Job · Chapter 9

Verse 1. Then Job answered and said — “In reply to Bildad, Job begins with hinting, that their opinions seemed a little to clash; Eliphaz had insisted, from revelation, that the common failings of men were a sufficient justification of providence, even in the most afflicting dispensations. Bildad says, if he were pure and upright, God would interpose in his behalf. Job replies, that all this is very true; but the difficulty is, to be thus pure and upright: ‘for I am not exempt from the common failings of men: if, therefore, they are sufficient to account for the great calamities which have befallen me, I am still without a remedy. As to God’s power and wisdom, I am as thoroughly convinced, and can give as many instances of it as you; and, therefore, I know it is in vain for me to contend with him, verses 2-13. I have nothing left but to acknowledge my own vileness, and to make my supplication to him, verses 14-19. But yet, as to any heinous crimes, beyond the common infirmities of human nature, these I disclaim; and let the event be what it will, I will rather part with my life than accuse myself wrongfully. And whereas you affirm, that affliction is an infallible mark of guilt, you quite mistake the matter; for afflictions are indifferently assigned to be the portion of the innocent and the guilty. God, indeed, sometimes in his anger destroys the wicked; but, doth he not as frequently afflict the innocent? The dispensations of providence, in this world, are frequently such, that, were it not that God now and then lets loose his fury against them, one would be almost tempted to imagine the rule of this world was delivered over into the hands of wicked men, verses 21-24. As for my own part, my days are almost come to an end: it is therefore labour lost for me to plead the cause of my innocence: besides, that in the sight of God I must appear all vileness; so that it is not for such a one as me to pretend to put myself on a level with him. And, even though I were able to do so, there is no one that hath sufficient authority to judge between us, verses 25-33. Yet, were it his pleasure to grant me a little respite, I could say a great deal in my own vindication; but, as matters stand, I dare not; for which reason my life is a burden to me, and my desire is, it may speedily come to an end, chap. 10. verse 1, to the end. I would, however, expostulate a little with the Almighty.’ And here he enters into the most beautiful and tender pleading which heart can conceive; ending, as before, with a prayer, that his sufferings and life might soon come to a period; and that God would grant him some little respite before his departure hence.” — Heath and Dodd.

1. Job answered — He admits that man cannot answer for his sins before God. The mighty Monarch over nature and man, unseen and irresistibly accomplishes his implacable will, overpowering even “the helpers of Rahab.” Blinded and staggering, Job can neither see nor grasp aught but an absolute God, with whom power overtops every other attribute. He dares not appear before such a Being, since his own arm would be impotent, and all attempts at self-justification would be perverted into his own condemnation. Thoughts of the triumphant wicked, and the sufferings of the righteous, sweep him away into defiant, if not blasphemous, charges against God — and yet there is not altogether a defection of the soul, for in the midst of his despair he recounts in the spirit of faith the mercies and love of the Lord in his creative and preserving care. Job 10:8-12. His despair is intensified by the thought that no daysman between God and man had yet appeared competent to meet the emergencies of evil. Chapter 10. Having nothing more to hope for in life, he boldly calls in question the eternal and all powerful One, who, having the wicked in safe custody, needs not to make such speedy and painful inquisition for human iniquity. Sinking in the quicksands of doubt, he finds some solace in the thought that the divine Artificer cannot destroy the work of his own hand. In faith and strength of heart Job has advanced but little beyond the despair of his first great lamentation. Chap. 3. This is evinced by his condensed repetition, in vers. 18, 19, of a part of the lamentation, (11-16.) “Do we not see in these two chapters (9, 10) how the human heart is indeed tossed hither and thither between the proudest presumption and the most pusillanimous despair?” — Andrea.

First division — THE FACT THAT GOD IS IMMUTABLY JUST (Job 8:3) AND ABSOLUTELY PURE, (Job 4:17,) DOES NOT SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF THE IMPLACABLE

V. 2. I know-That God is just in all his ways, that he doth ordinarily bless the righteous, and punish the wicked. Before God-And I know that no man is absolutely just, if God be severe to mark what is amiss in him.

Verse 2. I know it is so of a truth] I acknowledge the general truth of the maxims you have advanced. God will not ultimately punish a righteous person, nor shall the wicked finally triumph; and though righteous before man, and truly sincere in my piety, yet I know, when compared with the immaculate holiness of God, all my righteousness is nothing.

Verse 2. I know it is so of a truth — Namely, as you say, that God must be just and righteous; that purity and uprightness are qualities belonging to him; that he cannot possibly be biased or prejudiced in judging and determining the state and condition of mankind. I am likewise satisfied, that the time we have to live here is too short to compass any considerable points of knowledge; and that, whenever he pleases, he can exercise his power so as to change our exalted mirth to most bitter weeping, our highest joy to the most abject sorrow: can bring the most insolent offender to shame, and dispossess the wicked of his strongest and most magnificent situation. But how — Hebrew, And how, should man — Enosh, weak, frail man, imperfect as he is, be just with God? — Be justified, or clear himself in God’s account. I know that no man is absolutely holy and righteous, if God be severe to mark what is amiss in him.

ANTAGONISM TO THE RIGHTEOUS ON THE PART OF AN OMNIPOTENT GOD, 2-12. Strophe a — Job ironically grants the propositions of his antagonists, but only as NON SEQUITURS. In almost the same breath they have insisted that “God rewards the just,” and that “none are just before God,” thus apparently contradicting themselves. Taking advantage of their discomfiture he redoubles his blows, plying them with the most momentous questions man can ask, 2-4.

2. Man (vwna, a mortal) be just with God, (la, the Strong) — The key to the subsequent glowing description of the terror-working God (5-11) is found in this antithesis of mortal man to an omnipotent God. Prayers and oblations, temples and altars, sacrifices and self-tortures, lustral waters and bleeding victims, bear witness to a universal consciousness of sin and guilt — to man’s abiding sense that he is not acceptable to his God; moreover, that the wrath of that God has gone forth against him, and must by some means be appeased. Whence that sense? By what means did it so deeply ingrain itself in man’s nature? It antedates all other merely human knowledge, and points, as with a wand, to certain deep, underlying, and congenital facts of a fallen nature everywhere recognized in Scripture. The only religion which proffers a satisfactory answer to the questions of Job is that which alone gives peace with God. Romans 5:1.

V. 3. One-One accusation among a thousand which God shall produce against him.

Verse 3. If he will contend with him] God is so holy, and his law so strict, that if he will enter into judgment with his creatures, the most upright of them cannot be justified in his sight.

One of a thousand.] Of a thousand offences of which he may be accused he cannot vindicate himself even in one. How little that any man does, even in the way of righteousness, truth, and mercy, can stand the penetrating eye of a just and holy God, when all motives, feelings, and objects, come to be scrutinized in his sight, on this ground, no man living can be justified. O, how necessary to fallen, weak, miserable, imperfect and sinful man, is the doctrine of justification by faith, and sanctification through the Divine Spirit, by the sacrificial death and mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Verse 3. If he will contend with him — If God be pleased to contend with man, namely, in judgment, or to debate, or plead with him; he cannot answer him one of a thousand — One accusation among a thousand which God might produce against him. So far would he be from being able to maintain his own innocence against God, if God should set himself against him as his adversary.

3. One of a thousand — Referring either to questions with which God, in case of argument, might ply the soul, (as in chap. 38,) or more probably to the sins which that soul has committed. It is an overwhelming thought, that in the sight of God the sins of the individual are reckoned by the thousand, for not one of which can he give account.

V. 4. He-He is infinitely wise, and searcheth all mens hearts and ways, and discovers a multitude of sins which mens short sighted-eyes cannot see; and therefore can charge them with innumerable evils, where they thought themselves innocent, and sees far more malignity than men could discern in their sins. Mighty-So that whether men contend with God by wisdom or by strength: God will be conqueror. Hardened himself-Obstinately contended with him. The devil promised himself that Job in the day of his affliction, would curse and speak ill of God. But instead of that, he sets himself to honour God, and speak highly of him. As ill pained as he is, and as much as he is taken up with his own miseries, when he has occasion to mention the wisdom and power of God, he forgets his complaints and expatiates with a flood of eloquence on that glorious subject.

Verse 4. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength] By his infinite knowledge he searches out and sees all things, and by his almighty power he can punish all delinquencies. He that rebels against him must be destroyed.

Verse 4. He is wise in heart — He is infinitely wise, and searcheth all men’s hearts and ways, and discovers a multitude of sins, which men’s short-sighted eyes cannot see; and therefore can charge them with innumerable evils, of which they thought themselves innocent, and sees far more malignity than men can discern in their sins. Mighty in strength — So that, whether men contend with God by wisdom or by strength, God will be conqueror. Who hath hardened himself, &c. — Obstinately contended with him. The devil promised himself that Job, in the day of his affliction, would curse and speak ill of God. But, instead of that, he sets himself to honour God and speak highly of him. As ill pained as he is, and as much as he is taken up with his own miseries, when he has occasion to mention the wisdom and power of God, he forgets his complaints, and expatiates, with a flood of eloquence, on that glorious subject.

4. Hardened against — Bidden defiance, or braved him. Prospered — µlvy, remained uninjured; that is, unpunished. (Furst.) All opposition to God is not only futile, but dangerous.

Strophes b and c, three verses each — Job, having once conceived the power of God, becomes fascinated by the very tremendousness of it; the invincible might of his and man’s adversary charms his eye, and compels him to gaze and shudder, and run over it, feature after feature, unable to withdraw his look from it, (Davidson,) 5-10.

V. 5. Who-He proceeds to give evidence of the Divine power and wisdom. Removeth-Suddenly and unexpectedly. They-The mountains, to which he ascribes sense and knowledge figuratively. In anger-In token of his displeasure with the men that live upon them.

Verse 5. Removeth the mountains, and they know not] This seems to refer to earthquakes. By those strong convulsions, mountains, valleys, hills, even whole islands, are removed in an instant; and to this latter circumstance the words, they know not, most probably refer. The work is done in the twinkling of an eye; no warning is given; the mountain, that seemed to be as firm as the earth on which it rested, was in the same moment both visible and invisible; so suddenly was it swallowed up.

Verses 5, 6. Which removeth the mountains — He proceeds to give particular evidences of the divine power and wisdom, which he mentioned verse 4. And they — That is, the mountains, to which he figuratively ascribes sense and knowledge; know not — He removes them suddenly and unexpectedly ere they are aware of it. Which overturneth them in his anger — In token of his displeasure with men, that lived upon or near them. Which shaketh the earth — Great portions of it by earthquakes, or by removing islands. And the pillars thereof tremble — The deep and inward parts of it, which, like pillars, support those parts which appear to our view.

Verse 5. Removeth the mountains, by earthquakes. The great mountain ranges have continuous caverns, with interior rivers and lakes. Where liases, iron and sulphur abound, volcanoes form their beds of slumbering lavas, which on the sudden irruption of great waters, they being instantly converted into vapour, mountains burst asunder, and islands sink in a few moments.

There is however a geological idea of the removal, and new formations of the mountains, which was partially known to the ancients. Our chalkhills and coalfield ranges have all been formed by the flux and reflux of impetuous waters. Beds of gravel or of clay, with shells, are of constant occurrence at the base of those hills.

5. And they know not — A Hebraism for suddenly, in a moment. Tyndale thus renders it: “He translate the the mountaynes or ever they be aware.” The unjustifiable translation of the Targum, “They know not that He hath overturned them in his wrath,” is adopted by the Vulgate, Ewald, etc. Chalmers pronounces this description of God’s power one of the finest sketches of natural theology to be found in Scripture, and, of course, far excelling all that any uninspired writer of antiquity has left behind him.

V. 6. The earth-Great portions of it, by earthquakes, or by removing islands. Pillars-The deep and inward parts of it, which like pillars supported those parts that appear to our view.

Verse 6. The pillars thereof tremble.] This also refers to an earthquake, and to that tremulous motion which sometimes gives warning of the approaching catastrophe, and from which this violent convulsion of nature has received its name. Earthquakes, in Scripture language, signify also violent commotions and disturbances in states; mountains often signify rulers; sun, empires; stars, petty states. But it is most likely that the expressions here are to be understood literally.

Verses 5, 6. Which removeth the mountains — He proceeds to give particular evidences of the divine power and wisdom, which he mentioned verse 4. And they — That is, the mountains, to which he figuratively ascribes sense and knowledge; know not — He removes them suddenly and unexpectedly ere they are aware of it. Which overturneth them in his anger — In token of his displeasure with men, that lived upon or near them. Which shaketh the earth — Great portions of it by earthquakes, or by removing islands. And the pillars thereof tremble — The deep and inward parts of it, which, like pillars, support those parts which appear to our view.

6. Pillars thereof — Job speaks after the popular notion of the day, of the earth as resting on pillars, as we still speak of the rising of the sun. That he had a correct knowledge of the spherical form of the earth, is evident from Job 26:7, where see note. Dillmann explains the pillars, by the roots of the mountains, which sustained the earth as their summits did the heavens: Jerome, that they figuratively represent its stability.

Verse 7. Which commandeth the sun] Obscures it either with clouds, with thick darkness, or with an eclipse.

Sealeth up the stars.] Like the contents of a letter, wrapped up and sealed, so that it cannot be read. Sometimes the heavens become as black as ebony, and no star, figure, or character, in this great book of God can be read.

Verse 7. Who commandeth the sun, and it riseth not — Nor are the heavens less subject to his power; for neither sun nor stars can shine if he forbid them. “Bishop Warburton supposes, that this alludes to the miraculous history of the people of God, such as the Egyptian darkness, and the stopping the sun’s course by Joshua. But surely there is no necessity, from the words themselves, to suppose any allusion of this kind, or, indeed, any thing miraculous, since God, by throwing a thick cloud over the sun and stars, can and does obscure them when he pleases.” — Dodd. And things in the Scriptures are often said to be or not to be, when they appear or disappear; of which some instances have been given in the former part of this work, and we shall have more hereafter in their proper places. Thus it is that the Chaldee Paraphrast understands the passage. And sealeth up the stars — That is, covereth and shutteth them up, that they may not shine, as in dark and dismal tempests, like that mentioned Acts 27:20, when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days.

Ver. 7. Which commandeth the sun. See on Isaiah 38:8. Joshua 10. The rabbins refer this text to eclipses, or total obscurations of the solar orb.

7. Commandeth — Rather, speaketh. God has but to speak to the sun, and it shall cease to rise. The rising of the sun and the shining of the stars, day and night, alike depend upon Him. Sealeth up the stars — An set expressive of their total covering; for who would dare to break the seal of God? (Umbreit.) Job may mean the disappearance of stars — an astronomical event that may have been noted at a very early day. Schultens explains the entire verse by the flood; Warburton by the plague of darkness in Egypt; and others by the staying of the sun in its course at the command of Joshua. The text, however, speaks of the general exercise of the power of God. God can, if he will, reverse the action of nature as easily as overrule it.

V. 8. Who. &c.-A farther description of a black and tempestuous season, wherein the heavens seem to be brought down nearer to the earth. Treadeth-Represseth and ruleth them when they rage and are tempestuous: for treading upon any thing, signifies in scripture using power and dominion over it.

Verse 8. And treadeth upon the waves] This is a very majestic image. God not only walks upon the waters, but when the sea runs mountains high, he steps from billow to billow in his almighty and essential majesty. There is a similar sentiment in David, Psalms 29:10Psalm 29:10: “The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.” But both are far outdone by the Psalmist, Psalms 18:9Psalm 18:9-15, and especially in these words, Psalms 18:10Psalm 18:10, He did fly on the wings of the wind. Job is great, but in every respect David is greater.

Verse 8. Which alone — That is, by his own single power, without any other help. Spreadeth out the heavens — He spread them out like a curtain, <19A402>Psalm 104:2, when he first created them, and he, in a manner, spreads them again every day; that is, keeps them spread for the comfort and benefit of this lower world, and does not roll and fold them up as he will do in due time. Or, as the same Hebrew word, hcn, natah, is rendered, Psalms 18:9Psalm 18:9, boweth down the heavens; and so it is a further description of a black and tempestuous season, wherein the heavens seem to be brought down nearer to the earth. And treadeth upon the waves of the sea — That is, represseth and ruleth them, when they rage and are tempestuous: for treading upon any thing signifies, in the Scriptures, exercising power and dominion over it.

8. Alone — Creation is solely the work of God. This gives him sole proprietorship. In argument the word “alone” tells against Job. Spreadeth out — hcn. Hitzig and Umbreit render, bendeth, (the arch of the sky,) an act which God, and he alone, still perpetuates. Waves of the sea — Literally, heights, the highest waves. The Egyptian hieroglyphic for the impossible, was a man walking on water. God’s footsteps tread the heights of the sea — a sublime conception, which, like the whole description of God’s works, selects outstanding points, “illuminating only with a single ray the heaven-reaching heights of the divine power.” Some argue a strophic arrangement of the book from the article placed before a participle at the beginning of each verse in strophe b, while the participles in strophe c, similarly situated, dispense with it. From the fifth verse to the eleventh, the verbs in the present tense indicate that God’s work of creation, as well as of providence, is ever going on.

V. 9. Ordereth-Disposeth them, governeth their rising and setting, and all their influences. These he names as constellations of greatest eminency; but under them he seems to comprehend all the stars, which as they were created by God, so are under his government. Arcturus is a northern constellation, near that called the Bear. Orion is a more southerly constellation, that rises to us in December. The Pleiades is a constellation not far from Orion, which we call the seven stars: by the chambers, (or inmost chambers, as the word signifies) of the south, he seems to understand those stars and constellations which are toward the southern pole, which are called inward chambers, because they are for the most part hid and shut up from these parts of the world.

Verse 9. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.] For this translation the original words are תמנ yrdhw hmykw lysk v[ hc[ oseh ash, kesil, vechimah vehadrey theman, which are thus rendered by the SEPTUAGINT: JO poiwn Pleiada, kai JEsperon, kai Arktouron, kai tameia notou; “Who makes the Pleiades, and Hesperus, and Arcturus, and Orion, and the chambers of the south.”

The VULGATE, Qui facit Arcturum, et Oriona, et Hyadas, et interiora Austri; “Who maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and the Hyades, and the innermost chambers of the south.”

The TARGUM follows the Hebrew, but paraphrases the latter clause thus: “and the chambers or houses of the planetary domination in the southern hemisphere.”

The SYRIAC and ARABIC, “Who maketh the Pleiades, and Arcturus, and the giant, (Orion or Hercules,) and the boundaries of the south.” COVERDALE has, He maketh the waynes of heaven, the Orions, the vii starres and the secrete places of the south. And on the vii starres he has this marginal note: some call these seven starres, the clock henne with hir chickens. See below. Edmund Becke, in his edition, 1549, follows Coverdale, but puts VAYNES of heaven for waynes, which Carmarden, in his Bible, Rouen, 1566, mistaking, changes into WAVES of heaven.

Barker’s Bible, 1615, reads, “He maketh the starres Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the climates of the south.” On which he has this note, “These are the names of certain starres, whereby he meaneth that all starres, both knowen and unknowen, are at His appointment.”

Our early translators seem to agree much with the German and Dutch: Er machet, den wagen am himmel, und Orion, und die Gluken, und die Sterne gegen mittag; “He maketh the wagon of heaven, (Charles’s wain,) and Orion, and the clucking hen, (the Pleiades,) and the stars of the mid-day region.” See above, under Coverdale.

The Dutch version is not much unlike the German, from which it is taken: Die den wagen maecht, den Orion, ende het sevengesternte, end de binnenkameren ban’t Zuyden.

The European versions, in general, copy one or other of the above, or make a compound translation from the whole; but all are derived ultimately from the Septuagint and Vulgate.

As to the Hebrew words, they might as well have been applied to any of the other constellations of heaven: indeed, it does not appear that constellations are at all meant. Parkhurst and Bate have given, perhaps, the best interpretation of the words, which is as follows:— “hmyk kimah, from hmk camah, to be hot or warm, denotes genial heat or warmth, as opposed to v[ ash, a parching, biting air, on the one side; and lysk kesil, the rigid, contracting cold, on the other; and the chambers (thick clouds) of the south.” See more in Parkhurst, under hmk. I need scarcely add that these words have been variously translated by critics and commentators. Dr. Hales translates kimah and kesil by Taurus and Scorpio; and, if this translation were indubitably correct, we might follow him to his conclusions, viz., that Job lived 2337 years before Christ! See at the end of this chapter. See Clarke “Job 9:35”.

Verse 9. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, &c. — Who ordereth and disposeth them, as the word making is sometimes used in the Scriptures; governeth their rising and setting, and all their influences. These he names as constellations of greatest eminence; but under them he seems to comprehend all the stars, which, as they were created by God, so are under his government. Arcturus is a northern constellation, near that called the Bear. Orion is a more southerly constellation, that rises to us in December. The Pleiades is a constellation not far from Orion, which we call the Seven Stars. By the chambers (or inmost chambers, as the word signifies) of the south, he seems to understand those stars and constellations which are toward the southern pole, which are called inward chambers, because they are for the most part hid and shut up from these parts of the world.

Ver. 9. Arcturus, Orion, Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. The critics for the most part pass over this text; but it strongly intimates that the patriarchs had a considerable knowledge of astronomy. Arcturus is derived from a verb which signifies to meet together; and therefore it is applicable to a constellation. Orion, in the original, literally signifies a fool, and it is figuratively applied to stars which are entered by the sun when the tempestuous seasons begin, about the middle or end of autumn. The Pleiades, or as the Vulgate reads, Hyades, are the seven stars at the head of Taurus. The chambers of the south, are rendered the interior or secrets, or constellations of the south. Hence it is plain, that Job alludes here to the seasons of the year governed by the celestial bodies. The Egyptians have the praise of inventing the Zodiac, which signifies a belt; but the Zodiac being known in India, as in Egypt, it must have been known to Noah, and the antediluvian fathers. The husbandman and the shepherd, destitute of Almanacks, were unavoidably compelled to observe the heavens. The whole chain of society, dwelling in the vast line of country where the Nile overflows his banks, marked the constellation under which the waters began to rise, and called them stars of inundation, or of Aquarius, the waterman. When the plowing season came, which was done by oxen, they would denominate the stars which the sun then possessed by the name of Taurus, or the bull. When the droughty season arrived, which drove the lion from the desert to the banks of the river, they would call the stars which then appeared Leo, or the lion. The stars which appeared during the harvest, when the maids reaped, they would call Virgo, or virgin, having an ear of corn in her hand. The stars which presided when the goats brought forth their twins, they would call Gemini, and afterwards Castor and Pollux. Aries refers to the lambing season. When days and nights were equal, they would represent the stars by Libra, or the balance. When diseases affected the country at the fall of the leaf; they would represent the stars by a Scorpion, because of its venom. In like manner, the hunting season was distinguished by Sagitarius, or the archer; the fishing season by the Pisces, or fish. The decline of the sun they represented by Cancer, or the crab which walks sideways. And when the sun ascended the Zodiac, they designated it by Capricornus, or the goat which skips along the summit of the craggy rocks. So the Egyptians, accustomed to hieroglyphic writing, knew the approach of every season by appearances in the heavens.

9. Arcturus — v[, ‘hash. Furst derives it from ‘housh, to group together. Probably the constellation of the Great Bear, (Ursa Major,) which the Jews of Bagdad and the Arabs of the Persian Gulf still call by the name of Ash. In the days of Homer it was called the wagon, or wain, from its fancied resemblance to a wagon with its three horses in line — a notion still preserved in England in the name it bears of Charles’ wain, (wagon.) The Romans called its seven bright stars the septentriones — the seven ploughing oxen — an idea we still keep in our name, THE PLOUGH. Of these seven stars, constituting the plough, two (a and b) are known as the pointers, from their use in pointing out the pole star. Orion — lysk, kesil; the strong one; (Furst;) the foolish, (Gesenius.) This cluster of stars was conceived to be a giant walking along the vault of heaven. The Arabs thus designate it. Other Orientals appear to have regarded the constellation as an impious giant fastened to the sky. According to the Persian mythology, this giant was Nimrod, the founder of Babylon, whose name they gave to this constellation. (See GESENIUS, Thesaurus, 2:701.) Some suppose these traditions look back to the revolt of the angels, and embody the supposed fate of their leader. “Orion stands far aloft, the pre-eminent glory and wonder of the starry universe. Judged by the only criterion applicable, it is perhaps so remote that its light does not reach us in less than fifty or sixty thousand years; and as, at the same time, it occupies so large an apparent portion of the heavens, how stupendous must be the extent of the nebula! It would seem almost that if all other clusters hitherto gaged were collected and compressed into one, they would not surpass this mighty group, in which every wisp, every winkle, is a SAND HEAP of stars.” — NICHOL, Architecture of the Heavens, p. 147. Pleiades — hmyk, kimah, a little crowd, or group. (Furst.) The Arabs give this constellation a name signifying knot of stars, because of the number of closely united stars. In like manner the idea of close union appears in the various names this strikingly beautiful constellation bears among all eastern nations. The name ordinarily given to it of “the seven stars,” is recognized by Ovid, who says, Quae septem dici, sex tamen esse solent.

— Fasti, 4:170.

indicating, though they were called seven, there were but six. The Greek mythology hands us down touching legends over this supposed lost star. According to some, it had been smitten by lightning; according to others, the seventh hid herself from shame that she alone had married a mortal, while her sisters were the wives of different deities. The Persian poets compare the seven stars to a bouquet formed of jewels. Hafiz says, “The heavens bear up thy poems — the pearly rosette of the Pleiades as the seal of immortality.” — Beigel. Dr. Good thus renders a citation from Hafiz: — Now the bright Pleiades the concave gem,

As lucid pearls the garment’s glittering hem.

See Job 38:31. Chambers of the south — That is, the veiled regions of the southern hemisphere. (Furst.) The constellations mentioned are chiefly to be seen in the northern hemisphere, and, therefore, the poet adds a reference to “stars which never come into our view, but which lie hid, as it were, in chambers and secret recesses.” — Schultens.

Strophe d — After the extended description of the divine Omnipotence, the short, hasty glance which in this strophe is cast on miserable, mortal man makes an impression so much the more pointed. Verses 11, 12. (Schlottmann.)

V. 10. Doth great things, &c.-Job here says the same that Eliphaz had said, Job 5:9, and in the original, in the very same words, with design to shew his full agreement with him, touching the Divine perfections.

Verse 10. Great things past finding out] Great things without end; wonders without number.—Targum.

Verse 10. Which doeth great things, &c. — Job here says the same that Eliphaz had said Job 5:9, and in the original, in the very same words, with design to show his full agreement with him, touching the divine perfections.

ANTAGONISM TO THE RIGHTEOUS ON THE PART OF AN OMNIPOTENT GOD, 2-12. Strophe a — Job ironically grants the propositions of his antagonists, but only as NON SEQUITURS. In almost the same breath they have insisted that “God rewards the just,” and that “none are just before God,” thus apparently contradicting themselves. Taking advantage of their discomfiture he redoubles his blows, plying them with the most momentous questions man can ask, 2-4.

2. Man (vwna, a mortal) be just with God, (la, the Strong) — The key to the subsequent glowing description of the terror-working God (5-11) is found in this antithesis of mortal man to an omnipotent God. Prayers and oblations, temples and altars, sacrifices and self-tortures, lustral waters and bleeding victims, bear witness to a universal consciousness of sin and guilt — to man’s abiding sense that he is not acceptable to his God; moreover, that the wrath of that God has gone forth against him, and must by some means be appeased. Whence that sense? By what means did it so deeply ingrain itself in man’s nature? It antedates all other merely human knowledge, and points, as with a wand, to certain deep, underlying, and congenital facts of a fallen nature everywhere recognized in Scripture. The only religion which proffers a satisfactory answer to the questions of Job is that which alone gives peace with God. Romans 5:1.

V. 11. Goeth-He works by his providence in ways of mercy or judgment. Passeth-He goeth from place to place: from one action to another: he speaks of God after the manner of men.

Verse 11. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not] He is incomprehensible in all his ways, and in all his works; and he must be so it he be GOD, and work as GOD; for his own nature and his operations are past finding out.

Verse 11. Lo he goeth by me — Or besides, or before me, in my presence; that is, he worketh by his providence in ways of mercy or judgment. And I see him not — I see the effects, but I cannot understand the causes or grounds of his actions, for they are incomprehensible to me, or any other man: for though Job speaks only in his own person, yet he means to affirm it of all men, that such is the weakness of their understandings that they cannot search out God’s counsels and ways. The operations of second causes are commonly obvious to our senses; but, though God works by those causes, we see him not, nor can our finite minds fathom his counsels, apprehend his motions, or comprehend the measures he takes. He passeth on also — He goeth from place to place; from one action to another. But I perceive him not — He passes and acts invisibly and undiscerned.

11. An important disclosure of the spiritual nature of Deity. Passeth on — Glideth, or sweepeth, by. The mysterious ãlj, hhalaph, used by Job in Job 4:15, of a spirit; in Job 14:7, of growth in nature; and in Job 11:10 of the solemn march of God to judgment. The word is happily adapted to express the unseen movements of nature and of nature’s God. See also verse 26.

V. 12. Taketh-If he determines to take away from any man his children or servants, or estate, who is able to restrain him from doing it? Or who dare presume to reprove him for it? And therefore far be it from me to quarrel with God, whereof you untruly accuse me.

Verse 12. He taketh away] He never gives, but he is ever lending: and while the gift is useful or is improved, he permits it to remain; but when it becomes useless or is misused, he recalls it.

Who can hinder him?] Literally, Who can cause him to restore it? What doest thou?] He is supreme, and will give account of none of his matters. He is infinitely wise, and cannot mistake. He is infinitely kind, and can do nothing cruel. He is infinitely good, and can do nothing wrong. No one, therefore, should question either his motives or his operations.

Verse 12. Behold, he taketh away — If he determine to take away from any man his children, or servants, or estate, who is able to restrain him from doing it? Or, who dare presume to reprove him for it? And, therefore, far be it from me to quarrel with God, whereof you untruly accuse me.

12. He taketh away — There is nothing that declares man’s impotency more than his powerlessness to save his loved ones from death. Job regards the work of death as the work of God.

Second division, 13-35. First section: three strophes of four verses each — THE DIVINE OMNIPOTENCE IS NOT ONLY IRRESISTIBLE, OVERBEARING THE CAUSE OF THE

V. 13. Helpers-Those who undertake to uphold and defend one another against him. Stoop-Fall and are crushed by him.

Verse 13. If God will not withdraw his anger] It is of no use to contend with God; he cannot be successfully resisted; all his opposers must perish.

Verse 13. If God will not withdraw his anger — There is nothing in the Hebrew for if. The words, literally rendered, are, God will not withdraw his anger; or, continuing the interrogation, used twice in the preceding verse, which Chappelow thinks ought to be continued, Will not God withdraw? &c.; the consequence that follows is then quite natural and just; the proud helpers do (then) stoop under him — Those who undertake to uphold and defend one another against him fall, and are crushed by him; that is, his majesty is so dreadful that nothing can resist it, but every thing must submit that dares to oppose it. They are fitly called proud helpers, because it is a most proud, insolent, and presumptuous act to oppose themselves to the Lord God Almighty, and to his counsels and proceedings; or, helpers of pride, as it is in the Hebrew, because they give assistance to those who carry themselves proudly and stoutly toward God, under his correcting hand.

CREATURE, BUT IT INVOLVES THE WICKED AND THE GOOD IN ONE COMMON FATE, 13-24. Strophe a — A fortiori application to Job himself; the mightiest bend beneath His almightiness, much more suffering Job, notwithstanding his case be urgent and just, 13-16.

13. If God will not withdraw, etc. — God withdraws not his anger: literally, Does not cause it to return. The if vitiates the sense. “He takes his anger not back till it has accomplished its work.” — Dillmann. His anger is irresistible. Proud helpers — Literally, Helpers of Rahab, tumultuous helpers. (Furst.) The Septuagint renders it, “Sea monsters under heaven.” Rahab was the poetical name for Egypt. Egypt, in the later books of the Bible, typified tumultuous violence, and was called sea monster and leviathan. Psalms 87:4Psalm 87:4; 89:10; Isaiah 30:7; 51:9, etc. Olshausen suggests that Rahab’s helpers may be the hosts of Egypt overwhelmed in the sea. Ewald, Hirtzel, and others conjecture, (but without ground, though seemingly justified by the Septuagint,) that Job had in mind some legend of a sea monster that revolted against heaven, and was subdued with all his helpers, and chained to the sky in the form of a constellation — either the Balena, Bellua, or Pistrix, to each of which there is some similar tradition attached. The Babylonian legends abound in allusions to the great dragon, Tiamat, who was finally destroyed by the god Bel. “And the gods, her helpers, who went beside her, trembled, feared, and broke up themselves.” — GEO. SMITH’S Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 98. For the supposed connexion between turbuhtu, the place or den of the monster, and Rahab, see Ibid., p. 90. The view of Schmidt and Dr. Tayler Lewis accords with the Introduction and several passages of the book, to wit, that Rahab may mean Satan, of whom Job seems to have had some idea as his great enemy. The argument of Job shows that he speaks of infinitely powerful beings, (which is the idea of the Vulgate, qui portant orbem;) but whether from among the gigantic creations of the primitive world, either land or sea, or from the fallen magnates of the superhuman world, does not so readily appear. See note on Job 26:12.

V. 14. How shall I-Since no creature can resist his power, and no man can comprehend his counsels and ways; how can I contend with him? Answer his allegations and arguments, produced against me.

Verse 14. How much less shall I answer] I cannot contend with my Maker. He is the Lawgiver and the Judge. How shall I stand in judgment before him?

Verses 14, 15. How much less shall I answer him — Since no creature can resist his power, and no man can comprehend his counsels and ways, how can I contend with him; answer his allegations and arguments produced against me? Whom though I were righteous — Though I had a most just cause, and were not conscious to myself of any sin; yet would I not answer — That is, I durst not undertake to plead my cause against, or maintain my integrity before him, because he knows me better than I know myself, and because I am wholly in his hands and at his mercy. But I would make supplication to my judge — That he would judge favourably of me and my cause, and not according to the rigour of his justice.

14. How… shall I answer him — In the Hebrew the “I” is emphatic; such as I.

V. 15. Tho’-Though I were not conscious to myself of any sin. Would not-I durst not undertake to plead my cause against him; or maintain my integrity before him, because he knows me better than I know myself. Supplication-That he would judge favourably of me and my cause, and not according to the rigour of his justice.

Verse 15. Though I were righteous] Though clear of all the crimes, public and secret, of which you accuse me, yet I would not dare to stand before his immaculate holiness. Man’s holiness may profit man, but in the sight of the infinite purity of God it is nothing. Thus sung an eminent poet:—

“I loathe myself when God I see,

And into nothing fall;

Content that thou exalted be,

And Christ be all in all.”

I would make supplication to my Judge.] Though not conscious of any sin, I should not think myself thereby justified; but would, from a conviction of the exceeding breadth of the commandment, and the limited nature of my own perfection, cry out, “Cleanse thou me from secret faults!”

Verses 14, 15. How much less shall I answer him — Since no creature can resist his power, and no man can comprehend his counsels and ways, how can I contend with him; answer his allegations and arguments produced against me? Whom though I were righteous — Though I had a most just cause, and were not conscious to myself of any sin; yet would I not answer — That is, I durst not undertake to plead my cause against, or maintain my integrity before him, because he knows me better than I know myself, and because I am wholly in his hands and at his mercy. But I would make supplication to my judge — That he would judge favourably of me and my cause, and not according to the rigour of his justice.

15. Righteous — In the right, used in a forensic sense.

V. 16. Yet-I could not believe that God had indeed granted my desire, because I am still full of the tokens of his displeasure; and therefore should conclude that it was but a pleasant dream, and not a real thing.

Verse 16. If I had called, and he had answered] I could scarcely suppose, such is his majesty and such his holiness, that he could condescend to notice a being so mean, and in every respect so infinitely beneath his notice. These sentiments sufficiently confuted that slander of his friends, who said he was presumptuous, had not becoming notions of the majesty of God, and used blasphemous expressions against his sovereign authority.

Verse 16. If I had called — That is, prayed, as the word ytarq, karati, commonly means, namely, unto my judge for a favourable sentence, as he had just said; and he had answered me — Had given me what I asked; yet would I not believe, &c. — So weak and imperfect are my best prayers; and, I am so infinitely below him, so obnoxious to him, and still so full of the tokens of his displeasure, that I would not believe he had done it because I had asked him; or, that it was owing to my prayers, but that he had bestowed the favour purely for his name’s sake. Bishop Patrick’s paraphrase is, “If I had made supplication, and he had granted my desire, I would not think my prayer had done the business.”

16. If I had called — From verses 12-15 he supposes the case that God would take the initiative in summoning to trial; now, that he himself would: Should I summon him, and he answer me, I would hardly believe my senses that there could be such condescension and sense of justice! Strophe b — In the ravings of his despair, (see Job 6:3,) Job declares his sufferings to be a tangible proof that God may be almighty but not just, 17-20.

V. 17. Breaketh-Unexpectedly, violently, and irrecoverably. Cause-Not simply without any desert of his, but without any special cause of such singular afflictions; and peculiar and extraordinary guilt, such as his friends charged him with.

Verse 17. He breaketh me with a tempest] The Targum, Syriac, and Arabic have this sense: He powerfully smites even every hair of my head and multiplies my wounds without cause. That is, There is no reason known to myself, or to any man, why I should be thus most oppressively afflicted. It is, therefore, cruel, and inconsequent to assert that I suffer for my crimes.

Verse 17. For he breaketh me with a tempest — As with a tempest; that is, unexpectedly, violently, and irrecoverably. This is the reason of his forementioned diffidence, that even when God seemed to answer his supplication in words, yet the course of his actions toward him was of a quite contrary nature and tendency. And multiplieth my wounds without cause — He does not mean, simply without any desert of his, as if he had been free from all sin, and perfectly innocent and holy, the contrary to which he oft declares; but without any special cause of such singular afflictions; without any peculiar and extraordinary guilt, such as his friends charged him with.

Ver. 17. He—multiplieth my wounds without cause; without any specific cause, such as his friends alleged; or any particular cause known to Job himself. He had before, ver. 14, 15, confessed the righteousness of God, and his submission to his judge, for he admits that man can never be just or righteous before God; but he argues against the doctrine that every affliction was a proof or consequence of some particular sin. There was no such cause of his present afflictions.

17. Breaketh me — ãwv, same as in Genesis 3:15, bruise; the word also signifies “rub in pieces” — destroy. “He who would crush me in a tempest, and multiply my wounds without cause, will not suffer me to take my breath, but would surfeit me with bitterness.”

V. 18. Breath-My pains are continual, and I have not so much as a breathing time free from them.

Verse 18. He will not suffer me to take my breath] I have no respite in my afflictions; I suffer continually in my body, and my mind is incessantly harassed.

Verse 18. He will not suffer me to take my breath — My pains and miseries are continual, and I have not so much as a breathing time free from them; but filleth me with bitterness — My afflictions are not only long and uninterrupted, but also exceeding sharp and violent, contrary to the common course of God’s providence. Houbigant’s version of this and the two preceding verses shows their connection admirably well, and, according to Bishop Lowth, gives us the true sense of the passage. “But, if I should call that he might answer me, I could not easily believe that he would hear my voice; since he hath broken me with a tempest, and inflicted many wounds upon me without cause; nor hath given me space to take my breath, so hath he filled me with bitterness.”

18. Take my breath — So incessant is the sorrow with which God visits him. See Job 7:19.

V. 19. If-If my cause were to be decided by power. Is Strong-Stronger than I. Judgment-If I would contend with him in a way of right. Who-There is no superior judge that can summon him and me together.

Verse 19. If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong] Human wisdom, power, and influence avail nothing before him.

Who shall set me a time] יועידני ym mi yoideni, “Who would be a witness for me?” or, Who would dare to appear in my behalf? Almost all the terms in this part of the speech of Job, Job 9:11-24, are forensic or juridical, and are taken from legal processes and pleadings in their gates or courts of justice.

Verse 19. If I speak of strength — If my cause were to be decided by power; he is strong — Infinitely stronger than I; and if of judgment — If I would contend with him in a way of right; who shall set, &c. — There is no superior judge that can summon him and me together. Heath thus explains the words: “If I think to right myself by force, it is vain; for he is stronger than I: if I choose to decide our dispute by law, who hath authority to call us before him?”

19. If… of strength — Many moderns see in the abrupt and startling hnh, behold! and yndy[wy ym, who will cite me! the responses of Deity, and read, If it be a question of the strength of the strong. God replies, Behold, (me,) here I am. And if of right, God again replies, Who will cite me? Compare Jeremiah 49:19. Davidson regards the whole verse as words of God, and remarks: The sufferer imagines for a moment that he had cited his great adversary; his citation is attended with unexpected success. God appears — appears in a whirlwind, dashing his challenger about, (17 a,) multiplying his plagues, (17 b,) filling him with the bitterest pains, (18.) coming in magnificence, and rioting in the jubilant consciousness of omnipotence, as if to say, I have been cited, challenged. Was it to a trial of strength? here I am! To a trial at law? who will venture to implead me?

V. 20. Justify-If I plead against God mine own righteousness and innocency.

Verse 20. If I justify myself] God must have some reason for his conduct towards me; I therefore do not pretend to justify myself; the attempt to do it would be an insult to his majesty and justice. Though I am conscious of none of the crimes of which you accuse me; and know not why he contends with me; yet he must have some reason, and that reason he does not choose to explain.

Verse 20. If I justify myself — If I plead against God my own righteousness and innocence; my own mouth shall condemn me — God is so infinitely wise, and just, and holy, that he will find sufficient matter of condemnation from my own words, though spoken with all possible care and circumspection; or he will discover so much imperfection in me, of which I was not aware, that I shall be compelled to join with him in condemning myself. If I say, I am perfect — The words, I say, are not in the Hebrew, but seem to be properly supplied to complete the sense. The meaning is, If I were perfect in my own opinion, if I thought myself completely righteous and faultless; it shall prove me perverse — That is, my own mouth shall prove, as he had just said; or he, that is, God shall, who is easily understood from the former verses, where he is often mentioned.

20. I… perfect — yna µt. Were I to declare myself innocent, it (my mouth, though some make “God” the subject of the verb) should show (literally, make) me perverse, “betray me.” Renan sees in this a bold hyperbole. “If Job plead against God, his own mouth would betray him and say the contrary of what he intended.”

Strophe c — The consciousness of his innocence not only leads him to self-assertion, but to a most violent arraignment of God as an unjust judge. The arraignment involves a twofold count — the destruction of the innocent and guilty together, and the consignment of the world into the hands of the wicked, 21-24.

V. 21. Perfect-If I should think myself perfect, yet I would not know, not acknowledge, my soul; I could not own nor plead before God the integrity of my soul, but would only make supplication to my judge, I would abhor, or condemn my life, I would not trust to the integrity either of my soul and heart, or of my life, so as to justify myself before the pure and piercing eyes of the all-seeing God.

Verse 21. Though I were perfect] Had I the fullest conviction that, in every thought, word, and deed, I were blameless before him, yet I would not plead this; nor would I think it any security for a life of ease and prosperity, or any proof that my days should be prolonged.

Verse 21. Though I were perfect, &c. — Hebrew, yna µt, tam ani, the perfect I, would not know my soul — Namely, myself as the word vpn, nephesh, is rendered, Esther 4:13; or, my heart, or spirit. That is, my thinking myself perfect, or completely innocent and faultless, would be an evidence that I did not know myself. Or, the meaning of the verse is, Were I to be tried by infinite justice, however perfect I may now think myself, I should then be astonished at finding how little I knew myself, and what a multitude of faults God had taken notice of, which I had not perceived in myself; so that, when they were set before me, I should no longer insist upon, nor trust to, the integrity, either of my soul and heart, or of my life, so as any longer to attempt to justify myself before the pure eyes of the all- seeing God; but I would condemn myself and despise my life; would put no value upon it, nor be in any care about prolonging it, while it is loaded with these miseries. And, therefore, I abhor the thoughts of contending with my Maker, whereof you accuse me.

21. I [am] perfect — Innocent. Hebrew same as above. What he had hesitated in the preceding verse to speak, from fear of the divine power, Job will now declare at all hazards. This is one of the many extraordinary revulsions of feeling in this book, to be accounted for only by extreme agony of soul and body. Job asserts his innocence recklessly and defiantly. “I know not my soul,” he says; I value it not. or, I care not for it; (similar use of verb “know” to Genesis 39:6:) “I despise my life.” Others, (Conant and Lewis,) with less reason, take the expression “I perfect” to be used hypothetically, in the same manner as in the preceding verse. Job would not esteem himself “perfect,” because of his vivid knowledge of his own soul, or because of true humility, which may be regarded as an inseparable element of perfection.

V. 22. This-In the other things which you have spoken of God’s greatness, and justice, I do not contend with you, but this one thing I do, and must affirm against you. He-God sends afflictions promiscuously upon good and bad men.

Verse 22. This is one thing] My own observation shows, that in the course of providence the righteous and the wicked have an equal lot; for when any sudden calamity comes, the innocent and the guilty fall alike. There may be a few exceptions, but they are very extraordinary, and very rare.

Verses 22, 23. This one thing — In the other things which you have spoken of, God’s greatness, power, and justice, I do not contend with you; but this one thing I do, and must affirm against you. Therefore I said it — I did not utter it rashly, but upon deep consideration. He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked — God sends afflictions promiscuously upon good and bad men. If the scourge slay suddenly — If some common judgment come upon a people, which destroys both good and bad: or if God inflict some grievous and unexpected stroke upon a holy person. He will laugh at the trial of the innocent — God will be pleased to see how the same, or a similar scourge, which is the perdition of the wicked, is only the trial of the integrity, faith, and patience of the innocent, that is, of his own people, and a means of their further purification and improvement.

22. This is one thing — It is all one, “a matter of indifference whether I live or die.” — Dillmann. The Chaldee rendering, “There is one and the same measure,” Wordsworth thus follows: “There is one and the same thing to the wicked and righteous;” but this would tautologically anticipate the same thought in the next clause. “It is all one,” Job cries; I have nothing more to hope or fear; therefore I will say it (out with it) — the good and the wicked are involved in the same doom. HE destroys; (God, whom he names not,) thus giving terrific emphasis to the question in verse 24.

V. 23. Suddenly-If some common judgment come upon a people. Laugh-God will be well pleased, to see how the same scourge, which is the perdition of the wicked, is the trial of the innocent, and of their faith, which will be found unto praise and honour and glory.

Verses 22, 23. This one thing — In the other things which you have spoken of, God’s greatness, power, and justice, I do not contend with you; but this one thing I do, and must affirm against you. Therefore I said it — I did not utter it rashly, but upon deep consideration. He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked — God sends afflictions promiscuously upon good and bad men. If the scourge slay suddenly — If some common judgment come upon a people, which destroys both good and bad: or if God inflict some grievous and unexpected stroke upon a holy person. He will laugh at the trial of the innocent — God will be pleased to see how the same, or a similar scourge, which is the perdition of the wicked, is only the trial of the integrity, faith, and patience of the innocent, that is, of his own people, and a means of their further purification and improvement.

Verses 23 and 24 give the specifications under this charge.

23. Jerome remarks that “in the whole book Job says nothing more bitter than this” — a volcanic outbreak of unspeakable misery. He will laugh — Schultens and others read, it will laugh, referring to the scourge. Though the figure be not too bold for poetry, the text is better.

V. 24. The earth-The dominion over it. Into-Into their power. As good men are frequently scourged, so the wicked are advanced. Faces-Meantime he covers the faces of wise and good men, fit to be judges, and buries them alive in obscurity, perhaps suffers them to be condemned, and their faces covered as criminals, by those to whom the earth is given. This is daily done: if it be not God that doth it, where and who is he that doth?

Verse 24. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked] Is it not most evident that the worst men possess most of this world’s goods, and that the righteous are scarcely ever in power or affluence? This was the case in Job’s time; it is the case still. Therefore prosperity and adversity in this life are no marks either of God’s approbation or disapprobation. He covereth the faces of the judges thereon] Or, The faces of its decisions he shall cover. God is often stated in Scripture as doing a thing which he only permits to be done. So he permits the eyes of judgment to be blinded; and hence false decisions. Mr. Good translates the verse thus:— “The earth is given over to the hand of INJUSTICE;

She hoodwinketh the faces of its judges.

Where every one liveth is it not so?”

And vindicates the translation in his learned notes: but I think the Hebrew will not bear this rendering; especially that in the third line. Where, and who is he?] If this be not the case, who is he that acts in this way, and where is he to be found? If God does not permit these things, who is it that orders them?

Coverdale translates, As for the worlde, he geveth it over into the power of the wicked, such as the rulers be wherof all londes are full. Is it not so? Where is there eny, but he is soch one? This sense is clear enough, if the original will bear it. The last clause is thus rendered by the Syriac and Arabic, Who can bear his indignation?

Verse 24. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked — Hebrew, [vr, rashang, of the wicked man. The possession and dominion of a large portion of it are frequently given, by the great Lord and Proprietor of all, in the course of his providence, into the power of a wicked man. He covereth the faces of the judges thereof — The wicked man, by his power, or by gifts, corrupts the officers of justice, and thereby blinds their eyes, that they cannot discern between truth and falsehood, justice and unrighteousness. Thus Bishop Patrick: “So false is your discourse,” (the discourse of Job’s friends,) “that we see the government of the earth given into the hands of a wicked prince, who blinds the eyes of his judges.” The bishop conjectures Job meant some noted tyrant then living in those parts, whose great wickedness and great prosperity were well known, both to Job and his friends. Many commentators, however, think, that Job’s words are not to be considered as referring to any particular man, but as asserting this general truth, that as good men are often scourged, (verse 23,) so the wicked are often advanced to great riches and power in the world. And they understand the next clause, He covereth the faces of the judges thereof, as intended of God’s blinding the eyes of the rulers and magistrates, that is, suffering them to be blinded, by withdrawing abused light and grace, and means of information, in which only sense can God be ever said to blind the minds of any. Indeed, as a learned writer justly observes, this expression, He covereth the faces, &c, means the same in Scripture phrase, as, The faces of the judges are covered, which, indeed, is the literal version of both the Syriac and Arabic interpreters. Thus, thn yuchn sou apaitousin, (Luke 12:20,) which is literally, They shall require thy soul of thee, is properly rendered, Thy soul shall be required, &c. The meaning, however, of the phrase of covering the faces of the judges, is understood by many, not of blinding their eyes, but of concealing their persons in obscurity. Thus Henry interprets the passage: “God, in his providence, advanceth wicked men, while he covers the faces of those who are fit to be judges, who are wise and good, and qualified for government, and buries them alive in obscurity; perhaps suffers them to be run down and condemned, and to have their faces covered as criminals, by those wicked ones, into whose hands the earth is given. We daily see this done; if it be not God that doth it, where, and who is he that doth it? To whom can it be ascribed, but to him that rules in the kingdoms of men, and gives them to whom he will?” Daniel 4:32.

24. “In this second illustration there is an advance in the thought, in so far as here a part, at least, of the wicked are excepted from the general ruin: nay, appear even as threatening the same to the pious.” — Schlottmann. Covereth the faces — Criminals had their faces covered prior to execution. Esther 7:8. A like custom prevailed among the Greeks and Romans. (Quintus Curtius, 6:8; Livy, 1:26.) God, Job might say, treats the judges, who are presumed to be the best of men, as malefactors, as in my case. The Chaldee paraphrase, however, furnishes a better meaning: “He hideth justice from the face of the judges thereof,” so that they cannot distinguish right from wrong, and, therefore, judge unjustly. Unjust judges, like wicked kings, are sent for the punishment of men. In illustration, Drusius cites Menander: “Every wife is from God: the good from God, benevolent; the bad from God, angry.” If not, where, and who is he — If (it is) not (so) now, who then does it? If God be not the author of this state of affairs, who, then, is?

Second section, in strophes of four, three, and four verses — JOB’S CASE A

V. 25. Now-What he had said of the calamities which God frequently inflicts upon good men, he now exemplifies in himself. My days-The days of my life. Post-Who rides upon swift horses. See-I enjoy no good in them. Seeing is often put for experiencing either good or evil.

Verse 25. Swifter than a post] xr ynm minni rats, than a runner. The light-footed messenger or courier who carries messages from place to place.

They flee away] The Chaldee says, My days are swifter than the shadow of a flying bird. So swiftly do they flee away that I cannot discern them; and when past they cannot be recalled. There is a sentiment like this in VIRGIL, Geor. lib. iii., ver. 284:—

Sed FUGIT interea, CUBIT IRREPARABILE tempus!——

“But in the meanwhile time flies! irreparable time flies away!”

Verse 25. Now my days — The days of my life; are swifter than a post — Who rides upon swift horses; they see no good — I enjoy no good in them; seeing being often put for experiencing either good or evil. Thus Job now exemplifies in himself what he had said of the calamities which God frequently inflicts on good men.

Ver. 25. My days are swifter than a post. The swift-footed dromedary, trained for dispatch, will run a hundred and fifty miles in twenty four hours. Men also in India run with the mail-bag on their heads, and at intervals relieve one another.

PRE-EMINENT ILLUSTRATION OF THIS MORAL CONFUSION, 25-35.

Strophe a — The premature destruction of his life, and his intolerable burden of sorrows, show God’s estimate of him to be that of an evil-doer, 25-28.

25. A post — A courier. In eastern countries messages are transmitted by couriers, who, having at their command relays of horses, dromedaries, or men, travel with almost incredible speed. Comp. Esther 8:10. “Nothing mortal travels so fast as Persian messengers. The entire plan is a Persian invention.” — Herodotus. See further, Job 8:98. Strabo tells us (xv, Job 2:10) that the orders for the execution of Parmenio were conveyed a distance of over eight hundred and fifty miles in eleven days.

V. 26. Eagle-Which flies swiftly, especially when in the sight of his prey. See here how swift the motion of time is! It is always upon the wing, hastening to its period. What little need have we of past-times! What great need to redeem time, which runs out, runs on so fast toward eternity! And how vain are the enjoyments of time, which we may be deprived of, even while time continues! Our day may be longer than our sunshine: and when that is gone, it is as if it had never been.

Verse 26. As the swift ships] hba twyna oniyoth ebeh. Ships of desire, or ships of Ebeh, says our margin; perhaps more correctly, inflated ships, the sails bellying out with a fair brisk wind, tide favourable, and the vessels themselves lightly freighted.

The Vulgate has, Like ships freighted with apples. Ships laden with the best fruits.—TARGUM. Ships well adapted for sailing.—ARABIC. Shipes that be good under sale.—COVERDALE. Probably this relates to the light fast-sailing ships on the Nile, which were made of reeds or papyrus. Perhaps the idea to be seized is not so much the swiftness of the passage, as their leaving no trace or track behind them. But instead of hba ebeh, hbya eybah, hostile ships or the ships of enemies, is the reading of forty-seven of Kennicott’s and Deuteronomy Rossi’s MSS., and of the Syriac version. If this be the true reading what is its sense? My days are gone off like the light vessels of the pirates, having stripped me of my property, and carried all irrecoverably away, under the strongest press of sail, that they may effect their escape, and secure their booty. The next words, As the eagle that hasteth to the prey, seem at least to countenance, if not confirm, the above reading: the idea of robbery and spoil, prompt attack and sudden retreat, is preserved in both images.

Verse 26. As the swift ships — Hebrew, ships of desire; that is, such as are longed for, and long to be at their destined port, and crowd all the sail they can for that purpose. Or, as in the Chaldee paraphrase, ships loaded, pretiosis, with things of value; and are therefore named swift ships, because the more valuable the effects are, the more haste is made to return home for readier sale. The Hebrew may also be translated, ships of pleasure, which sail more swiftly than ships of burden. As the eagle that hasteth to the prey — Which generally flies most swiftly when hungry, and in sight of his prey. See here how swift the motion of time is! It is always upon the wing, hastening to its period. What little need have we of pastimes! What great need to redeem time, which runs out, runs on so fast toward eternity! And how vain are the enjoyments of time, which we may be deprived of, even while time continues. Our day may be longer than our sunshine: and when that is gone, it is as if it had never been.

Ver. 26. Swift ships. Harmer, following the opinion of oriental travellers, thinks Job alludes to vessels which sail very rapidly down the rivers; perhaps at the rate of ten or twelve knots or miles an hour. The Chaldaic reads, “As ships loaded with precious fruits.”

26. Passed away as — Literally, Glide along with. wplj. See note on verse 11. The poet, in a figure finely conceived, links his passing days with the gliding of a river, whose silent, insensible current serves only to hasten the motion of the frail, swift craft its bosom bears. The frailty of the skiff Job speaks of images well the frail voyager of life, as he, too, glides among the stream of time. Swift ships — hba, ebeh, reed, or papyrus. Light in their structure, skiffs made of papyrus shot along the Nile with great swiftness. Compare Isaiah 18:2. Heliodorus (AEthiop., 10:460) speaks of such boats as having been exceedingly swift. Plutarch describes Isis going in search of the body of Osiris in a bark made of papyrus. The text illustrates the swiftness of time by figures drawn from objects that in Job’s days were swiftest on land, in the water, and in the air. The reader will mark the gradation.

Verse 27. I will forget my complaint] I will forsake or forego my complaining. I will leave off my heaviness. VULGATE, I will change my countenance—force myself to smile, and endeavour to assume the appearance of comfort.

Verses 27, 28. If I say, I will forget my complaints, &c. — If I resolve within myself that I will cease complaining, and endeavour to take comfort. I am afraid of all my sorrows — Or, of my pains and griefs: I find all such endeavours vain; for if my griefs be suspended for a time, yet my fears continue. I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent — I plainly perceive that thou, O God, (to whom he makes a sudden address, as he does also verse 31,) wilt not clear my innocence by removing those afflictions which make them judge me guilty of some great crime. Words proceeding from despair and impatience.

27. Heaviness, etc. — Literally, Face, dark looks. Comfort myself — Look cheerful. The original expresses the brightening up of the countenance by an exquisite metaphor taken from the lighting up of the sky when the clouds are lifted. Psalms 39:13Psalm 39:13.

Strophe b — Job is divinely judged to be guilty; all efforts to free himself from guilt will therefore be futile, 29-31.

V. 28. Afraid-I find all such endeavours vain; for if my griefs be suspended for a time, yet my fears continue. Will not-I plainly perceive thou, O God, (to whom he makes a sudden address, as he doth also, ver. 31,) wilt not clear my innocency by removing those afflictions which make them judge me guilty of some great crime. Words proceeding from despair and impatience.

Verse 28. I am afraid of all my sorrows] Coverdale translates, after the Vulgate, Then am I afrayed of all my workes. Even were I to cease from complaining, I fear lest not one of my works, however well intentioned, would stand thy scrutiny, or meet with thy approbation.

Thou wilt not hold me innocent.] Coverdale, after the Vulgate, For I knowe thou favourest not an evil doer; but this is not the sense of the original: Thou wilt not acquit me so as to take away my afflictions from me.

Verses 27, 28. If I say, I will forget my complaints, &c. — If I resolve within myself that I will cease complaining, and endeavour to take comfort. I am afraid of all my sorrows — Or, of my pains and griefs: I find all such endeavours vain; for if my griefs be suspended for a time, yet my fears continue. I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent — I plainly perceive that thou, O God, (to whom he makes a sudden address, as he does also verse 31,) wilt not clear my innocence by removing those afflictions which make them judge me guilty of some great crime. Words proceeding from despair and impatience.

PRE-EMINENT ILLUSTRATION OF THIS MORAL CONFUSION, 25-35.

Strophe a — The premature destruction of his life, and his intolerable burden of sorrows, show God’s estimate of him to be that of an evil-doer, 25-28.

25. A post — A courier. In eastern countries messages are transmitted by couriers, who, having at their command relays of horses, dromedaries, or men, travel with almost incredible speed. Comp. Esther 8:10. “Nothing mortal travels so fast as Persian messengers. The entire plan is a Persian invention.” — Herodotus. See further, Job 8:98. Strabo tells us (xv, Job 2:10) that the orders for the execution of Parmenio were conveyed a distance of over eight hundred and fifty miles in eleven days.

V. 29. I shall-I shall be used like a wicked man still. Why-Why then should I comfort myself with vain hopes of deliverance, as thou advisest me.

Verse 29. If I be wicked] If I am the sinner you suppose me to be, in vain should I labour to counterfeit joy, and cease to complain of my sufferings.

Verse 29. If I be wicked, &c. — The Hebrew, [vra ykna anochi ershang, is, I am, or, I shall be wicked, or guilty, without any supposition. That is, Whether I be holy or wicked, if I dispute with thee I shall be found guilty; or, I shall be treated as guilty; I shall not be acquitted, or exempted from punishment. Why then labour I in vain? — Since my friends will still continue to think and treat me as wicked, and thou wilt still continue to afflict me with the calamities and miseries which gave them occasion to think so, why should I use any efforts to clear myself, and vindicate my innocence? Why should I speak in a cause that is already prejudged? Or, why should I comfort myself with vain hopes of deliverance? With men it is often labour in vain for the most innocent to go about to clear themselves: they will be adjudged guilty, though the evidence be ever so plain for them. But it is not so in our dealings with God, who is the patron of oppressed innocence, and to whom it was never in vain to commit a righteous cause.

29. If I be wicked — I, I am to be held guilty. Literally, I shall be guilty. Omit if. There is no escape from the divine determination.

V. 30. If-If I clear myself from all imputations, and fully prove my innocency before men.

Verse 30. If I wash myself with snow water] Supposed to have a more detergent quality than common water; and it was certainly preferred to common water by the ancients. Of this we find an example in an elegant but licentious author: Tandem ergo discubuimus, pueris Alexandrinis AQUAM in manus NIVATAM infundentibus, aliisque insequentibus ad pedes.—PETR. Satyr., cap. xxxi. “At length we sat down, and had snow water poured on our hands by lads of Alexandria,” &c. Mr. Good supposes that there is an allusion here to the ancient rite of washing the hands in token of innocence. See Psalms 26:6Psalm 26:6: I will WASH my hands in INNOCENCY; and Psalms 73:13Psalm 73:13: Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and WASHED my HANDS IN INNOCENCY. And by this ceremony Pilate declared himself innocent of the blood of Christ, Matthew 27:24.

Verses 30, 31. If I wash myself with snow-water, &c. — If I clear myself from all imputations, and fully prove my innocence before men; yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch — That is, in miry and puddle water, whereby I shall become most filthy. As Job’s washing himself is to be understood only of his clearing himself judicially, and showing that he was innocent of the things laid to his charge, so God’s plunging him, &c., is not to be understood of his making him sinful and guilty, but of his proving him to be so, notwithstanding all the professions and evidences of his purity before men. And mine own clothes shall abhor me — I shall be so filthy, that my own clothes, if they had any sense in them, would abhor to touch me. Job saw that his afflictions, coming from the hand of God, were the things that blackened him in the eyes of his friends, and caused them to think him a wicked man; and therefore, on that account, as well as because of the pain and torment they gave him, he complained of them, and of the continuance of them. Observe, reader, if we be ever so industrious to justify ourselves before men, and to preserve our credit with them; if we keep our hands ever so clean from the pollutions of gross sin; yet God, who knows our hearts, can charge us with so much secret iniquity, and internal depravity, as must for ever cut us off from all hopes of ever being able to justify ourselves before him. Paul, while a Pharisee, had made his hands, as he thought, very clean, but when the commandment came, and discovered to him that his inward parts were very wickedness, he found himself plunged in the ditch.

30. A specimen of abortive labour. Snow water was regarded by the ancients as possessed of peculiarly cleansing power. Thus Petronius, (in Satyr:) “We reclined at table, the boys having poured snow water upon our hands.” In the fable of Lockman, the black man rubs his body with snow in order to make it white. Mohammed prays, “Lord, wash me from my sins, white with water, snow, and ice.” Never so clean — Literally, Clean with lye. rwb, bor, was a vegetable salt, obtained from the ashes of the kali, a plant still found in Arabia. Our word, alkali, (Arabic,) the kali, is derived from this plant. Comp. Jeremiah 2:22. Among the earliest prayers of the Vedas we find the recognition of man’s moral defilement: “Purifying waters cleanse from me whatever is impure or criminal; every evil I have done by violence, by imprecations, by injustice.” — Rig Veda, 1:38. (See HARDWICK, Chrisi and Other Masters, 1:183.)

V. 31. Yet-God would prove him to be a most guilty creature, notwithstanding all his purity before men. Abhor-I shall be so filthy, that my own clothes, if they had any sense in them, would abhor to touch me.

Verse 31. And mine own clothes shall abhor me.] Such is thine infinite purity, when put in opposition to the purity of man, that it will bear no comparison. Searched and tried by the eye of God, I should be found as a leper, so that my own clothes would dread to touch me, for fear of being infected by my corruption. This is a strong and bold figure; and is derived from the corrupted state of his body, which his clothes dreaded to touch, because of the contagious nature of his disorder.

Verses 30, 31. If I wash myself with snow-water, &c. — If I clear myself from all imputations, and fully prove my innocence before men; yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch — That is, in miry and puddle water, whereby I shall become most filthy. As Job’s washing himself is to be understood only of his clearing himself judicially, and showing that he was innocent of the things laid to his charge, so God’s plunging him, &c., is not to be understood of his making him sinful and guilty, but of his proving him to be so, notwithstanding all the professions and evidences of his purity before men. And mine own clothes shall abhor me — I shall be so filthy, that my own clothes, if they had any sense in them, would abhor to touch me. Job saw that his afflictions, coming from the hand of God, were the things that blackened him in the eyes of his friends, and caused them to think him a wicked man; and therefore, on that account, as well as because of the pain and torment they gave him, he complained of them, and of the continuance of them. Observe, reader, if we be ever so industrious to justify ourselves before men, and to preserve our credit with them; if we keep our hands ever so clean from the pollutions of gross sin; yet God, who knows our hearts, can charge us with so much secret iniquity, and internal depravity, as must for ever cut us off from all hopes of ever being able to justify ourselves before him. Paul, while a Pharisee, had made his hands, as he thought, very clean, but when the commandment came, and discovered to him that his inward parts were very wickedness, he found himself plunged in the ditch.

31. Truly man’s defilement must be great if so be, after he has cleansed himself with the best detergents of his day, God’s purity would cast him, the naked one, into a slimy pit, so that his own clothes should conceive a horror of him — “start back in terror at the idea of being put on and defiled by such a horrible creature.” — Schlottmann. See sermon by Dr. Chalmers, (verses 30-33,) on an estimate of the morality that is without godliness. Strophe c — The cause of Job’s inability to make out his innocency is not his guilt, but the character and conditions of his accuser — , to wit, his omnipotence and unamenableness to human dealing and treatment. (Davidson,) 32-35.

V. 32. A man-But one infinitely superior to me in majesty, and power, and wisdom, and justice. That-That I should presume to debate my cause with him. Come-Face to face, to plead upon equal terms.

Verse 32. For he is not a man as I am] I cannot contend with him as with one of my fellows in a court of justice.

Verses 32, 33. For he is not a man as I am — But one infinitely superior to me in majesty and power, wisdom and justice. That I should answer him — That I should presume to debate my cause with him, or answer his allegations against me. That we should come together in judgment — Face to face, to plead upon equal terms. Neither is there any days-man — Or, umpire; that might lay his hand upon us both — Order and govern us in pleading, and oblige us to stand to his decision. The laying the hand on both parties implies a coercive power to enforce the execution of his decrees. This no one could have over the Almighty: it was in vain, therefore, to contend with him. Our Lord Jesus Christ is now the blessed daysman, who has mediated between heaven and earth, has laid his hand upon us both: to him the Father hath committed all judgment. But this was not made so clear then as it is now by the gospel, which leaves no room for such a complaint as this.

PRE-EMINENT ILLUSTRATION OF THIS MORAL CONFUSION, 25-35.

Strophe a — The premature destruction of his life, and his intolerable burden of sorrows, show God’s estimate of him to be that of an evil-doer, 25-28.

25. A post — A courier. In eastern countries messages are transmitted by couriers, who, having at their command relays of horses, dromedaries, or men, travel with almost incredible speed. Comp. Esther 8:10. “Nothing mortal travels so fast as Persian messengers. The entire plan is a Persian invention.” — Herodotus. See further, Job 8:98. Strabo tells us (xv, Job 2:10) that the orders for the execution of Parmenio were conveyed a distance of over eight hundred and fifty miles in eleven days.

V. 33. Days-man-Or, umpire. Lay his hand-Order and govern us in pleading; and oblige us to stand to his decision. Our Lord Jesus is now the blessed days-man, who has mediated between heaven and earth, has laid his hand upon us both: to him the father hath committed all judgment. But this was not made so clear then, as it is now by the gospel, which leaves no room for such a complaint as this.

Verse 33. Neither is there any day’s-man] jykwm wnynyb beyneynu mochiach, a reprover, arguer, or umpire between us. DAY’S-MAN, in our law, means an arbitrator, or umpire between party and party; as it were bestowing a day, or certain time on a certain day, to decree, judge, or decide a matter.—Minshieu. DAY is used in law for the day of appearance in court, either originally or upon assignation, for hearing a matter for trial.—Idem. But arbitrator is the proper meaning of the term here: one who is, by the consent of both parties, to judge between them, and settle their differences.

Instead of vy al lo yesh, there is not, fifteen of Kennicott’s and Deuteronomy Rossi’s MSS., with the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic, read vy wl lu vesh, I wish there were: or, O that there were! Eiqe hn o mesithv hmwn, kai elegcwn kai diakouwn anameson amfoterwn; O that we had a mediator, an advocate, and judge between us both!— SEPT. Poor Job! He did not yet know the Mediator between God and man: the only means by which God and man can be brought together and reconciled. Had St. Paul this in his eye when he wrote 1 Timothy 2:5, 6? For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all. Without this Mediator, and the ransom price which he has laid down, God and man can never be united: and that this union might be made possible, Jesus took the human into conjunction with his Divine nature; and thus God was manifest in the flesh.

Verses 32, 33. For he is not a man as I am — But one infinitely superior to me in majesty and power, wisdom and justice. That I should answer him — That I should presume to debate my cause with him, or answer his allegations against me. That we should come together in judgment — Face to face, to plead upon equal terms. Neither is there any days-man — Or, umpire; that might lay his hand upon us both — Order and govern us in pleading, and oblige us to stand to his decision. The laying the hand on both parties implies a coercive power to enforce the execution of his decrees. This no one could have over the Almighty: it was in vain, therefore, to contend with him. Our Lord Jesus Christ is now the blessed daysman, who has mediated between heaven and earth, has laid his hand upon us both: to him the Father hath committed all judgment. But this was not made so clear then as it is now by the gospel, which leaves no room for such a complaint as this.

Ver. 33. Neither is there any daysman. Hebrews umpire or judge. The LXX, with many MSS. and versions, read, “Oh that there were a mediator betwixt us.” Sinners have now such a Mediator, and no man can plead with God but through HIM. 1 Timothy 2:5, 6.

33. Neither is there any daysman — See Excursus IV, page 90; also sermon by Dr. Chalmers, on “Necessity of a Mediator between God and Man.”

V. 34. Fear-The fear and dread of his majesty and justice. Let him not deal with me according to his perfect justice, but according to his grace and clemency.

Verse 34. Let him take his rod away] In the Masoretic Bibles, the word w`c’bv shibto, his rod, is written with a large c teth, as above; and as the letter in numerals stands for 9, the Masora says the word was thus written to show the nine calamities under which Job had suffered, and which he wished God to remove.

As cbv shebet signifies, not only rod, but also sceptre or the ensign of royalty, Job might here refer to God sitting in his majesty upon the judgment-seat; and this sight so appalled him, that, filled with terror, he was unable to speak. When a sinful soul sees God in his majesty, terror seizes upon it, and prayer is impossible. We have a beautiful illustration of this, Isaiah 6:1-5: “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Then said I, Wo is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Verses 34, 35. Let not his fear terrify me — The fear and dread of his majesty and justice. Let him not deal with me according to his perfect justice, but according to his grace and clemency. Then would I speak, and not fear — I would speak freely for myself, being freed from that dread, which takes away my spirit and courage. But it is not so with me — I am not free from his terror, and therefore cannot plead my cause with him.

PRE-EMINENT ILLUSTRATION OF THIS MORAL CONFUSION, 25-35.

Strophe a — The premature destruction of his life, and his intolerable burden of sorrows, show God’s estimate of him to be that of an evil-doer, 25-28.

25. A post — A courier. In eastern countries messages are transmitted by couriers, who, having at their command relays of horses, dromedaries, or men, travel with almost incredible speed. Comp. Esther 8:10. “Nothing mortal travels so fast as Persian messengers. The entire plan is a Persian invention.” — Herodotus. See further, Job 8:98. Strabo tells us (xv, Job 2:10) that the orders for the execution of Parmenio were conveyed a distance of over eight hundred and fifty miles in eleven days.

V. 35. Then-I would speak freely for myself, being freed from that dread, which takes away my spirit and courage. It is not-I am not free from his terror, and therefore cannot plead my cause with him.

Verse 35. But it is not so with me.] I am not in such circumstances as to plead with my Judge. I believe the sense of these words is nearly as Coverdale has expressed it:—For as longe as I am in soch fearfulnesse, I can make no answere. A natural picture of the state of a penitent soul, which needs no additional colouring.

ON the names of the constellations mentioned Job 9:9, and again Job 38:31, &c., much has been written, and to little effect. I have already, in the notes, expressed my doubts whether any constellation be intended. Dr. Hales, however, finds in these names, as he thinks, astronomical data, by which he ascertains the time of Job. I shall give his words:—

“The cardinal constellations of spring and autumn, in Job’s time, were Chimah, and Chesil or Taurus, and Scorpio; noticed Job 9:9, and again, Job 38:31, 32; of which the principal stars are, Aldebaran, the bull’s eye, and Antares, the scorpion’s heart. Knowing, therefore, the longitudes of these stars, at present, the interval of time from thence to the assumed date of Job’s trial will give the difference of the longitudes; and ascertain their positions then, with respect to the vernal and autumnal points of intersection of the equinoctial and ecliptic; according to the usual rate of the precession of the equinoxes, one degree in 71 years. See that article, vol. i. p. 185.

“The following calculations I owe to the kindness and skill of the respectable Dr. Brinkley, Andrew’s Professor of Astronomy in the University of Dublin.

“In A.D. 1800 Aldebaran was in 2 signs, 7 degrees, east longitude. But since the date of Job’s trial, B.C. 2338, i.e., 4138 years, the precession of the equinoxes amounted to 1 sign, 27 degrees, 53 minutes; which, being subtracted from the former quantity, left Aldebaran in only 9 degrees, 7 minutes longitude, or distance from the vernal intersection; which, falling within the constellation Taurus, consequently rendered it the cardinal constellation of spring, as Pisces is at present.

“In A.D. 1800 Antares was in 8 signs, 6 degrees, 58 minutes, east longitude; or 2 signs, 6 degrees, 58 minutes, east of the autumnal intersection: from which subtracting as before the amount of the precession, Antares was left only 9 degrees, 5 minutes east. Since then, the autumnal equinox was found within Scorpio, this was the cardinal constellation of autumn, as Virgo is at present. “Such a combination and coincidence of various rays of evidence, derived from widely different sources, history, sacred and profane, chronology, and astronomy, and all converging to the same focus, tend strongly to establish the time of Job’s trial, as rightly assigned to the year B.C. 2337, or 818 years after the deluge, 184 years before the birth of Abram; 474 years before the settlement of Jacob’s family in Egypt; and 689 years before their exode or departure from thence.” New Analysis of Chronology, vol. ii., p. 57.

Now all this is specious; and, were the foundation sound, we might rely on the permanence of the building, though the rains should descend, the floods come, and the winds blow and beat on that house. But all these deductions and conclusions are founded on the assumption that Chimah and Chesil mean Taurus and Scorpio: but this is the very point that is to be proved; for proof of this is not offered, nor, indeed, can be offered; and such assumptions are palpably nugatory. That v[ ash has been generally understood to signify the Great Bear; lysk Kesil, Orion; and hmyk Kimah, the Pleiades; may be seen everywhere: but that they do signify these constellations is perfectly uncertain. We have only conjectures concerning their meaning; and on such conjectures no system can be built. Genuine data, in Dr. Hales’s hands, are sure to be conducted to legitimate conclusions: but neither he nor any one else can construct an astronomical fabric in the limbus of conjecture. When JOB lived is perfectly uncertain: but that this book was written 818 years after the deluge; 184 years before the birth of Abram, and 689 years before the exodus; and that all this is demonstrable from Chimah and Chesil signifying Taurus and Scorpio, whence the positions of the equinoxes at the time of Job’s trial can be ascertained; can never be proved, and should never be credited. In what many learned men have written on this subject, I find as much solidity and satisfaction as from what is piously and gravely stated in the Glossa Ordinaria:—

Qui facit Arcturum. Diversæ sunt constellationes, varios status ecclesiæ signantes. Per Arcturum, qui semper super orizontem nostrum apparet, significatur status apostolorum qui in episcopis remanet. Per Oriona, qui est tempestatis signum, significatur status martyrum. Per Hyadas, quæ significant pluvios, status doctorum doctrinæ pluvium effundentium. Per interiora austri, quæ sunt nobis occulta, status Anachoretarum, hominum aspectus declinantium. “These different constellations signify various states of the Church. By Arcturus, which always appears above our horizon, is signified the apostolic state, which still remains in episcopacy. By Orion, which is a tempestuous sign, is signified the state of the martyrs. By the Hyades, (kids,) which indicate rain, the state of the doctors, pouring out the rain of doctrine, is signified. And by the inner chambers of the south, which are hidden from us, the state of the Anchorets (hermits) is signified, who always shun the sight of men.”

Much more of the same allegorical matter may be found in the same place, the Glossa Ordinaria of Strabus of Fulda, on the ninth chapter of Job. But how unreal and empty are all these things! What an uncertain sound do such trumpets give!

JOB

Verses 34, 35. Let not his fear terrify me — The fear and dread of his majesty and justice. Let him not deal with me according to his perfect justice, but according to his grace and clemency. Then would I speak, and not fear — I would speak freely for myself, being freed from that dread, which takes away my spirit and courage. But it is not so with me — I am not free from his terror, and therefore cannot plead my cause with him.

35. But it is not so with me — For not so am I with myself. “I am not myself,” (Vulgate;) that is, “I have no command of myself.” Hitzig and Umbreit render it, “For so I know not myself.” The margin, which is literal, comes nearer to the meaning. Job cannot appear for himself before God. The divine terror is such that he would not be able to speak. Hence the need of some one to mediate with God for him. Or it may possibly give the reason why the rod should be taken away — that he is “not conscious of the” great “guilt” (thus the Septuagint) which only could have brought upon him so great calamity. This would impliedly account for the difficult word so in the text.