TEXT [Commentary]

  C.   Job: Life Is Futile (6:1–7:21)

1.   Faithfulness brings no relief (6:1-13)

1 Then Job spoke again:

2 “If my misery could be weighed

and my troubles be put on the scales,

3 they would outweigh all the sands of the sea.

That is why I spoke impulsively.

4 For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows.

Their poison infects my spirit.

God’s terrors are lined up against me.

5 Don’t I have a right to complain?

Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass,

and oxen bellow when they have no food?

6 Don’t people complain about unsalted food?

Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?[*]

7 My appetite disappears when I look at it;

I gag at the thought of eating it!

8 “Oh, that I might have my request,

that God would grant my desire.

9 I wish he would crush me.

I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.

10 At least I can take comfort in this:

Despite the pain,

I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 But I don’t have the strength to endure.

I have nothing to live for.

12 Do I have the strength of a stone?

Is my body made of bronze?

13 No, I am utterly helpless,

without any chance of success.

NOTES

6:2 misery . . . troubles. The language here is very forceful, including both mental anguish (ka‘as [TH3708A, ZH4089]) and external calamity (hawwah [TH1942A, ZH2095], following the Qere; cf. the Kethiv hayyah [TH1962, ZH2119]).

6:4 has struck me down with his arrows. Illness or disaster is often described as being struck by arrows (cf. Deut 32:23; Ps 38:2), which may be poisonous or incendiary (Ps 7:12-13). Here the metaphor is applied in terms of Job’s mental anguish, as his spirit absorbs the poison (cf. 21:20).

6:5 Don’t I have a right to complain? This phrase is not in the Hebrew but sums up the point of vv. 5-6, which are rhetorical questions derived from common experience that appear to have become proverbial.

6:6 the tasteless white of an egg. This traditional English translation is based on a rabbinic interpretation of the obscure words rir khallamuth. The word rir [TH7388, ZH8202] is found in 1 Sam 21:13 [21:14] where it means spittle; the rabbis took the unknown word khallamuth [TH2495, ZH2733] to be the equivalent of khlmwn, their word for “yolk,” and the whole expression to be “the slime of the yolk” or egg white. However, khallamuth is a Canaanite word for a plant, and most modern interpreters take this to be the unsavory secretion of a mallow, a very mucilaginous wild plant.

6:7 I gag at the thought. This is a paraphrase of an emendation of the Heb. in accordance with the similar expression of 33:20; it provides a parallel to the first line of the verse. The Heb. text begins with the pronoun “they” (hemmah [TH1992A, ZH2160]), which has no antecedent in the previous line; if hemmah is emended to “loathe” (zaham [TH2092, ZH2299]) a good sequence is formed.

6:10 Despite the pain. This is the preferred sense of this verse (cf. CEV). Most of the English versions provide the sense of “joy in unrelenting pain” (NIV; cf. “exult” in ASV, RSV, NRSV, or “leap for joy” in NEB, TEV). The problem arises with the word salad [TH5539, ZH6134], found only here in the Hebrew Bible. It should be taken with the sense of “recoil” from pain or discomfort as found in Talmudic usage (Jastrow 993; cf. Gordis 1978:72) rather than “leap” for joy as in most English versions. “I would harden myself in sorrow” is based on a comparison with Arabic, but the verb is not reflexive as required by the translation.

the words of the Holy One. “The Holy One” (qadosh [TH6918A, ZH7705]) is an abbreviation of “the Holy One of Israel,” found frequently in the prophets; here it is a response to the accusation of Eliphaz that Job is turning to some other holy ones (qedoshim) for wisdom (5:1). Though the character Job is not an Israelite, Job’s author is; and at points, he makes subtle connections with the literature of Israel (e.g., 12:9; 40:23). Israelite readers would recognize his heritage, and non-Israelites would not be bothered by such allusions.

6:13 No, I am utterly helpless. Other English versions indicate that the form is that of a question (KJV, ASV, NIV). The expression, found elsewhere only in Num 17:13 [17:28] must be the equivalent of an asseverative introduced by a rhetorical question (Gesenius §150g, note 1): “isn’t there any help for me?”

COMMENTARY [Text]

This section divides into two parts: first, Job declares that his lament is well founded (6:2-7); second, he finds no mercy though he has been faithful to the words of the Holy One (6:8-13). Eliphaz did not understand the physical anguish or moral dilemma that tormented Job (cf. 5:8-16). The situation was exacerbated by the fact that Job and Eliphaz substantially agreed theologically (Andersen 1976:127). Our most intense conflict is often with those most closely in agreement with us; for they, of all people, should affirm our point of view. The supreme sovereignty of God and the wonder of his providence are not in question. For Job, however, there were deeper questions about the character of God and the exercise of justice.

For the first time, Job distinctly named God as the cause of his suffering (6:4). It was as if God had attacked him with arrows. Job will later complain that he seemed to be a target at which God aimed his shafts (16:12-13). Though the physical suffering of Job was beyond comprehension, it was the denial of God’s favor that made him speak so rashly. This should have been self-evident to Eliphaz. Using an analogy, Job told him that, like an ox or donkey, he would not complain if he were partaking of God’s usual providence. For Job, however, even the necessary food for physical sustenance had become insipid and rotten (6:7). This was not just a sign of the severity of his illness; it showed how despondent he had become in the absence of God’s favor.

Job was reduced to seeking only one last favor from God. Since he had totally fallen out of favor with God, so far as he could tell, God should end his existence (6:9). Job could not carry on without divine care and provision; one last comfort would be to know that God would grant the favor of ending his life. Job did not have the strength to endure any longer; his body was not made of stone or brass. Job had no hope left and anticipated no deliverance.

Job had confidence in this last request because he was sure of his standing with God. He had not denied the words of the Holy One (6:10). God must be true to Job even as Job has been true to God; for Job, that could not be in question. This line should not be paraphrased to say “I have never opposed what he commands” (TEV) or “I have never disobeyed God” (CEV). In this very speech, Job did not deny his sin (7:20-21), but he knew that his sin was not the problem. What Job affirmed was God’s revelation; he knew he had the truth about God while Eliphaz did not understand it.

It was Job who had received a word of wisdom in a vision (4:17-21), as is evident in the negative response of Eliphaz to the vision (cf. 5:1-8). The message came in the form of a question: “Can a mortal be pure before God?” The question did not suggest that humans could be sinless; it was asking whether the righteousness of mortals could assure them they would be blessed. The answer was that humans are like the moths; they do not know when or why they will die. To Eliphaz, this was blasphemous, but to Job it was a word from God (6:10), and he would not deny that word. Job knew that he could not change the lot that had fallen to him. His only longing, as a person true to what he knew of God, was that God would grant him one last comfort in ending his life.