose that at first they were inserted in rubric, by some scribe, and afterwards taken into the text. In a MS. of my own, of the twelfth or thirteenth century, these words stand in rubric, actually detached from the text; while in another MS., of the fourteenth century, they form a part of the text.

In the Hebrew text they are also detached: the hemistichs are complete without them; nor indeed can they be incorporated with them. They appear to me an addition of no authority. In the first edition of our Bible, that by Coverdale, 1535, there is a white line between these words and the conclusion of the chapter; and they stand, forming no part of the text, thus:—

Here ende the wordes of Job.

Just as we say, in reading the Scriptures “Here ends such a chapter;” or, “Here ends the first lesson,” &c.

Or the subject of the transposition, mentioned above, I have referred to the reasons at the end of the chapter.

Dr. Kennicott, on this subject, observes: “Chapters xxix., xxx., and xxxi., contain Job’s animated self-defence, which was made necessary by the reiterated accusation of his friends. This defense now concludes with six lines (in the Hebrew text) which declare, that if he had enjoyed his estates covetously, or procured them unjustly, he wished them to prove barren and unprofitable. This part, therefore seems naturally to follow Job 31:25, where he speaks of his gold, and how much his hand had gotten. The remainder of the chapter will then consist of these four regular parts, viz.,

“1. His piety to God, in his freedom from idolatry, Job 31:26-28.

“2. His benevolence to men, in his charity both of temper and behaviour, Job 31:29-32.

“3. His solemn assurance that he did not conceal his guilt, from fearing either the violence of the poor, or the contempt of the rich, Job 31:33, 34.

“4. (Which must have been the last article, because conclusive of the work) he infers that, being thus secured by his integrity, he may appeal safely to God himself. This appeal he therefore makes boldly, and in such words as, when rightly translated, form an image which perhaps has no parallel. For where is there an image so magnificent or so splendid as this? Job, thus conscious of innocence, wishing even God himself to draw up his indictment, [rather his adversary Eliphaz and companions to draw up this indictment, the Almighty to be judge,] that very indictment he would bind round his head; and with that indictment as his crown of glory, he would, with the dignity of a prince, advance to his trial! Of this wonderful passage I add a version more just and more intelligible than the present:—

“Ver. 35. O that one would grant me a hearing!

Behold, my desire is that the Almighty would answer me; And, as plaintiff against me, draw up the indictment.

With what earnestness would I take it on my shoulders! I would bind it upon me as a diadem.

The number of my steps would I set forth unto Him;

Even as a prince would I approach before Him!”

I have already shown that Eliphaz and his companions, not GOD, are the adversary or plaintiff of whom Job speaks. This view makes the whole clear and consistent, and saves Job from the charge of presumptuous rashness. See also Kennicott’s Remarks, p. 163.

It would not be right to say that no other interpretation has been given of the first clause of Job 31:10 than that given above. The manner in which Coverdale has translated the 9th and 10th verses is the way in which they are generally understood: Yf my hert hath lusted after my neghbour’s wife, or yf I have layed wayte at his dore; O then let my wife be another man’s harlot, and let other lye with her.

In this sense the word grind is not unfrequently used by the ancients. Horace represents the divine Cato commending the young men whom he saw frequenting the stews, because they left other men’s wives undefiled! Virtute esto, inquit sententia dia Catonis,

Nam simul ac venas inflavit tetra libido,

Hue juvenes æquum est descendere, non alienas

Permolere uxores.

SAT. lib. i., s. 2., ver. 32.

“When awful Cato saw a noted spark

From a night cellar stealing in the dark:

‘Well done, my friend, if lust thy heart inflame,

Indulge it here, and spare the married dame.’”

FRANCIS.

Such were the morals of the holiest state of heathen Rome; and even of Cato, the purest and severest censor of the public manners! O tempora! O mores!

I may add from a scholiast:—Molere vetus verbum est pro adulterare, subagitare, quo verbo in deponenti significatione utitur alibi Ausonius, inquiens, Epigr. vii., ver. 6, de crispa impudica et detestabili:— Deglubit, fellat, molitur, per utramque cavernam.

Qui enim coit, quasi molere et terere videtur.

Hinc etiam molitores dicti sunt, subactores, ut apud eundem, Epigr. xc., ver. 3.

Cum dabit uxori molitor tuus, et tibi adulter.

Thus the rabbins understand what is spoken of Samson grinding in the prison-house: quod ad ipsum Palæstini certatim suas uxores adduxerunt, suscipiendæ ex eo prolis causa, ob ipsius robur.

In this sense St. Jerome understands Lamentations 5:13: They took the young men to GRIND. Adolescentibus ad impudicitiam sunt abusi, ad concubitum scilicet nefandum. Concerning grinding of corn, by portable millstones, or querns, and that this was the work of females alone, and they the meanest slaves; see Clarke’s note on “Exodus 11:5”, and on “Judges 16:21”.

The Greeks use mullav to signify a harlot; and mullw, to grind, and also cœo, ineo, in the same sense in which Horace, as quoted above, alienas PERMOLERE uxores.

So Theocritus, Idyll. iv., ver. 58.

eipJ age moi korudwn, to gerontion h rJ eti mullei

thnan tan kuanofrun erwtida, tav potJ eknisqh,

Dic age mihi, Corydon, senecio ille num adhuc molit,

Illud nigro supercilio scortillum, quod olim deperibat? Hence the Greek paronomasia, mullada mullein, scortam molere. I need make no apology for leaving the principal part of this note in a foreign tongue. To those for whom it is designed it will be sufficiently plain. If the above were Job’s meaning, how dreadful is the wish or imprecation in verse the tenth! {Job 31:10}

JOB

Verses 38-40. If my land cry against me — To wit, to God, for revenge, (as the like phrase signifies, Genesis 4:10; Habakkuk 2:11,) because I have gotten it from the right owners by fraud or violence, as my friends accuse me. If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money — Either without paying the price required by the right owner of the land, or by defrauding the workmen of the wages of their labours. Or have caused the owners to lose their life — Killing them, that I might have undisturbed possession of it, as Ahab did Naboth. The words of Job are ended — To wit, in answer to his friends: for he speaks but little afterward, and that is to God.

40. Thistles — Translated elsewhere thorns. Cockle — The Hebrew root points to some kind of noxious, ill-smelling weed. The word is also the last in the Hebrew text, and forms a surprising climax to the discourse, and possibly an unsavory reflection on the friends. Among the calamities Sennacherib declares himself to have entailed upon a conquered race was the sowing of thistles over their corn fields. Inscription 30. The words of Job are ended — The poetical accents with which this sentence is marked express the very ancient opinion that these closing words are the words of Job. Hitzig, however, regards them as “a boundary set up by the revisers of Job!” A boundary stone they may be, but, by whomsoever set up, they serve to mark the line between Job’s darkness and despair on the one side, and the rich dawning light of a divine solution on the other, first through Elihu, God’s servant, and then from God himself. “All words,” observes Hengstenberg, “spoken against God come, after a brief season, to an end, either of grace, as in Job’s case, who begs that the folly of his discourses may be forgiven, or of wrath, when the mouth that uttereth great things is closed with violence.”