Study Notes

1:1 land of Uz. The location is uncertain; perhaps a large territory east of the Jordan Valley (v. 3), which included Edom in the south (Ge 36:28; La 4:21) and Aram in the north (see Ge 10:23; 22:21; see also note on 1Ch 18:5). blameless and upright. Spiritually and morally upright (see note on Ps 26:1). This does not mean that Job was sinless. He later defends his moral integrity but also admits he is a sinner (see 6:24; 7:21 and note). feared God. See 28:28; Pr 3:7 and note; see also note on Ge 20:11.

1:2 seven. An ideal number, signifying completeness (see notes on 42:13; Ru 4:15).

1:3 seven thousand sheep. See note on 42:12; see also photo. Job’s enormous wealth was in livestock, not land (see Ge 12:16 and note; 13:2; 26:14). camels. See note on Ge 12:16. donkeys. The Hebrew for this word is feminine in form. Female donkeys, which could produce offspring, were more valuable than males.

1:5 period of feasting. On special occasions, feasts might last a week (Ge 29:27; Jdg 14:12). purified. Made ceremonially clean in preparation for the sacrifices he offered for his children (see Ex 19:10,14, where the Hebrew for this verb is translated “consecrate”). he would sacrifice. Before the ceremonial laws of Moses were introduced, the father of the household could perform priestly functions (Ge 15:9–10).

1:6 angels came to present themselves. See NIV text note here and on 2:1; 38:7. They came as members of the heavenly council who stand in the presence of God (see 1Ki 22:19 and note; Ps 89:5–7; Jer 23:18,22 and note on 23:18). Satan. Means “the accuser” or “the adversary” (see NIV text note; see also Rev 12:10 and note). In Job the Hebrew for this word is always preceded by the definite article. In the Hebrew of 1Ch 21:1 the article is not used, perhaps because “Satan” had become a proper name by that time.

1:7 The LORD. That is, Yahweh, the Israelite covenant name for God (see Introduction: Author; see also note on Ge 2:4).

1:8 Have you considered . . . Job? The Lord, not Satan, initiates the dialogue that leads to the testing of Job. He holds up Job as one against whom “the accuser” can lodge no accusation. my servant. See 42:7–8 and note; a designation for one who stands in a special relationship with God and is loyal in service (e.g., Moses, Nu 12:7; David, 2Sa 7:5; see Isa 42:1 and note; 52:13; 53:11).

1:9 “The accuser” boldly accuses the man God commends: He charges that the righteousness of Job in which God expresses such delight is actually self-serving. This is the heart of Satan’s attack on both God and his faithful servant.

1:10 hedge. Symbolizes protection (see Isa 5:5; contrast Job 3:23).

1:11 stretch out your hand and strike. See 4:5. he will . . . curse you. But Job never did curse God (see v. 12; 2:9–10 and notes). curse. See note on Ge 12:3.

1:12 Satan, the accuser, is given power to afflict Job (v. 12a) but is kept on a leash (v. 12b). In all the evil he effects among human beings (vv. 15,17) or in nature (vv. 16,19), Satan is under God’s authority (compare 1Ch 21:1 with 2Sa 24:1; see 1Sa 16:14 and note; 2Sa 24:16; 1Co 5:5 and note; 2Co 12:7; Heb 2:14). The contest, however, is not a sham. Will Job curse God to his face? If Job does not, the accuser will be proven false and God’s delight in Job will be vindicated.

1:15 Sabeans. Probably south Arabians from Sheba, whose descendants became wealthy traders in spices, gold and precious stones (see the account of the queen of Sheba in 1Ki 10:1–13; see also Ps 72:10, 15; Isa 60:6; Jer 6:20; Eze 27:22; Joel 3:8). Job 6:19 calls the Sabeans “traveling merchants” and associates them with Tema (about 350 miles southeast of Jerusalem). See note on Isa 60:6; see also map.

1:16 fire of God. Lightning (see Nu 11:1 and note; 1Ki 18:38; 2Ki 1:12).

1:17 Chaldeans. A people who were nomadic until c. 1000 bc, when they settled in southern Mesopotamia and later became the nucleus of Nebuchadnezzar’s Neo-Babylonian Empire (see note on Ezr 5:12).

1:20 At this, Job got up. He is silent until his children are killed. tore his robe and shaved his head. In mourning (see notes on Ge 37:34; Isa 15:2).

1:21 depart. See NIV text note; see also Ge 2:7; 3:19 and note. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Job’s faith leads him to see the sovereign God’s hand at work, and that gives him comfort even in the face of calamity.

2:1–3 Except for the final sentence, this passage is almost identical to 1:6–8. Satan’s motive is to prove the Lord wrong in his assessment of Job.

2:3 you incited me. God cannot be stirred up to do things against his will. Though it is not always clear how, God accomplishes his purposes in every circumstance (see 42:2 and note).

2:4 Skin for skin! Probably a proverbial statement equivalent to our “quid pro quo” (this for that).

2:5 strike his flesh and bones. See 1:11–12; cf. Ge 2:23; Lk 24:39. he will . . . curse you. See note on 1:11.

2:6 spare his life. Satan is still limited by God. If Job should die, neither God nor Job could be vindicated.

2:7 The symptoms of Job’s sickness included painful festering sores over the whole body (7:5), nightmares and hallucinations (7:14), scabs that peeled and became black (30:28,30), disfigurement and a revolting appearance (2:12; 19:19), bad breath (19:17), excessive thinness (17:7; 19:20), fever (30:30) and pain day and night (30:17). sores. The Hebrew for this word is translated “boils” in Ex 9:9; Lev 13:18; 2Ki 20:7.

2:8 ashes. Symbolic of mourning (see 42:6; Est 4:3; cf. Jnh 3:6, which speaks of sitting in dust).

2:9 Curse God. The Hebrew for this expression here and in 1:5 employs a euphemism (“Bless God”). and die. Since nothing but death is left for Job, his wife wants him to provoke God to administer the final stroke due to all who curse him (Lev 24:10–16).

2:10 Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? A key theme of the book: Trouble and suffering are not merely punishment for sin; for God’s people they may serve as a trial (as here) or as a discipline that culminates in spiritual gain (see note on 5:17–26; see also Dt 8:5; 2Sa 7:14; Ps 94:12; Pr 3:11–12; 1Co 11:32; Heb 12:5–11 and notes), or they may simply be the result of life in a fallen world. Job’s reply to his wife silences “the accuser,” who is not heard from again. And true to his word here, Job refuses to turn his back on God throughout the long struggle that follows. He faces God with questions, complaints, accusations and appeals, but he continues to face him—and never curses him, as Satan said he would (v. 5; 1:11 [see note there]).

2:11 Eliphaz. An Edomite name (see note on Ge 36:11). Temanite. Teman was a village in Edom, south of the Dead Sea (see 4:1; Ge 36:11; Jer 49:7; Eze 25:13; Am 1:12; Ob 9 and notes). Shuhite. Bildad may have been a descendant of Shuah, the youngest son of Abraham and Keturah (Ge 25:2). Naamathite. Naamah is listed in Cain’s genealogy (Ge 4:22), from whom the Kenites were descended.

2:12 could hardly recognize him. Cf. Isa 52:14; 53:3. tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Visible signs of mourning (see note on 1:20).

2:13 sat on the ground with him. See Eze 3:15; possibly an expression of sympathy or shock. seven. The number of completeness (see 1:2; Ge 50:10; 1Sa 31:13 and note; see also note on Ru 4:15). No one said a word to him. A wiser response than their later speeches would prove to be (see 16:2–3). See photo.

3:1–26 Job’s first speech is addressed to no one in particular. In it he simply gives expression to the depths of his suffering.

3:3 May the day of my birth perish. Job’s very existence, which has been a joy to him because of God’s favor, is now his intolerable burden. He is as close as he will ever come to cursing God, but he does not do it (see Jer 20:14–18 and note).

3:4 may it turn to darkness. God had said in Ge 1:3, “Let there be light.” Job, using similar language, would negate God’s creative act.

3:8 those who curse days. Eastern soothsayers, like Balaam (Nu 22–24), who pronounced curses on people, objects and days (see note on Ge 12:3). Leviathan. Using vivid, figurative language, Job wishes that “those who curse days” would arouse the sea monster Leviathan (see note on Isa 27:1) to swallow the day and night of his birth (v. 3).

3:11–12,16,20–23 A series of rhetorical questions.

3:13–15 Death would at least give him peace. In any event, the same fate awaits all, even the greatest people whose magnificent tombs eventually crumble.

3:16 Since in fact his birth had taken place, the next possibility would have been a stillbirth. He would then have lived only in the grave (or Sheol), which he envisions as a place of peace and rest (vv. 13–19; see note on Ge 37:35). Such a situation would be much better than his present intolerable condition, in which he can find neither peace nor rest (v. 26).

3:18 slave driver’s shout. As in Egypt (Ex 5:13–14).

3:23 whom God has hedged in. God, who had put a hedge of protection around him (see 1:10 and note), has now, he feels, hemmed him in with turmoil (v. 26).

4:1 Eliphaz the Temanite. See note on 2:11. Teman was an Edomite town noted for wisdom (Jer 49:7). The speeches of Job’s three friends contain elements of truth, but they must be carefully interpreted in context. The problem is not so much with what the friends knew but with what they did not know: God’s hidden purpose in allowing Satan to buffet Job.

4:2 ventures a word. Eliphaz seems to be genuinely concerned with Job’s well-being and offers a complimentary word (vv. 3–4). impatient. See note on 9:2–3.

4:5 strikes you. See 1:11; 2:5; 19:21.

4:6–7 Eliphaz counsels Job to be confident that his piety will count with God, that though God is now chastening him for some sin, it is to a good end (v. 17; 5:17), and he can be assured that God will not destroy him along with the wicked.

4:6 piety. Or “fear (of God)” (see note on 1:1). The word is used only by Eliphaz (15:4; 22:4).

4:7–9 If Job is truly innocent, he will not be destroyed.

4:8–11 Just as the strongest lions eventually die (vv. 10–11), so the wicked are eventually destroyed (vv. 8–9).

4:8 those who sow trouble reap it. Cf. Gal 6:7–8 and notes.

4:9 blast of his anger. See Ex 15:7–8. God’s judgment is fearfully severe.

4:12–21 Eliphaz tells of a hair-raising (v. 15), mystical experience mediated through a dream (v. 13), through which he claims to have received divine revelation and on which he bases his advice to Job.

4:13 Amid . . . dreams . . . when deep sleep falls on people. Eliphaz’s words are echoed by Elihu in 33:15.

4:14 all my bones shake. A sign of great distress (Jer 23:9; Hab 3:16).

4:17–21 According to Eliphaz, all humans are sinful and finite; therefore God has a right to punish them. Job should be thankful for the correction God is giving him (see 5:17–26 and note).

4:18–19 See 15:15–16.

4:18 servants. Angels, as indicated by the following poetic line.

4:19 houses of clay. Bodies made of dust (see 10:9; 33:6; see also note on Ge 2:7). moth. A symbol of fragility (cf. 27:18).

4:20 Between dawn and dusk. A vivid picture of the shortness of life.

4:21 tent. A temporary home, like the mortal human body (see 2Co 5:1, 4; 2Pe 1:13 and notes). without wisdom. Needlessly and senselessly (v. 20).

5:1 To which . . . will you turn? To plead your case with God. The idea of a mediator, someone to arbitrate between God and Job, is an important motif in the book (see 9:33; 16:19–20 and notes; see also note and NIV text note on 19:25). holy ones. Holy angels, the “sons of God” in the prologue (see NIV text notes on 1:6; 2:1).

5:2 Without mentioning him, Eliphaz implies that Job is resentful against God and that harm will follow. fool. One who pays no attention to God (see NIV text notes on 2:10; Pr 1:7).

5:3 a fool taking root. A wicked man may prosper for a time, like a tree taking root (Ps 1:3).

5:6 Unlike harvested crops (v. 5), hardship and trouble do not need to be cultivated; they occur naturally.

5:7 man is born to trouble. Proof that no one is righteous in the eyes of God (see notes on 4:17–21; 13:28—14:1). Job should stop behaving like a fool (vv. 1–6) and should humble himself. Then God would bless, and injustice would shut its mouth (v. 16). sparks. Translates the Hebrew expression “sons of Resheph.” In Canaanite mythology, Resheph was a god of plague and destruction. “(Sons of) Resheph” is used as a poetic image in the OT for fire (SS 8:6), bolts of lightning (Ps 78:48) and pestilence (Dt 32:24; Hab 3:5).

5:9 Repeated in 9:10.

5:13 Quoted in part in 1Co 3:19 (the only clear quotation of Job in the NT).

5:17–26 While the preceding hymn (vv. 8–16) spoke of God’s goodness and justice, this poem celebrates the blessedness of the one whom God disciplines (see Pr 1:2, 7; 3:11–12 and note; 5:12 and note; 23:13,23). Eliphaz believed that discipline is temporary and is followed by healing (v. 18), and that those who are good will always be rescued. But with Job’s wealth gone and his children dead, these words about security (v. 24) and children (v. 25) must have seemed cruel and hollow to him.

5:17 Almighty. The first of 31 times that the Hebrew word Shaddai is used in Job (see note on Ge 17:1).

5:18–19 See Hos 6:1–2.

5:19 six . . . seven. See 33:29; 40:5; Pr 6:16 and note; 30:15,18,21,29; Ecc 11:2; Am 1:3, 6,9,11,13 and note on 1:3; 2:1,4,6; Mic 5:5 and note. Normally, such number patterns are not to be taken literally but are a poetic way of saying “many.” Often the final item in the series is the climactic one (here, v. 26).

5:23 covenant with the stones. A figurative way of saying that stones will “be at peace with you” and will not ruin the crops (2Ki 3:19; Isa 5:2; Mt 13:5).

5:25 like the grass of the earth. As numerous as blades of grass (see note on Ge 13:16).

5:26 come to the grave in full vigor. Meaning Job would die after a long and healthy life. Eliphaz’s prediction was more accurate than he realized (42:16–17).

5:27 apply it to yourself. Eliphaz’s conclusion: Job must turn from unrighteousness (4:7) and resentment against God (v. 2) to humility (v. 11) and the acceptance of God’s righteous discipline (v. 17). Eliphaz’s purpose is to offer theological comfort and counsel to Job (2:11), but instead he wounds him with false accusation.

6:2–3 In light of his overwhelming misery, Job appeals for a sympathetic understanding of the harsh words he spoke in ch. 3.

6:4 arrows of the Almighty. Job shares Eliphaz’s traditional theology and believes that God is aiming his arrows of judgment at him—though he does not know why (see 7:20 and note; 16:12–13; see also La 3:12; cf. Dt 32:23; Ps 7:13; 38:2).

6:5–6 Job claims the right to complain or lament, since he has been wounded by God and offered tasteless food (words) by his friends.

6:6 mallow. A marsh plant with little taste and slimy juice, good for camel fodder.

6:8–9 Job repeats the anguished thoughts of 3:20–26.

6:10 Then. In the afterlife, Job would have the joy of knowing that he had remained true to God and had not cursed him (see notes on 1:11,12; 2:9,10).

6:11–13 With no human resources left, Job considers his condition hopeless.

6:11 patient. See note on 9:2–3.

6:14–17 Job needs spiritual help, but his friends are proving to be as undependable as a stream that floods or dries up (cf. Gal 6:1).

6:15 brothers. By calling his friends his “brothers,” Job makes their callousness stand out more sharply.

6:19 Tema. See note on Isa 21:14. Sheba. See note on 1:15.

6:22–23 Job has not asked them for anything except what will cost them nothing: their friendship and counsel.

6:24–30 Job charges his friends with unjustly accusing him of sin.

6:25 honest words. Job is referring to his own words.

6:26 wind. See 8:2.

6:27 In addition to dishonesty, Job accuses his friends of heartless cruelty.

6:29 Job softens his tone, pleading that his friends take back their false accusations.

7:1–21 Having replied to Eliphaz, Job now addresses his complaint toward God.

7:1 hard service. See 14:14. The Hebrew for this expression sometimes implies military service. It is also used in reference to the Babylonian exile (see Isa 40:2 and note).

7:2 evening shadows. End of the workday.

7:5 See note on 2:7.

7:6 weaver’s shuttle. See photo.

7:7 my life is but a breath. As a chronic sufferer he has lost all sense of purpose in life (see v. 3; see also Ps 144:3–4). He does not anticipate healing and sees death as his only escape.

7:8 you will look . . . no more. See v. 21.

7:9 one who goes down to the grave does not return. Such statements are based on common observation and do not necessarily teach about what happens after death. Mesopotamian descriptions of the netherworld refer to it similarly as the “place of no return” (10:21; see note there). For the OT perspective on life after death, see Ps 6:5 and note.

7:11 not keep silent. Job is determined to cry out against the apparent injustice of God, who, it seems, will not leave him alone (vv. 17–20). speak out in . . . anguish. See Jer 4:19. bitterness of . . . soul. See 10:1 and note; 21:25; 27:2.

7:12 the sea, or the monster of the deep. See 3:8 and NIV text note. The fearsome sea monster was a symbol of chaos (see Ps 74:13–14 and note; Isa 27:1 and note; 51:9), and Job objects to being treated like it.

7:13–15 Job thinks that even the nightmares and hallucinations that disturb his rest are from God.

7:16 I despise my life. See note on 9:21.

7:17–18 What is mankind that you make so much of them . . . ? See Ps 144:3; cf. Ps 8:4–8, where the answer is given that humanity is created in God’s image to have dominion over the world (see notes on Ge 1:26–28; Ps 8:6–8). Job’s words (vv. 19–21) are a parody on this theme—as if God’s only interest in people is to scrutinize them unmercifully and take quick offense at their slightest fault.

7:19 even for an instant. The Hebrew metaphor for this phrase is: “long enough for me to swallow my saliva.”

7:20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you . . . ? Though he has not been perfect, Job wonders what terrible sin he has committed that deserves this kind of suffering? you who see everything we do. The Hebrew for this clause is used in a favorable sense in Isa 27:3, but here Job complains that God is too critical (cf. v. 12). made me your target. See note on 6:4. burden to you. See NIV text note. Ancient Hebrew scribes report that a change in the text had been made from “you” to “myself” because the reading “you” involved too presumptuous a questioning of God’s justice.

7:21 offenses . . . sins. Job confesses that he is a sinner, but he cannot understand why God refuses to forgive him. lie down in the dust. Of the netherworld, as in Mesopotamian descriptions of it (see note on v. 9).

8:2 How long . . . ? See 18:2. In contrast to the older Eliphaz, Bildad is impatient.

8:3–7 Bildad reasons as follows: God cannot be unjust, so Job and his family must be suffering as a result of sinfulness. Job should plead for mercy, and if he has been upright, God will give him greater blessings than before.

8:6 if you are pure and upright. We know God’s verdict about Job (1:8; 2:3), but Bildad is confident that Job is a hypocrite (v. 13).

8:7 See v. 21. Bildad spoke more accurately than he realized (42:10–17).

8:8–10 Eliphaz appealed to revelation from the spirit world (4:12–21), while Bildad appeals to the accumulated wisdom of tradition.

8:9 our days . . . are but a shadow. A common motif in wisdom literature (see 14:2 and note; 1Ch 29:15; Ps 102:11; 144:4; Ecc 6:12; 8:13).

8:11–19 A practical wisdom poem, giving words of instruction learned from the “former generation” and “their ancestors” (v. 8). It is introduced in v. 10 and applied to Job in vv. 20–22.

8:20 Bildad is blunt about Job’s being an evildoer, whereas Eliphaz had resorted to insinuation (4:7–9).

8:21 See note on v. 7.

8:22 clothed in. See note on Ps 109:29.

9:2–3 Job does not believe he is sinless (see note on 1:1), but he wishes to have his day in court so he can prove he is innocent of the kind of sin that deserves the suffering he endures. In his despair he voices awful complaints against God (vv. 16–20,22–24,29–35; 10:1–7,13–17). Yet he does not abandon God or curse him (see 10:2,8–12; see also Introduction: Theological Theme and Message), as Satan said he would (see 1:11 and note; 2:5; cf. 2:9). Ch. 42 implies that Job persevered, but chs. 9–10 show that he did so with impatience (4:2; 6:11; 21:4). Cf. Jas 5:11, which speaks of Job’s perseverance, not his “patience” (as traditionally translated).

9:3 dispute. See v. 14. Job’s speech is filled with the imagery of the courtroom: “answer him” (vv. 3,15,32), “argue with him” (v. 14), “innocent . . . plead . . . Judge” (v. 15), “summoned” (v. 16), “pronounce me guilty” (v. 20), “judges” (v. 24), “court” (v. 32), “charges . . . against me” (10:2), “witnesses” (10:17). Job argues his innocence, but he feels that because God is so great there is no use in contending with him (v. 14). Job’s innocence does him no good (v. 15).

9:5–10 A beautiful hymn about God’s greatness. But Job is not blessed by it, for he does not see that God’s power is controlled by goodness and justice (vv. 11–13).

9:6 For the metaphor of the earth resting on a foundation, see 38:6; 1Sa 2:8 and note; Ps 24:2 and note; 75:3; 104:5.

9:8 stretches out the heavens. Either (1) creates the heavens (Isa 44:24), or perhaps (2) causes the dawn to spread, like someone stretching out a tent (Ps 104:2). treads on the waves. Canaanite texts describe the goddess Asherah as walking on the sea (or sea-god) in authority over it. Similarly, God “treads on the waves,” asserting his authority over the sea (see Mk 6:48–50 and parallels).

9:9 Bear . . . Orion . . . Pleiades. These three constellations are mentioned again in 38:31–32, and the last two are mentioned in Am 5:8 (see note there). Despite their limited knowledge of astronomy, the ancient Israelites were awed by the fact that God had created the constellations.

9:10 The same words are spoken by Eliphaz in 5:9.

9:12 who can stop him? Job argues that God has an unchallengeable, sovereign freedom that works to accomplish everything he pleases.

9:13 Rahab. A mythical sea monster (26:12), elsewhere used as symbolic of Egypt (see Isa 30:7 and note). See 3:8; 7:12 and notes. The name Rahab in Jos 2 is from a different Hebrew root.

9:14–20 In light of God’s sovereignty (vv. 5–13), Job cannot possibly contend with him.

9:15 Job believes that his only recourse before the lofty majesty of God is to throw himself on God’s mercy.

9:17 Job does not know that God has allowed Satan to crush him for a high purpose.

9:20 my mouth would condemn me. See 15:6.

9:21 I despise my own life. See 7:16; words of despairing resignation that would be partially echoed in Job’s final outpouring of repentance (see 42:6 and note).

9:22–24 God has become Job’s great enigma. From Job’s perspective, he can see no justice in God’s actions. However, the God of the Bible is not morally indifferent (cf. God’s words in 38:2; 40:2 and Job’s response in 42:3).

9:24 blindfolds its judges. Statues of Lady Justice are blindfolded, implying that she will judge impartially. But Job’s accusation against God is that he has blindfolded the judges so that they see neither guilt nor innocence.

9:26 boats of papyrus. See note on Ex 2:3.

9:28 you will not hold me innocent. Job wants to stand before God as an innocent man—not sinless, but innocent of any sin commensurate with his suffering.

9:29 already found guilty. As appears from the bitter suffering he is enduring.

9:30 cleansing powder. A vegetable alkali used as a cleansing agent (Jer 2:22). The Hebrew underlying this word is translated “soap” in Mal 3:2.

9:33 someone to mediate between us. See note on 5:1. God is so immense that Job feels he needs someone who can help him, someone who can argue his case in court. Job’s call is not directly predicting the mediatorship of Christ, for Job is not looking for one to forgive him but for one who can testify to his innocence (see 16:18–21; 19:25–26 and notes).

9:34 See 13:21. God’s rod. Symbolic of divine judgment and wrath (see, e.g., Ps 89:30–37; La 3:1 and notes).

10:1 I loathe my very life. See note on 9:21.

10:3 Job imagines that God is angry with him, an innocent man (see 9:28 and note), and that he takes delight in the wicked. Such words are a reminder that people should not argue theology in a time of suffering (see 2:13 and note). In times of severe suffering, people may say things that require a response of love and understanding. Job himself will eventually repent (see 42:6 and note), and God will forgive him.

10:4–7 Job says that since God is omniscient, he surely knows that Job is innocent.

10:8–17 Job continues to question God as if he were his adversary in court. He wants to know how God, who so wonderfully formed him in the womb, could all the while have planned (see v. 13) to punish him—even though he may be innocent.

10:8–11 A poetic description of God forming a baby in the womb (see Ps 139:13–16 and notes).

10:8 See Ps 119:73.

10:9 molded me like clay. See notes on 4:19; Jer 18:6; see also photo. turn me to dust. See note on Ge 3:19.

10:13–17 Job laments that whether he is guilty or innocent, the all-powerful God will not treat him justly.

10:17 witnesses against me. See note on 9:3.

10:18–22 See notes on ch. 3.

10:21 place of no return. See note on 7:9. land of gloom and utter darkness. See 38:17. Ancient Mesopotamian documents refer to the netherworld as the “house of darkness” (see note on Ecc 12:5).

11:1–20 Like Eliphaz (4:7–11) and Bildad (8:3–6), Zophar claims that Job’s sins have caused his troubles.

11:2–3 Zophar’s failure to put himself in Job’s place before condemning him shows a lack of compassion. Job has sincerely challenged what he perceives to be God’s unjust actions (9:14–24), but he has not mocked God, as Zophar accuses him of having done.

11:4 I am pure. In 10:7,15 Job had disclaimed being guilty, and in 9:21 he said he was “blameless,” the word God used to describe him in 1:8; 2:3. Zophar, however, implies that Job was claiming complete purity, but Job nowhere makes such a claim.

11:5 Zophar thought God should speak against Job, but eventually God spoke against Zophar himself (see 42:7–9 and notes).

11:6 true wisdom has two sides. OT wisdom literature (especially Proverbs) makes abundant use of the term mashal (“proverb,” “riddle,” “parable”), which often had a hidden as well as an obvious meaning. Zophar thinks Job is shallow and lacks an understanding of the true nature of God (see vv. 7–9). God has even forgotten some of your sin. Meaning Job deserves worse than what God has given him, since God has “forgotten” (i.e., not counted against him) some of his sin.

11:7 Unwittingly, Zophar anticipates the Lord’s discourses in 38:1—42:6.

11:8–9 In the same way that Zophar speaks of the height, depth, length and width of God’s knowledge, Paul speaks of Christ’s love (Eph 3:18).

11:8 what can you do? Can you climb into the heavens and explore God’s knowledge?

11:11–12 deceivers . . . the witless. Zophar claims that it would take a miracle to change Job.

11:12 The NIV text note contrasts two related but different biblical animals—the wild donkey and the domestic donkey. Then the point would be that a witless man can no more become wise than a wild donkey can be born as a domestic one.

11:13–20 Zophar assumes that Job’s problems are rooted in his sin; all Job has to do is to repent, and then his life will become blessed and happy. But God nowhere guarantees a life “brighter than noonday” (v. 17) simply because we are his children. He has higher purposes for us than our physical prosperity, or people courting our favor (v. 19). Zophar’s philosophy conflicts with that of Ps 73.

11:13 stretch out your hands to him. To pray for help (see Ex 9:29; 17:11 and notes; Ps 28:2; 44:20; 77:2; 88:9; 141:2; 143:6; Isa 1:15; 1Ti 2:8).

11:15 free of fault, you will lift up your face. Zophar echoes Job’s thought in 10:15.

11:20 Bildad ended his speech in a similar way (8:22).

12:1—14:22 As before, Job’s reply is divided into two parts: He speaks to his three friends (12:2—13:19), then to God (13:20—14:22).

12:2 For the first time, Job reacts with sarcasm to the harshness of his counselors (v. 20).

12:3 Who does not know . . . ? See v. 9. The advice of Job’s friends is trivial and commonplace.

12:4 God . . . answered. Job may be referring to the days before his suffering began (contrast 9:16), or he may be speaking sarcastically.

12:5 The prosperous despise those who, like Job, have trouble.

12:6 To Job, the wicked appear to have a peaceful life, as if God were protecting them. Such statements (9:21–24) irked the counselors and made them brand Job as a man whose feet were slipping (v. 5).

12:7–12 Job appeals to all creation to testify that God does what he pleases.

12:9 that the hand of the LORD has done this. An echo of Isa 41:20. LORD The only place in Job’s and his friends’ speeches (chs. 3–37) where the divine name “LORD” (Hebrew Yahweh) is used (see Introduction: Author).

12:11 Echoed by Elihu in 34:3. Cf. 6:6, where Job says that Eliphaz’s words are like “tasteless food.”

12:12 Job sarcastically chides his counselors for being elders and yet lacking in true wisdom.

12:13–25 The theme of this section is stated in v. 13: God is sovereign in the created world, and especially in history. The rest of the poem includes aspects of God’s power and wisdom that may have negative consequences for human beings—e.g., the destructive forces of nature (vv. 14–15), how judges become fools (v. 17), how priests become humiliated (v. 19), how trusted advisers are silenced and elders deprived of good sense (v. 20). Contrast the claim of Eliphaz that God always uses his power in ways that make sense (5:10–16).

12:17,19 stripped . . . stripped. Nakedness was considered shameful.

12:20 See note on v. 2.

12:21a,24b The Hebrew text of these lines is repeated verbatim in Ps 107:40 (see note there).

12:22 God knows even plans conceived and held in secret.

12:25 grope in darkness. Job concludes this section with a parody of Eliphaz’s confident assertion in 5:14.

13:1–12 Job feels that his counselors have become completely untrustworthy (v. 12). He calls them quacks (v. 4; see 16:2 and note) and accuses them of showing partiality to God through their false accusations (vv. 7–8; cf. 42:7–9 and note). Someday God will examine them and punish them (vv. 9–11).

13:1 all this. God’s sovereign actions as described in ch. 12.

13:2 See 15:9. I am not inferior to you. See 12:3 and note.

13:5 See v. 13. The friends’ earlier silence may have ministered to Job (see 2:13 and note); his current retort is intended as sarcasm (cf. Pr 17:28).

13:12 defenses. Arguments in their defense of God’s judg- ment.

13:15 See NIV text note. Both readings state that no matter what happens, Job intends to seek vindication from God and believes that he will receive it (v. 18).

13:16 turn out for my deliverance. See Php 1:19 (perhaps Paul was reflecting on Job’s experience). no godless person. Job offers his willingness to stand before God and face judgment as proof of his innocence.

13:17 Job asks his friends to listen to what he is going to say to God in 13:20—14:22.

13:20 two things. Job wants God (1) to withdraw his hand of punishment (v. 21) and (2) to start communicating with him (v. 22).

13:21 See 9:34.

13:23 Job’s words are based on the counselors’ point that suffering always implies sinfulness. He does not yet understand that God has a higher purpose in his suffering. wrongs . . . sins . . . offense. These words translate the three most common Hebrew terms for sin (see Ex 34:7; see also notes on Ps 32:5; 51:1–2; Isa 59:12).

13:24 hide your face. Withhold your blessing (see note on Ps 13:1).

13:25 windblown leaf . . . dry chaff. Job asks why God would give so much negative attention to someone so insignificant.

13:26 write down . . . things against me. See Ps 130:3; Hos 13:12; contrast 1Co 13:5. sins of my youth. Since Job feels that he is not presently guilty of a sinful life, God must still be holding the sins of his youth against him.

13:27 You fasten . . . my paths. Elihu later quotes Job’s words (33:11). marks on the soles of my feet. The Babylonian Code of Hammurapi (see chart) attests to the practice of putting marks on slaves (Ex 21:6). It may be that the bottoms of slaves’ feet were marked to make tracking them easier. Job feels that he is being hounded and harassed by God, who has taken him captive and is tormenting him (v. 25; see also photo).

13:28—14:1 The introduction to ch. 14, expressing the pessimistic theme that the legacy of human beings is trouble and their destiny is death.

13:28 garment eaten by moths. See Mt 6:19–20 and notes; Lk 12:33.

14:1 See 5:7 and note.

14:2–6 A poem centered around v. 4 (v. 2 corresponds to v. 5, and v. 3 to v. 6). Job complains to God: Given the insignificance of humans and their inherent impurity, why do you take them so seriously (13:25)?

14:2 They . . . wither away. Life at best is brief and fragile (see 8:9; Ps 37:2; Isa 40:7,24; cf. Jas 1:10). like fleeting shadows. See note on 8:9.

14:7–12 People are not like a tree that revives even after it has been cut down (vv. 7–9), but are like a lake or riverbed that is not replenished with water when it runs dry (vv. 10–12).

14:13–17 Job’s spirit now appears to rise above the despair engendered by his rotting body. Although resurrection in the fullest sense is not taught here, Job is saying that if God so desires he is able to hide Job in the grave, then raise him back to life at a time when the divine anger is past.

14:14 hard service. See note on 7:1. renewal. The Hebrew root underlying this word is translated “sprout” in v. 7.

14:18–22 Job’s pessimism arises not from skepticism about the possibility of resurrection from the dead but rather from God’s apparent unwillingness to do something immediately for a person like him, whose life has become a nightmare of pain and mourning.

15:1–6 Up to this point Eliphaz has been the most sympathetic of the three counselors, but now he has run out of patience with Job and denounces him more severely than before.

15:2 empty. The Hebrew for this word is translated “long-winded” in 16:3, where Job hurls Eliphaz’s charges back at him. hot east wind. The sirocco that blows in from the desert (see 27:21; 38:24; see also notes on Ge 41:6; Jer 4:11).

15:4 piety. See note on 4:6.

15:5 See Mt 15:11,17–18.

15:6 mouth condemns you. See 9:20.

15:7–10 Eliphaz says that Job presumes to be wise enough to sit among the members of God’s council in heaven (see note on 1:6), when in reality he is no wiser than ordinary elders and sages on earth.

15:10 In ancient times, wisdom was associated with advanced age (cf. 32:6–9).

15:11–13 Eliphaz chides Job for replying in rage to his friends’ attempts to console him with gentle words, which Eliphaz believes come from God himself (v. 11). But Eliphaz has been guilty of cruel insinuation (ch. 5), and the other two counselors have been even more malicious. Genuine words of comfort for Job have been few indeed (4:2–6).

15:14–16 See 25:4–6. Eliphaz repeats what he had already said in 4:17–19: If God finds fault even with angels, what hope do mere mortals have to be found blameless in his eyes?

15:14 born of woman. An echo of Job’s words in 14:1.

15:15 holy ones. Angels (see note on 5:1).

15:16 drink up evil like water. See Elihu’s description of Job in 34:7.

15:17–26 Eliphaz now bolsters his earlier advice with traditional wisdom: The wicked can never escape the suffering they deserve.

15:19 no foreigners moved among them. Corrupting the community’s traditions.

15:20–35 A poem on the fate of the wicked (8:11–19). Eliphaz continues with a variety of figures: belligerent sinners who attack God (vv. 24–26); fat, rich wicked people who finally get what they deserve (vv. 27–32); grapevines stripped before the fruit is ripe (v. 33a); olive trees shedding their blossoms (v. 33b). As long as Eliphaz rejects Job’s insistence that the wicked go on prospering, he does not have to wrestle with the disturbing corollary: the mystery of why the innocent sometimes suffer.

15:23,30 darkness. Death, characterized by the journey to the netherworld (see note on 10:21).

15:27 To be fat was often considered a sign of wealth and blessing since the wealthy could consistently eat plenty of rich food.

15:35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. See Isa 59:4 and note. Once initiated, sinful thoughts develop quickly into evil acts (cf. Jas 1:15 and note).

16:1–5 Job replies that helpful advice is usually brief and encouraging, not lengthy and judgmental.

16:2 miserable comforters. See note on 13:1–12. Job would eventually be comforted, but not by his three friends (see 42:11).

16:3 long-winded. See note on 15:2.

16:4 shake . . . head. A gesture of insult and scorn (Ps 22:7; Jer 48:27; Mt 27:39).

16:9 The figure here is graphic and disturbing: God, like a ferocious lion (10:16), attacks and tears at Job’s flesh.

16:10–14 Job sees himself as God’s target and views his situation as the reverse of Eliphaz’s description in 15:25–26.

16:12 All was well . . . but he shattered me. See 2:3 and note. made me his target. See note on 6:4.

16:15–17 Job summarizes his misery: Though innocent, he continues to suffer.

16:15 sackcloth . . . dust. Signs of mourning (see notes on Ge 37:34; Jnh 3:5–6).

16:18–21 Verse 18 (v. 22; 17:1) indicates that Job does not think he will live long enough to be vindicated before his peers. His only hope is that in heaven he has a friend (v. 20), a holy one (5:1), who will be his “witness,” his “advocate,” his “intercessor,” one who will plead with God on his behalf (v. 21; see 5:1; 9:33 and notes).

16:18 blood . . . cry. Job felt that his blood, like Abel’s (see Ge 4:10 and note), was innocent and would therefore cry out from the ground after his death.

16:22 Only a few years will pass. Job does not expect his death immediately, but he does expect it much sooner than if he had not been afflicted. path of no return. Path to the netherworld (see notes on 7:9; 10:21; see also 17:1).

17:1–5 In light of Job’s suffering and the mocking of his friends (vv. 1–2), Job realizes that only God can vindicate him. So he asks God for a pledge that he is right, that he is not guilty of sins that deserve punishment (as his counselors have said).

17:1 the grave awaits me. See note on vv. 10–16.

17:4 their minds. Those of his three friends.

17:5 Job quotes a proverb to counter the false accusations of his friends.

17:6–9 The guarantee Job asked for (v. 3) is not provided, so he feels that God is responsible for making him an object of scorn. If the tone of vv. 8–9 is intended as sarcastic (as v. 10 would seem to indicate), the so-called “upright” and “innocent” (v. 8) refer to the three counselors.

17:6 byword. See 30:9; an object of scorn and ridicule (see the covenant curse in Dt 28:37). in whose face people spit. See 30:10; see also Isa 50:6 and note; Mt 27:30.

17:7 frame is but a shadow. See note on 2:7.

17:10–16 Zophar had promised that Job’s repentance would turn his darkness into light (11:17). Job now makes a parody on such advice (vv. 12–16). His only hope is the grave (v. 1), which will not be as his home had been (vv. 13–15).

17:13 home. See Ecc 12:5 and note. darkness. The netherworld (see 10:21; 18:18 and notes).

17:14 In the grave, one’s family consists only of decomposition and maggots.

17:15 where . . . is my hope . . . ? See 14:19.

17:16 gates of death. A metaphor for the entrance to the afterlife (38:17; Mt 16:18). In Mesopotamian literature, all who entered the netherworld passed through a series of seven gates. dust. See note on 7:21.

18:1–4 Bildad resents what he perceives to be a condescending attitude. He considers Job’s emotional reaction as self-centered and irrational.

18:5–21 Another poem on the fate of the wicked (8:11–19; 15:20–35). Bildad wants to convince Job that he is wrong when he claims that the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. Bildad is absolutely certain that every wicked person gets paid in full, in this life, for his wicked deeds.

18:5 The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out. See 21:17; Pr 13:9 and note. Life, symbolized by light, is extinguished.

18:13 death’s firstborn. Probably a deadly disease (cf. 5:7 and note).

18:14 king of terrors. A vivid figure of speech referring to death (or the realm of the dead), which is personified in v. 13. Canaanite literature pictured death (or the grave) as the devouring god Mot. Isaiah reverses the figure and envisions the Lord as swallowing up death forever (see Isa 25:8 and note; see also 1Co 15:54).

18:15 burning sulfur. Reminiscent of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (see Ge 19:24 and note).

18:16 roots . . . and . . . branches. Figurative for descendants (see, e.g., Isa 11:1,10) and/or ancestors (see, e.g., Jdg 5:14; Isa 14:29). See also Am 2:9 and note.

18:17 memory of him perishes. Apparently, for Bildad, the only retribution beyond death is having one’s memory (name) cut off by not leaving any heirs (v. 19).

18:18 darkness. The netherworld (see 10:21 and note; 17:13).

18:21 evil man . . . does not know God. Having no intimate knowledge of God is synonymous with being wicked (Hos 4:1–2,6).

19:3 Ten times. Several times. Ten is often used as a round number (see, e.g., Ge 31:41; 1Sa 1:8).

19:4 my concern alone. Job’s friends have no right to interfere or to behave as if they were God (v. 22).

19:6 wronged. Cf. 40:8 and note. The Hebrew for this verb is twice translated “pervert” in 8:3 (see note there), where Bildad denied that God perverts justice. But Job, struggling with the enigma of his suffering, can only conclude that God is his enemy, though in fact he is his friend who delights in him (1:8; 2:3). Job’s true enemy, of course, is Satan, the accuser (see notes on 1:6,12). drawn his net. The wicked may get themselves into trouble, as Bildad had pointed out (18:8–10), but Job here attributes his suffering to God.

19:7 I cry, ‘Violence!’ See Hab 1:2–4 and notes.

19:8–12 In Job’s mind, God is at war with him (see 16:10–14 and note).

19:10 uproots my hope like a tree. Unlike 14:7–9, where Job had used as a symbol of hope a tree that is cut down but later sprouts again. See 24:20.

19:12 siege ramp. See 30:12.

19:13–19 See Jer 12:6 and note. Very little in life hurts more than rejection by one’s family and friends. Job’s children are gone, and his wife, brothers, friends and servants find him repulsive.

19:17 breath is offensive. See note on 2:7.

19:18 little boys scorn me. An intolerable insult in a patriarchal society, where one’s elders were to be honored and respected (see Ex 20:12 and note).

19:20 skin and bones. See note on 2:7. skin of my teeth. The NIV text note understands the phrase to imply that even Job’s teeth are gone.

19:21 hand of God has struck me. See note on v. 6; see also 1:11; 2:4–6.

19:23–27 Probably the best-known and most-loved passage in the book of Job, reaching a high point in Job’s understanding of his own situation and of his relationship to God. Its position between two sections in which Job pleads with (vv. 21–22) and then warns (vv. 28–29) his friends causes it to stand out even more boldly.

19:23 my words. Job wishes that his complaint and defense were recorded, so that even after his death they would endure until he is finally vindicated. scroll. See note on Ex 17:14.

19:24 iron. See also 20:24; 28:2; 40:18; 41:27. Iron did not come into common use in the ancient Near East until the twelfth century bc, though limited use of iron in the region is attested at least as early as 2000 bc.

19:25 I know that my redeemer lives. This staunch confession of faith has been appropriated by generations of Christians, especially through the medium of Handel’s The Messiah. But Christians celebrate redemption from guilt and judgment; Job had something else in mind. Although in other contexts he desires a “vindicator” (see NIV text note; see also Pr 23:11 and note) as an advocate in heaven who would plead with God on his behalf (see 9:33–34; 16:18–21 and notes; see also note on 5:1), here the “redeemer” seems to be none other than God himself (see note on Ru 2:20). Job expresses confidence that ultimately God will vindicate his faithful servants in the face of all false accusations. in the end. After Job’s life has ended. he will stand. To defend and vindicate me (see 42:7–10 and notes).

19:26 my skin has been destroyed. Job senses that the ravages of his disease will eventually bring about his death. I will see God. He is absolutely certain, however, that death is not the end of existence and that someday he will stand in the presence of his divine “redeemer” (v. 25) and see him with his own eyes (v. 27; see Mt 5:8; 1Jn 3:2). See also note on 42:5.

19:28 hound. The Hebrew for this verb is translated “pursue” in v. 22. It serves as a clue that Job’s tirade against the counselors is being resumed after the intervening section (vv. 23–27).

20:1–29 Yet another poem on the fate of the wicked as held by the traditional theology of Job’s friends (8:11–19; 15:20–35; 18:5–21).

20:2–3 Zophar takes Job’s words, especially his closing words in 19:28–29, as a personal affront. Job has dared to assert that on Zophar’s theory of retribution Zophar himself is due for punishment.

20:4–11 Zophar insists that the joy and vigor of the wicked will always be brief and elusive (see Ps 73:18–20 and note).

20:6 pride . . . reaches to the heavens. See Ge 11:4 and note.

20:7 dung. A symbol of what is temporary and worthless (1Ki 14:10).

20:10,19 Oppression of the poor is the mark of the truly wicked (see, e.g., Am 2:6–8 and notes; 8:4–8). On this subject, Job had no quarrel with Zophar (31:16–23).

20:11 dust. See note on 7:21.

20:12–15 The wicked deeds of evil people are like tasty food that pleases their palates but turns sour in their stomachs.

20:15 riches he swallowed. After taking what belonged to the poor (see note on vv. 10,19).

20:17 honey and cream. See 29:6 and note; cf. Dt 6:3 and note.

20:18 What he toiled for . . . he will not enjoy. A common theme in wisdom literature (see, e.g., Ecc 2:18–23).

20:20–29 Although the wicked may prosper for a time, when God vents his anger against them they will be utterly destroyed.

20:24 iron. See note on 19:24.

20:26 darkness. See note on 10:21.

20:27 See Dt 30:19 and note.

20:28 flood . . . rushing waters. Caused by intermittent streams that can overflow and cause extensive damage during the rainy season (6:15–16).

20:29 Like Bildad in 18:21 (see note there), Zophar concludes his speech with a summary statement in which he claims that all he has said is in accord with God’s plans for judging sinners. Such is the fate God allots the wicked. Repeated almost verbatim by Job in 27:13.

21:1–34 In this speech, Job requests the consolation of a listening ear (vv. 2–6), marvels at how the wicked prosper despite their rejection of God (vv. 7–21) and concludes that only God can fathom why the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer (vv. 22–34).

21:2 consolation you give me. See v. 34 (“you console me”), which, with v. 2, frames Job’s reply to Zophar.

21:4 Is my complaint directed to a human being? No, says Job, I am complaining to God, because he is responsible for my condition—at least Job so perceived it. impatient. See note on 9:2–3.

21:5 Look at me. Job addresses his three friends.

21:6 this. His complaint to God. I am terrified. To contemplate the morally upside-down situation in which the wicked flourish.

21:7–15 Job’s counselors have elaborated on the fate of the wicked (8:11–19; 15:20–35; 18:5–21; ch. 20), but Job insists that experience shows just the reverse of what his friends have said. The wicked, who want to know nothing of God’s ways and who even consider prayer a useless exercise (vv. 14–15), flourish in all they do. Far from dying prematurely, as Zophar assumed concerning them (see 20:11), they live long and increase in power (v. 7). Job flatly denies (vv. 8, 11) Bildad’s claim that the wicked have no offspring or descendants (see 18:19).

21:9 rod of God. See note on 9:34.

21:16 See 22:18. Job disavows the unholy “plans of the wicked” and knows that God is in control (v. 17), but such knowledge makes God all the more of an enigma to him.

21:17 lamp of the wicked snuffed out. See 18:5 and note.

21:18 straw . . . chaff. See 13:25; see also note on Ps 1:4.

21:20 drink . . . wrath of the Almighty. See note on Isa 51:17.

21:22 Can anyone teach . . . God . . . ? See Isa 40:14. On the contrary, God is the one who does the teaching (35:11; 36:22; chs. 38–41).

21:26 dust. See note on 7:21.

21:34 how can you console me . . . ? See 16:2 and note.

22:1—26:14 The third cycle of speeches, unlike the first (chs. 4–14) and second (chs. 15–21), is truncated and abbreviated. Bildad’s speech is very brief (25:1–6), and Zophar does not speak at all. The dialogue between Job and his friends comes to an end because the friends cannot convince Job of his guilt—Job cannot acknowledge what is not true.

22:1 Eliphaz the Temanite. See note on 4:1.

22:2–4 Eliphaz’s odd reasoning is as follows: All things have their origin in God. So when people give back what God has given them, that does not enhance God in any way. Indeed, God is indifferent to human goodness, because goodness is expected of them. It is when people become wicked that God’s anger is aroused (v. 4).

22:4 piety. See note on 4:6. brings charges against. See note on 9:3.

22:5–11 In his earlier speeches, Eliphaz was the least caustic and at first even offered consolation (4:6; 5:17). But despite what he said in 4:3–4, Eliphaz now reprimands Job for gross social sins against the needy, who are naked and hungry (vv. 6–7), and against widows and the fatherless (v. 9). The only proof Eliphaz has for Job’s alleged wickedness is his present suffering (vv. 10–11). In ch. 29 Job emphatically denies the kind of behavior of which Eliphaz accuses him.

22:6 demanded security . . . stripped people of their clothing. Sins condemned by the prophets (see, e.g., Am 2:8 and note).

22:9 widows . . . fatherless. See 24:3; Isa 1:17 and note; Jas 1:27. broke the strength. The Hebrew idiom is “broke the arms” (38:15).

22:10 snares. See 19:6 and note.

22:11 dark . . . flood of water. Two common figures of trouble and distress (see Ps 42:7; Isa 8:7–8 and notes; 8:22; 43:2).

22:12–20 Eliphaz finally appears to support the argument of Bildad and Zophar, who were fully convinced that Job was a wicked man. Eliphaz makes a severe accusation: Job follows the path of the ungodly (v. 15), who defy God’s power and say, “What can the Almighty do to us?” (v. 17; see vv. 13–14). They even have contempt for God’s goodness (v. 18).

22:18 See 21:16 and note.

22:21–30 Eliphaz makes one last attempt to reach Job. In many ways it is a commendable call to repentance: Submit to God (v. 21), lay up God’s words in your heart (v. 22), return to the Almighty and forsake wickedness (v. 23), find your delight in God rather than in gold (vv. 24–26), pray and obey (v. 27) and become concerned about sinners (vv. 29–30). But Eliphaz’s advice assumes (1) that Job is a very wicked man and (2) that Job’s major concern is the return of his prosperity (v. 21). Job had already made it clear in 19:25–27 that he deeply yearned to see God and be his friend.

22:22 See Job’s response in 23:12. lay up his words in your heart. The author of Ps 119 speaks similarly about the written word God gave Israel (Ps 119:11; see Pr 2:1 and note).

22:24 assign your nuggets to the dust. Give up your love for money. gold of Ophir. The finest gold (see 28:16; see also notes on 1Ki 9:28; 10:11; Ps 45:9; Isa 13:12).

22:28 light will shine on your ways. Through obedience to the word of God (see vv. 22,27; 29:3; cf. Ps 119:105).

22:30 cleanness of your hands. Your guiltless actions (see note on Ps 24:4).

23:1–12 Job is frustrated over his apparent inability to have an audience with God, who knows that he is an upright man. Job is here answering Eliphaz’s admonition beginning in 22:21: “Submit to God and . . . prosperity will come.” Job replies that this is what he has always done (vv. 11–12). He treasures God’s words more than his daily food (cf. Ps 119:11, 101,168). He admits that God is testing him—not to purge away his sinful dross but to refine Job like gold (see 1Pe 1:7 and note).

23:2 my complaint. See 21:4 and note. his hand is heavy. See NIV text notes; 33:7 and note; see also note on 1Sa 5:6.

23:3 where to find him. See note on vv. 8–9.

23:6 not press charges against me. Job is seeking a fair trial. In 9:14–20 Job was fearful he could not find words to argue with God. Now he is confident that if God would give him a hearing, he would be acquitted (see 13:13–19; see also Ps 17:1–3; 26:1–3 and notes).

23:8–9 east . . . west . . . north . . . south. Whatever direction Job went, he could not find God (contrast Ps 139:7–10).

23:12 Job’s response to the advice offered by Eliphaz in 22:22. words . . . more than my daily bread. See Dt 8:3; Mt 4:4 and notes.

23:13–17 Although Job believes he is righteous, he is terrified because he knows God is sovereign and so his ways are often unfathomable.

23:13 he stands alone. Or “he is one (unique).” Though Job is not an Israelite, he worships the one true God—there is no other (see Dt 6:4 and note). He does whatever he pleases. He is sovereign (see Ps 115:3; 135:6 and notes; see also Lk 10:21).

23:15 I am terrified. See note on 21:6. A part of Job’s faith is the recognition that God does what he pleases. By contrast, the counselors tried to make God predictable.

23:17 I am not silenced by the darkness. Job responds to Eliphaz’s accusation in 22:11 (see note there). Darkness refers to Job’s troubles.

24:1–12 Job describes the terrible injustice that often exists in the world. Robbery of both the haves (v. 2) and the have-nots (vv. 3–4) is equally obnoxious to him. But perhaps his suffering has enabled him to empathize with the poor, who must forage for food (v. 5) and “glean in the vineyards of the wicked” (v. 6). The scene he depicts is heartrending: The naked shiver in the cold of night (vv. 7–8), fatherless infants are “snatched from the breast” (v. 9), field hands harvest food but go hungry (v. 10), vineyard workers make wine but suffer thirst (v. 11; see photo), groans rise from the dying and wounded (v. 12). Job cannot understand why God is silent and appears indifferent (vv. 1,12) in the face of such misery, but the fact that God waits disproves the counselors’ theory of suffering. Job is no more out of God’s favor as one of the victims than the criminal in vv. 13–17 is in God’s favor because of God’s inaction.

24:1 See note on vv. 21–24.

24:2 move boundary stones. A serious crime in ancient times (see note on Dt 19:14).

24:3 orphan’s . . . widow’s. The most vulnerable members of society (see 22:9; Isa 1:17; Jas 1:27 and notes).

24:5 wild donkeys. See 39:5–8.

24:6 glean. See note on Ru 1:22.

24:7,10 Job implicitly denies the accusation of Eliphaz that Job is the one responsible for oppressing the poor (see 22:6). In fact, he seems to be complaining that God is the one allowing the oppression (24:1,12).

24:11 tread . . . winepresses. See photos here and here. Their hard work (treading winepresses, crushing olives and carrying sheaves [v. 10]) yields only meager benefits.

24:13–17 A description of those who cause the suffering depicted in vv. 2–12: the murderer (v. 14), the adulterer (v. 15), the robber (v. 16). Darkness is their element, the medium in which they thrive (vv. 14–17; Jn 3:19; Ro 1:21).

24:18–20 Job seems to agree with the counselors here. It is also legitimate to translate the verses as Job’s call for redress against evildoers: “May their portion of the land be cursed . . . / may the grave snatch away . . . / May the womb forget them, / may the worm feast on them; / may the wicked be no longer remembered / but be broken like a tree.”

24:20 worm feasts on them. See 21:26; Isa 14:11; 66:24 and note; Mk 9:48 and note. broken like a tree. See note on 19:10.

24:21–24 By way of summary, Job says that God judges the wicked, but he does so in his own good time. Job wishes, however, that God would give the righteous the satisfaction of seeing it happen (v. 1).

25:1–6 See note on 22:1—26:14. Bildad adds nothing new here, and Zophar, who had already admitted how disturbed he was (20:2), does not even comment.

25:2–6 Bildad echoes Eliphaz’s earlier statements about human depravity and God’s supremacy (4:17–19; 15:14–16).

25:2 establishes order in the heights of heaven. He who establishes order in heaven is sovereign over all creation.

25:3 his forces. Angels. his light. The sun.

26:2–4 With biting sarcasm, Job responds to Bildad alone (the Hebrew for the words “you” and “your” in these verses is singular rather than plural), indicating that Eliphaz and Zophar have already been silenced.

26:2 saved the arm that is feeble. See 4:3–4; Isa 35:3; Heb 12:12.

26:5–14 Job’s highly figurative description of the vast power of God—the theme also of Bildad’s final speech (ch. 25).

26:5 The dead. The Hebrew for this expression is translated “spirits of the dead” in Pr 2:18, “spirits of the departed” in Isa 14:9 and “spirits” in Isa 26:14. The term is used figuratively of the deceased who inhabit the netherworld (see 3:13–15,17–19; see also note on 3:16). waters. Part of the world inhabited by living beings, and therefore above the netherworld.

26:6 The realm of the dead. Personified elsewhere as the “king of terrors” (18:14; see note there). Destruction. See NIV text note; see also 28:22; 31:12; Pr 15:11 and NIV text notes. In Rev 9:11, Abaddon is the name of the “angel of the Abyss.”

26:7 See 37:18. He. God. suspends the earth over nothing. Perhaps Job’s way of acknowledging that the landmasses are made secure only by God’s sustaining power.

26:12 churned up the sea. See Isa 51:15; Jer 31:35. Rahab. See note on 9:13.

26:13 gliding serpent. A description of the sea monster Leviathan (see notes on 3:8; Isa 27:1).

26:14 these are but the outer fringe of his works. What God has revealed of his dominion over natural and supernatural forces amounts to no more than a whisper. Job is impressed with the severely limited character of human understanding. Zophar had chided Job about his inability to fathom the mysteries of God (11:7–9), but the knowledge possessed by Job’s friends was not superior to that of Job himself (12:3; 13:2). thunder of his power. If it is difficult for us to comprehend the little that we know about God, how much more impossible it would be to understand the full extent of his might!

27:1–23 The dialogue-dispute section of the book begins with Job’s opening lament (ch. 3), continues with the three cycles of speeches (chs. 4–14; 15–21; 22–26) and concludes with Job’s closing discourse (ch. 27), in which he reasserts his own innocence (vv. 2–6) and eloquently describes the ultimate fate of the wicked (vv. 13–23).

27:2 As surely as God lives. The most solemn of oaths (see note on Ge 42:15). Job’s faith in God continued despite his perception of denied justice.

27:5 you. The Hebrew for this word is plural. In his summary statement, Job once again speaks to his three friends as a group.

27:6 maintain my innocence. God had spoken similarly of Job (2:3).

27:7 May my enemy be like the wicked. Job evidently calls for his “friends” (“my enemy . . . adversary”), who had falsely accused him of being wicked, to be treated as though they themselves were wicked (cf. Ps 109:6–15; 137:8–9).

27:11 I will teach you. Job is about to remind his counselors about an issue on which they all agree: that the truly wicked deserve God’s wrath (vv. 13–23). The three friends had falsely put Job in that category.

27:13–23 A poem that dramatizes the effect of Job’s earlier call for redress (v. 7).

27:13 Job echoes the words of Zophar in 20:29 (see note there).

27:17 the innocent will divide his silver. The tables will be turned (see Est 9:1 and note).

27:18 cocoon . . . hut. Symbols of fragility (see note on 4:19; Isa 1:8 and note; 24:20).

27:21 east wind. See note on 15:2.

28:1–28 Job’s friends’ application of traditional wisdom to human suffering has been even more unsatisfactory than Job’s untraditional response. Both attempts to penetrate the mystery have failed, and the dialogue has come to a stalemate. Therefore the author of the book inserts a striking wisdom poem that answers the question, “Where can wisdom be found?” (v. 12; see v. 20). The poem consists of three parts: (1) Humans find precious stones and metals by digging into the deep bowels of the earth (vv. 1–11); (2) but wisdom, the dearest treasure of all, is not found there, and it cannot be bought with precious stones or metals dug from the earth (vv. 12–19); (3) wisdom is found only in God (vv. 20–27). And God tells human beings that true wisdom for them is to “fear . . . the Lord . . . and to shun evil” (v. 28). This chapter, then, anticipates the theme of God’s speeches (38:1—42:6) and echoes the assessment of Job that God had given at the beginning (see 1:1,8 and notes; see also Introduction: Theological Theme and Message).

28:1–11 A fascinating, lyrical description of ancient mining techniques to highlight the only place where wisdom can be found—in the fear of the Lord (v. 28).

28:2 Iron. See note on 19:24.

28:3 put an end to the darkness. By using an artificial source of light, such as a torch or lamp.

28:4 dangle and sway. Mining, then as now, is difficult and dangerous work. People will hazard everything to dig up the earth’s treasures.

28:6 lapis lazuli. See v. 16; see also notes on SS 5:14; Isa 54:11.

28:9 roots of the mountains. A poetic expression emphasizing great depth (cf. Jnh 2:6).

28:10 tunnel through the rock. An eighth-century bc inscription found at Jerusalem’s Pool of Siloam testifies to the sophistication of ancient tunneling technology. See photos and accompanying text.

28:12 The questions, repeated almost verbatim in v. 20, are answered in v. 28.

28:16 gold of Ophir. See 22:24 and note.

28:18 the price of wisdom is beyond rubies. Cf. Pr 3:15; 8:11; 31:10 and note.

28:19 Cush. The upper Nile region, south of Egypt.

28:21 hidden . . . from the birds. As are precious stones and metals (v. 7).

28:22 Destruction and Death. See note on 26:6.

28:25–27 Wisdom has been with God from the time of creation itself (see Pr 8:22–31 and notes).

28:26 decree for the rain. Only God decides when and where it will rain.

28:28 fear of the Lord . . . shun evil. See the description of Job’s character in 1:1,8; 2:3. that is wisdom. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps 111:10; Pr 9:10; see Pr 1:7).

29:1—31:40 Job submits his final defense in a three-part summation: Part one (ch. 29) is a nostalgic review of his former happiness, wealth and honor; part two (ch. 30) is a lament over the loss of everything, especially his honor; part three (ch. 31) is a final protestation of his innocence.

29:1–25 A classic example of Semitic rhetoric, using the following symmetrical pattern: blessing (vv. 2–6), honor (vv. 7–10), benevolence (vv. 11–17), blessing (vv. 18–20), honor (vv. 21–25).

29:2–6 Words charged with emotion. In earlier days, God had been Job’s friend and companion.

29:3 by his light I walked. See note on 22:28.

29:5 my children were around me. See 1:2 and note.

29:6 cream . . . olive oil. Symbols of richness and luxury (see 20:17; Eze 16:19).

29:7–10 Each of these actions is a sign of deference to Job. The silence of these men acknowledges Job’s greater wisdom (vv. 21–23).

29:7 gate of the city. Where the most important business was conducted and the most significant legal cases were tried (see note on Ru 4:1). took my seat. As a city elder, a member of the ruling council (see note on Ge 19:1).

29:12–13 I rescued . . . the fatherless . . . I made the widow’s heart sing. Implicitly responding to Eliphaz’s accusation in 22:9 (see note on 22:5–11), Job expresses his concern for the helpless and unfortunate (24:9; 31:16–18, 21).

29:14 I put on righteousness . . . justice was my robe. For similar imagery, see Ps 132:9, 16; Isa 59:17; 61:10; Ro 13:14; Eph 4:24; 6:14,17 and notes; see also note on Ps 109:29.

29:18 I thought. Job muses on what might have been the course of his life.

29:20 the bow will be ever new. An archery metaphor for continued physical strength.

29:21–25 Job’s counsel was valued (vv. 21–23), his approval sought (v. 24) and his civic leadership accepted with gratitude (v. 25).

30:1–31 In contrast to the positive notes of blessing and honor sounded in ch. 29, Job now bemoans the suffering and dishonor he has been forced to undergo. Even the lowliest and most despised people now mock him (vv. 1–14). God has heaped overwhelming terrors on him (v. 15). His final, forlorn lament (v. 31) over his condition shows that his rage has not yet subsided.

30:1,9 now . . . mock me. Earlier both young and old had deferred to him (29:8–11,21–25).

30:4 salt herbs. Probably saltwort, which grows in otherwise infertile areas, including the regions where Job and his friends lived. Cf. 39:6. broom bush. A large shrub that grows in the deserts of the Middle East (see 1Ki 19:4; Ps 120:4 and notes).

30:9 those young men mock me. See v. 1 and note on vv. 1,9. byword. See note on 17:6.

30:11–15 Job uses the metaphor of a besieged city to describe his state of despair.

30:11 God has unstrung my bow. In contrast to 29:20, where Job was confident that his bow would be new and strong.

30:12 siege ramps. See 19:12.

30:14 breach. In a city wall.

30:15 driven . . . as by the wind. See v. 22.

30:17 gnawing pains. See note on 2:7.

30:18 God becomes like clothing to me. The meaning of this verse is obscure. It may mean that God binds Job tightly like clothing (as the NIV), or that God seizes Job and drags him by his clothing (see NIV text note).

30:19 dust and ashes. Symbolic of humiliation and insignificance (see note on Ge 18:27). Job would later use “dust and ashes” to symbolize repentance (42:6).

30:20–23 Job accuses God of abusing his power by attacking him despite his pleas for mercy.

30:24 Job feels that he has been treated unjustly, whether by God or by humans.

30:26 Cf. Isa 5:2,7.

30:28 blackened. From the disease that has ravaged his body (see v. 30; see also note on 2:7).

30:29 brother of jackals . . . companion of owls. The prophet Micah uses similar imagery of himself in Mic 1:8.

30:30 fever. See note on 2:7.

31:1–40 The climactic section of Job’s three-part summation (see note on 29:1—31:40). It is negative in the sense that Job denies all the sins listed, but it has the positive purpose of attesting loyalty to God as his sovereign Lord. In the strongest legal terms, using a series of self-maledictory oaths, Job completes his defense. No more can be said (v. 40). He now affixes his signature to the document (v. 35), and the burden of proof that he is a wretched sinner rests with God. Job’s call for vindication had reached a climax earlier in 27:2–6. Now he amplifies that statement with the details of his godly life. Each of seven disavowals (vv. 5–7,9,13,16–21, 24–27,29–34,38–39) is accompanied by an oath that calls for the punishment the offense deserves (vv. 8,10–12,14–15,22–23, 28,40 [but see note on v. 14]). There is some question whether the “if” clauses are followed by an explicit maledictory oath (see, e.g., vv. 29–34), but even in those possible cases where an explicit “then” clause is absent, this common Hebrew literary convention serves to dramatically highlight the dire consequences anticipated from a failure to fulfill the stated conditions. The principle at work is the so-called law of retaliation (see Ex 21:23–25; Lev 24:20 and notes).

31:1–12 Job begins with sins of the heart, especially sexual lust (vv. 1–4), cheating in business (vv. 5–8) and marital infidelity (vv. 9–12).

31:1 look lustfully at a young woman. To do so is to sin (see Mt 5:28; 2Pe 2:14 and notes).

31:4 Echoed by Elihu in 34:21.

31:6 God weigh me in honest scales. See photo; see also 6:2; Pr 16:11 and note; 21:2; 24:12; Am 8:5; Mic 6:11. blameless. Does not imply sinless perfection (see note on 1:1).

31:10 grind another man’s grain. May she serve another man and not me, either as his slave or wife.

31:12 Destruction. See note on 26:6.

31:13–23 Job reveals genuine understanding concerning matters of social justice: Human equality is based on creation (vv. 13–15), compassion toward those in need is essential (vv. 16–20), and power and influence must not be abused (vv. 21–23).

31:14 what will I do . . . ? Or “then what will I do . . . ?”

31:16–17 widow . . . fatherless. The most vulnerable members of society (see note on 29:12–13).

31:18 A parenthetical thought.

31:24–28 Covetous greed (vv. 24–25) and idolatry (vv. 26–27) are equally reprehensible in the eyes of God (v. 28; see Mt 6:19–21 and notes; Col 3:5).

31:25 my great wealth. See 1:3 and note; see also 1:10.

31:26–28 The sun and moon are not to be objects of worship (see note on Ge 1:16; see also Dt 4:19; 17:3; Eze 8:16–17).

31:27 kiss. An ancient gesture of worship (see 1Ki 19:18; Hos 13:2 and note).

31:29–32 The sin of gloating over one’s enemy was condemned by Moses (see Ex 23:4–5 and note) and by Christ (Mt 5:43–47).

31:30 A parenthetical thought.

31:32 A parenthetical thought.

31:33–34 A strong denial of hypocrisy.

31:33 as people do. See NIV text note and Ge 3:8–10; Hos 6:7 and note.

31:35–37 Job’s final call for justice.

31:35 someone to hear me. See notes on 5:1; 9:33; 16:18–21; 19:25. I sign now my defense. His signature endorses every word of the oaths he has just taken. let the Almighty answer me. See note on 38:1. accuser. The Hebrew for this word is not the same as that for “Satan” (see note on 1:6). Here Job’s accuser is either (1) a human adversary (perhaps one of the three friends) or (2) God himself. In any event, Job assumes that accusations have been lodged against him before the court of heaven to which God has responded with judgments.

31:36 shoulder. Inscriptions were sometimes worn on the shoulder as a perpetual reminder of their importance (Ex 28:12).

31:38–40 A climactic oath that completes an earlier theme and creates a unique emphasis. Job calls for a curse on his land if he has not been fully committed to social justice (see also vv. 13–15).

31:40 The words of Job are ended. His complaints and arguments are now over. He will make only brief statements of contrition (see 40:3–5; 42:1–6 and notes) following the divine discourses.

32:1—37:24 A fourth counselor, named Elihu and younger than the other three (32:4,6–7,9), has been standing on the sidelines, giving deference to age and listening to the dialogue-dispute. But now he declares himself ready to show that both Job and the three other counselors are in the wrong. The author introduces Elihu’s four poetic speeches (32:6—33:33; ch. 34; ch. 35; chs. 36–37) with a short prose preface (32:1–5).

32:1 righteous in his own eyes. Job insisted on his innocence in spite of his terrible suffering.

32:2–3 angry. Elihu considers Job’s emphasis on vindicating himself rather than God reprehensible, but he also believes that the friends’ inability to refute Job was tantamount to condemning God (see NIV text note on v. 3).

32:2 Elihu. Means “He is my God.” Elihu’s speeches in some ways anticipate the divine word out of the storm (38:1—42:6). Buzite. An inhabitant of Buz, a desert region in the east (Jer 25:23).

32:6,10,17 tell . . . what I know. The impetuous Elihu is eager to share his knowledge and assumes that he can communicate it effectively (see note on 36:4).

32:6 young . . . fearful. See Jer 1:6–8; 1Ti 4:12; 2Ti 1:7 and notes.

32:8 spirit. See NIV text note. In parallel with “breath of the Almighty,” spirit here perhaps refers to the “Spirit of God” (33:4).

32:14 I will not answer him with your arguments. Elihu feels that something important has been left out and, where the wisdom of age has failed, he by the Spirit of God (see NIV text note on v. 8) has the understanding to supply the right answers.

32:15–16 words have failed them . . . they stand there with no reply. See v. 5. The breakdown of the third cycle in the dialogue-dispute cut short Bildad’s last word and left Zophar without a third speech (see note on 22:1—26:14).

32:18 I am full of words. Elihu’s speeches continue unabated through ch. 37. He has a genuine contribution to make, however, to the problems Job is facing. At the same time, he does not stoop to false accusation about Job’s earlier life but usually confines his criticism of Job to quotations from Job himself. This is perhaps the reason that God, in the epilogue, does not condemn Elihu along with Job’s three friends (see 42:7–9 and note).

32:19 new wineskins ready to burst. Old wineskins might be expected to crack or break (see Mt 9:17 and note), but not new ones. Elihu is obviously eager to speak.

33:1–33 Elihu turns to Job and speaks directly to him. Unlike the three friends, he addresses Job by name (vv. 1,31; 37:14).

33:1 pay attention to everything I say. He is thoroughly convinced of the importance and wisdom of the advice he is about to give (vv. 31,33).

33:4 Spirit of God has made me. See Ge 1:2 and note. breath of the Almighty. See 32:8. gives me life. See 27:3; see also Ge 2:7 and note.

33:5 Answer me. He opens and closes his speech (v. 32) with the same plea. if you can. His attitude of superiority shows through.

33:6 I . . . am a piece of clay. See note on 4:19.

33:7 hand . . . heavy on. The idiom, meaning to deal severely with, is elsewhere used only of God (see 23:2 and NIV text notes; see also note on 1Sa 5:6).

33:8 But you have said. Elihu’s method is to quote Job (vv. 9–11; 34:5–6,9; 35:2–3) and then show him where and how he is wrong. The quotations are not always verbatim, which indicates that Elihu is content simply to repeat the substance of Job’s arguments.

33:11 Elihu quotes Job’s words almost verbatim here (13:27).

33:12 you are not right. Elihu feels that Job needs to be corrected. Certainly Job’s perception of God as his enemy (v. 10; 13:24; 19:11) is wrong, but Elihu is also offended by what he considers Job’s claim to purity (v. 9). Job, however, had never claimed to be “pure . . . and free from sin” (v. 9), though some of his words were also understood that way by Eliphaz (15:14–16). Job admits being a sinner (7:21; 13:26) but disclaims the outrageous sins for which he thinks he is being punished. His complaints about God’s silence (v. 13) are also an offense to Elihu, since God does communicate in various ways (vv. 14–18). He imputes to Job the blanket statement that God never speaks to human beings, whereas Job’s point is that God is silent in his present experience.

33:15 In a dream . . . when deep sleep falls on people. Elihu echoes Eliphaz (4:13).

33:18 pit. A metaphor for the grave (vv. 22,24,28,30), as often in the Psalms. perishing by the sword. See 36:12. The reading in the NIV text note on both verses refers to the figurative waterway between the land of the living and the realm of the dead. The Hebrew for “river” here is shelah (from a root that means “to send”) and sometimes means “water channel” (see Ne 3:15 and NIV text note), a conduit through which water is “sent” (see Jn 9:7 and note) by a spring. The “river” therefore is the figurative means of passage between this world and the next.

33:19 chastened on a bed of pain. Dreams and visions (v. 15) are not the only ways in which God speaks. He can talk to us in ways that we do not perceive (v. 14). Elihu rightly states that God speaks to humans in order to turn them from sin. But he overlooks Job’s reason for wanting an audience with God: to find out what sins he is being accused of (13:22–23).

33:23–28 After emphasizing the importance of the chastening aspect of suffering, a point mentioned only briefly by Eliphaz (see 5:17; see also note on 5:17–26), Elihu now moves on to the possibility of deliverance and restoration based on a mediator (see note on 5:1). He further allows for God’s gracious response of forgiveness where sincere repentance is present (vv. 27–28). But Elihu is still ignorant of the true nature of Job’s relationship to God, known only in the divine council (chs. 1–2).

33:24 Spare them from going down to the pit. See Isa 38:17 and note. ransom. See Ps 49:7–9 and note.

33:25 flesh be renewed like a child’s . . . restored. Similar phrases are used in 2Ki 5:14 with reference to healing from leprosy.

33:26 see God’s face. Experience God’s presence intimately (see Ge 16:13 and note).

33:29 twice . . . three times. Meaning multiple times (see note on 5:19).

33:30 to turn them back from the pit. Elihu teaches that God’s apparent harshness in chastening human beings is in reality an act of love, since they are never punished in this life in keeping with what they fully deserve (v. 27). light of life. Spiritual well-being (see Ps 49:19; see also Ps 27:1 and note). In some contexts, the phrase refers to resurrection (see note on Isa 53:11).

33:32 I want to vindicate you. But this will happen, Elihu insists, only if Job repents.

34:1–37 The second of Elihu’s four speeches (see note on 32:1—37:24), divided into three sections: (1) addressed to a group of wise men (vv. 2–15), doubtless including the three friends; (2) addressed to Job (vv. 16–33); (3) addressed to himself (vv. 34–37), as in 32:15–22 (see note there).

34:2,10 listen to me. Although it is possible that Elihu is overly impressed with his own wisdom, it is more likely that he considered himself a messenger of God (see 32:8,18 and NIV text note on 32:8), especially in the light of his humble attitude in v. 4.

34:2 wise men . . . men of learning. Also referred to as “men of understanding” (vv. 10,34).

34:3 Elihu echoes the words of Job in 12:11 (see note there).

34:5,9 Job says . . . For he says. Elihu again quotes Job and then goes on to defend God’s justice against what he considers to be Job’s false theology (e.g., 9:14–24; 16:11–17; 19:7; 21:17–18; 24:1–12; 27:2). The substance of the quotation in v. 5 is accurate (cf. 12:4; 13:18; 27:6), and much of v. 6 represents Job fairly (see 21:34; 27:5; see also 6:4 and note)—though Job had never claimed to be completely guiltless. Verse 9 is not a direct quotation from Job, who had only imagined the wicked saying something similar (21:15). But perhaps Elihu derives it from Job’s repeated statement that God treats the righteous and the wicked in the same way (cf. 9:22; 21:17; 24:1–12), leading to the conclusion that it does not pay to please God.

34:7 drinks scorn like water. See Eliphaz’s description of humans in 15:16.

34:10 Far be it from God to do evil. See Ge 18:25 and note. Elihu’s concern that Job was making God the author of evil is commendable. Job, in his frustration, has come perilously close to charging God with wrongdoing (12:4–6; 24:1–12). He has suggested that this is the only conclusion he can reach on the basis of his knowledge and experience (9:24).

34:11 See Ecc 12:14; Ro 2:6–11; 2Co 5:10 and notes.

34:13–15 Elihu is zealous for God’s glory as the sovereign Sustainer who demonstrates his grace every moment by granting life and breath to human beings.

34:15 return to the dust. See Ecc 12:7; see also Ge 3:19 and note.

34:16 hear . . . listen. The Hebrew for these verbs is singular, signaling a change of address from the sages to Job (through v. 33). Elihu is concerned that Job’s attitude about God’s justice be corrected (v. 17), so he stresses God’s impartial rule as Lord of all, especially in meting out justice to the wicked in high places (vv. 18–20).

34:18 worthless. See note on Dt 13:13.

34:21–28 God’s omniscience guarantees that he will not make any mistakes when he punishes evildoers. It is not necessary for him to set times to examine people for judgment (see v. 23; contrast 24:1).

34:21 Elihu echoes the words of Job in 31:4.

34:29 if he remains silent, who can condemn him? Elihu attempts to answer Job’s complaint about God’s silence (ch. 23). God watches over people and nations to see that right is done (vv. 29–30).

34:31–33 First indirectly (vv. 31–32) and then more directly (v. 33), Elihu condemns Job and calls for his repentance.

34:34 Men of understanding. Elihu returns to addressing the larger group.

34:35 Job speaks without knowledge. A motif in the first discourse of the Lord (see 38:2 and note) and the final response of Job (42:3).

34:37 claps his hands. A gesture of derision (27:23).

35:1–16 Elihu’s third speech (see note on 32:1—37:24), addressed to Job.

35:2 in the right. Or “vindicated,” as in 13:18. Elihu thinks that it is unjust and inconsistent for Job to expect vindication from God and at the same time imply that God does not care whether we are righteous (v. 3). But allowance must be made for people to express their feelings. The psalmist who thirsted for God (Ps 42:1–2) also questioned why God had forgotten him (Ps 42:9) and rejected him (Ps 43:2).

35:5 Look up at the heavens and see. Elihu asserts that God is so far above human beings that there is really nothing they can do, good or bad, that will affect God’s essential nature (v. 6).

35:9 People cry out . . . they plead for relief. Elihu states that those like Job who pray for help when suffering innocently never seem to get around to trusting the justice and goodness of their Maker, who is also the author of wisdom and joy (vv. 10–11). Such failure is a sign of arrogance (v. 12), so Job’s complaint against God’s justice and about God’s silence is meaningless talk (vv. 13–16).

35:10–11 God . . . gives songs . . . teaches . . . makes us wiser. God chooses to condescend, to reach out to people in love.

35:12 Since the wicked are arrogant, God does not listen (v. 13). Elihu asserts that Job himself shares their arrogance. So Job too receives no answer, because he does not ask rightly (v. 14).

35:16 without knowledge. See 38:2 and note. multiplies words. “Against God” (34:37).

36:1—37:24 Elihu’s fourth and final (36:2) speech (see note on 32:1—37:24), addressed for the most part to Job (but see note on 37:2). Its theme is the majesty, power and mercy of God.

36:2–4 Elihu desires to strengthen the case for God’s goodness and justice.

36:4 perfect knowledge. Here Elihu applies the phrase to himself, while in 37:16 he applies it to God—thus appearing to make himself equal to God. Elihu is probably referring to his ability as a communicator; i.e., he claims perfection in the knowledge of speech (see note on 32:6,10,17).

36:5 God’s power assures the fulfillment of his purpose.

36:6–9 A classic statement of God’s justice in rewarding the righteous and punishing sinners (in contrast to what Job has been claiming). In v. 7 Elihu perhaps has in mind Job’s complaint that God will not leave him alone (7:17–19), and in v. 9 he may be thinking of Job’s charge that God will not present his indictment against him (31:35–36).

36:10 makes them listen to correction. Elihu states that God uses trouble to gain people’s attention.

36:12 See NIV text note (see also note on 33:18).

36:13–15 Elihu understands that the basic spiritual need of human beings stems from their hardness of heart—their refusal to yield to God, to cry out to God in their distress (see Ps 107:6 and note), or to hear the voice of God in their suffering.

36:14 A horribly shameful death for an Israelite, since following the fertility gods and goddesses of the Canaanites was the worst possible sin, a breach of the first of the Ten Commandments (see note on 1Ki 14:24).

36:16–21 Elihu warns Job to respond to God’s discipline by turning away from evil (v. 21). Verse 16 shows that he still views Job as a man for whom there is hope.

36:16 He is wooing you. With tender compassion, God brings his people back to himself (see Hos 2:14 and note).

36:21 Beware of turning to evil. Elihu’s evaluation of Job is the opposite of God’s (see 1:8 and note; 2:3).

36:22–33 Elihu anticipates some of God’s statements in the discourses of chs. 38–41.

36:23 Who has . . . said to him, ‘You have done wrong’? Highlighting the gap between human and divine understanding (see 8:3; 40:8; Ro 9:19–24 and note on 9:20).

36:24 his work, which people have praised in song. See, e.g., notes on Ex 15:1–18; Jdg 5:1–31.

36:26 beyond our understanding. See 37:5. That God’s ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours is an important theme in chs. 38–41 (see also Isa 55:8–9; Ro 11:33–36).

36:30 bathing. That is, in light.

36:31 governs. The NIV text note understands the verse to mean that the Lord “nourishes” the nations with the showers mentioned in vv. 27–30.

37:1–13 A continuation of Elihu’s hymnic description of God’s marvels exhibited in the earth’s atmosphere, beginning in 36:27. His heart pounds at the awesome display (v. 1). The passage reveals a sophisticated observation of atmospheric conditions and their effects: the evaporation and distillation of water for rain (see 36:27 and NIV text note), the clouds as holders of moisture (36:28; 37:11) and the cyclonic behavior of clouds (v. 12). Such forces originate from God’s command and always perform his will for humankind, whether for good or for ill (v. 13).

37:2 Listen! The Hebrew for this verb is plural, indicating that others (including the three friends) besides Job are being addressed here (see note on 36:1—37:24). roar of his voice . . . rumbling. Thunder (see v. 4; see also introduction to Ps 29).

37:5 beyond our understanding. See note on 36:26.

37:10 breath of God. Here a metaphor for a chilling wind.

37:14–18 Elihu challenges Job to ponder God’s power over the elements. The question format is also used in the divine discourses (chs. 38–41).

37:16 perfect knowledge. See note on 36:4.

37:17 swelter in your clothes. God controls all weather, including the hot desert wind that oppressed them.

37:18 See 26:7; see also note on “vault” in Ge 1:6.

37:19 we cannot draw up our case. Job had dared to sign his defense and call for an audience with God (31:35). For this Elihu seeks to shame him. But he softens his tone by including himself as one equally vulnerable to God’s majesty.

37:22 Out of the north he comes. See note on Ps 48:2. God comes. Elihu prepares Job for the appearance of God in the storm (chs. 38–41).

37:24 revere. Fear (see 28:28; Ge 20:11 and notes).

38:1—42:6 The theophany (appearance of God) to Job, consisting of two discourses by the Lord (38:1—40:2; 40:6—41:34), each of which receives a brief response from Job (40:3–5; 42:1–6).

38:1 the LORD. The Israelite covenant name for God (see Introduction: Author). storm. See 40:6. Elihu had imagined the appearance of the divine presence as a display of “golden splendor” and “awesome majesty” (37:22). He also had anticipated the storm or whirlwind (see note on 37:22), from which Job would hear the voice of God. Job had said, “Let the Almighty answer me” (31:35). Now God speaks to Job, but not to give Job the justification of his ways that Job had been demanding. Out of the awesome majesty of the thunderstorm, he reminds Job that the wisdom that directs the Creator’s ways is beyond the reach of human understanding—that humanity’s wisdom should not presume to match God’s wisdom or take its measure (cf. Isa 55:8–9).

38:2 See 35:16. In 42:3 Job echoes the Lord’s words. God states that Job’s complaining and raging against him are unjustified and proceed from limited understanding. words without knowledge. Saying God is unfair and unjust (19:6–7; 27:2).

38:3 Repeated in 40:7 (see also 42:4). The format of God’s response is to ply Job with rhetorical questions, to each of which Job must plead ignorance. God says nothing about Job’s suffering, nor does he address Job’s problem about divine justice. Job gets neither a bill of indictment nor a verdict of innocence. But, more important, God does not humiliate or condemn him—which surely would have been the case if the counselors had been right. So by implication Job is vindicated, and later his vindication is directly affirmed (see 42:7–9 and note). The divine discourses, then, succeed in bringing Job to complete faith in God’s wisdom and goodness without his receiving a direct answer to his questions.

38:4–38 Inanimate creation testifies to God’s sovereignty and power (the earth, vv. 4–7,18; the sea, vv. 8–11,16; the sun, vv. 12–15; the netherworld, v. 17; light and darkness, vv. 19–20; the weather, vv. 22–30,34–38; the constellations, vv. 31–33). See note on 38:39—39:30.

38:4–5 See the similar questions of Agur and the similar irony in his demand for a response (Pr 30:4; see Isa 40:12 and note).

38:7 See Ps 148:2–3 and note on Ps 65:13. When the earth was created, the angels were there to sing the praises of the Creator, but Job was not (vv. 4–5). He should therefore not expect to be able to understand even lesser aspects of God’s plans for the world and for humankind. angels. See NIV text notes here and on 1:6; 2:1.

38:10–11 See Ps 33:7 and note; Jer 5:22.

38:11 when I said. God controls the sea by speaking to it (Ps 65:5–7; 89:9; 107:23–29; cf. Mk 4:35–41 and note on v. 41).

38:12–13 The arrival of the dawn sends the wicked scurrying for cover.

38:14 clay under a seal. Either a cylinder seal (see note on Ge 38:18) or a stamp seal (see photo; see also photo).

38:15 their light. The night is when the wicked are active (see Jn 3:19; for the imagery, cf. Lk 11:35). upraised arm is broken. See 22:9 and note.

38:16 springs of the sea. See Ge 7:11; 8:2.

38:17 gates of death. See note on 17:16; see also 26:5–6.

38:22–23 hail . . . for days of war. See, e.g., Jos 10:11; Isa 28:2 and notes.

38:24 east winds. See note on 15:2.

38:28 Who fathers the drops of dew? A reference to Yahweh, not Baal (see Jer 14:22 and note).

38:31–32 Pleiades . . . Orion’s . . . Bear. See note on 9:9.

38:36 ibis . . . rooster. Two birds whose habits were sometimes observed by people who wished to forecast the weather. The words serve as a transition to the next major section of the first divine discourse.

38:39—39:30 Animate creation testifies to God’s sovereignty, power and loving care (the lion, 38:39–40; the raven, 38:41; the mountain goat, 39:1–4; the wild donkey, vv. 5–8; the wild ox, vv. 9–12; the ostrich, vv. 13–18; the horse, vv. 19–25; the hawk, v. 26; the eagle, vv. 27–30). See note on 38:4–38.

38:41 provides food for the raven. God cares for and feeds all the birds, of which the raven is representative (e.g., compare Lk 12:24 with Mt 6:26).

39:5 wild donkey. See 24:5; see also the description of Ishmael in Ge 16:12 and note there.

39:9–12 As there was an implied contrast between the wild donkey and the domestic donkey (v. 7), here there is a more explicit contrast between the wild ox and the domestic ox.

39:11 great strength. In the OT, the wild ox (the now extinct aurochs) often symbolizes strength (see, e.g., Nu 23:22 and note; 24:8; Dt 33:17; Ps 22:21 and note; 29:6). Next to the elephant and rhinoceros, the wild ox was the largest and most powerful land animal of the OT world.

39:13–18 This stanza is unique in the discourses, because in it the Lord asks Job no questions.

39:13 wings and feathers of the stork. A stork’s wings were particularly impressive (Zec 5:9).

39:18 she laughs at horse and rider. God gives each creature its unique attributes. Though not maternal, the ostrich has exceptional speed, rivaling the speed of horses. The “horse” forms a transition to the next paragraph.

39:20 like a locust. Horses and locusts are compared also in Jer 51:27; Rev 9:7; cf. Joel 2:4 and note.

39:26 hawk. The sparrow hawk, though not resident to the Holy Land, stops there in its migration south for the winter.

39:27 eagle. Or possibly “vulture” (v. 30).

40:1–2 The conclusion of the first divine discourse. Once again, God challenges Job to answer him.

40:3–5 Job, duly chastened, is unwilling to speak another word of complaint.

40:4 unworthy. Or “small” or “insignificant.”

40:5 once . . . twice. See note on 5:19.

40:6 See 38:1 and note.

40:7 Repeated from 38:3 (see note there).

40:8–14 The prologue to the second divine discourse, which ends at 41:34. Unlike the first discourse, God here addresses the issues of his own justice and Job’s futile attempt at self-justification. In chs. 21 and 24 Job had complained about God’s indifference toward the evil actions of the wicked. Here the Lord asserts his ability and determination to administer justice—a matter over which Job has no control. Therefore by implication Job is admonished to leave all this, including his own vindication (v. 14), under God’s control (v. 9).

40:8 Would you condemn me to justify yourself? In 19:6, Job had said, “God has wronged me.”

40:10 clothe yourself in honor and majesty. The same Hebrew underlying this clause describes God in Ps 104:1: “you are clothed with splendor and majesty.” The Lord here challenges Job to take on the appearance of deity—if he can. clothe yourself in. See note on Ps 109:29.

40:11–12 See Isa 13:11, where the Lord describes himself as doing these things.

40:13 dust. See note on 7:21.

40:14 your own right hand can save you. Contrast Ps 49:7–9 (see note there).

40:15–24 The first of two poems (ch. 41 constitutes the second) in this discourse, each describing a huge beast and resuming the animal theme of ch. 39. See article.

40:15 Behemoth. The word is Hebrew and means “beast par excellence,” referring to a large land animal. Much of the language used to describe it in vv. 16–24 is highly poetic and hyperbolic. which I made. It is one of God’s creatures, not a mythical being. Some think it is a hippopotamus (see article).