1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
9 Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?
10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?
11 I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
14 If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.
16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;
17 He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.
18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.
19 The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.
20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.
21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.
22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
1 Moreover Job H347 continued H3254 H5375 his parable, H4912 and said, H559
2 As God H410 liveth, H2416 who hath taken away H5493 my judgment; H4941 and the Almighty, H7706 who hath vexed H4843 my soul; H5315
3 All the while H5750 my breath H5397 is in me, and the spirit H7307 of God H433 is in my nostrils; H639
4 My lips H8193 shall not speak H1696 wickedness, H5766 nor my tongue H3956 utter H1897 deceit. H7423
5 God forbid H2486 that I should justify H6663 you: till I die H1478 I will not remove H5493 mine integrity H8538 from me.
6 My righteousness H6666 I hold H2388 fast, and will not let it go: H7503 my heart H3824 shall not reproach H2778 me so long as I live. H3117
7 Let mine enemy H341 be as the wicked, H7563 and he that riseth up H6965 against me as the unrighteous. H5767
8 For what is the hope H8615 of the hypocrite, H2611 though he hath gained, H1214 when God H433 taketh away H7953 his soul? H5315
9 Will God H410 hear H8085 his cry H6818 when trouble H6869 cometh H935 upon him?
10 Will he delight H6026 himself in the Almighty? H7706 will he always H6256 call H7121 upon God? H433
11 I will teach H3384 you by the hand H3027 of God: H410 that which is with the Almighty H7706 will I not conceal. H3582
12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen H2372 it; why then are ye thus altogether H1892 vain? H1891
13 This is the portion H2506 of a wicked H7563 man H120 with God, H410 and the heritage H5159 of oppressors, H6184 which they shall receive H3947 of the Almighty. H7706
14 If his children H1121 be multiplied, H7235 it is for H3926 the sword: H2719 and his offspring H6631 shall not be satisfied H7646 with bread. H3899
15 Those that remain H8300 of him shall be buried H6912 in death: H4194 and his widows H490 shall not weep. H1058
16 Though he heap up H6651 silver H3701 as the dust, H6083 and prepare H3559 raiment H4403 as the clay; H2563
17 He may prepare H3559 it, but the just H6662 shall put it on, H3847 and the innocent H5355 shall divide H2505 the silver. H3701
18 He buildeth H1129 his house H1004 as a moth, H6211 and as a booth H5521 that the keeper H5341 maketh. H6213
19 The rich H6223 man shall lie down, H7901 but he shall not be gathered: H622 he openeth H6491 his eyes, H5869 and he is not.
20 Terrors H1091 take hold H5381 on him as waters, H4325 a tempest H5492 stealeth him away H1589 in the night. H3915
21 The east H6921 wind carrieth him away, H5375 and he departeth: H3212 and as a storm hurleth H8175 him out of his place. H4725
22 For God shall cast H7993 upon him, and not spare: H2550 he would fain H1272 flee H1272 out of his hand. H3027
23 Men shall clap H5606 their hands H3709 at him, and shall hiss H8319 him out of his place. H4725
1 And Job again took up his parable, and said,
2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my right, And the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul:
3 (For my life is yet whole in me, And the spirit of God is in my nostrils);
4 Surely my lips shall not speak unrighteousness, Neither shall my tongue utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should justify you: Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me.
6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: My heart shall not reproach `me' so long as I live.
7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, And let him that riseth up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the godless, though he get him gain, When God taketh away his soul?
9 Will God hear his cry, When trouble cometh upon him?
10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty, And call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God; That which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; Why then are ye become altogether vain?
13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, And the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty:
14 If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death, And his widows shall make no lamentation.
16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, And prepare raiment as the clay;
17 He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, And the innocent shall divide the silver.
18 He buildeth his house as the moth, And as a booth which the keeper maketh.
19 He lieth down rich, but he shall not be gathered `to his fathers'; He openeth his eyes, and he is not.
20 Terrors overtake him like waters; A tempest stealeth him away in the night.
21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth; And it sweepeth him out of his place.
22 For `God' shall hurl at him, and not spare: He would fain flee out of his hand.
23 Men shall clap their hands at him, And shall hiss him out of his place.
1 And Job addeth to lift up his simile, and saith: --
2 God liveth! He turned aside my judgment, And the Mighty -- He made my soul bitter.
3 For all the while my breath `is' in me, And the spirit of God in my nostrils.
4 My lips do not speak perverseness, And my tongue doth not utter deceit.
5 Pollution to me -- if I justify you, Till I expire I turn not aside mine integrity from me.
6 On my righteousness I have laid hold, And I do not let it go, My heart doth not reproach me while I live.
7 As the wicked is my enemy, And my withstander as the perverse.
8 For what `is' the hope of the profane, When He doth cut off? When God doth cast off his soul?
9 His cry doth God hear, When distress cometh on him?
10 On the Mighty doth he delight himself? Call God at all times?
11 I shew you by the hand of God, That which `is' with the Mighty I hide not.
12 Lo, ye -- all of you -- have seen, And why `is' this -- ye are altogether vain?
13 This `is' the portion of wicked man with God, And the inheritance of terrible ones From the Mighty they receive.
14 If his sons multiply -- for them `is' a sword. And his offspring `are' not satisfied `with' bread.
15 His remnant in death are buried, And his widows do not weep.
16 If he heap up as dust silver, And as clay prepare clothing,
17 He prepareth -- and the righteous putteth `it' on, And the silver the innocent doth apportion.
18 He hath built as a moth his house, And as a booth a watchman hath made.
19 Rich he lieth down, and he is not gathered, His eyes he hath opened, and he is not.
20 Overtake him as waters do terrors, By night stolen him away hath a whirlwind.
21 Take him up doth an east wind, and he goeth, And it frighteneth him from his place,
22 And it casteth at him, and doth not spare, From its hand he diligently fleeth.
23 It clappeth at him its hands, And it hisseth at him from his place.
1 And Job continued his parable and said,
2 [As] ùGod liveth, who hath taken away my right, and the Almighty, who hath embittered my soul,
3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of +God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips shall not speak unrighteousness, nor my tongue utter deceit!
5 Be it far from me that I should justify you; till I die I will not remove my blamelessness from me.
6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart reproacheth [me] not one of my days.
7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the ungodly, when [God] cutteth him off, when +God taketh away his soul?
9 Will ùGod hear his cry when distress cometh upon him?
10 Doth he delight himself in the Almighty? will he at all times call upon +God?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of ùGod; what is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
12 Behold, ye yourselves have all seen [it]; and why are ye thus altogether vain?
13 This is the portion of the wicked man with ùGod, and the heritage of the violent, which they receive from the Almighty: --
14 If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword, and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread;
15 Those that remain of him shall be buried by death, and his widows shall not weep.
16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare clothing as the clay;
17 He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on; and the innocent shall divide the silver.
18 He buildeth his house as the moth, and as a booth that a keeper maketh.
19 He lieth down rich, but will do so no more; he openeth his eyes, and he is not.
20 Terrors overtake him like waters; a whirlwind stealeth him away in the night.
21 The east wind carrieth him away and he is gone; and as a storm it hurleth him out of his place.
22 And [God] shall cast upon him and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
23 [Men] shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
1 Job again took up his parable, and said,
2 "As God lives, who has taken away my right, The Almighty, who has made my soul bitter.
3 (For the length of my life is still in me, And the spirit of God is in my nostrils);
4 Surely my lips shall not speak unrighteousness, Neither shall my tongue utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should justify you. Until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 I hold fast to my righteousness, and will not let it go. My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
7 "Let my enemy be as the wicked, Let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the godless, when he is cut off, When God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry, When trouble comes on him?
10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty, And call on God at all times?
11 I will teach you about the hand of God. That which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; Why then have you become altogether vain?
13 "This is the portion of a wicked man with God, The heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty.
14 If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword. His offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
15 Those who remain of him shall be buried in death. His widows shall make no lamentation.
16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, And prepare clothing as the clay;
17 He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, And the innocent shall divide the silver.
18 He builds his house as the moth, As a booth which the watchman makes.
19 He lies down rich, but he shall not do so again. He opens his eyes, and he is not.
20 Terrors overtake him like waters; A tempest steals him away in the night.
21 The east wind carries him away, and he departs; It sweeps him out of his place.
22 For it hurls at him, and does not spare, As he flees away from his hand.
23 Men shall clap their hands at him, And shall hiss him out of his place.
1 And Job again took up the word and said,
2 By the life of God, who has taken away my right; and of the Ruler of all, who has made my soul bitter;
3 (For all my breath is still in me, and the spirit of God is my life;)
4 Truly, there is no deceit in my lips, and my tongue does not say what is false.
5 Let it be far from me! I will certainly not say that you are right! I will come to death before I give up my righteousness.
6 I will keep it safe, and will not let it go: my heart has nothing to say against any part of my life.
7 Let my hater be like the evil man, and let him who comes against me be as the sinner.
8 For what is the hope of the sinner when he is cut off, when God takes back his soul?
9 Will his cry come to the ears of God when he is in trouble?
10 Will he take delight in the Ruler of all, and make his prayer to God at all times?
11 I will give you teaching about the hand of God; I will not keep secret from you what is in the mind of the Ruler of all.
12 Truly, you have all seen it yourselves; why then have you become completely foolish?
13 This is the punishment of the evil-doer from God, and the heritage given to the cruel by the Ruler of all.
14 If his children are increased, it is for the sword; and his offspring have not enough bread.
15 When those of his house who are still living come to their end by disease, they are not put into the earth, and their widows are not weeping for them.
16 Though he may get silver together like dust, and make ready great stores of clothing;
17 He may get them ready, but the upright will put them on, and he who is free from sin will take the silver for a heritage.
18 His house has no more strength than a spider's thread, or a watchman's tent.
19 He goes to rest full of wealth, but does so for the last time: on opening his eyes, he sees it there no longer.
20 Fears overtake him like rushing waters; in the night the storm-wind takes him away.
21 The east wind takes him up and he is gone; he is forced violently out of his place.
22 God sends his arrows against him without mercy; he goes in flight before his hand.
23 Men make signs of joy because of him, driving him from his place with sounds of hissing.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Job 27
Commentary on Job 27 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
1 Then Job continued to take up his proverb, and said:
2 As God liveth, who hath deprived me of my right,
And the Almighty, who hath sorely saddened my soul -
3 For still all my breath is in me,
And the breath of Eloah in my nostrils -
4 My lips do not speak what is false,
And my tongue uttereth not deceit!
5 Far be it from me, to grant that you are in the right:
Till I die I will not remove my innocence from me.
6 My righteousness I hold fast, and let it not go:
My heart reproacheth not any of my days.
7 Mine enemy must appear as an evil-doer,
And he who riseth up against me as unrighteous.
The friends are silent, Job remains master of the discourse, and his continued speech is introduced as a continued שׂאת משׁלו (after the analogy of the phrase נשׂא קול ), as in Numbers 23:7 and further on, the oracles of Balaam. משׁל is speech of a more elevated tone and more figurative character; here, as frequently, the unaffected outgrowth of an elevated solemn mood. The introduction of the ultimatum, as משׁל , reminds one of “the proverb ( el - methel ) seals it” in the mouth of the Arab, since in common life it is customary to use a pithy saying as the final proof at the conclusion of a speech.
Job begins with an asseveration of his truthfulness (i.e., the agreement of his confession with his consciousness) by the life of God. From this oath, which in the form bi - hajât allâh has become later on a common formula of assurance, R. Joshua, in his tractate Sota , infers that Job served God from love to Him, for we only swear by the life of that which we honour and love; it is more natural to conclude that the God by whom on the one hand, he believes himself to be so unjustly treated, still appears to him, on the other hand, to be the highest manifestation of truth. The interjectional clause: living is God! is equivalent to, as true as God liveth. That which is affirmed is not what immediately follows: He has set aside my right, and the Almighty has sorely grieved my soul (Raschi); but הסיר משׁפטי and המר נפשׁי are attributive clauses, by which what is denied in the form of an oath introduced by אם (as Genesis 42:15; 1 Samuel 14:45; 2 Samuel 11:11, Ges. §155, 2, f ) is contained in Job 27:4; his special reference to the false semblance of an evil-doer shows that semblance which suffering casts upon him, but which he constantly repudiates as surely not lying, as that God liveth. Among moderns, Schlottm. (comp. Ges. §150, 3), like most of the old expositors, translates: so long as my breath is in me,...my lips shall speak no wrong, so that Job 27:3 and Job 27:4 together contain what is affirmed. By (1) כּי indeed sometimes introduces that which shall happen as affirmed by oath, Jeremiah 22:5; Jeremiah 49:13; but here that which shall not take place is affirmed, which would be introduced first in a general form by כּי explic. s. recitativum , then according to its special negative contents by אם , - a construction which is perhaps possible according to syntax, but it is nevertheless perplexing; (2) it may perhaps be thought that “the whole continuance of my breath in me” is conceived as accusative and adverbial, and is equivalent to, so long as my breath may remain in me ( כל עוד , as long as ever, like the Arab. cullama , as often as ever); but the usage of the language does not favour this explanation, for 2 Samuel 1:9, נפשׁי בי כל־עוד , signifies my whole soul (my full life) is still in me; and we have a third instance of this prominently placed כל per hypallagen in Hosea 14:3, עון כל־תשׂא , omnem auferas iniquitatem , Ew. §289, a (comp. Ges. §114, rem. 1). Accordingly, with Ew., Hirz., Hahn, and most modern expositors, we take Job 27:3 as a parenthetical confirmatory clause, by which Job gives the ground of his solemn affirmation that he is still in possession of his full consciousness, and cannot help feeling and expressing the contradiction between his lot of suffering, which brand shim as an evil-doer, and his moral integrity. The נשׁמתי which precedes the רוח signifies, according to the prevailing usage of the language, the intellectual, and therefore self-conscious, soul of man ( Psychol . S. 76f.). This is in man and in his nostrils, inasmuch as the breath which passes in and out by these is the outward and visible form of its being, which is in every respect the condition of life ( ib. S. 82f.). The suff. of נשׁמתי is unaccented; on account of the word which follows being a monosyllable, the tone has retreated ( נסוג אחור , to use a technical grammatical expression), as e.g., also in Job 19:25; Job 20:2; Psalms 22:20. Because he lives, and, living, cannot deny his own existence, he swears that his own testimony, which is suspected by the friends, and on account of which they charge him with falsehood, is perfect truth.
Job 27:4 is not to be translated: “my lips shall never speak what is false;” for it is not a resolve which Job thus strongly makes, after the manner of a vow, but the agreement of his confession, which he has now so frequently made, and which remains unalterable, with the abiding fact. Far be from me - he continues in Job 27:5 - to admit that you are right ( חלילה לּי with unaccented ah , not of the fem., comp. Job 34:10, but of direction: for a profanation to me, i.e., let it be profane to me, Ew. §329, a , Arab. hâshâ li , in the like sense); until I expire (prop.: sink together), I will not put my innocence ( תּמּה , perfection, in the sense of purity of character) away from me, i.e., I will not cease from asserting it. I will hold fast (as ever) my righteousness, and leave it not, i.e., let it not go or fall away; my heart does not reproach even one of my days. מיּמי is virtually an obj. in a partitive sense: mon coeur ne me reproche pas un seul de mes jours (Renan). The heart is used here as the seat of the conscience, which is the knowledge possessed by the heart, by which it excuses or accuses a man ( Psychol . S. 134); חרף (whence חרף , the season in which the fruits are gathered) signifies carpere , to pluck = to pinch, lash, inveigh against. Jos. Kimchi and Ralbag explain: my heart draws not back) from the confession of my innocence) my whole life long (as Maimonides explains נחרפת , Leviticus 19:20, of the female slave who is inclined to, i.e., stands near to, the position of a free woman), by comparison with the Arabic inḥarafa , deflectere ; it is not, however, Arab. ḥrf , but chrf , decerpere , that is to be compared in the tropical sense of the prevailing usage of the Hebrew specified. The old expositors were all misled by the misunderstood partitive מימי , which they translated ex (= inde a ) diebus meis . There is in Job 27:7 no ground for taking יהי , with Hahn, as a strong affirmative, as supposed in Job 18:12, and not as expressive of desire; but the meaning is not: let my opponents be evil-doers, I at least am not one (Hirz.). The voluntative expresses far more emotion: the relation must be reversed; he who will brand me as an evil-doer, must by that very act brand himself as such, inasmuch as the מרשׁיע of a צדיק really shows himself to be a רשׁע , and by recklessly judging the righteous, is bringing down upon himself a like well-merited judgment. The כּ is the so-called Caph veritatis, since כּ , instar , signifies not only similarity, but also quality. Instead of קימי , the less manageable, primitive form, which the poet used in Job 22:20 (comp. p. 483), and beside which קם ( קום , 2 Kings 16:7) does not occur in the book, we here find the more usual form מתקוממי (comp. Job 20:27).
(Note: In Beduin the enemy is called qômâni (vid., supra , on Job 24:12, p. 505), a denominative from qôm , Arab. qawm , war, feud; but qôm has also the signification of a collective of qômâni , and one can also say: entum wa - ijânâ qôm , you and we are enemies, and bênâtna qôm , there is war between us. - Wetzst.)
The description of the misfortune of the ungodly which now follows, beginning with כי , requires no connecting thought, as for instance: My enemy must be accounted as ungodly, on account of his hostility; I abhor ungodliness, for, etc.; but that he who regards him as a רשׁע is himself a רשׁע , Job shows from the fact of the רשׁע having no hope in death, whilst, when dying, he can give no confident hope of a divine vindication of his innocence.
8 For what is the hope of the godless, when He cutteth off,
When Eloah taketh away his soul?
9 Will God hear his cry
When distress cometh upon him?
10 Or can he delight himself in the Almighty,
Can he call upon Eloah at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God,
I will not conceal the dealings of the Almighty.
12 Behold, ye have all seen it,
Why then do ye cherish foolish notions?
In comparing himself with the רשׁע , Job is conscious that he has a God who does not leave him unheard, in whom he delights himself, and to whom he can at all times draw near; as, in fact, Job's fellowship with God rests upon the freedom of the most intimate confidence. He is not one of the godless; for what is the hope of one who is estranged from God, when he comes to die? He has no God on whom his hope might establish itself, to whom it could cling. The old expositors err in many ways respecting Job 27:8, by taking בצע , abscindere (root בץ ), in the sense of ( opes ) corradere (thus also more recently Rosenm. after the Targ., Syr., and Jer.), and referring ישׁל to שׁלה in the signification tranquillum esse (thus even Blumenfeld after Ralbag and others). נפשׁו is the object to both verbs, and בצע נפשׁ , abscindere animam , to cut off the thread of life, is to be explained according to Job 6:9; Isaiah 38:12. שׁלח נפשׁ , extrahere animam (from שׁלה , whence שׁליח Arab. salan , the after-birth, cogn. שׁלל . Arab. sll , נשׁל Arab. nsl , nṯl , nšl ), is of similar signification, according to another figure, wince the body is conceived of as the sheath ( נדנה , Daniel 7:15) of the soul
(Note: On the similar idea of the body, as the kosha (sheath) of the soul, among the Hindus, vid., Psychol. S. 227.)
(comp. Arab. sll in the universal signification evaginare ensem ). The fut. apoc. Kal ישׁל (= ישׁל ) is therefore in meaning equivalent to the intrans. ישּׁל , Deuteronomy 28:40 (according to Ew. §235, c , obtained from this by change of vowel), decidere; and Schnurrer's supposition that ישׁל , like the Arab. ysl , is equivalent to ישׁאל (when God demands it), or such a violent correction as De Lagarde's
(Note: Anm. zur griech. Uebers. der Proverbien (1863), S. VI.f., where the first reason given for this improvement of the text is this, that the usual explanation, according to which ישׁל and יבצע have the same subj. and obj. standing after the verb, is altogether contrary to Semitic usage. But this assertion is groundless, as might be supposed from the very beginning. Thus, e.g., the same obj. is found after two verbs in Job 20:19, and the same subj. and obj. in Nehemiah 3:20.)
(when he is in distress יצק , when one demeans his soul with a curse ישּׁאל בּאלה ), is unnecessary.
The ungodly man, Job goes on to say, has no God to hear his cry when distress comes upon him; he cannot delight himself ( יתענּג , pausal form of יתענג , the primary form of יתענג ) in the Almighty; he cannot call upon Eloah at any time (i.e., in the manifold circumstances of life under which we are called to feel the dependence of our nature). Torn away from God, he cannot be heard, he cannot indeed pray and find any consolation in God. It is most clearly manifest here, since Job compares his condition of suffering with that of a חנף , what comfort, what power of endurance, yea, what spiritual joy in the midst of suffering ( התענג , as Job 22:26; Psalms 37:4, Psalms 37:11; Isaiah 55:2; Isaiah 58:13), which must all remain unknown to the ungodly, he can draw from his fellowship with God; and seizing the very root of the distinction between the man who fears God and one who is utterly godless, his view of the outward appearance of the misfortune of both becomes changed; and after having allowed himself hitherto to be driven from one extreme to another by the friends, as the heat of the controversy gradually cools down, and as, regaining his independence, he stands before them as their teacher, he now experiences the truth of docendo discimu s in rich abundance. I will instruct you, says he, in the hand, i.e., the mode of action, of God ( בּ just as in Psalms 25:8, Psalms 25:12; Psalms 32:8; Proverbs 4:11, of the province and subject of instruction); I will not conceal עם־שׁדּי אשׁר , i.e., according to the sense of the passage: what are the principles upon which He acts; for that which is with ( אם ) any one is the matter of his consciousness and volition (vid., on Job 23:10).
Job 27:12 is of the greatest importance in the right interpretation of what follows from Job 27:13 onwards. The instruction which Job desires to impart to the friends has reference to the lot of the evil-doer; and when he says: Behold, ye yourselves have beheld (learnt) it all, - in connection with which it is to be observed that אתּם כּלּכם does not signify merely vos omnes , but vosmet ipsi omnes , - he grants to them what he appeared hitherto to deny, that the lot of the evil-doer, certainly in the rule, although not without exceptions, is such as they have said. The application, however, which they have made of this abiding fact of experience, as and remains all the more false: Wherefore then ( זה makes the question sharper) are ye vain (blinded) in vanity (self-delusion), viz., in reference to me, who do not so completely bear about the characteristic marks of a רשׁע ? The verb הבל signifies to think and act vainly (without ground or connection), 2 Kings 17:15 (comp. ἐματαιώθησαν , Romans 1:21); the combination הבל הבל is not to be judged of according to Ges. §138, rem. 1, as it is also by Ew. §281, a , but הבל may also be taken as the representative of the gerund, as e.g., עריה , Habakkuk 3:9.
In the following strophe (Job 27:13) Job now begins as Zophar (Job 20:29) concluded. He gives back to the friends the doctrine they have fully imparted to him. They have held the lot of the evil-doer before him as a mirror, that he may behold himself in it and be astounded; he holds it before them, that they may perceive how not only his bearing under suffering, but also the form of his affliction, is of a totally different kind.
13 This is the lot of the wicked man with God,
And the heritage of the violent which they receive from the Almighty:
14 If his children multiply, it is for the sword,
And his offspring have not bread enough.
15 His survivors shall be buried by the pestilence,
And his widows shall not weep.
16 If he heapeth silver together as dust,
And prepareth garments for himself as mire:
17 He prepareth it, and the righteous clothe themselves,
And the innocent divide the silver among themselves.
18 He hath built as a moth his house,
And as a hut that a watchman setteth up.
We have already had the combination אדם רשׁע for אישׁ רשׁע in Job 20:29; it is a favourite expression in Proverbs, and reminds one of ἄνθρωπος ὁδίτης in Homer, and ἄνθρωπος σπείρωϚ, ἐχθρός, ἔμπορος , in the parables Matt 13. Psik ( Pasek ) stands under רשׁע , to separate the wicked man and God, as in Proverbs 15:29 (Norzi). למו , exclusively peculiar to the book of Job in the Old Testament (here and Job 29:21; Job 38:40; Job 40:4), is ל rendered capable of an independent position by means of מו = מה , Arab. mâ . The sword, famine, and pestilence are the three punishing powers by which the evil-doer's posterity, however numerous it may be, is blotted out; these three, חרב , רעב , and מות , appear also side by side in Jeremiah 15:2; מות , instead of ממותי , diris mortibus , is (as also Jeremiah 18:21) equivalent to דּבר in the same trio, Jeremiah 14:12; the plague is personified (as when it is called by an Arabian poet umm el - farit , the mother of death), and Vavassor correctly observes: Mors illos sua sepeliet, nihil praeterea honoris supremi consecuturos . Böttcher ( de inferis , §72) asserts that במות can only signify pestilentiae tempore , or better, ipso mortis momento ; but since בּ occurs by the passive elsewhere in the sense of ab or per , e.g., Numbers 36:2; Hosea 14:4, it can also by נקבר denote the efficient cause. Olshausen's correction במות לא יקברו , they will not be buried when dead (Jeremiah 16:4), is still less required; “to be buried by the pestilence” is equivalent to, not to be interred with the usual solemnities, but to be buried as hastily as possible.
Job 27:15 (common to our poet and the psalm of Asaph, 78:64, which likewise belongs to the Salomonic age) is also to be correspondingly interpreted: the women that he leaves behind do not celebrate the usual mourning rites (comp. Genesis 23:2), because the decreed punishment which, stroke after stroke, deprives them of husbands and children, prevents all observance of the customs of mourning, and because the shock stifles the feeling of pity. The treasure in gold which his avarice has heaped up, and in garments which his love of display has gathered together, come into the possession of the righteous and the innocent, who are spared when these three powers of judgment sweep away the evil-doer and his family. Dust and dirt (i.e., of the streets, חוצות ) are, as in Zechariah 9:3, the emblem of a great abundance that depreciates even that which is valuable. The house of the ungodly man, though a palace, is, as the fate of the fabric shows, as brittle and perishable a thing, and can be as easily destroyed, as the fine spinning of a moth, עשׁ (according to the Jewish proverb, the brother of the סס ), or even the small case which it makes from remnants of gnawed articles, and drags about with it; it is like a light hut, perhaps for the watchman of a vineyard (Isaiah 1:8), which is put together only for the season during which the grapes are ripening.
(Note: The watchman's hut, for the protection of the vineyards and melon and maize fields against thieves, herds, or wild beasts, is now called either ‛arı̂she and mantara ( מנטרה ) if it is only slightly put together from branches of trees, or chême ( הימה ) if it is built up high in order that the watcher may see a great distance. The chême is the more frequent; at harvest it stands in the midst of the threshing-floors ( bejâdir ) of a district, and it is constructed in the following manner: - Four poles ( ‛awâmı̂d ) are set up so as to form the corners of a square, the sides of which are about eight feet in length. Eight feet above the ground, four cross pieces of wood ( 'awârid ) are tightly bound to these with cords, on which planks, if they are to be had, are laid. Here is the watcher's bed, which consists of a litter. Six or seven feet above this, cross-beams are again bound to the four poles, on which boughs, or reeds ( qasab ), or a mat ( hası̂ra , חצירה ) forms a roof ( sath , שׂטח ), from which the chême has its name; for the Piel -forms ערּשׁ , חיּם , and שׂטּח signify, “to be stretched over anything after the manner of a roof.” Between the roof and the bed, three sides of the che=me are hung round with a mat, or with reeds or straws ( qashsh , קשׁ ) bound together, in order both to keep off the cold night-winds, and also to keep the thieves in ignorance as to the number of the watchers. A small ladder, sullem ( סלּם ), frequently leads to the bed-chamber. The space between the ground and this chamber is closed only on the west side to keep off the hot afternoon sun, for through the day the watcher sits below with his dog, upon the ground. Here is also his place of reception, if any passers-by visit him; for, like the village shepherd, the field-watcher has the right of showing a humble hospitality to any acquaintances. When the fruits have been gathered in, the chême is removed. The field-watchman is now called nâtûr (Arab. nâṭûr ), and the verb is natar , נטר , “to keep watch,” instead of which the quadriliteral nôtar , נוטר (from the plur. Arab. nwâṭı̂r , “the watchers”), has also been formed. In one part of Syria all these forms are written with צ (d) instead of ט fo da , and pronounced accordingly. The נצר in this passage is similarly related to the נטר in Song of Solomon 1:6; Song of Solomon 8:11-12. - Wetzst.)
19 He lieth down rich, and doeth it not again,
He openeth his eyes and-is no more.
20 Terrors take hold of him as a flood;
By night a tempest stealeth him away.
21 The east wind lifteth him up, that he departeth,
And hurleth him forth from his place.
22 God casteth upon him without sparing,
Before His hand he fleeth utterly away.
23 They clap their hands at him,
And hiss him away from his place.
The pointing of the text ולא יאסף is explained by Schnurr., Umbr., and Stick.: He goes rich to bed and nothing is taken as yet, he opens his eyes and nothing more is there; but if this were the thought intended, it ought at least to have been ואין נאסף , since לא signifies non , not nihil; and Stickel's translation, “while nothing is carried away,” makes the fut. instead of the praet., which was to be expected, none the more tolerable; also אסף can indeed signify to gather hastily together, to take away (e.g., Isaiah 33:4), when the connection favours it, but not here, where the first impression is that רשׁע is the subj. both to ולא יאסף and to ואיננו . Böttcher's translation, “He lieth down rich and cannot be displaced,” gives the words a meaning that is ridiculed by the usage of the language. On the other hand, ולא יאסף can signify: and he is not conveyed away (comp. e.g., Jeremiah 8:2; Ezekiel 29:5; but not Isaiah 57:1, where it signifies to be swept away, and also not Numbers 20:26, where it signifies to be gathered to the fathers), and is probably intended to be explained after the pointing that we have, as Rosenm. and even Ralbag explain it: “he is not conveyed away; one opens his eyes and he is not;” or even as Schlottm.: “he is not conveyed away; in one moment he still looks about him, in the next he is no more;” but the relation of the two parts of the verse in this interpretation is unsatisfactory, and the preceding strophe has already referred to his not being buried. Since, therefore, only an unsuitable, and what is more, a badly-expressed thought, is gained by this reading, it may be that the expression should be regarded with Hahn as interrogative: is he not swept away? This, however, is only a makeshift, and therefore we must see whether it may not perhaps be susceptible of another pointing. Jerome transl.: dives cum dormierit, nihil secum auferet ; the thought is not bad, but מאוּמה is wanting, and לא alone does not signify nihil . Better lxx (Ital., Syr.): πλούσιος κοιμηθήσεται καὶ ου ̓ προσθήσει . This translation follows the form of reading יאסף = יוסיף , gives a suitable sense, places both parts of the verse in the right relation, and accords with the style of the poet (vid., Job 20:9; Job 40:5); and accordingly, with Ew., Hirz., and Hlgst., we decide in favour of this reading: he lieth down to sleep rich, and he doeth it no more, since in the night he is removed from life and also from riches by sudden death; or also: in the morning he openeth his eyes without imagining it is the last time, for, overwhelmed by sudden death, he closes them for ever. Job 27:20 and Job 27:20 are attached crosswise ( chiastisch ) to this picture of sudden destruction, be it by night or by day: the terrors of death seize him ( sing. fem. with a plur. subj. following it, according to Ges. §146, 3) like a flood (comp. the floods of Belial, Psalms 18:5), by night a whirlwind ( גּנבתּוּ סוּפה , as Job 21:18) carrieth him away. The Syriac and Arabic versions add, as a sort of interpolation: as a fluttering (large white) night-moth, - an addition which no one can consider beautiful.
Job 27:21 extends the figure of the whirlwind. In Hebrew, even when the narrative has reference to Egyptian matters (Genesis 41:23), the קדים which comes from the Arabian desert is the destructive, devastating, and parching wind κατ ̓ εξοχὴν .
(Note: In Syria and Arabia the east wind is no longer called qadı̂m , but exclusively sharqı̂ja , i.e., the wind that blows from the rising of the sun ( sharq ). This wind rarely prevails in summer, occurring then only two or three days a month on an average; it is more frequent in the winter and early spring, when, if it continues long, the tender vegetation is parched up, and a year of famine follows, whence in the Lebanon it is called semûm ( שׂמוּם ), which in the present day denotes the “poisonous wind” (= nesme musimme ), but originally, by alliance with the Hebr. שׁמם , denoted the “devastating wind.” The east wind is dry; it excites the blood, contracts the chest, causes restlessness and anxiety, and sleepless nights or evil dreams. Both man and beast feel weak and sickly while it prevails. Hence that which is unpleasant and revolting in life is compared to the east wind. Thus a maid in Hauran, at the sight of one of my Damascus travelling companions, whose excessive ugliness struck her, cried: billâh , nahâr el - jôm aqshar (Arab. 'qšr ), wagahetni (Arab. w - jhṫnı̂ ) sharqı̂ja , “by God, it is an unhealthy day to-day: an east wind blew upon me.” And in a festive dance song of the Merg district, these words occur:
wa rudd lı̂ hômet hodênik
seb‛ lejâlı̂ bi - ‛olı̂ja wa berd
wa sherd wa sharqı̂ja