Job · Chapter 4

Verse 1. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered] For seven days this person and his two friends had observed a profound silence, being awed and confounded at the sight of Job’s unprecedented affliction. Having now sufficiently contemplated his afflicted state, and heard his bitter complaint, forgetting that he came as a comforter, and not as a reprover, he loses the feeling of the friend in the haughtiness of the censor, endeavouring to strip him of his only consolation,—the testimony of his conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, he had his conversation among men,—by insinuating that if his ways had been upright, he would not have been abandoned to such distress and affliction; and if his heart possessed that righteousness of which he boasted, he would not have been so suddenly cast down by adversity.

Verse 1. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered — Job’s three friends reasoning on the principles of an equal providence, and supposing that affliction could happen only in the way of punishment, which necessarily inferred guilt, and thinking his complaints exceeded the bounds of decency, the eldest of them, Eliphaz, here interposes. He desires Job to recollect himself, not to give way to fruitless lamentations, but to put into practice those lessons he had often recommended to others. He reminds him of that, as he thought, infallible maxim, that those who reaped misery must have sowed iniquity, a maxim which he confirms by his own particular experience, and which he supposes was assented to by all mankind. And, in the display of this maxim, he throws in many of the particular circumstances attending Job’s calamity, intimating, that he must have been a great, though secret oppressor, and that, therefore, the breath of God had blasted him at once. He confirms also the truth of this principle by a revelation, which, he says, was made to him in a vision. He urges further, that supposing he, Job, had been guilty of no very atrocious crime; yet the common frailties of human nature were abundantly sufficient to account for any afflictions which it should please God to inflict on man; but takes care, as he proceeds, (as may be seen in the next chapter,) to let him know, they had a far worse opinion of him; representing him as wicked and foolish, and a proper object of divine wrath.

Verse 1. Eliphaz answered, being the eldest, or the more eloquent.

1. Eliphaz the Temanite — He was the most sensible and discerning of the three friends, “and so modest, that in the first lesson which he aims to give Job he does not speak his own thoughts altogether, but communicates an oracle.” — HERDER. Hebrews Poet., 1:117. His address was calm and dignified; his thoughts weighty with the experience of many years. Admitting his premises, his reasoning was just and impressive. Throughout all there was a strange lack of sympathy. Less was to be expected from the disputants as they warmed in debate. Certainly the first words might have been of solace, rather than cold compliment. The cry from out the depths, de profundis, was enough to have moved a heart of adamant. The heart of Job craved the bread of consolation, only to receive the cold stone of argument. The theory of Eliphaz is, that suffering is a necessary proof of previous sin. This proposition is implied in vers. 7 and 8. This he illustrates — 1.) By the death of the wicked, whom he compares to the lion, who, though he be the king of beasts, is powerless against the shafts of death. Vers. 8-11. 2.) By the disclosures of a vision, in which he had seen that all men are impure in the sight of God, which accounts for the ordinary sufferings of life. Vers. 12-21. 3.) By the acknowledged punishment of the wicked, involving even their children. Chap. Job 5:1-5. 4.) Evil seems inwrought in man, which mystery, however, is to be referred to Him whose ways are unsearchable. Chap. Job 5:6-16. 5.) Affliction is not fortuitous, but a blessing to man, in that it is remedial. Chap. Job 5:17,

18. 6.) The subject enforces faith and trust in God from a twofold consideration — first, his providential care of the good, verses 19-23; second, the certain prosperity of the righteous, verses 24-27. “The speech is exquisitely climactic, rising, as Ewald says, from the faint whisper and tune of the summer wind, to the loud and irresistible thunder of the wintry storm.” — Davidson.

First double strophe — Proposition — MISERY IMPLIES GUILT, 2-11. First strophe — Reproof of Job for the failure of his faith, 2-6.

V. 2. If we, &c.-He speaks with great modesty. He will not undertake the cause alone, but joins his friends with him. He will not promise much, but only assay, or try if he could propose any thing pertinent to Job’s case. Withhold-When he hears such words from such a person as thou art.

Verse 2. If we assay to commune with thee] As if he had said, Should I and my friends endeavour to reason with thee ever so mildly, because we shall have many things to say by way of reprehension, thou wilt be grieved and faint; and this we may reasonably infer from the manner in which thou bearest thy present afflictions. Yet as thou hast uttered words which are injurious to thy Maker, who can forbear speaking? It is our duty to rise up on the part of God, though thereby we shall grieve him who is our friend. This was a plausible beginning, and certainly was far from being insincere.

Verse 2. If we assay to commune with thee, &c. — This is nearly the sense, but not exactly the construction of the Hebrew, Ëyla rbd hsnh, hanissah dabar eeleka, is rather, Annon aggrediemur sermonem adversus te. Shall we not attempt a discourse against thee? Shall we suffer thee to go on with thy complaints? Shall we hear thee with patience, and be altogether silent, without so much as attempting a reply? Wilt thou be grieved? — Or, Thou wilt be grieved; halt, Tileh, moleste feres, thou wilt take it ill. Our words will undoubtedly vex, and not comfort thee, as we desired and intended to do. For truth is surely to be regarded more than friendship, and we cannot, in consistency therewith, speak words of consolation, but we must use those of sharp reproof. This makes me desire to be silent, were it possible. But who can withhold? &c. — The Hebrew ˆylmb rx[w, vagnetser bemillin, &c., is literally, But to refrain from words, who can? Who, when he hears such unreasonable and ungodly words, coming from such a person as thou art, words whereby thou dost accuse thy Maker, reproach his providence, and contemn his blessings, can forbear speaking? No man, who hath any respect to God, or love to thee, can refrain from reproving thee. I will, therefore, suggest to thee some of those observations, which were the thoughts of wise and prudent men of old time; and from which, if well applied, thou mayest receive singular profit. The verse is intended as an apology for what he was about to say.

2. If we assay — Literally, Should we attempt a word with thee, wilt thou take it ill? The address of Telemachus to Antinous in the Odyssey opens in a similar manner, almost word for word. Who can withhold himself, etc. — Better, “Yet to restrain words, who is able?” A delicate and courteous beginning.

Verse 3. Thou hast instructed many] Thou hast seen many in affliction and distress, and thou hast given them such advice as was suitable to their state, and effectual to their relief; and by this means thou hast strengthened the weak hands, and the feeble knees—the desponding have been encouraged, and the irresolute confirmed and excited to prompt and proper actions, by thy counsel and example.

Verse 3. Behold, thou hast instructed many — It is well known thou hast given good counsel unto others, teaching them those lessons which, it appears, thou hast not thyself learned, and wilt not practise, namely, patiently to bear afflictions, and to submit to God’s will and providence in all things. And thou hast strengthened the weak hands — Hast encouraged those that were dispirited; hast administered counsels, supports, and comforts to such as were unable to bear their burdens, or to do their duty.

Ver. 3. Thou hast instructed many. The holy patriarchs were all preachers of righteousness on the sabbath days, &c, He admits that Job, as a preacher, was a son of consolation.

3. Instructed — Admonished many. Strengthened the weak hands — He very properly reminds Job of his past offices of consolation by way of compliment; not, as some suppose, in irony.

V. 4. Feeble knees-Such as were weak hearted, and fainting under their trials.

Verse 4. Thy words have upholden him that was falling — That was ready to sink under his pressures, or to fall into sin, or from God, through despondency and distrust of his providence and promise, or through impatience. And thou hast strengthened the feeble knees — Such as were weak-hearted, and fainting under their trials.

4. Feeble knees — Literally, sinking knees. Schultens sees in these verses a beautiful image drawn from the palestra, and the contests of wrestlers. The duty was devolved upon one to prepare for, and assist others in, such contests. A like office Job has filled as a moral instructor and helper. This sense, however, is forced. Similar figures are used elsewhere to describe moral traits. 2 Samuel 4:1; Isaiah 35:3; Ezekiel 7:17.

Verse 5. But now it is come upon thee] Now it is thy turn to suffer, and give an example of the efficacy of thy own principles; but instead of this, behold, thou faintest. Either, therefore, thou didst pretend to what thou hadst not; or thou art not making a proper use of the principles which thou didst recommend to others.

Verse 5. But now it is come upon thee — That is, the evil which thou didst fear, (Job 3:25,) or, that which had come upon those whom thou didst so comfort. And thou faintest — There is no more spirit left in thee: and thou canst not practise thy own advice. It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled — It is now come to be thine own case, and thou art struck with consternation.

5. Troubled — Rather, confounded.

V. 6. Thy fear-We now plainly see what was the nature of thy fear of God, thy confidence in him, the uprightness of thy ways, and thy hope in God’s mercy. Thy present carriage discovers that it was but mere talk and appearance.

Verse 6. Is not this thy fear] I think Coverdale hits the true meaning: Where is now thy feare of God, thy stedfastnesse, thy pacience, and the perfectnesse of thy life? If these be genuine, surely there is no cause for all this complaint, vexation, and despair. That this is the meaning, the next words show.

Verse 6. Is not this thy fear? &c. — We now plainly see what was the nature of thy fear of God, thy confidence in him, the uprightness of thy ways, and thy hope in God’s mercy. Thy present conduct discovers that it was but mere talk and appearance. In thy prosperity it was easy for thee to make a splendid profession of religion; but men are best known by affliction, and this trial now shows what thou art. For now thou castest off thy fear of God, and thy confidence and hope in him, and hast relinquished the integrity of thy ways, which before thou didst seem to hold fast; whereas true piety is uniform and constant, and steadfast in all varieties of condition, and under all trials and temptations.

Ver. 6. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, the uprightness of thy ways, and thy hope? The reading of the Vulgate very much relieves this passage: “Where is thy fear, thy fortitude, thy patience, and the perfection of thy ways?”

6. Is not this thy fear — More literally, Is not thy fear (of God) thy confidence? thy hope (is it not) the uprightness of thy ways? Eliphaz in all cases uses the word fear in the sense of the fear of God. “The word fear is the most comprehensive term for that mixed feeling called piety, the contradictory reverence and confidence, awe and familiarity, which, like the centripetal and centrifugal forces, keep man in his orbit around God.” — Davidson. This verse was meant in kindness, “but it is two-edged, for there is also implied, if thou despairest, thou hast no fear of God.” — Dillmann. The introduction is a masterpiece, judged by rhetorical rules. It has admirably paved the way for the fundamental thought of the next two verses. It has been simple, pertinent, conciliatory. It has treated, in the main, of the kind offices of Job to others. In the meantime, he is reminded that he has not been equal to the emergency, which is thus far the only sentiment to which exception could have been taken. Job, the well known consoler of the feeble, ought to have been strong to bear his own grievous trials.

Second strophe — The axiom Eliphaz proceeds to lay down (ver. 8) involves an insinuation of wrong-doing on the part of Job, 7-11. The horns of the grand dilemma of the debate now begin to take shape, and for the first time protrude themselves. If Job’s case be a hopeless one, he must be a transgressor, for the testimony of experience everywhere is, that hopeless sufferers are not guiltless.

V. 7. Innocent-Therefore thou art guilty of some great, though secret crimes, and thy sin hath now found thee out. Cut off-By the sickle of Divine vengeance before his time, which is like to be thy case. Eliphaz here advances another argument to prove Job an hypocrite; taken not only from his impatience under afflictions, but from his afflictions themselves.

Verse 7. Remember, I pray thee] Recollect, if thou canst, a single instance where God abandoned an innocent man, or suffered him to perish. Didst thou ever hear of a case in which God abandoned a righteous man to destruction? Wert thou a righteous man, and innocent of all hidden crimes, would God abandon thee thus to the malice of Satan? or let loose the plagues of affliction and adversity against thee?

Verse 7. Remember, I pray thee — Consult thy own experience, observation, or reading, and produce one example. Who ever perished — That is, was so utterly undone as thou art, so miserably afflicted by such unparalleled and various judgments from God and men, all conspiring against thee; being innocent — Who had not, by his wickedness, provoked so merciful a God to do what is so unusual, and contrary to his gracious nature. Therefore thou art guilty of some great, though secret crimes, and thy sin hath now found thee out, and brought down these stupendous calamities upon thee. Or, where were the righteous cut off? — By the sword of divine vengeance before his time, which is likely to be thy case. Thus Eliphaz here advances another argument to prove Job a hypocrite, taken not only from his impatience under afflictions, but from his afflictions themselves. His judgment herein was undoubtedly rash and false, but not without some appearance of truth; for God had made many promises, not only of spiritual and eternal, but also of temporal blessings to all that should faithfully serve and obey him, which he accordingly from time to time conferred on such, as we see in the examples of Noah, Lot, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and doubtless many others who had lived in or before their days. And, indeed, this was God’s usual method in all the times of the Old Testament, as we see by the people of Israel, who were generally either in a happy and flourishing, or in an afflicted and miserable state, according to their obedience to God, or apostacy from him. And, therefore, it is not strange that Eliphaz and his friends fell into this mistake.

Ver. 7. Who ever perished, being innocent? Does not God break the teeth of the lions, the wicked, who hunt and persecute them?

7. Who… perished, being innocent — Eliphaz strangely overlooks the fact that the first recorded human death was the murder of a good and innocent man. The killing of Abel was premeditated if we may trust the Septuagint, Targums, and other ancient versions. The Septuagint thus begins the sad tale, “And Cain said unto Abel, his brother, Let us go out into the field,” etc.

V. 8. Even-As thou hast never seen any example of a righteous man cut off, so I have seen many of wicked men cut off for their wickedness. They-They that designedly work wickedness, first preparing themselves for it, and then continuing to execute it, as husbandmen first plow the ground, and then cast in the feed. Reap-The fruit of their iniquity, the just punishment of it.

Verse 8. They that plough iniquity] A proverbial form of speech drawn from nature. Whatever seed a man sows in the ground, he reaps the same kind; for every seed produces its like. Thus Solomon, Proverbs 22:8: “He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity.” And St. Paul, Galatians 6:7, 8: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he who soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” And of the same nature is that other saying of the apostle, He that soweth sparingly, shall reap sparingly, 2 Corinthians 9:6.

The same figure is employed by the Prophet Hosea Hosea 8:7: They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind; and Hosea 10:12, 13: Sow to yourselves in righteousness; reap in mercy. Ye have ploughed wickedness; ye have reaped iniquity. The last sentence contains, not only the same image, but almost the same words as those used by Eliphaz.

Our Lord expresses the same thing, in the following words: Matthew 7:16-18: Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. So the Greeks:—

Athv aroura qanaton ekkarpizetai.

ÆSCH. eJpta epi qhbaiv, ver. 607.

“The field of iniquity produces the fruit of death.”

JUbriv gar exanqouv ekarpwse staxun

Athv, oqen pagklauton exama qerov.

IB. Perosai, ver. 823.

“For oppression, when it springs,

Puts forth the blade of vengeance; and its fruit

Yields a ripe harvest of repentant wo.”

—POTTER.

The image is common every where because it is a universal law of nature.

Verse 8. Even as I have seen, &c. — As thou hast never seen any example of a righteous man cut off, so I have seen many of wicked men cut off for their wickedness. They that plough, &c. — They that designedly work wickedness, first preparing themselves for it, and then continuing to execute it, as husbandmen first plough the ground, and then cast in the seed. See the margin. In other words, the observation I have made of such persons is, they are so far from reaping any advantage from their iniquitous practices, that those practices return on their own heads, and their sinful schemes and contrivances recoil wholly on themselves.

8. Even as (so far as)… they that plough iniquity — A principle profoundly true, everywhere a matter of observation, and often expressed in a like figure. The error of Eliphaz is, that he perverts it. He makes great suffering an evidence and a measure of personal sin. He intimates that all suffering is the harvest of wrong doing, which was not true, for instance, in the case of Job. He is right when he says that all sin will sooner or later be punished; he is wrong when he reasons that the individual can have no suffering that does not spring from his own sins. Illustrations abound. Thus AEschylus:

Nothing worse,

In whatever cause, than impious fellowship;

Nothing of good is reaped: for when the field

Is sown with wrong, the ripen’d fruit is death.

— Septem, 602.

Cicero cites a Latin proverb, “As you sow you will reap.” — De Orat., 2:94. The Institutes of Manu teach the Hindu that all diseases are the punishment of past offences, and they assign a particular disease to each particular crime. Chap. 11. The teaching of the sacred books of the Chinese would, perhaps, be more readily accepted by Eliphaz: “The good or evil which Heaven sends to men depends upon their virtue.” — Shoo-King, IV, ch. 4. Striking instances might be adduced in illustration of the thought that to the very field where iniquity was perpetrated retribution often comes. The grandson of Ahab is himself slain by treachery in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. 2 Kings 9:25, 26. Hoffman was the first to remark, that, according to Acts 1:18, Judas must have met his end in the very field he bought with the price of a Saviour’s blood. All sin is seminal. Seed of every kind carries within itself the germ, and as some say the form, of the future growth. Sin is essentially retributive. It embodies the elements of retribution. Change of place and lapse of time do not affect their vitality. “Sin (peccasse) is the first and greatest punishment of those that sin. Nor is any wickedness unpunished: since in wickedness is the punishment of wickedness.” — SENECA, Epist, 97.

V. 9. The blast-Of his nostrils, as it follows; by his anger, which in men shews itself, in the nostrils, by hot and frequent breathings there, by a secret, but mighty judgment of God, they are blown away as chaff by the wind.

Verse 9. By the blast of God they perish] As the noxious and parching east wind blasts and destroys vegetation, so the wicked perish under the indignation of the Almighty.

Verses 9, 10. By the blast of God they perish, &c. — These two verses are thus interpreted by Heath: By the breath of God they perish; for, at the blast of his anger, the roarings of the lion, and the growling of the black lion, are hushed, and the teeth of the young lions are broken; that is, by the mere breath of God’s displeasure, or by a secret, and often undiscerned, but mighty and irresistible calamity, their projects are blasted, and they are suddenly carried away, as chaff by the wind, and come to a fearful end. Nor can they escape, were they even as strong as lions, yea, as the strongest and fiercest of them. For when the divine wrath is once kindled against them, their power is immediately broken, and in a moment they are cut off, and totally consumed. He speaks of powerful tyrants, fitly compared to lions, Ezekiel 32:2, and 38:13; 2 Timothy 4:17, who, though for a time they persecute and oppress other men, yet in due time they are restrained and crushed by the mighty power of God. Possibly, he might intend secretly to accuse Job, or his children, that, being persons of great wealth and power, they had abused it to ruin their neighbours, and therefore were justly cut off.

Ver. 9. By the blast of God they perish. Even lions are terrified with the louder storms of thunder, and their young ones are so frighted that they hide themselves; so in like manner shall the scourges and visitations of heaven appal the wicked. The constant reference to wild beasts and cattle designates the remotest antiquity of the book of Job.

9. The blast of God — The breath of God. The breath of his nostrils — An expression used figuratively for wrath. “In the Mediterranean languages,” says Furst, “anger is conceived of as a snorting, glowing, or smoking of the nose.” Thus ãa (aph) is used both for the nostril and wrath. The lively faith of the sons of the East saw in their fiery winds, destroying life and devastating wide-spread fields of vegetation, the breath or blast of God. Thevenot, an eastern traveller, thus speaks of the effects of the Simoon: “This year, 1665, in the month of July, there died in Bassora, of that wind called Samiel, four thousand people in three weeks’ time.” — Part 2. p. 57. The air we must breathe becomes a medium of divine chastisement. The word epidemic — epi and dhmov (upon the people) — takes up and transmits the sentiment of Eliphaz. The great pestilences come down upon the nations; the very winds become the dark wings upon which the dispensations of God are spread abroad over the world. The faith of the Hebrews called such visitations the visitation of God. The poisoned blast was no unloosed courser; no plaything of chance. It was the breath of God. With the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Isaiah 11:4. “As the previous verse describes retribution as a natural necessity founded in the order of the world, so does this verse trace back this same order of the world to the divine causality.” — Schlottmann.

V. 10. The roaring-Nor can they escape, even were they strong as lions, yea, as the strongest and fiercest of them. Broken-Which is true literally; the lions when taken having most commonly their teeth broken, as ancient and modern writers relate. But this is meant of powerful tyrants, who are fitly compared to lions, Ezekiel 32:2 38:13, who though for a time they persecute and oppress other men, yet in due time they are restrained, and broken, and crushed in pieces by the mighty power of God. Possibly he may secretly accuse Job, or his children, that being persons of great wealth and power, they had abused it to ruin their neighbours, and therefore were justly cut off.

Verse 10. The roaring of the lion] By the roaring lion, fierce lion, old lion, stout lion, and lion’s whelps, tyrannous rulers of all kinds are intended. The design of Eliphaz in using these figures is to show that even those who are possessed of the greatest authority and power—the kings, rulers, and princes of the earth—when they become wicked and oppressive to their subjects are cast down, broken to pieces, and destroyed, by the incensed justice of the Lord; and their whelps—their children and intended successors, scattered without possessions over the face of the earth.

Verse 10. How much less in them — Doth he put trust, &c., or, How much more (as the Hebrew particle ãa, aph, equally signifies) doth he charge folly on them, &c. One or other of these supplements seems necessary to complete the sense, and they are either of them natural and easy, being fetched from the former verse. The sense then is, If he put no trust in his angels, how much less will he put any in them that dwell in houses of clay; or, If he charged his angels with folly, how much more will he charge frail and mortal men therewith! What strange presumption then is it for a weak, sinful, and dying man to pretend to a higher privilege than the angels can lay claim to, and to make himself more just and pure than God, which all do, in effect, who complain of, or are impatient under, the righteous dispensations of the divine providence. That dwell in houses of clay — Whose immortal spirits dwell in mortal bodies, which are great clogs, encumbrances, and snares to them. These are called houses, because they are the receptacles of the soul, and the places of its settled abode; and houses of clay, because they were made of clay or earth; and to denote their great frailty and mutability; whereas the angels are free spirits, unconfined to such carcasses, and dwell in celestial, glorious, and everlasting mansions; whose foundation — No less than the rest of the building; is in the dust — Who, as they dwell in dust and clay, so they had their original from it, and must return to it. We stand but upon the dust: some have a higher heap of dust to stand upon than others. But still it is mere earth and dust that stays us up, and will soon swallow us up; which are crushed before the moth — “Which are as subject to be destroyed,” says Bishop Patrick, “as a garment to be fretted with moths;” which, though it be wrought with ever so much art and strength; though it be ever so curious, fine, and beautiful, is soon defaced and spoiled by that subtle and devouring insect. Or, sooner than, or like as, a moth is crushed, which is easily done by a gentle touch of the finger: an hyperbolical expression. Or, as ynpl, liphnee, is still more properly rendered, before the face, or, at the presence of a moth. This interpretation, which is approved by Hervey, makes the passage to represent the body of man so exceedingly frail, that even a moth flying against it may dash it to pieces. And, “besides its closer correspondence,” says he, “with the exact import of the Hebrew, presents us with a much finer image of extreme imbecility; for it certainly implies a far greater degree of weakness to be crushed by the feeblest flutter of the feeblest creature, than only to be crushed as easily as that creature by the hand of man.” Certainly no creature is so weak and contemptible, but, one time or other, it may have the body of man in its power.

10. The lion — In early times the lion was common in Syria. That some places should have taken their name from the lion, as Lebaoth (lionesses) and Beth Lebaoth, shows how numerous must have been this terrible beast of prey. The exploits of Samson and David will be borne in mind, which were quite paralleled by that of Lysimachus, who, hunting in Syria, single handed killed a large lion, but not until the beast had torn his shoulder to the bone. — Q. Curtius, viii, chap. 1. The lion has been honoured in Oriental languages by a great variety of names. If we may credit Golius, there are more than five hundred appropriated to him in the Arabic. (Lex. under Asamah.) Eliphaz beautifies his address by using no less than five of the seven different names which rabbinical writers have discovered in the Old Testament as belonging to this animal. He mentions first the aryeh, the general name for the lion, “so called from his rending and mangling his prey.” — Gesenius. The fierce lion — The shahhal, the roarer, (Furst,) is perhaps the maneless lion. The young lions — Kephir, and on account of youthful vigour most ferocious, and exceedingly bloodthirsty. — Gesenius. “The young lions are mentioned along with the old in order to exemplify the destruction of the haughty sinner with his entire household.” — Schlottmann.

V. 11. Scattered-Gone from their dens several ways to hunt for prey, and can find none.

Verse 11. The old lion perisheth] In this and the preceding verse the word lion occurs five times; and in the original the words are all different:—

1. hyra aryeh, from hra arah, to tear off. 2. ljv shachal, which as it appears to signify black or dark, may mean the black lion, which is said to be found in Ethiopia and India. 3. rypk kephir, a young lion, from rpk caphar, to cover, because he is said to hide himself in order to surprise his prey, which the old one does not. 4. vyl lavish, from vl lash, to knead, trample upon; because of his method of seizing his prey. 5. aybl labi, from abl laba, to suckle with the first milk; a lioness giving suck; at which time they are peculiarly fierce. All these words may point out some quality of the lion; and this was probably the cause why they were originally given: but it is likely that, in process of time, they served only to designate the beast, without any particular reference to any of his properties. We have one and the same idea when we say the lion, the king of beasts, the monarch of the forest, the most noble of quadrupeds, &c.

Verse 11. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey — Dares not venture out of his den in search of prey, amidst the roar of thunder, the blaze of lightning, and the violence of the storm, that blast of God, mentioned in the preceding verse. And the young lion’s whelps are scattered abroad — Are so affrighted with the lightning and thunder, that, being separated, they flee different ways, and cannot find the path which leads to the den of the lioness, their dam. Thus do the divine judgments suddenly oppress, scatter, and bring to nothing the fierce and powerful tyrants of the earth, and unexpectedly strip them of all their wealth gotten by injustice and oppression.

11. The old lion — Layish, (the Homeric liv,) not indicative of decrepitude, but maturity of strength; the root of the word signifying “to be strong.” The stout lion — Labi, the lioness, whose fierceness when with her whelps very properly furnishes the climax of the description. Gallius calls her the boldest and fiercest of animals. There are now two distinct species of lions in Mesopotamia, the one maneless and the other with a long, black, and shaggy mane. — Layard, 3:487. Here, as is frequently the case in the Scriptures, evil-doers are represented by the lion. Psalm 10:9; 58:6. He is everywhere regarded as the king of beasts, and a symbol of bloodthirstiness, and on this account is employed by the apostle to represent another king — the prince of fallen spirits. But the roar of the lion has an end, and even the teeth of young lions, proverbially sharp and terrible, are broken. The wicked, however they may pride themselves upon their leonine strength, are in like manner brought low.

Second double strophe — A HEAVENLY REVELATION, 12-21.

Strophe a — This revelation is given in a night vision, 12-16.

V. 12. Now-To convince Job of the sin and folly of impatience, Eliphaz relates a vision he had had, perhaps since he came to him. Which in that age and state of the church, before the holy scriptures were written, was the usual way of God’s discovering his mind to those that sought him. A thing-Heb. a word, from God, a message. Secretly-Heb. was stolen, or brought by stealth unto me, privately and secretly, as the word of God used to come to the prophets, being spoken in their ear, as it was to Samuel, with a low and still voice. He does not pretend to have understood it fully; but something of it he perceived. How little a portion is heard of God! How little do we know of him in this world.

Verse 12. Now a thing was secretly brought to me] To give himself the more authority, he professes to have received a vision from God, by which he was taught the secret of the Divine dispensations in providence; and a confirmation of the doctrine which he was now stating to Job; and which he applied in a different way to what was designed in the Divine communication.

Mine ear received a little thereof.] Mr. Good translates, “And mine ear received a whisper along with it.” The apparition was the general subject; and the words related Job 4:17, &c., were the whispers which he heard when the apparition stood still.

Verse 12. Now — Hebrew, and, or moreover, a thing, &c. — To show Job more evidently the sin and folly of impatience, and to impress what he had already advanced, or should yet further advance on that subject, more fully on his mind, Eliphaz relates a vision he had had, perhaps since he came to him: as if he had said, If these observations be not sufficient to convince thee, hear what God himself hath secretly revealed to me. In those early ages of the world, before God had vouchsafed to mankind a written revelation, it was usual with him to communicate the knowledge of his will to those that were pious, and earnestly desired it, by dreams and visions. A thing — Hebrew, a word, oracle, or message from God; was secretly brought to me — The Hebrew expression bngy, jegunnab, is very elegant, namely, stole in upon me; or, was brought by stealth unto me; that is, privately and secretly, as the word of God used to come to the prophets, being spoken to their ear with a low and still voice, or signified to their minds in a mild and gentle manner. This is opposed to the more public declaration of God’s word to the people by the prophets, which was frequently by their crying aloud, Isaiah 58:1. Mine ear received a little thereof — The word, xmv, shemets, here rendered little, occurs but once more in the Bible, namely, Job 26:14, where it is also translated little: How little a portion is heard of him? Symmachus translates it here yiqurismon, and in chap. 26. yiqurisma, both which words signify whisper, which here may be interpreted a hint or intimation. Eliphaz does not pretend to have understood the revelation that had been made to him in this vision perfectly, but something of it he perceived. He certainly would take care not to lose a syllable of what the spirit said, but he intends by the expression, that he did not fully comprehend the deep meaning of the words which he heard. Or he may be considered as expressing himself thus through modesty and humility, from a deep sense of his own weakness, and the small measure which he judged he possessed of the knowledge of divine things. As if he had said, Many, I doubt not, have a much more familiar acquaintance with God, and more full revelations from him, than I can pretend to; but a little of that treasure he hath been pleased to impart to me.

12. A thing — A word, a divine communication. “The law shall not perish from the priest… nor the word from the prophet.” Jeremiah 18:18. Secretly brought — Stole (literally, was stolen) upon me. The Pual form of the verb indicates that the “word” was sent. The whole description signifies “that there is nothing forced or strained in God’s communication to man; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.” Milton has a similar beautiful thought: —

A soft and solemn breathing sound

Rose like the scent of rich distilled perfumes,

And stole upon the air.

A little — xmv, (a whisper.) See note, Job 26:14, where the word stands in contradistinction to thunder. In patriarchal times God employed visions and dreams to communicate his will to men. Abram, (Genesis 15:1,) Jacob, (Genesis 46:2,) and Moses, (Exodus 3:2,) were thus favoured. That this oracle should be communicated through a vision, points to a very early age for the time of its delivery, for then such communications were of most frequent occurrence. Eliphaz introduces the vision to show that no one is pure or just in the sight of God, and consequently man has no reason to complain of his sufferings, since all by nature are attainted with sinful infirmity. A few bold strokes set before us the vision, which is as vivid to his soul as if he had seen it the night before. It stands unique in all literatures — “amazingly sublime.” — Burke. The mind of man has never portrayed aught that has at all approached its stern and awful grandeur. No one can read it alone in the still hours of the night, “when deep sleep falleth on men,” without feeling somewhat the horror which fell upon Eliphaz when brought face to face with the supernatural. “There is form and yet no form; a gentle whisper, a murmuring like the voice of the wind, but with it also the power of the wind, the energy of spirit.” — Herder. It is no more than just to the genius of man to cite its best effort at ghostly description. This, Dr. Good finds in the poems of Ossian, “whose descriptions of apparitions possess more terror and sublimity than are to be met with anywhere out of the Old Testament.” The poet thus describes the spirit of Loda:

“The wan, cold moon rose in the east. Sleep descended on the youths, their blue helmets glitter to the beam; the fading fire decays. But sleep did not rest on the king. He rose in the midst of his arms and slowly ascended the hill to behold the flame of Sarno’s tower. The flame was dim and distant; the moon hid the red flame in the east. A blast came from the mountain; on its wings was the spirit of Loda. He came to his place in his terrors and shook his dusky spear. His eyes appear like flame in his dark face; his voice is like distant thunder. Fingal advanced his spear amid the night, and raised his voice on high.

“‘Son of Night, retire! call thy winds and fly. Why dost thou come to my presence with thy shadowy arms? Do I fear thy gloomy form, spirit of dismal Loda? Weak is thy shield of clouds; feeble is that meteor, thy sword. The blast rolls them together, and thou thyself art lost. Fly from my presence, son of Night! Call thy winds and fly!’

“‘Dost thou force me from my place?’ replied the hollow voice. ‘The people bend before me. I turn the battle in the field of the brave. I look on the nations and they vanish. My nostrils pour the blast of death. I come abroad on the winds; the tempests are before my face, but my dwelling is calm above the clouds; the fields of my rest are pleasant.’” Compare the description of the ghost in Hamlet, act 1, scene 5.

V. 13. In thoughts-These thoughts arose from the visions of the night, which it is probable he had seen before. Visions differed from dreams herein, that God imparted his mind to men in dreams when asleep, but in visions, when they were awake. And these visions sometimes happened by day, but most frequently by night. Sleep-In the dead of the night, when men usually are in a deep sleep; though Eliphaz was not now asleep.

Verse 13. From the visions of the night] “It is in vain,” says Mr. Good, “to search through ancient or modern poetry for a description that has any pretensions to rival that upon which we are now entering. Midnight— solitude—the deep sleep of all around—the dreadful chill and horripilation or erection of the hair over the whole body—the shivering, not of the muscles only, but of the bones themselves—the gliding approach of the spectre—the abruptness of his pause—his undefined and indescribable form—are all powerful and original characters, which have never been given with equal effect by any other writer.”

Mr. Hervey’s illustration is also striking and natural. “‘Twas in the dead of night; all nature lay shrouded in darkness; every creature was buried in sleep. The most profound silence reigned through the universe. In these solemn moments Eliphaz, alone, all wakeful and solitary, was musing on sublime subjects. When, lo! an awful being burst into his apartment. A spirit passed before his face. Astonishment seized the beholder. His bones shivered within him; his flesh trembled all over him; and the hair of his head stood erect with horror. Sudden and unexpected was its appearance; not such its departure. It stood still, to present itself more fully to his view. It made a solemn pause, to prepare his mind for some momentous message. After which a voice was heard. A voice, for the importance of its meaning, worthy to be had in everlasting remembrance. It spoke, and these were its words:”

Verse 13. In thoughts — Or, By reason of my thoughts; my perplexing thoughts. These thoughts, it seems, arose from the visions of the night, which, probably, he had had before, and were the occasion of the fear mentioned verse 14. Visions differed from dreams herein, that God imparted his mind to men in dreams when asleep, but in visions when they were awake. And these visions were sometimes communicated by day, but most frequently by night, whence we read of visions of the night, as Genesis 46:2; Job 20:8; and 33:15. And such this was, which made it the more terrible. When deep sleep falleth on men — In the dead of the night, when men usually are in a deep sleep, and all around is still and quiet.

13. Thoughts — µyp[v. At its root lies the idea of “dividing,” “branching out.” It embodies the figure that thoughts spring from the soul, like the branches of a tree, intersecting and intertwining one with another. Deep sleep — The same word is used to describe the supernatural slumber which fell upon Adam. Genesis 2:21. Eliphaz means simply to indicate the depth of night, when men are most profoundly lost in slumber; not that he himself was asleep, as Hengstenberg conjectures.

Verse 14. Fear came upon me, and trembling — The Hebrew is very poetical, namely, Fear called me, or called to me. Job expresses himself in similar language, Job 17:14. I have said, ytarq, karati, literally, I have called to corruption. Thus also Jeremiah 30:5, We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear. As in a poem every thing is, or ought to be, alive, so fear is here represented as a person, who comes up to Eliphaz, and speaks to, and arrests him, as an officer of justice. Which made all my bones to shake — Which affected me to such a degree that my mind and body lost all power, and my very bones shook and trembled. It should seem, before he either heard or saw any thing, he was seized with this terror.

14. All my bones — Literally, the multitude of my bones. Virgil similarly describes the effects of horror, — “gelidus per ima cucurrit ossa tremor,” (AEneid, 2:120,) — through the inmost bones an icy tremor ran.

V. 15. A spirit-An angel in visible shape, otherwise he could not have discerned it. Stood up-Through that excessive horror caused by so glorious, unusual, and terrible a presence.

Verse 15. Then — Hebrew, And, as the particle w, vau, generally signifies. A spirit passed before my face — An angel in a visible shape, otherwise he could not have discerned it, nor would have been affrighted by it. The hair of my flesh stood up — Through that excessive consternation and horror, which seized me at the sight of so glorious and unusual an appearance.

Ver. 15. Then a spirit passed before my face. Hebrews jwr ruach. The Messiah, the divine person, an angel, the wind. These are the comments of critics. The terrors of Eliphaz, and the erection of his hair, agree with the horror of great darkness which fell on Abraham, Genesis 15:12. And with those of Job 42:6, who, on seeing God, abhorred himself in dust and ashes. They agree with those of Elijah, who on hearing the still small voice, wrapped himself in his mantle. Awful darkness, wind, and flame, are the wonted symbols of divine communications. Our conclusion is, to agree with those critics who are decided that the glorious Being who spake to Eliphaz was really the Messiah, who spake in times past by various symbols to the fathers.

15. A spirit — jwr, rouahh, as a verb, signifies to breathe or to blow, and as a noun, bears the meaning of breath or spirit, according as the associated thought shall determine. Locke early announced the principle, “I doubt not but if we could trace them to their source we should find, in all languages, the names which stand for things that fall not under our senses to have had their first rise from sensible ideas.” The use of a kindred word for spirit may have been developed in, or transmitted to, all these different languages through the reflection that breath and spirit are alike invisible, that they are so intimately associated together that, with the extinction of life, they both disappear from the knowledge of men. Or, as Delitzsch (Bib. Psych., p. 273) more profoundly suggests, “that the breathing… is that form of life, wherewith life begins to become self-life… and to evidence itself outwardly.” Thus, in the Latin, we have animus, the mind, which Cicero says is so called from anima, air or breath. The Greek word pneuma, pneuma; the Sanscrit, atman; the Aztec, checatl; the Mohawk, atonritz; and our own word, spirit, (Latin, spiritus,) as well as similar words in other languages, primarily bore the meaning of breath or wind, as well as of spirit. The word rouahh belongs to the same class. With significance it appears here, as in 1 Kings 22:21, (a rare construction,) in agreement with the masculine form of the verb. Its spiritual meaning was evidently just as fixed in the days of Job, (Job 32:8,) as that of spirit is in ours. In our text the word must mean spirit, as in 1 Kings 22:21, and in the Targum, since acts of moral consciousness and spiritual intelligence are attributed to it. It speaks, reasons, (uses the argumentum a fortiori,) and communicates the sublimest thoughts upon the relations of man to God. This passage is of great interest, as it unquestionably shows that unembodied existence was taken for granted in the days of Job. This is the first time on scripture page that spirit, other than God, sundered from bodily restrictions, is personified. Subsequently evil spirits appear on their dark missions, as in 1 Samuel 16:15, 23, etc. Whether this being was human or of some other order of spiritual intelligences, does not appear from the vision. Commentators in general have been of the opinion that it was an angel. We have an important datum, in the free and natural assumption of Eliphaz, that spirit can live without a body. This datum will materially help us to a proper conception of the knowledge that Job possessed in those early ages, and will shed light upon the controverted passages in this book, as to the condition of the dead. Passed — ãljy, glided by. The same word is used in Job 9:11, of deity. The employment of this verb thus in connexion with conscious existence, disposes of the reasoning Hitzig bases upon the verb, for rendering its subject rouahh, wind, (hauch.) The hair of my flesh — In like manner the ghost of Hamlet could tell a tale that would make: —

Thy knotted and combined locks to part,

And each particular hair to stand on end,

Like quills upon the fretful porcupine.

Ibid.

Arrectae que horrore comae, et vox faucibus haesit. The hair stood up with horror, etc. — AEneid, 12:868.

V. 16. Stood-Having passed by him to, and again, he made a stand, and addressed himself to speak. The form-Exactly and distinctly. An image-I saw some visible resemblance, though in a confused manner. Silence-The spirit, which possibly had made some noise with his motion, now standing still made no noise; all other persons and things about me were silent, and I also kept in my voice and breath, that I might distinctly hear. In the Hebrew, the words run thus, silence and a voice I heard.

Verse 16. It stood still — Though it passed by me, it did not immediately disappear and vanish, but made a stand, as having some business with me, and designing to address me. But I could not discern the form thereof — Namely, exactly and distinctly, so as to know what or who it was. An image was before my eyes — My eyes could not be deceived. I am thoroughly satisfied there was an image which showed itself to me visibly. There was silence — The spirit stood motionless; all other persons and things about me were entirely silent; and I also kept in my voice and breath as much as I could, that I might distinctly hear what I perceived the spirit was about to speak to me. In the Hebrew it is, Silence, and a voice I heard. Houbigant’s translation of the verse is, It stood still indeed, but I knew not its form; the appearance vanished from before my eyes, but I heard a voice.

16. An image — hnwmt (rendered by the Septuagint morfh, form, comp. Philippians 2:6) is used in Numbers 12:8 of some glorious, visible representation of God. (Sept. doxa, also same in Psalm 17:15.) The word happily blends the indefiniteness and the substantiality of spiritual existence — answering to Milton’s idea of that which: — Substance might be called that shadow seemed.

The preceding word form Hitzig renders face, visage, that which has features. Silence, and I heard a voice — Septuagint, I heard a soft murmur (auran) and a voice. Dillmann scouts the idea of rendering hmmd, silence, “because we cannot hear silence,” and in common with Schlottmann and other German commentators, adopts the Septuagint. Renan and Conant hold to the radical meaning of the word, which is unquestionably silence. Mercerus renders it, I heard silence and a voice, “as if his wonderful words were compounded of silence and a voice.” In 1 Kings 19:12, even prosaical description admits of the “voice of silence,” hmmd lwq. This would be no bolder a stroke for poetry than that of the author of “The Seasons,” who thus personifies silence, — Come, then, expressive silence, muse his praise.

We can almost feel the silence that for a little while prevailed as the shadowy form stood before the trembling Eliphaz. There is nothing in the structure of the sentence to conflict with the version of the text, (there was) silence, etc. Tyndale’s rendering is more explicit, “There was stylnes, so that I heard this voice.”

Second strophe — The purport of the revelation whose faintest whisper Eliphaz heard, 17-21. Verse 17 contains the thesis which the subsequent portion of the disclosure illustrates.

V. 17. More just-Pretend more strictly to observe the laws of justice? Shall (enosh) mortal, miserable man (so the word signifies) be thus insolent? Nay, shall geber, the strongest and most eminent man, stand in competition with God? Those that find fault with the directions of the Divine law, the dispensations of the Divine grace, or the disposal of the Divine providence, do make themselves more just and pure than God: who being their maker, is their Lord and owner: and the author of all the justice and purity that is in man.

Verse 17. Shall mortal man] vwna enosh; Greek brotov, poor, weak, dying man.

Be more just than God?] Or, qdxy hwlam vwnah haenosh meeloah yitsdak; shall poor, weak, sinful man be justified before God? Shall a man] rbg gaber, shall even the strong and mighty man, be pure before his Maker? Is any man, considered merely in and of himself, either holy in his conduct, or pure in his heart? No. He must be justified by the mercy of God, through an atoning sacrifice; he must be sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God, and thus made a partaker of the Divine nature. Then he is justified before God, and pure in the sight of his Maker: and this is a work which God himself alone can do; so the work is not man’s work, but God’s. It is false to infer, from the words of this spectre, (whether it came from heaven or hell, we know not, for its communication shows and rankles a wound, without providing a cure,) that no man can be justified, and that no man can be purified, when God both justifies the ungodly, and sanctifies the unholy. The meaning can be no more than this: no man can make an atonement for his own sins, nor purify his own heart. Hence all boasting is for ever excluded. Of this Eliphaz believed Job to be guilty, as he appeared to talk of his righteousness and purity, as if they had been his own acquisition.

Verse 17. Shall mortal man be more just than God? — Shall man, fallen man, as the word vwna, enosh, here used, signifies, subject as he is to diseases, troubles, and all those calamities which are the necessary consequences of sin and disobedience, pretend more strictly to observe the laws of justice, and therefore to be more just, than the righteous God? The sense is, Thou, O Job, dost presumptuously accuse God of dealing harshly and unrighteously with thee in sending thee into the world upon such hard terms, and punishing an innocent and righteous man with unparalleled severity; but, consider things calmly within thyself. Were it possible for God and thee to come to trial before any equal and impartial judge, canst thou think that thou wouldest go away justified, and that the great God would be condemned? No righteous man will punish another without cause, or more than he deserves; and, therefore, if God do so with thee, as thy words imply, he is less just than man, which it is blasphemous and absurd to imagine. Shall a man — Hebrew, rbg, geber, a great and mighty man, as this word signifies; shall even such a one a man eminent for wisdom, or holiness, or power, or any other perfections, who therefore might expect more favour than a poor, miserable, and contemptible man, signified by the former word enosh; be more pure than his Maker? — More holy and righteous; show a greater hatred to injustice, or be more equitable in his proceedings, which he would be if he could justly reprehend any of the divine dispensations, and would not act toward his fellow-creatures, as he supposes God acts toward him or others? No, this cannot be: it would be the most daring presumption to entertain a thought of the kind; for though a man may have some qualifications which are not in others of his fellow-creatures, and some pre-eminences above many of them; yet, in the presence of his Maker, from whom he has received every excellence which he possesses, and on whom he is daily dependant for them, and all things, he must acknowledge his own comparative nothingness, and confess that the highest qualities which are in him are both derived from God, and exist in God in an infinitely greater degree. It is not without reason that enosh, fallen man, is here placed in opposition to Eloath, the great and holy God; and geber, a mighty man, to gnoseh, his Maker. For the contrast in both cases is remarkably striking, namely, between man, sinful, miserable, mortal, and the immutable, holy, blessed, and immortal God; and between even a great and mighty man, and the Being from whom he has received all his might and greatness, nay, and his very existence, and on whom he is dependant for them every moment; or between the man of power, and the maker and upholder of that power. In this expression of the angel, Shall a man be more pure than his Maker? was contained an unanswerable argument against, and a forcible reproof of, Job’s impatience and complaints: as if he had said, He made thee, and that for himself and his own glory; and therefore he hath an unquestionable right to deal with thee and dispose of thee, who art the work of his hands, as he sees fit. Wo to him that striveth with his Maker, Isaiah 45:9.

17. Man — Geber, the mighty one, forms a climax with mortal man, (enosh,) sickly man; the latter being a collective word for the entire race. The root of this word man (enosh) involves moral disease, as in Jeremiah 17:9, where a participial form (anush) is translated desperately wicked. More just than God — The Septuagint, (enantion,) Rosenmuller, and the Germans generally, render ˆm, min, before God. Thus, “Is a mortal just before God? Is a man pure before his Maker?” They base their translation on the objection of Codurcus, that no one was ever so foolish as to suppose that man is more just than God. The Hebrew, however, will admit also of the rendering of the text, which is that of the Chaldee and the Vulgate — more just than God. This view Conant judiciously defends: “Whoever censures the course of Providence by complaining of his own lot (as Job had done) claims to be more just than God, the equity of whose government he thus arraigns.” With this view agrees that of Hengstenberg. Each complaint over too hard a fate is a pretension that we may be more just than God; that we may have received less from God than we have given him. Such pretensions Job had made by his murmurings against the divine dispensations. These pretensions are refuted in what follows by adducing the sinfulness of our race. Compare H. Melville’s sermon, (in loc.,) “The Spectre’s Sermon a Truism.”

V. 18. Servants-They are called his servants by way of eminency, that general name being here appropriated to the chief of the kind, to intimate that sovereign dominion which the great God hath over the angels, and much more over men. With folly-Without all doubt, this refers to those angels who foolishly and wickedly fell from God.

Verse 18. Behold, he put no trust in his servants] This verse is generally understood to refer to the fall of angels; for there were some of those heavenly beings who kept not their first estate: they did not persevere to the end of their probation, and therefore fell into condemnation, and are reserved in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day; Jude 1:6. It is said he put no trust in them—he knew that nothing could be absolutely immutable but himself; and that no intelligent beings could subsist in a state of purity, unless continually dependent on himself, and deriving constant supplies of grace, power, and light, from him who gave them their being.

And his angels he charged with folly] Not chargeth, as many quote the passage. He charged those with folly who kept not their first estate. It does not appear that he is charging the others in the same way, who continue steadfast.

The several translations of this verse, both ancient and modern, are different from each other. Here are the chief:—

In angelis suis reperit pravitatem, “In his angels he found perverseness,” VULGATE. The SEPTUAGINT is nearly the same. II met la lumiere dans ses anges, “He puts light into his angels,” FRENCH BIBLE. Even those pure intelligences have continual need of being irradiated by the Almighty; [Syriac] wa—bemalakui neshim tempo, “And he hath put amazement in his angels,” SYRIAC. The ARABIC is the same. In angelis suis ponet gloriationem, “In his angels he will put exultation,” MONTANUS. The Hebrew is hlht toholah, irradiation, from hlh halah, to irradiate, glister, or shine. In this place we may consider angels (מלאכים malachim) as heavenly or earthly messengers or angels of the Lord; and the glory, influence, and honour of their office as being put in them by the Most High. They are as planets which shine with a borrowed light. They have nothing but what they have received. Coverdale translates the whole verse thus: Beholde he hath founde unfaythfulnesse amonge his owne servaunts and proude disobedience amonge his angels. The sense is among all these interpreters; and if the fallen angels are meant, the passage is plain enough.

Verse 18. Behold, &c. — For it deserves thy serious consideration. These and the following words seem to be the words of Eliphaz, explaining the former vision, and applying it to Job’s case, and enforcing it by further arguments. He put no trust in his servants — That is, in his angels, as appears both by the next words of this verse, in which, by way of explication and restriction, they are termed his angels; and by the verse following, where men are opposed to them. They are called his servants by way of eminence, the general name being here appropriated to the chief of the kind, to intimate that sovereign dominion which the great God hath, even over the glorious angels, and much more over men: and God is said to put no trust in them, because if they were left to themselves, and the supplies of God’s power and grace were withdrawn from them, they would not even continue to exist, much less to be loyal and faithful. And his angels he charged with folly — That is, with vanity, weakness, infirmity, imperfection, in comparison with himself, their Maker. The word hlht, toholah, here rendered folly, is one of the apax legomena, the words only once occurring, and of consequence the more difficult to be understood. The Chaldee paraphrast renders it iniquity; Ab. Ezra, folly; Schultens derives it from an Arabic word, which denotes lapsing, or from another, which signifies deficiency, or imperfection. Houbigant renders the clause, And in his angels mutability was found. The most probable opinion seems to be, that this refers to the angels who foolishly and wickedly fell from God.

18. His servants — The highest orders of angels are accounted as servants. Put no trust — Trusteth not, in the sense of reliance. The same word is used (Isaiah 28:16) to express trust in the tried Cornerstone. “Since the angels are created they are not by their nature immutable, like God, and consequently not immovable from goodness and virtue.” — Chrysostom. Charged with folly — hlht. As this word is used nowhere else in the Bible, it is difficult to determine its meaning. Schultens derives it from a similar word in the Arabic, signifying lapse or failure. The Septuagint translates, he perceived perverseness (skolion ti) in his angels. Among the multiplicity of views (see Dr. Good) the best is that of Umbreit: “He attributeth imperfection to his angels.” In asking the question how an imperfect holiness can be attributed to the angels, Hengstenberg observes that “the idea of holiness in the Scripture embraces infinitely more than mere sinlessness; that it includes within itself the independent possession of the highest perfection.… That holiness in this sense does not belong to the angels, whose holiness is only relative, is evident from the possibility of their fall.… If God were like the angels he would not be the Holy One.”

V. 19. How, &c.-The sense is, what strange presumption then is it for a foolish and mortal man, to make himself more just than God. In them-Who though they have immortal spirits, yet those spirits dwell in mortal bodies, which are great clogs, and incumbrances, and snares to them. These are called houses, (because they are the receptacles of the soul, and the places of its settled abode) and houses of clay, because they were made of clay, or earth, and to note their great frailty and mutability; whereas the angels are free spirits, unconfined to such carcasses, and dwell in celestial, and glorious, and everlasting mansions. Whose-Whose very foundation, no less than the rest of the building, is in the dust; had their original from it, and must return to it. We stand but upon the dust: some have an higher heap of dust to stand upon than others. But still it is the earth that stays us up, and will shortly swallow us up. Before-Sooner than a moth is crushed, which is easily done by a gentle touch of the finger. Or, at the face of a moth. No creature is so contemptible, but one time or other it may have the body of man in its power.

Verse 19. How much less] Rather, with the VULGATE, How much more? If angels may be unstable, how can man arrogate stability to himself who dwells in an earthly tabernacle, and who must shortly return to dust? Crushed before the moth? The slightest accident oftentimes destroys. “A fly, a grape-stone, or a hair can kill.” Great men have fallen by all these. This is the general idea in the text, and it is useless to sift for meanings.

19. Much less in them — ãa, (aph,) much more them. The strong logical argument is to be remarked. The same kind of argument is employed in Job 15:16; 25:5, 6. Houses of clay — A far more expressive figure for them than for us. Niebuhr says of the huts among the Arabs: “The walls are of mud mixed with dung, and the roof is thatched with a sort of grass.” — Trav. 1:255. Such habitations are exceedingly exposed to destruction from floods of rain or storms of wind, and are a poor protection against the depredations of men. Belzoni witnessed the destruction of several villages of earth-built cottages by the rising of the Nile. “Men, women, children, cattle, corn, every thing was washed away in an instant.” The body is a similar house of clay. Paul speaks of “our earthly house of this tabernacle:” (2 Corinthians 5:1:) a like figure to which, Plato employs when he calls the body an earthly tent. If the angels untainted by sin are imperfect and untrustworthy in the sight of God, much more men, dwellers in “vile bodies,” that is, “bodies of humiliation,” (Philippians 3:21,) houses of clay. Natural inference — the soul may live apart from the body as a man may away from his house. Crushed before the moth — Easier or sooner than the moth. (Furst, Hahn.) Or, liphne may be better rendered, as the moth (is crushed.) The moth is a destructive insect which every one is ready to destroy. And such a being, alas! is man. Nature on every side antagonizes man, the great destroyer; ever arraying her forces against him. For a little while he maintains his hold upon life, and passing, justifies the moral of Pindar: “Men are the dream of a shadow,” — Skiav onar anqrwpoi.

V. 20. Destroyed-All the day long, there is not a moment wherein man is not sinking towards death and corruption. Perish-In reference to this present worldly life, which when once lost is never recovered. Regarding-Heb. without putting the heart to it, this is so common a thing for all men, though never so high and great, to perish in this manner, that no man heeds it, but passes it by as a general accident not worthy of observation.

Verse 20. They are destroyed from morning to evening] In almost every moment of time some human being comes into the world, and some one departs from it. Thus are they “destroyed from morning to evening.” They perish for ever] wdbay yobedu; peribunt, they pass by; they go out of sight; they moulder with the dust, and are soon forgotten. Who regards the past generation now among the dead?

Isaiah has a similar thought, Isaiah 57:1: “The righteous perisheth, and No MAN LAYETH IT TO HEART: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.” Some think that Isaiah borrowed from Job; this will appear possible when it has been proved, which has never yet been done, that the writer of this book flourished before Isaiah. If, however, he borrowed the above thought, it must be allowed that it has been wondrously improved by coming through his hands.

Verse 20. They are destroyed — Bruised, or broken, as the same word, wtky, juccattu, is rendered, Micah 1:7, where we read, The graven images shall be broken to pieces; from morning to evening — That is, either speedily, between the morning and evening, like the grass, Psalm 90:5, 6. They flourish in the morning, and in the evening are cut down: or rather, all the day long; there is not a moment wherein man is not sinking toward death and corruption. If these words were considered as being connected with the latter clause of the preceding verse, as Dr. Grey thinks they ought to be, the sense would be, they are crushed and destroyed all the day long, as moths are, which, being an insect hurtful and injurious, every one is ready to destroy. They perish for ever — In reference to the present worldly life, which when once lost is never recovered; without any regarding it — Or laying it to heart, say most commentators. But the literal interpretation of the Hebrew, µycm ylbm, mibbeli meesim, Chappelow thinks, is preferable, namely, absque imponente, without any one’s adding to their misery; or, according to Junius and Tremellius, nemine disponente, without any one’s ordering or appointing it. That is, they are continually perishing and going to destruction, of their own accord, through the mere frailty of their nature, even if no external violence be offered to them. Our translation, however, conveys an important and instructive truth, namely, that few or none that survive, lay to heart, as they ought to do, the death of those that are taken away. For it is so common a thing for all men, though ever so high and great, to perish in this manner, that no man regards it, but all pass it by, as a general accident not worthy of observation.

20. From morning to evening — So short is their life that they may be called ephemeral. They perish forever — That is, from this present life. Without any regarding it — So insignificant is man, that though thousands perish, the face of society remains the same. The landscape shines no less brightly though many a blade of grass may have withered; and the ocean rolls no less majestically after it has dashed its long line of surf against the shore. Of as little account in the estimate of man is man himself. It is of infinite moment to man how he shall have lived, not so much what others shall think of him (if they think of him at all) when once he is dead. This verse has such a human look that we might imagine the spirit that speaks to have once been of our race, one of life’s great actors, his name already blotted out from human remembrance. It is more profitable to reflect that the oft-recurring event of death has so little power to affect the human heart. Its visitations, really more ghastly than those of a ghost, elicit this strange feature of the heart, that the frequent repetition of that which is most terrible renders us correspondingly indifferent if not insensible. The shafts of death are for the most part powerless to turn the infatuated children of men from the pursuit of folly. The subject shows in its true light the desperate perverseness of the heart of man.

V. 21. Excellency-Whatsoever is by common estimation excellent in men, all their natural, and moral, and civil accomplishments, as high birth, great riches, power and wisdom, these are so far from preserving men from perishing, that they perish themselves, together with those houses of clay in which they are lodged. Without wisdom-Even without having attained that only wisdom for which they came into the world. Shall such mean, weak, foolish, sinful, dying creatures as this, pretend to be more just than God, more pure than his maker? No: instead of quarrelling with his afflictions, let him admire that he is out of hell.

Verse 21. Doth not their excellency—go away!] Personal beauty, corporeal strength, powerful eloquence, and various mental endowments, pass away, or are plucked up by the roots; they are no more seen or heard among men, and their memory soon perisheth.

They die, even without wisdom.] If wisdom means the pursuit of the best end, by the most legitimate and appropriate means, the great mass of mankind appear to perish without it. But, if we consider the subject more closely, we shall find that all men die in a state of comparative ignorance. With all our boasted science and arts, how little do we know! Do we know any thing to perfection that belongs either to the material or spiritual world? Do we understand even what matter is? What is its essence? Do we understand what spirit is? Then, what is its essence? Almost all the phenomena of nature, its grandest operations, and the laws of the heavenly bodies, have been explained on the principle of gravitation or attraction; but in what does this consist? Who can answer? We can traverse every part of the huge and trackless ocean by means of the compass; but who understands the nature of magnetism on which all this depends? We eat and drink in order to maintain life; but what is nutrition, and how is it effected? This has never been explained. Life depends on respiration for its continuance; but by what kind of action is it, that in a moment the lungs separate the oxygen, which is friendly to life, from the nitrogen, which would destroy it; suddenly absorbing the one, and expelling the other? Who, among the generation of hypothesis-framers, has guessed this out? Life is continued by the circulation of the blood; but by what power and law does it circulate? Have the systole and diastole of the heart, on which this circulation depends, ever been satisfactorily explained? Most certainly not. Alas, we die without wisdom; and must die, to know these, and ten thousand other matters equally unknown, and equally important. To be safe, in reference to eternity, we must know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent; whom to know is life eternal. This knowledge, obtained and retained, will entitle us to all the rest in the eternal world. JOB

Verse 21. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? — Whatsoever is really, or by common estimation, excellent in men, all their natural, and moral, and civil accomplishments, as high birth, great riches, power, and wisdom; these are so far from preserving them from perishing, as one would think they should, that they perish themselves, together with those houses of clay in which they are lodged. Or, the Hebrew µrty, jithram, may be rendered reliquiæ illorum, their remains go away. In a little time the departure of the most skilful projectors, who seem to lay the deepest and strongest foundations for permanent wealth, power, and enjoyment, is such, that every thing belonging to them is absolutely removed. If you inquire after the place and station of life they filled; the fortunes they possessed; the families they raised, you shall find them all taken away, and nothing, not the least remains to be seen. And, what is still worse, they die even without wisdom — All that skill and policy, all those arts and contrivances, which distinguished them from others, and placed them in a superior rank and situation, are, at the point of death, even in their own opinion, no better than worldly craft and human folly. They die like fools, without having attained that only wisdom for which they came into the world. Now shall such a mean, weak, foolish, sinful, dying creature as this pretend to be more just than God, more pure than his Maker? No, instead of quarrelling with his afflictions, let him admire that he is out of hell!

21. Excellency — rty. Among its significations is also that of a cord, for instance, of a tent. The language is now generally regarded as figurative. The mysterious soul holds up the body as a cord does the tent: if that be torn away ([sn) the body dies, just as a tent, with its cord broken, falls to the earth. Dillmann happily renders the passage. “Is it not so, if their cord in them is torn away they die?” Renan observes, “The image is a familiar one among the Semitic races for expressing death. The body is compared to a tent, the soul to the cord which sustains the tent.” Isaiah 38:12. “In them is neither superfluous nor awkward, (against OLS.,) since it is intended to say that their duration of life falls in all at once, like a tent when that which in them corresponds to the cord of a tent (that is, the soul) is drawn away from it.” — Delitzsch. If we keep in view that there is nothing so excellent as the soul, and that the Scriptures sometimes connect with its removal the idea of force, we may retain the word excellency, and translate, Is not their excellency (that is) in them torn away? The spirit makes more definite the excellency to which he refers by adding in them. Even without wisdom — Literally, and not in wisdom. In folly they lived, in folly they died. The lessons ever before them — the vanity of human life, the weakness and sinfulness of our mortal state, the relations of perishable man to an imperishable God, the necessity of some kind of preparation for another life — they had not heeded. The race of man dies without wisdom! Thus with a sense of pain closes this remarkable vision of Eliphaz. To him, one of nature’s noble children, was granted a revelation which was afterward denied to the more enlightened brothers of Dives. The vision impressed upon him these momentous truths: 1. The existence of a God; 2. That God was the maker of man; 3. The impurity of the human heart; 4. The possible existence of unembodied spirit, which must have suggested the immortality of his own soul. The painful question cannot fail to arise, whether this sage of the desert yielded his soul to this divine call of mercy? Did it exert a reforming power over his inner nature, guiding its out-goings to Him who should afterward come? or did he sink down into the vast deep of moralizings that encompass every thoughtful being? Literature every where abounds in profound reflections upon this weird and ephemeral life of ours. Lamentably do they fail to lead the soul to the pursuit of Him who is himself wisdom and righteousness.