Job · Chapter 42

V. 2. Thou canst, &c.-Job here subscribes to God’s unlimited power, knowledge and dominion, to prove which was the scope of God’s discourse out of the whirlwind. And his judgment being convinced of these, his conscience also was convinced, of his own folly in speaking so irreverently concerning him. No thought can be withholden from thee-No thought of ours can be withholden from thy knowledge. And there is no thought of thine, which thou canst be hindered from bringing into execution.

Verse 2. I know that thou canst do every thing] Thy power is unlimited; thy wisdom infinite.

Verse 2. I know thou canst do every thing — Job here subscribes to God’s unlimited power, knowledge, and dominion, to prove which was the scope of God’s discourse out of the whirlwind. And his judgment being convinced of these, his conscience also was convinced of his own folly in speaking so irreverently concerning him. No thought can be withholden from thee — No thought of ours can be withholden from thy knowledge. And there is no thought of thine which thou canst be hindered from bringing into execution.

2. Thought — hmzm, signifies meditation, thinking, thence purpose or plan, very frequently in a bad sense. Comp. Job 21:27; Psalm 10:2; 21:12; Proverbs 14:17; 24:8; Jeremiah 23:20; 30:24. “Perhaps this ambiguous word is selected designedly, in order to express the thought, that, from the circumscribed nature of Job’s views, the plans of God appeared to him to be bad, while to the Allwise they continued unhindered, and, as they originated from him, the Fountain of all good, they would at length be understood in the most favourable light. The Almighty can prosecute a plan which appears to the human understanding bad, (mezimmah,) for it is in his power to transform the bad into good.” — Umbreit. Withholden from thee — Literally, cut off from thee. Compare Genesis 11:6, where the same word is rendered “restrained.” He whose wondrous plans have been wrought out in the formation of the colossi of the brute creation is also the author of affliction, in whose varied features Job now sees marks of divine wisdom. The divine plan in sorrow impresses him as never before. He sees most vividly that his afflictions came forth from the all powerful, and therefore irresistible, will of God. The power of God is the postulate from which he reasons out to the entire being of Deity. One diameter measures all the other diameters of the same circle: so the possession of one infinite attribute implies that all the other attributes of that Being must be infinite. Hence the stress Job lays on the infinite power of God.

V. 3. Who-What am I that I should be guilty of such madness! Therefore-Because my mind was without knowledge. Knew not-I have spoken foolishly and unadvisedly of all things far above my reach.

Verse 3. Who is he that hideth counsel] These are the words of Job, and they are a repetition of what Jehovah said, Job 38:2: “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” Job now having heard the Almighty’s speech, and having received his reproof, echoes back his words: “Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge Alas, I am the man; I have uttered what I understood not; things too wonderful for me, that I knew not.

God had said, Job 38:3: “Gird up now thy loins like a man; I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.” In allusion to this, Job exclaims to his Maker, Job 42:4: “Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will ask of THEE, and declare THOU unto ME.” I acknowledge my ignorance; I confess my foolishness and presumption; I am ashamed of my conduct; I lament my imperfections; I implore thy mercy; and beg thee to show me thy will, that I may ever think, speak, and do, what is pleasing in thy sight. Things too wonderful] I have spoken of thy judgments, which I did not comprehend.

Verse 3. Who is he that hideth counsel? — What am I, that I should be guilty of such madness? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not — Because my mind was without knowledge, therefore my speech was ignorant and foolish; things which I knew not — I have spoken foolishly and unadvisedly of things far above my reach. “The recollection of Job,” says Dr. Dodd, “in this and the two following verses, is inimitably fine, and begins the catastrophe of the book, which is truly worthy of what precedes. The interrogatory clause in the beginning of this verse is a repetition of what Jehovah had said; the latter part of this verse, and the fourth and fifth verses, are Job’s conclusions.”

3. Who is he… without knowledge — He repeats God’s reproof, (Job 38:2,) as if he would say, I am the man — the man of folly, arrogance, and sin, who measured himself with the Most High, and blasphemously arraigned his ways and dispensations. Or else, such is his confusion when overwhelmed with shame and contrition, that he fails in the expression of coherent thought. He repeats with variation, (to wit, the change of Ëyvjm, darkeneth, into µyl[m, hideth, and the omission of bemillin, “with words,”) and perhaps automatically, the first words the voice of God uttered after the storm. The reader may be reminded of the confusion of Elihu at the commencement of his first address. See Job 32:6 and p. 198. Schultens calls this reply of Job “graceful and weighty,” (venusta ac gravis,) and regards it as an acknowledgment which honours God by the use of his own language in such a manner as to turn the divine reproof into a confession on Job’s part of ignorance, and even intentional perverseness, which seems to be implied in µyl[m, a word which he (Schultens) regards as more reverential. For a similar repetition, implying condemnation, see Numbers 16:3, 7, in which Moses repeats the words of the sons of Levi, “too much upon you.”

V. 4. Hear-Hear and accept my humble confession. Enquire-I will no more dispute the matter with thee, but beg information from thee. The words which God had uttered to Job by way of challenge, Job returns to him in way of submission.

Verse 4. Hear, I beseech thee — Hear and accept my humble and penitent confession. I will demand of thee — Hebrew, Ëlava, eshaleka, interrogabo te, I will inquire, ask, or make my petition to thee. I will no more dispute the matter with thee, but beg information from thee. The words which God had uttered to Job by way of challenge, Job returns to him in the way of submission.

4. Hear, I beseech… declare thou unto me — yn[ydwh. Literally, make me to know. This verse cites the words of God, (Job 38:3; 40:7,) showing the profound impression they had made upon Job. Umbreit and Hitzig, on the other hand, against most commentators, represent Job as reproducing the substance of his own foolish demands of God. “Job’s want of understanding,” says the former, “was shown by this demand addressed to God. God alone could thus speak to Job, but not Job to him.” Such an interpretation loses its force upon a proper view of the last word, hodhi’heni, “make me to know;” or, “declare thou unto me.” Job is not “anxious to put questions to Jehovah in order to penetrate deeper into the knowledge of the divine power and wisdom:” (thus Delitzsch.) On the contrary, he would sit docile at the feet of the Almighty. True contrition is always attended with a teachable disposition. The proud Saul, arrested of God, is ready to go anywhere to be taught by God. (Acts 9:6.)

V. 5. Seeth thee-The knowledge which I had of thy nature, perfections and counsels, was hitherto grounded chiefly, upon the instructions of men; but now it is clear and certain, as being immediately inspired into my mind by this thy glorious apparition and revelation, and by the operation of thy holy spirit; which makes these things as evident to me, as if I saw them with my bodily eyes. When the mind is enlightened by the spirit of God, our knowledge of Divine things as far exceeds what we had before, as knowledge by ocular demonstration, exceeds, that by common fame.

Verse 5. I have heard of thee] I have now such a discovery of thee as I have never had before. I have only heard of thee by tradition, or from imperfect information; now the eye of my mind clearly perceives thee, and in seeing thee, I see myself; for the light that discovers thy glory and excellence, discovers my meanness and vileness.

Verse 5. But now mine eye seeth thee — “It is plain,” says Dr. Dodd, “that there is some privilege intended here that Job had never enjoyed before, and which he calls a sight of God. He had heard of him by the hearing of the ear, or the tradition delivered down from his forefathers; but he had now a clear and sensible perception of his being and divine perfections; some light thrown in upon his mind, which carried its own evidence with it; and which to him had all the certainty and clearness even of sight itself.” Poole thus paraphrases his words: “The knowledge which I had of thy nature, perfections, and counsels, was hitherto grounded chiefly upon the instructions of men; but now it is clear and certain, as being immediately inspired into my mind by this thy glorious appearance and revelation, and by the operation of thy Holy Spirit, which makes these things as evident to me as if I saw them with my bodily eyes.” “When,” adds Henry, “the mind is enlightened by the Spirit of God, our knowledge of divine things as far exceeds what we had before, as knowledge by ocular demonstration exceeds that by common fame.”

Verse 5. But now mine eye seeth thee. I have seen thee in thy works, and heard the voice of nature. I have heard all those speeches of my friends, circumscribed in knowledge, and erroneous in judgment; but now the clouds depart; now the sun at length shines. Now, I see thy righteousness in dealing thus with a worm, to make my case alike instructive to angels and to men. Assuredly, thou hast a right to resume thy gifts, according to thy good pleasure, and to take from man his mortal breath, in such ways as thy wisdom shall approve. Oh how holy art thou! How sinful am I, to contend so long against correction! Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Now therefore I shall rise above all clouds, and walk forever in the light of thy countenance, and in the joys of thy salvation.

5. Now mine eye seeth thee — This vision of God is by no means to be taken literally, for there is no indication that God disclosed himself otherwise than through the veil of the terribly majestic cloud which apparently accompanied the storm out of which God spoke. (See note on Job 37:22 and 38:1.) In the immediate presence of the glory of God, which, as it draws near, startled Elihu in vain strives to describe, Job’s consciousness is quickened by the reproofs of God, so that it beholds him in a new light. His whole being, too, is filled with light reflected from the newly-disclosed attributes of Deity. Before the eye of the soul God, the powerful, appears a wise, just, and loving God; the Almighty One (El) is revealed as Jehovah, unfolding to his stricken servant the heart of Deity. What he had before known of God had been vague, a mere hearing of the ear. Now he apprehends God through the stronger sense of spiritual sight — a sense which more than all others expresses the cognizant recipient soul — and at the sight is overwhelmed with confusion and unspeakable humiliation. “In seeing God Job sees himself; for the light that discovers God’s glory and excellence discovers Job’s meanness and vileness.” — Dr. Clarke.

Verse 6. I abhor myself] Compared with thine, my strength is weakness; my wisdom, folly; and my righteousness, impurity.

“I loathe myself when thee I see;

And into nothing fall.”

Repent] I am deeply distressed on account of the imaginations of my heart, the words of my tongue, and the acts of my life. I roll myself in the dust, and sprinkle ashes upon my head. Job is now sufficiently humbled at the feet of Jehovah; and having earnestly and piously prayed for instruction, the Lord, in a finishing speech, which appears to be contained in Job 40:1-14, perfects his teaching on the subject of the late controversy, which is concluded with, “When thou canst act like the Almighty,” which is, in effect, what the questions and commands amount to in the preceding verses of that chapter, “then will I also confess unto thee, that thy own right hand can save thee.” In the fifth verse of the fortieth chapter, Job says, “ONCE have I spoken.” This must refer to the declaration above, in the beginning of this chapter, (xlii.) And he goes on to state, Job 40:5: “Yea, TWICE; but I will proceed no farther.” This second time is that in which he uses these words: after which he spoke no more; and the Lord concluded with the remaining part of these fourteen verses, viz., from Job 40:7-14, inclusive. Then the thread of the story, in the form of a narration is resumed at Job 42:7.

Verse 6. Wherefore I abhor myself, &c. — The more we see of the glory and majesty of God, the more we shall see of the vileness and odiousness of sin, and of ourselves because of sin; and the more we shall abase and abhor ourselves for it; and repent in dust and ashes — Namely, sitting in dust and ashes. Job’s afflictions had brought him to the ashes, Job 2:8, He sat down among the ashes; but now a sense of his sins brought him thither. Observe, reader, true penitents mourn for their sins as heartily as ever they did for any outward afflictions; for they are brought to see more evil in their sins than in their troubles; and even those who have no gross enormities to repent of, yet ought to be greatly distressed in their souls for the workings of pride, self-will, peevishness, discontent, and anger, within them, and for all their hasty, unadvised speeches; for these they ought to be pricked in their hearts, and in bitterness, like Job. Observe, also, that self-loathing is always the companion of true repentance. They shall loathe themselves for the evils they have committed, Ezekiel 6:9. It is not sufficient that we be angry at ourselves for the wrong and damage we have, by sin, done to our own souls; but we must abhor ourselves, as having, by sin, made ourselves odious to the pure and holy God, who cannot look upon iniquity but with abhorrence. If sin in general be truly an abomination to us, sin in ourselves will especially be so; the nearer it is to us, the more loathsome it will appear to be, and the more we shall loathe ourselves on account of it. We shall conclude our observations on the poetical part of this book with Dr. Young’s excellent paraphrase on the four preceding verses:

“Thou canst accomplish all things, Lord of might;

And every thought is naked to thy sight.

But, O! thy ways are wonderful, and lie

Beyond the deepest reach of mortal eye.

Oft have I heard of thine almighty power;

But never saw thee till this dreadful hour.

O’erwhelm’d with shame, the Lord of life I see,

Abhor myself, and give my soul to thee.

Nor shall my weakness tempt thine anger more;

Man was not made to question, but adore.”

6. I abhor myself — sama. As in Job 7:16, (which see,) the object of the verb abhor is not given. Hengstenberg conceives the object of his loathing (“despising,” or “recantation,” thus Zockler and Hitzig) to be his earlier speeches. The Septuagint and Vulgate, with more reason, supply myself, the former of which adds, by way of explanation, etakhn, I am dissolving, (compare Job 19:27,) such is the violence of his emotion. In dust and ashes — “In a sense that is absolutely proper the book forms a periodov, a period or circuit.” — Vilmar. The trial found Job a spiritual monarch seated upon his throne of ashes — resigned, submissive to the will of God. “He sat down among the ashes.” Job 2:8. Now, as the purifying fires have burned their utmost, we find him brought around to his former ground of supremacy. The last recorded words — “ashes” — that fall from his lips are of the deepest significance — the same Hebrew word, epher, being employed as in Job 2:8. The allotment of the divine will he accepts, though it be but dust and ashes. Hengstenberg interprets it: “I, who have sat until now in dust and ashes because of grief on account of my misfortunes, will continue so to do, but from another reason, because of grief on account of my sin.” “Here,” says the quaint Thomas Adams, “we may consider three degrees of mortification — the sickness, the death, and the burial of sin. ‘I abhor myself’ — there sin is sick and wounded; ‘I repent’ — there it is wounded and dead; ‘in dust and ashes’ — there it is dead and buried.” — Sermon in loc., entitled, “The Sinner’s Mourning Habit.” See also University Sermons of W.H. Mill — “Job Penitent.” Historical Conclusion — Epilogue. Verses 7-17.

JEHOVAH’S ADDRESS TO ELIPHAZ AND HIS FRIENDS. Verses 7, 8.

V. 7. Eliphaz-As the eldest of the three, and because he spoke first, and by his example led the rest into the same miscarriages. Two friends-Elihu is not here reproved, because he dealt more mercifully with Job, and did not condemn his person, but only rebuked his sinful expressions. Ye have not, &c.-This is not to be understood absolutely, but comparatively. Job was not so much to be blamed as they, because his opinion concerning the methods of God’s providence, and the indifferency of its dispensations towards good and bad men was truer than theirs, which was, that God did always reward good men and punish sinners in this life.

Verse 7. After the Lord had spoken these words] Those recorded at Job 40:7-14; he said to Eliphaz, who was the eldest of the three friends, and chief speaker: Ye have not spoken of me-right. Mr. Peters observes, “It will be difficult to find any thing in the speeches of Eliphaz and his companions which should make the difference here supposed, if we set aside the doctrine of a future state; for in this view the others would speak more worthily of God than Job, by endeavouring to vindicate his providence in the exact distribution of good and evil in this life: whereas Job’s assertion, Job 9:22, ‘This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked,’ which is the argument on which he all along insists, would, upon this supposition, be directly charging God that he made no distinction between the good and the bad. But now, take the other life into the account, and the thing will appear in quite a contrary light; and we shall easily see the reason why God approves of the sentiments of Job, and condemns those of his friends. For supposing the friends of Job to argue that the righteous are never afflicted without remedy here, nor the wicked prosperous on the whole in this life, which is a wrong representation of God’s providence; and Job to argue, on the other hand, that the righteous are sometimes afflicted here, and that without remedy, but shall be rewarded in the life to come; and that the wicked prosper here, but shall be punished hereafter, which is the true representation of the Divine proceedings; and here is a very apparent difference in the drift of the one’s discourse, and of the others’. For Job, in this view, speaks worthily of God, and the rest unworthily. The best moral argument that mankind have ever had to believe in a life to come, is that which Job insists on-that good and evil are, for the most part, dealt out here promiscuously. On the contrary, the topic urged by his friends, and which they push a great deal too far, that God rewards and punishes in this world, tends, in its consequences, like that other opinion which was held by the stoics in after times, that virtue is its own reward, to sap the very foundation of that proof we have, from reason, of another life. No wonder, therefore, that the sentiments of the one are approved, and those of the other condemned.”

Verse 7. After the Lord had spoken these words unto Job — Jehovah, having confounded all the false reasonings of Job, and sufficiently humbled his pride, now proceeds to the condemnation of the principle upon which his three friends had proceeded in all their speeches, which principle he declares not to be right. The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite — God addresses him, because he was the eldest of the three, had spoken first, and by his example had led the rest into the same mistake which he himself had committed; My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends — Elihu is not hre reproved, because he had dealt more mercifully with Job than these three had done, and had not condemned his person, but only rebuked his sinful expressions; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right — Because they had laid it down as a certain maxim, that all (without exception) who were afflicted with such grievous calamities as Job was, must needs be under the wrath of God, as being guilty of some notorious crime; and that all who passed through life in prosperity must needs be accounted as righteous in the sight of God: whereas God wills that we should know he does not judge of men according to their condition in this life, but according to their spirit and conduct; and should always be assured that he is averse to the wicked, however prosperous they may be, and always approves of and regards the righteous, whatever afflictions they may suffer; because the divine wisdom and goodness often see most wise reasons, which we cannot comprehend, why the righteous should struggle with adversities even all their life long, and the wicked have every outward and temporal good through the whole course of their lives. As my servant Job hath — What Job said may be reduced to three principal heads: 1st, He maintained that he was innocent, that is, that he was guilty of no flagrant crime, which should be the cause of his being afflicted more grievously than others; and this was nothing more than the truth. 2d, He maintained that though God often inflicted exemplary punishment on the wicked, and remarkably prospered the righteous; yet sometimes he suffered the righteous to be in affliction and trouble, and the wicked to flourish; which cannot be denied to be often the case. 3d, We find Job, notwithstanding his great afflictions, still holding fast and professing his confidence in the divine goodness. These, then, being the assertions which Job had made, and these not being repugnant to, but according with, the ways of divine providence, God approved of them rather than of what his friends had advanced, who were in an error as to their notions of God’s counsels and dispensations. However, we are not to conclude from this expression that God approved of all that Job had said; for, without doubt, being too sensibly affected with the severity of his afflictions, particularly when the false and uncharitable surmises of his friends were added to them, he sometimes had spoken less reverently of God than he ought to have done, and for this the Lord had severely reproved him.

7. The Lord (Jehovah) said to Eliphaz the Temanite, etc. — While Job, penitent in dust and ashes, abhors himself, the three friends, we may imagine — like the Pharisee — contemplate themselves admiringly and Job’s repentance approvingly. The voice of God startles them from their self-complacency. That voice this time means them. They are the great offenders. They have not spoken to God that which is right. They have compromised the truth by maintaining one-sided dogma (Jesuit-like) for the glory of God. The self-righteousness with which they still tower above Job serves only to draw down the burning wrath of God. The thing that is right — This is to be understood as predicated not of the arguments and positions maintained by Job during the course of the debate, but of the twofold confession made by Job. (Job 40:4, and Job 42:2-6.) Aben Ezra rightly deemed that the commendation “pertains solely to the confession which Job had made unto God and the others had not.” The construction of rbd (piel form) with yla, spoken concerning me, is precisely that which in the same verse is rendered spoken unto Job, and should have been translated similarly. Yet it is not to be overlooked that the best German exegetes agree in rendering the el, concerning; with exceptions, however, such as Rosenmuller, who follows the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Syriac in reading el, before, in the presence of, and Arnheim and Gesenius, who translate elayi, unto me. Thus also Drusius, Fry, Coleman, Tayler Lewis. The Hebrew, we think, makes this clear: for it is not what Job said of God, but yla, unto or before (thus Noldius, p. 48) God, which he now commends. The word hnwkn, nekonah, rendered right, means also that which stands fast, (Hitzig,) which agrees with the root idea of koun, “to be firm,” “to stand upright.” The same word is used of the day in Proverbs 4:18, and means, according to Gesenius, (Thes., p. 667,) the stable (part) of the day — “the meridian hour, when the sun seems to stand immovable on the height of the heaven.” True humility is the pedestal on which the maturest piety stands, and only can stand. Delitzsch, with many others, renders the word nekonah, what is correct, and tamely interprets it to “consist of his having denied that affliction is always a punishment of sin, and his holding fast the consciousness of his innocence, without suffering himself to be persuaded of the opposite. That denial was correct, and this truthfulness was more precious to God than the untruthfulness of the friends who were zealous for the honour of God.” My servant Job — The honourable title he bore at the outset of his trial (Job 1:8) is now restored, and four times repeated as he comes forth from the ashes of repentance. The title was also conferred upon Moses (Numbers 12:7) and upon the Messiah. Isaiah 42:1; 49:6; 52:13.

V. 8. My servant-Whom though you condemned as an hypocrite, I own for my faithful servant. Offer-By the hand of Job, whom I hereby constitute your priest to pray and sacrifice for you. Lest I deal-Lest my just judgment take hold of you for your false and foolish speeches.

Verse 8. Take-seven bullocks and seven rams] From this it appears that Job was considered a priest, not only in his own family but also for others. For his children he offered burnt-offerings, Job 1:5; and now he is to make the same kind of offerings, accompanied with intercession, in behalf of his three friends. This is a full proof of the innocence and integrity of Job: a more decided one could not be given, that the accusations of his friends, and their bitter speeches, were as untrue as they were malevolent. God thus clears his character, and confounds their devices.

Verse 8. Therefore take now seven bullocks, &c. — To make an atonement for what you have said amiss. It seems they were each of them to bring seven bullocks and seven rams, which were to be wholly offered up to God as a burnt-offering; for before, the law of Moses, all sacrifices, even those of atonement, appear to have been wholly burned, and therefore were called burnt-offerings. They thought, doubtless, that they had spoken wonderfully well, and had done a righteous act in pleading God’s cause; but they are told quite the contrary, that God was displeased with them, required a sacrifice from them, and threatened, if they did not bring it, he would deal with them according to their folly. Many times is God angry at that in us which we ourselves are ready to be proud of; and sees much amiss in that which we think was well done. And go to my servant Job — Whom, though you condemned him as a hypocrite, I own for my faithful servant. And offer up a burnt-offering — By the hand of Job, whom I hereby constitute your priest, to pray and sacrifice for you. Lest I deal with you after your folly — Lest my just judgment take hold of you for your false and foolish speeches.

Ver. 8. Seven bullocks. This is called the heptarchial sacrifice; or a perfect oblation to the Lord, like Balaam’s offering. See on Numbers 23:1.— Go to my servant Job. Surely he now came forth as gold, after he was tried. Estius the jesuit notes here; Go to my servant the Pope, for him will I accept! He puts Luther, Melancthon, and Calvin in the dark shade of Job’s three friends. This is Rome! Rather let us say, Go to my servant Messiah, the only Mediator.

8. A burnt offering — This differs from the burnt offering required by the Mosaic ritual. That it should be the same in kind and number with that offered by Balaam, a Gentile prophet, (Numbers 23:1, 2,) and that there should be the twofold recognition of the sacred and complete number seven, points to an ante-Mosaical, if not patriarchal, period for the life of Job. The profound solemnity thus given to the sacrifice about to be offered, and the mortifying announcement that “the friends” should find forgiveness through the intercession and priesthood of the leprous Job, must have made them painfully alive to the folly of their conduct. According to Grotius, in loc., the Hebrews think that the holocaust was the only form of sacrifice prevailing to the time of Moses. See Job 1:5. My servant Job shall pray for you — The intercessory prayer which Job is directed to offer also suggests a pre-Mosaical economy as that under which he lived. Genesis 20:7, 17. The Mosaic law prescribes grandly significant rites and ceremonies, but without specific directions for prayer. See, however, Leviticus 16:21; Deuteronomy 26:10-13. For him will I accept — Literally, only his face will I lift up; that is, regard favourably. The expression takes its rise from the favour granted by an Oriental prince to a suppliant, who is graciously bidden to rise from his prostration, and thus lift up his face. Compare Job 13:8; 32:21; Genesis 19:21. This profound principle of the divine economy — the power of the good to intercede for the sinful — had been already portrayed by Eliphaz with great beauty, (Job 22:29, 30,) and in patriarchal times was announced by God himself to the Egyptian king, Abimelech. Genesis 20:7. Compare Genesis 18:32; 26:24; Exodus 32:7-14; Deuteronomy 9:7-29. In a world where the life of each is made to depend upon the kind offices and interposition of another, as is the case throughout the infantile period of human existence, the patriarchal usage of intercession by one being for another is one which fully comports with the demands of our reason. The whole scheme of society is subsequently so arranged as to make the services of others indispensable to each — a principle so universally true that no one attains to the higher bliss of life without the co-operation of others. His own richest temporal blessings God, for the most part, bestows through the medium of others; and by making human beings the channels for the outflow of divine beneficence, so arranges that they themselves shall be benefited and ennobled. All beneficence, human or divine, then, fails to fulfil its mission unless it brings with it manifold blessings — even as rays of light, whose end may be to give life and sustenance to the unpretending plant, scatter blessings along their entire path. The culminating hour of prayer, when Job gains the highest victory over himself by praying for the three friends, and more especially for the genteel and venerable leader Eliphaz, who most deeply maligned him, becomes the culmination of his distress and the turning point of his “captivity.” See verse 10. Lest I deal with you after your folly — Literally, that I may not do with your folly, which Hitzig supposes to be spoken after the manner of men, and to refer to possible precipitate action on the part of God. The views of Delitzsch and Dillmann, which Hitzig calls “wooden,” are to be preferred. They take folly by synecdoche for “the punishment of folly,” in like manner as tach or ˆy[, sin, is used for the penalty of sin — the former of whom reads, in accordance with our Authorized Version, that I recompense not unto you your folly.

THE ACCEPTANCE OF JOB TAKES PLACE IN THE ACT OF OFFERING SACRIFICE IN BEHALF OF HIS FRIENDS, verses 9, 10a.

V. 9. Accepted Job-And as Job prayed and offered sacrifice for those who had grieved and wounded his spirit, so Christ prayed and died for his persecutors, and ever lives, making intercession for transgressors.

Verse 9. So Eliphaz, &c., did as the Lord commanded — Showing their repentance by their submission to God, and to Job for God’s sake, and by taking shame to themselves. The Lord also accepted Job — Both for his friends and for himself, as the next verse explains it. And as Job prayed and offered sacrifice for those who had grieved and wounded his spirit, so Christ prayed and died for his persecutors, and ever lives making intercession for transgressors.

9. Accepted Job — Literally, lifted up the face of Job, as in verse 8. Cocceius supposes that this acceptance was by some outward visible sign, perhaps in a mode similar to that in which Jerome conjectures God showed his respect unto Abel and his offering, by sending down fire to consume the sacrifices.

V. 10. Captivity-All his bodily distempers were thoroughly healed, and probably in a moment. His mind was calmed, his peace returned, and the consolations of God were not small with him. Prayed-Whereby he manifests his obedience to God and his true love to them.

Verse 10. The Lord turned the captivity of Job] The Vulgate has: Dominus quoque conversus est ad pœnitentiam Job; “And the LORD turned Job to repentance.” The Chaldee: “The WORD of the Lord (yyd armym meymera dayai) turned the captivity of Job.” There is a remark which these words suggest, which has been rarely, if at all, noticed. It is said that the Lord turned the captivity of Job WHEN HE PRAYED FOR HIS FRIENDS. He had suffered much through the unkindness of these friends; they had criticised his conduct without feeling or mercy; and he had just cause to be irritated against them: and that he had such a feeling towards them, several parts of his discourses sufficiently prove. God was now about to show Job his mercy; but mercy can be shown only to the merciful; Job must forgive his unfeeling friends, if he would be forgiven by the Lord; he directs him, therefore, to pray for them, Job 42:8. He who can pray for another cannot entertain enmity against him: Job did so, and when he prayed for his friends, God turned the captivity of Job. “Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.”

Some suppose that Job, being miraculously restored, armed his servants and remaining friends, and fell upon those who had spoiled him; and not only recovered his own property, but also spoiled the spoilers, and thus his substance became double what it was before. Of this I do not see any intimation in the sacred text.

Verse 10. And the Lord turned the captivity of Job — Brought him out of that state of bondage in which he had so long been held by Satan, and out of all his distresses and miseries. The words may be rendered, The Lord brought back Job’s captivity; that is, as some understand it, the persons and things that had been taken from him; not, indeed, the very same which he had lost, but others equivalent to them, and that with advantage. But the meaning seems principally to be, that all his bodily distempers were thoroughly healed, and probably in a moment; his mind was calmed; his peace returned; and the consolations of God were not small with him. When he prayed for his friends — Whereby he manifested his obedience to God, and his true love to them, in being so ready to forgive them, and heartily to pray for them; for which God would not let him lose his reward. Also the Lord gave Job twice as much, &c. — He not only gave him as much as he lost, but double to it.

10. The Lord turned the captivity — tybv ta bv. An instance of paronomasia — an elegance, as the reader has seen, common in this book. (Note on Job 3:25.) The word rendered “captivity” is kindred with the preceding word, and literally signifies a turning, (thus Ewald, Dillmann, and Zockler,) so that the expression before us indicates a complete reversal of things: God overturns the misery of Job into joy, and replaces night with day. Compare Psalm 14:7; 126:1, 4. The long continuance of Job’s sufferings might well be called a captivity, if we accept the speculation of Chrysostom, Isidorus. Suidas, and others, that they lasted seven years, or adopt even the one year which Petavius assigns as their limit; but upon this subject the word of God is silent. Compare, however, Job 5:19, with 7:3 — on the latter of which see note. When he prayed — In the very act of his praying for ethers (prep. b, in, before the verb) his own salvation came. The spectacle partakes of the morally sublime. The man of God, on whom still rests a burden of sorrow and disease unmeasured by human words, bends himself before his God, not in prayer for himself, but for those who had done him ill. As suddenly as in after times to Naaman, descends the grace of the Almighty: the night of tribulation turns and passes away; the loathsome ulcers vanish, while (even as Elihu had wonderfully prophesied) “his flesh becomes fresher than a child’s,” (Job 33:25,) and the work of deliverance for soul and body is complete. Compare Job 11:15-17. The Talmud thence derives the proverb, “He who prays for his fellow men always finds acceptance for himself first of all.”

V. 11. Then-When Job had humbled himself, and God was reconciled to him. Sisters-His kindred. Eat-Feasted with him, to congratulate with him God’s great and glorious favour. Bemoaned-They declared the sense which they had of his calamities while they were upon him, although they had hitherto wanted opportunity to express it.

Verse 11. Then came there unto him all his brethren] “Job being restored to his former health and fortunes, the author,” says Mr. Heath, “presents us with a striking view of human friendship. His brethren, who, in the time of his affliction, kept at a distance from him; his kinsfolk, who ceased to know him; his familiar friends, who had forgotten him; and his acquaintance, who had made themselves perfect strangers to him; those to whom he had showed kindness, and who yet had ungratefully neglected him, on the return of his prosperity now come and condole with him, desirous of renewing former familiarity; and, according to the custom of the Eastern countries, where there is no approaching a great man without a present, each brings him a kesitah, each a jewel of gold.” See Job 42:12.

A piece of money] hcycq kesitah signifies a lamb; and it is supposed that this piece of money had a lamb stamped on it, as that quantity of gold was generally the current value for a lamb. See Clarke’s note on “Genesis 33:19”, where the subject is largely considered. The Vulgate, Chaldee, Septuagint, Arabic, and Syriac, have one lamb or sheep; so it appears that they did not understand the kesitah as implying a piece of money of any kind, but a sheep or a lamb.

Earring of gold] Literally, a nose-jewel. The Septuagint translate, tetradracmon crusou, a tetra-drachm of gold, or golden daric; but by adding kai ashmou, unstamped, they intimate that it was four drachms of uncoined gold.

Verse 11. Then came unto him all his brethren — “The author here presents us with a striking view of human friendship. His brethren, who in the time of his affliction kept at a distance from him; his kins-folks, who ceased to know him; his familiar friends, who had forgotten him; and his acquaintance, who had made themselves perfect strangers to him; those, to whom he had shown kindness, and who yet had ungratefully neglected him; on the return of his prosperity, now come and condole with him, desirous of renewing their former familiarity, and, according to the custom of the eastern countries, where there is no approaching of a great man without a present, each brings him, hcycq, kesitah, (a piece of money, with the stamp, or impress, of a lamb upon it, as the original word signifies,) and each a jewel of gold. The word µzn, nezem, signifies properly a nose-jewel, which is commonly worn in the East to this day.” — Dodd.

RESTORATION OF JOB TO HIS FORMER DIGNITY AND HONOUR, verses 10b, 11. Twice as much — As in Isaiah 40:2, the consolation of Jerusalem is double the punishment inflicted upon her for her sins, (thus Vitringa,) so now the reward of Job is double all his losses. The restraint of love only intensifies its power when once the barrier is removed. The greatness of the reward now bestowed is correlative to the affection which had been so long concealed.

11. All his sisters — This is the first intimation given that Job had sisters; and as, consequently, they do not appear in the six classes Job enumerates of those who were estranged from him, (Job 19:13, 14,) we may conjecture, at least, that they did not join in the general ill treatment of Job. It is deeply significant that no mention is made of Job’s wife after his return to prosperity. The last time she appears is in a painful allusion Job makes to her want of sympathy. Job 19:17. All they that had been of his acquaintance — Literally, all his knowers. Same term as in Job 19:13. They bemoaned him — The Hebrew word noudh (same as in Job 2:11 — see note) expresses oneness of feeling with the sufferer, whether it be of grief or joy, and corresponds to our word sympathize. Friends who stood aloof from him as the accursed of God, (see note. Job 2:8,) gather around him as evidences are given of the removal of the divine ban. “Of Job’s adversities the loss of friends was last; of his prosperities the return of friends was first.” — Kitto. A piece of money — The etymological signification of the word hcycq, kesitah, is probably a piece weighed out, from kasat, to divide, measure, or weigh, (Furst.) A similar word is the Arabic kistah, from the same root, signifying a pair of scales, a balance; notwithstanding which, in the ancient versions, kesitah was rendered lamb. This ancient reading is accounted for by some on the supposition that the kesitah was stamped with the image of a lamb, in accordance with an Egyptian and Assyrian custom of making weights in the form of bulls, lions, and other animals. (See note on Job 6:2.) The most ancient coins of the Phoenicians, also, have the impress of a sheep. The Latin word for money, pecunia, finds its root in pecus, sheep or cattle. (Concerning the antiquity of coinage see RAWLINSON, Herodotus, 1:563-568.) The word appears, besides, in the Scriptures, only in Genesis 33:19, and Joshua 24:32, in both of which reference is made to the purchase of a “parcel of ground” by Jacob for a hundred kesitahs. That, these kesitahs could not have been sheep is probable from Acts 7:16, where we are told Jacob bought this piece of land for a “sum of money.” By comparing Genesis 33:19, with Genesis 23:16, Gesenius supposes the value of the kesitah to have been about four shekels. It is generally assumed to have been of silver. Hitzig, on account of its association with the earrings of gold, thinks it also was gold. As this word appears elsewhere in the scriptures only in connection with the patriarchs, its use here affords evidence of the remote origin of this book. Earring — µzn, (same as in Genesis 24:22, 47,) is thought by Schroeder, Rosenmuller, and Gesenius to have been a nose-ring, and seems to have been, according to Exodus 32:3, an ornament for men as well as women. Madden (Jewish Coinage, p. 3,) suggests that these rings may have been employed as a medium of exchange. Among the ancient Egyptians money consisted of rings of gold and silver, as represented on many of the monuments of Thebes. For a picture of these rings the reader is referred to page 60; also to WILKINSON’S Domestic Habits of the Egyptians, p. 92, for a like pictorial representation of scales, in which the weight bearing the impress of a sheep balances three rings. It is by no means improbable that three rings were of the value of one kesitah. Rings of gold are still used as a medium of exchange in Sennaar and neighbouring countries. It is the custom in Oriental countries, even to the present day, for those who go into the presence of the great to offer gifts, as a tacit recognition of their own inferiority. To such an extent is this system of symbolic gifts carried, that, according to Sir John Chardin, “It is the custom when one invites a superior, to make him a present after the repast, as it were in acknowledgment of his trouble. Frequently it is done before the repast — it being no augmentation of honour to come to the house of one who is an inferior. But they make no presents to equals or those that are below themselves.” See HARMER’S Observations, (Adam Clarke’s edition,) 2:296-326; also WINER, Rwb. 1:411, 412. Among the Hebrews, in some cases, presents were brought to monarchs upon their recovery from some great calamity, and served both as tokens of affection and of homage. After the restoration of King Hezekiah from his grievous malady, many brought gifts unto the Lord and presents to Hezekiah, “so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from henceforth.” 2 Chronicles 32:23. Compare Psalm 76:11, and Isaiah 39:1. THE END OF JOB MORE BLESSED THAN THE BEGINNING. Verses 12-17.

V. 12. Blessed-Not only with spiritual, but also with temporal blessings. Just double to what they were, Job 1:3. This is a remarkable instance of the extent of the Divine providence, to things that seem minute as this, the exact number of a man’s cattle; as also of the harmony of providence, and the reference of one event to another: for known unto God are all his works, from the beginning to the end.

Verse 12. The Lord blessed the latter end of Job] Was it not in consequence of his friends bringing him a lamb, sheep, or other kind of cattle, and the quantity of gold mentioned, that his stock of sheep was increased so speedily to 14,000, his camels to 6000, his oxen to 2000, and his she-asses to 1000?

Mr. Heath takes the story of the conduct of Job’s friends by the worst handle; see Job 42:11. Is it not likely that they themselves were the cause of his sudden accumulation of property? and that they did not visit him, nor seek his familiarity because he was now prosperous; but because they saw that God had turned his captivity, and miraculously healed him? This gave them full proof of his innocence, and they no longer considered him an anathema, or devoted person, whom they should avoid and detest, but one who had been suffering under a strange dispensation of Divine Providence, and who was now no longer a suspicious character, but a favourite of heaven, to whom they should show every possible kindness. They therefore joined hands with God to make the poor man live and their presents were the cause, under God of his restoration to affluence. This takes the subject by the other handle; and I think, as far as the text is concerned, by the right one.

He had fourteen thousand sheep] The reader, by referring to Job 1:3, will perceive that the whole of Job’s property was exactly doubled.

Verse 12. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job — Not only with spiritual, but also with temporal blessings. For he had fourteen thousand sheep, &c. — Just double to what they were, Job 1:3. This is a remarkable instance of the extent of the divine providence to things that seem minute as this, the exact number of a man’s cattle: as also of the harmony of providence, and the reference of one event to another: for known unto God are all his works, from the beginning to the end.

12. So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job — The exact doubling of Job’s flocks and herds comes within the domain of the miraculous; its object, to show to all ages that the return of Job to prosperity was not a mere stroke of fortune, but the unmistakable result of divine interposition. “The visible evidence of God’s mercy in Job’s case… was a pledge of God’s unseen love to all who endure; and it was vouchsafed to Job as such. Besides, Satan had so contrived Job’s afflictions by an extraordinary coincidence of events, (which God permitted him to execute, chaps. 1 and 2,) that it might seem to Job’s friends and to the world that Job was stricken of God as a sinner, and that he might be accused (as he was by his friends) as guilty in God’s sight.” — Wordsworth. Sheep… camels… oxen… and she asses — See note on chap. 1:3.

Verse 13. Seven sons and three daughters.] This was the same number as before; and so the Vulgate, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic read: but the Chaldee doubles the sons, “And he had fourteen sons, and three daughters.”

13. He had also seven sons and three daughters — The number of his children was not doubled; for the dead were with God. The omission is significant, and can only be accounted for by the belief in a reunion after death. (See p. 72, 73.) “God did not double his children to Job, in order that he might not despair of seeing again the children he had lost; and in order that he might know that, though they were taken from him, they were still alive; and that we also might know that Job, who had buried ten children, and was himself buried by ten others,

passed at death, as it were, from one home to another, and all of them will stand with him together at the great day.” — Chrysostom.

V. 14. Jemima-The day, either because of her eminent beauty, or because she was born in the day of his prosperity, after a dark night of affliction. Kezia is the name of a spice of a very fragrant smell, commonly called Cassia. Keren-happuch signifies plenty restored.

Verse 14. The name of the first Jemima] hmymy yemimah, days upon days.

Kezia] h[yxq ketsiah, cassia, a well-known aromatic plant. And, Keren-happuch.] Ëwph ˆrq keren happuch, the inverted or flowing horn, cornucopiæ, the horn of plenty. The Chaldee will not permit these names to pass without a comment, to show the reason of their imposition: “He called the first Jemimah, because she was as fair as the day; the second Ketsiah, because she was as precious as cassia; the third Keren-happuch, because her face was as splendid as the emerald.” Cardmarden’s Bible, 1566, has the Hebrew names.

The Vulgate has, “He called the name of one Day, of the second Cassia, and of the third The Horn of Antimony.”

The versions in general preserve these names, only the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic translate Jemimah, DAY; and the former for Keren-happuch has Amalqaiav kerav, the horn of Amalthea. This refers to an ancient fable. Amalthea was the nurse of Jupiter, and fed him with goat’s milk when he was young. The goat having by accident her horn struck off, Jupiter translated the animal to the heavens, and gave her a place among the constellations, which she still holds; and made the horn the emblem of plenty: hence it is always pictured or described as filled with fruits, flowers, and the necessaries and luxuries of life. It is very strange how this fable got into the Septuagint.

Coverdale is singular: The first he called Daye, the seconde Poverte, the thirde, All plenteousnes.

Verse 14. And he called the name of the first, Jemima — Which the LXX., and Vulgate, as derived from µwy, jom, interpret day. The Targum is, Her beauty was like that of the day. The name of the second, Kezia — Because she was precious like cassia, says the Targum. The meaning probably is, Pleasant as cassia, or fine spices. And the name of the third, Keren-happuch — Which the LXX. render, Amalqaiav kerav, Amalthea’s horn, or, The horn of plenty. The Targum, however, says she was so called, because the brightness of her face was like that of an emerald. Hence some interpret the name, The horn, or child, of beauty.

Ver. 14. Keren-happuch: a word equivalent to the horn of plenty; for this third daughter was born as Job was growing rich.

14. And he called the name — The grace and beauty of person of the three daughters are reflected in the descriptive names, given, not by the parent necessarily, but more probably by admiring friends. They were like the three graces of classic times. The subject of the word called is not defined. Sir Thomas Roe, the traveller, says of the Persians, “They call their women by the names of spices or odours, or of pearls or precious stones, or else by other names of pretty or pleasing signification.” Jemima — (Sept., Day) was in former times supposed to be an Aramaic word. and to signify pure as daylight; but it is now regarded as kindred to the Arabic Jemaimat, which means a dove, and was given (so Delitzsch thinks) as a name “because of her dove’s eyes.” Compare Song of Solomon 2:14; 5:2; 6:9. Kezia — (Sept., Casia) Cassia, or, fine as the fragrance of cassia, “as if woven out of the odor of cinnamon.” — Delitzsch. Comp. Psalm 45:8; Song of Solomon 1:3. This bark is something like cinnamon, but not so aromatic. Its Hebrew name, ketsiah, expresses the fact that it is stripped from the trees. Excessive fondness for perfumes is characteristic of the people of the East unto the present day. “The people of the Hedjaz, especially the ladies,” says Burckhardt, “steep rose-buds in water, which they afterward use for their ablutions.” — Arabia, 1:68. Keren-happuch — (Septuagint, Amalthaea’s horn,) is literally a horn of paint — boxes of pigment in those days being, as is supposed, sometimes made of horn, or in the shape of a horn. Oriental ladies from very ancient times have painted their eyes, in order to produce an apparent enlargement of the eye, and to promote its brilliancy. The accompanying engraving is copied from the sarcophagus of Oimenepthah, and is supposed to represent an Egyptian goddess whose eyebrows and eyelids have been painted with a black dye. To the bright and languishing expression thus produced the writer of the Proverbs (Proverns ^:25) is supposed to refer when he says, “Neither let her [the wanton] take thee with her eyelids.” Horns containing pigment have been found in Egyptian sarcophagi, with silver, ivory, and wooden needles, and minute brushes for applying the cosmetic to the eye. The Assyrian monuments also give evidence of the prevalence of the same custom. The art, in later times, became meretricious, as may be seen in 2 Kings 9:30, (margin;) Jeremiah 4:30; Ezekiel 23:40. The Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 54:11) makes the colouring matter (stibium, Hebrews pouk,) used in painting the eye the ground of an exquisite figure — the very cement of the stones which compose the new Jerusalem, he prophesies, shall be stibium, thus intimating that, as with the human eye artificially decorated, the beauty of these stones shall stand forth in greater splendour because of the dark background in which they also are set. The name of Keren-happuch, says Hengstenberg, is an irony upon the use of cosmetics. See further in RUSSELL’S History of Aleppo, i, pp. 111, 366.

V. 15. So fair-In the Old Testament we often find women praised for their beauty, but never in the New, because the beauty of holiness is brought to a much clearer light by the gospel.

Verse 15. Gave them inheritance among their brethren.] This seems to refer to the history of the daughters of Zelophehad, given Numbers 27:1-8, who appear to have been the first who were allowed an inheritance among their brethren.

Verse 15. In all the land were no women found so fair, &c. — In the Old Testament we often find women praised for their beauty, but never in the New, because the beauty of holiness is brought to a much clearer light by the gospel. Their father gave them inheritance. &c. — Gave his daughters a share, and, possibly, an equal share with his sons in his inheritance, which, in so plentiful an estate, he might easily do, especially to such amiable sisters, without the envy of their brethren; and which, per-adventure, he did, to oblige them to settle themselves among their brethren, and to marry into their own religious kindred, not to strangers, who, in those times, were generally swallowed up in the gulf of idolatry.

15. Inheritance among their brethren — According to Mosaic usage daughters inherited only when there were no sons in the family. The remonstrance of the five daughters of Zelophehad against the alienation of their father’s estate, gave rise to legislation through which property descended to daughters. Numbers 27:1-12. In case there were several sons the whole inheritance was divided equally among the sons, with the exception of the oldest, who received twice as much as either of his brothers. Deuteronomy 21:17. “Daughters, in case they were unmarried, were considered as making a part of the estate, and were sold by their brothers into matrimony.” — JAHN, Biblical Archaeology, sec. 168. The Athenian and the early Roman laws resembled the Mosaic in excluding females from inheritance when there were brothers; but in the case of the Greek a moral obligation devolved upon the brother to assign his sister a fortune corresponding to her rank. (See authorities cited in SMITH’S Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, s.v., Heres, p. 594. Eng. Edit.)

The indications are, that in patriarchal times daughters usually obtained a share in the paternal inheritance. This seems to be implied in the statement of Leah and Rachel, that there, was for them no portion nor inheritance in their father’s house. (Genesis 31:14.) Job, with princely magnanimity, includes his daughters among the sharers of the inheritance, not in a manner, as Kitto says, “showing that this power was rarely exercised,” but rather in keeping with ancient Arabian customs, which are perpetuated to the present day by Mohammedans. — SALE’S Prelim. Disc., sec. vi, and the Koran, Sura 4. An inscription of Esarhaddon, found at Kuyunjik, gives the names of eight Arabian sovereigns whom he put to death. Among them are two queens, Tapaa and Bailu. “This was a frequent custom,” says H.F. Talbot, speaking of the sovereignty of queens in the land of Arabia, (Records of the Past, vol. iii, page 107,) “according to the cuneiform inscriptions, but as far as I have observed: it was confined to that country.” Compare the account of the queen of Sheba, 1 Kings 10:1-13. In the French National Library is an ovoid bowlder of black basalt, known by the name Caillou Michaux, on which is an Assyrian inscription containing the law concerning landed property as a dowry for a woman on her marriage, and giving the whole measurement of the land to which the stone served as a boundary. — LENORMANT, Chaldaean Magic, 68. For a more detailed description, see Records of the Past, 9:92-95. An old Accadian incantation (see note, Job 1:17) says of the seven evil spirits, “Female they are not, male they are not;” on which Birch remarks, this order is in accordance with the position held by the woman in Accad; in the Accadian Table of Laws (see Records of the Past, 3:23) the denial of the father by the son is punished very leniently in comparison with the denial of the mother. (Compare Records of the Past, 9:148.) To account for the distinction made by Job between the sons and daughters, by which the names of the latter only are mentioned, Forster, (Geog. of Arabia, 2:66,) suggests “that the daughters of Job should not only become the mothers of nations, but that they should call the lands after their own names.” More probable than his speculations as to the other daughters, is the one that the name of Jemima is perpetuated in Jemima or Jemama, the name of the central province of the Arabian peninsula. “An Arab tradition, of immemorial standing,” says Forster, “has preserved and handed down the fact that the province of Jemama received its name from Queen Jemama, the first sovereign of the land, who could be no other than Jemima, the daughter of Job.” Consult art. “Inheritance” in FAIRBAIRN, Bib. Dic.; MICHAELIS, Laws of Moses, art. lxxviii; WINER, Rwb., art. “Erbschaft;” MAINE, Anc. Laws, 144-154; SPANHEIM, Hist. Jobi, cap. xv, sec. 18.

V. 16. After this, &c.-Some conjecture, that he was seventy when his trouble came. If so his age was doubled, as his other possessions.

Verse 16. After this lived Job a hundred and forty years] How long he had lived before his afflictions, we cannot tell. If we could rely on the Septuagint, all would be plain, who add here, Ta de panta eth ezhsen, diakosia tessarakonta; “And all the years that Job lived were two hundred and forty.” This makes him one hundred years of age when his trial commenced. Coverdale has, After this lyved Job forty yeares, omitting the hundred. So also in Becke’s Bible, 1549. From the age, as marked down in the Hebrew text, we can infer nothing relative to the time when Job lived. See the subscription at the end of the Arabic.

Verses 16, 17. After this Job lived a hundred and forty years — Some conjecture that he was seventy when his troubles came upon him: if so, his age was double, as his other possessions. And saw his sons, and his sons’ sons — Though his children were not doubled to him, yet in his children’s children they were more than doubled. As God appointed to Adam another seed instead of that which was slain, Genesis 4:25, so he did to Job with advantage. God has ways to repair the losses, and balance the griefs, of those who are deprived of their property, or are written childless, as Job was when he had buried all his children, and was robbed of all his sheep and cattle by the Chaldeans and Sabeans. So Job died, being old and full of days — He lived till he had enough of life, for he died µymy [bc, sebang jamim, satisfied with days; that is, satisfied with living in this world, and willing to leave it; not peevishly so, as in the days of his affliction, but piously so; and, as Eliphaz had encouraged him to hope, he came to his grave like a shock of ripe corn in its season. By the great length of Job’s days, namely, two hundred and ten years, it seems most probable that he lived before the time of Moses, for at and after that time the days of human life were much shortened, as that man of God complained, Psalm 90:10.

Ver. 16. After this lived Job a hundred and forty years. The talmudists say he lived in all two hundred and ten years. The LXX say he lived in all two hundred and forty years. Terah lived but two hundred years, and his son Abraham only a hundred and seventy five. How weak then is the conjecture that Job lived in later times, for the gradual scale on which the Almighty was pleased to shorten the age of man, is equivalent to demonstration that Job was contemporary with Terah, and probably his senior patriarch. Be that as it may,

Job was a type of Christ.

(1) Job was a king in the land of Uz: Christ is king of heaven and earth.

(2) Job was deprived of all his wealth: Christ laid aside all his glory, and lots were cast for his vesture.

(3) In one hour Job lost all his children: and in one sad night the apostles all forsook the Saviour and fled.

(4) Job was smitten with sores: Christ was scourged and crowned with thorns.

(5) Job’s soul was afflicted with the sorest anguish and grief: Christ in the garden drank the bitter cup, and was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death.

(6) Job’s anguish was augmented by princes and priests, and those who should have comforted him: Christ’s afflictions came from priests and rulers.

(7) Job held fast his integrity to the end: the Saviour fainted not, but died commending his spirit to the Father.

(8) Job had a hundredfold reward in this life: Christ had glory after the cross, beyond all that language can declare. Thus we see “the end of the Lord, that he is very pitiful and tender hearted.” James 5:11.

16. After this lived Job a hundred and forty years — It does not appear from the Scriptures what was the age of Job at the time of his calamities. According to the Septuagint, his entire life was 240 years, (Codex Alex., 248 years,) from which deducting the Hebrew statement as above, there remain 100 years, (Septuagint 70) — a full, mature age, rich in experience and ripe in moral strength, with which to meet the onset of evil — an age, also, not far from that of Abraham when he was more directly tried of God. The speculation which is sometimes ventured upon, that the years of Job were also doubled, would make his entire age 210 years, if calculated on the basis of the Septuagint, which distinctly states that he was 70 when subjected to trial. His longevity then was truly patriarchal, as will appear from the following table: —

Peleg lived 239 years

Reu “ 239 “

Serug “ 230 “

Nahor “ 248 “

Terah “ 205 “

Abraham “ 175 “

Job say 210 “

Isaac lived 180 “

Jacob “ 147 “

Joseph “ 110 “

Moses “ 120 “

Joshua “ 110 “

“Supposing, then, the age of Job to have been somewhat unusual and extraordinary, it would fall in with the period somewhere in the line between Terah and Jacob; and, if so, he was probably co-temporary with the most distinguished of the patriarchs.” — Barnes.

V. 17. Full of days-So coming to his grave, as Eliphaz had spoken, like a ripe shock of corn in its season.

Verse 17. Job died, being old and full of days.] He had seen life in all its varieties; he had risen higher than all the men of the East, and sunk lower in affliction, poverty, and distress, than any other human being that had existed before, or has lived since. He died when he was satisfied with this life; this the word [bc seba implies. He knew the worst and the best of human life; and in himself the whole history of Providence was exemplified and illustrated, and many of its mysteries unfolded.

We have now seen the end of the life of Job, and the end or design which God had in view by his afflictions and trials, in which he has shown us that he is very pitiful, and of tender mercy, James 5:11; and to discern this end of the Lord should be the object of every person who reads or studies it. Laus in excelsis Deo!

Both in the Arabic and Septuagint there is a considerable and important addition at the end of the seventeenth verse, which extends to many lines; of this, with its variations, I have given a translation in the PREFACE. At the end of the Syriac version we have the following subscription:— “The Book of the righteous and renowned Job is finished, and contains 2553 verses.”

At the end of the Arabic is the following:—

“It is completed by the assistance of the Most High God. The author of this copy would record that this book has been translated into Arabic from the Syriac language.” “Glory be to God, the giver of understanding!” “The Book of Job is completed; and his age was two hundred and forty years.” “Praise be to God for ever!” So closely does the Arabic translator copy the Syriac, that in the Polyglots one Latin version serves for both, with the exception of a few marginal readings at the bottom of the column to show where the Syriac varies. Masoretic Notes

Number of verses, one thousand and seventy. Middle verse, Job 22:16. Sections, eight.

AT the close of a book I have usually endeavoured to give some account of the author, or of him who was its chief subject. But the Book of Job is so unique in its subject and circumstances, that it is almost impossible to say any thing satisfactorily upon it, except in the way of notes on the text. There has been so much controversy on the person and era of Job, that he has almost been reduced to an ideal being, and the book itself considered rather as a splendid poem on an ethic subject than a real history of the man whose name it bears.

The author, as we have already seen in the preface, is not known. It has been attributed to Job himself; to Elihu, one of his friends; to Moses; to some ancient Hebrew, whose name is unknown; to Solomon; to Isaiah the prophet; and to Ezra the scribe.

The time is involved in equal darkness: before Moses, in the time of the exodus, or a little after; in the days of Solomon; during the Babylonish captivity, or even later; have all been mentioned as probable eras. How it was originally written, and in what language, have also been questions on which great and learned men have divided. Some think it was originally written in prose, and afterwards reduced to poetry, and the substance of the different speeches being retained, but much added by way of embellishment. Theodore, bishop of Mopsuestia in Cilicia, a writer of the fourth century, distinguishes between Job and the author of the book that goes under his name, whom he accuses of a vain ostentation of profane sciences; of writing a fabulous and poetical history; of making Job speak things inconsistent with his religion and piety, and more proper to give offense than to edify. As Theodore had only seen the Book of Job in the Greek version, it must be owned that he had too much ground for his severe criticism, as there are in that version several allusions to the mythology of the Greeks, some of which are cursorily mentioned in the notes. Among these may be reckoned the names of constellations in chapters ix. and xxxviii., and the naming one of Job’s daughters Keren-happuch, the horn of Amalthea, Job 42:14.

We need not confound the time of Job and the time of the author of the book that goes under his name. Job may have been the same as Jobab, 1 Chronicles 1:35-44, and the fifth in descent from Abraham; while the author or poet, who reduced the memoirs into verse, may have lived as late as the Babylonish captivity.

As to the language, though nervous and elevated, it is rather a compound of dialects than a regular language. Though Hebrew be the basis, yet many of the words, and frequently the idiom, are pure Arabic, and a Chaldee phraseology is in many places apparent.

Whoever was the author, and in whatsoever time it may have been written, the Jewish and Christian Church have ever received it as a canonical book, recommended by the inspiration of the Almighty. It is in many respects an obscure book, because it refers to all the wisdom of the East. If we understood all its allusions, I have little doubt that the best judges would not hesitate to declare it the Idumean Encyclopædia. It most obviously makes continual references to sciences the most exalted and useful, and to arts the most difficult and ornamental. Of these the notes have produced frequent proofs.

The author was well acquainted with all the wisdom and learning of the ancient world, and of his own times; and as a poet he stands next to David and Isaiah: and as his subjects have been more varied than theirs, he knew well how to avail himself of this circumstance; and has pressed into his service all the influence and beauty of his art, to make the four persons, whom he brings upon the stage, keep up each his proper character, and maintain the opinions which they respectively undertook to defend. “The history,” says Calmet, “as to the substance and circumstances, is exactly true. The sentiments, reasons, and arguments of the several persons, are very faithfully expressed; but it is very probable that the terms and turns of expression are the poet’s, or the writer’s, whosoever he may be.” The authority of this book has been as much acknowledged as its Divine inspiration. The Prophet Ezekiel is the first who quotes it, Ezekiel 14:14-20, where he mentions Job with Noah and Daniel, in such a way as makes his identity equal with theirs; and of their personal existence no one ever doubted.

The Apostle James, James 5:11, mentions him also, and celebrates his patience, and refers so particularly to the termination and happy issue of his trials, as leaves us no room to doubt that he had seen his history, as here stated, in the book that bears his name.

St. Paul seems also to quote him. Compare Romans 2:11, “For there is no respect of persons with God,” with Job 34:19, “God accepteth not the person of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor; for they are all the work of his hands.”

1 Timothy 6:7: “For we brought nothing into this world; and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” Job 1:21: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb; and naked shall I return thither.”

Hebrews 12:5: “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him.” Job 5:17: “Happy is the man whom God correcteth; therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.” A similar saying is found Proverbs 3:11, probably all coming from the same source. See the comparisons from the writings of Solomon, in the preface.

Job is to be found in the ancient martyrologies, with the title of prophet, saint, and martyr, and the Greek Church celebrates a festival in his honour on the fifth of May; and the corrupt Churches of Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Russia, and Muscovy, follow it in their worship of Saint Job! But no Church has proceeded so far both to honour and disgrace this excellent man as the Church of Rome. I shall quote the words of Dom. Calmet, one of the most learned and judicious divines that Church could ever boast of. “The Latins keep his festival on the tenth of May. This, next to the Maccabees, brothers and martyrs, is the first saint to whom the western Church has decreed public and religious honours, and we know not of any saint among the patriarchs and prophets to whom churches have been consecrated, or chapels dedicated in greater number, than to this holy man. We see abundance of them, particularly in Spain and Italy. And he is invoked principally against the leprosy, itch, foul disease, and other distempers which relate to these.” See Baillie’s Lives of the Saints. Calmet goes on to say that “there are several reputable commentators who maintain that Job was afflicted with this scandalous disease; among whom are Vatablus, Cyprian, Cisterc. Bolducius, and Pineda, in their commentaries on Job; and Desganges in Epist. Medicin. Hist. Deuteronomy Lue Venerea. The Latin Church invokes Saint Job in diseases of this nature; and lazarettos and hospitals, wherein care is taken of persons who have this scandalous distemper upon them, are for the most part dedicated to him.” See Calmet’s Dissertation sur la maladie de Job, and his Dictionary, under the article JOB.

The conduct of this Church, relative to this holy man, forms one of the foulest calumnies ever inflicted on the character of either saint or sinner; and to make him the patron of every diseased prostitute and debauchee through the whole extent of the papal dominions and influence, is a conduct the most execrable, and little short of blasphemy against the holiness of God. As to their lazarettos, hospitals, and chapels, dedicated to this eminent man on these scandalous grounds, better raze them from their foundations, carry their materials to an unclean place, or transport them to the valley of the son of Hinnom, and consume them there; and then openly build others dedicated ad fornicantem Jovem, in conjunction with Baal Peor and Ashtaroth, the Priapus and Venus of their predecessors!

If those of that communion should think these reflections severe, let them know that the stroke is heavier than the groan; and let them put away from among them what is a dishonour to God, a disgrace to his saints, and their own ineffable reproach.

Of the disease under which Job laboured, enough has been said in the notes. On this head many writers have run into great extravagance. Bartholinus and Calmet state that he was afflicted with twelve several diseases; the latter specifies them. Pineda enumerates thirty-one or thirty-two; and St. Chrysostom says he was afflicted with all the maladies of which the human body is capable; that he suffered them in their utmost extremities; and, in a word, that on his one body all the maladies of the world were accumulated! How true is the saying, “Over-doing is un-doing!” It is enough to say, that this great man was afflicted in his property, family, body, and soul; and perhaps none, before or since his time, to a greater degree in all these kinds.

On Job’s character his own words are the best comment. Were we to believe his mistaken and uncharitable friends, he, by assertion and inuendo, was guilty of almost every species of crime; but every charge of this kind is rebutted by his own defense, and the character given to him by the God whom he worshipped, frees him from even the suspicion of guilt. His patience, resignation, and submission to the Divine will, are the most prominent parts of his character which are presented to our view. He bore the loss of every thing which a worldly man values without one unsanctified feeling or murmuring word. And it is in this respect that he is recommended to our notice and to our imitation. His wailings relative to the mental agonies through which he passed, do not at all affect this part of his character. He bore the loss of his goods, the total ruin of his extensive and invaluable establishment, and the destruction of his hopes in the awful death of his children, without uttering a reprehensible word, or indulging an irreligious feeling.

If however we carefully examine our translation of this poem, we shall find many things in Job’s speeches that appear to be blemishes in his character. Even his own concessions appear to be heavy taxes on the high reputation he has had for patience and humble submission to the Divine will. In several cases these apparent blemishes are so contrasted with declarations of the highest integrity and innocence that they amount nearly to contradictions. Dr. Kennicott has examined this subject closely, and has thought deeply upon it, and strongly asserts that this apparent inconsistency arises from a misapprehension of Job’s words in some cases, and mistranslation of them in others.

I shall take a large quotation on this subject from his “Remarks on Select Passages of Scripture.”

“The integrity or righteousness of Job’s character being resolutely maintained by Job himself, and the whole poem turning on the multiplied miseries of a man eminently good, the grand difficulty through the poem seems to be, how these positions can consist with the several passages where Job is now made to own himself a very grievous sinner. This matter, as being of great moment, should be carefully examined.

“In Job 7:20, 21, he says, ‘I have sinned; What shall I do unto thee, O thou Preserver of men? Why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity?’

“In Job 9:20: ‘If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: If I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.’ Job 9:30, 31: ‘If I wash myself with snow-water, yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and my own clothes shall abhor me.’ Lastly, in Job 42:6: ‘I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.’

“Whereas he says, in Job 10:7, ‘Thou knowest that I am not wicked.’ Job 13:15: ‘I will maintain my own ways before him.’ Job 13:18. ‘I know that I shall be justified.’ Job 23:10: ‘He knoweth the way that I take; when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.’ Job 23:11: ‘My foot hath held his steps; his way have I kept, and not declined.’ And lastly, in Job 27:5: ‘Till I die I will not remove my integrity from me.’ Job 27:6: ‘My righteousness I hold fast; I will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.’

“And now if any one, ascribing these contrarieties to Job’s inconsistency with himself, should pronounce him right in owning himself a great sinner, and wrong in pleading his own integrity, he will soon see it necessary to infer the contrary. Had Job really been, and owned himself to be, a great sinner, his great sufferings had been then accounted for, agreeably to the maxims of his friends, and all difficulty and dispute had been at an end. But as the whole poem turns on Job’s uncommon goodness, and yet uncommon misery, so this goodness or innocence, this righteousness or integrity, is not only insisted upon by Job, but expressly admitted by God himself, both in the beginning of this book and at the end of it. See Job 1:8, 21; 2:3; 42:7, 8.

“That Job did not here plead guilty, or contradict the asseveration of his innocence, appears farther from the subsequent speeches. So Bildad, who spoke next, understood him, Job 8:6. So Zophar understood him, Job 11:4. So Eliphaz, to whom he spoke the former words, understood him likewise, Job 15:13, 14. And, lastly, Elihu, after hearing all the replies of Job to his friends, tells him, (Job 33:8, 9,) ‘Surely, thou hast spoken in mine hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying, I am clean, without transgression; I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me.’

“If therefore this inconsistency in Job’s declaration concerning himself cannot have obtained in this book at first, it must arise from some misrepresentation of the true sense. And as it relates to Job’s confession of guilt, expressed in the three chapters, vii., ix., and xlii., on these passages I shall make a few remarks, in hopes of removing one of the greatest general difficulties which now attend this poem.

“As to the first instance, Job appears, at least from our English version of Job 7:20, to be confessing his sins to God, whereas he is really speaking there in reply to Eliphaz; and it is obvious that the same words, applied thus differently, must carry very different ideas. Who does not see the humility and sorrow with which Job would say, ‘I have sinned against thee, O God?’ and yet see the resentment and force with which he would say to Eliphaz, I have sinned, you say; but, granting this, What is it to YOU? to (or against) thee, O Eliphaz! what crime have I committed? That Job, in other places, repeats ironically, and confutes by quoting the sayings of his friends, will appear hereafter.

“Eliphaz had been attempting to terrify him by the recital of a vision, and the long speech of a spirit, Job 4:12-21. Job in reply, (Job 6:15-27,) complains of the cruel treatment he had begun to experience from his nominal friends, and false brethren; and (Job 7:14) particularly complains that he (Eliphaz) had terrified him with dreams and visions, Job then goes on, (Job 7:17, &c.,) What is a miserable man, like myself, that thou makest so much of him? 1 Samuel 26:24: That thou settest thy heart upon him? that, with such officious affection, thou visitest him every morning, and art trying him every moment? How long will it be till thou depart from me; and leave me at liberty to breathe, and even swallow down my spittle? You say, I must have been a sinner; what then? I have not sinned against THEE. O thou spy upon mankind! Why hast thou set up me as a butt or mark to shoot at? Why am I become a burden unto thee? Why not rather overlook my transgression, and pass by mine iniquity? I am now sinking to the dust; to-morrow, perhaps, I shall be sought in vain. “As the first part of this difficulty arose from Job’s first reply to Eliphaz, the second part of the same difficulty arises from Job’s first reply to Bildad, in chap. ix., when Job is now made to say as follows, (Job 9:2, 4) ‘How shouldst thou be just with God? Who hath hardened himself against him and prospered?’ Job 9:20: ‘If I justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me;’ with many other self-accusatory observations, which have been already quoted from Job 9:28, 30, 31. Now this chapter, which in our present version of it is very unintelligible, will perhaps recover its original meaning, and prove beautifully consistent, upon these two principles: That from Job 9:2-24, Job is really exposing his friends, by ironically quoting some of their absurd maxims; and that in Job 9:28, 31 he is speaking, not to God, but in reply to Bildad. “Thus, in Job 9:2, ‘I know it is so of a truth;’ i.e., Verily I perceive that with you the matter stands thus, as, How shall man be just with God; and again, God is omnipotent; which is granted and enlarged upon. “Job 9:15, 16 strongly confirm the idea of Job’s irony on the maxims of his friends, thus: Whom (God) I am not to answer, you say, even though I were righteous; but I am to make supplication to my Judge. Nay; If I have called to God, and he hath really answered me, I am not to believe that he hath heard my voice, Because, &c. So again, as to Job 9:20-22: If I justify myself, then you say, My own mouth proves me wicked! If I say, I am perfect, then it proves me perverse. And even supposing that I am perfect and upright, yet am I not to know it. In short, my soul loatheth my very life; i.e., I am almost tired to death with such nonsense.

“Whereas the one sole true conclusion is this, which, therefore, I resolutely maintain: ‘God destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.’ And as to Job 9:28, 31, the whole embarrassment attending them is removed when we consider them as directed to Bildad; who, by the vehemence of his speech, hath shown that he would continue to insist upon Job’s guilt: ‘If I wash myself in snow-water, and make my hands ever so clean; yet wilt thou (Bildad) plunge me in the ditch,’ &c.

“Let us proceed, therefore, to the third and last part of this general difficulty, which arises at present from Job’s confession in Job 42:5, 6: ‘I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.’ But repent of what? and why abhor himself? He was at that instant in the very situation he had been earnestly wishing and often praying for: and was it possible for him not to seize that favourable moment? What he had so often wished was, that God would appear, and permit him to ask the reason for his uncommon sufferings. See Job 10:2; 13:3, 18-23; 19:7; 23:3-10; 31:35-37, &c. And now when God does appear, we see that Job, immediately attentive to this matter, resolves to put the question, and declares this resolution: ‘Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak; I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee.’ What now becomes of Job’s question? Does he put any? Far, at present, are the next words from any such meaning, at least in our present version; for there the verse expresses nothing but sorrow for sin, which sets the poem at variance with itself. It also loses all sight of the question, for which the poem had been preparing, and which Job himself declares he would now put. Add, that in the first of these two lines the verb does not signify, I abhor myself; that the first hemistich is evidently too short, and that the second is not properly IN dust, but l[ al, UPON dust and ashes.”

“It is therefore submitted to the learned, whether the restoration of two letters, which at the same time that they lengthen the line, will remove the inconsistency, and give the very question here wanted, be not strongly and effectually recommended by the exigence of the place. As כנ l[ al ken, is properly therefore, and hm l[ al mah (Job 10:2) is wherefore, hm mah was easily dropped before כנ ken; it not being recollected that כנ ken here is connected, not with the preposition before it, but with the verb after it, and signifies hoc modo. The true reading, therefore, and the true sense I humbly conceive to stand thus:—

Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak;

I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear;

But now mine eye seeth thee.

WHEREFORE (hm l[

hm l[) am I thus become loathsome

And scorched up, upon dust and ashes?

“See Job 7:5: ‘My flesh is clothed with worms, and clods of dust; my skin is broken (samyw) and become loathsome.’ See also Job 30:30: ‘My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burnt with heat;’ and Job 2:8; 10:2; 16:15.”

So far Dr. Kennicott in vindication of Job; and the reader will do justice to his learning and ingenuity. Allowing his general positions to be true, he has, in my opinion, pushed his consequences too far. Job certainly was not a grievous sinner, but a most upright man. This point is sufficiently proved; but that he accuses himself of nothing wrong, of no inward evil, is certainly not correct. He thought too highly of himself; he presumed too much on what was without; but when God shone upon his heart, he saw that he was vile, and therefore might most properly loathe himself. There are multitudes who are decent and correct in their outward behaviour, whose hearts may be deceitful and desperately wicked. Even the Pharisees made clean the outside of the cup and platter. Job was a very righteous and upright man: but at the time in question, he was not cleansed from all inward sin. This removes all contradiction from what he asserts, and from what he concedes. With this abatement, Dr. Kennicott’s criticism may fairly stand. When a man sees himself in the light of God, he sees what, by his own discernment, wisdom, and reason, he had never seen before. His mind might have been previously deeply imbued with the principles of justice, righteousness, and truth, his whole conduct be regulated by them, and he be conscious to himself that he had not wickedly departed from the laws imposed on him by these principles. But when the light that maketh manifest shines through the inmost recesses of the heart, and vibrates through the soul, then spiritual wickedness becomes evident, and the deceitfulness of the heart is discovered. That light refers every thing to the Divine standard, the holiness of God; and the man’s own righteousness in this comparison is found to be imperfection itself, and little short of impurity. Job appears to have been in this state: he thought himself rich and increased in goods, and to have need of nothing; but when God shone in upon his heart, he found himself to be wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; and he was now as ready to confess his great vileness, as he was before to assert and vindicate the unimpeachable righteousness of his conduct. Here was no contradiction. His friends attacked him on the ground of his being a bad and wicked man: this charge he repels with indignation, and dared them to the proof. They had nothing to allege but their system and their suspicions: but he who suffers must have sinned. Job, being conscious that this was false as applied to him, knowing his own innocence, boldly requires on their ground to know why God contended with him? God answers for himself; humbles the self-confident yet upright man; shines into his heart, and then he sees that he is vile. When a beam of the solar light is admitted into an apartment we see ten thousand atoms or motes dancing in that beam. These are no particles of light, nor did the light bring them there; they were there before, but there was not light sufficient to make them manifest. Just so when the light of God visits the soul of a sincere man, who has been labouring in all his outward conduct to stand approved of God; he is astonished at his inward impurity, loathes himself, and is ready to think that many devils have suddenly entered into him. No: all the evils thou seest were there before, but thou hadst not light sufficient to make them manifest. Shall it be said after this, that the conduct of Divine Providence cannot be vindicated in suffering an upright man to become a butt for the malice of Satan for so long a time, and for no purpose? The greatest, the most important purposes were accomplished by this trial. Job became a much better man than he ever was before; the dispensations of God’s providence were illustrated and justified; Satan’s devices unmasked; patience crowned and rewarded; and the Church of God greatly enriched by having bequeathed to it the vast treasury of Divine truth which is found in the BOOK OF JOB. Corrected for a new edition, March 1st, 1829.—A. C.

Verses 16, 17. After this Job lived a hundred and forty years — Some conjecture that he was seventy when his troubles came upon him: if so, his age was double, as his other possessions. And saw his sons, and his sons’ sons — Though his children were not doubled to him, yet in his children’s children they were more than doubled. As God appointed to Adam another seed instead of that which was slain, Genesis 4:25, so he did to Job with advantage. God has ways to repair the losses, and balance the griefs, of those who are deprived of their property, or are written childless, as Job was when he had buried all his children, and was robbed of all his sheep and cattle by the Chaldeans and Sabeans. So Job died, being old and full of days — He lived till he had enough of life, for he died µymy [bc, sebang jamim, satisfied with days; that is, satisfied with living in this world, and willing to leave it; not peevishly so, as in the days of his affliction, but piously so; and, as Eliphaz had encouraged him to hope, he came to his grave like a shock of ripe corn in its season. By the great length of Job’s days, namely, two hundred and ten years, it seems most probable that he lived before the time of Moses, for at and after that time the days of human life were much shortened, as that man of God complained, Psalm 90:10.

17. Job died, being old and full of days — The Septuagint adds: “And it is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up.” Also, “This man is described in [Gr. interpreted out of] the Syriac book as living in the land of Ausis, on the borders of Idumaea and Arabia; and his name before was Jobab; and, having taken an Arabian wife, he begot a son whose name was Ennon. And he himself was the son of his father Zare, one of the sons of Esau, and of his mother Bosorrha, so that he was the fifth from Abraham. And these were the kings who reigned in Edom, which country he also ruled over: first, Balac, the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dennaba; but after Balac, Jobab, who is called Job; and after him Asom, who was governor out of the country of Thaeman; and after him Adad, the son of Barad, who destroyed Madiam in the plain of Moab, and the name of his city was Gethaim. And his friends who came to him were Eliphaz, of the children of Esau, king of the Thaemanites; Baldad, sovereign of the Sauchaeans; Sophar, king of the Minaeans.” For Mohammedan views, see KORAN, Sura 21 and 38. Old and full of days — The formula is patriarchal, for the same Hebrew expression is used of the death of Isaac. Genesis 35:29. Compare Genesis 25:8. The word full, [bc, signifies also sated. The entire good which life can give, Job lived long enough to fully reap. Length of life, as a temporal blessing, is not so essential for us who enjoy the undimmed prospect of immortality. The man of God no longer counts upon years as a reward of virtue, nor upon the so-called enjoyment of life as the true fruition of well-doing. The ministration of sorrow, now unclouded, is recognised as a kind and wise agent of the Most High. Faith localizes the true harvest field in the life beyond. If life be for us but a handbreadth, it is long enough to answer its divine end — that of a gray, ever-dissolving, short lived dawn — to usher in an immortal day.

SCIENCE AND NATURAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE

BOOK OF JOB.

ASTRONOMY.

Arcturus, Job 9:9; Job 38:32.

Aurora. See Dayspring.

Chambers of the south, Job 9:9.

Dayspring, Job 38:12-14.

Dragon, the, constellation of, Job 3:8; Job 26:13; Excursus x, p. 292.

Earth, ends of the, Job 37:3; Job 38:13. the, self-suspended, Job 26:7; Excursus x, p. 292. the, shape of, Job 26:7; Job 37:3; Excursus x, p. 291.

Eclipses, ancient knowledge of, Job 3:8; Excursus x, p. 291. Heavens, the, destruction of, Job 14:12.

Mazzaroth, Job 38:32.

Mezarim, Job 37:9.

Moon, Job 25:5; Job 31:26.

Ocean, creation of, Job 38:9, 10; stability of, Job 38:11. Orion, Job 9:9; Job 38:31.

Pleiades, Job 9:9; Job 38:31.

Points, cardinal, Job 23:8, 9.

Sheol, place of, Job 26:5; Job 38:17; Excursus iii, p. 72. Sky, strength of, Job 37:18.

Space, (tohu,) Job 26:7.

Stars, chaps. Job 3:9; Job 9:7; Job 22:12; Job 25:5; Job 38:7.

Sun, Job 8:16; Job 9:7; Job 30:28; Job 31:26. Universe, extent of, Job 26:14.

Zodiac, the, the signs of, Job 38:32; Excursus x, p. 293. BOTANY.

Alkali, Job 9:30.

Barley, Job 31:40.

Cassia, Job 42:14.

Cedar, Job 40:17.

Cockle, Job 31:40.

Corn, Job 5:26; Job 24:6; Job 39:4. Flag, Job 8:11.

Grape, Job 15:33.

Grass, Job 5:25; Job 6:5; Job 40:15. Juniper, Job 30:4.

Mallow, Job 30:4.

Nettle, Job 30:7.

Olive, Job 15:33.

Palm tree, Job 14:7.

Papyrus, Job 8:11; Job 9:26; Job 19:23. Reed, Job 40:21.

Rush. See Papyrus.

Thistle, Job 31:40.

Thorn, Job 5:5; Job 41:2.

Trees, lotus, Job 40:21, 22.

Trees, shady. See Lotus trees.

Vine, Job 15:33.

Wheat, Job 31:40.

Willows, Job 40:22.

METEOROLOGY.

Clouds, balancing of, Job 37:16. bright, Job 37:11, 21. freighted with rain, Job 26:8. guidance of, Job 37:12. height of, Job 20:6; Job 35:5. mantle of, Job 38:9. murky, Job 3:5; Job 22:13, 14; Job 37:11. number of, Job 38:37. spreadings of, Job 36:29.

Cyclone, Job 1:19.

Dew, Job 29:19; Job 38:28.

Earthquake, Job 9:5, 6; Job 26:11.

Flood, the, Job 22:16-18.

Frost and its effects, Job 37:10; Job 38:29. God, fire of, Job 1:16; Job 20:26.

Hail, Job 38:22.

Ice, Job 6:16; Job 38:29, 30. formation of, Job 37:10; Job 38:30.

Light, its dwelling-place, Job 38:19.

Lightning, Job 28:26; Job 37:3; Job 38:25. Ocean, stability of, Job 38:11.

Rain, Job 5:10; Job 28:26; Job 29:23; Job 36:27; Job 37:6; Job 38:28, 37.

Simoon, Job 4:9.

Sirocco, Job 37:17.

Snow, Job 6:16; Job 9:30; Job 24:19; Job 37:6; Job 38:22. formation of, Job 38:22.

Storm, Job 21:18; Job 27:21.

Thunder, Job 26:14; Job 28:26; Job 36:29; Job 37:1-5; Job 38:25.

Vapour clouds, Job 36:27.

Waters, weight of, Job 28:25; Job 38:11. Whirlwind, Job 1:19; Job 37:9; Job 38:1. Wind, Job 21:18; Job 30:15, 22; Job 37:21. East, Job 15:2; Job 27:21; Job 38:24. South, Job 37:9, 17. Winds, weight for, Job 28:25.

MINERALOGY.

Brass, (i.e., Copper,) Job 6:12; Job 28:2; Job 40:18; Job 41:27.

Brimstone, Job 18:15.

Copper, tempered, Job 20:24.

Crystal, Job 28:17.

Gold, Job 3:15; Job 22:24; 23:10; Job 28:1, 6, 17; Job 31:24; Job 36:19; 42:11.

Iron, Job 19:24; Job 20:24; Job 28:2; Job 40:18; Job 41:27.

Lead, Job 19:24.

Ophir, gold of, Job 22:24.

Rock, (i.e., flint,) Job 28:9.

Silver, Job 3:15; Job 22:25; Job 27:16, 17; Job 28:1. Steel, (i.e., Brass or Copper,) Job 20:24.

PRECIOUS STONES.

Coral, Job 28:18.

Onyx, Job 28:16.

Pearl, Job 28:18.

Ruby, Job 28:18.

Sapphire, Job 28:6, 16.

Topaz, Job 28:19.

ZOOLOGY.

Asp, Job 20:14, 16.

Ass, Job 24:3. she, Job 1:3, 14; Job 42:12. wild, Job 6:5; Job 11:12; Job 24:5; Job 39:5-8. Behemoth. See Hippopotamus.

Bull, Job 21:10. wild, Job 39:10.

Bullock, Job 42:8.

Camel, Job 1:3, 17; Job 42:12.

Cow, Job 21:10.

Crocodile, Job 3:8; 42; Excursus 8.

Dog, shepherd’s, Job 30:1.

Dragon. See Jackal.

Eagle, Job 9:26; Job 39:27-30.

Goat, wild, Job 39:1.

Grasshopper. See Locust.

Hawk, Job 39:26.

Hind, Job 39:1.

Hippopotamus, Job 40:15-24; Excursus 8.

Horse, Job 39:18-25.

Jackal, Job 30:29.

Leviathan. See Crocodile.

Lion, Job 4:10; Job 10:16; Job 28:8; Job 38:39. Lion, whelps of, Job 4:11; Job 28:8. Locust, Job 39:20.

Moth, Job 4:19; Job 27:18.

Ostrich, Job 39:13-16; Job 30:29.

Owl, Job 30:29.

Ox, Job 6:5; Job 24:3; Job 40:15. Oxen, draught, Job 1:3, 14; Job 42:12. Peacock. See Ostrich.

Phoenix, Job 29:18.

Rahab, Job 9:13; Job 26:12.

Ram, Job 42:8.

Raven, Job 38:41.

Reem. See Wild bull.

Sheep, Job 1:3, 16; Job 31:20; Job 42:12. Spider, Job 8:14.

Stork, Job 39:13.

Tannin, Job 7:12.

Unicorn, See Wild bull.

Viper, Job 20:16.

Vulture, Job 28:7.

Whale. See Tannin.

Worm, Job 7:5; Job 17:14; Job 19:26; Job 21:26; Job 24:20; Job 25:6.

ARTS AND SOCIAL USAGES IN JOB’S DAY.

ARTICLES OF DOMESTIC USE.

Alkali, Job 9:30.

Balance, Job 6:2; Job 31:6.

Bed, Job 7:13; Job 17:13; Job 33:15. Bottle, water, Job 38:37.

Candle, Job 18:6; Job 21:17; Job 29:3. Clay, Job 4:19; Job 13:12; Job 38:14. Clothing, Job 22:6; Job 24:7; Job 31:19. Coat, (tunic.) Job 30:18.

Couch, Job 7:13.

Crown, Job 31:36.

Diadem, Job 29:14.

Garment, Job 13:28; Job 30:18; Job 38:9; Job 41:13. Gold, earring of, Job 42:11.

House, Job 1:13; Job 20:19; Job 21:9; Job 30:23, et seq. fire, Job 18:5. fuel, Job 20:7. light, Job 18:5, 6. Instruments, musical, harp, (lyre,) Job 21:12. organ, (pipe,) Job 21:12. timbrel, (drum,) Job 21:12.

Jewels, (gold,) Job 28:17.

Kesitah, Job 42:11.

Lamp, Job 12:5.

Mantle, Job 1:20.

Mill, hand, Job 31:10.

Mirror, Job 37:18.

Money, Job 42:11.

Ointment, Job 41:31.

Perfumery, Job 41:31.

Robe, Job 29:14.

Seals, Job 38:14.

Shuttle, weaver’s, Job 7:6.

Signet clay, Job 38:14.

Table, Job 36:16.

Tent, Job 5:24; Job 18:6; Job 19:12; Job 20:26; Job 29:4, et seq.

Tokens, (tessera,) Job 21:29.

Turban. See Diadem.

Winepress, Job 1:13; Job 24:11.

Wine skin, Job 32:19.

ARTICLES OF DIET.

Bread, Job 15:23; Job 22:7; Job 27:14; Job 28:5; Job 33:20; Job 42:11.

Butter, Job 20:17; Job 29:6.

Cheese, Job 10:10.

Egg, Job 6:6.

Grape, Job 15:33.

Honey, Job 20:17.

Meat, (or, food,) Job 6:7; Job 20:14; Job 33:20; Job 36:31; Job 38:41.

Milk, Job 10:10; Job 21:24.

Oil, Job 24:11; Job 29:6.

Olive, Job 15:33.

Salt, Job 6:6.

Wine, Job 1:13, 18; Job 32:19.

MILITARY OPERATIONS AND APPLIANCES.

Archer, Job 16:13.

Army, Job 25:3; Job 29:25.

Armed men, Job 39:21.

Arrow, Job 41:28. poisoned, Job 6:4. Battle, Job 15:24; Job 39:25; Job 41:8. Bow, Job 29:20.

Bow of steel, or cross-bow, Job 20:24.

Buckler, Job 15:26.

Bulwarks, Job 13:12.

Captains, Job 39:25.

Dart, Job 41:26, 29.

Habergeon, Job 41:26.

Iron weapon, Job 20:24.

Mounds or banks, Job 19:12.

Net, Job 19:6.

Quiver, Job 39:23.

Shield, Job 15:26; Job 39:23.

Siege, Job 19:12.

Sling-stones, Job 41:28.

Spear, Job 39:23; Job 41:26, 29.

Sword, Job 5:15, 20; Job 15:22; Job 19:29; Job 20:25; Job 27:14; Job 33:18; 36:12; Job 40:19; Job 41:26. Troops, Job 19:12.

Trumpets, Job 39:24, 25.

War horse, Job 39:19-25.

Wall, breaching of a, Job 16:14.

Whip, the, Job 5:21.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Abaddon, Job 26:6; Job 28:22; Excursus iii, p. 74. Abraham and Egypt, Excursus x, pp. 292, 293.

Accads, the, (Ancient Chaldaeans,) the literature of, Job 1:17; Excursus ix, pp. 283, 288; Excursus x, pp. 291, 294.

Apep, an Egyptian symbol of evil, Excursus x, p. 292. Astronomy and the Book of Job, Excursus x, pp. 290-294. Egyptian and Chaldaean knowledge of, Excursus x, pp. 290-294. Birthdays, celebration of, Job 1:4.

Books, making of ancient, Job 19:23: Excursus x, pp. 293, 294. Brutes, worship of, in Egypt, Excursus ix, p. 286.

Burglary, mode of, Job 24:16.

Caravans, Job 6:19; Job 21:29.

Chaldaea, its relations to Edom, (or Uz,) Job 1:17; ExcursusJob 4:91, 92; Excursus Job 9:283, 284, 288.

Clothing, pawning of, Job 22:6; Job 24:9. Contracts, ratifying of, Job 17:3.

Cornerstone, laying of, Job 38:6, 7.

Cosmetics, use of, Job 42:14.

Dancing, Job 15:16; Job 21:11,12.

Daysman, (umpire.) Job 9:33; Excursus iv, p. 90. Dead, Book of the, the Egyptian, Job 3:14; Job 7:10; Job 19:23; Excursus viii, p. 278; Excursus ix, p. 285. burial of the, Job 3:14, 15; Job 17:14; Job 21:32, 33. the, their want of knowledge, Job 14:21.

Death, gates of, Job 38:17. shadow of, Job 3:5. Demonology, Chaldaean, Excursus ix, pp. 289, 290.

Depravity, heathen view of, Job 11:12; Job 15:16; Job 25:4. Divining, the art of, Job 38:36.

Doors, pivot, Job 38:17.

Drunkenness, Job 1:13, 18; Job 12:25. Edom, home of Job, Job 1:1; Excursus ix, pp. 281, 282. Egypt, Job’s acquaintance with, Job 3:14; Excursus ix, p. 284. Elephantiasis. See Leprosy.

Embalming, the art of, allusion to, Job 40:13. Excursus i; Job 2:33-36; Job 3:72-74; Job 4:90-92; Job 5:134-138; Job 6:196-198; Job 7:207, 208; viii, ix, Job 10:274-294. Fraternities, business, Job 41:6. of robbers, Job 12:6. Gifts, the offering of, Job 42:11.

Glass, manufacture of, Job 28:17.

God, sons of, Job 1:6; Job 38:7.

Head, shaving of the, Job 1:20.

Hireling, Job 1:15; Job 7:2.

Horites, the, aborigines of Edom, treatment of, Job 24:2-8; Job 30:6-8.

Hospitality, fires of, Job 18:5.

Houses, clay, dwelling in, Job 4:19; Job 24:16. Hunting, Job 18:8-10; Job 39:9; Job 40:24; Job 41:1, 7. Idolatry, Job 12:6; Job 31:26, 27; Job 36:14; Excursus viii, pp. 278, 279; Excursus ix, pp. 286-288.

Idumaea. See Edom.

Immortality, Egyptian belief in, Job 3:14.

Incantations, Job 3:8; Excursus ix, p. 289.

Infanticide, Job 3:12.

Inheritance, laws of, Job 42:15.

Inscriptions, rock, Job 19:24. cuneiform, p. 249. hieroglyphic, Job 40:19; Excursus viii, p. 276; Excursus ix, p. 285.

Instinct, Job 12:7; Job 28:7; Job 39:26. Interpreter, the function of, Job 16:20; Job 33:23. Excursus Job 7:267.

Jehovah, the word, Job 1:21.

Kings, Job 3:14; Job 12:18; Job 29:25; Job 34:18; Job 36:7.

Landmarks, Job 24:2.

Leprosy, the, (elephantiasis,) Job 2:7.

Letters, the origin of, Job 19:23.

Life, origin of — Israelitish view, Job 10:8-12. Mantle, rending of, Job 1:20.

Mediation, modes of, Excursus iv, p. 91.

Mediator, angel, Excursus vii, p. 207.

Medicine, knowledge of, Job 5:18; Job 13:4. Merchants, Canaanite, Job 41:6.

Mining, Job 28:1-11.

Money, sealing of, Job 14:17.

Mourning, real and ceremonial, Job 2:11-13; Job 29:25. Music, festive, Job 21:12.

Nets, use of, Job 41:1.

Nile, the river, Job 7:12; Job 8:11; Job 9:26. Offerings, burnt, Job 1:5; Job 42:8. Ophir, site of, Job 22:24.

Papyrus, ships of, Job 9:26.

Petra, description of, Excursus ix, p. 282.

Phoenicia, (ancient Canaan,) Job 41:6; Excursus ix, pp. 282, 283. Pit, punishment in, Job 33:18.

Ploughing, Job 1:14; Job 39:10.

Polygamy, Job 27:15.

Poor, the, treatment of, Job 5:16; Job 20:19; Job 30:25; Job 31:16, 19; Job 34:19.

Potter, the, the skill of, Job 10:8, 9; Job 33:6. Princes, Job 3:15; Job 12:19, 21; Job 21:28; Job 29:9; Job 34:19.

Proceedings, judicial, Job 9:24, 33; Job 11:10; Job 13:18-27; Job 14:17; Job 17:3; Job 24:1; Job 29:7; Job 31:34, 35.

Processions, funeral, Job 21:32, 33.

Punishments, civil, stocks, Job 13:27; Job 33:11. fetters, cords, Job 36:8. beheading, Job 19:29; Job 36:12. Pyramids, the, Job 3:14.

Raids, Chaldaean, ancient and modern, Job 1:17. Ransom or atonement, Job 33:24; Job 36:18. Refining, the art of, Job 28:1.

Rephaim, the, Excursus iii, p. 73; Job 26:5. Resurrection, heathen belief in, Job 3:14; Excursus v, pp. 137, 138; Excursus ix, p. 285.

Retribution, doctrine of, among the ancients, Job 4:8; Job 12:18; Job 15:20-22; Job 16:18; Job 19:4; Job 21:19, 30. Robbing, a profession, Job 12:6; Job 24:2, 3, 14; Job 30:5. Sackcloth, wearing of, Job 16:15.

Sacrifices, Job 1:5; Job 42:8. human, Excursus ix, p. 287, 288. Sacrifice, vicarious, among the Chaldaeans, p. 288.

Satan, Excursus i and ii, pp. 33-36.

Security, giving of, Job 17:3.

Sepulchres, rock, Job 3:14; Job 21:33. Serpent-worship in Egypt, Excursus ix, p. 287.

Service, postal, Job 9:25.

Shaddai, the word, Job 8:2.

Sheol, Job 10:22; Job 14:14; Job 26:5; Job 30:23; Excursus iii, pp. 72-74.

Sorcery, Job 3:8.

Spirit, (rouahh,) origin of word, Job 4:15; Job 32:8. Stars, morning, Job 38:7.

Stranger, the, treatment of, Job 15:19; Job 31:32. Strophes, arrangement of Book in, p. 11; Job 9:8; Job 36:22; pp. 184, l85.

Suicide foreign to the Hebrew mind, Job 6:9; Job 7:15. Time, shadow for marking, Job 7:2.

Tombs, burial in, Job 3:15; Job 14:13; Job 17:13. Travellers, conveyancers of knowledgeJob 21:29. tokens of, Job 21:29.

Treasures, hiding of, Job 3:21.

Typhon, or Set, Excursus viii, pp. 279, 280.

Visions, in patriarchal times, Job 4:12.

Wadies, Job 6:16, 17; Job 11:16.

Weaving, art of, Job 7:6.

Widows, treatment of, Job 22:9; Job 24:3, 21; Job 31:16. Wine drinking, Job 1:13, 18.

Woman, her position, Job 1:4; Job 2:10. inheritance of, Job 42:15.

Worship, Phallic, Excursus ix, p. 287.

Writing, art of, Job 19:23.