1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
1 Again there was a day H3117 when the sons H1121 of God H430 came H935 to present H3320 themselves before the LORD, H3068 and Satan H7854 came H935 also among H8432 them to present H3320 himself before the LORD. H3068
2 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Satan, H7854 From whence H335 comest H935 thou? And Satan H7854 answered H6030 the LORD, H3068 and said, H559 From going to and fro H7751 in the earth, H776 and from walking up and down H1980 in it.
3 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Satan, H7854 Hast thou H7760 considered H3820 my servant H5650 Job, H347 that there is none like him in the earth, H776 a perfect H8535 and an upright H3477 man, H376 one that feareth H3373 God, H430 and escheweth H5493 evil? H7451 and still he holdeth fast H2388 his integrity, H8538 although thou movedst H5496 me against him, to destroy H1104 him without cause. H2600
4 And Satan H7854 answered H6030 the LORD, H3068 and said, H559 Skin H5785 for skin, H5785 yea, all that a man H376 hath will he give H5414 for his life. H5315
5 But H199 put forth H7971 thine hand H3027 now, and touch H5060 his bone H6106 and his flesh, H1320 and he will curse H1288 thee to thy face. H6440
6 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Satan, H7854 Behold, he is in thine hand; H3027 but save H8104 his life. H5315
7 So went H3318 Satan H7854 forth H3318 from the presence H6440 of the LORD, H3068 and smote H5221 Job H347 with sore H7451 boils H7822 from the sole H3709 of his foot H7272 unto his crown. H6936
8 And he took H3947 him a potsherd H2789 to scrape H1623 himself withal; and he sat down H3427 among H8432 the ashes. H665
9 Then said H559 his wife H802 unto him, Dost thou still retain H2388 thine integrity? H8538 curse H1288 God, H430 and die. H4191
10 But he said H559 unto her, Thou speakest H1696 as one H259 of the foolish women H5036 speaketh. H1696 What? H1571 shall we receive H6901 good H2896 at the hand of God, H430 and shall we not receive H6901 evil? H7451 In all this did not Job H347 sin H2398 with his lips. H8193
11 Now when Job's H347 three H7969 friends H7453 heard H8085 of all this evil H7451 that was come H935 upon him, they came H935 every one H376 from his own place; H4725 Eliphaz H464 the Temanite, H8489 and Bildad H1085 the Shuhite, H7747 and Zophar H6691 the Naamathite: H5284 for they had made an appointment H3259 together H3162 to come H935 to mourn H5110 with him and to comfort H5162 him.
12 And when they lifted up H5375 their eyes H5869 afar off, H7350 and knew H5234 him not, they lifted up H5375 their voice, H6963 and wept; H1058 and they rent H7167 every one H376 his mantle, H4598 and sprinkled H2236 dust H6083 upon their heads H7218 toward heaven. H8064
13 So they sat down H3427 with him upon the ground H776 seven H7651 days H3117 and seven H7651 nights, H3915 and none spake H1696 a word H1697 unto him: for they saw H7200 that his grief H3511 was very H3966 great. H1431
1 Again it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, that Satan came also among them to present himself before Jehovah.
2 And Jehovah said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered Jehovah, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
3 And Jehovah said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and turneth away from evil: and he still holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
4 And Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
5 But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce thee to thy face.
6 And Jehovah said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand; only spare his life.
7 So Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself therewith; and he sat among the ashes.
9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still hold fast thine integrity? renounce God, and die.
10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and they made an appointment together to come to bemoan him and to comfort him.
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his robe, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
1 And the day is, that sons of God come in to station themselves by Jehovah, and there doth come also the Adversary in their midst to station himself by Jehovah.
2 And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, `Whence camest thou?' And the Adversary answereth Jehovah and saith, `From going to and fro in the land, and from walking up and down in it.'
3 And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, `Hast thou set thy heart unto My servant Job because there is none like him in the land, a man perfect and upright, fearing God and turning aside from evil? and still he is keeping hold on his integrity, and thou dost move Me against him to swallow him up for nought!'
4 And the Adversary answereth Jehovah and saith, `A skin for a skin, and all that a man hath he doth give for his life.
5 Yet, put forth, I pray Thee, Thy hand, and strike unto his bone and unto his flesh -- if not: unto Thy face he doth bless Thee!'
6 And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, `Lo, he `is' in thy hand; only his life take care of.'
7 And the Adversary goeth forth from the presence of Jehovah, and smiteth Job with a sore ulcer from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
8 And he taketh to him a potsherd to scrape himself with it, and he is sitting in the midst of the ashes.
9 And his wife saith to him, `Still thou art keeping hold on thine integrity: bless God and die.'
10 And he saith unto her, `As one of the foolish women speaketh, thou speakest; yea, the good we receive from God, and the evil we do not receive.' In all this Job hath not sinned with his lips.
11 And three of the friends of Job hear of all this evil that hath come upon him, and they come in each from his place -- Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite -- and they are met together to come in to bemoan him, and to comfort him;
12 and they lift up their eyes from afar and have not discerned him, and they lift up their voice and weep, and rend each his robe, and sprinkle dust on their heads -- heavenward.
13 And they sit with him on the earth seven days and seven nights, and there is none speaking unto him a word when they have seen that the pain hath been very great.
1 And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, and Satan also came among them to present himself before Jehovah.
2 And Jehovah said to Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
3 And Jehovah said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and abstaineth from evil? and still he remaineth firm in his integrity, though thou movedst me against him, to swallow him up without cause.
4 And Satan answered Jehovah and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life;
5 but put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, [and see] if he will not curse thee to thy face!
6 And Jehovah said to Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand; only spare his life.
7 And Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah; and he smote Job with a grievous botch from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
8 And he took a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat among the ashes.
9 And his wife said to him, Dost thou still remain firm in thine integrity? curse God and die.
10 But he said to her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. We have also received good from God, and should we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11 And three friends of Job heard of all this evil that was come upon him. And they came each one from his place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to condole with him and to comfort him.
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept. And they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward the heavens.
13 And they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights; and none spoke a word to him; for they saw that [his] anguish was very great.
1 Again it happened on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, that Satan came also among them to present himself before Yahweh.
2 Yahweh said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."
3 Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited me against him, to ruin him without cause."
4 Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has will he give for his life.
5 But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to your face."
6 Yahweh said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life."
7 So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head.
8 He took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself with, and he sat among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, "Do you still maintain your integrity? Renounce God, and die."
10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job didn't sin with his lips.
11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come on him, they each came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.
12 When they lifted up their eyes from a distance, and didn't recognize him, they raised their voices, and wept; and they each tore his robe, and sprinkled dust on their heads toward the sky.
13 So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
1 And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them.
2 And the Lord said to the Satan, Where do you come from? And the Satan said in answer, From wandering this way and that on the earth, and walking about on it.
3 And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil? and he still keeps his righteousness, though you have been moving me to send destruction on him without cause.
4 And the Satan said in answer to the Lord, Skin for skin, all a man has he will give for his life.
5 But now, if you only put your hand on his bone and his flesh, he will certainly be cursing you to your face.
6 And the Lord said to the Satan, See, he is in your hands, only do not take his life.
7 And the Satan went out from before the Lord, and sent on Job an evil disease covering his skin from his feet to the top of his head.
8 And he took a broken bit of a pot, and, seated in the dust, was rubbing himself with the sharp edge of it.
9 And his wife said to him, Are you still keeping your righteousness? Say a curse against God, and put an end to yourself.
10 And he said to her, You are talking like one of the foolish women. If we take the good God sends us, are we not to take the evil when it comes? In all this Job kept his lips from sin.
11 And Job's three friends had word of all this evil which had come on him. And they came every one from his place, Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. So they came together to a meeting-place, in order that they might go and make clear to Job their grief for him, and give him comfort.
12 And lifting up their eyes when they were still far off, it did not seem that the man they saw was Job because of the change in him. And they gave way to bitter weeping, with signs of grief, and put dust on their heads.
13 And they took their seats on the earth by his side for seven days and seven nights: but no one said a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Job 2
Commentary on Job 2 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, and Satan came also among them, to present himself before Jehovah.
The clause expressive of the purpose of their appearing is here repeated in connection with Satan (comp. on the contrary, Job 1:6), for this time he appears with a most definite object. Jehovah addresses Satan as He had done on the former occasion.
2 And Jehovah said to Satan, Whence comest thou? And Satan answered Jehovah, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and wandering up and down in it.
Instead of מאין , Job 1:7, we have here the similar expression מזּה אי (Ges. §150, extra ). Such slight variations are also frequent in the repetitions in the Psalms, and we have had an example in Job 1 in the interchange of עוד and עד . After the general answer which Satan givers, Jehovah inquires more particularly.
3 Then Jehovah said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, fearing God and eschewing evil; and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou hast moved me against him, to injure him without cause.
From the foregoing fact, that amidst all his sufferings hitherto Job has preserved and proved his תּמּה (except in the book of Job, only Proverbs 11:3), the fut. consec. draws the conclusion: there was no previous reason for the injury which Satan had urged God to decree for Job. הסית does not signify, as Umbreit thinks, to lead astray, in which case it were an almost blasphemous anthropomorphism: it signifies instigare , and indeed generally, to evil, as e.g., 1 Chronicles 21:1; but not always, e.g., Joshua 15:18 : here it is certainly in a strongly anthropopathical sense of the impulse given by Satan to Jehovah to prove Job in so hurtful a manner. The writer purposely chooses these strong expressions, הסית and בּלּע . Satan's aim, since he suspected Job still, went beyond the limited power which was given him over Job. Satan even now again denies what Jehovah affirms.
4, 5 And Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Skin for skin, and all that man hath will he give for his life: stretch forth yet once Thy hand, and touch his bone, and his flesh, truly he will renounce Thee to Thy face.
Olshausen refers עזר בּעד עזר to Job in relation to Jehovah: So long as Thou leavest his skin untouched, he will also leave Thee untouched; which, though it is the devil who speaks, were nevertheless too unbecomingly expressed. Hupfeld understands by the skin, that skin which is here given for the other, - the skin of his cattle, of his servants and children, which Job had gladly given up, that for such a price he might get off with his own skin sound; but בּעד cannot be used as Beth pretii: even in Proverbs 6:26 this is not the case. For the same reason, we must not, with Hirz., Ew., and most, translate, Skin for skin = like for like, which Ewald bases on the strange assertion, that one skin is like another, as one dead piece is like another. The meaning of the words of Satan (rightly understood by Schlottm. and the Jewish expositors) is this: One gives up one's skin to preserve one's skin; one endures pain on a sickly part of the skin, for the sake of saving the whole skin; one holds up the arm, as Raschi suggests, to avert the fatal blow from the head. The second clause is climacteric: a man gives skin for skin; but for his life, his highest good, he willingly gives up everything, without exception, that can be given up, and life itself still retained. This principle derived from experience, applied to Job, may be expressed thus: Just so, Job has gladly given up everything, and is content to have escaped with his life. ואולם , verum enim vero , is connected with this suppressed because self-evident application. The verb ננע , above, Job 1:11, with בּ , is construed here with אל , and expresses increased malignity: Stretch forth Thy hand but once to his very bones, etc. Instead of על־פּניך , Job 1:11, על־פּ is used here with the same force: forthwith, fearlessly and regardlessly (comp. Job 13:15; Deuteronomy 7:10), he will bid Thee farewell.
The Grant of New Power:
6 And Jehovah said to Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand; only take care of his life.
Job has not forfeited his life; permission is given to place it in extreme peril, and nothing more, in order to see whether or not, in the face of death, he will deny the God who has decreed such heavy affliction for him. נפשׁ does not signify the same as חיּים ; it is the soul producing the spirit-life of man. We must, however, translate “life,” because we do not use “soul” in the sense of ψυχή , anima .
The Working Out of the Commission:
7, 8 Then Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah, and smote Job with sore boils, from the sole of his foot to his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with, and sat in the midst of ashes.
The description of this disease calls to mind Deuteronomy 28:35 with Deuteronomy 28:27, and is, according to the symptoms mentioned further on in the book, elephantiasis so called because the limbs become jointless lumps like elephants' legs), Arab. jḏâm , ‛gudhâm , Lat. lepra nodosa , the most fearful form of lepra , which sometimes seizes persons even of the higher ranks. Artapan (C. Müller, Fragm . iii. 222) says, that an Egyptian king was the first man who died of elephantiasis. Baldwin, king of Jerusalem, was afflicted with it in a very dangerous form.
(Note: Vid., the history in Heer, De elephantiasi Graecorum et Arabum , Breslay, 1842, and coloured plates in Traité de la Spédalskhed ou Elephantiasis des Grecs par Danielssen et Boeck , Paris, 1848, translated from the Norwegian; and in Hecker, Elephantiasis oder Lepra Arabica , Lahr, 1858 (with lithographs). “The means of cure,” says Aretâus the Cappadocian (vid., his writings translated by Mann, 1858, S. 221), “must be more powerful than the disease, if it is to be removed. But what cure can be successfully applied to the fearful evil of elephantiasis? It is not confined to one part, either internally or externally, but takes possession of the entire system. It is terrible and hideous to behold, for it gives a man the appearance of an animal. Every one dreads to live, and have any intercourse, with such invalids; they flee from them as from the plague, for infection is easily communicated by the breath. Where, in the whole range of pharmacy, can such a powerful remedy be found?”)
The disease begins with the rising of tubercular boils, and at length resembles a cancer spreading itself over the whole body, by which the body is so affected, that some of the limbs fall completely away. Scraping with a potsherd will not only relieve the intolerable itching of the skin, but also remove the matter. Sitting among ashes is on account of the deep sorrow (comp. Jonah 3:6) into which Job is brought by his heavy losses, especially the loss of his children. The lxx adds that he sat on a dunghill outside the city: the dunghill is taken from the passage Psalms 113:7, and the ”outside the city” from the law of the מצרע . In addition to the four losses, a fifth temptation, in the form of a disease incurable in the eye of man, is now come upon Job: a natural disease, but brought on by Satan, permitted, and therefore decreed, by God. Satan does not appear again throughout the whole book. Evil has not only a personal existence in the invisible world, but also its agents and instruments in this; and by these it is henceforth manifested.
First Job's Wife (who is only mentioned in one other passage (Job 19:17), where Job complains that his breath is offensive to her) Comes to Him:
9 Then his wife said to him, Dost thou still hold fast thine integrity? renounce God, and die.
In the lxx the words of his wife are unskilfully extended. The few words as they stand are sufficiently characteristic. They are not to be explained, Call on God for the last time, and then die (von Gerl.); or, Call on Him that thou die (according to Ges. §130, 2); but בּרך signifies, as Job's answer shows, to take leave of. She therefore counsels Job to do that which Satan has boasted to accomplish. And notwithstanding, Hengstenberg, in his Lecture on the Book of Job (1860),
(Note: Clark's Foreign Theological Library.)
defends her against the too severe judgment of expositors. Her desperation, says he, proceeds from her strong love for her husband; and if she had to suffer the same herself, she would probably have struggled against despair. But love hopeth all things; love keeps its despondency hidden even when it desponds; love has no such godless utterance, as to say, Renounce God; and none so unloving, as to say, Die. No, indeed! this woman is truly diaboli adjutrix (August.); a tool of the temper (Ebrard); impiae carnis praeco (Brentius). And though Calvin goes too far when he calls her not only organum Satanae , but even Proserpinam et Furiam infernalem, the title of another Xantippe, against which Hengstenberg defends her, is indeed rather flattery than slander. Tobias' Anna is her copy.
(Note: She says to the blind Tobias, when she is obliged to work for the support of the family, and does not act straightforwardly towards him: ποῦ εἰσὶν αἱ ἐλεημοσύναι σου καὶ αἱ δικαιοσύναι σου, ἰδοὺ γνωστὰ πάντα μετὰ σοῦ , i.e., (as Sengelmann, Book of Tobit , 1857, and O. F. Fritzsche, Handbuch zu d. Apokr. Lief . ii. S. 36, correctly explain) one sees from thy misfortunes that thy virtue is not of much avail to thee. She appears still more like Job in the revised text: manifeste vana facta est spes tua et eleemosynae tuae modo apparuerunt , i.e., thy benevolence has obviously brought us to poverty. In the text of Jerome a parallel between Tobias and Job precedes this utterance of Tobias' wife.)
What experience of life and insight the writer manifests in introducing Job's wife as the mocking opposer of his constant piety! Job has lost his children, but this wife he has retained, for he needed not to be tried by losing her: he was proved sufficiently by having her. She is further on once referred to, but even then not to her advantage. Why, asks Chrysostom, did the devil leave him this wife? Because he thought her a good scourge, by which to plague him more acutely than by any other means. Moreover, the thought is not far distant, that God left her to him in order that when, in the glorious issue of his sufferings, he receives everything doubled, he might not have this thorn in the flesh also doubled.
(Note: The delicate design of the writer here must not be overlooked: it has something of the tragi-comic about it, and has furnished acceptable material for epigrammatic writers not first from Kästner, but from early times (vid., das Epigramm vom J. 1696, in Serpilius' Personalia Iobi ). Vid., a Jewish proverb relating thereto in Tendlau, Sprüchw. u. Redensarten deutsch-jüd. Vorzeit (1860), S. 11.)
What enmity towards God, what uncharitableness towards her husband, is there in her sarcastic words, which, if they are more than mockery, counsel him to suicide! (Ebrard). But he repels them in a manner becoming himself.
10 But he said to her, As one of the ungodly would speak, thou speakest. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not also receive evil?
The answer of Job is strong but not harsh, for the אחת (comp. 2 Samuel 13:13) is somewhat soothing. The translation “as one of the foolish women” does not correspond to the Hebrew; נבל is one wxo thinks madly and acts impiously. What follows is a double question, גּם for הגם . The גּם stands at the beginning of the sentence, but logically belongs to the second part, towards which pronunciation and reading must hurry over the first, - a frequent occurrence after interrogative particles, e.g., Numbers 16:22; Isaiah 5:4 ; after causal particles, e.g., Isaiah 12:1; Proverbs 1:24; after the negative פּן , Deuteronomy 8:12., and often. Hupfeld renders the thought expressed in the double question very correctly: bonum quidem hucusque a Deo accepimus, malum vero jam non item accipiemus ? גּם is found also elsewhere at the beginning of a sentence, although belonging to a later clause, and that indeed not always the one immediately following, e.g., Hosea 6:11; Zechariah 9:11; the same syntax is to be found with אף , אך , and רק . קבּל , like תּמּה , is a word common to the book of Job and Proverbs (Proverbs 19:20); besides these, it is found only in books written after the exile, and is more Aramaic than Hebraic. By this answer which Job gives to his wife, he has repelled the sixth temptation. For 10b In all this Job sinned not with his lips.
Job 2:10
10 b In all this Job sinned not with his lips.
The Targum adds: but in his thoughts he already cherished sinful words. בּשׂפתיו is certainly not undesignedly introduced here and omitted in Job 1:22. The temptation to murmur was now already at work within him, but he was its master, so that no murmur escaped him.
After the sixth temptation there comes a seventh; and now the real conflict begins, through which the hero of the book passes, not indeed without sinning, but still triumphantly.
11 When Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz from Teman, and Bildad from Shuach, and Zophar from Naama: for they had made an appointment to come together to go and sympathize with him, and comfort him.
אליפז is, according to Gen 36, an old Idumaean name (transposed = Phasaël in the history of the Herodeans; according to Michaelis, Suppl . p. 87; cui Deus aurum est , comp. Job 22:25), and תּימן a district of Idumaea, celebrated for its native wisdom (Jeremiah 49:7; Bar. 3:22f.). But also in East-Hauran a Têmâ is still found (described by Wetzstein in his Bericht über seine Reise in den beiden Trachonen und um das Hauran-Gebirge, Zeitschr. für allg. Erdkunde, 1859), and about fifteen miles south of Têmâ , a Bûzân suggestive of Elihu's surname (comp. Jeremiah 25:23). שׁוּח we know only from Gen 25 as the son of Abraham and Keturah, who settled in the east country. Accordingly it must be a district of Arabia lying not very far from Idumaea: it might be compared with trans-Hauran Schakka , though the sound, however, of the word makes it scarcely admissible, which is undoubtedly one and the same with Dakkai'a, east from Batanaea, mentioned in Ptolem. v. 15. נעמה is a name frequent in Syria and Palestine: there is a town of the Jewish Shephêla (the low ground by the Mediterranean) of this name, Joshua 15:41, which, however, can hardly be intended here. הבּאה is Milel , consequently third pers. with the art. instead of the relative pron. (as, besides here, Genesis 18:21; Genesis 46:27), vid., Ges. §109 ad init. The Niph . נועד is strongly taken by some expositors as the same meaning with נועץ , to confer with, appoint a meeting: it signifies, to assemble themselves, to meet in an appointed place at an appointed time (Nehemiah 6:2). Reports spread among the mounted tribes of the Arabian desert with the rapidity of telegraphic despatches.
Their Arrival:
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and threw dust upon their heads toward heaven.
They saw a form which seemed to be Job, but in which they were not able to recognise him. Then they weep and rend their outer garments, and catch up dust to throw up towards heaven (1 Samuel 4:12), that it may fall again upon their heads. The casting up of dust on high is the outwards sign of intense suffering, and, as von Gerlach rightly remarks, of that which causes him to cry to heaven.
Their Silence:
13 And they sat with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights; and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his pain was very great.
Ewald erroneously thinks that custom and propriety prescribed this seven days' silence; it was (as Ezekiel 3:15) the force of the impression produced on them, and the fear of annoying the sufferer. But their long silence shows that they had not fully realized the purpose of their visit. Their feeling is overpowered by reflection, their sympathy by dismay. It is a pity that they let Job utter the first word, which they might have prevented by some word of kindly solace; for, becoming first fully conscious of the difference between his present and former position from their conduct, he breaks forth with curses.