iltiiuiuuiiiimii |ntnnimii ittimiii Ml,.!;,'!' •* 'i i. '1 |i M J. -^fe>/<3 2_ Stem f ^e £t6rare of (pxofcBBot ^ifftam j^^^^ (Breen QSequeaf^eb 6p ^tt^t to f 3e fctfirarg of (Princeton ^^^eofogicdf ^eminarg V. z / ' . i NOTES, CRITICAL, ILLUSTRATIVE, AND PRACTICAL, THE BOOK OF JOB: A NEW TRANSLATION, INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. ALBERT BARNES. VOL. II. FIFTH EDITION. NEW- YORK: LEAVITT & COMPANY, 191 BROADWAY. 1819. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in tlie yi ur 1S44, by Albert Barnes. in the Otfire of the Clerk of the District Court of the Ji".:is!crn District of Pennsvlvania. THE BOOK OF JOB. CHAPTER XXII. ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. This chapter commences the third series in the controversy. As before, Eliphaz begins the argument, and replies to Job. He maintains his former sentiments, and does it with great energy, and is evidently roused by the argument of Job. Job had attacked their main position in the previous chapter, and it became necessary now to fortify it if possible. There is, also, much severity in this discourse, and far more than usual that is personal. Job is openly charged with aggravated guilt, which, before, had been rather implied than said. But here is no con- cealment ; and, perhaps, this is an instance, such as often occurs, where, when a man has ths worst of the arsument, he resorts to a personal attack on him who has confuted him. The argument of Eliphaz comprises the following points : — (1.) That it could not be anv advantage to God that a man was righteous, and that he set up a claim to perfection. God had nothing to lose in treating men as they deserve, and could not be deterred by fear ftom dealing with them according to their real character, vs. 1-4 By these remarks, he seems to be repfying to Job, as if it must be true, that if God did not deal with them according to their real character in this life, as Job had maintained, it must be either because he feared the wicked man, or because there was some advantage which he expected to derive from the fact that he lived. Instead of meeting the /acts, to which Job had appealed, he goes into an abstract argument, of a very so- phistical character, to show that it could not be so — a very common mode with controversialists. (2.) Eliphaz then openly attacks Job ; appeals to him as an instance of the truth of his position ; says that it was an indisputable fact, that he waa a great sinner, that his iniquities were infinite, and that, therefore, he had been overwhelmed with these calamities, vs. 5-11. He argues from it, as a point which could not be called in question, that Job's calamities had come upon him ia consequence of a guilty life ; and that whatever he might say about the theonj of the divine government, his own case was one which would confute it all. Job was himself, he maintains, a full demonstration that God would punish the wicked in this life. In these unkind remaiks, the course of the argument is somewhat changed. Before this, the friends of Job had maintained the abstract position, that the wicked would be dealt with in this life according to their deserts, and had given a great variety of illustrations of this. But it had been left to be inferred that Job had this character becavse these calamities had come upon him. But, now, the argument is changed. It is maintained, as an indisputable point, that he is an eminently wicked man, and that these calamities have come upon him in consequence of his crimes ; and that, therefore, his own case showed that God would punish the wicked in this life. (3.) In vs. 12-14, Eliphaz Bays, that it was implied in the argument of Job that God could not distinguish between the actions of men, and the reasons why he did not treat them as they deserv'ed must be, that thick clouds interposed between them and God, so that he could not see their conduct, or that tho distance between God and man was so great that he was not able to mark what man was doing. Job had, in fact, maintained no such position ; but Eliphaz inferred that this must be his mean- ing, or that his sentiments must lead to this. (4.) Eliphaz then (vs. 15-20) refers Job to the case of those who perished in the flood, and speaks as if Job had adopted their sentiments. They lived in prosperity. They said to God, Depart from us. Their houses were filled with good things. Yet, he sa,vs they were suddenly destroyed, and that at so signal a judgment th& righteous rejoiced — implying that it was not improper to be gratified when so heavy calamities had come upon one who had shown hi.mself as wicked as Job was now proved to be. (5.) In the conclusion, Eliphaz urges Job to become truly acquainted with God, assuring him that he would then be at peace, and then gives a glowing description of the prosperity to which he might look, as a reward, vs. 21-30. He would be rich ; the Almighty would be his defence ; he wonid find happiness in God ; his prayer would be heard ; light would shine Dpon his ways ; and when others were humbled, he would be exalted. JOB. 'pHEN Eliphaz the Temanite -^ answered and said, 2 Can a man be profitable ° unto God, as ' he that is wise a Ps. 16. 2. 1 or, if fit may be profitable^ dotit his good success depend thereon. 2. Can a man be profitable unto God? Can a man confer any favor on God, so as to lay him under obli- gation ? Eliphaz supposes that Job sets up a claim to the favor of God, because he was of service to him, or because God had something to fear if he was cut off. He maintains, there- fore, that a man can confer n>) favor on God, so as to lay him under obli- gation. God is independent and su- preme. He has nothing to gain if man is righteous — he has nothing to apprehend if he is punished. He is not dependent at all on man. IT £s he that is icise. Marg. or, if he may be profitable, doth his goodness depend thereon. The meaning of the passage is, a wise man may promote his own advantage, but he cannot be of ad- vantage to God. All the result of his wisdom must terminate on himself, and not on God. Comp. Ps. xvi. 2. Of the correctness of this sentiment there can be no doubt. It accords with reason, and with all that is said in the Scriptures. God is too great to be benefited by man. He is in- finite in all his perfections; he is the original fountain of blessedness ; he is supremely wise; he has all re- sources in himself, and he cannot be dependent on his creatures. He can- not, therefore, be deterred from pun- ishing them by any dread whicli he has of losing their favor — he cannot be induced to bless them because they have laid him under obligation. Eliphaz meant this as a reply to what Job had said. He had main- tained, that God did not treat men according to their character in this life, but that, in fict, the wicked were often prospered, and sufl!ered to live long. Eliphaz at once infers, that if this were so, it must be because the\' could render themselves serviceable to God, or because he must have may be profitable unto himself? 3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art right- eous 1 or is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect 'I something to dread by punishing them. In the general sentiment, he was right ; in the inference he was wrong — since Job had not affirmed that they are spared from any such cause, and since many other reasons may be assigned. 3. Is it any pleasure to the .Almighty that thon art righteous? This is tlio same sentiment which was advanced in the previous verse. The meaning is, that it can be no advantage to God that a man is righteous. He is not dependent on man for happiness, and cannot be deterred from dealing justly with him because he is in danger of losing any thing. In this sense, it is true. God has pleasure in holiness wherever it is, and is pleased when men are righteous; but it is not true that he is dependent on the character of his creatures for his own happiness, or that men can lay him under obligation by their own righteousness. Eliphaz applies this general truth to Job, probably, be- cause he understood iiim as com- plaining of the dealings of God with liim, as if he had laid God under ob- ligation by his upright life. He sup- poses that it was implied in the re- marks of Job, that he had been so upright, and bad been of so much consequence, that God ought to have continued him in a state of prosperity This supposition, if Job ever had it, Eliphaz correctly meets, and shows him that he was not so profitable to God that he could not do without him. Yet, do men not often feel thus.' Do ministers of the gospel not some- times feel thus.' Do we not some- times feel thus in relation to some man eminent for piety, wisdom, or learning.' Do we not feel as if God could not do without him, and that there was a sort of necessity that he should keep him alive .' Yet, how CHAPTER XXII. 5 4 Will he reprove thee for fear of thee ? will he enter with thee often are such men cut down, in the very midst of tlieir usefulness, to show (1) that God is not dependent on them ; and (2) to keep them from pride, as if they were necessary to tlie execution of the divine plans ; and (3) to teach iiis people their de- pendence on Hitn, and not on frail, erring mortals. When the church places its reliance on a human arm, God very often suddenly knocks tlie prop away. 4. U'Hl he reprove thee for fear of thee? Or, rather, will he come into trial, and argue his cause before a tribunal, because he is afraid that his character will suffer, or because he feels himself bound to appear, and answer to the charges which niay be brought.' The language is all taken from courts of justice, and the object is, to reprove Job as if he felt that it was necessary that God should ap- pear and answer to what he alleged against him. IT Will he enter xcith thee into j^idirment? Will he condescend to enter on a trial with one like thee .' Will he submit his cause to a trial with man, as if he were an equal, or as if man had any right to such an in- vestigation ? It is to be remembered, that Job had repeatedly expressed a desire to carry his cause before God, and that God would meet him as an equal, and not take advantage of his rnajest}' and power to overwhelm him. See Notes on ch. xiii. 3, 20, 21. Eliphaz here asks, whether God could be expected to meet a man^ one of his own creatures, in this manner, and to go into a trial of the cause. He says that God was supreme ; that no one could bring him into court; and that he could not be restrained from doing his pleasure by any dread of man. These sentiments are all noble and correct, and worthy of a sage. Soon, however, he changes the style, and utters the language of severe reproach, bccau.se Job had pre- Eumed to make such a suggestion. Perhaps, also, in this verse, a special into judgment ? 5 Is not thy wickedness great? emphasis should be placed on " thee.'' ' Will God enter into trial with thee — a man whose wickedness is so great, and whose sin is infinite .'' vs. 5, 9. 5. Is not thy wickedness great? That is, ' Is it not utter presumption and folly for a man, whose-wicked- ness is undoubtedly so great, to pre- sume to entier into a litigation with God V Eliphaz here assumes it as an undeniable proposition, that Job was a great sinner. This charge had not been directly made before. He and his friends had argued evidently on that supposition, and had maintained that one who was a great sinner would be punished in this life for it, and they had left it to be implied, in no doubtful manner, that they so re- garded Job. But the charge had not been before so openly made. Here Eliphaz argues as if that were a point that could not be disputed. The only /j/-oo/ that he had, so far as ap- pears, was, that Job had been afflict- ed as they maintained great sinners toould be, and they, therefore, con- cluded that he must be such. No facts are referred to, except that he was a great sufferer, and yet, on the ground of this, he proceeds to take for granted that he must have been a man who had taken a pledge for no cause ; had refused to give water to the thirsty ; had been an oppressor, &c. IT And thine iniquities infinite ? Heb. " And there is no end to thine iniquities" — that is, they are without number. This does not mean that sin is an infinite ceil, or that his sins were infinite in degree ; but that if one should attempt to reckon up the number of his transgressions, there would be no end to them. This, I believe, is the only place in the Bible where sin is spoken of, in any re- spect, as " infinite ;'' and this cannot be used as a proof text, to show that sin is an infinite evil, for (1) that is not the meaning of the passage even with respect to Job ; (2) it makes no affirmation respecting sin in general ; JOB. and thine iniquities infinite ? 6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked ' of their clothing. 7 Thou hast not given water 1 clotlits of the naked. 2 man of arm. and (3) it was untrue, even in regard to Job, and in the sense in which Zophar meant to use the phrase. There is no intelligible sense in which it can be said that sin is an infi- nite evil; and no argument should be based on such a declaration, to prove that sin demanded an infinite atone- ment, or that it deserves eternal suf- ferings. Those doctrines can be de- fended on solid grounds — they should not be made to rest on a false as- sumption, or on a false interpretation of the Scriptures. 6. For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought. The only evidence which Eliphaz seems to have had of this was, that this was a heinous sin, and that as Job seemed to be severely punished, it was to be inferred that he must have committed some such sin as this. No way of treating an unfortunate and a suffer- ing man could be more unkind. A pledge is that which is given by a debtor to a creditor, for security for the payment of a debt, and would be, of course, that which was regarded as of value. Garments, which con- stituted a considerable part of the wealth of the Orientals, would usual- ly be the pledge which would be given. With us, in such cases, watches, jewelry, notes, mortgages, are given as collateral security, or as pledges. The law of Moses required, that when a man took the garment of his neighbor for a pledge, it should ))e restored by the time the sun went down, Ex. xxii. 26, 27. The crime here charged on Job was, that he had exacted a pledge from another where there was no just claim to it ; that is, where no debt had been contracted, where a debt had been paid, or where the security was far beyond the va- to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. 8 But as for ^the mighty man, he had the earth ; and the honourable man dwelt in it. 3 eminent, or, accepted for countenance. lue of the debt. The injustice of such a course would be obvious. It would deprive the man of the use of the property which was pledged, and it gave him to whom it was pledged an opportunity of doing wrong, as he might retain it, or dispose of it, and the real owner see it no more. 11 And stripped the naked of their clothing. Marg. clothes of the naked. That is, of those who were poorly clad, or who were nearly destitute of clothes The vi'ord naked is often used in this sense in the Scriptures. See Notes, John xxi. 7. The meaning here is, that Job had taken away by oppres- sion even the garments of the poor, in order to enrich himself. 7. Thou hast not given water to the iceary. That is, thou hast withheld the rites of hospitality — one of the most grievous offences which could be charged on an Arabian. Comp. Notes on Isa. xxi. 14. In all the Oriental world, hospitality was re garded, and is still, as a duty of the highest obligation. 8. But as ('or thcmighty man. Ileb. as in the margin, man of arm. The arm, in the Scriptures, is the symbol of power. Ps. x. 15, " Break tliou the arm of the wicked." Ezek. xxx. 21, " I have broken the arm of Pha- raoh." Ps. Ixxxix. 13, "Thou hast a mighty arm." Ps. xcvii. 1, " His holy arm hath gotten him the vic- tory." The reason of this is, that the sword and spear were princi])ally used in war, and success depended on the force with which they were wielded by the arm. There can be no doubt that this is intended to be applied to Job, and that the meaning is, that he had driven the poor from their possessions, and he had taken forcible occupancy of wliat belonged CHAPTER XXIT. 9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the father- less have been broken. 10 Therefore snares " are round about thee, and sudden fear t:oubleth thee ; ac. 18.S-10. Ps 11 6. to them. Tiie idea is, that lie had donu this by poicci\ not hy right. If Hiid t/ic atrtk. Took possession of tlie huid, and drove off from it those to wlioni it belonged, or who had an equal right to it with him. 1[ .ind the honorable man Marg. eminent., or ac- cepted of countenance. Heb. " Lifted up of countenance ;" that is, the man whose countenance was elevated either by honor or pride. It may be used to describe either ; but, perhaps, there is more force in the former, in saying that it was the great man, the man of rank and otRce, who had got possession. There is, thus, some sarcasm in the severe ciiarge : ' Tlie great man — tltc man of rank, and wealth, and office, has got possession, while the humble and poor are ban- ished.' Job had had great posses- sions ; but this charge as to the man- ner in which lie had acquired them seems to be wholly gratuitous. Eli- pliaz takes it for granted, since he was so severely punisiied, that it viust have been in some such way. 9. Thou hast sent widoics aioay I empty. That is, without regarding their wants, and without doing any thing to mitigate their sorrows. The oppression of the widow and the fa- therless is, in the Scriptures, every where regarded as a crime of peculiar magnitude. See Notes on Isa. i. 17. IT The arms of the fatherless have been bro.ken. Thou hast taken away all that they relied on. Thou hast op- pressed them and taken advantage of their weak and defenceless condi- tion to enrich yourself This charge was, evidently, gratuitous and unjust. It was the result of an inference from the fact that he was thus afflicted, and about as just as inferences, in such cases, usually are To all thi.:. Job 11 Or darkness, that thou canst not see ; and abundance of waters cover thee, 12 Is not God in the height of heaven ? and behold the ' height of the stars, how high they are ! 1 head. replies in beautiful language in ch. x.KJx. 11, 16, when describing his former condition, and in justice to him, we may allow him to speak here, and to show what was, in fact, the course of his life. When tlie ear heard me, then it blessed itie ; And when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me : Because I delivered the poor that cried, And the fatherless, and him that had none to help him The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, And I caused the widow's heart to leap for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me ; My judgment was as a robe and a diadom. I was eyes to the blind, And feet was I to the lame ; I was a father to the poor, And tlie cause which I knew not, I searched out. 10. TJiercfore snares are round about thee. Snares were used for catching wild animals and birds, and the word then came to denote any sudden calamity. Seech.xvii. 8-1(3. Eliphaz here says, that hniust be that these calamities came upon Job in consequence of such sins as he had specified. About that he took it for granted there could be no dispute. ir .^nd sudden fear. The calamities of Job came upon him suddenly, ch. i. It was to this, doubtless, that Eliphaz alluded. 11. Or darkness. Darkness and night in the Scriptures are emblems of calamity. IT That thou canst not see. Deep and fearful darkness ; total night, so that nothing is visible. Tli;it is, the heaviest calamities had over- whelmed him. IT ^^nd abundance of icatcrs. An emblem, also, of cal.i- mities. Ch. xxvii. 20. Ps. Jxix. 1,2, Ixxiii. 10. 12. Is not God. in the height of heaven ? In the highest heaven. Tii.it is. Is not God exalted over all worlds ' JOB. 13 And thou sayest, " How " I or, what. a Ps. 10. U. 73. U. This seems to be intended to refer to the sentiments of Job, as if he had maintained that God was so exalted that he could not notice what was oc- curring on earth. It should, tlicre- fore, be read in connection with the following verse : " God is so exalted, that tliou sayest, How can he know ? Can he look down through the thick clouds which intervene between him and man .''" Job had maintained no such opinion, but the process of thought in the mind of Eliphaz seems to have been this. Job had main- tained that God did 7iot punish the wicked in this life as they deserved, but that they lived and prospered. Eliphaz inferred that he could hold that opinion only because ho sup- posed that God was so exalted that he could not attend to worldly affairs. He knew no other way in which the opinion could be held, and he pro- ceeds to argue as if it were so. Job had in the previous chapter appealed to plain facts, and had rested his wliole argument on them. Eliphaz, instead of meeting -the facts in the case, or showing that they did not exist as Job said they did, considered his discourse as a denial of Divine Providence, and as re])resenting God to be so far above the earth that he could not notice what was occurring here. How common is this in theo- logical controversy ! One man, in defending his opinions, or in search- ing for the truth, appeals to facts, and endeavors to_ascertain their na- ture and bearing. His adversary, in- stead of meeting them, or showing that they are not so, at once appeals to some admitted doctrine, to some established article of a creed, or to some tradition of the fathers, and Bays that the appeal to fact is but a denial of an important doctrine of revelation. It is easier to charge a man with denying tiie doctrine of Providence, or to call him by a harsh name, than it is to meet an argument drawn from fact and from the plain doth God know ? can he jndge tlirough the dark cloud ? meaning of the Bible. 11 And behold the height of the stars. Marg. as in Heb. head — 'iiX"i . God is more ex- alted than the highest of the stars. The stars are the highest objects in view, and the sense, therefore, is, that God is infinitely exalted. 13. Jind thou sayest, Hoio doth God know ? That is, it follows from what you have said ; or the opinion which you have advanced is i/te srt;«fi as if you had affirmed this. How common it is to charge a man with holding what we infer, from some- thin'g^ which he has advanced, he must hold, and then to proceed to argue as if he actually held that. The philosophy of this is plain. He advances a certain opinion. We infer at once tliat he can hold that only on certain grounds, or that if he holds that he must hold something else also. We can see that if loe held that opinion, we should also, for tlie sake of consistency, be compelled to hold something which seems to fol- low from it, and we cannot see how this can be avoided, and we at once charge him with holding it. But the truth may be, that he has not seen that such consequences follow, or tiiat he has some other way of ac- counting for the fact than we have , or that he may hold to the fact and yet deny wholly the consequences which legitimately follow from it. Now we have a right to show him by argument that his opinions, if ho would follow them out, would lead to dangerous consequences, l)ut we have a right to charge Iiim with hold ing only wiiat he professes to hold He is not answerable for our infer ences ; and we have no right to charge them on him as being his real opinions. Every man has a right to avow what he actually believes, and to be regarded as holding that, and that only. IT Hotc doth God know ? That is, How can one so exalted see what is done on the distant earth, and CHAPTER XXII. 14 Thick clouds are a cover- ing to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven, ] or, afloodiras pouredupon their foundation, Qe. 7. 10, &c, 2 Pe. 2. 5. reward and punisli men according to their deserts ? This opinion was actually lield by many of the an- cients. It was supposed that the supreme God did not condescend to attend to tlie affairs of mortals, but had committed the government of the earth to inferior beings. This was the foundation of the Gnostic pliiloso- phy, which prevailed so much in the East in tlie early ages of the Ciiristian church. Milton puts a similar senti- ment into tlie mouth of Eve in her reflections after she had eaten the forbidden fruit : And I, perhaps, am secret : heaven is high, High and remote from thence to see distinct Each thing on enrth ; and otlier care perhaps May have diverted from continual watch Our great Forbidder, safe with all his spies about him Par. Lost, B. ix. TI Can he judge through the dark cloud? Can he look down through the clouds which interpose between man and him. Eliphaz could not see how Job could maintain his opinions witiiout holding that tliis was impossible for God. He could sec no other reason why God did not punish the wicked than because he did not see them, and he, therefore, charges this opinion on Job. 14. Thick clouds are a covering to him. This is to be understood as expressing what Eliphaz regarded as the sentiment of Job — that so thick clouds intervened between him and !nan that he could not take cogni- zance of what was going forward on earth. H .^nd he icalketh in the cir- cuit of heaven Upon the arch of heaven, as it seems to be bent over our heads. He walks above that cerulean, so high, that he cannot see what occurs on earth, and to punish mortals. This was not an uncom- mon sentiment among the ancients. 15 Plast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden ? 16 Which were cut down out of time, whose ' foundation was overflown with a flood ; though it is here, with the greatest in- justice, attributed to Job, A similar sentiment is expressed by Lucretius, as quoted by RosenmUUer and Noyes : Omnis enim per se Divum natura necesse est Immortali sevo summa cum pace fruatur, Semota a nostris rebus, sejunctaque InngS. ■ Nam privata dolore omni, privata periclis, Ipsa suis pollens opibus, nihil indiga nostri, Nee bene promeritus capitur, nee tangitur ira. Comp, Isa. xxix. 15. 15. Hast thou marked the old way which loicked men have trodden ? Hast thou seen what has happened in for- mer times to wicked men .' Job had maintained that God did not deal with men in this world according to their character. To meet this, Eli- phaz now appeals to ancient facts, and especially refers to the deluge, when the wicked were cut ofl^ by a flood for their sins. Schultens, Dr. Good, Noyes, and Rieske, however, suppose that the word here rendered ' mark,' means to pursue, or imitate, and that the sense is, ' Are you will- ing to adopt the principles of those wicked men who lived in the time of the deluge .''' But the sense is not materially affected. The general de- sign is to refer Job to the case of the impious generation that was swept off by a flood. The judgments of God on them were a full refutation, in his view, of the sentiments of Job. 16, Which were cut down. Who were suddenly destroyed by a flood. On the word here used (^'?|5) see Notes on ch. xvi 8. It occurs only in that place and this. Its primary notion is that of drawing together or contracting — as the feet of a lamb or calf are drawn together and tied preparatory to being killed ; and the meaning here is, probably, ' who were huddled together by the waters,' or who were driven in heaps by the 10 JOB. 17 Which " said unto God, Depart from us : and what can the Almighty do ' for them ? a c. 21. 10. 1 or, to. b Ac. 14. 16, 15. deluge, so rapidly and suddenly did it con e upon them.' IT Out of time. lleb. " And there was no time ;" that is, it was done in a moment, or suddenly. No time was given them ; no delay was granted. The floods ruslied over them, and nothing could stay them. IT Wliosc foundation was overfluion. Marg. or, a flood was poured upon their foiindation. Tliat is, all on which they relied was swept away. The word foundation refers to that on which their happiness and security rested, as a house rests on its foundation, and when that is swept away the house falls. IT With a flood. Heb. ('^•7J) river. The word is com- monly applied to a river; and in the Scriptures, by way of eminence, to the Euphrates. See Notes on Isa. vii. 20, viii. 7. It may be used, how- ever, to denote a river which is swollen, and then a fiood — and it is several times rendered flood in the Scriptures. Job xiv. 11. Jonah ii. 3 (where it means the sea). Josh. xxiv. 2, 3, 14, 1.5. Ps. Ixvi. 6. Job xxviii. 11. Ps. xxiv. 2, xciii. 3. Cant. viii. 7. Prof Lee supposes that the allusion here is to some overflowing of the Eupiirates, but the reference seems to be decidedly to the deluge in the time of Noah. The language is such as would be used in referring to that, and the fad \s just such an one as would be pertinent to the argument of Eliphaz. The fact was undoubt- edly well known to all, so that a bare allusion to it would be enough. 17. Which said unto God, Depart from us. Notes ch. xxi. 14. Avery correct description of the old world. They had no wish to retain God in their knowledge. Probably Eliphaz here refers to what Job had said, ch. xxi. 14, 15. He had remarked, in describing the wicked, that they said unto God, " Depart from us," and yet they lived prosperously. "But 18 Yet * he filled their hous- es with good things ; but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. see," says Eliphaz, " a case where they did this. It was done by the inhabitants of the world before the deluge, and their houses were filled, as you say the houses of the wicked are, with good things, but God swept them all suddenly away." II Jlnd what can the Jilmighty do for them? Marg. or, to. That is, they demanded what the Almighty could do for them. They did not feel their de- pendence on him ; they did not admit that they needed his aid ; they cast off all reliance on him. Tiiis whole passage is a most sarcastic retort on what Job had said in ch. xxi. 14, 1.5. He had atHrmed that though wicked men used this language, yet that they prospered. Eliphaz takes the same language and applies it to the sinners before the deluge, and says that they expressed themselves just in this manner. The language which Job puts into the mouths of the wicked, had indeed, says Eliphaz, been used. But by whom ? By those who lived in security and prosperity. " By the men before the deluge," says he, " the race that was so wicked that it was necessary to cut them oft' b_y the flood. These are the men to whose sentiments Job a[)peals ; these the men with whom he has sympathy !" IS. Yet he filled their hou.'tcs with good things. Tliis is undoubtedly a biting sarcasm. Job iiad maintained that such men were prosperous. ' Yes,' says Eliphaz, ' their houses icere well filled ! They were sig- nally blessed and prospered !' U But the counsel of the icickcd is far from, nic. Tliis is the very language of Job, ch. xxi. 16. It is here used sar- castically. ' Far from me,' you sa.-, ' be the counsel of the wicked. ■ t j-ou defend them, and attemp' !<> show that they are the favorites of heaven ! You attempt to prove that God must and will bless them ! Far from mk, CHAPTER XXII. 11 say /, be the counsel of the wicked ! With tliern / have no part, no lot. I will not defend thcni — I will not be their advocate !' The object is, to show that, notwithstanding all that Job had said, he was secretly the ad- vocate of the wicked, and stood up as their friend. ]9. The righteous see it, and are glad. See the destruction of the wicked. Comp. Rev. xv. 3, xvi. 7, xix. 1, 2. This is designed by Eli- phaz, probably, not only to state a fact about the righteous of other times who saw the wicked punished, but, also, to vindicate his own conduct and tJiat of his two friends in regard to Job. If the righteous of otlier times had rejoiced when the wicked were punished, they inferred that it was not improper for them to mani- fest similar rejoicings when God had overtaken one who was so signally depraved as they supposed Job to be. Their want of sympathy for him, therefore, they would defend by a reference to the conduct of the men of other times. There is a sense in which good men rejoice when the wicked are detected and punished. It is not (1) that they rejoice that tiie sin was oommitted ; nor (2) that they rejoice in misery ; nor (3) that they would not rejoice more if the wicked had been righteous, and had escaped suffering altogether. But it is the kind of joy which we have when a murderer, a robber, or a pirate is seized— when a counterfeiter is detect- ed — when a man who prowls around the dwelling at night to murder its inmates is brought to punishment. It is jov, not that the sin was com- mitted, but that the laws are execut- ed ; and who siiould not rejoice in that.' We have joy in the character of an upright judge when he impar- tially and faithfully administers the laws; and why should we not rejoice in God when he does the same .' We 19 The righteous see it, and j 20 Whereas ' our substance is are glad : and the innocent laugh not cut down, but the remnant them to scorn. of them the fire consumeth. 1 or, estate 2 or, their exccUrncy. rejoice in the manifestation of truth and justice among men — why siiould we not in the exhibition of tlie same things in God ? We rejoice in a po- lice that can ferret out every form of iniquity, and bring offenders to jus tice ; and wiiy should we not rejoice in that government which is infinitely more perfect than any police ever was among men .'' TI Jind the innocent laugh them to scorn. This is another way of saying that they exult or re- joice. Comp. Prov. i. 26, 27. No consideration can justify me-n in de- riding and mocking those who are subjected to punishment; and it is by no means certain that the speaker meant to refer to such derision. 20. Whereas our substance is not cut down. Marg. or, estate. Gesenius supposes that this means our adver- sary or enemy. The word here used (n"p) he regards as derived from Cip — to rise, to rise up ; and, hence, it may have the sense of rising up against, or an enemy. So Noyes un- derstands it, and renders it, " Truly, our adversary is tlesUoyeil ; And fire hath consumed his abundance." RosenmQller accords witii this, and it seems to me to be the correct view. According to this, it is the language of the righteous (ver. 19) when ex- ulting over the punishment of the wicked, saying, 'Our foe is cut down.' Jerome renders it, Nonne succisa ej-t erectio eorum, etc. The LXX, "Has not their substance (i'n6ciraat(;) dis- appeared .''" The sense is not ma- terially different. If the word sub. stance., or properti/, is to be retained, it should be read as a question, and regarded as the language of the righteous who exult, ' Has not their substance been taken away, and has not the fire consumed their property ?" Dr. Good strangely renders it, " For our tribe is not cut off." TI But the remnant of them. Marg, their creel- 12 JOB. 21 Acquaint now thyself with 1 i. e. God. a l3. 27. 5. Ph. 4. 7. lency. Heb. tj^r}^ . Jerome, reli- quias eorum — " the remnants of Ihem.'' Sept. y.(XTciXfi/i/ia — the residue, or %ckatislcft. The Hebrewvvord C'Tl?) means, the remainder, the residue, the rest ; then, wh&t is redundant, more than is needed, or that abounds ; and then, wealth, the superabundant pro- perty which a man does not need, for his own use or family. Tlie word here probably means that which tlie rich sinner possessed. IT The fire con- sumeth. Or, hath consumed. It has been supposed by many that tiie al- lusion here is to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and it cannot be denied that such an allusion is possible. If it were certain that Job lived before that event, there could be little objection to such a supposi- tion. The only objection would be, that a reference to such an event was not more prominent. It would be a case just in point in the argument of the three friends of Job, and one to which it might be supposed they would have appealed as decisive of the controversy. They lived in the vicinity. They could not have been strangers to so remarkable an occur- rence, and it would liave furnished just the argument which they wished, to prove that God punishes the wick- ed in this life. If they lived after that event, therefore, it is difficult to account for the fact, that they did not make a more distinct and prominent allusion to it in their argument. It is true, that the same remark maybe made respecting the allusion to the flood, which was a case equally in point, and in reference to which the allusion, if it exist at all, is almost equally obscure. So far as the lan- guage here is concerned, the refer- ence inay be either to the destruction of Sodom, or to destruction by light- ning, such as happened to the pos- sessions of Job, ch. i. 16 ; and it is difficult, if not impossible, to deter- mine which is correct. The general ' him, and be at peace : " tliere- by good shall come unto thee. idea is, that the judgments of heaven, represented by fire, had fallen on the wicked, and that the righteous, tlicre- fore, had occasion to rejoice. 21. Jlcquaint now thyself icith him. Marg. i. e. 7rith God. Eliphaz takes it for granted now, that Job was a sinner wholly unreconciled to God, and unacquainted with him. This fact, he supposes, was the source of all his calamities. As long as he re- mained thus unreconciled to God, he must be miserable. He proceeds, therefore, in a most beautiful man- ner, to exhort liim to be at peace with God, and portrays the benefits which would result from such a reconcilia- tion. There are few passages in the Bible of more exquisite beauty than this, and nothing could be sounder advice, on the supposition that Job was, as he supposed, a stranger to God. In this beautiful exhortation, he shows (I) what he means by be- coming acquainted with God (vs. 21, 22,23) : and then (2) what would bo the happy results of such reconcilia- tion, vs. 24-30. The word rendered acquaint thyself ("i?0'"! — from '^^) means, properly, to dwell, to be fa- miliar with any one, to associate with one — from the idea of dwelling in the same tentor house ; andin Hiphil, the form here used, to become fa- miliar with any one, to be on terms of friendship. The meaning here is, 'Secure the friendship of God. Be- come truly acquainted with him. Be reconciled to him. You ai;e now es- tranged. You have no just views of him. You murmur and complain, and you are suffering under his dis- pleasure as a sinner. But it is not too late to repent, and to return to him ; and in so doing you will find peace.' An acquaintance with God, in the sense of this passage, implies (1) a correct knowledge of his true cliaracter, and (2) reconciliation with him. There are two great difficul- ties among men in rcg; "d to God ([lAP'l'Ell XXTI. 13 'i'^ Kccoivo, I pri.y thee, tlic law frDin liis mouth, and lay up " his words in thine heart. a Ps. 119. II. b IIos. 14. 1,2. c 2 Ti. 2. 19. The first is, that they have no just views of his real character. They think him harsh, stern, tyrannical, rhey regard his law as severe, and its penalty as unjust. They think his government to be arbitrary, and him- self to be unvvortiiy of confidence. J his erroneous view must be cor- lected before men can be reconciled 10 him — for how can they be brought to lay aside their opposition to him while they regard him as unjust and severe ? Secondly, even when the character of God is explained, and his true character is set before men, they are opposed to it. They are opposed to liim because he is so lioly. Loving sin, they cannot love one who lias no sin, and who frowns on evil ; and this opposition to the real char- acter of God must be removed before they can be reconciled to him. Thi.s requires a change of heart — a change from sin to holiness ; and this is the work performed in regeneration. 11 ^nd be at peace. There can be no peace while you maintain a warfare with God. It is a war against your Maker, where he has control over your conscience, your intellect, your body, and all which can affect your welfare ; and while this is maintained, there can be no peace. If the mind js reconciled to him, there will be peace. Peace of mind always follows reconciliation where there has been a variance, and nowhere is the peace so entire and full of joy as when man feels that he is reconciled to God. Eiiphaz here has stated a doctrine whicii has been confirmed by all the .suijsequent revelations in the Bible, and by the experience of all those who have become reconciled to God. Comp. Notes on Rom. v. i. It is peace, as opposed to the agitation and conflict of the mind before ; peace re- suiting from acquiescence in the clainis of God ; peace in the belief 23 If thou return " to ilie Al- mighty, thou shall be built up, thou shall put away " iniquity far from thy tabernacles. that he is wholly right, and worthy of confidence; and peace in the as- surances of his friendship and favor forever. This doctrine, it seems, was thus understood in the early ages of the world, and, indeed, must have been known as early as religion ex- isted after the fall. Man became alienated from God by the apostacy ; peace was to be found again only by returning to God, and in reconcilia- tion to him. IT Therebij good shall come unto thee. The benefits which he supposed would result from such reconciliation, he proceeds to state in the following verses. They relate chiefly to temporal prosperity, or to' proofs of the divine favor in this life. This was in accordance with the views which then prevailed, and es- pecially with their limited and ob- scure conceptions of the future state. They saw a part — ice see more ; and yet we by no means see all. The good which results from reconcilia- tion with God consists in (1) pardon of sin ; (2) peace of conscience ; (3) the assurance that we shall have all that is needful in this life; (4) sup- port in trial ; (5) peace and triumph in death ; (6) a part in the resurrec- tion of the just ; and (7) a crown in- corruptible and undefiled in heaven. No man was ever injured by becom- ing reconciled to God ; no one is re- conciled to him who is not made a better and a happier man in this life, and who will not be crowned with immortal glory hereafter. 22. Receive, I pray thee., the law from his mouth. Listen to his com- mands, and obey his precepts, 'i And lay up his icords in thine heart. Em- brace his truth, and do not forget it. Let it abide with you, and let it in- fluence your secret feelings and the purposes of the soul. ^ 23. If thou return to the Almighty. Assuming that he was an impenitent 14 JOB. 24 Then shalt thou lay up gold ' as dust, and the gold of 1 or, on the dust. sinner, and wholly unreconciled to him. IT Thou shalt he built up. A figure taken from building up a house, in contradistinction from pulling one down, and denoting that lie would be prospered and happy. IT Thou shalt put ainaij iniquity. RosenmtlUer, Good, Noyes, and VVemyss, suppose correctly, as it seems to me, that the word " if" is to be understood here to complete the sense — " if thou shalt j)Ut away iniquity." IT Frovi thij ta- bernacle. From thy tent, or dwelling. 24. Then shalt thoti lay vp gold as duit. Marg. or, "on tlte dust." Dr. Good renders this, " Thou shalt then count thy treasure as dust" — imply- ing that he would have much of it. Noye.s, " Cast to the dust thy gold" — implying that he would throw his gold away as of no account, and put liis dependence on God alone. Kim- chi, and, after him, Grotius, suppose that it means, " Thy gold thou slialt regard no more than dust, and gold of Ophir no more than the stones of the brook; God shall be to thee better than gold and silver." The editor of the Pictorial Bible supposes that there is here a distinct reference to the sources from which gold was for- merly obtained, as being washed down among the stones of the brooks. The word rendered gold here C"^^.?) is from ^2i3— to cvt off, Ps. Ixxvi. 12, and was properly applied to the ore of precious metals in the rude state, as cut or dug out of mines. Hence, it properly refers to the metals in their crude state, and before they were subjected to the fire. Then it comes to mean precious metals, and is parallel withgoldof Ophir in the other hemistich. The word occurs only in the following places; Job xxii. 24, xxxvi. 19, where it is rendered gold, and Jitb xxii. 2.5, where it is rendered defence. The literal translation here would be, ' Cast to the dust the pre- cious nu'tals ; on the stgnes of the Ophir as the stones of the brooks. brooks [the gold of] Ophir.' The Vulgate renders it, " He shall give for earth flint, and for flint golden torrents." The LXX, "Thou shalt be placed on a mount in a rock, and as a rock of the torrent of Ophir." Chald. " And thou shalt place upon the dust tliy strong tower (^pi^l^ Tjt!^), and as a rock of the torrents the gold of Ophir.' The word lierc is pro- bably synonymous with precious trea- sure, whether consisting in gold or silver ; and the idea is, that he should cast to the dust all that treasure, or regard it as valueless ; that he should cease to make it an object of solici- tude to gain it, and then the Almiglity would be to him a treasure of more value than gold. According to this, the idea is, not that he would be re- compensed with gold and silver as the consequence of returning to God, but that God would afiord him more happiness than he had found in the wealth which he had sought, and on which Eliphaz supposed his heart had been set. He regarded Job as co- vetous of property, as mourning over that wliirh he had lost, and he en- treats him now to cease to grieve on account of that, and to come and put his trust in God. IT Jlnd the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Or, rather, ' Cast the gold of Ophir to the stones of the valley, or let it remain in its native valley among the stones of the brook, as of no more value than they are.' There is, probably-, allusion here to the fact, that gold was then commonly found in such places, as it is often now. It was washed down by mountain torrents, and lodged among the stones of the valley, and was thence collected, and the sand being washed out, the gold remained. Ophir is uniformly mentioned in the Scriptures as a place abounding in gold, and as well known. See 1 Kings ix. 28. 2 Chron. viii. 18, ix. 10. 1 Kings x 11, xxiv. CHAPTER XXII. U 25 Yea, tlie Almighty shall be thy ' defence, and thou shall have "plenty of silver. 1 or, gold, 48. 1 Chron. xxix. 4. Much perplex- ity luis been Colt ill reference to its sit- uation, and llie tliificiilty lias not been entirely removed. In regard to the opinions which have been held on the point, the reader may consult my Notes on Isa. xiii. 12, tlie Note in the Pictorial Bible on 2 Chron. xx. 36, and the Dissertation of ]\Iartin Lipe- nius dc Opliir, in Ugolin's Thesaur- Sacr. Ant. Tom. vii. pp. 262-387; also, the Dissertation of J. C. Wich- mansliausen, dc navigatione Ophiri- tica, and R-eland's Dissertation de Ophir in the same volume. From the mention of this place at a period so early as the time of Job, it is rea- sonable to suppose that it was not a vory remote region, as there is no evi- dence that voyages were made then to distant countries, or that the know- ledge of geography was very exten- sive. The presumpf.ion would be, that it was in the vicinity of Arabia. 25. Yea, the Almiirhty shall he. Ori rather, 'then the Almighty shall be' — ^'VT^- ■ 1'I^*2 meaning is, that if he would return to (rod, and cast off liis anxiety for gold, then tiie Almigiily would be liis real treasure, and would impart to him solid happiness. II Thij defence. JVIarg. guld. The margin is the more correct translation. Tiie word is the same which occurs in the previous verse ("'m), and there ren- dered gold. The word may have the sense of defence, as the verb (^^2) is often used with such a reference. Num. xiii. 28. Deut. i. 28, iii. 5, ix. 1, etal. The meaning of such places, where the word is applied to walled towns or fortified places, is, that the enemy was, by means of walls, cut off from approach. Here, however, the idea of gold or treasure better suits the connection, and the meaning is, that God would be to him an invaluable treasure or source of happiness. IT 2G For then .shall thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. 2 silver of strengtii, Jlnd thou shalt have plenti/ of silver. Marg silver of strength. The correct idea, however, is, ' and the Almighty shall be treasures of silver unto thee ;' that is, he shall be better to you than an abundance of the precious metals. The Hebrew is literally, " And silver of treasures unto thee." 26. Shah thou have thy delight in the Almighty. Instead of complain- ing of him as jou now do, you would then find calm enjoyment in contem- plating his character and his moral government. This is a correct account of the effects of reconciliation. He who becomes truly ' acquainted ' with God has pleasure in iiis existence and attributes ; in his law and adminis- tration. No longer disposed to coui- plain, he confides in him when he is afflicted ; flees to him when he is persecuted; seeks him in the day of prosperity ; prefers him to all that this world can give, and finds his supremest joys in turning away from all created good to hold communion with the Uncreated One. IT And shalt lift %ip thy face unto God.. An emblem of prosperity, happiness, and conscious innocence. We hang our face down when we are conscious of guilt; we bow the head in adversity. When conscious of uprightness ; when blessed with prosperity, and when we have evidence that we are the children of God, we look up to- ward heaven. This was the natural condition of men — made to look up- wards, while all other animals look grovelling on the earth. So Milton describes the creation of man : There wanted yet the master-work, tlie end Of all yet done ; a creature, who, not prone And brute as other creatures, but endued With sanctity of reason, mi^lit erect His stature, and upri:;ht with front serene Govern the rest, self-knowing ; and from thenco Magnanimous to correspond with heaven. But grateful to acknowledge whence his good Descends ; thither with heart, and voice, and eyes, Directed in devotion, to adore 16 JOB 27 Thou " shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. 28 Thou shalt also decree ' a thing, and it shall be establish- ed unto thee : and the light shall shine upon thy ways. a Ps. 6(i. 17-20. J Mat. Q1.22. 1 him that hath low eyes. c 1 Pc. 5. 5. Anil worship God supreme, who made him chief Of all his works. Par. Lost, B. vii. Tlie classic reader will instantly re- collect the description in Ovid : Pronaque cum spectent animalia csetera ter- ram ; Os homini sublime dedit ; ccclumque tueri ' Jussit, et erectos ad sidera toUere vuHus. Meta. i. 84. 27. Thou shah make thy prayer unto him. God would then liear him, for he would be righteous. This was one of the blessings which would follow reconciliation It is, in fact, one of the blessings of a return to God. He hears the cry of his people, and answers their supplications. To be permitted to go to God and to tell him all our wants, to plead for all we need, and to implore blessings on onr families and friends, is a privilege of far higher value than any thing which wealth can bestow ; is worth more than all the honors of this world. Tl Jlnd thou shalt pay thy vows. That i.s, thy vows shall be accepted ; thou shalt obtain those blessings for wliich thou didst make thy vows. 28. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it sha'l lie established nrito thee. Thou shalt form a purpose or plan, and it shall not be frustrate(3. It .shall not be opposed by the events of divine Providence, but whatever you undertake shall prosper. U .^nd the light shall shine upon thy loaijs. Thou shalt he prospered in all things, in- stead of being overtaken with cala- mity. 20. When men are east down The nipaning of this is, probably, when men arc usually cast dea of the meaning of tlie passage. Wliat can be meant by " saving tlie island of tiie innocent?" Tiie word riMulered islinid ("^N) commonly means, indeed, an island, or a mari- time country. See Notes on Is:i. xx. G, xli. 1. It is, liowever, used as a negative in 1 Sam. iv. 21, in the name I-chahod — ^^^^■■^X . " And she named tiie cliild I-chabod (marg. i. e where is the glory? or, tliete is no glory), saying, the glory is departed Irom Israel." This sense is frequent in the Rabbinic Hebrew, where it is ufed as connected with an adjective in a privitive sense, like the English uji. It is probably an abbreviated form of ("pi*) not, nothing; and is used here as a negative to qualify the following word, "He shall deliver even him that is 7iot innocent." So it is rendered by the Chaldee, by Le Clerc,RosenmUller, Gesenius,]\o}es, and others. The Vulgate and the Septuagint render it, " He shall de- liver the innocent." The sense is, that the man who returns to God, and who is regarded by him as his friend, will be able to intercede for the guilty, and to save them from the punishment which they deserved. His prayers and intercessions will be lieard in their behalf, and on his ac- count favors will be shown to them, even when they did not personally deserve them. This sentiment ac- cords with that expressed in Gen. xviii. 26, " If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the citj-,then 1 will .spare all the place for their sakes." Ezek. xiv. 14, " Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they should deliver but their own souls." Comp.' Ezek. xxii. oO. Jer. V 1. The sentiment, also, had a beautiful illustration, though one which Eliphaz did not here think of, in his own case and that of his iriends, where this very Job, to whom he was giving this counsel, was di- rected to intercede for them. Ch xlii. 7, 8. The sentiment, indeed, is found every where in the Scriptures, that the righteous arc permitted to pray for others, and that they arc thus the means of bringing down im portant blessings on them. In an- swer to those prayers, multitudes are saved from calamity here, and will be brought to eternal life hereafter. IT ^^nd it is delivered by the j'ureness of thine hands. Or, rather, he, i. e the wicked, for whom you pray, will be delivered by the pureness of thine hands. That is, God will save hiui in answer to the prayers of a righteous man. Your upriglit and holy life ; your pure hands stretched out in sup- plication, shall be the means of saving him. No one can tell how many blessings are conferred on wicked men because the righteous pray for them. No one can tell how many a wicked son is spared, and ultimately saved, in answer to tiie intercessions of a holy parent ; nor can the wicked world yet know how mucii it owes its preservation, and the numberless blessings which it enjoys, to the in- tercessions of the saints. It is one of the innumerable blessings of being a child of God thus to be permitted to be the means of bringing down bless- ings on others, and saving sinners from ruin. All the friends of God may thus confer unspeakable benefits to others ; and they who have ' an n- terest at tlie throne of grace' sho\ Id plead without ceasing for the sa? j.- vation of guilty and dying men. 18 JOB. CHAPTER XXIII. ANALYSIS OF CHAPTERS XXIII. AND XXIV These two chapters contain the answer of Job to the last speech of Eliphaz. The address is that of a mind agitated by deep and conflicting emotions. It consists in part in the expression ofthose emotions, and in part in an endeavor once more to convince his friends of the falsehood of their positions. Tlie address comprises the following topics. He expresses the depth of his sorrows, and says that his complaint is more bitter than he had yet expressed, ch. xxiii. 2. He then repeats his earnest desire to carry bis cause before God, since he could obtain no justice from men, but he knows not whore to find him. He is assured that if he could get his cause before him, justice would be done him, vs. 3-9. In this perplexity, however, he consoles himself with the reflection that though he had not the opportunity of pleading his cause as he wished before God, yet that he knew that he was sincere, tmd would yet appear for his vindication, and bring him forth as gold, vs. 10-12. Yet, he says, he is trou- bled at the dealings of God with liim, notwithstanding his consciousness of integrity. He trcnil)lps .it tlie contemplation of a Being who thus carries forward his eternal and unchangeable purpose ; who has'all power to execute his designs ; and whose judgments are so fearful, vs. 13-17. Having thus given vent to his feelings, he returns to the argument, ch. xxiv. He attempts by one more effort to convince his adversaries that it was not a matter of fact tliat God dealt with the wicked in Ibis life as they deserved, and that in fact many of them lived in prosperity. He denies that judgments come universally upon wicked men, and maintains that they do not even frequently come ; and he produces a catalogue of enormous crimes, and siiows that they who committed them actually lived and were prospered. He specifies those who remove the land- marks ; those who plunder flocks and herds ; those who oppress tlie fatherless and the widow ; tliose who are cruel ; those who pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor ; he mentions the murderer, the adulterer, the thief, and says that all these in fact live and flourish. Yet he maintains that, notwithstanding their present prosperity, they shall be brought down, and meet the rewards of their wickedness hereafter. As all this was indisputable, it ended the controversy. Eliphaz and Zopliar made no further reply, and Bildad only made (ch XXV.) a feeble effort, without attempting to meet the facts, and uttered some vague gener- alities whicli showed that he in fact had no more to say. T^HEN Job answered and said, -^ 2 Even to-day is my com- 2. Even to-day. At the present time. I am not relieved. You afford me no consolation. All that you say only aggravates my woes. IT J\hj complaint. See Notes on ch. xxi. 3. IT Bitter. Sad, melancholy, distress- ing. The meaning is, not that he made bitter complaints in the sense which those words would naturally convey, or that he meant to find fault with God, hut that his case was a hard one. His triends furnished him no relief, and he had in vain en- deavored to bring his cause betore God. This is now, as he proceeds to state, the principal cause of his diffi- culty. He knows not where to find God ; he cannot get his cause before liim. ^ My stroke. Marg. as in Heb. hand : that is, the hand that is upon plaint bitter : my ' stroke is hea- vier than my groaning. 1 hand. me, or the calamity that is inflicted upon me. The kajid is represented as the instrument of inflicting punish- ment, or causing affliction. See Notes on ch. xix. 21. TI Heavier than my groaning. My sighs bear no propor- tion to my sufferings. They are no adequate expression of my woes. If you think I complain ; if I am lieard to groan, yet the sufl^erings which I endure are far beyond what these would seem to indicate. Sighs and groans are not improper. They are prompted by nature, and they furnish some relief to a sufferer. But they should not be (],) with .i spirit o. murmuring or complaining ; (2,) thoy should not be heyond wliat our suffer- ings demand, or the proper expres- sion of our sufferings. They ihould CHAPTER XXIII. 19 3 Oh "that I knew where I might find him ! that I might come even to his seat ! 4 I would order my cause * before him, and fill my mouth a Is. 20. 8. Je. 14. 7. not be such as to lead others to sup- pose we suffer more tlian we actually do. (3.) They sliould — wlien they are extorted from us by the severity of suf- feritig — lead us to look to that world where no groan will ever be heard. 3. tluit I knew ichere I might find him. Wliere 1 might find God. He had often expressed a wish to bring his cause directly before God, and to be permitted to plead iiis cause there. See Notes on ch. xiii. 3, 20, seq. But this he had not yet been able to do. The argument had been with his three friends, and he saw that there was no use in attempting fur- ther to convince them. If he could get the cause before God, and be al- lowed to plead it there, he felt as- sured that justice would be done him. But he had not been able to do this. God had not come forth in any visi- ble and public manner as he wished, so that the cause could be fairly tried before such a tribunal, and he was in darkness. The language here used will express the condition of a pious man in the times of spiritual dark- ness. He cannot find God. He has no near access as he once had to him. In such a state he anxiously seeks to find God, but he cannot. There is no light and no comfort to his soul. This language may further describe the state of one who is conscious of uprightness, and who is exposed to the suspicion or the unkind remarks of the world. His character is at- tacked ; his motives are impugned; his designs are suspected, and no one is disposed to do him justice. In such a state, he feels that God alone will do him justice. He knows the sincerity of his heart, and he can safely commit his cause to him. It is always the privilege of the calum- niated and the slandered to make an with arguments. 5 I would know the words whirh he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. 6 Is. 43. 2G appeal to the divine tribunal, and to feel that whatever injustice our fel- low-men may be disposed to do us, there is One who will never do a wrong. IT That / might come even to his scat. To his throne, or tribu- nal. Job wished to carry the cause directly before him. Probably he desired some manifestation of God — such as he was afterwards favored with — when God would declare his judgment on the whole matter of the controversy. 4. I would order my cause before him. Comp. Notes on Isa. xliii. 26. That is, I would arrange my argu- ments, or plead my cause, as one does in a court of justice. I would sug- gest the considerations which would show that I am not guilty in the sense charged by my friends, and that notwithstanding my calamities, I am the real friend of God. IT Jlnd fill my mouth loith arguments. Proba- bly he means that he would appeal to the evidence furnished by a life of benevolence and justice, that he was not a hypocrite or a man of distin- guished wickedness, as his friends maintained. 5. / loould know the words which he Would ansiccr me. That is, I wish to understand what would be his de- cision in the case — and what would be his judgment in regard to me. That was of infinitely more import- ance than any opinion which man could form, and Job was anxious to have the matter decided by a tribunal which could not err. VVhy should we not desire to know exactly what God thinks of us, and wliat estimate he has formed of our character ? There is no information so valuable to us as that would be ; for on his es- timate hangs our eternal doom, and yet there is nothing which men more 20 JOB 6 Will " he plead against me with his great power 1 No ; but he would put strength in me. a Is. 57. 16. instinctively dread than to know wliat God thinks of their character. It would be well for each one to ask himself, If'/uj is it so? 6. IViU. he plead against me with his great power ? ' Will he make use of his mere poioer to overwhelm me and confound me .' Will he take advantage of omnipotence to triumph over me, instead of argument and justice .'' No : he will not do it. The discussion would be fair. He would Jiear what I have to say, and would decide according to truth. Though he is Almighty, yet he would not take advantage of that to prostrate and confound me.' When Job (ch. xiii. 3) wished to carry the cause directly before God, he asked of Him two conditions only. One was, that he would take otf his handfroui him, or remove his afflictions for a time, that he might be able to manage his own cause ; and the other was, that He would not take advantage of his power to overwhelm him in the de- bate, and prevent his making a fair statement of his case. See Notes on ch. xiii. 20, 21. He here expresses his firm conviction that his wish in this respect would be granted. He would listen, says he, to what I have to say in my defence as if I were an equal. U No : hut he would put strength in me. The word strength is not improperly supplied by our translators. It means that he would enable him to make a fair presenta- tion of his cause. So far from taking advantage of his mere poivcr to crush him, and thus obtain an ascendency in the argument, he would rather strengthen him, that he might be able to make his case as strong as possible. He would rather aid him, though presenting his own cause in the con- troversy, than seek to weaken his ar- guments, or so to awe him by his dread majesty as to prevent his V There the righteous might dispute with him ; so shall I be delivered for ever from my j udge. making the case as strong as it might be. This indicates remarkable con- fidence in God. 7. There the righteous might dis- pute with him. One who is conscious of his integrity might carry his cause there, with the assurance that he would be heard, and that justice would be done him. There can be no doubt that Job here refers to him- self, though he speaks in the third person, and advances this as a general proposition. IT So shall I he delivered for ever from my judge. From him who would judge or condemn me (iqSiU'ij. He does not here refer to God, as if he would be delivered from him, but to any one who would attempt to judge and condemn him, as his friends had done. The meaning is, that having, as he confidently ex- pected he would, obtained the ver- dict of God in his favor, he would be ever after free from condemnation. The decision would be final. There was no higher tribunal, and no one would dare to condemn hini after- wards. This shows his conscious- ness of integrity. It may be applied to ourselves — to all. If we can ob- tain, at the last day, when our cause shall be brought before God, the di- vine verdict in our favor, it will settle iho matter for ever. No one, after that, will condemn us ; never again shall our character or conduct be put on trial. The divine decision of that day will settle the question to all eternity. How momentous, then, is it that wo should so live as to be acquitted in that day, and to have a?i eternal sentence in our favor ! 8. Behold, I go forward The meaning of these verses is, I go in all directions, but I cannot find God. I am excluded from the trial which I seek, and I cannot bring my cause to his throne. Job expresses his earnest desire to see some visible manifesta CHAPTER XXIII. 21 8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, tion of the Deity, and to be permitted to argue liis cause -in his presence. But he says lie souglit this in vain. He looked to all points of the compass vvliere he might rationally expect to find Ciod, hut all in vain. The terms here used refer to the points of the compass, and should have been so rendered. The Oriental geographers considered themselves as facing the East, instead of the North, as we do. Of course, tlie ^V^cst was behind them, the South on the right iiand, and on the left the IVorth. This was a more natural position than ours, as day be- gins in the East, and it is natural to turn th<' face in that direction. There is no reason why our maps should he made so as to require us to face the JVorth, except that such is the custom. The Hebrew custom, in this respect, is found also in the notices of geog- raphy in other nations. The same thing prevails among the Hindoos. Among them. Para, or Purra, signi- f^-ing "before," denotes the East; Apara and Paschima, meaning "be- hind," the West ; Dacshina, or " tiio riglit hand," the South ; and Bania, or " the left hand," the North. See Wilford's Inquiry res])ecting the Holy Isles in tlie West, Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. p. 275. The same tiling oc- curred among the ancient Irish. See an Essay on tlie Antiquity of the Irish language, by an unknown author, Dublin, 1772. Comp. on this sub- ject, Rosen milller's Alterthumskun- de i. s. 136-144. The same custom prevailed among the Mongols. Gc- seriius. On the notices of the science of geography exhibited in the book of Job, comp. Intro. § viii. 2, 3. The phrase, therefore, " Behold, I go for- ward," means, ' I go to the East. 1 look toward the rising of the sun. I see there the most wonderful of the works of the Creator in the glories of the sun, and I go towards it in iiopes of finding there some manifestation of God. But I find him not, and, disappointed, 1 turn to other direc- but I cannot perceive him ; 9 On the left hand, where he tions.' Most of the ancient versions render this the East. Thus the Vul- eale. Si ad Oricntem icro. Tlie Chaldce '*?"'^'??, to the sun-risivg. TI But he is' not there. There is no manifestation of God, no coming forth to meet me, and to hear my cause. ^] Jlndbackicard i'^"^^^'.). To the West — for this was behind the individual when he stood looking to the East. Sometimes the West is denoted by this term behind CIPIX), and sometimes by the sea C^^), be- cause the Mediterranean was at the West of Palestine and Arabia. See Notes on Isa. ix. 12. Comp. Ex. x. 1[), xxvii. 13, xxxviii. 12. Gen. xxviii. 14. IT But I cannot perceive him. The meaning is, ' Disappointed in the East, the region of the rising sun, I turn with longing to the JVest, the region of his setting, and hope, as his last beams fade from the view, that I shall be permitted to behold some ray that shall reveal God to my soul. Before the night settles down upon the world, emblem of the darkness in my soul, I would look upon the last lingering ray, and hope that in that I may see God. In that vast re- gion of the West, illuminated by the setting sun, I would hope somewhere to find him ; but I am disappointed there. The sun withdraws his beams, and darkness steals on, and the world, like my soul, is enveloped in gloom. I can see no indications of the pres- ence of God coming forth to give me an opportunity to argue my cause be fore him.' 9. On the left hand. That is, in the North — at the left hand when the fac« was turned to the East. So the Chaldee, !^;*IS:^3— o„ the ^orth. The other versions, the Vulgate, the Septuagint, the Syriac, Castellio, Luther, &c, render it on the left hand. The common term among the lie- brews for the JVorth is IIS^J — tzaphon (from "(SS — to hide, or conceal)^ 22 JOB. meaning the liidden, concealed, or dark region, since the ancients re- garded tlie JNorth as the seat of gloom and darkness (Horn. Od. ix.25, seq.), while they supposed the South to be illuminated by the sun. Gcscnius. Frequently, however, as here, the word " left," or " left hand," is used. The region of the North is intended. IT JVherc he doth work. Where there are such wonderful manifestations of his majesty and glory. May Job here not refer to the Jlurora Borcalis, the remarkable display of the power of God which is seen in those regions ? May he not have felt that there was some special reason why ho might hope to meet with God in that quarter, or to see him manifest him- self amidst the brilliant lights that play along th.e sky, as if to precede or accompany him .' And when he had looked to the splendor of the risingsun, and the glory of his setting, in vain, was it not natural to turn his eye to the next remarkable manifes- tation, as he supposed, of God, in the glories of the Northern lights, and to expect to find him there .'' There is reason to tliink that the ancient Chal- deans, and other heathens, regarded the regions of the North, illuminated with these celestial splendors, as the peculiar residence of the gods (see Notes on Isa xiv. 13), and it seems pro- bable that Job may have had allusion to some such prevailing opinion. U But I cannot behold him. I can see the exhibition of remaikable splen- dor, but still God is unseen. He docs not come amidst those glories to give mc an opportunity to carry my cause before him. The meaning, then, of this is, ' Disappointed in the East and the West, I turn to the North. Tiiere I have been accus- tomed to witness extraordinary niani- fjsfations of his magnificence and glory. There beautiful constellations circle the pole. There the Aurora plays, and seems to be the manifesta- tion of the glory of God. Next to the glory of the rising and setting sun, 1 turn to those brilliant lights, lo see if tliere I may n'»t find my God, but in vain. Those lights are cold and chilly, and reveal no God to my soul. Disappointed, then I turn to the last point, the South, to see if I can find him there.' IF Hchidcth him- self on tlie right hand. On the South. The South was to the ancients an un- known region. The deserts of Arabia, indeed, stretched away in that re- gion, and they were partially known, and they had some knowledge that the sea was beyond. But they regard- ed the regions farther to the Soutii, if there was land there, as wholly im- passable and uninhabitable on ac- count of the heat. The knowledge of geography was slowly acquired, and, of course, it is impossible to tell what were the views which prevail- ed on the subject in the time of Job. That there was little accuracy of in- formation about remote countries must be regarded as an indisputable fact ; and, probably, they had little conception of distant parts of the earth, except that formed by conjec- ture. Interesting details of the vievvg of the ancients, on this subject, may be found in the Encyclopedia of Geography, vol. i. pp. 10-68. Com- pare particularly the Notes on ch. xxvi. 10. The earth was regarded as encompassed with waters, and the dis- tant southern regions, on account of the impossibility of passing through the heat of the torrid zone, were sup- posed to be inaccessible. To those hidden and unknown realms, Job says he now turned, when he had in vain looked to each other quarter of the heavens, to see if he could find some manifestation of God. Yet he looked to that quarter equally in vain. God hid or concealed himself in those in- accessible regions, so that he could not approach him. The meaning is, ' I am also disappointed here. He hides himself in that distant land In tlic burning and impassable wastes whicii stretch themselves 1o an un known extent there, I cannot find him. The feet of mortals cannot traverse those burning plains, and there I cannot approach him. To whatever point of the compass I turn. CHAPTER XXIII. 23 doth work, but I cannot behold hitn : he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him : 10 But he knoweth the way that ' I take : ichen " he hath I am left in equal darkness.' What a striking description is this of the darkness that soriietinies comes over the Christian's soul, prompting to the language, ' O that I knew where I might find him I That I could come to his tlirone !' 10. But he kiioiocth the iciiy that I take. Marg. " iaicUk vie." That is, • I have tlie utmost confidence in him. Thougii I cannot sec him, yet he sees me, and he knows my integ- rity ; and whatever men may say, or however they may misunderstand my character, yet he is acquainted with me, and I have tiie fullest con- fidence that he will do me justice.' H When he hath tried me. When he has subjected me to all the tests of character which lie shall choose to apply. IT / shall come forth as gold. As gold that is tried in the crucible, and that comes forth the more pure the intenser is the heat. The appli- cation of fire to it serves to separate every particle of impurity or alloy, and leaves only the pure metal. tSo it is with trials applied to the friend of God ; and we may remark (1 .) Thai all real piety will bear any test that may be applied to it, as gold will bear any degree of heat without being in- jured or destroyed. (2.) That the eflect of all trials is to purify piety, and make it more bright and valu- able, as is the etfect of applying in- tense heat to gold. (3.) There is often much alloy in the piety of a Chris- tian, as there is in gold, that needs to be removed by the fiery trial of af- fliction. Nothing else will remove it but trial, as nothing will he so effec- tual a purifier of gold as intense heat. (4.) A true Clirisiian should not dread trial. It will not hurt him. He will be the more valuable for his trials, as gold is for the Replication of heat. tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 11 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. There is no danger of destroying true piety. It will live in the flames, and will survive the raging heat that shall yet consume the world. 11. Mij foot hath held his steps. Roberts, in his Oriental Illustrations, and the Editor of the Pictorial Bible, suppose that there is an allusion here to tiie active, grasping power which the Orientals have in their feet and toes. By constant usage they accus- tom themselves to make use of them in holding things in a manner w-hich to us seems almost incredible, and they make the toes perform almost the work of fingers. We bind ours fast from early childhood in our close shoes, and they become useless ex- cept for tiic purpose of walking. But tlie Orientals use theirs diflerently. They seize upon an object with their toes, and hold it fast. If in walking along they see any thing on the ground wliich they desire to pick up, instead of stooping as we would, tliev seize it with their toes, and lift it up. Alypuile, a Kandian chief, was about to be beheaded. When he arrived at the place of execution, he looked round for some object on which to seize, and saw a small shrub, and seized it with his toes, and held it fast in order to be firm while the executioner did his oftice. Roberts. So an Arab in treading firmly, or in taking a determined stand, seems to lay hold of, to grasp the ground with his toes, giving a fixedness of position inconceivable to those whose feet are cramped by the use of tight shoes. This may be the meaning here, that Job had fixed himself firmly in tlie footsteps of God, and had adhered tenaciously to him ; or, as it is rendered by Dr. Good, " In his steps will I rivet my feet." 11 Jiiid not declined. Turned aside. 24 JOB. 12 Neither have i gone back from the commandment of his Ups ; I "■ have ' esteemed the words of his mouth more than my ^ necessary ybof/. * 12. Neither have I gone hack. i liave not put away or rejected. IT The commandment of his lips. That wliich ho has spoken, or which has proceeded out of his mouth. IF I have esteemed. Marg. hid, or, laid vp. The Heh. is, ' I have liid,' as we liide or lay up that which is valuable. It is a word often applied to laying up treasures, or concealing them so that they would be safe. IT More than my necessary food. Marg. ' or, appointed portion.' Dr. Good renders it, " In my bosom have I laid up the words of his mouth." So Noyes, "The words of his mouth I have treasured up in my bosom." So VVemyss ; and so it is rendered in the Vulgate, and by the LXX. The variety in the translation has arisen from the differ- ence of reading in regard to the He- brew word '^|5'7?. Instead of this meaning 'more than my portion ' or 'allowance,' the Sept. and Vulgate appear to have read "^I^^IS — in my bo- som. But there is no authority for the change, and there seems to be no reason for it. The word pH, hhoq, means something decreed, designat- ed, appointed ; then an appointed portion, as of labor, Ex. v. ]4 ; then of food — an allowance of food, Prov. XXX. 8 ; then a limit, bound, law, statute. Sac. It seems to me that the word here means purpose, intention, rule, or dcsig7i, and that the idea is, that he had regarded the commands of God more thaji his own purposes. He had been willing to sacrifice his own designs to the will of God, and had thus shown his preference for God and his law. This sense seems to be the most simple of any, and it is surprising that it has not occurred to any expositors. So the same word is used in ver. 14. If this be the meaning, it expresses a true sentiment 13 But he is in one jmnd, and who can turn him ? and 7chat his soul desireth, even that he doeth. a Vs. 19. 9, 10. 1 hid, or, laid up. 2 or, appointed portion. J Je. 15. IG. of piety in all ages. He vs'ho is truly religious is willing to sacrifice and abandon his own plans at the com- mand of God. Job says that he was conscious of having done this, and he tlius had a firm conviction that ho was a pious man. 13. But he is in one mind. He I3 unchangeable. He has formed his plans, and no one can divert him from tliem. Of the trtith of this senti- ment there can be no dispute. The only difficulty in the case is to see why Jo!) adverted to it here, and how it bears on the train of thought which he was pursuing. The idea seems to be, that God was now accomplish- ing his eternal purposes in respect to him ; that he had formed a plan fai back in eternal ages, and that that plan must be executed ; that he was a Sovereign, and that however mys- terious his plans might be, it was vain to contend with them, and that man ought to submit to their execu- tion with patience and resignation Job expected yet that God would come forth and vindicate him ; but at present all that he could do was to submit. He did not pretend to un- derstand the reason of the divine dis- pensations : he felt that he had no power to resist God. The language iiere is that of a man who is perplexed in regard to the divine dealings, but who feels that they are all in accord ancc with the unchangeable ])urp().se of God. IT J}nd what his soul desireth even that he doeth. He does what ho pleases. None can resist or control him. It is vain, therefore, to contend against him. From this passage we see that the doctrine of divine sove- reignty was understood at a very early age of the world, and entered undoubtedly into the religion of tho patriarchs. It was then seen and felt that God was absolur all that is done, though I cannot see it, than to feel that I am subject to the tossings of blind chance, where there can possibly be no reason. U ^nd many such things are with him. The purpose does not pertain to nic alone. It is a part of a great plan which extends to others — to ail things. He is executing his plans around nie, and I should not com- plain that in the development of his vast purposes I am included, and that I suffer. The idea seems to be this, that Job found consolation in the be- lief that he was not alone in these circumstances; that he had not been marked out and selected as a speci:il object of divine displeasure. Others had suffered in like manner. There were many cases just like his own, and why should he complain .■" If 1 felt that there was special displeasure against me ; that no others were treat- ed in the same way, it would make afflictions ir uch more difficult to bear. But when 1 feel that there is an eter- nal plan wliich embraces all, and thai I only con^e in for my sh4re, in com- mon with others, of the calamities which ar judged necessary for the world, I can bear them with much more ease and patience. 15. Therefore am I troubled at his presence. The doctrine of- divine purposes and decrees is fitted to im- press the mind icith aice. So vast are the plans of God ; so uncertain to us is it what will be developed next; so 26 JOB. 16 For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth impossible is it to resist God vvlien he comes forth to execute his plans, tiiat they fill the mind with reverence and fear. And this is one of the objects for which the doctrine is»revealed. It is designed to rebuke the soul that is filled with flippancy and self-conceit; to impress the heart with adoring views of God, and to secure a proper reverence for his government. Not knowing what may be the next de- velopment of his plan, the mind should be in a state of holy fear — yet ready to submit and bow in whatever aspect his purposes may be made known. A Being, who lias an eter- nal plan, and who is able to accom- plish all that he purposes, and who makes known none of his dealings beforehand, should be an object of veneration and fear. It will not be the sams hind of dreadful fear which v/e would have of one who had al- mighty power, but who had no plan of any kind, but profound veneration for one who is infinitely wise as well as almighty. The fear of an Al- mighty Being, who has an eternal plan, which we cannot doubt is wise, though it is inscrutable to us, is a fear mingled with confidence ; it is awe leading to the profoundest venera- tion. His eternal counsels may take away our comforts, but they are right; his coming forth may fill us with awe, but we shall -n cnerate and love him. TI When I coin-der. When I endeavor to understand liis deal- ings ; or when I think closely on them. IT I am afraid of hn. This would he the efiect on an^ mind. A man that will sit down ulone and 17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness, ncit]ii:r hath he covered the darkness from m^ face. think of God, and on his vast plans, will see that there is abundant occa- sion to be in awe before liim. 16. For God vialeth my heart soft That is, faint. He takes away my strength. Comp. Notes on Isa. vii 4. This efiect was produced on Job by the contemplation of the eternal plan and the power of God. 17. Because 1 2cas not cut off before the darkness. Before these calami tics came upon me. Because I wa» not taken away in the midst of pros- perityj and while I was enjoying his smiles and the proofs of his love. His trouble is, that he was spared to pass through these trials, and to be treated as if he were one of the worst of men. This is what now per- plexes him, and what he cannot un- derstand. He does not know why God had reserved him to treat him as if he were the chief of sinners. II Neither hath he covered the dark- ness from my face. The word ' neither' is supplied here by our translators, but not improperly. The difficulty with Job was, that God had not hid- den this darkness and calamity so that he had not seen it. He could not understand whj', since he was his friend, God had not taken him awa}', so that all should have seen even in his death that he was the friend of God. This feeling is not perliaps, very uncommon among those who are called to pass through trials They do not understand why they were reserved to these sufferings, and why God did not take them away be- fore the billows of calamity rolled over them. CHAPTER XXIV. W IIY, seeing times are not hidden from the Ahnighty, I. If/iij, sccintr l/iiu's arc not hid- (li :i from (lie AiiniglUij. fJr. Good ioihIlts this, '' Wlicreforc are not doomdays kept by tlio Almighty, Po that Ills offenders may eye his peiiods ?" Dr. Noyes, " Wliy are not times of punishment reserved by the Aliriglity, And why do not they, who regard him, see liis judgments ?" .Trroine, " Times arc not hidden from the Ahnighty; but they who know him are ignorant of his days." The LXX, " But why have set linips — u)uai — escaped tlie notice — \'uiO<)f — of the Ahiiigiity, and the wirlied transgressed all bounds? The word C^rn"^ here translated times, is rendered by the Chaldee (!^^?'=3^) set times, times appointed for an as- sembly or a trial, beforehand desig- nated for any purpose. The Hebrew word properly means, set time, fit and proper times ; and in tlie plural, as here used, means seasons. Est. i. 13. 1 Chron. xii. 32; and then vicis- situdes of things, fortunes, destinies. I's xxxi. 16. 1 Chron. xxix. 30. Here it means, probably, the vicissitudes of tilings, or what actually occurs. All ciianges are known to God. He sees good and bad times ; he sees the rlianges that take place among men. And since he sees all this. Job asks, with concern, Why is it that God does not come fortii to deal with men according to their true character .' That this was the fact, he proceeds to sliow farther in illustration of the position which he had maintained in ( ii. xxi, by specifying a number of additional cases where the wicked undeniably prospered. It was this wliich perplexed him so much, for he did not doubt that their conduct do they that know him not see hi.s days 1 was clearly known to God. If their conduct had been unknown to God, it would not have been a matter of surprise that they should go unpun- ished. Butsince all their ways were clearly seen by him, it might wel. excite inquiry wJiy they wore per- mitted thus to prosper. He believed that they were reserved to a future day of wrath, ch. xxi. 30, ch. xxiv 23, 24. Tliey would be punished in due time, but it was not a fact as his friends alleged, that they were pun- ished in iJiis life according to their deeds. IT Do they that knoio kirn " His true friends; the pious. 1! v\oi see his days. The days of his wrath, or the day when he punishes the wicked. Why are they not per- mitted to see him come fortli to take vengeance on his fons .^ The phrase '■his days' means the days when God would come forth to jjun- ish his enemies. They are called 'his days,' because at that time God would be the prominent object that would excite attention. They would be days when he would manifest himself in a manner so remarkable as to characterize the period. Tims the day of judgment is called tlu; day ' of the Son of ]\Ian,' or 'his day' (Luke xvii. 24), because at tiial time the Lord Jesus will be the i)ronii- nent and glorious object that shall give character to the day. The question Jiere seems fo have been asked by Job mainly to call attention to the fact which lie proceeds to illus- trate. The fact wa.s undeniable Job did 7iot maintain, as Eliphaz bad charged on him (ch. xxii. 12-14) that the reason why God did no punisli them was, that he could no see their deeds. He admitted mos fully that God did sec them, and iin 26 JOB. 2 >S^oMje remove the land-marks; I the way; the poor of tlie earth they violently take away flocks, j hide themselves together. and feed ' thereof. \ 5 Behold, as wild asses in the 3 They drive away the ass of j desert, go they forth to their the fatherless, they take " the work, rising betimes for a prey widow's ox for a pledge, 4 They turn the needy out of 1 or, them. derstood all that they did. In this they were agreed. Shiee this was so, the question was why the wicked were spared, and lived in prosperity. The fact that it was so, Job affirms. The reason wliy it was so, was the subject of inquiry now. This was perplexing, and Job could solve it only by referring to what was to come iiereafter. 2. Some remove the land-marks. Land-marks are pillars or stones set up to mark the boundaries of a farm. To remove them, by carrying them on to the land of another, was an act of dishonesty and robbery — since it was only by marks that the extent of a man's property could be known. Fences were uncommon ; the art of surveying was not well understood, and deeds describing land were proba- bly unknown also, and their whole dependence, therefore, was on the stones that were erected to mark the boundaries of a lot or farm. As it was not difficult to reuiove them, it became a matter of special import- ance to guard against it, and to make it a crime of magnitude. According- ly, it was forbidden in the strictest manner in the law of Moses. " Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's land-mark." Deut. xxvii. IG. Comp. Dent, xix 14. Prov. xxii. 28, xxiii. 10. If And feed thereof Marg. " or, them." The margin is correct. The meaning is, that they drive off the flocks of others, and pasture them ; that is, they are at no pains to con- ceal wliat tiiey do, but mingle them with their own herds, and feed them as if they were their own. If they drove them away to kill, and re- nic^ved them wholly from visw, it the wilderness yiddtth food for them and for their children. De.24. 6. 17. would be less shameful than to keep and claim them as their own, and to make the robbery so public. 3. They drive away the ass of the fatherless. Of the orphan, who can- not protect himself, and whose only property may consist in this useful animal. Injury done to an orphan is always regarded as a crime of pecu- liar magnitude, for they are unable to protect themselves. See Notes, ch. xxii. 9. ir They take the widow's oz for a pledge. See Notes, ch. xxii 6. The widow was dependent on her ox to till the ground, and hence the crime of taking it away in pledge for the payment of a debt. 4. They turn the needy out of the way. They crowd the poor out of the path, and thus oppress and injure them. They do not allow them the advantages of the highway. 'I llie poor of the earth hide themselves to- gether. For fear of the rich and mighty man. Driven from the society of the rich, without their patronage and friendship, they are obliged to associate together, and find in the wicked man neither j)rotector nor friend. And yet the proud oppressor is not punished. 5. Behold, as 7cild asses in the desert. In regard to the wild ass, see Notes on ch. vi. 5. Schulten.«, Good, Noyes, and Wemy.ss, understand this, not as referring to the haughty tyrants them- selves, but to the oppressed and needy wretches whom they had driven from societ}', and compelled to seek a precarious subsistence, like the wild ass, in the desert. They suppose that the meaning is, that these outcasts go to their daily toil seeking roots and vegetable! in the CHAPTER XXIV. 29 They reap every one his ' corn ill the tield, ;uid "they gu- sher the viiitngc of the wicked. 7 They cause tlie naked to lodge without clothing, that they 1 mingled corn, or, dredge. desert for a subsistence, hke wild animals. But it seems to me that tiie reference is rather to another class of wicked men : to the wandering tribes that live by jilunder — who roam through the deserts, and live an un- restrained and a lawless life, like wild animals. The wild ass is dis- tinguished for its fieetness, and the comparison liere turns principally on this fut. These marauders move ra- pidly from place to place, make their assault suddeiily and unexpectedly, and, having plundered the traveller, or the caravan, as suddenly disappear. They have no home, cultivate no land, and keep no flocks. Tiie only objection to this interpretation is, that the wild ass is not a beast of prey. But, in reply to this, it may be said, lliat the comparison does not depend on that, but on the fact that they re- semble those animals in their lawless habits of life. See IVotes on ch. .\i. 12, xxxix. 5. U Go tlieij forth to their icork. To their employment — to wit, plunder. TI Rising betimes. Rising early. It is a custom of the Orientals 3very where to rise by break of day. In journeys, they usually rise long before day, and travel much in the night, and during the heat of the day they rest. As caravans often tra- velled early, plunderers would rise early, also, to meet them. IT For a prey. For plunder — the business of their lives. U The wilderness. The desert, for so the word wilderness is used in the Scriptures. See Notes on Isa. XXXV. 1. Matth. iii. 1. IT Yieldeth food. To wit, by plunder. They obtain Fubsistence for themselves and thei? iaaiilies by plundering the car- avaPii <.f the desert. The idea of Job ii, ihat they are seen by God, and yet tl"-i llicy are suftered to roam at large. have no covering in the cold. 8 They are wet with the shower.s of the mountains, and embrace " the rock for want of a shelter. 2 the wicked gather the vintage, a La, 4. 5. 6- Theij reap every one his corn. Marg. mingled corn, or dredge. The word here used (-'''?3) denotes, pro- perly, meslin, mixed jjrovender, made up of various kinds of grain, as of barley, vetches, etc., prepared for cattle. See Notes on Isa. xxx. 24. IT In the field. They break in upon the fields of others, and rob them of their grain, instead of cultivating the earth themselves. So it is rendered by Jerome — Agrum non suum deme- runt; et vineam ejus, quem vi op- presserint vindcmiant. The LXX render it " A field, not their own, they reap down before the time — ttoo woaq. n Theij gather the vintage of the wicked. Marg. the icickcd gather the vintage. Rather, tiiey gather the vintage of the oppressor. It is not the vintage of honest industry ; not a harvest which is the result of their own labor, but of plunder. They live by depredations on others. This is descriptive of those who support themselves by robbery. 7. Theij cause the naked to lodge zvithout clothing. They strip otiiers of their clothing, and leave them des- titute. IT That they have no covering in the cold. All travellers toll us, that though the day is intensely hot in the deserts of Arabia, yet tlie nights are often intensely cold. Hence, the sufferings of those who are plundered, and" who have nothing to defend themselves from the cold air of the night. 8. They are wet tcith the showers of the mountains. That is, the poor persons, or the travellers, whom they have robbed. Hills collect the clouds, and showers seem to pour down from tiie mountains. These showers often collect and pour down so suddenly that there is scarcely time to seek a 30 JOB. Tbey pluck the fatherless from tl:e breast, and take a pledge of the poor. lU Tliey cause liim to go naked without clothing, and they shelter. IT Jind embrace the rock for want of a shelter. Take refuge be- neath a projecting rock. The rob- bers drive them away from their Jiomcs, or plunder them of their tents, and leave them to find a shelter from the storm, or at night, beneath a rock. This agrees exactly with what Niebuhr says of the wandering Arabs near Mount Sinai : " Those who can- not afford a tent, spread out a cloth upon four or six stakes ; and others spread their cloth near a tree, or en- deavor to shelter themselves from the heat and the rain in the cavities of tiie rocks. Reisebeschreib. i. Th. s. 233. 9. They pluck the fatherless from the breast. That is, they steal away unprotected children, and sell them, or make slaves of them for their own use. If this is the correct interpreta- tion, then there existed at that time, what has existed since, so much to the disgrace of mankind, the custom of kidnapping children, and bearing them away to be sold as slaves. Sla- very existed in early ages ; and it must have been in some such way that slaves were procured. The wonder of Job is, that such men were permitted to live — that God did not come forth and punish them. The fact still exists, and the ground of wonder is not diminished. Africa bleeds under .wrongs of this kind ; and the vengeance of heaven seems to sleep, though the child is torn away from its mother, and conveyed, amid many horrors, to a distant land, to wear out life in hopeless servitude. II And take a pledge of the poor. Take that, therefore, which is necessary for the comfort of the poor, and re- tain it, so that they cannot enjoy its use. See IVotes on ch, xxii. 6. 10. Jl7id they lake away the sheaf from the hungry. The meaning of take away the sheaf from the hungry ; 1 1 Which made oil -within their walls, and tread thrir wine- presses, and suffer thirst. this is, that tlie hungry- are compelled to bear the sheaf for the rich without being allowed to satisfy their hunger from it. Moses commanded that even the ox should not be muzzled that trod out the corn (Deut. x.w. 4) ; but here was more aggravated cruelty than that would be, in compelling men to bear the sheaf of the harvest without allowing tlrem even to satis- fy their hunger. This is an instance of the cruelty which Job says was ac- tually practised on the earlli, and yet God did not interpose to punish it. 11. Which made oil within their walls. Or rather, they compel them to express oil within their walls. The word ^"i"^"!^-, rendered ' made oil,' is from ^^1^, to shine, to give light ; and hence the derivatives of the word are used to denote liglit, and then oil, and thence the word comes to denote to press out oil for the purpose of light. Oil was "ob- tained for this purpose from olives by pressing them, and the idea here is, that the jjoor were compelled to en- gage in this service for others with- out compensation. The expression ' within their walls,' means probably within the walls of the rich ; that is, within the inclosures where such presses wore erected. They were taken away from their homes ; com- pelled to toil for others ; and confin- ed for this purpose within inclosures erected for the purpose of expressing oil. Some have proposed to read this passage, "Between their walls they make then) toil at noonday ;'' as if it referred to the cruelty of causing them to labor in the sweUering heat of the sun. But the former interpre- tation is the most common, and best agrees with the usual meaning of tiie word, and with tiie connection. IT And tread ibe'iv icine-presscs and siif CHAPTER XXiV. 31 12 Men groun from out of the city, and the soul of the wound- ed crieth out : yet God layeth not folly to t/ir/ii. fer thirst. TIkv compel tlu'in to tread out tlioir grsipes without allow- ing them to slake tlieir thirst from the wine. Such a treatment would, of course, bo cruel oppression. A similar description is given by Addi- son in his letter from Italy : II povreo Abitante mira indarno II rosoggianto Arancio e'l piiigue grano, C'rescer (iolente ei mira ed oli, e vini, E do mirti odorar 1' ombra si sdegna. In mezzo alia Botita della Natura Maledetto lauguisce, e deatro a cariche Di vino vigne muore per la seto. " The poor inhabitant beholds in vain The reddening orange and the swelling grain ; Joyless lie sees the growing oils and wines, Aud in the myrtle's fragrant shade repines ; Star\es, in the midst of nature's bounty curst, * And in the loaden vineyard dies for thirst." Addison's works, vol. i. pp. 51-53. Ed. Lond. 1721. 12. Men groan from out of the city. The evident meaning of this is, that the sorrows caused by oppression were not confined to the deserts and to solitary places ; were not seen only where the wandering freebooter seized upon the traveller, or in the comparatively unfrequented places in the country where the poor were compelled to labor in the vvine-press- cs and the olive-presses of others, but that they extended to cities also. In what way this oppression in cities was practised. Job does not specify. It might be by the sudden descent upon an unsuspecting city, of hordes of freebooters, who robbed and mur- dered the inhabitants, and then fled, or it might be by internal oppression, as of the rich over the poor, or of masters over their slaves. The idea which Job seems to wish to convey IS, that oppression abounded. The earth was full of violence. It was in every place, in the city and the coun- try, and yet God did not in fact come fortii to meet and punish the oppress- 13 They are of those that re- bel against the light ; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof or as he deserved. There would be instances of oppression and cruelty enough occurring in all cities to jus- tify all that Job here says, especially in ancient times, when cities were under the control of tyrants. The word which is translated vicn here is ^'^r'^^ wliich is not the usual term to denote men. This word is derived from r^ns, to die; and hence there may be here the notion of mortals, or of the dying., who utter these groans. TI And the soul of the wounded crieth out. This expression appears as if Job referred to some acts of vio- lence done by robbers, and perhaps the whole description is intended to apply to the sufferings caused by the sudden descent of a band of marau- ders upon the unsuspecting and slum- bering inhabitants of a city. IT Yet God layeth not folly to them. The word rendered folly (n^SPl) means folly ; and thence also wickedness. If this reading is to be retained, the passage means that God does not lay to heart, that is, does not regard their folly or wickedness. He suffers it to pass without punishing it. Cornp. Acts xvii. 30. But the same word, by a change of the points, (t^i:Sri), means prayer ; and many have sup- posed that it means, that God does not regard the prayer or cry of those who are thus oppressed. This, in itself, would make good sense, but the former rendering agrees better with the connection. The object of Job is not to show that God does not regard the cry of the afflicted, but that he does not interpose to punish those who are tyrants and oppressors. 13. They are of those that rebel against the light. That is, they hate the light. Cornp. John iii. 20. It is unpleasant to them, and they perform their deeds in the night. Job here commences a reference to another 32 JOB. 14 The " murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief. 15 The eye also of the adul- terer vvaiteth for the twilight, ' aPs. 10. 8-11. 6Pr. 7. 8. 9. lsettct?ihis face in. secret. e Jno. 8. QO. chiss of wicked persons — those wlio perform their deeds in the darkness of tlie night ; and he shows that the same thing is true of them as of those who commit crimes in open day, that God does not interpose directly to punish them. They are suffered to live in prosperity. Tliis should be rendered, ' Others hate the light ;' or, ' There are those also wl)o are rebel- lious against the light." There is great force in the declaration, that those who perform deeds of wicked- ness in the night are rebels against the light of day. IT They knoto not the icays thereof. They do not see it. They work in the night. IT A''or abide in the paths thereof. In the paths that the light makes. They seek out paths on which the light does not shine 14. The murderer. One of the in- stances referred to in the previous verse of those who perform their deeds in darkness. IT Rising with the light. Heb. nixb. Vulg. JV/«na pri- nno — in the earliest twilight. The meaning is, that he does it very ear- ly ; by daybreak. It is not in open (?ay, but a* the earliest dawn. II Kill- eth the poor aiid needy. Those who are so poor and needy that they are obliged to rise early and go forth to llieir toil. There is a double aggra- vation — the crime of murder itself, and the fact that it is committed on those who are under a necessity of going forth at that early hour to their labor. TT Jind in the night is as a \ thief. The same man. Theft is usually committed under cover of the night. The idea of Job is, that though these crimes cannot escape the notice of God, yet that he does not interpose to punish those who saying no eye shall see me : and ' disguiseth his face. 1(3 In the dark they dig through houses, ichicli they had marked for themselves in the day-time : they " know not the light. committed them. A striking inci- dental illustration of the fact stated here, occurred in the journey of Messrs. Robinson and Smith, on their way from Akabah to Jerusalem. After retiring to rest one night, they were aroused by a sudden noise ; and they apprehended an attack by rob- bers. "Our Arabs," says Dr. R., " were evidently alarmed. They said, if thieves, they would steal upon us at midnight ; if robbers., they icould come down upon us towards morning.''^ Bibl. Research, i. 270. It would seem, therefore, that there was some settled time or order in which they ' are accustomed to commit their va- rious depredations. 15. The eye also of the adulterer loaiteth for the twilight. Conip. the description in Prov. vii. 8, !), " He went the way to her house ; in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night." U ^nd disguiseth his face Marg. settcth his face in se- cret. The meaning is, that he put a mask on his face, lest he should be recognized. So Juvenal, Sat. viii. 144, as quoted by Noyes : si iiocturniii? adulter Tcmpora Santonico velas ailopcrta JUCuUo. These deeds of wickedness were then performed in the night, as they arc still ; and yet, though the eye of God beheld them, lie did not punish them. The meaning of Job is, that men were allowed to commit the blackest crimes, but that God did not come forth to cut them ofl'. 16. In the dark they dig through houses. This refers, probably, to another class of wicked persons. The adulterer steals forth in the night, but it is not liis way to ' dig' into houses. But the persons here refei CHAPTER XXIV. 33 red to are robbers;, wlio conceal tiiem- sclves by tluy, and who at night se- cretly enter houses for plunder. Tlie phrase ' dig throiigli' probably lias re- ference to the fact that liouses were made of clay, or of bricks dried in tiie sun — a species of mud cottages, and whose walls, therefore, could be easily penetrated. In the East, nearly ail the houses are made of unburnt brii'l<, and tliere is little ditficulty in making a liole in the wall large enough to admit the human body. Comp Ezek. xii. 7. In Bengal, says Mr. Ward, it is common for thieves to dig through the walls of hou.ses made of mud, or under the house- floors, which are made merely of earth, and enter thus into the dwell- ings while the inmates are asleep. RosenmOller's Alte u. neue Morgen- land in loc. The following cut will furnish a good illustration of such a house : IT Wliich they had marhe.d for them- selves in the day-time. According to this translation the idea would be, that in the day-time they carefully observed houses, and saw where an entrance might be effected. But tins interpretation seems contrary to the general sense of the passage. It is said that they avoid the light, and that the night is the time for accom- 34 JOB. 17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death ; if one know ihctn, they arc in the terrors " of the slia- dow of death. plishing their purposes. Probably, therefore, the nieiining of this pas- sage is, 'in the chiy time they sliut themselves up.' So it is rendered by Gesenius, RosenmilUer, Noyes, and others. The word here used, and rendered '■marked^ (SHtl), nieanft io 5e«/, to seal up ; and hence the idea of shutting up, or making fast. See Notes on Job ix. 7. Isa. viii. 17. Hence it may mean to shut up dose^ as if one was locked in ; and the idea iiere is, tiiat in the day-time they shut themselves up close in their places of concealment, and went forth ID their depredations in the night. t Tlicy knoio not the light. They do not see the light. They do all their work in the dark. 17. For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death. They dread tlie light as one docs usually the deepest darkness. The morning or light would reveal their deeds of wickedness, and they therefore avoid it. Tf .45 the shadoio of death. As the deepest darkness. See Notes on cji. iii. 5. ^ //"one Aho/o them. If they are lecog.iiized. Or, more probably, this means 'they' i. e. each one of tlicm * are familiar with the terrors of the shadow of death,' or with the deep- est darkness. By this rendering the common signification of the worcl ("I'^S"!) will be retained, and the translation will accord with the gene- ral sense of tlie jiassage. The mean- ing is, that they are familiar wiih tiie blackest night. They do not dread it. They diead only the light of day. To others the darkness is ter- rible ; to them it is familiar. The word rendered ' shadow of death' in the latter \rav\. of this verse, is the same as in the former. It may mean in both places the gloomy night that resembles the shadow of death. Such 18 He is swift as the waters ; their portion is cursed in the. earth : he beholdeth not the waj of the vineyards. a Ps. 73. 18, 19. a night is ' terrible' to most men ; t% them it is familiar, and they feel se cure only when its deep shades arj round about them. 18. He is sinift as the waters. Noye» renders this, " They are as swifi, as the skiff upon the waters." Dr Good, " Miserable is this man upor The waters " Wemyss, " Such should be as foam upon the waters." Lb Clerc says that there is scarcely an^ passage of the Scriptures more ob scure than this, and the variety o' rendering adopted will show at once the perplexity of expositors. Rosen- milUer supposes that the particle of comparison (3) is to be understood, and that the meaning is, ' he is as a light thing upon the waters ;' and this probably expresses the true sense. It is a comparison of the thief with a light boat, or any other light thing that moves gently cm the face of the water, and that glides along without noise. So gently and noiselessly does the thief glide along in the dark. He is rapid in his mo- tion, but he is still. It is not uncom- mon to describe one who is about to commit crime in the night ;is moving noiselessly along, and as taking every precaution that the utmost silence should be preserved. So Macbeth, when about to commit murder, solilo- quizes : Now o'er llie one half world Nature seems dead, And withcrtd murdor, Alarum'd by liis sentinel, the wolf, Who's howi'd his watch, thus with his stealthy pace, \Vith Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth, Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear The very stones prate of my whercahout. I do not know, however, that this comparison of a thief, wiih a light CHAPTER XXIV. 35 19 Drought and heat ' con- sume the snow-waters ; so doth 1 i-ioleiitlii lake. object on the w;itcrs, is to be found any where else, but it is one of groat beauty. The word rendered ' swift ' (5|?) may denote either that which is swift, or that which is light. In Isa. XXX. 16, it is ajiplicd to a fleet horse. Here it may be rendered, ' He is as a light thing upon the face of the waters.' 11 Their portion is cursed in the earth. That is, their manner of life, their way of obtaining a livelihood, is deserving of execration. The result of humble toil and honest labor may be said to be blessed ; but not the property which they acquire. RoseniniiUer and Noyes, however, suppose that the word ' portion ' here refers to their habitation, and that the idea is, they have their dwelling in wild and uncultivated places ; they live in places that are cursed by sterility and barrenness. The Hebrew will bear either construction. The word lot, as it is commonly under- stood by us, may perhaps embrace both ideas. 'Theirs is a cursed lot on earth.' M'' He heholdeth not the way of the vineyards. That is, they do not spend their lives in cultivating them, nor do they derive a subsist- ence from them. They live by plun- der, and their abodes are in wild re- treats, far away from quiet and civil- ized society. The object seems to be to describe marauders, who make a sudden descent at night on the pos- sessions of others, and who have their dwellings far away from fields that are covered with the fruits of cultivation. 19. Drought and heat consume the snoic-watcrs. Marg. violently take. See Notes on ch. vi. 17. The word rendered 'consume,' and in the margin 'violently take' (^''T?'?), means properly to strip off", as skin from the flesh ; and then to pluck or tear away by force ; to strip, to spoil, to rob. The meaning here is, that the heat seems to seize and carry the grave those ivhich have s'lu- ned. away the snow waters — to bear thera ott", as a plunderer does spoil. There is much poetic beauty in this image Tlie ' snow-waters ' here mean the waters that are produced by the melt- ing of the snow on the hills, and which swell the rivulets in the vallies below. Those waters. Job says, are borne along in rivulets over the burn- ing sands, until the drought and heat absorb them all, and they vanish away. See the beautiful description of this which Job gives in ch. vi. 15-18. Those waters vanish away silently and gently. The stream be- comes smaller and smaller as it winds along in the desert, until it all disap- pears. So Job says it is with these wicked men whom he is describing. Instead of being violently cut ofl^"; instead of being hurried out of life by some sudden and dreadful judg- ment, as his friends maintained, they were suff'ered to linger on calmly and peaceably — as the stream glides on gently in the desert — until they quietly disappear by death — as the waters sink gently in the sands or evaporate in the air. The whole description is that of a peaceful death as contradistinguisiied from one of violence. IT So doth the grave those who have sinned. There is a wonder- ful terseness and energy in the origi- nal words here, which is very feebly expressed by our translation. The Hebrew is (IXIsn biwSttJ) ' the grave, they have sinned.' The sense is cor- rectly expressed in the common ver- sion. The meaning is, that they who have sinned die in the same quiet and gentle manner with which waters vanish in the desert. By those who have sinned, Job means those to whom he had just referred — robbers, adulterers, murderers, &c , and the sense of the whole is, that they died a calm and peaceful death. See JVotes on ch. xxi. 13, where he advances the same sentimcTit a."* here. JOB. 20 The womb shall forget him ; the worm shall feed sweet- ly on him ; he shall be no more " remembered ; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree. a Pr. 10. 7. Is. 26. 14. 1 or, ht trtisteth not his own life. 29. The womb shall forget him. His mother who bare him shall for- get him. The idea here seems to be, that he sliall fade out of the memory, just as other persons do. He shall not be overtaken with any disgrace- ful punishment, thus giving occasion to remember him by a death of igno- miny. At first view it would seem to be a calamity to be soon forgotten by a mother; but if the above inter- pretation be correct, then it me^s that the condition of his death would be such that there would be no occa- sion for a mother to remember him with sorrow and shame, as she would one who was ignominiously executed for his crimes. This interpretation was proposed by Mercer, and has been adopted by RosenmilUer, Noyes, and others. It accords with tiie gen- eral scope of the passage, and is j)robably correct. Various other in- terpretations, however, have been proposed, which may be seen in Good, and in the Critici Sacri. IT The worm shall feed siceetly on him. As on others. He shall die and be bu- ried in the usual manner. He shall lie quietly in the grave, and there re- turn to his native dust. He shall not be suspended on a gibbet, or torn and devoured by wild beasts ; but liis death and burial shall be peaceful and calm. See Notes on ch. xxi. 26, xix. 26. H He shall he no more remem- hcrcd. As having been a man of emi- nent guilt, or as ignominiously pun- ished. The meaning is, that there is nothing marked and distinguishing in his deaUi. There is no peculiar man- ifestation of the divine displeasure. There is some truth in this, tliat the wicked cease to be remembered. ]\Icn hasten to forget them ; and hav- \n" done no good that makes them 21 He evil-entreateth the bar- ren that beareth not, and doeth not good to the widow. 22 Hedraweth also the mighty with his power : he riseth up, ' and no inan is sure of life. the objects of grateful reminiscence, their memory fades away. This, so far from being a calamity and a curse. Job regards as a favor. It would be a calamity to be remembered as a bad man, and as having died an ignomin- ious death. H Jlnd zoickcdncss shall he. broken as a tree. Evil here or icickcd- ncss (i^^^?) means an evil or wicked man. The idea seems to be, that such a man would die as a tree that is stripped of its leaves and branches is broken down. He is not like a green tree that is violently torn up by the roots in a storm, or twisted oft' in a tempest, but like a dry tree that be- gins to decay, and that falls down gently by its own weij^ht. It lives to be old, and then quietly sinks on the ground and dies. So Job says it is with the wicked. They are not swept away by the divine judgments, as the trees of the forest are torn up by tiie roots or twisted off by the tor- nado. 21. ITe evil-entreateth the barren. The woman who has no childrt;n to comfort or support her. He increases her calamity by acts of cruelty and oppression. To be without children, as is well known, was regarded, in the patriarchal ages, as a great ca- lamity. IT .4nrf doeth not good to the widow. See Notesonch. xxiv.3. Not- withstanding all this, he is permitted to live in prosperity, and to die witli- out any visible tokens of the divine displeasure. 22. He draweth also the mighttj ipith his 2)0icer. The word here rendered draweth (T)^^), means to draw ; and then, to lay hold of, to take, to take away, and, hence, to remove, to de- stroy. Ps. xxviii. 3, Ezok. xxii. 20. The idea hern seems to be, that his CHAPTER XXIV. 37 23 Though it be given him to he in safety, whereon he resteth ; yet his ° eyes arc upon their ways. a Pr. 25. 21-23. J Ps. 37. 35, 3G. acts of oppression and cruelty were not confined to the poor and tlie de- fenceless. Even the great and tlie iniglity were also exposed, and he spared none. No one was safe, and no rights could be regarded as secure. The ciiaractcr here described is one that pertains to a tyrant, or a con- queror, and Job probably meant to describe some such mighty man, who was regardless alike of the rights of the high and the low. U He riscth tip. When he rises up ; that is, when he enters on an enterprise, or goes forth to accomplish his wicked purposes. If JJnd no man is sure of life. From the dread of him even the great and mighty have no security. This lan- guage will well ^escribe the charac- ter of an Oriental despot. Having absolute power, no man, not even the highest in rank, can feel that his life is safe if the monarch becomes in any way offended. Yet, Job says that even such a despot was permitted to live in prosperity, and to die without any remarkable proof of the divine di.spleasure. 23. Though it he given him to be in safctij. Tliat is, God gives him safety. The name God is often understood, or not expressed. The meaning is, that God gives this wicked man, or oppressor, safety. He is permitted to live a life of security and tranquillity. Tl Whereon he resteth. Or, rather, 'And he is sustained, or upheld' — (""-;'?';;• The meaning is, that he is sustained or upheld by God. IT Yet Ins eyes are upon their icays. ' And the eyes of God are upon the ways of such men.' That is, God guards and defends them. He seems to smile upon them, and to prosper all their enterprises. 24. Theif are. exalted for a little ti-h/le This was the proposition which Job was maintaining. His 24 They are exalted for a lit- tle * while, but are ' gone and brought low ; they are taken "out of the way as all other, and 1 not. 2 closed up. friends affirmed that the wicked were punished for their sins in this life, and that great crimes would soon meet with great calamities. This Job de- nies, and says that the fact was, that they were " exalted." Yet he knew that it was to be but for a little time, and he believed that they would, at no distant period, receive the proper reward of their deeds. He maintains, however, that their death might be tranquil and easy, and that no extra- ordinary proof of the divine displea- sure would be perceived in the man- ner of their departure. II But are gone and brought loic. Marg. not. Heb. ^35"'S>?'1 — "and are not." Comp. Gen. xlii. 13. " The youngest is this day with our father, and one is not." Gen. xxxvii. 30. "The child is not, and I, whither shall I go .'" That is, the child is dead. Comp. the ex- pression Troja fuit. The meaning here is, tiiat they soon disappear, or vanish. IT They are taken out of the loay as all other. They die in the same manner as other men do, and without any extraordinary expres- sions of the divine displeasure in their death. This was directly contrary to what his friends had maintained. The Hebrew word here ('f ?t^) means, to gather., to collect ; and is often used in the sense of " gathering to one's fathers," to denote death. 11 Jind cut off as the tops of the ears of cor ti. Of wheat, barley, or similar grain. Corn, in the sense in which the word is commonly used in this country, was not known in the time of Job. The allusion here is to the harvest. When the grain was ripe, it seems they were in the habit of cutting oft" the ears, and not of cutting it near the root, as we do. The body of the stalk was left, and, hence, there is so frequent allusion in the Scriptures 38 JOB. cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. 25 And if it be not 50 now, to stubble that was burnt. So, in Egypt, the children of Israel were directed to obtain the stubble left in the fields, in making brick, instead of having straw furnished them. The meaning of Job here is, that they would not be taken away by a violent death, or before their time, but that they would be like grain sta.nditig in the field to the time of harvest, and then peacefully gathered. Comp. Ps. Ixxiii. 4. 25 And if it be not so noic, who loill make me a liar ? A challenge to any one to prove the contrary to what he had said. Job had now at- tacked their main position, and had appealed to facts, in defence of what he held. He maintained that, as a matter of fact, the wicked" v^fere pros- pered, that they often lived to old age, and that they then died a peace- ful death, witiioul any direct demon- stration of the divine displeasure. He boldly appeals, now, to any one to deny this, or to prove the contrary. The appeal was decisive. The fact was undeniable, and the controversy was closed. Bildad (ch. xxv.) at- tempts a brief reply, but he does not toucli the question about the facts to which Job had appealed, but utters a few vague and irrelevant proverbial maxims, about the greatness of God, aiid is silent. His proverbs app'Ciar who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth? to be exhausted, and the theory which he and his friends had so carefully built up, and in which they had been so confident, was now overthrown Perhaps this was one design of the Holy Spirit, in recording the argument thus far conducted, to show that the tlieory of tiie divine administration, which had been built up with so much care, and which was sustained by so many proverbial maxims, was false. The overthrow of this theory was of sufficient importance to justi- fy this protracted argument, for (],) it was and is of the highest import- ance that correct views should prevail of the nature of the divine adminis- tration ; and (2,) it is of especial im- portance in comforting the afflicted people of God. Job had experienced great aggravation, in his sufferings, from the position which his friends had maintained, and from the argu- ments which they had been able to adduce, to prove that his sufferings were proof that he was a hj'pocrite. But it is worth all which it has cost ; all tiie experience of the afflicted friends of God, and all the pains taken to reveal it, to show that af- fliction is no certain proof of the di- vine displeasure, and that important ends may be accomplished by means of trial. CHAPTER XXV. ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. This short reply of liildad closes what the three friends of Job had to say, for Zophar docs not attempt to answer. liiUlad does not attempt to meet the appeals which Job had made to facts, or reply to his arguments. He does not even reproach Job as he and his friends had dono before, or even express his conviction that he was a wicked man. The speech is evidently that of one who felt that he must say smnctMnn-, but who did not know how to meet the coursR of ar^'iiincMit which Job had pursued. He asserts, in a lofty strain, the majesty, dominion, and iiitinilH p-rfection of the Deity, and then repeats the proposition, that in the sight of such a God the whole universe must be regarded as impure. It would seem to be implied that he supposed that Job's arguments went on the supposition that man was pure, and that all that was necessary to be said, was to re-alTirm the impossibility that any should be holy in the sight of God. Many a man, when perplexed willi some view of truth which wholly confounds all his reasoning and sets aside his maxims, but who lacks the ingenuousness to admit the force of the argument adduced, meets a case just as Bildad did. Unconvinced, he adheres to his own opinion ; una- ble to meet the argument, he does not attempt to reply to h, yet feels that he must say some- thing- to show that ho is not silenced. The feebleness of this reply, however, only en onrages Job to utter the triumphant sentiments expressed in the following chapters. nPHEN answered Bildad tne Sluihite and said, 2 Dominion " and fear are with him ; he maketh peace in a Ha. 4.3 34. Jude 25. 2. Dominion and fear are rcith him. That is, God Iims a right to riile^ and he ought to be regarded with rever- ence. Tlie object of Bildad is to show tluit He is so great and glorious tliat it is impossible tliat man should be regarded as pure in his sight. He begins, therefore, by saying, that he is a Sovereign ; that he is clothed with majesty, and that he is worthy of profound veneration. TT Hemaketh peace in his high places. ' High places' here refer to the heavenly worlds. The idea is, that he ];re- serves peace and concord among the hosts of heaven. Numerous and mighty as arc the armies of the skies, yet he keeps them in order and in awe. The object is to present an image of the majesty and power of that Being who thus controls a vast number of minds. The phrase does not necessarily imply that there had been variance or strife, and that then God had made peace, but that he preserved or kept them in peace. his high places. 3 Is there any number of his armies ? and upon whom ' doth not his light arise ? 6 Mat. 5. 45. 3. Is there any number of his ar- 'inies ? The armies of heaven; or the hosts of angelic beings, which are often represented as arranged or mar- shalh'd into armies. See Notes on Isa. i. 9. The word which is hero used is not the common one which is rendered 'hosts,' (^<^i£i, but is '^l'^?, which iiie.His properly a troop, hand, or army. It may here mean either the constellations often represented as the army whicii God marshals and commands, or it. may mean the angels. IT And upon ichom doth not his light arise? This is designed evidently to show the majesty and glory of God. It refers probably to the light of the sun, as the light which he creates and commands. The idea is, that it pervades all things ; that, as controlled by him, it penetrates all places, arid How's over all worlds. Tlie image is a striking and sublime one, and nothing is better fitted to show the majesty and glory of God. 40 JOB. 4 IIow then can man be justi- fied " with God ? or how can he be clean * that is born of a wo- man ? 5 Behold even to the moon, a c. 4. 17, &c. 15. 4, &c. Vs. 143. 2, &c Ro. 5. 1, 21. 4. How then can man he justified with God ? See ch. iv. 17, IS, xv. ]5, IG. Instead of meeting tite facts to whicl) Job had appealed, all that Bildad could now do was to repeat what had been said before. It sliows that he felt himself unable to dispose of the argument, and yet that he was not willing to confess that he was vanquished. H Or lioio can he be clean? This sentiment had been expressed by Job himself, ch. xiv. 4. Perhaps Bildad meant now to adopt it as undoubted truth, and to tlirow it back upon Job as worthy of his spe- cial attention. It has no bearing on the arguments which Job had ad- vanced, and is utterly irrelevant ex- cept as Bildad supposed that the course of argunicnt maintained by Job implied that he supposed himself to be pure. 5. Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not. Or, behold even the moon shineth not. That is, in com- parison with God it is dark and ob- scure. The idea is, that the most beautiful and glorious objects become dim and fide away when compared with him. So Jerome renders it, Ecce lumi etiani iiun splendet. The word here rendered shineth ('"'•l^-) frequently means to pilcli or remove a tent, and is a form of tlie word ^i^.i^ uniformly rendered tent or tabernacle. Some liave supposed that tiie mean- ing hero is, that even the moon and the stars of heaven — the bright cano- py above — were not fit to i'urnish a tent or dwelling for God. But the paraliclism seems to demand the usual interpretation, as meaning that tlie moon and stars faded away before God. The word ^'"]^ derives this meaning, according to Gescnius, from and it shineth not ; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight ; G How much less man, that is a worm, and the son of man, which is a worm ? b Zee. 13. 1. 1 Co. G. 11. 1 Jno. 1.9. Re 1.5. its relation to the word ^\^, to be clear or brilliant, from the mutual relation of the verbs N2 and ^v'. The Arabic has the same meaning. TI Yea, the stars are not pure in his s.'s'ht- That is, they are not bright in com parison with him. Tlie design is to show the glory of the Most High, and that nothing could be compared with him. See J\otes, ch. iv. 18. 6. How much less man. See cli. iv. 19. Man is here mentioned as a worm ; in ch. iv. 19 he is said to dwell in a house of clay and to be crushed before the moth. In both cases the design is to represent him as insignificant in comparison with God. H ^ Mjorm. •^'S']. Seech.vii. 5. The word is commonly applied to such worms as are bred in putrid- ity, and jience the comparison is the more forcible. TI ^'?«(Z the son of man. Another mode of speaking of man. Any one of the children of man is the same. No one of them can be compared with God. Comp. Notes, Matth. i. ]. 11 Which is a icorin. nsbin. Comp. Notes, Isa. i. 18. This word frequently denotes the worm from which the scarlet or crini son color was obtained. It is, how- ever, used to denote the worm that is bred on putrid substances, and is so used here. Comp. Ex. xvi. 20. Isa. xiv. II, Ixvi. 24. It is also applied to a worm that destroys plants. i~>- nali iv. 7. Dcut. xxviii. 39. Hero it means, that man is poor, feelde, powerless. In comparison witii God he is ti crawling worm. All that a said in this chapter is true and beau- tiful, but it has nothing to do with the subject in debate. Job had ap- pealed to the course of evje it is difficult to sav. The Hebrew word here used (^^t '^'? i from ^'IH), means to twist, to turn, to he in anguish — as in child-birth ; and then it may mean to tremble, quake, be in terror ; and tlie idea here seems to be, that the shades of the dead and destruction hath no cover- ing. were in anguish, or trembled at the awful presence, and under the do- minion of God. So Luther render>' it — understanding it of giants — Die Riescn (Ingsten sich untc.r den Was sern. The sense would he well ex pressed, ' The shades of the dead tremble, or are in anguish before liim. They fear his power. They acknowledge his empire.' TI Under the waters. The abode of departed spirits is always in this book placed beneath the ground. But why this abode is placed beneath the icaters, is not apparent. It is usually under the ground, and the entrance to it is by the grave, or by some dark cavern. Comp. Virgil's ^niad. Lib. vi. A diflerent interpretation has been pro- posed of tliis verse, which seems better to suit the connection. It is to understand the phrase (^''jP'^) ' under,' as meaning simply beneath — 'the shades beneath ;' and to regard the word (C'?'?) icaters as connected with llie following member : " The shades beneath tremble ; The waters and the inhabitants thereof." Thus explained, the passage means that the whole universe is under the control of God, and trembles before him. Sheol and its Shades ; the oceans and their inhabitants stand in awe before him. IT Jlnd the inhabit- ants thereof. Of tlie waters — tlie oceans. The idea is, that the vast in- habitants of the deep all recognize the power of God and tremble before him. This dcscrij)tion accords with that given by the ancient poets of the power and majesty of the gods, and is not less sijblime than any given by them. 6. Hell. Heb. ^IN'JJ, Sheol; Gr. <'t3t]q., Hades. The reference is to the abode of departed spirits — the nether world where the dead were congre- gated. See Notes on ch. x. 21, 22. It docs not mean here, as the word hell does with us, a place of punish- ment, but the place where all the 44 JOB. 7 He stretcheth oat '' the dead were supposed to be gathered together. IT Is naked before him. TJiat is, ho looks directly upon that world. It is hidden from us, but not from him. He sees all its inliahit- ants, knows all their employments, and sways a sceptre over tliem all. "i vSnd destruction. Heb. """'inS, Jl- baddon. Comp. Rev. ix. 11, "And they had a king over them, which is tlie angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." The Hebrew word means destruction, and then abyss, or place of destruction, and is evidently given here to the place where depart- ed spirits are supposed to reside. The word in this form occurs only here and in Prov. xv. 11. Ps. Jxxxviii. 11. Job xxvi. 6, in all which places it is rendered destruction. The idea here is, not that this is a place where souls are destroyed, but that it is a place similar to destruction — as if all life, comfort, liglit, and joy, were extin- guished. H Hath no covering. There is nothing to conceal it from God. He looks down even on that dark nether world, and sees and knows all tiiat is there. There is a passage somewhat similar to this in Homer, quoted by Longinus as one of unri- valled sublimity, but which by no nitmns surpasses tliis. It occurs in the Iliad, xx. 61-G6 : \t,i?.ti(7tii J' vrru'cpOci' liva^ r.vtpMV Aioco- vt'ii, K.r.X. Deep ill the dismal regions of the dead, Th' infernal monarch reared his horrid head, Leaped from his throne, lest Neptune's arm should lay His dark dominions open to the day. And [)our in liglit on Pluto's drear abodes, Abhorred by men, and dreadful e'en to gods. Pope. 7. lie strt tchelh out the north. This whole passage is particularly interest- ing as giving a view of the cosmology which jirevailed in those early times. Indeed, as has been before remarked, this poem, apart from every other north over the empty place, and h.augeth the earth upon uuthinor, consideration, is of great value for disclosing to us the prevailing views on tlie subjects of astronomy, geogra- phy, and many of the arts, at a much earlier period than we have an ac- count of them elsewhere. The word north here denotes (he heavens as they aj)pear to revolve around the pole, and which seem to be stretched out as a curtain. The heavens arc often represented as a veil, an ex- panse, a curtain, or a tent. See Notes on Isa. xxxiv. 4, xl. 22. U Over the empty place. ^ri'n~P3, Upon empti- ness, or nothing. That is, without any thing to support it. The word here used (^ilF)j is one of those em- ployed Gen. i. 2, "And the earth was without form and void." But it seems here to mean emptiness, no- thing. The north is stretched out and sustained by tlie mere power of God. IT And hangeth the earth upon nothing. It has nothing to support it. So Mil- ton : " And earth self-balanced from her centre hung." There is no certain evidence hero that Job was acquainted with tlio globular form of the earth, and with its diurnal and annual revolutions. But it is clear that he regarded it as not resting on any foundation or sup- port ; as lying on the vacant air, and kept there by the power of God. The Chaldee Paraphrast, in order to explain this, as that Paraphrase often does, adds the word waters. ' He hangeth the earth ^"l"^ ^'})t'?. upon the waters, with no one to sustain it.' The sentiment here expressed by Job was probably the common opinion of his time. It occurs also in Lucre- tius : Terraquo ut in media mundi regione quiescal Evancscere pauUatim, ct decrescere, pondu.s Convenit ; atque aliainiiaturamsubter habere, Et ineuente aevo conjunctam atquo uniter np tam Partibus aeriis mundi, qii/lius insita vivit Propterea, non est oneri, nequo d?priMiit au ras ; CHAPTER XXVI. 45 8 lie biiifleth up " the waters n Ge. 1. 6,7. I'r. 30.4. ITt sua quoiquo boinini nullo sunt pondero membra, Nee caput est oneri oollo, nee doiiique totum Corporus in poilibus pondus sentimua iiiessc. V 535. In this jKissage the sense is, that the earth is self-sustained ; that it is no burden, or that no one part is burden- some to another— as in man the limbs are not burdensome, the head is not licavy, nor the whole frame burden- some to the feet. So, again, Lucretius says, ii. 602 : ^''!*"5'7''''^''''^ Grajum docti cecinere poeta", Acris in spatio magnam pendere — Tellurem, neque posse in lerra sistere terram. " in ether poised she hangs Unpropt by earth beneath.' So Ovid says : Ponderibus librata suis. Self-poised and self-balanced. And again, Fastor. vi. 269 : Terra pilae similis, nullo fulcimine nixa, /Ere subjecto tam grave pendet onus. From passages like this occurring occasionally in the classic writers, it is evident that the true figure of the earth had early engaged the atten- tion of men, and that occasionally the truth on this subject was before their minds, though it was neitiier wrought into a system nor sustained then by sufficient evidence to make it an article of established belief. The description liere given is appro- priate now; and had Job understood all that is now known of astronomy, ]iia language would have been appro- priate to express just conceptions of the greatness and majesty of God. It is proof of amazing power and great- ness that he has thus "hung" the earth, the planets, the vast sun him- self, upon nothing, and that by his own power he sustains and eoverns all. 8 He hindeth up the waters in his thici: clouds. That is, he seems to do it, or to collect the waters in tiie clouds, as in bottles, or vessels. The clouds appear to hold the waters, as I in his thick clouds ; and the cloud is not rent under them. if bound up, until he is pleased to send them drop by drop upon the earth. U ^ind. the cloud is not rent under them. The wonder which Job here expresses is, that so largo a quantity of water as is poured down from the clouds, should be held suspended in the air without seeming to rend the cloud, and frilling all at once. His image is that of .1 bottle, or vessel, filled with water, suspended in the air, and which is not rent. Wliat were the views which he had of the clouds, of course it is impossible now to say. If he regarded them as they are, as vapors, or if he considered them to be a more solid substance, capable of holding water, there was equal ground for wonder. In the former case, his amazement would have arisen from the fact, that so light, fragile, and evanescent a substance as vapor should contain so large a quantity of water; in the latter case, his wonder would have been that such a sub- stance should distil its contents drop by drop. There is equal reason for admiring the wisdom of God in the production of rain, now that the cause is understood. The clouds are col- lections of vapors. They contain moisture, or vapor, wliich ascends from the earth, and which is held in suspension when in small particles in the clouds, as when a room is swept, the small particles of dust will bo seen to float in the room. Wlien these small particle.s are attracted, and form masses as large as drops, tlx; air will no longer sustain them, and they fall to the earth. Man never could have devised a way for causing rain; and the mode in which it is provided that large quantities ol water shall be borne from one phi';" to another in the air, and made to fall when it is needed, by which tin- vapors that ascend from the ocean shall not be suflered to fall again into the ocean, but shall be carried on t.j the land, is adapted to excite our ad- miration of the wisdom of God now. 46 JOB. 9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud '' upon it. a Ps. 97. 2. no less than it was in the time of Job. 9. He holdeth hack the face of his throne. That is, lie does not exhibit it — he covers it with clouds. The idea seems to be, that God sometimes comes fortli and manifests himself to mankind, but that he comes encom- passed witli clouds, so that his throne cannot be seen. So in Ps. xviii. 11, ** He made darkness his secret place, liis pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies." God is often represented as encompassed with clouds, or as ac- companied with tempests. ^ And spreadeth his cloud upon it. That is, so that it cannot be seen. There is much poetic beauty in this image. It is, that tlie clouds are made to con- ceal the splendor of the throne of God from the sight of man, and that all their sublimity and grandeur, as they roll on one another, and all their beauty when painted with so many colors in the evening, are designed to hide that throne from mortal eyes. No one sees God ; and though it is manifest that he is every where em- ployed, and that becomes forth with amazing grandeur in the works of creation and providence, yet lie is himself invisible. 10. He hath coinpasscd the zcatcrs with bounds. The word rendered compassed (Stl, or ^^t^), means to de- scribe a circle — to mark out witli a compa.ss ; and the reference is to the form of the horizon, which appears as a circle, and which seems to be marked out with a compass. A sim- ilar idea Milton has beautifully ex- pressed in his account of the creation : " Then staid the fervid wheels, and in liis hand He took the golden compasses, prepared In God's eternal store, to circumscribe This universe, and all created things : One foot he centered, and the otlier turned Uound through the vast profundity obscure ; 10 He hath compa.-scd the waters with bounds, ' until tlie ' day and night come to an end. h Pr. 8. 29. 1 end of light with durknegi: And said, ' Thus far extend thy boumlB, This be thy just circumference, O world !' " Par. Lost, B. vii In the passage before us, we nave a statement of the ancient views of geography, and of the outer limits ot the world. The earth was regarded as a circular plane, surrounded by waters, and those waters encompassed with perpetual night. This region o. night — this outer limit of the world, was regarded as at the outer verge ot the celestial hemisphere, and on this the concave of heaven seemed to rest. See Virgil, Geor. i. 247. Illic, ut pcrhibent, aut intempesta silet nox Semper, et obtenta densantur, nocte tenehrae; Aut redit a nobis Aurora, diemque reduoit. No viaps are preserved constructed at so early an age as the time of Job • but maps have been constructed from the descriptions in Strabo, Herodotus, and others, which furnish illustra- tions of the prevailing views on the subject of geography in their times. The oldest geographical writer among the Romans is Mela, who lived in the reign of Claudius, and who died A. D. 54. In his work, De Situ Orbis, he gives a description of the world according to the prevailing views, and probably embodied the results of former investigations and discoveries. "We find hiu) adopting, in it.* fullest extent, the belief of a circumaudiient ocean ; and when he speaks of 'the high earth in this middle part of it,' and describes the sea as going under and washing round it, we are led to believe, that he viewed the earth as a sort of cone, or as a high mountnir. raised by its elevation above the abyss of waters. Having made a vague division of the world into East, West, and North, he distributed it into five zones, two temperate, one torrid, and two frigid. Only the first two were habitable ; and that on the South was inaccessible to man, on account, of CHAPTER XXVI. 47 the torrid regions intervening. Ac- '.;or(iingto this system, however, there vvas on that side anotlier earth, in- hahiKul by people wlioni he calls .^/i- tichthoncs, from their opposite posi- tion with respect to that part which we inhabit. The form and bonndaries of the known and .labitablo eartli are thus delineated : — The Mediterra- nean, with its branches of the Straits, the Kuxine, and the Paliis Mccotis ; its great tributaries, the Nile and the Tanais — these condjine, in his con- ception, to form the grand line by which the universe is divided. The Mediterranean itselfseparates Europe from Africa ; and these continents are bounded on tiie East, the former by the Tanais, tlie latter by the Nile ; all beyond or to the East of these limits was Asia." The following cut is {)robably a correct representation of his system, and gives the view of the world vvliich prevailed in his time. 4S lOB. The aijf-ient Arahs supposed tlie earth to be encoiiipussed wilh an ocean. This uueati was called the "sea of darkness ;" and the Northern sea was regarr'td as particularly pitchy and gloomy, and was called "the sea of pitchy darkness." Edrisi, a dis- tingu.shed Arabic geographer of the middle ages, supposed tliat the land floated on the sea, only a part of ii appearing above the water, like an egg floating in the water. The fol- lowing cut, taken from an Arabian manuscript, will furnish an interesting view of the prevailing conceptions of tlie figure of the world in his time : 1 Mountains of the 4 Sefala (Sofala.) Moon and Sources 5 Al-Wak Wak. of the Nile. 3 Berl)ara (kingdom of Adel.) 3 Al-Zung (Zangue- bar) 9 Al-Yeman (Arabia 14 Al-IIabesh (Ethiopia Feli.v.) Abyssinia.) 6 Serendecb (Cey- 10 Tehama. 15 AINiiba (Nubia.) Ion.) 11 Al-Hejaz (Arabia It) Al-Tajdeen. 7 Ai-Comor (Muda- Eeserla.) 17 Al-Bcjah. gascar.) 12 Al-Shuj,ir (Seeer.) 18 Al-Saneed (Upper 6 A-Dasi. - 13 Al-Imama (Yama- Egypt, Said ) ma.) CHAPTER XXVI. 49 19 Al-ouhat what (Oa- sis.) 20 fJuwas. 21 Kiiriun 22 B.l.id Al-lemlum. 23 liflad Mufrada. 24 Belad Nemaneh. 25 .■\1-Mulita u Sinha- jeh. 2C Curan (Karooan, Kureiie.) 27 Nogroland. 28 .'M-dous Nera. 29 Al-MughrubAlAm- keen (Mogreb tlie West.) 30 AtVeekeea (Africa.) 31 Bclad El Gerid (Date Country.) 32 Soharee, Bereneek (or Desert of Bcre- nike.) 33 Missur (Egypt.) 34 Al-Sham (Syria.) 35 Al-Irak (Persian empire.) 36 Fars (Persia Pro- pnr.) 37 Kirnian(Carmania.) 38 Altazeh. 59 Mughan. 40 Al-Sunda (Scindi.) 41 .■\1-Hind (India.) 42 Al-Seen (China.) 43 Khorasan. 44 Al-Boharu8. 45 Azerbijan (Media.) 46 Khuwarizm. 47 Al-Shash. 48 Khirkeez. 49 Al-Sefur 50 Al-Tibut (Tibet.) 51 Al-Nufuz Izz. 52 Kurjeea (Georgia.) 53 Keymak. 54 KuUioea. 55 Izzea. 56 Azkush. 57 Turkesh. 58 Iturab. 59 Bulghar (Bulgaria.) 60 Al-.Mutenah. 61 Yajooj (Gog.) 62 Majooj (Magog.) 63 Asiatic (Russia.) 64 Bejeerut. 65 Al-Alman. 66 Al-Khuzzus Khosrs (Caspian Sea.) C7 Turkea (Turkey.) 68 Albeian (Albania.) 69 Makeduneeah (Ma- cedonia.) 70 Baltic Sea 71 Jenubea (probably Sweden.) 72 Germania (Germa- ny.) 73 Denmark. 74 Afransccah(France.) 75 Felowiah (Norway.) 76 Burtea or Burtenea (Britain.) 77 Corsica, Szrdinia, &c. 78 Italy. 79 Ashkerineah (partaf Spain, Q. Andalusia.) A map of the world, constructed dur- ing the Crusades, and embodying tlie views of the world prevailing then, e.xhibits the world, also, as surround- ed by a dark ocean on every side — mare tenebrosum — and may be intro- duced as an illustration of this passage in Job. It is the map of Sanudo, an- nexed to Bongar's " Gesta Dei per Francos." In this map, Jerusalem, according to the prevailing views, " is placed in the centre of the world, as the point to which every other ob- ject is to be referred; the earth is made a circle, surrounded by the ocean, the siiores of which are rep- resented as every where nearly equi- distant from that spiritual capital, the site of wliich is, indeed, remarkable for its relation to the three continents, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Persia stands in its proper place ; but India, under the n)odifications of Greater and Lesser, is confusedly repeated at different points, while the river Indus is mentioned in the text as the East- ern boundary of Asia. To the North, the castle of Gog and Magog, an Ara- bian feature, crowns a vast range of mountains, within which, it is said, that the Tartars had been imprisoned by Alexander the Great. The Cas- pian appears, with the bordering countries of Georgia, Hyrcania, and Albania; but these features stand nearly at the Northern boundary of the habitable earth. Africa has a sea to the South, stated, however, to be inaccessible, on account of the in- tensity of the heat. The European countries stand in their due place, not even excepting Russia and Scandi- navia, though some oversights are observable in the manner in which the two are connected together." 50 JOB. Oritns A similar view prevails among the modern Egyptians. " Of geography, the Egyptians, in general, and, with very few exceptions, the b(!st in- structed among them, have scarcely any knowledge. Some few of the learned venture to assert that the earth is a globe, but they are opposed by a great majority of the 'OolAma. The common opinion of all the Moos'lims is, that the earth is an al- most plane expanse, surrounded by the ocean, which they say is encom- passed by a chain of mountains called Cka'f." Lane's Modern Egyptians, vol. i. p. 281. A similar view of the world prevails, also, now among the Independent Nestorians, which may be regarded as the ancient prevailing opinion in Persia, handed down by tradition. " According to their views of geography," says Dr. Grant, " the earth is a vast plain, surrounded by the ocean, in which a Icviathaji \-)\a.y3 around, to keep the water in motion, and fircvent its becoming stagnant CHAPTER XXVI. 51 1 1 Tlie pillars of heaven trem- a He. 12. 26. ami putrid ; and this leviathan is of sucli enormous length, tliat his head follows liis tail in the circuit round the earth ! That I had crossed the ocean, where 1 must have encounter- ed the monster, was a thing almost incredible." The Nestorians, p. 100. In ancient times, it was regarded as impossible to penetrate far into the sea surrounding the earth, on account of the thick darkness, and it was be- lieved that after sailing for any con- siderable distance on that sea, the light would wholly fail. In the ninth century, the Arabic historians tell us, that the brothers Almagrurim sailed from Lisbon due v/est, designing, if possible, to discover the countries beyond the " sea of darkness." For ten or eleven days, they steered westward ; but, seeing a storm ap- proaching, the light faint, and the sea ti.Mupestuous, they feared that they had come to the dark boundaries of the earth. They turned, therefore, south, sailed twelve days in that di- rection, and came to an island which they called Ganam, or the island of birds, but the flesh of these birds was too bitter to be eaten. They sailed on twelve days farther, and came to another island, the king of which as- sured them that their pursuit was vain ; th.at liis father had sent an ex- pedition for the same purpose ; but that, after a month's sail, the light had wholly failed, and they had been oljliged to return. A great amount "t" interesting and valuable informa- tion, on the ancient views of the geography oftiie world, may be seen in the Encyclopedia of Geography, Vol. i. pp. tj-6d. It is not easy to as- certain what were the exact views in the time of Job, but it is (iiiitc proba- ble, from the passage before us, that the earth was supposed to be sur- rounded by an ocean, and that the outer limits were encompassed with deep and impenetrable darkness. 1i UiU'd ihe day and night come to iin end. RIarg. end of light icith dark- ble, " and are astonished at his reproof. ness. The true meaning is, to the confines of light and darkness. To the end, or extremity (nipSP) — per- fection, completion) of the light with the darkness; that is, where the light terminates in the darkness. Wkeve that limit was, or ho^o the sun was supposed to pass around it, or could pass over it, without illuminating it, it is now impossible to ascertain. The prevailing views on geography and astronomy must have been very obscure, and there must have been many tilings which they could not pretend to comprehend or explain. 11. The pillars of heaven tremble. Thai is, the mountains, which seem to bear up the heavens. So, among the ancients. Mount Atlas was repre- sented as one of the pillars of heaven. Virgil speaks of " Atlas whose braw- ny back supports the skies." And Hesiod, vcr. 785, advances the same notion : " Atlas, so hurd necessity ordains, Great, the ponderous vault ofsturs sustains. Not fur from the Ilespcrides lie stand.s, Nor from the load retracts his head or hands." The word '■reproof in this verse re- fers to the language of God, as if spok- en in anger to rebuke the mountains or the earth. Perhaps the reference is to thunder, to storms, and to winds, which seem to be the voice of God. Comp. Ps. xxix. 3-8. Similar de- scriptions of the majesty and glory ol (jod abound in the Scri|)lures, wliere ho speaks to the earth, the mountains, the liills, and they tremble. Tlius in Ps. civ. :W : Ilo looknth on the earth, and it Ircnibloth; lie loucheth the hills, and ihcy smoke. So in Ilabak. iii. 10 : The mountains saw thee, and they tromhh.'d ; 'i'he overdoiving of ih-j water passed liy ; 'I'lie deep uttered his voice, and lift up his hands on lii^'h. So in IS'alium i. 5, "The mountains (juake iit iiiin, and the hills melt, and the earth is burnt at liis presence." 52 JOB. 12 He " dividcth the sea with his power, and by his understand- ing he smiteth through ' the proud. ' a Ex. 14. 21. Is. 51. 15. 1 yrUe. ]2. He dlvideth the sea with his power. Herder renders tliis : By his power he scourgodh the sea, By his wisdom he binileth its pride. Jerome (Vulg.), ' By his power the seas are suddenly consregated togetli- er.' The LXX, 'By liis power— xartTTavoi rijr O-ciXaaoai' — lie makes the sea calm.' Luther, Vor seiner Kraft wird das Muer plotzlich unges- tilm — ' By his power tiie sea becomes suddenly tempestuous.' Noycs ren- ders it, 'By his power he stilleth tiie sea.' This is undoubtedly the true meaning. There is no allusion here to the dividing of the sea when tiie Israelites left Egypt ; but the idea is, that God has jjower to calm the tem- pest, and hush the waves into peace. The word hero used ("5"^) means, to make afraid, to terrify ; especially, to restrain by threats. See Notes on Isa. li. 15. Comp. Jer. x.x.xi. 3.J. The reference here is to the exertion of the power of (Jod, by which lie is able to calm tiie tumultuous ocean, and to restore it to re|)ose after a storm — one of the most striking exhi- bitions of omnipotence that can be conceived of. 11 Bi/ his vniler.stand- ing. By his wisdom. 11 He smiiclh through. He scourges, or strikes — as if to punish. II The proud. The pride of the sea. Tlio ocean is rep- resented as enraged, and as lifted U() with pride and rebellion. God scourges it, rebukes it, and makes it calm. li?. Bi/ his spirit. The word s}>i- "it here is either synonymous with wisdiiin, — referring to llic wisilom by vviii'ch God made the heavens ; or with breath — meaning, that he did it by his own command. Tliere is no evidence that Job refers to the Third Pcr.son of the Trinity — the Holy Spi- rit — as being specially engaged in the w.)rk of creation. The word spirit 13 By his spirit he ' hath garnished the heavens ; his hand hath formed the crooked ser- pent. b Da. 4. 37. c Ps. 33. 6, 7. is often used to denote one's self; and the meaning here is, that God. had done it. This was one of the exhibitions of his power and skill. H He hath garnished the heavens. He has formed the stars which constitute so beautiful an ornament of the heav- ens. IT His hand hath formed the crooked serpent. Or, rather, the^ec- ing serpent — H"'? ^H^S- ^^'^ Notes on Isa. xxvii. 1. There can be no doubt that Job refers here to one ot the constellations, which it seems was then known as the serpent or dragon. The practice of forming pictures of the heavens, with a some- what fanciful resemblance to animals, was one of the most early devices of astronomy, and was evidently knowr» in the time of Job. Comp. Notes on ch. i.\. 0. The object was, probably, to aid the memory ; and though the arrangement is entirely arbitrary, and the resemblance wholly fanciful, yet it is still continued in the works of astronomy, as a convenient iieij) to the memory, and as iiiding in the description of the heavenly bodies. This is probably the same constella- tion which is described by Virgil, in language that strikingly resembles thai liere used by Job : iMaxImus hie llc.vii simioso chil/ilur aii^'uis (.'iiciiiii, peniuc dims in moroin llumini.s Arclos, Arctos oceani inetuenlo.-i aviuore tiii^'i. Ocin: i. 244. Aiouiiil our iridi' the spiry Dra^'on g'idc.s. And, hkc a windin;; stream, the IJears divide.s ; 'I'iie less and ^'reatcr, who liy Fate's decree Ahhof I'j die henealh the Southern sea. DllYUE.N. The figure of the Serpent, or "the Dragon," is still one of the constella- tions of the heavens, and there can be little doubt that it is the same that is referred to in this ancient book. On the celestial globes it is drawn between tiie Ursa Major and Ce- pheus, and is ni;ide to embrace the CHAPTER XXVI. 53 14 Lo, tliese arc parts -^ of liis ; heard of him ? but the thunder waj's ; but how little a portion is a 1 Co. 13. 9, 12. pole of tlie ecliptic in its convolutions. Tlic head of the monster is under the foot of Hercules; then tliere is a cuil tending eastwardly about 17^ north of Lyra; then he winds north- wardly about 14^ to the second coil, where he reaches almost to the gir- dle of Cepheus ; then he loops down and makes a third coil somewhat in the shape of tiie letter U, about 15'-' below the first ; and then he holds a westerly course for about 13^, and passes between the head of the Great- er and the tail of the Lesser Bear. The constellation has eighty stars ; including four of the second magni- tude, seven of the third, and twelve of the fourth. The origin of the name given to this constellation, and the reason why it was given, are un- known. It has been supposed that the Dragon in his tortuous windings is symbolical of the oblique course of the stars, and particularly that it was designed to designate the motion of the pole of the equator around the pole of the ecliptic, produced by the jireces^ion of the equinoxes. It may be doubted, however, whether this is not a refinement ; for the giving of a name for such a cause, must liave been based on knowledge much in advance of that which was possessed wlien tiiis name was given. Mytho- logists say, that Draco was the watch- ful dragon which guarded the golden apples in the garden of the Hesperi- des, near Mount Atlas, in Africa, and which was slain by Hercules. Juno is said to have taken the Dragon up to heaven, and to have made a con- stellation of him, as a reward for his faithful services. The origin of the division of the stars into constella- tions is now unknown. It has been known from the earliest times, and is found in all nations ; and it is re- markable that about the same mode of division is observed, and about the game names are given to the constel- | of his power who can under- stand ? lations. This would seem to indi- cate that they had a common origin ; and probably that is to be found in Chaldea, Arabia, or Egypt. Sir Isaac Newton regards Egypt as the parental point; Sir William Jones, Chaldea ; Mr. Montucla, Arabia. There is probably no book earlier than this of Job, and the mention Jiere of the names of the constella- tions is probably the first on record. If so, then the first intimation that we have of them was from Arabia ; but still it may have been that Job derived liis views from Egypt or Chaldea. Tht sense in the passage before us is, that the greatness and glory of God are seen by forming the beautiful and the glorious constella- tions that adorn the sky. 14. Lo, these ore parts of his ways. This is a small portion of his works. We see only the outlines, the surface of his mighty doings. TJiis is still true. With all the advances which have been made in science, it is still true that we see but a small part of his works. What we are enabled to trace with all the aids of science, compared with what is unseen and unknown, may be like the analysis of a single drop of water compared with the ocean. IT But how little a portion is heard of him ? Or, rather, ' But what a faint whisper have wo heard of him !' Literally, ' What a whisper of a word,' — "'3'^ I'^a'IJTTa!! The word Y"^!^. means a transient sound rapidly passing away ; and then a ichisper. See Notes on ch. iv. 12. A ' whisper of a word ' means a word not fully and audibly spoken, but which is ichispered into the ear ; and the beautiful idea here is, that what we see of God, and what he makes known to us, compared with the full and glorious reality, bears about the same relation which the gentlest w^hisper does to words that arc fully 54 JOB. spoken. II The thwMler of his power toko can understand ? It is probable that there is here a comparison be- tween the gentle ' whisper ' and tlie mighty 'tiiunder;' and that tiie idea is, if, instead of speaking to us in gentle whispers, and giving to us in that way some faint indications of his nature, he were to speak out in thun- der, who could understand him ? If, when he speaks in such faint and gentle tones, we are so much im- pressed with a sense of his greatness and glory, who would not be over- whelmed if he were to speak out as in thunder ? Thus explained, the expression does not refer to literal thunder, though there is much in the heavy peal to excite adoring views of God, and much that to Job must have been inexplicable. It may be asked, even now, wlio can understand all the philosophy of the thunder ? But with much more impressivenoss it may be asked, as Job probably meant to ask, who could understand the great God, if he spoke out with the full voice of his thunder, instead of speaking in a gentle whisper ? CHAPTER XXVII. ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. It would seem to have been natural that Zophar should have replied here to what Job had said ; and the commencement of this chapter appears to indicate that there had been a pause made here by Job, under an expectation that he would speak. It was now his turn, in the regular course of the controversy, but he was silent. Bildad had made a feeble reply (ch. xxv.), and Zophar did not attempt to say any thing, and the three friends return to the controversy no more. Seeing, therefore, that nothing was said in reply, Job resumes his remarks, and urges his sentiments at length. This reaches to the close of ch. xxxi. Chs. xxvii. and xxviii. have immediate reference to the controversy which had been main- tained, and contain such suggestions as seem to have satisfied the friends of Job that he was right in his main positions, or at least such as to induce them to remain silent. The following points are introduced and discussed in this chapter. He begins with a most solemn asseveration that he would speak^only the truth, and would never be found the advocate for error. For the sincerity of this intention, he makes a direct appeal to the living God, vs. 2-4. He then as solemnly re-asserts his own innocence, and says that he could not justify the sentiments which had been advanced, nor could he renounce his own consciousness of integrity, and concede, as bis friends wished him to, that his sufferings were proof of extraordinary guilt, vs. 5, G. He then proceeds to say, that he had no idea of jus- tifying the wicked or the hypocrite. On account of the sentiments which he had advanced, his enemies had charged him with this ; but he denies it now in the most solemn manner. Ho expresses his abhorrence of a wicked character ; says that be believes their fate will be all that a man could wish his enemy to experience, and expresses a firm conviction that the hope of the hypocrite would fail. In this he accorded entirely with all that tliey had said, vs. 7-10. He then states that be himself held that the wicked would be punished, and proceeds to defend that position. This defence occupies the remainder of the chapter. He had maintained, in opposition to hi.'! friends, that it was not a regular and universal principle of the divine admin- istration that men were dealt with in this world according to their character, and that no certain conclusion could be drawn respecting a man's character from the divine dealings with him in this world. In particular, he had shown, by an appeal to facts, that the wicked live and pros- per ; that they often reach a peaceful old age, and die surrounded by every circumstance of affluence and honor. The appeal to these facts, which his friends could not deny, had done much to settle the controversy. But now, having silenced them, he admits that tliis was not an universal principle ; stales that he does not mean to say that men are ??fUPr dealt with accord- ing to their crimes, or to maintain tliat God has no moral government in this world. He goes on, therefore, to show(vs. 11-23) that it was a great principle of the divine administration that the wicked would be destroyed ; that if they were prospered for a time, destruction would certainly come, and that they could not hope to escape with impunity. He does not deny his CHAPTER XXVII. 55 main position Ihnt the innocent purtor, and that the wicked are prospered, nor does he ndniit thcif main position, that preat sutTerings are necessarily proof of ^reat guilt;— Iiiit he ducf concede that there was truth in the general principle that the wicked would be punished. This he was not disposed to deny ; and having showed them heforo that their main positions were wrong, and their application of their position to him cruel and uncalled for, he now shows exactly wliere the truth is, and concedes that, however prosperous the wicked may be for a time, they will certainly be punished. In this way the controversy is brought to a close. He states, therefore, that tliough the children of a wicked man are multiplied, it will be for the sword; though he heap up silver, he shall not be permitted always to enjoy it ; though he build his house, he shall soon lie down in the dust ; though ho be prospered, yet he shall be swept away as by a storm ; and though men may honor him for a while,j-et they shall hiss him finally out of th? world. If I here seems to be some inconsistency here with the views which he had before expressed, they are, nevertheless, not inconsistent with the general principles which he had maintained. It is only in some expressions which he may have formerly used in the heat of argument, and under the severity of suffering, that there seems to be anything irreconcilable with what he here lays down. It was important that he should admit what he here states, lest it might be inferred that he denied altogether the government of God over the world. This is one mode of explaining a difficulty which has been folt in regard to the meaning of the latter part of this chapter, vs. 13-23. See, however, the Notes on ver. )3. Perhaps the solution there suggested will commend itself to many minds as being more probably correct. "lYJOREOVER, Job ' contin- -^'-^ ued his parable, and said, '2 As God liveth, tcho hath 1 added to take up. 1. Job continued. JMarg. as in Heb. added to take up. Probably he had paused for Zophar to reply, but since he said nothing he now resumed his argument. IT His parable. A parable properly denotes a comparison of one thing with another, or a fable or alle- gorical representation from which moral instruction is derived. It was a favorite mode of conveying truth in the East, and indeed i.s found in all countries. See Notes on Matth. xiii. 3. It is evident, however, that Job did not deliver his sentiments in this manner; and the word rendered Sparable' here ('^^J^) means, as it often does, a sententious discourse or argument. The word is used in the Scriptures to denote a parable^ pro- perly so called ; then a sententious saying ; an apothegm ; a proverb ; or a poem or song See Notes Isa. xiv. 4. It is rendered here by the Vul- gate, parabolam ; by ilie LXX, nnnntitfoi — " Job spake by preface ;" Lutlicr, fuhr fort — Job continued; Noyes, discourse ; Good, high argu- Tticnt. The meaning is, that Job con- tinued his discourse; but there is in the word a reference to the kind of discourse which he employed, as being sententious and apothegiriatical. taken away my judgment ; and the Almighty, who hath ^ vexed my soul ; 2 made my soul bitter. Ru. 1. 20. 2. As God liveth. A form of sol- emn adjuration, or an oath by the living God. ' As certainly as God lives.' It is the form by which God himself often swears. See Ezek. xiv. 16, xxxiii. 11, and is often employed by others. 1 Sam. xx. 3, xxv. 26. Tl Who hath taken away my judgment. Who hath rejected my cause, or who has refused me justice ; that is, who has treated me as though I was guilty, and withholds from me relief. The language is forensic, and the idea is, that he would make his sol- emn appeal to him, even though he had rejected his cause. Perhaps there is implied here more than the solemnity of an ordinary oath. A man might be supposed to be willing to make his appeal to one who had shown himself friendly or favorable to him, but he would manifest more reluctance to making his appeal in an important case to a judge who had decided against him, especially if that decision was regarded as severe, and if that judge had refused to hear what he had to say in self-defence. But Job here says, that such was his con- fidence in his own sincerity and truth, that he could make his appeal to God, even though he knew that he had hitherto gone against him, and 56 JOB. 3 All the while my breath is in me, and the ' spirit of God is in my nostrils, 4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. 5 God forbid that I should 1 i. e the breath which Ood gave him, Ge. 2. 7. a c. 2. 3, 9, treated him as if he were guilty. IT Who hath vexed my soul. Marg. as in Heb. made my soul bitter. That is, who has greatly afflicted me. Comp. 2 Kings iv. 27, Marg , and Ruth i. 20. 3. ^^nd the spirit of God is in my nostrils. As long as I live. The " spirit of God" here means the breath that God breathed into man when he created him. Gen. ii. 7. It would seem probable that there was an allu- sion to that fact by the language here, and that the knowledge of the way in which man was created was thus handed down by tradition. 4. My lips shall not speak wicked- ness. This solemn profession made on oath might have done something to allay the suspicions of his friends in regard to him, and to show that they had been mistaken in his char- ■- acter. It is a solemn assurance that he did not mean to vindicate the cause of wickedness, or to say one word in its favor; and that as long as he lived he would never be found ad- vocating it. IT JVor my tongue utter deceit. I will never make any use of sophistry ; I will not attempt to make ' the worse appear the better reason ;' I will not be the advocate of error. This had always been the aim of Job, and he now says that no circumstance should ever induce him to pursue a different course as long as he lived. Probably he means, also, as the fol- lowing verse seems to imply, that no consideration should ever induce him to countenance error or to palliate wrong. He would not be deterred from expressing his sentiments by any dread of opposition, or even by any respect for hii friends. No justify you ; till I die I will not remove mine " integrity from me. 6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go ; my heart ' shall not reproach me ' so long as I live. b Ac. 24. 16. my days. IJno. 3. 19-21. 1 from friendship which he might have for them would induce him to justify what he honestly regarded as error. 5. God forbid. "1^ nb"ibn . " Far be it from me." Literally, " Profane be it to me ;" that is, I should regard it as unholy and profane; I cannot do it. TT That I should justify you. That I should admit the correctness of your positions, and should con- cede that I am a hypocrite. He was conscious of integrity and sincerity, and nothing could induce him to abandon that conviction, or to admit the correctness ofthe reasoning which they had pursued in regard to him. Coverdale (A. D. 1535) has given this a correct translation, " God for bid that I should grant your cause to be right." ^ Till I die I will not re- move mine integrity from me. I will not admit that I am insincere and hypocritical. This is the language of a man who was conscious of integ- rity, and who would not be deprived of that consciousness by any plausi- ble representations of his professed friends. 6. My righteousness I hold fast. I hold on to the consciousness of integ- rity and uprightness. I cannot, will not, part with that. Job had lost his property, his health, and his domes- tic comforts, but he had in all this one consolation — he felt that he waa sincere. He had been subjected to calamity by God as if he were a wicked man, but still he was resolved to adhere to the consciousness of his uprightness. Property may leave a man ; friends may forsake him ; children may die ; disease may attack him ; slander may assail him ; and death may approach him ; but still he CiiAPTEll XXVII. 57 7 Let mine CHAPTER XXVII. 61 heritage of oppressors, ichich they sliall receive of the Al- mighty. 14 If " his children be multi- plied, it is for the sword ; and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. me, the most plausible. IT This is the ■portion. Tiiis is what he receives; to wit, what he states in the following verses, that his children would be cut off". U Jind the heritage of op- pressors. Wiiat tyrants and cruel men must expect to receive at the iiand of God. 14. If his children be jmdtiplied, it is for the sword. Tiiat is, they shall be slain in war. The first calamities which it is here said would come upon a man, relate to his family (vs. 14-18); the next are those that would come upon himself, vs. 19-23. All the sentiments here expressed are found in the various speeches of the friends of Job, and, according to the interpretation suggested above, ihis is designed to represent their sentiments. They maintained that if a wicked man was blessed with a numerous family, and seemed to be prosperous, it was only that the punishment might come the more heavily upon him, fur that they certainly would be cut off. See ch. sviii. 19, 20, xx. 10. V And his off- spring shall not be satisfied icith bread. This sentiment was advanced by Zophar, ch. xx. 10. See Notes on that verse. 15. Those that remain of him. Tiiose that survive him. TI Shall be buried in death. Heb. ' shall be bu- ried by death ' (^!;^?), that is, ' Death shall be the grave-digger" — or, they shall have no friends to bury them ; they shall be unburied. The idea is highly poetical, aad the expression is very tender. They would have no one to weep over them, and no one to prepare for them a grave ; there would be no procession, no funeral dirge, no train of weeping attendants ; 15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death ; and his widows shall not weep. * 16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay ; a De. 28. 41. 2 Ki. 9. 7, 8. Hos. 9. 13. b Ps. 78. 64. even the members of their own fami- ly would not weep over them. To be unburied has always been regard- ed as a dishonor and calamity (comp. Notes on Isa. xiv. 19), and is often referred to as such in the Scriptures. See Jer. viii. 2, xiv. 16, xvi. 4, 6. The passage here has a striking re- semblance to Jer. x-\ii. 18, 19 : " They shall not lament for hirn, saying. Ah ! my brother ! or, Ah ! sister I They shall not lament for him, saying. Ah ' lord ! or, Ah ! his glory 1 With the burial of an ass shall he be buried, Drawn out and cast beyond the gates of Jerusalem." If And his widows shall not weep. The plural here — ' widows ' — is a proof that polygamy was then practised. It is probable that Job here alludes to the shrieks of domestic grief which in the East are heard in every part of tile house among the females on the death of the master of the family, or to the train of women that usually followed the corpse to the grave. Tlie standing of a man in society was indicated by the length of the train of mourners, and particularly by the number of wives and concubines that followed him as weepers. Job re- fers to this as the sentiment of his friends, that when a wicked man died, he would die with such evident marks of the divine displeasure, that even his own family would not mourn for him, or that they would be cut off before bis death, and none would be left to grieve. 16. Though he heap up silver as the dust. 'J hat is, in great quantities — as plenty as dust. Con)p. 1 Kings X. 27, "And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones." TI And prepare raiment. Oriental wealth consisted much in changes of rai 62 JOB. 17 He may prepare it, but " the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. o Ec. 2. 26. ment. Sir John Chardin says that in the East it is common to gather to- gether immense quantities of furniture and ciotlies. According to D'Herbe- lot, Boktcri, an illustrious poet of Cufah in the ninth century, had so many presents made him in the course of his life, that when he died he was found possessed of an hundred complete suits of clothes, two hun- dred shirts, and five hundred turbans. Comp. Ezra ii. 60, and Neh. vii. 70. See Bochart Hieroz. P. II. Lib, iv. c. XXV. p. 617. This species of treasure is mentioned by Virgil ; Dives equum, dives picta'i vestis et auri. ^n. ix 26. The reason why wealth consisted so much in changes of raiment, is to be found in tlie fondness for display in Oriental countries, and in the fact that as fashions never change there, such treasures are valuable until they are worn out. In the ever-varying fashions of the West such treasures are comparatively of much less value. TI Jjs the clay. As the dust of the streets; or as abundant as mire. 17. The just shall put it ore. The righteous shall wear it. It shall pass out of the hands of him who prepared it, into tlie hands of others. The meaning is, that the wicked, though ihey become rich, would not live to enjoy their ill-gotten gains. These two verses contain a beautiful illus- tration of what Dr. Jebb calls the introverted parallciism — where the fourth member answers to tlie first, and the third to the second : Thougli he heap up silver as the dust, And prepare raiment as the clay, The just shall put it [raiment] on, And the innocent shall divide the silver. A similar instance occurs in Matth. vii. 6 : Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, Neither cast ye your ])earls hefore swine. Lest they [the swine] trample them under their feet, And I the dogs] turn again and rend you. 18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh. For a full illustration of the nature of Hebrew poetry, the reader may con- sult De Wette, Einleitung in die Psalmen, translated in the Biblical Repository, vol. iii. pp. 445, seqq and Nordheimer's Hebrew Grammar, vol. ii. pp. 319, seqq. See also the Intro- duction to Job, § V. H The innocent shall diride the silver. That is, the righteous shall come into possession of it, and divide it among themselves. The wicked who had gained it shall not be permitted to enjoy it. 18. He buildeth his house as a inoth. The liouse which the moth builds is the slight fabric which it makes for its own dwelling in the garment which it consumes. On this verse comp. ch. viii. 14. The dwelling of the moth is composed of the materials of the garment on which it feeds, and there may be an allusion here not only to the fact that the house which the wicked reared for themselves would be temporary, and that it would soon pass away like the dwell- ing of the moth, but that it was ob- tained — like the dwelling of the moth — at the expense of others. The idea of frailty, however, and of its being only a very temporary habitation, is probably the main thought in the passage. The allusion here is to the moth-icorm as it proceeds from the egg, before it is changed into the chrysalis, aurelia, or nympli. " The young moth, upon leaving the egg which a papilio has lodged upon », piece of stuff, or a skin well dressed, and commodious for her purpose, immediately finds a habitation and food in the nap of the stuff, or hair of the skin. It gnaws and lives upon the nap, and likewise builds with it its apartment, accommodated both with a front door and a back one : the whole is well fastened to the ground of the stuff', with several cord* and a little glue. The moth some- times thrusts her head out of out C^ 11 AFTER XXVII. 63 19 Tlio rich " man shall lie ered : he openeth his cya^, and dmvii, but he shall not be gath- he is not. aLii. If!, o-j, a?. j opening, tuul somelinies out of the other, and perpetually demoHshes all about her; and when she has cleared the place about her, she draws out all the stakes of the tent, after which the carries it to some little distance, find then fixes it with her slender cords in a new situation." Burder. It is to the insect in its larvae or cat- erpillar state that Job refers here, and tlie slightness of the habitation will be easily understood by anyone who has watched the operations of the silk worm, or of the moths that Rpjjear in this country. Tlie idea is, that the habitation wiiich the wicked con- structed was temporary and frail, and would soon be left. The Chaldeo and Striae render this 'the spider ;' and so does Luther — Spi.nne. The slight gossamer dwelling of the spi- der would well correspond with the idea here expressed by Job. TT Jind as a booth. A tent, or cottage. If That the keeper maketh. That one who watches vineyards or gardens makes as a temporary shelter from the storm or the cold at night. Such edifices were very frail in their structure, and were designed to be only temporary habitations. See the subject explained in JNotes on Isa. i. 8. Niebuhr, in his description of Arabia, p 1.58, says, " In the moun- tains of Yemen they have a sort of' nest on the trees, where the Apabs sit to watch the fields after they have been planted. But in the Kehama, | where they have but few trees, they | build a light kind of scaffolding for this purpose " Mr. Southey opens the fifth part of his Curse of Keiiama with a similar allusion : I ! " Evening comes on : — artsing from the stream, j Homewanl the tall flamingo wings his flight; I And when he sails athwart the setting heam, I His scarlet plumage glows with deeper light. The WATCHM.tN, at the wish'd approach of night, j Gladly forsakes the field, where he all day, To scare the wirged plunderers from their prey, With shout and sling, on yonder clay-buik height, Hath borne the sultry ray. 19. The rich man. That is, the rich man who is wicked. IT Shall lie down. Shall die — for so tlie connec- tion demands. IT But he shall not he gathered. In an honorable burial. The slain in battle are gathered together for burial ; but he shall be unburied. The expressions 'to be gathered,' ' to be gathered to one's fa- thers,' frequently occur in the Scrip- tures, and seem to be used to denote a peaceful and happy death and an honorable burial. There was the idea' of a happy union with departed friends ; of being honorably placed by their side in the grave, and admit- ted to companionsliip with them again in the unseen world. Comp. Gen. XXV. 8, xxxv. 29, xlix. 29, 33. Num. xxvii. 13. Deut. xxxii. 50. Jud. ii. 10. 2 Kings xxii. 20. Among the ancients, the opinion prevailed that the souls of those who were not bu- ried in the customary manner, were' not permitted to enter Hades, or the abodes of the dead, but were doomed to wander for an hundred years upon the banks of the river Styx. Thus Homer (Iliad, xxiii. 71, seq.) repre- sents the spirit of Patroclus as appear- ing to Achilles, and praying him that he would commit his body with pro- per honors to the earth. Sc) Palinu- rus is represented by Virgil (^^neid, vi. 36-5) as saying, 'Cast earth upon me, that I may have a calm repose in death.' The Hindoos, says Dr. Ward, believe that the souls of those who are unburied wander about and find no rest. It is possible that such views may have prevailed in the time of Job. The sentiment here is, that such an honored death would be de- nied the rich man of oppiession and wickedness. TI He openeth his eyes, and he is 7iot. That is, in the twink- ling of an eye he is no more. From the midst of his affluence he is sud 64 JOB. 20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. 21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth ; and, as a " storm, hurleth him out of his place. deiily cut off, and hui-ried away in a moment. 20. Terrors take hold on him as waters. That is, as suddenly and violently as angry floods. Comp. JVotes on ch. xviii. 14. 11.4 tempest stealeth hi in aicay. He is suddenly cut off by the wrath of God. A tem- pest comes upon him as unexpectedly as a thief or robber comes at niglit. Death is often represented as coming upon man with the silence of a thief, or the sudden violence of a robber at midnight. See Note ch. xxi. 18, comp. Matth. xxiv. 42-44. 21. The east icind carrieth him aieay. He is swept off as by the vio- lence of a tempest. Severe storms arie represented in this book as com- ing from the East. Comp. Notes on ch. XV. 2. The ancients believed that men might be carried away by a tempest or whirlwind. Comp. Isa. xli. 16. See also Homer, Odys. xx. 63, seq. ■ "Snatch rac, yo whirlwinds, far from human race, Tost through ihe void illimitahle space : Or if dismounted from the rapid cloud, Jle with his whelming wave et Ocean shroud !" Pope. Comp. Notes on ch. xxx. 22. The parallc'.f. .ii here would seem to imply that the wind referred to was violent., hut it is possible that the allusion iiiav be to the burning winds of the desert, so well known in the East, and so frequently described by travel- lers. The Vulgate here renders the Hebrew word °"'1i^, ventus urcns, 'burning wind;' the I..XX in like manner, zai'ffo;!'/ the Syriac simply -PS' |^07, wind. This east wind, or burning wind, is wliat tlip Arabians 22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare : ' he would fain flee out of his hand. 23 Mi-n shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place. a Pa. 58.9. 1 in fleeing he would flee. which passes over the desert, and which was formerly supposed to be destructive of life. JMore recent trav- ellers, however, tell us that it is not fatal to lite, tiiough exceedingly op- pressive. IT .4/if/ as a slonn. See Ps. Iviii. 9. IT Hurleth him out of his place. Takes him entirely away, or removes him from the earth. 22. For God shall cast iiptm him. That is, God shall bring calamities upon him, or cast his thunderbolts upon him, and shall not pity him. IT He icould fain flee. He would gladly escape from the wrath of God, but he is unable to do it. 23. 3Ien shall clap their haiids at him. That is, they shall combine to drive him out of the world, and re- joice when he is gone. The same sentiment was also expressed by Bil- dad, ch. xviii. 18 : lie shall he driven from light into darkness, And cliased out of the world. There can be no doubt, I think, that Job alludes to that sentiment, and that his object in quoting it is to show its incorrectness. He does not in- deed go into a formal reply to it in the following chapters, but he seems to consider that he had already re- plied to it by the statements whicli he had made, and which showed the incorrectness of the views which his fri«nds.had taken. He had demon- strated in the previous^chapteYs that their main position was incorrect, and he asks (in ver. 12 of this chapter), Iiow it was possible that they could hold such sentiments as these, in the midst of all xho, facts wliicli surround- ed tiicni .-' The whole current of CHAPTER XXVIII. 65 events was against their opinion, and in the close of this chapter he enu- merates the sentiments wiiich they had, advanced, vvhicli he regarded as so strange, and vvhicii he felt that he had now shown to be erroneous. Indeed, theij seem to have regarded themselves as confuted, for they were silent. Job had attacked and over- thrown their main position, that men were treated according to their char- acter in this life, and that conse- quently extraordinary sufferings were proof of extraordinary guilt, *ind, that being overthrown, they hari nothing more to say. Having silenced them, and shown the error of the opinions which he has here eiuunerated, he proceeds in the following citapters to state his own views on important topics connected with the providence of God, mainly dosignod to siiow that we are not to expect 1 jlly to compre- hend the reason of hi ; dispensations. CHAPTER XXVIII. .\NALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. Various opinions liave Ijcen entertained of the design of this chapter, ! id of the eonnection which it has with the preceding. A statement and examination of those < ^jinions may be found in Schultens and in Rosenmiiller. The most probable opinion, as it seen b to me, is, tliat the design is to sliow that we must acquiesce in the inscrutable dispensations of divine Providence, without being able fully to comprehend them. The ways of God are liigh and mysterious. Vast wisdom is shown in liis vvorlis, and there is much which man cannot comprehend. All his works are such as to excite tlic admiration of man. There is great obscurity in his dealings, and every wliere God had shown that his plans are far above those of man. Tlie friends of Job had pretended to understand tlie reason of the divine dispensations. They had maintained that when men suffered they clearly comprehended the cause and tliat the reason was that God dealt witli them strictly according to their character. This position Job had controverted. Ho had showed that it was not true in fact The wicked, he said, often lived long, and died in peace. But still, he admitted, that tliere was much which he could not under- stand. He did not know why they were thus permitted. to live, and he did not know wliy the righteous were subjected to trials so severe. All this, he now says, is to be resolved into the superior and infinite wisdom of God ; and in that it becomes man to actiuiesce, even though he cannot now explain it. In illustration of this, he labors to show that man had made surprising discoveries in the works of nature ; that he had penetrated the bowels of the earth, and had overcome the greatest obstacle in the attainment of knowledge and in the investigation of science, but still all that he had done or could do did not disclose to him the plans of tho divine administration, or tho reason of the divine dealings, and tlierefore true wisdom was to be found in the fear of the Lord, and in profound veneration for the Almighty. In sliowing this. Job adverts to the following topics. (1.) He refers to the skill which man had shown in operations of mining, and to the discov- eries which ho had made of the places of silver and gold, vs. 1, 2. (•2.) In these operations, man liad penetrated to the greatest depths, so as to carry his discov- eries far into tlie regions of night, vs. 3,4. (3.) He had wiought the earth, bringing food out of it ; he had turned it up, and found out tho places of precious stones, vs. 5, ti. (4.) He had far surpassed the wisdom of the brute creation ; he had gone where their sagacity could not lead them, and had penetrated into dark regions which the keen eye of the vulture had not seen, and where even the lion had not adventured, vs. 7,8. (5.) He had put forth extraordinary power. He had removed vast stones ; had overturned mountains ; liad cut canals through mighty rocks, and had confined and bound the angry floods, vs. 9- 11. (6.) Yet still. Job says, none of these things revealed the secret plans of the divine adminis- tration. The wisdom which man sought was not to be found there. It was far above all the discoveries of science, and all the mere investigations of nature. It had not been found in the abyss or in the sea ; it could not be bought with gold or silver, with the sapphire, with coral or pearls ; rubies and the topaz could not purchase it. Even Destruction and Death said that they had only heard of it with their ears, vs. 12-22. 66 JOB. (7 ) It was to be found, therefore, only in Ood. He only understood the way of truo wisdom, and the reason of his own plans ; and it became man to acquiesce in his inscrutable dealings. True wisdom was therefore to be found in the fear of the Lord, and in a profound veneration for the Almighty, vs. 23-28. s URELY there is a ' vein for the silver, and a place for gold 1 or, mine. wlicvc they fine it. filtered, or gold thnt is j)urificd. Mai. iii. 3. It may refer here to an}' process of purifying or refining. It is commonly done by the application of heat. One of the instructive uses of the book of Job is the light which it throws incidentally on the state oi the ancient arts and sciences, and the condition of society in reference to the comforts of life at the early pe- riod of the world when the author lived. In this passage it is clear (1,) that the metals were then in general use, and (2,) that they were so wrought as to furnish, in the view of Job, a striking illustration of human wisdom and skill. Society was so far advanced as to make use not only of gold and silver, but also of copper and brass. The use of gold and silver commonly precedes the discovery of iron, and consequently the mention of iron in any ancient book indicates a considerably advanced state of so- ciety. It is, of course, not known to what extent the art of working metals was carried in the time of Job, as all that would be indicated here would be that the method of obtaining llic pure metal from the ore was under- stood. It may be interesting, how- ever, to observe, that the art was early known to the Egyptians, and was carried by them to a considerable degree of perfection. Pharaoh ar- rayed Joseph in vestures of fine linen, and put a chain of gold about his neck, Gen. xli. 42, and great quanti- ties of gold and silver ornaments were borrowed by the Israelites of the Egyptians, when they were about to go to the promised land. Gold and silver are mentioned as known in the earliest ages. Comp. Gen. ii. 11, 12, xli 42. Ex. XX. 23. Gen. xxiii. 15, 16. Iron is also mentioned as having being early known. Gen. jv. 1. Surely there is a vein for silver. Marg. mm<\ Coverdale renders this, " There are places where silver is molten." Prof Lee renders it, " There is an outlet for the silver," and sup- poses it means the coming out or separation of the silver from the earthy particles by which it is sur- rounded in the ore, not the coming out from the mine. The word ren- dered vein (NZJi'J) means properly a going forth, as the rising of the sun, Ps. xix. 7 : the promulgation of an edict, Dan. ix. 25; then a place of going forth — as a gate, door, Ezek. xlii. 11, xliii. 11, and thence a mine, a vein, or a place of ibe going forth of metals ; that is, a place where they arc procured. So the LXX here, "Eoti yao doyixjCo) to no<; oO-cv ylvfxat. — "there is a place for silver whence it is obtained." The idea luM-e is, that man had evinced his wisdom in finding out the mines of silver and working them. It was one of the instances of his skill that he had been able to penetrate into the earth, and bring out the ore of the precious metals, and convert it to valuable purposes. IF Jlnd a place for gold. A workshop, or laboratory, for working the precious metals. Job says, that even in his time such a laboratory was a proof of the wisdom of man. So now, one of the most striking proofs of skill is to be found ; in the places where the precious i metals are purified, and v, rought into the various forms in which they are adapted to ornament and use. 11 Where they fine it — *1|?^^ . The word here used {PPJ]) means properly to bind fast, to fetter ; and then to com- press, to squeeze through a strainer ; and hence to strain, filter; and thence to purify — as wine that is thus CHAPTER XXVIII. 67 2 Iron is taken out of the 1 or, dust. 22. Tubal Cain was instructor in iron and brass. Gold and silver mines were early wrought in Egypt, and if Moses was the compiler of the book of Job, it is possible that some of the descriptions liere may have been de- rived from that country, and at all events the mode of working these precious metals was probably the same in Arabia and Egypt. From the mention of ear-rings, bracelets, and jewels of silver and gold, in the days of .\braham, it is evident that the art of metallurgy was known at a very remote period. Workmen are noticed by Homer as excelling in t)ie manufacture of arms, rich vases, and other objects inlaid or ornament- ed with vessels : Apviocov Kparflpa T£ri)y/jri")i'. II. xxiii. 741. His account of the shield of Achilles (Hi. xviii. 474) proves that the art of working in the precious metals was well known in his time ; and the skill required to delineate the various ob- jects which he describes was such as no ordinary artisan, even at this time, could be supposed to possess. In Egypt, ornaments of gold and silver, consisting of rings, bracelets, necklaces, and trinkets, have been found in considerable abundance of the times of Osirtasen I., and Thothmes HI , the contemporaries of Joseph and of Moses. Diodorus (i. 49) mentions silver mines of Egypt which produced 3,200 myriads of min£E The gold mines of Egypt re- mained long unknown, and their position has been ascertained only a few years since by M. Linant and M. Bonomi. They lie in the Bishiree desert, about seventeen days' journey to the South-eastward from Derow. The matrix in which the gold in Egypt was found is quartz, and the excavations to procure the gold are exceedingly deep. The principal excavation is 180 feet deep. The ' earth, and brass is molten out of the stone. quartz thus obtained was broken by the workmen into small fragments of the size of a bean, and these were passed through hand-mills made of granitic stone, and when reduced to powder the quartz was washed on inclined tables, and the gold was thus separated from the stone. Dio- dorus says, that the principal persons engaged in mining operations were captives, taken in war, and persons who were compelled to labor in the mines, for offences against the gov- ernment. They were bound in fet- ters, and compelled to labor night and day. " No attention," he says, " is paid to these persons ; they have not even a piece of rag to cover themselves ; and so wretched is their condition, that every one who wit- nesses it, deplores the excessive misery which they endure. No rest, no intermission from toil, are given either to the sick or the maimed; neither the weakness of age, nor women's infirmities, are regarded ; all are driven to the work with the lash, till, at last, overcome with the in- tolerable weight of their afflictions, they die in the midst of their toil." Diodorus adds, " Nature, indeed, I think, teaches that as gold is obtain- ed with immense labor, so it is kept with difficulty, creating great anxiety, and attended in iis use both with pleasure and with grief." It was, perhaps, in view of such laborious and difficult operations' in obtaining tiie precious metals, and of the skill which man had evinced in extracting them from the earth, that Job alluded here to the process as a striking proof of human wisdom. On the early use of the metals among the ancient Egyptians, the reader maj^ consult with advantage, Wilkinson's "Man- ners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians," vol. iii. p. 215. seq. 2. Iron. As has been remarked above, iron was early known, yet probably its common use indicates a more advanced state of civilization 68 JOB. than tliat of gold and silver. The Mexicans were ignorant of tlie use of iron, though ornaments of gold and silver elegantly wrought abounded among them. Iron is less easily dis- covered than copper, though more abundant, and is wrought with more difficulty. Among the ancient na- tions, copper was in general use long before iron ; and arms, vases, statues, and implements of every kind were made of tliis metal alloyed and har- dened with tin, before iron came into general use. Tubal Cain is indeed mentioned (Gen. iv. 22) as the " in- structor of every artificer in brass and iron,'' but no direct mention is made of iron arms (Num. xxxv. 16) or tools (Deut. xxvii. 5), until after the depart- ure from Egypt. According to the Arundelian Marbles, iron was known one hundred and eighty-eight years before the Trojan war, about 1370 years B. C. ; but Hesiod, Plutarch, and others, limit its discovery to a much later period. Homer, however, distinctly mentions its use, II. xxiii. 262: li Se ywixiKai tii^Mvag, TTo\tov ts aiiripov. That by the sideros of the poet is meant iron, is clear, from a simile which he uses in the Odyssey, deriv- ed from the quenching of iron in wa- ter, by whicli he illustrates the hiss- ing produced in the eye of Polyphe- mus by piercing it with the burning stake : " And as when armorers temper in the ford The keen-edged pole-axe or the shining sword, The red-hot metal hisses in the lake, Thus in the eye-ball hissed the plunging stake." OJysg. ix. 391. Pope. Iron is mentioned in tlie time of Og king of Bashan, 1450 B. C. It was at first, however, regarded as of great value, and its use was very limited. It was presented in tlie temples of Greece as among the most valuable offerings, and rings of iron have been found in the tombs of Egypt that had been worn as ornaments, showing the value of the metal. One of the rea- sons w'hy this metal comes so slowly into use, and why it was so rare in early times, was the difficulty of smelting the ore, and reducing it to a malleable state. " Its gross and stub- born ore," says Dr. Robertson (Ame- rica, B. iv.), "must feel twice the force of fire, and go through two labo- rious processes, before it becomes fit for use." It was this fact wlu7h made it to Job such a proof of the wisdom of man that he had invented the process of making iron, or of separating it from the earthy portions in which it is found. II Is taken out of the earth. Rlarg dust. The form in whicli iron is found is too well known to need description. It is sel dom, if ever, found in its purity, and the ore generally has so much the appearance of mere earth, that it re- quires some skill to distinguish them. IT j3nd brass, ilttj^ni. Brass is early and frequently mentioned in the Bible (Gen. iv. 22. Ex. xxv. 3, xxvi. 11, et al), but there is little doubt that cop- per is meant in these places. Brass is a compound metal, made of copper and zinc — containing usually about one third of the weight in zinc — and . it is hardly probable that the art of compounding this was early known. Comp. Notes on ch. xx, 24. Dr. Good renders this, " And the rock, poureth forth copper." Coverdale, "The stones resolved to metal." Noyes, " The stone is melted into copper." Prof. Lee, " Also the stone [is taken from the earth] from which one fuseth copper." The Hebrew is, literally, 'And stone is poured out (p"^'^) copper.' The LXX ren- derit, " And brass is cut like stones ;" that is, is cut from the quarry. The word stone here in the Hebrew (l^N) means, doubtless, ore in the form of stone ; and the fact here mentioned, that such ore is fused into the '^'^^'^?, nchhiishd, is clear proof that copper is intended. Brass is never found in ore, and is never compounded in the earth. A similar idea is found in Pliny, who probably uses the word acs to denote copper, as it is com nionly employed in the ancient writ CHAPTER XXVIII. 69 3 He setteth an end to dark- ness, and searcheth out all per- fection : the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. ingii Aes fit ex lapide aeroso, quein vocant Cadmiam ; et igne lapides in nes solvaiiUir. Nat. Hist, xxxiv. i. Q2. On tlie guiieral subject of'ancient metallurgy, see Wilkinson's Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyp- tians, vol. iii. ch. ix. 'S. He setteth an end to dar/mcss. That is, man does. The reference liere is undoubtedly to the operations of mining, and the idea is, that man delves into the darkest regions ; lie goes even to the outer limits of dark- ness : lie penetrates every where. Probably the allusion is derived from the custom of carrying torches into mines. II And searcheth out all per- fection. Makes a complete searcli ; examines every thing ; carries the matter to the utmost. The idea is not that he searches out all perfection — as our translation would seem to convey ; but that he makes a com- plete and thorough search — and yet after all he does not come to the true and liigliest wisdom. If The st07ies of darkness. The last stone, says Her- drsr, in the mining investigations in the time of Job ; the corner or bound- ary stone, as it were, of the kingdom of darkness and night. Prof Lee supposes that there is allusion here to the fact that stones were used as v.eights, and that the idea is, that man had ascertained the exact iceight of the gross darkness, that is, had taken an accurate admeasurement of it, or had wholly investigated it. But this solution seems far-fetched. Schultens supposes the centre of the earth to be denoted by this expres- sion. But it seems to me that the words 'stone' and 'darkness' are to be separated, and that tlie one is not used to qualify the other. The sense is, that man searches out every thing ; he perfectly and accurately penetrates every where, and examines all ob- 4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant ; evert the loaters forgotten of the foot : they are dried up, they are gone away from men. jects ; — the stone (l?*?), that is, the rocks, the mines ; the darkness (^SS<), that is, the darkness of tlie cavern, the interior of the earth ; and the shadozo of death (niTsbS), that is, the most dark and impenetrable regions of the earth. So it is rendered by Coverdale : " The stones, the dark, and the horrible shadow." 4. The flood breaketh out from the inhuhitant. It would be ditficult to tell what idea our translators affixed to this sentence, though it seems to be a literal version of the Hebrew. There has been a great variety of rendering given to the passage. Noyes translates it : "From the place where they dwell they open a shaft, Unsupported by the feet, They are suspended, they swing awaj from men." Herder : " A flood goeth out from the realm of oblivion, They draw it up from the foot of the mountain, They remove it away from men." According to this, the meaning. Her- der says, would be, that " the dwell- ing of the forgotten would be the kingdom of the dead, and at greater depth than the deepest mines have readied. Streams break forth from the river of eternal oblivion beneath, and yet are overcome by the miners, pumped dry, and turned out of the way. Yet I confess," says he, "the passage remains obscure to my mind." Coverdale renders it, " With the ri- ver of water parteth he asunder the strange people, that knowetli no good neighborhood ; sucli as are rude, un- mannerly, and boisterous." The LXX render it, "The channels of brooks are choked up with sand ; when to such as know not tlie right way strength is unavailing, and they are removed from among men." The 70 JOB. 5 ^5 for the earth, out of it cometh bread ; and under it is difficulty of interpreting the passage has been felt by every expositor to be great ; and there are scarcely two expositions alike There can be no doubt that Job refers to mining ope- rations, and the whole passage should be explained with reference to such works. But the obscurity may possi- bly arise from the fact that mining operations were then conducted in a manner different from what they are now, and the allusion may be to some custom which was then well under- stood, but of which we now know nothing. A plausible interpretation, at least, has been furnished by Gese- nius, and one which seems to me to be more satisfactory than any other. An explanation of the words in the passage will bring out this view. The word rendered ' breaketh out ' (yiS) means to break, rend, tear through — and here refers to the act of breaking through the earth for the purpose of sinking a shaft or pit in a mine. The word rendered ' flood ' (Vn?) means properly a stream or brook ; then a valley in which a brook runs along ; and here Gesenius supposes it means a shaft or pit of a mine. It may be called a r-Hij nd- hhdl, or valley, from the resemblance to a gully which the water has wash- ed away by a mountain-torrent. IT From the inhabitant. This conveys evidently no idea as it now stands. The Hebrew is "iJ'DSJO. The word "lis, from which "^S is derived, means to sojourn for a time, to dwell, as a stranger or guest ; and the phrase liere means, 'away from any dweller or inliabitant ;' that is, from where men dwell, or from the surface of the ground as the abode of men ; that is, under ground. Or the idea is, that it is done where no one could dwell; It could not be the abode of man. IT Even the waters forgotten of the foot. The words ' even the waters ' are supplied by the translators. The Hebrew is ^i^"''?^ Oin^'::??!, and refers to being iinsupported by the foot. They go into a place where the foot yields no support, and they are obliged to suspend themselves in order to be sustained. H They are dried up — ^'^. The word ^t"], from which this is derived, means to hang down^ to be pendulous, as boughs are on a tree, or as a bucket is in a well. According to this interpretation, the meaning is, that they hang doicn fur from men in their mines, and swing to and fro like the branches of a tree in the wind. IT They are gone aicay from men. The word ''"J, from Siia^ means to move to and fro, to waver, to vacillate. Gr. and Latin rn'o), nuo, Germ, jiicken, to nod backwards and forwards. The sense here is, that, far from the dwellings of men, they leave to and fro in their deep mines, suspended by cords. They descend by the aid of cords, and not by a firm foothold, until they pene- trate the deep darkness of the earth. Other interpretations may be seen, however, defended at length in Schul- tens, and in Rosenmiiller— who has adopted substantially that of Schul- tens — in Dr. Good, and in other com- mentaries. Few passages in the Bible are more obscure. 5. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread. That is, it produces food, or the materials for bread. The idea of Job seems to be, that it was proof of great wisdom and skill on the part of man that he had carried the arts of agriculture so far. The eartli in pro- ducing grain, and the arts of hus- bandry, were illustrative of wisdom and skill, but they did not impart the wisdom about the government of God which was desired. That was re- served to be imparted more directly by God himself, vs. 23, seq. IT Jlnd binder it is turned iip as it were fire. That is, on beingturned up it discloses precious stones that seem to glow like coals of fire. This is the obvious sense of this passage, though a differ- ent interpretation has been given by CHAPTER XXVIII. 71 turned up as it were fire. 6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires ; and it hath 'dust of gold. most exposilors. Job is speaking of mining. He describes the search for gold, and silver, and precious stones. He says that one of the wonders of wisdom in the earth is, that it pro- duces nutritious grain ; another, that when the same earth is turned up it seems to rest on a bed of fire. The dark ground is made to glow by the quantity of jewels that are disclosed, and its deep recesses seem to be on fire. There is no reference here, tlierefore, as it seems to me, to any volcanic agency, or to any belief that ihe earth rests on a sea of fire. The idea has been expressed in Sergeant's "Mine :" " Wheresoe'er our footsteps turn, Rubies blush and diamonds burn." Lutiier has given to the passage a different sense. Man bringet auch Feuer unten aus der Erde, da oben Speise auf wachst — " They bring fire from the earth beneath, where food grows up above." Coverdale, "• He bringeth food out of the earth ; that which is under he consumeth with fire." Herder, " And underneath it is changed as by fire." Dr. Good, " Below it [the earth] windeth a fiery region." 6. The stones of it are the place. Among the stones of the earth sap- phires arc found. "The situation of the sapphire is in alluvial soil, ifi tlie vicinity of rocks, belonging to the secondary floetz trap formation, and imbedded in gr.e'iss." Jamesoyi. "The sapphire occurs in considerable abun- dance in the granitic alluvion of Matura and SafTragam, in Ceylon." Davij. IT Sapphires. Comp. Note Isa. liv. 11. The sapphire is a pre- cious stone, usually of a blue color, though it is sometimes yellow, red, violet, green, or white. In hardness it is inferior to the diamond only : " In unroll'd tufts, flowers purpled, bluo and white. 7 There " is a path which no fowl knoweth, and wliich the vulture's eye hath not seen : 1 or, fi-old ore. n c. 1 1. T:. Like sappliire, pear], in rich embroidery." Shaesfeare. " He tinctures rubies with their rosy hue, And on the sapphire spreads a heavenly blue." Blackmoke. The mineral is, ne.xt to the diamond, the most valuable of the precious stones. The most highly prized varieties are the crimson and carmine red ; these are the Oriental ruby of the traveller, and next to the diamond are the most valuable jewels hitherto discovered. The blue varieties — the sapphire of the jeweller — are next in value to the red. The yellow varie- ties — the Oriental To^;ar of the jewel- ler — are of less value tlian the blue or true sapphire. Edin. Ency Art. Mineralogy. U And it hath dust of gold. Marg. or, gold ore. Literally, " The dusts of gold are in it." Gold is often found in the form of dust. It is obtained by washing it from the sand, and passing it over a fleece of wool, to which the gold adheres. 7. There is a path which no fotcl knoiceth. That is, a path in search- ing for gold and precious stones. The miner treads a way which is unseen by the bird of keenest vision. He penetrates into the deep darkness of the earth. The object &f Job is to show the wisdom and tlie intre- pidity of man in penetrating these dark regions in searching fur sap- phires and gold Tlie' most far- sighted birds could not find their way to them. The most intrepid and fearless beasts of prey dared not ad- venture to those dangerous regions. The word rendered foicl (-■?") means either a ravenous beast, Jer. xii. 9, or more commonly a raven- ous bird. See Notes on Isa. xlvi. 11. According to Bochart, Ilieroz. P. 11. L. 11. c. viii. p 1!I5, the word he/e denotes a rapacious bird of any kind ; a bird which has a koi-n vision. IT Which the vulture's eye hath not seen. The vulture is di.-;- 72 JOB. 8 The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. 9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock ; ' he overturneth the mountains by the roots. lor, flint. aHab. 3. 9. J c. 26. 8. 2 icteping. linguislied for the remarkable keen- ness of its vision. On the deserts of Arabia, it is .said, when a camel dies, there is ahnost immediately discerned far in the distant sky, what seems at first to be a mere speck. As it draws nearer it is perceived to be a vuUiire that had marked the camel as he fell, and that comes to prey upon it. This bird is proverbial for the keenness of Its sight. 8. The lion's whelps. The lion that ventures into the most danger- ous places in pursuit of prey, has not dared to go where man has gone in pursuit of precious stones and gold. On the words here used to designate the lion, see Bochart Hieroz. P. 1. Lib. iii. c. 1. 9. He pufteth forth his hand. That is, the miner in securing the precious metals and gems. IT Upo?i the rock. Marg. Jlint. The word here used (tti'^'Osn) occurs also in Ps. civ. 8. Deut. viii. 15, xx.xii. 13, It means Aint, silcx ; and the idea is, that the miner approaclios the hardest sub- stances He penetrates even the flint in searching for precious stones. Dr. Good renders it, " Sparry ore." Michaelis rend«;rs the same word in Deut. vii. 15, porphyry, or red granite. The idea is that notliing, however difhcult, not even cutting down the hardest rocks, deters the miner from pursuing his work. IT He overturn- eth the mountains hy the roots. That is, he digs under them, and they fall. The root of a mountain means its base or foundation. The following passage from Pliny (Hist, Nat.xxxiii. c. iv. § 2\) furnishes an admirable illustration of this passage : Tamen in silice facilior existimatur labor Est nanique terra ex (juodam argilla 10 He ° cutteth out rivers among the rocks ; and his eye seeth every precious thing. 11 He bindeth ' the floods from '^ overflowing ; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. genere glaraj mixta, Candidam vo- cant, prope inexpugnabilis. Cuneis eam ferreis aggrediuntur, et iisdem malleis ; nihilque durius putant, nisi quod inter omnia auri fama durissima est. Peracto opere cervices fornicuni ab ultimo caedunt, dantque signum ruinae, eamque solus intelligit in cacu- mine montis pervigil. Hie voce, ictuque, repente operarios revocari jubet, pariterque ipse devolat. Mons fractus caditin sese longo fragore, qui concipi humana mente non possit, et flatu incredibili. Spectant victores ruinam naturas. 10. He cutteth out rivers among the rocks. That is, in his operations of mining, he cuts channels for the water to flow ofl" through the rocks. This was done, as it is now, for the purpose of drawing off" the water that accumulates in mines. U His eije seeth every precious thing. Every valuable mineral or precious stone that lies imbedded in the rocks. It is evident from this, that mining opera- tions were carried to a considerable extent in the time of Job. The ar. of thus penetrating the eartii, and laying open its secret treasures, indi- cate an advanced stage of society — a stage much removed from barbarism. 11. He bindeth the floods from over- floioing. Marg. loeeping. The He- brew also is ' from weeping ' "^2313 ; referring to the water which trickles down the shaft of the mine. The idea is, tliat even the large strea.ns which break out in such mines, the fountains and springs which the miner encounters in his operations, he so efl'ectually restrains that they do not even trickle down or tceep on the sides of the shaft, but it is lefk perfectly dry. This is necessarv in CHAPTER XXVIII. 73 opening mines of coa\ or minerals, and in making tunnels or otlier exca- vations. Yet any one wlio has passed into a coal mine, tlirougli a tunnel, or into any one of the deep natural caves of tlie earth, will sec liow diffi- cult it is to close all tiie places where water would trickle down. It is in fact seldom done ; and if done liter- ally in the time of Job, it indicates a very advanced state of the art of mining. In sinking a shaft, it is often necessary to pass at different depths through strata of earth where the water oozes out in abundance, and where the operations would be neces- sarily suspended if it could not be stopped or drawn off. The machinery necessary for this constitutes a con- siderable part of the expense of min- ing operations. II ./Ind the thing that is hid he bringeth forth to light. The concealed treasures ; the gold and gems that are buried deep in the earth. He brings them out of their darkness, and converts them to orna- ment and to use. This ends the de- scription which Job gives of the ope- rations of mining in his time. We may remark in regard to this descrip- tion (1) that the illustration was ad- mirably chosen. His object was to ihow that true wisdom was not to be found by human science, or by mere investigation. He selects a case, therefore, where man had shown the most skill and wisdom, and where he had penetrated farthest into dark- ness. He penetrated the earth ; drove his shaft through rocks; closed up gushing fountains, and laid bare the treasures that had been buried for generations in the regions of night. Yet all tiiis did not enable him fully to explain the operations of the divine government. (2.) The art of mining was carried to a considerable degree of perfection in the time of Job. This is shown by the fact that his description would apply very well to that art even as it is practised now. Substantially the same things were done then which are done now, though we cannot suppose with the «aiiic sidll, or to the same extent, or VOL. II. 5 with the same perfection of machine- ry. (3.) The time when Job lived was in a somewhat advanced period of society. The art of working metals to any considerable extent indicates such an advance. It is not found among barbarous tribes, and even where the art is to a considerable ex- tent known, it is long before men learn to sink shafts in the earth, or to penetrate rocks, or to draw off water from mines. (4.) We see the wisdom and goodness which God has shown in regard to the things that are most useful to man. Those things which are necessary to his being, or which are very desirable for his comfort, are easily accessible ; those which are less necessary, or whose use is dan- gerous, are placed in deep, dark, and almost inaccessible places. The fruits of tlie earth are near to man ; water flows every where, and it is rare that he has to dig deep for it; and when found by digging, it is a running fountain, not soon exhausted like a mine of gold ; and iron, also, the most valuable of the metals, is usually placed near the surface of the earth. But the pearl is at the bottom of the ocean ; diamonds and other precious stones are in remote regions or im- bedded in rocks ; silver runs along in small veins, often in the fissures of rocks, and extending far into the bowels of the earth. The design of placing the precious metals in these almost inaccessible fissures of the rocks, it is not difficult to understand. Had Ihey been easily accessible, and limited in their quantity,' they would long since have been exhausted — causing at one time a glut in the market, and at others absolute want. As they are now, they exercise the utmost ingenuity of man, first to find them, and then to procure them ; they are distributed in small quanti- ties, so that their value is always great; they furnish a convenient cir- culating medium in all countries; they afford all that is needful for or- nament. (5.) There is another proof of wisdom in regard to their ar- rangement in the earth, which was 74 JOB. 12 But where " shall wisdom be found ? and where is the place of understanding 1 13 Man knoweth not the price b thereof; neithci is it found in the land of the liiing. aEc.7.24. 6 Pr. 3. lS-15. probably unknown in the time of Job. It is tlie fact that the most useful of the metals are found in immediate connection with the fuel required for their reduction, and the limestone which facilitates that reduction. This is now perfectly understood by min- eralogists, and it is an instance of the goodness of God, and of the wis- dom of his arrangements, which ought not to be disregarded or over- looked. They who wish to examine this subject more at length, may find some admirable views in BucUland's Geology and Mineralogy (Bridge- water Treatises), vol. i. pp. 392-415. 12. But ichere, shall tcisdovi he found? That is, the full understand- ing of the plans of God — for this is the point of incjuiry. The object of Job is to show that it is not to be found in the most profound science; by penetrating to the farthest extent of which man was capable in the earth, nor by any human investiga- tions whatever. None of these things revealed the great plans of the Al- mighty in reference to his moral government, and particularly to the points which engrossed the attention of Job and his friends. Where true wisdom is to be found he proceeds to state in the subsequent verses. 13. Man knoireth not the price thereof. The word rendered price en"!?) means properly that which is set in a pile or row, or which is ar- ranged in order. Here it means preparation, equipment — that is, any thing put in order, or ready. Judges xvii. 10. It ia also used in the sense of estimation or valuation. Lev. V. 15, 18, 25. The word price here, however, seems to form no proper answer to the question in the 14 The depth saith, It is not in me : and the sea saith. If is not with me. 15 It ' cannot be gotten for gold, " neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. Ifine cold shall not be ^vcn fur it. e Pr 8. 11, 19. IG. 16. previous verse, as the question is, where wisdom is to be found, not what is its value. Many expositors have, therefore, introduced a differ- ent idea in their interpretation. Dr. Good renders it, " Man knoweth not its source." Prof Lee, " Man know- eth not its equal." Herder, " Man j| knoweth not the seat thereof" Cover- | dale, " No man can tell how worthy a thing she is." The LXX render it, " Man knoweth not — nd'ov civrfjc; — her way." But the word here used is not employed to denote a place or way, and the true interpretation doubtless is, that Job does not con- fine himself to a strict answer of the question proposed in ver. 12, but goes on to say that man could not buy it; he could neither find it, nor had he the means of purchasing it with all the wealth of which he was the owner. H J\'eithcr is it found in the land of the living. That is, it is not found among men. We must look to a higher source than man for true vvisdom. Comp. Isa.xxxviii ll,liii.8. 14. The depth saith. This is a beautiful personification. The object of this verse and the following is, to show that wisdom cannot be found in tiie deepest recesses to which man can penetrate, nor purciiased by any thing which rnan possesses. It must come from God only. The word depth here (DinPi) means properly a wave, billow, surge ; then a ma.*;s of waters, a flood, or the deep ocean, Deut. viii. 7. Gen. vii. 11. Ps. xxxvi. 7 ; and then a gulf, or abyss. It ro fers here to the sea, or ocean ; and the idea is, that its vast depths migiit be sounded, and true wisdom would not be found there. )5. It cannot be gotten for gold CHAPTER XXVIII. 75 16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the pre- cious onyx, or the sapphire. 1 or, V'ssds. Marg.Jinc trold shall not be given for it. Tlie word which is here render- ed gold, and in tlic margin ._/iree gold ("li^), is not the common word used to denote tliis metal. It is derived from "150, to shut, to close, and means properh' that wliitli is shut up or en- closed ; and hence Gesenius supposes it means pure gold, or the most pre- cious gold, as that which is shut up or enclosed with care. Dr. Good renders it 'solid gold,' supposing it means that which is condensed, or beaten. The phrase occurs in nearly the same form (""^^^ -^Ii ^ gold shut up,' Marg.) in 1 Kings vi. 2U, 21, vii. 49, oU, X. 21. 2 Chron. iv. 21, 22, ix. 20, and undouhtedl}' denotes there the most precious kind of gold. Its relation to the sense of the verb to shut up is not certain. Prof. Lee supposes that the idea is derived from the use of the word, and of similar words in Arabic, where the idea of heating, fusing, giving another color, changing the shape, and thence of fixing, retaining, &c., is found ; and that the idea here is that of fused or purified gold. Michaelis supposes that it refers to native gold that is pure and unadulterated, or the form of gold called dcndroidcs, from its shoot- ing out in liie form of a tree — haumar- tig gcioachsenes Gold (from the Arab- if^ vJ *V i^^ a tree). It is not known, however, that the Hebrew word "i5D wtis ever used to denote a tree. There can be no doubt that tiie word denotes gold of a pure kind, and it maij have been given to it because gold of that kind was carefully shut up in places of safe keeping ; but it would seem more probable to me that it was given to it for some reason now unknown. Of many of the names now given by us to objects which are significant, and which are 17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it ; and the ex- change of it shall not be for jew- els ' of fine gold, easily understood by us, it would be impossible to trace the reason or pro- priety, after the lapse of four thou- sand years. IT JVeither shall silver he loeighed. That is, it would be impos sible to weigh out so much silver as to equal its value. Before the art of coining was known, it was common to weigh the precious metals that were used as a medium of trade. Comp. Gen. xxiii. 16. 16. The gold of Ophir. Uniformly spoken of as the most precious gold See Notes on ch. xxii. 24. II With, the precious onyx. The onyx is a semi- pellucid gem, with variously colored veins or zones. It is a variety of the chalcedony. The Arabic word de- notes that which was of two colors, where the white predominated. The Greeks gave the name onrjx (ovvS) to the gem from its resemblance to the color of the thumb-nail. See Pas- sow, y, Or the sapphire. Notes on ver. 6. 17. The gold and the crijstal. A crystal, in chemistry, is an inorganic body which, by the operation of affin- ity, has assumed tlie form of a regu- lar solid, terminated by a number of plane and smooth surfaces. It is found in various forms and sizes, and is composed of a great variety of sub- stances. The common rock crystal is a general name for all the transpar- ent crystals of quartz, particularly Oi limpid or colorless quartz. Webster. The word here used (HiD^rT^) occurs nowhere else in the Bible. It is from Ti?J, to be clean, pure ; and is given to the crystal on account of its trans- parency. In Arabic the word means either glass or crystal. Jerome trans- lates it, vitrum — glass ; the LXX, I'aAo? — crystal, or the lapis crystalli- nus. Hesychius says that the crystal denotes Xa^ngov xoi'ioi; — clear ice, or US-ov tI/uov — aprecious stone. Ther* 76 JOB. 18 No mention shall be made 1 or, Ram,ith. is no reason to supi)osc iha.t ({lags \v;is known so early as tliis, anJ tlie prob- ability is that tlie word here denotes something like tlie rock crystal, hav- ing a slrong resemblance to tlio dia- mond, and perhaps then regarded as nearly of equal value. It cannot be supposed that the relative value of gems was then Tinderstood as it is now. ^ Jewels of fine gold. Marg. vessf.ls. Vhe Hebrew word "^^3 pro- perly means vessels, or instruments. It may refer here, however, to orna- ments for the person, as it was in that way chiefly that gold was employed. 18. JVo mention shall he mudc of co- ral. That is, as a price by wiiich to purchase wisdom, or in comparison with wisdom. The margin here is, Ramotli — retaining the Hebrew word J^TQS'H. Jerome renders it, excelsa — exalted or valuable things. So the LXX, MfTiwna — exalted or sublime things ; as if the word were from t^"!, to be exalted. According to the Rabbins, the word here means red coral. It occurs also in Ezck. xxvii. 16, where it is mentioned as a valua- ble commodity in merchandise in which Syria traded with Tyre, and occurs in connection with emeralds, purple, broidered work, fine linen, and agate. The coral is a well known marine substance, not valued now as if it were a precious stone, but j)roba- bly in tlve time of Job regarded as of value sufficient to be reckoned with gems. It was not rare, though iis uses were not known. As a beautiful object, it might at that time deserve to be mentioned in connection with pearls. It is now found in al)und- ance in tiie Red Sea, and jirobably that which was known to Job was obtained there. Shaw says, "In rowing gently over it [the port Tor], while the surface of the sea was calm, such a diversity or Madrepores, Fucn.uld not forbear taking them, as of 'coral, or of pearls; for the price of wisdom is above rubies. Pliny [L. xiii. cap. 25] had done be- fore us, for a forest under water. The branched Madrepores particu- larly contributed very much to autho- rize the comparison ; for we passed over several that were eight or ten feet high, growing sometimes pyra- midical, like the cypress, and at other times had their branches more open and diff'used, like the oak ; not to speak of others which, like the creep- ing plants, spread themselves over the bottom of the sea." Travels, p. 384, Ed. Oxford, 1738. It should be added, however, that there is no abso- lute certainty that Job referred here to coral. The Hebrew word would suggest simply that which was ezalt- ed in value, or of great price ; and it is not easy to determine to what par- ticular substance Job meant to apply it. IT Or of pearls. tt5"iaa— Gai/s/t This word occin-s nowhere else, though '.:i3"3j3K — Elcrahish, is found in Ezek. xiU. 11, 13, xxxviii. 22, where it means hail-stones, or pieces of ice. Perhaps the word here means merely crifstal — resembling ice. So Umbreit,(jesenius, and others, under- stand it Prof. Lee supposes that the word liere used denotes that which is asrsrregated, and then what hmassire, or i-ast See his Note on this jilace. Jerome renders it, emlnentla — exalt- ed, lofty things ; the EXX retain the word without attempting to translate it — ;'a,'7f; — and the fact that they have not endeavored to render it, is a strong circumstance to show that it is now liopeless to attempt to determine its meaning IT ./Ihovc rallies. The ruby is a precious stone of a carmine red color, sometimes verging to violet There are two kinds of rubies, the oriental or corundum, and the spi- nelle. The ruby is next in hardness to the diamond, and approaches it in value. The oriental ruby is the same as the sapphire. The ruby is found in the kingdom of Pegu, in the Mysore country, in Ceylon, and in CHAPTER XXVIII. 77 19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neitlier shall it be valued with pure gold. 20 Whence " then cometh a ver. 12. Ja. 1. 5, 17. 1 or, heaven. some Other places, and is usually im- bedded in gneiss. It is by no means certain, however, that the word here used (S'^D'^DG) means rubies. Many of the Rabbins suppose that pearls are meant by it ; and so Bocliart, Hi- eroz. ii. Lib. v. c. C, 7, understands it. J. D. Michaelis understands it to mean red corals, and Gesenius con- curs with this opinion. Umbreit renders it, Perlen — pearls. The word occurs in Prov. iii. 15, viii. 11, ,\x. 15, xxxi. 10. Lam. iv. 7. In the Prov- erbs, as here, it is used in compari- son witli 2cisdo7n, and undoubtedly denotes one of the precious gems. 19. The topaz. The topaz is a precious stone, whose colors are yellow, green, blue, and red. Its natural place is in various primitive rocks, such as the topaz-rock, gneiss, and clay-slate. It is found in the granite and gneiss districts of Mar and Cairnsrrom, in Cornwall, in Brazil, and in various other places. The most valuable stones of this kind now known are those which are found in Brazil. This gem is much prized by jewellers, and is considered as one of the more beautiful orna- mental stones. Tiie Hebrew word '^^■?'? pitdd occurs in Ex. xxviii. 17, xxxix. 10. Ezek. xxviii. 13, and in this place only. It is uni- formly rendered topaz. It is not improbable that the English word topaz, and the Greek roTidttor, are derived fiom this, by a slight trans- position of the letters— "T^ElJ . The Vulgate and the LXX render this topaz. IT Of Ethiopia. Heb. (li'2 — Cvsh. Coverdale here readers it, India. On the meaning of this word, and the region denoted by it, see Notes on Isa. xi. 11. It may mean either the j)art of Africa now known "IS Ethiopia, or Abyssinia and Nubia ; wisdom ? and where is tlie place of understanding 1 21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the ' air. the southern part of Arabia, or the Oriental Cush in the vicinity of the Tigris. It is better, since the word has such ambiguity, to retain the ori- ginal, and to translate it Cush. For any thing that appears, this may have denoted, in the time of Job, the southern part of Arabia. It is known that the topaz was found there. Thus Pliny says, Lib. xxxvii. 32, Reperta est — in Arabim insula, qua3 Citis voca- tur; in qua Troglodytaj pracdones, diutius fame — prossi cum herbas radi- cesque effoderant, eruerunt topazion. 20. Whence then cometh wisdom? This question is now repeated from ver. 12, in order to give it greater emphasis. It is designed to fix the attention on the inquiry as one which found no solution in the discoveries of science, and whose solution was hidden from the most penetrating human intellect. 21. It is hid froin the eyes of all living. That is, of all men, and of all animals. Man has not found it by the most sagacious of all his dis- coveries, and the keenest vision of boasts and fowls has not traced it out. IT .^nd kept close. Heb. con, cealed. H From the fowls of the air. Comp. Notes on ver. 7. Umbreit re- marks, on this passage, that there is attributed to the fowls in Oriental countries a deep knowledge, and an extraordinary gift of divination, and that they appear as the interpreters and confidants of the gods. One can- not but reflect, says he, on the per- sonification of the good spirit of Or- muzd through the fowls, according to the doctrine of the Persians (Comp. Creutzer's Symbolik Th. 1. s. 723); upon the ancient fowl-king (Vogel- konig) Simurg upon the mountain Kap, representing the highest wisdom " of life ; upon the discourses of the fowls of the great mystic poet ol 78 JOB. 22 Destruction and death say, | 23 God " understaiidelh the We have heard the fame thereof j way thereof, and he knoweth the with our ears. place thereof. a Pr. 2. 6. the Persians, Feridcddin Attar, &c. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, also, a considerahle part of tlieir divinations consisted in ob- serving the fligiit of birds, as if they were endowed with intelligence, and indicated coming events by the course which they took. Comp. also, Ec- cles. X. 20, where wisdom or intelli- gence is ascribed to the birds of the air. " Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought ; and curse not tlic rich in thy bed-chamber : for a bird of the air shall curry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell tlie matter." 22. Destruction. This is a personi- fication which is exceedingly sublime. Job had spoken of the wonderful dis- coveries made by science, but none of them had disclosed true wisdom. It hod not been discovered in the shaft which the miner sank deep in the earth ;. in the hidden regions which he laid open to-day, nor by the birds that saw to the farthest dis- tance, or that were regarded as the interpreters of the will of the gods. It was natural to ask whether it might not have been discovered in the vast profound of the nether world — the regions of death and of night ; and whether by making a bold appeal to the king that reigned there, a response migiit not be heard that would be more sati.sfactory. In ver. 14, tlie appeal had been made to the sea — with all its vast stores; here the appeal is to far deeper regions — to tlie nether world of darkness and of death. On the word used here ("0^?^*), '^e«'''Mcfiore, see Notes oncli. xxvi. 6. It is employed here, as in that place, to denote the nether world — the abode of departed spirits — the world where those are who have been destroijed by death, and to which the destruction of the grave is the entrance. H ^nd death. Death is used here to denote S/nwl, or the abode of the spirits of the dead. The sense is, that those deep and dark regions had simply heard the distant report of wisdom but they did not understand it, and that if one wont down there it would not be fully re- vealed to him. Perhaps there is an allusion to the natural expectation that, if one could go down and con- verse with the dead, he could fintl out much more than can be known on earth. It was to be presumed that they would understand much more about the unseen and future world, and about the plans and government of God, than man can know here. It was on this belief, and on the hope that some league or alliance could be made with the dead, inducing them to communicate what they knew, that the science of necromancy was founded. See Notes on Isa. viii. 19. IT Jfc have heard the fame thereof. Wc have heard the report of it, or a rumor of it. The meaning is, that they did not understand it fully, and that if man could penetrate to those dark regions, he could not get the in- formation which he desired. Wis- dom is still at such an immense dis- tance that it is only a report, or rumor of it, which has reached us. 23. God undcrstandeth the icay thereof. These are doubtless the words of Job. The meaning is, that the reason of the divine dispensations could be known only to God himself. He had given no cleio by which man could discover this. He might carry his investigations far into the regions of science ; he could penetrate! the earth, and look on the stars, but still all his investigations fell short of dis- closing the reasons of the divine dis- pensations. The secret was lodged in his bosom, and he only could com- municate it where and when ho pleased. It may be added here, that CHAPTER XXVIII. 79 24 For he " looketh to the ends of the eartli, and seetli un- der the whole heaven ; 25 To make *" the weight for b Ps. 135. 7. this is as true now as it was in the time of Job. Man lias carried the investigations of science almost infi- nitely farther than he had then, but stiH by the investigations of science he has by no means superseded the necessity of revelation, o-r shed light on the great questions that have, in all ages, so much perplexed the race. It is only by direct communication, by his word and by his Spirit, that man can be made to understand the reason of the divine doings, and nothing is better established by the course of events than the truth on which Job here so much insists, that scif.ncc cannot answer the questions of £0 much interest to man about the divine government. 24. For he looketh to the ends of the earth. That is, God sees and knows every thing. He looks upon the whole universe. Man sees objects dimly ; he sees but a few, and he lit- tle, understands the bearing of one thing or another. 25. To make the weight for the winds. That is, to weigh the winds, and to measure the waters — things that it would seem most difficult to do. The idea here seems to be, that God had made all things by measure and by rule. Even the winds — so fleetingand imponderable — he hadad- justed and balanced in the most exact manner, as if he had weighed them when he made ihem. The air has weight, but it is not probable that this fact was known in the time of Job, or that lie adverted to it here. It is rather the idea suggested above, that the God who had formed every thing by exact rule, and who had power to govern the winds in the most exact manner, must be qualified to impart wisdom IT jl7id he weighclh the waters. Comp. Notes on Jsa. \\. 12. seq. The word rendered weigheth the winds ; and he weigheth the waters by measure. 26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder ; in this place (I??}) means either to weigh, or to measure, Isa. xl. 12. As the ' measure ' here is mentioned, it rather means probably to adjust, to apportion, than to weigh. The waters are dealt out by measure ; the winds are weighed. The sense' is, that though the waters of the ocean are so vast, yet God has adjusted them all with infinite skill, as if he had dealt them out by measure ; and hav- ing done this, he is qualified to ex- plain to man the reason of his doings. 26. When he made a decree for the rain. A statute or law (P^^) by which the rain is regulated. It is not sent by chance or hap-hazard. It is under the operation of regular and settled laws. We cannot suppose that those laws were understood in the time of Job, but the fact might be understood that the rain was regu- lated by laws, and that fact would show that God was qualified to im- part wisdom. His kingdom was a kingdom of settled law and not of chance or caprice, and if the rain was regulated by statute, it was fair to presume that he did not deal with his people by chance, and that afflictions were not sent without rule. Comp. Notes on ch. v. 6. TI Aid a way. A path through which the rapid lightning should, pass — refer- ring, perhaps, to the apparent opening in the clouds in which the lightning seems to move along. M The lightning of the thunder. T&e word lightning here C'^l'^ — hhaziz) properly means an arrow, from tTH , obsol., to pierce through, to transfix, to perforate ; and hence the lightning — from the rapid- ity with which it passes — like an arrow. Tlie word ' thunder ' (f^^'lp) means voices, and hence thunder, as being by way of eminence the voice of God. Comp. Pe. xxix. 3-5, The 80 JOB. 27 Then did he see it, and ^ declare it ; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. 2S And unto man he said, 1 or, number. wliole expression licrc means ' the thunder-flash.' Coverdale renders this, ' when he gave the mighty floods a law ;" but it undoubtedly refers to the thunder-storm, and the idea is, that he who controls the rapid light- ning, regulating its laws and directing its path through the heavens, is quali- fied to communicate truth to men, and can explain the great principles on which his government is adminis- tered. 27. Then did he see it. That is, then did lie see wisdom. When in the work of creation he gave laws to the rain and the thunder-storm ; when he weighed out the winds and measured out the waters, then he saw and understood the principles of true wisdom. There is a remarkable sim- ilarity between the expression here and Prov. viii. 27-30, "When he prepared the heavens, I [wisdom] ^as there ; when he set a compass upon the face of the depth ; when he established the clouds above ; when he strengthened the foundations of the deep ; when he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment ; when lie appointed the foundations of the earth ; then I was by him as one brought up with him ; I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him." IT jind declare it. Marg. number. The word ("iSO) means, however, rather to declare, or to nar- rate ; and the idea is, that even then he made known to intelligent beings the true principles of wisdom, as con- sisting in the fear of the Lord, and in suitable veneration for the Most High. In what way thi.t was made known. Job does not say ; but there can be no doubt of the fact to wliicli he ad- verts, that even in his time the great principles of all real wisdom were made known to created intelligences, Behold, the fear " of the Lord that is wisdom ; ' and to depart from evil is understanding. a De. 4. 6. Pa. 111. 10. Pr. 1. 7. 9. 10. Eo 12. 13. b Ja. 3. 17. as consisting in profound veneration of God, in a willingness to bow under his dispensations, and to confide in him. 11 He prepared it. Made it a matter of thought and inquiry to find out what was real wisdom, and com- municated it in a proper way to his creatures. The idea is, that it was not the result of chance, nor did it spring up of its own accord, but it was a matter of intelligent investiga- tion on the part of God to know what constituted true wisdom. Pro- bably, also. Job here means to refer to the attempts of man to investigate it, and to say that its value was en- hanced from the fact that it had even required the search of God to find it out. Beautiful eulogiums of Wisdom may be seen in the Apocryphal book Ecclesiasticus, of which the following is a specimen : Wisdom shall praise herself. And shall glory in the midst of her people. In the congregation of the Most High shall she open her mouth, And triumph before his power. I came out of the mouth of the Most High, And covered the earth as a cloud. 1 dwell in high places, And my throne is in a cloudy pillar. I alone compassed the circuit of heaven, And walked in the bottom of the deep. In the waves of the sea, and in all the earth, And in every people and nation, I got a po3 session. He created me from the beginning, before the world, And I shall never fail. eh. xxiv. 28. .^nd. unto man he said. At what time, or how. Job does not say. Prof. Lee supposes that this refers to the instruction which God gave in Paradise to our first parents ; hut it may rather be supposed to refer to the universal tenor of the divine com- munications to man, and to all tliat God had said about the way of true wisdom. The meaning is, tliat the substance of all that God had .said to man was, that true wisdom was to be found in profound veneration of him. CHAPTER XXIX. 81 H The fear of the LoKD,that is wisdom. Tlie vvurd 'Lord' here is improperly printed in small capitals, as if the word were i^J^^ — Jehovah. The original word is, however, "^STyt — Jldonai ; and the fact is worthy of notice, because one point of the argu- ment respecting the date of the book turns on the question whetlier the word Jehovah occurs in it. 8ce Notes on ch. xii. 9. The fear of the Lord is often represented as true wis- dom. Prov. i. 7, xiv. 27, xv. 33, xix. 23. Ps. cxi. 10, et al. The meaning here is, that real wisdom is connected with a proper veneration for God, and with submission to him. We cannot understand his ways. Sci- ence cannot conduct us up to a full explanation of his government, nor can the most profound investigations disclose all that we would wish to know about God. In these circum- stances, true wisdom is found in hum- ble piety ; in reverence for the name and perfections of God ; in that vene- ration which leads us to adore him, and to believe that he is right, though clouds and darkness are round about him. To this conclusion Job, in all his perplexities, comes, and here his mind finds rest. H Jlnd to depart from evil is tinderstanding. To for- sake every evil way inust be wise. In doing that, man knows that he cannot err. He walks safely who abandons sin, and in forsaking every evil way he knows that he cannot but be right. He may be in error when speculating about God, and the reasons of his government ; he may be led astray when endeavoring to comprehend his dealings ; but there can be no such perplexity in depart- ing from evil. There he knoicshe is right. There his feet are on a rock. It is better to walk surely there than to involve ourselves in perplexity about profound and inscrutable ope- rations of the divine character and government. It may be added here, also, that he who aims to lead a holy life, who has a virtuous heart, and who seeks to do always what is right, will have a clearer view of the gov- ernment and truth of God, than the most profound intellect can obtain without a heart of piety ; and that without that, all the investigations of the most splendid talents will be practically in vain. CHAPTER XXIX. ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. Thi3 chapter is closely connected with the two following, and they together con.stitute a con- tinuous ari^ument. Job returns to his own case, and probably designs to show that this is a striking illustration of the mysterionsnessof the divine dealings to which he had adverted in the last chapter. His general aim is to vindicate his own integrity against the charges of his friends, and to show that all that he had said about the unprecedented nature of his afflictions v.as well fcrinded. In ch. xxix. he beautifully descants on his former prosperity ; in ch. x.xx. he exhibits the striking contrast between that and his present condition ; and in ch. xxxi. in answer to the accusations of his friends, he relates the principal transactions of his past life, asserts his integ- rity as displayed in the discharge of all the duties which he owed to God and man, and again appeals to the omniscience and justice of God in proof of his sincerity. Lowlh, This chapter is occupied with a description of his former prosperity. He refers particularly to the times when God smiled upon and blessed him ; when he lifted the light of his countenance upon him, and his children were round about him, vs. 1-6; he speaks of tho respect which waM 82 JOB. shown him when he went into the place of public concourse — when y ing men retire* «for« him, when princes and nobles were silent in his presence, and when the ears and eye- ot all blessed him for the good that he had done to tbe fatherless and to him that was ready to perish, vs. 7-13 ; he speaks of the time when he put on righteousness as a robe and a diadem, and when he was eyes to tbe blind and feet to the lame, vs. 14-17 ; and be refers to the fact that he then supposed that bis prosperity would be permanent, and to the universal respect in which he was held by all classes of men, vs. 18-25. Tbe whole picture in tbe chapter is one of uncommon beauty, and describes a state of the highest happiness and prosperity. It is the image ol a venerable patriarch, a wise counsellor, a'universal benefactor, a composer of difficulties, a man enjoying universal confidence and affection. It is an image of what was aimed at as constitu- ting the highest state of earthly blessedness in the estimation of those who lived in patriarchal times, and is a beautiful portraiture of what would be regarded as the most honorable distinction in the hospitality and piety of the East. At tbe same time it is a beautiful description of pietjr and its effects every where ; and of the respect shown to wisdom, virtue, and benevolence, jn all ages. lyrOREOVER, Job 'contin- ued his parable, and said, 2 O that I were as in months past, as ill the days tvhen God preserved me ; 1. Moreover, Job continued his parable. See Notes on ch. xxvii. 1. It is probable tliat Job had paused to see if any one would attempt a reply. As his friends were silent, he resumed his remarks and went into a more full statement of liis sutTerings. The fact that Job more than once paused in his addresses to give his friends an opportunity to speak, and that they were silent when thev seemed called upon to vindicate their former senti- ments, was what particularly roused the vv-rath of Elihu and induced him to answer. Ch. xxxii. 2-5. 2. Oh that I iccrc Heb , " Who will give.'" a common mode of ex- jjressing a wish. Comp. ch. vi. 8, xi. 5, xiii. 5, xxiii. 3. 'i Jls in months past. O that I could recall my former prosperity, and be as I was when I enjoyed the protection and i'avor of God. Probably one object of this wish was that his friends might see fiom v/hat a state of honor and hap- piness he had been brought down. They complained of him as impa- tient. He may have designed to show thetn that his lamentations were not unreasonable, when it was borne in mind from what a state of prosperity he had boon taken, and to what a condition of wo he had been brought. He, tlierefore, goes into 3 When '^ his candle shined upon my head, and whrn by his light I " walked through dark- ness ; I added to take up. 2 or, lamp. a Ps. 23. 4 this extended description of his former happiness, and dwells particularly upon the good which he was enabled then to do, and the respect which was shown him as a public benefactor. A passage strikingly similar to this occurs in Virgil, .^En. viii. 560 : O mibi pva^teritos referat si Jupiter annos ' Qualis eram, cum primam aciom Praeneste sub ipsa Stravi, scutorumque incendi victor acervos. " O would kind beaven my strength and youth recall, Puch as [ was beneath Praeneste's wall ; There where I made tbe foremost foes retire, And set whole heaps of conquered shields on fire !" 3. When his candle shinrd, vpon my head. Mnrg. or, lamp. Comp Notes ch xviii. 6. It was remarked in the Note on that place, that it was com- mon to have lamps or lights always burning in a house or tent. When Job speaks of the lamps shining nn his he/id, the allusion is j)robably to tiie custom of sus])cn(iing a lamp from the ceiling— a custom which prevails among the wealthy Arabs. Srott. Virgil speaks of a similar thing in the palace of Dido : Bependeiit lychni laquearibus aureii Incensi. /En. i. 726. " From gilded roofs depending lamps display Nocturnal beams that imitate the day." Dryden. See, also, Lucretius, ii. 24. Indeed CHAPTER XXIX. 83 4 As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret " of God a Ps. 25. 14. i was upon my tabernacle ; tlu' custom is common every where ; and tlie imnge is a beautiful illustra- tion of the divine favor — of light and linppiness imparted by God, the great source of blessedness from above. The Hebrew word rendered ' shined ' (ISllia) has been the occasion of some perplexity in regard to its form. Ac- cording to Ewald, Heb. Gram. p. 471, and Gesenius, Lex., it is the Iliphil form of ^'5'^ — to shine, the He preformative being dropped. The sense is, 'In his causing the light to shine.' Others suppose that it is the infinitive of Kal, with a pleonastic suffi.K ; meaning ' when it shined ;' i. e. tfie light. The sense is essen- tially the same. Comp. Schultens and RosenmOller in loco. IT And when by his light. Under his guid- ance and direction. IT / tcalked through darkness. " Here is refer- ence probably to the fires or other ligU's which were carried before the caravans in tiieir nightly travels through the deserts." JS'oyes. The meaning is, that God afforded him protection, instruction, and guidance. In places, and on subjects that would have been othervvige dark, he coun- selled and led him. He enjoyed the manifestations of the divine favor ; his understanding was enlightened, and he was enabled to compreiiend sub- jects that would have been otherwise perplexing and difficult. He refers, probably, to the inquiries about the divine government and administra- tion, and to the questions that came before him as a magistrate or an um- pire — questions that he was enabled K) determine with wisdom. A. Jls I icas in the days of my youth. The word here rendered youth (^~}!^), properly means autumn — from mTI'^j to p/iicA,^?///, as being the time when fruits are gathered. Then it means that wiiich is mature; and the mean- ing here is probably mature or manly — " As I was in the days of my ripe- ness ;" that is, of my vigor or strength. The whole passage shows that it does not mean youth., for he goes on to describe the honor and respect shown to him when in mature life. So the Septuagint — "Ots fifitjv inL[}oC&o)V odnvq — "When I made heavy, or laded my ways," an expression refer- ring to autumn as being laden with fruit. So we speak of the spring, the autumn, and tlie winter of life, and by the autumn denote the maturity of vigor, experience, and wisdom. So the Greeks used the word onowa, Pindar, fslhm. 2, 7, 8; JVem. 5,10, ^schyl. Suppl. 1005, 1022. So Ovid : Excessit Autumnus posito fervore juventas Maturus, mitisque inter juvenemque eeneni- que : Temperie mcdius, sparsis per tempora canis. Inde senilis) hiems trcmulo venit liorrida passu. Aut spolidta suos, aut, quos habct, alba capil- los. Metara. 15. 200. The wish of Job was, that he might be restored to the vigor of mature life, and to the influence and honors which he had then, or rather, per- haps, it was that they might have a view of what he was then, that they might see from what a height he had fallen, and what cause he had of complaint and grief. IT When the secret of God was itpon my tabernacle. The meaning of this language is not clear, and considerable variety has obtained in the interpretation. The LXX render it, " When God watch- ed over — iniay.onr]v innidro — my house." Vulg., "When God was secretly in mv tabernacle." Noyes, " When God was the friend of my tent." Coverdale renders the whole, " As I stood when I was wealthy and had enough ; when God prospered my house." Umbreit, Als noch trau- lich Gott in meinem Zette weilte — " When God remained cordially in my tent." Herder, " When God took counsel with me in my tent." The word rendered secret ("^"'■'3), means a couch or cushion on which one reclines, and then a divan, or 84 JOB. a De. 33. 24. 5 When the Almighty was with butter, and the rock poured yet with me, when my children ' me out rivers of oil ; were about me ; i 7 When I went out to the gate 6 When ° I washed my steps through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street ! seems more probable that the image is designed to denote superfluity or abundance ; and that where he trod streams of milk or cream flowed — so abundant was it round him. The word rendered steps (C5"^^rl) does not property denote the feet, but the tread, the going, the stepping. This sense corresponds with that of the other member of the parallelism. IT ^nrf the rock poured me out rivers of oil. Marg. with vie. The idea is, that the very rock near which he stood, seemed to pour forth oil. In- stead of water gushing out, such seemed to be the abundance with which he was blessed, that tlie very rock poured out a running stream ol oil. Oil was of great value among the Orientals. It was used as an article of food, for light, for anoint- ing the body, and as a valuable medi- cine. To say, then, that one had abundance of oil, was the same as to say that he had ample means of com- fort and of luxury. Perhaps by the word rock here, there is an allusion to the places where olives grew. It is said that those which produced the best oil grew upon rocky mountains. There may be, also, an allusion to this in Dcut. xxxii. 13: "He made liim to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock." Prof. hee, and some others, however, un- derstand here by the rock, the press where oil was extracted from olives, and which it is supposed was some- times made of stone. 7. When I went ojit to the gate The gate of a city was a place of public concourse, and where courts were usually held. Job speaks here as a magistrate, and of the time when he went forth to sit as a judge, to try causes. U When I prepared my seat in the street. That is, to sit as a judge. The seat or tribunal was placed in circle of friends sitting together in consultation. See the word explain- ed in the Notes on ch. xv. 8. The idea here probably is, that God came into his tent or dwelling as a friend, and that Job was, as it were, admit- ted to the secrecy of his friendship and to an acquaintance with his plans. 5. IVhen the ^mighty was jjet with me. Job regarded God as with- drawn from him. He now looked back with deep interest to the time when he dwelt with him. 6. When I washed my steps with butter. On the word rendered butter, see Notes on Isa. vii. 15. It properly means curdled milk. Umbreit ren- ders it, Sahne ; cream. Noyes, milk and so Wemyss. The LXX, » When my ways flowed with butter" — poiitvQo) . So Coverdale, "When my ways ran over with butter." Herder, " And where I went a stream of milk flowed on." The sense may be, that cream or butter was so plenty that he was able to make use of it for the most common purposes — even for that of washing his feet. That butter was sometimes used for the purpose of anointing the feet — proba- bly for comfort and health — as oil was for the head, is mentioned by Oriental travellers. Hassilquist (Travels in Palestine, p. 58), speak- ing of the ceremonies of the priests at Magnesia on Holy Thursday, says, " The priest washed and dried tlie feet, and afterward besmeared them with butter, which it was alleged was made from the first milk of a young cow." Bruce says that the king of Abyssynia daily anointed his head with butter. Burder, in Ilo.senmtll- ler's aite u. neue MorgenIand,i/i loc. It is possible that this use of butter was as ancient as the time of Job, and that he here alludes to it, but it CHAPTER XXIX. 85 8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves ; and the aged arose, and stood up. 9 The princes refrained talk- 1 The voice of the nobles 7i)as hid, tlie street, in tlie open air, before the gate of the city, where great num- bers might be convened, and hear and see justice done. The Arabs, to (his day, hold their courts of justice in an open phice, under tlie heavens, as in a field or a market-place. Nor- den's Travels in Egypt, ii. 140. Tiiere has been, however, great variety of opinion in regard to the meaning of this verse. Schultens enumerates no less than ten diflerent interpretations of the passage. Her- der translates it, " When from my house I went to the assembly, And spread my carpet in the place of meet- ing." Prof. Lee translates it, " When I went forth from the gate to the pulpit, and prepared my seat in the broad place." He supposes that Job refers to occasions wh6n he addressed the people, and to the respect which was shown him then. Dr. Good renders it, " As I went forth, the city rejoiced at me." It is probable, however, that our common version has given the true signification. The word ren- dered city (f^*?.!^), is a poetic form for ('^t"'P) ci<7/, but does not frequently occur. It is found in Prov. viii. 3, ix. 3, 14, xi. 11. The phrase '■ujion the city ' — Heb. r'^i^'^bs — or, « over the city,' may refer to the fact that the gate was in an elevated place, or that it was the c/u'e/" place, and, as it were, over or at the head of the city. Tlie meaning is, that as he went out from his house toward the gate that was situated in the most important part of the city, all did him reverence. 8. The ijouitg men saw me, and hid fhrmsclvfs. That is, they retired as if awed at my presence They gave place to me, or reverently withdrew as I passed along. IF ^nd the aged arose, vnA'stood up. Tlicy not merely ing, and laid their hand on their mouth. 10 The 'nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. rose, but they continued to stand still until I had passed by. " This is a mos elegant description, and exhibits most correctly the great reverence and respect which was paid, even by the old and the decrepit, to the holy man, in passing along tlie streets, or wiien he sat in public. They not only rose, which in men so old was a great mark of distinction, but they stood ; and they continued to do it, though the attempt was so difficult." Lowth. The whole image presents a beautiful illustration of Oriental man- ners, and of the respect paid to a man of known excellence of char- acter and distinction. 9. The princes refrained talking. As a mark of respect, or in awe of his presence. IT Jlnd laid their hand on their mouth. To lay the finger or the hand on the mouth is every where an action expressive of silence or respect. Notes ch. xxi. 5. " In one of the subterranean vaults of Egypt, where the mummies lie buried, they found in the coffin an embalmed body of a woman, before which was placed a figure of wood, representing a youth on his knees, laying a finger on his mouth, and holding in his other hand a sort of chafing-dish, which was placed on his head, and in which, without doubt, had been some per- fumes." Maillet. 10. Th e JVohlcs . Marg .f" The voice of the nobles was hid." Ijiterally, tins may be rendered, " as to the voice, the nobles hid themselves ;" or the phrase here employed (Ci'1i53 Pip '"*?n?) may be rendered, " the voice of the nobles was hid " — it beingcom- mon in the Hebrew when two nouns come together, of different numbers and gender, for the verb to conform to the latter. Rosenmtlller. The word ' nobles ' here is to be understood in 86 JOB. 11 When the ear heard me, then it blessed " me ; and when the eye saw 7ne, it gave witness to me : 12 Because I delivered '' the poor that cried, and the father- less, and him that had none to help him. the sense of counsellors, or men of rank. They would now be called Emirs, or Shefks. IT Jlnd their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. They were so awed by my presence that they could not speak. 11. When the ear heard me. A personification for " they who heard me speak, blessed me." That is, they commended or praised me. TI ^nd when the eye sate me. All who saw me. U It gave witness to me. That is, the fixed attention to what he said, and the admiration which was shown by the eyes of the multi- tudes, were witnesses of the respect and honor in which he was held. Gray has a beautiful expression simi- lar to this when he says, " He reads his history in a nation's eyes." 12. Because I delivered the poor that cried. This is spoken of him- self as a magistrate or judge — for the whole description relates to that. The meaning is, that when the poor man, who had no means of employ- ing counsel, brought his cause be- fore him, he heard him and deliv- ered him from the grasp of the op- pressor. He never made an appeal to him in vain. Comp. Prov. xxi. 13, xxiv. 11, 12. U JJnd. the fatherless. The orphan who brought his cause before him. He became the patron and protector of those whose natural protectors — their parents — had been removed by death. Comp. Notes on Isa. i. 17. H Jlnd him that had none to help him. Tlie poor man who had no powerful patron. Job says that, as a magistrate, he particularly re- garded the cause of sucli persons, and saw tliat justice was done them 13 The blessing of hint that was ready to perish came upon me : and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. 14 I ' put on righteousness, and it clothed me : my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. a Lu. 4. 22. 24. 11, 12. 11.27. 6 Ps. 72. 12. Pr.21. 13 c Is. 61. 10. Ep. 6. 14. — a beautiful image of the administra- tion of justice in patriarchal times. This is the sense in which our trans- lators understood this. But the paral- lelism seems rather to require that this should be applied to the father- less who had no one to aid him, and the Hebrew, by understanding the conjunctive 1 as meaning when, will bear this construction. So it is un- derstood by RosenmUller, Umbreit, Herder, and Noyes. 13. Tlie blessing of him that was ready to perish, &c. Of the man who was falsely accused, and who was in danger of being condemned, or of him who was exposed to death by poverty and want. H Jlnd I caused the widoic's heart to sing for joy. By becoming her patron and friend ; by vindicating her cause, and saving her from the oppressive exactions of others Comp. Isa. i. 17. 14. / jnit on righteousness. Or justice — as a magistrate, and in all his transactions with his fellow-men. It is common to compare moral con- duct or traits of character with various articles of apparel. Comp. Notes on Isa. xi. f), Ixi. 10. IT And it clothed me. It was my covering ; I was adorned with it. So we speak ot being " clothed with humility ;" and so, also, of the "garments of salva- tion." IT My judgment. Or rather justice — particularly as a magistrate. IT Was as a rohe. The word robe (b'^'S'O) denotes the mantle or outer garment that is worn by an Oriental. It constitutes the most elegant part of his dress. Notes on Isa. v:. 1. The idea is, that his strict justice was to him what the full flowino; robe vva? CHAPTER XXIX. 87 15 I was eyes " to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. IG I was a father to the poor ; and '' the cause which I knew not 1 searched out. a Nu. 10. 31. b Pr. 29. 7. 1 jaw-tccth, or, ifrinders. 2 cast. c Ps. 30. 7. in apparel. It was that for which lie was best known ; that by wliich he was distinguished, as one would be by an elegant and costly robe. ^ And a diadem. Or, turban. The word here used ^"^S-i — is from TjS^ , to roll, or wind around, and is applied to the turban, because it was thus wound around the head. It is ap- plied to the mitre of the high-priest (^Zech. iii. 5), and may also be to a diadem or crown. It more properly here, however, denotes the turban, which in the East is an essential part of dress. The idea is, that he was fully clad or adorned with justice. 1.3. / icas eyes to the blind. An ex- ceedingly beautiful expression, whose meaning is obvious. He became their counsellor and guide. H And feet was / to the lame. I assisted them, and became their benefactor. I did for them, in providing a sujiport, what thev would have done for themselves if they had been in sound health. 16. / was a father to the poor. I took them under my protection, and treated them as if they were my [ own children, "il And the cause which I knew not I searched out. This is .according to the interpretation of Jerome. But the more probable i meaning is, ' the cause of him who j was unknown to me, that is, of the stranger, I searched out.' So Rosen- muller. Herder, Umbreit, and Good. I According to this, the sense is, that, ns a magistrate, he gave particular at- tention to the cuuse of the stranger, and investigated it with care. It is po.ssible that Job here designs specifi- cally to reply to the charge brought against him by Eliphaz in ch. xxii. 6, seq. The duty of showing partic- ular attention to the stranger is often inculcated in the Bible, and was re- 17 And I brake the 'juvs oi the wicked, and "plucked the spoil out of his teeth. 18 Then ' I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply 7ny days as the sand. garded as essential to a character of uprightness and piety among the Orientals. 17. And I brake the jaics of the loicked. Marg. '■\ja2c-teeth, ov, grind- ers." The Hebrew word n"?n5D ^ the same, with the letters transposed, as m'ynb'O , is from SJinb , to bite— and means the biters, the grinders, the teeth. It is not used to denote the jaw. The image here is taken from wild beasts, with whom Job com- pares the wicked, and says that he rescued the helpless from their grasp, as he would a lamb from a lion or wolf. TT And phtcked. Marg cast. The margin is a literal translation, but the idea is, that he violently seized the spoil orprey which the wicked had taken, and by force tore it from him. 19. Then I said. So prosperous was I, and so permanent seemed my sources of happiness. I saw no reason why all this should not con- tinue, and why the same respect and honor should not attend me to the grave. IT / shall die in my nest. I shall remain where I am, and in my present comforts, while I live. I shall then die surrounded by my family and friends, and encompassed with honors. A nest is an image of quietness, harmlessness, and comfort. So Spenser speaks of a nest : Fiiyre bo.soma ! fraught with virtue's richest tresure, 77(C neast of love, the lodging of delight, The bowre of bliss, the paradise of pleasure. Sonnet LXXVI. The image here expresses the firm hope of a long life, and of a peace- fid and tranquil death. The LXX render it, " My age shall grow old like the trunk of a palm tree " — arih/oq (foti'iy.oq — I shall live long. Comp. Bochart, Hieroz. P. ii. Lib. i i 88 JOB. 19 My root teas ' spread out 1 opened. vi. c. V. p. 820, for the reason of this translation. IT ^nd I shall multiply my days as the sand. Herder ren- ders this, " the Phoenix ;" and ob- serves that tlie PhoBnix is obviously intended here, only through a double sense of the word, the figure of the bird is immediately changed for that of the palm-tree. The Rabbins gen- erally understand by the word here rendered ' sand ' (^'^^) the Phoenix — a fabulous bird, much celebrated in ancient times. Rabbi Osaia in the book Bereshith Rabba, or Commen- tary on Genesis, says of this bird, " that all animals obeyed the woman [in eating the forbidden fruit] except one bird only by the name of ?Tn — hhul, concerning which it is said in Job, ' I will multiply my days as the AAmZ— ^in3.'" Rabbi Jannai adds to this, that " this bird lives a thou- sand years, and in the end of the thousand years, a fire goes forth from its nest, and burns it up, but there re- mains, as it were, an egg, from which again the members grow, and it rises to life." Comp. Nonnus in Dionys. Lib. 40. Martial, Claudian, and others in Bochart, Hieroz. P. ii. Lib. vi. c. V. pp. 818-825. But the more cor- rect rendering is, doubtless, the com- mon one, and it is usual in the Scrip- tures to denote a great, indefinite number, by the sand. Gen. xxii. 17. Judges vii. 12. Habak. i. 9. A com- parison .similar to this occurs in Ovid, Metam. Lib. xiv. 136. seq. : Ego puUeriB hausti Ostendens cumuluiii, quot haberet corpora pulvis, Tot milii natules contingere vana rogavi. The meaning is, that he supposed his days would be very numerous. Such were his expectations — expecta- tions so soon to be disappointed. Such was his condition — a condition so soon to be reversed. The very cir- cumstances in which he was placed were fitted to begrt a too confident expectation that his prosjicrity would by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. continue, and the subsequent deal- ings of God with him should lead all who are in similar circumstances, not to confide in the stabilily of their comforts, or to suppo.s^e that their prosperity will be uninterrupted. It is difficult, when encompassed with friends and honors, to realize that there ever will be reverses; it is difficult to keep the mind from con- fiding in them as if they viust be permanent and secure. 19 My root was spread oat by the waters. Marg. as the Hebrew, o^7e?j- ed. The meaning is, that it was spread abroad or extended far, so that the moisture of the earth had free access to it; or it was like a tree planted near a stream, whose root ran down to the water. Tiiis is an image designed to denote great prosperity. In the East, such an image would he more striking than with us. Here green, large, and beautiful trees are so common as to excite little or im attention. In such a country as Arabia, however, wheie general deso lation exists, such a tree would be a most beautiful object, and a most striking image of prosperity. Comp. De Wette on Ps. i. 3. IT Jliul the dew lay all night vpon my branch. In the absence of rain — which seldom falls in deserts — the scanty vegetation is dependent on the dews that fall at night. Those dews are often very abundant. Volney (Travels i. 51) says, " VVe, who are inhabitants of humid regions, cannot well under- stand how a country can be produc- tive without rain, but in Egypt, the dew which falls copiously in the night, supplies the place of rain." See, also, Shaw's Travels, p. 379. " To the same cause also [the vio- lent heat of the day], succeeded after- wards bj' the coldness of the night, we may attribute the plentiful dews, and those thick, ofi'ensive mists, one or other of which we had every night too scjisiblc a proof of. The dews, particularly, (as we had the heavens CHAPTER XXIX. 89 20 My glory teas ' fresh in me, and my " bow was • renewed in my hand. 21 ITnto me men gave ear, a Gc. 49. 24. 2 cfianj'cd. only for our covering), would fre- quently wet us to the skin." The sense here is, as a tree standing on the verge of a river, and watered each night hy copious dews, appears beautiful and flourishing, so was my condition. The LXX, however, ren- der this, "And the dew abode at night on my harvest" — y.di f)of)Ofi(; civhd&i^iyeTCti, li< tw d-foicifiw itnv. So the Chaldce— nV^'? ""l^nV T'':::-^ . A thought, similar to the one in this passage, occurs in a Chinese Ode, translated by Sir William Jones, in his works, vol. ii. p. 351 : Vide illius aquae rivuni Virides arundines jucunde luxuriant I Sie est decorus virtutibus princeps noster! " Seest tliou yon stream, around whoso banks Tlie green reeds ciowd in joyous ranks .' In nutrient virtue and in grace, Such is the Prince that rules our race." Dr. Good. 20. My glory was fresh in vie. Marg. neio. "As we say, the man shall not overlive himself." Umhreit. The idea is, tiiat he was not ex- hausted ; lie continued in vigor and strength. The image is probably taken from that suggested in the pre- vious verse— from a tree, whose beauty and vigor were continued by the waters, and by the dew that lay on its branches. IF Jind my how. An emblem of vigor and strength. The ancients fought with the bow, and hence a man who was able to keep his bow constantly drawn, was an image of undimished and unwearied vigor. Comp. Gen. xlix. 24 : " But his bow abode in strength." H Was renewed in my hand. Marg. as in Heb. changed. The meaning is, that it constantly renewed its strength. The idea is taken from a tree, which changes by renevving its leaves, beauty, and vigor. Isa. ix. 10, comp. Job xiv. 7. The sense is, that his bow gathered strength in his hand. and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. 22 After my words they spake not again ; and my speech drop- ped upon them. T.»e figure is very conunon in Arabic poetry, many specimens of which may be seen in Schultens in loco. 21. Unto me men gave ear. Job here returns to the time when he sat in the assembly of counsellors, and to the respectful attention which was paid to all that he said. They list- ened when he spake ; they waited for him to speak before they gave their opinion ; and they were then silent. They neither interrupted him nor attempted a reply. 22. Jlfter my toords they spake not again. The highest proof which could be given of deference. So full of respect were they that they did not dare to dispute him ; so sagacious and wise was his counsel that they were satified with it, and did not pre- sume to suggest any otiier. IT j9nd my speech dropped vpoyi them. That is, like the dew or the gentle rain. So in Deut. xxxii. 2: My doctrine shall drop as the rain ; My speech shall distil as the dew, As the small rain upon the tender herb. And as the showers upon the grass. So Homer speaks of the eloquence of Nestor, ToO Koi dnO y\toaorig jxiXiro; yXv/ficoi* phu " Words sweet as honey from his lips dis till'd.'> . Pope. So Milton, speaking of the eloquence of Belial, says, Though !ii.ut, instead of tiint, calamity came and swept all my comforts away. He experienced the instability which most men are called to experience, and the divine dealings with him showed that no reliance could be placed on confident plans of happi- ness in this life. 'Zl . My hoxrels boiled. Or rather, Mv bowels boil — for he refers to his present circumstances, and not to the past. It is clear that by this phrase he designs to describe deep aflliction. The bowels, in the Scriptures, are represented as the seat of the affec- tions. By this is meant the upper Dowels, or the region of the heart and the lungs. The reason is, that deep emotions of the mind are felt there. The heart beats quick ; or it is heavy and pained ; or it seems to melt within us in the exercise of pity or compassion. Comp. JNotes on Isa. xvi. 11. The idea here is, that the seat of sorrow and of grief was atTected by his calamities. Nor was the feeling slight. His emotions he compared with agitated, boiling wa- ter. It is possible that there is an ttllusion here to the inflammatory nature of his disease, producing inter- nal heat and pain ; but it is more probable that he refers to the mental unguish which he endured. H The days of affliction prevented me. Lite- rally, ' have anticipated me '—for so the word prevent was formerly used, and so it is uniformly used in the Bible. Notes on Job iii. 12. Comp. Ps. lix. 10, Ixxix. 8, Ixxxviii. 13, cxix. 148. 1 Thess. iv. 15. There is in the Hebrew word {^1P,) the idea tliat days of anguish came in an un- expected manner, or that they antici- pated the fulfilment of his plans. Ail his schemes and hopes of life had prevented me. 28 I went mourning without the sun : I stood up, and cried in the congregation. been anticipated by these overwhelm ing sorrows. 28. / went mourning. Or rather, 'I go,' in the present tense, for he ia now referring to his present calami- ties, and not to what was past. The word rendered '■mourning,' how ever ("''HP), means here rather to be dark, dingy, tanned. It literally means to be foul or turbid, like a tor- rent. Job vi. 16 ; then to go about in filthy garments, as they do who mourn. Job v. 11. Jer. xiv. 2; then to be dusk}-, or of a dark color, or to become dark. Thus it is applied to the sun and moon becoming dark in an eclipse, or when covered with clouds, Jer. iv. 28. Joel ii. 10, iv. 15. JMic. iii. 6. Here it refers to the fact that, by the mere force of his disease, liis skin had become dark and swar- thy, though he had not been exposed to the burning rays of the sun. The wrath of God had burned upon him, and he had become black under it. Jerome, however, renders it mocrens, mourning. The LXX, "I go groan- ing {nrd'oiv) without restraint, or limit' — aviv (fi^iov. The Cjialdee translates it C=*N, black. II Without the sun. Without being exposed to the sun ; or without the agency of the sun. Though not exposed, he had become as dark as if he had been a day-laborer exposed to a burning sun IT I stood up. Or, I stand up. TT And cried in the congregation. I •«tter my cries in the congregation, or when surrounded by the assem- bled people. Once I stood up to counsel them, and they hung upon my lips for advice ; now 1 stand up only to weep over my accumulated calamities. This indicates the great change which had come upon him, and the depth of his sorrows. A man will weep readily in private ; but he 108 JOB. 29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to ' owls. 30 My skin " is black upon 1 or, ostrichcf. will be slow to do it, if he can avoid It, when surrounded by a multitude. 29. / am a Ir other to dragons. That is, my loud com])laints and cries resemble the doleful screams of wild animals, or of the most frightful monsters. The word 'brother' is often used in this sense, to denote similarity in any respect. The word dragons here (C"Sn, tdnnim) denotes properly a sea-monster, a great fish, a crocodile ; or the fancied animal with wings called a dragon. See Notes on Isa. xiii. 22. Gesenius, Umbreit, and Noyes, render this word here jackals — an animal be- tween a dog and a fox, or a wolf and a fox ; an animal that abounds in des- erts and solitudes, and that makes a doleful cry in the night. So the Sy- riac renders it f''»05^ — an animal re- sembling a dog ; a wild dog. Cus- tell. Tliis idea agrees with the scope of the passage better than the com- mon reference to a sea-monster or a crocodile. " The Deeb, or Jackal," says Sliaw, " is of a darker color than the fox, and about the same bigness. It yelps every night about the gar- dens and villages, feeding upon roots, fruit, and carrion." Travels, p. 247, Ed. Oxford, 1738. That some wild animal, distinguished for a mournful noise, or howl, is meant, is evident ; and the passage better agrees with the description of a jackal tiian the hissing of a serpent or the noise of the crocodile. Bochart supposes that the allusion is to dragons, be- cause the)' erect tlieir heads, and their jaws are drawn open, and they seem, to bo complaining against God on account of their humble and mise- rable con«rtw, vs. 1-4. He says that he had so conscientiously adhered to that virtue, that ho dii not even allow himself to look on a niaid,ver. 1. He knew that God would punish thia sin, ver. 3; lie knew that his eye saw all his ways, vor. 4. (2) Seriousness and .■Hncerity of life, vs. 5, 6. He says that he had not walked in a vain and deceitful manner, ver. 5, and asks that he might on this subject be weighed in an even balance, vcr. C. (3.) Uprirrhtness and purity of life, Ts. 7,8. He says that his steps had not been turned out of the way. and that no stain cleaved to his hands, ver. 7 ; if there did, he asked that he might be compelled to sow while another reaped, and that liis offspring might bo rooted out, ver. 8. ('» ) Fidelity to the marriage voir, vs. 9-12. He affirms that his heart had not been allured by a Mo:n in and that he had not attempted to destroy the peace of his neighbor by seduom^ hia 110 JOB. wife, ver. 9. If 8uch a fault should be found against him, he consented that his own wife should lie made to eerve others in the most menial capacity, ver. 10. He adds, with peculiar emphasis and in a manner that shows his sense of the magnitude of such an offence, that this was a crime wliich ought to be punished by the judges, and that it was a fire which consumed to destruction, vs. II, 12. (5.) Fidelity to h s servants, vs. 13-15. He affirms that he had not been guilty of injustice or unkiiidness to either his man-servant or maid servant, ver. 13. He say3 that he well knew that ir'iie had been, ho could not answer God when he should call him to judgment, ver. 14, for the tame God liad made him and them, ver. 15. (£.) Benevolence towards the poor, the widow, and the fatherless, vs. 16-23. He says that if he li«d been gviilty of neglecting tlicm ; if he had caused the widow to weep, or had eaten his niorsi'l ;ilone, or had refused to clothe the naked, or to vindicate the cause of the fatherless, he was willing tliat his arm should fall from his shoulder-blade. (7.) freedom, from idolatry, vs. Si4-28. He had not put his trust in gold, nor had he worshipped the sun or the moon, vs. 24-27. He says that that would have been an offence that should be punished by the judge, for he would have denied the God above, ver. 28- (8.) Kindne.?s to his enemies, vs. 29, 30. He had not rejoiced in their destruction, nor had he allowed liis mouth to imprecate a curse on them. (y.) Hospitality, vs. 31, 32. Even those that dwelt in his tent had been constrained to express their admiration at his hospitality, and he had not suffered the stranger to lodge in the street, nov refused to open his doors to the traveller. (10.) Frecdomfrom sceret sin, vs. 33-37. He had not attempted to conceal his offonces, nor to cloak them by hiding them in his bosom, vs. 33, 34. Here he could boldly make his appeal to God, and wished thr.t the record were made, and that all his thoughts, motives, and plans were recorded. He says that it would be such a perfect vindication of his innocence, that he would take it triumphantly on his shoulder and bind it as a diadem on his head, vs. 35-37. (11.) Honesty towards others in the purchase and use of land, vs. 38-40. He says that he had not seized upon the land of others by violence, or cultivated it without paying for its use, sc that the land itself could not cry out against him, vs. 38, 39. If he had, he asked that on his own land thistles might spring up instead of wheat, and cockles instead of barley. Having thus assorted his integrity, he said that ho was dona. He regarded his character as vindicated, and he had no more to say. T MADE a covenant with mine a Matt. 5 28. * Pr. 6. 25. 1. / made a covenant icith mine cyrs. Tlie first virtue of his private life to which Job refers is chastity, yucli was his sense of the importance of this, and of the danger to which man was exposed, that lie liad sol- emnly resolved not to think upon a young female. The phrase here, " I made a covenant with mine eyes," is poetical, meaning that he solemnly reaolvctl. A covenant is of a sacred and binding nature ; and the strength of his resolution was as great as if he had made a solemn compact. A covenant or compact was usually made by slaying an animal in sacri- fice, and the compact was ratified over the animal that was slain, by a kind of imprecation that if the com- pact was violated the same destruc- tion might fall on the violators which fell on the head of the victim. This idea of cutting up a victim on occa- sion of making a covenant, is retain- ed in most langu.tgcs. So the Greek eyes ; " why then should I think ' upon a maid ? ooxia Tffirciv, Ti/i(rfiv anoiddq, and the Latin icere fccdus — to strike a league, in allusion to the striking down, or slaying of an animal on the occasion. And so the Hebrew, as in the place before us, Ti'lS r'i^2 — to cut a covenant, from cutting down, or cutting in pieces the victim over which the covenant was made. See this explained at length in the Notes on Heb. ix 16. By the language here, Job means that he had resolved, in the most solemn manner, that he would not allow his eyes or thoughts to endanger him by improperly con- templating a woman. 11 Why then should I think upon a inaidf Upon a virgin — tl^^PS'by . Comp. Prov. vi. 25, " Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids." See, also, the fearful and solemn declaration of the Saviour in Matth. v. 28. There is much emphasis in the expression CHAPTER XXXI. Ill 2 For what portion of God is there from above '? and what in- heritnnce of the Almighty from on high I used licre by Job. He does not •iiorely say that he had not thoiiglit ni that manner, but that tlie tiling was morally impossible that be should have done it. Any charge of that kind, or any suspicion of it, he vvould repel with indignation. His purpose to lead a pure life, and to keep a pure heart, had been so settled, that it ■was impossihlc that he could have otTended in that respect. His pur- pose, also, not to think on this sub- ject, showed the e.xtent of the re- striction imposed on himself It was not merel\' his intention to lead a chaste life, and to avoid open sin, but it was to maintain a pure heart, and not to suffer tliii mind to become cor- rupted by dwelling on impure images, or indulging in unholy desires. This strongly shows Job's piety and purity if heart, and is a beautiful i!lu.ed with vanity. This is the second specification in re- gard to his private deportment. He says that his life had been sincere, upright, honest. The word vanity here is equivalent to falsehood, for so the parallelism demands, and so the word (-^y-J) is often used. Ps. xii. 3, xli. 7. Ex. xxiii. 1. Deut. v. 17. Comp. Isa. i. 13. The meaningof Job hero is, that he had been true and honest. In his dealings with others he had not defraudeil them ; he had not misre- presented things; he had spoken the exact truth, and liad done that which was with.-iit deception or guile. IT If my foot hath hasted to deceit. That is, if 1 have gone to execute a purpose of deceit or fraud. He had never, on seeing an opportunity where others miglit be dr-frauded, hastened to embrace it. The LXX render this verse, "If I have walked uith scofT- even balance, that God may know mine integrity. 7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart ' walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands ; crs — /(fr« yslotarjrojv — and if my foot has hastened to deceit." 6. Let me be roeightd in an even balance. Marg. Idni weigh me in balances of justice. That is, let him ascertain exactlv my character, and treat me accordingly. If on trial it be found that I am guilty in this respect, I conseiU to be punisiied ac- cordingly. Scales or balances are often used as emblematic of justice. Many suppose, however, that this verse is a parenthesis, and that the imprecation in verse 8, relates to verse 5, as well as to verse 7. But most probably the meaning is, that he consented to have his life tried in this respect in the most exact and rigid manner, and was willing to abide the result. A man may ex- press such a consciousness of integ- rity in his dealings with others, without any improper self-reliance or boasting. It may be a simple fact of which he may be certain, that he has never meant to defraud any man. 7. If my step hath tjirncd ovt of the way. The path in which I ought to walk — the path of virtue. H ."Ind mine heart walked after mine eyes. That is, if I have coveted what my eyes have beheld ; or if I have been determined by the appearance of tilings rather than b)' what is right, I consent to bear the appropriate pun- ishment U .Qnd if any blot hath cleared to mine hands. To have clean hands is emblematic of innocence. Job -xvii. 9 Ps. xxiv. 4 Comp. RIatth. xxvii. 24. The word blot here, means stain, blemish. Dan. i. 4. The idea is, that his hands were pure, and that he had not been guilty of any act of fraud or violence in depriving others of their property. CHAPTER XXXI 113 8 Then let me sow, and let another eat ; yea, let my off- spring be rooted out. 9 If mine lieart have been deceived by a woman ; or (/" I 8. Tlioii Ift mc soir, and let another eat. Tliis is the imprecation wliicli he invokes, in case lie had been guilty ill this respect. He consented to sow his fields and let others enjoy the harvest. The expression here used is common in tiie Scriptures to denote insecurity of property or calaniity in general. See Lev. xxvi. 16 : " And ye shall sow jour seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it." Conip. Deut xxviii. 30. Amos. ix. 13, 14. U Yea, let mij ojfspring be rooted out. Or, rather, " Let what I plant be rooted up." So Umbreit, Noyes, Schull(>ns, Rosenmuller, Herder, and Lee icnderstand it. Tjiore is no evi- dence that he here alludes to his children, for the connection does not demand it, nor does the word used here require such an interpretation. The word ~"^^^^^<^. — means properly shoots; that is, what springs out of any thing — as tlie earth, or a tree — from X^^ — to go out, to go forth. It is applied to tlie productions of the earth in Isa. xlii. 5, xxxiv. 1, and to children or posterity, in Isa. xxii. 24, Ixi. 9, Ixv. 23. Job v. 25, xxi. 8. Here it refer.s evidently to the pro- ductions of the earth ; and the idea is, that if he had been guilty of dis- honesty or fraud in his dealings, he wished that all that he had sowed should be rooted up. 9. Jf mine heart have been deceived by a looman. If I have been enticed by her beauty. The word rendered deceived ('^'^S) means to open, to ex- pand . It is then applied to that whicii is open or ingenuous ; to that w hich is unsuspicious — like a vouth ; and thence is used in the sense of being deceived, or enticed. Deut. xi. 16. Ex. xxii. 15. Prov. i. 10, xvi. 29. The word " woman " here probably means a married woman, and stands have laid wait at my neighbour's door ; 10 Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her. opposed to " virgin '" in ver. 1. The crime which he here disclaims is adultery, and he says that his heart had never been allured from conjugal fidelity by the charms or the arts of a woman. Tl Or if I have laid wait at viy neighbor's door. Tliat is, to watch when he would be absent from home. This was a common practice with those who were guilty of tlie crime referred to here. Conip. Prov. vii. 8,9. 10. Then let my wife grind unto another. Let her be subjected to the deepest humiliation and degradation. Probably Job could not have found language which would have more em- phatically cxj)ressed his sense of the enormity of tiiis crime, or his per- fect consciousness of innocence. The last thing whicli a man would impre- cate on himself, would be that which is specified in this verse. The word grind (11^) means to crush, to beat small ; then to grind, as in a hand- mill. Judges svi. 21. Num. xi. 8. This was usually the work of females and slaves. See Notes on Isa. xlvii. 2. The meaning here is, ' Let my wife be the mill-wench to another ; be his abject slave, and be treated by him with the deepest indignity.' This passage has been understood by many in a different sense, which the parallelism might seem to demand, but which is not necessarily the true interpretation. The sense referred to is this : Cogatur uxor mea ad pati- endum alius concubituni, ut verbum niolendi hoc loco eodem sensu suma- tur, cpio non raro a Latinis usurpatur ut in illo Hcratii (Satyr. L. i. Eel. ii. ver. 35), alicnas permolcre uxores. In this sense the Rabbinic writers understand Judges xvi. 21 and Lam. V. 13. So also the Chaldee renders the phrase before us (I'^^n DSll553ltin 114 JOB. 11 For this is an heinous crime ; yea, it is " an iniquity to be punished by the judges, a Le. 20. 10. ''r^r'^*?) coeat cum alio uxor vica ; and .so the LXX seein to have understood 't — autna.L cloa. xai, tj yvrfj fiov iriyo). But jirobubly Job meant merely that his wife should be reduced to the con- dition of servitude, and be compelled to labor in the employ of another. Wii may find here an answer to the opinion of Prof. Lee (in his Notes on vnr. 1), that the wife of Job was at this lime dead, and that he was medi- tating the question about marrying again. May we not here also find an instance of the fidelity and for- giving spirit of Job towards a wife wiio is represented in the early part of tliis l)ook as manifesting few quali- ties which could win the heart of an husband .' There is no expression of impatience at her temper and her words on the part of Job, and he here speaiis of it as the most serious of all calamities that could happen ; the most painful of all punishments, tiiat that same wife should be reduced to a condition of servitude and degra- dation. 11. For this is an heinous crims. Tliis expresses Job's sense of the enormity of sucli an ofience. He felt that there was no palliation for it ; he would in no wa}', and on no l)relence, attempt to vindicate it. U .in iniiiuity to be punislied by the judges. A crime lor the judges to ileterniinc on and decide. The sins which Job had specified before this, were those of the heart ; but here he reefers to a crime against societv — an ofl'ence which deserved the interpo- sition oi' the magistrate. It may be o!)served here, that adultery has al- ways been regarded as a sin ' to be punished by the judges.' In most couulrics it lias been punished with death. 8ee Notes on John viii.;j. \'2. For it is afire that consinncth to destruction. This may mean that such an oflcnce would be a crime 12 For it is a fire that con- suraeth to destruction, * and would root out all mine increase. b Mai. 3. 5. He. 13. 4. that would provoke God to send de- struction, like a consuming fire, upon the offender {Rostnmilllcr and J\'oijes), or more likely it is designed to be descri'ptive of the nature of the sin itself. According to this, the mean- ing is, that indulgence in this sin tends wholly to ruin and destroy a man. It is like a consuming fire, which sweeps away every thing be- fore it. It is destructive to the body, the morals, the soul. Accordingly, it may be remarked that there is no one vice which pours such desolation through the soul as licentiousness. See Rush on the Diseases of the Mind. It corrupts and taints all the fountains of morals, and utterly anni- hilates all purity of the heart. An intelligent gentleman, and a careful observer of the state of things in so- ciety, once remarked to me, that on coming to the city of Philadelphia, it was his fortune to be in the same boarding-house with a number ol young men, nearly all of whom were known to him to be of licentious habits. He has lived to watch their course of life ; and he remarked, that there was not one of them who did not ultimately show that he was essentially corrupt and unprincipled in every department of morals. There is not any one propensity o1 man that spreads such a withering influence over tiie soul as this ; and, however it may be accounted for, if is certain that indulgence in this vice is a certain evidence that the whole soul is corrupt, and that no reliance is to be placed on the man's virtue in any respect, or in reference to any relation of life. TI .ind would root out all mine increase. By its desO' lating effects on my heart and life The meaning is, that it would utterly ruin him. Comp. Luke xv. 13, 30. How many a wretched sensualist can bear testimony to the truth of this V- CHAPTER XXXI. 115 13 If I did despise the cause of my man-servant, or of my maid-servant, when they con- tended with me ; 14 What then shall I do when God riseth up ? and, when he a Pr. 22. 2. statoinent ! How many a young man li;is bueii wliolly ruined in refer- ence to liis worldly interests, as well as in reference to his soul, by this vice ! Conip. Prov. vii. No young man could do a better service to liini- self than to commit the whole of that chapter to memory, and so engrave it on his soul that it never could be forgotten. ] 3. If I did despise the cause of my ijiitn-scrvant. Job turns to another subject, on which he claimed that liis life had been upright. It was in reference to the treatment of his ser- vants. The meaning here is, ' I ne- ver refused to do strict justice to my servants when they brought their cause before me, or when they com- plained that my dealings with them jiad been severe.' IT When they con- tended icith me. That is, when they brought their cause before me, and complained that I had not provided for them comfortably, or that their task had been too hard. If in any rrspect they supposed they had cause of complaint, I listened to them at- tentively, and endeavored to do right. He did not take advantage of his poicer to oppress them, nor did he suppose that they had no rights of any kind. It is evident, from this, that Job had those who sustained to him the relation of servants ; but wiiither they were slaves, or hired servants, is not known. The lan- guage here will agree with either Bupposition, though it cannot be doubted that slavery was known as early as the time of Job. There is no certain evidence that he held any slaves, in the proper sense of the term, nor that he regarded slavery as right. Comp. Notes on ch. i. 3. He here refers to the numerous persons visiteth, what shall I answer him ? 15 Did " not he that made me in the womb make him ? and ' did not one fashion us in the womb ? J or, did he not fashion ub in one womb. that had been in his employ in the days of his prosperity, and says that he had never taken advantage of his power or rank to do them wrong. 14. What then shall I do ichtn God riseth vp ? That is, when he rises up to pronounce sentence on men, or to execute impartial justice. Job admits that if he had done injustice to a servant, he would have reason to dread the divine indignation, and that he could have no excuse. "I tremble," said President Jetlerson, speaking of slavery in the United States, " when I remember that God is just !"' JVotes on Virginia, 'i J)nd ichcn he visiteth. When he comes to inspect human conduct. Umbreit renders it, ' when he punishes.' The word visit is often used in this sense in the Scriptures. 15. Did not he that made me in the icomh make him? Had we not one and the same Creator, and have we not consequently the same nature ? We may observe in regard to this sentiment, (1.) That it indicates a very advanced state of view in regard to man. The attempt has been al- ways made by those who wish to tyrannize over others, or \\ ho aim to make slaves of others, to show that they are of a different race, and that in the design for which they were made, they are wholly inferior. Ar- guments have been derived from their complexion, froni their suppos- ed inferiority of intellect, and the deep degradation of their condition, often little above that of brutes, to prove that they were originally infe- rior to the rest of mankind. On this the plea has been often urged, and oftener/e/< than urged, that it is right to reduce them to slavery. Since this feeling so early existed, and 116 JOB. IC If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail ; since tlicro is so iiuicli that may be jj!ausil)ly said in defence of it, it shows tltat Job had derived his views from something more tlian the specu- lations of men, and the desire of power, when he says tliat he regard- ed all men as originally equal, and as having the same Creator. It is in fact a sentiment which men have been practically very reluctant to be- lieve, and which works its way very slowly even yet on the, earth. Comp. Acts xvii. 26. (2.) This sentiment, if fairly embraced and carried out, would s on destroy slavery every where. If men felt that they were reducing to bondage those who were originally on a level with themselves — made by the same God, with the same fuciilties, and for the same end ; if they felt that in their very origin, in their nature, there was that \vhieh could not be made mere prupcrtij, it would soon abolish the whole .•sys- tem. It is kept up only where men endeavor to convince themselves that there is S07ne original ivfcriority in the slave which makes it proper that he should be reduced to servi- tude and bo held as property. But as soon as there can be diffused abroad the sentiment of Paul, that " God hath made of one blood all na- tions of men," (Acts xvii. 261, or the sentiment of the patriarch Job, that ' the same God made us and them in the womb,' that moment the shackles of the slave will fall, and he will be free. Hence it is apparent, how Clirislianity, that carries this lesson on its fore front, is the grand remedy for the evils of slavery, and needs only to be universally diffused to bring the system to an end. IT .>ind did not one fashion us in the womb ? Marg. Or, did he not fashion us in one iDomb ? The Hebrew will bear either construction, but the parallel- ism rather requires that given in the i 17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; text, and most expositors agree ia this interpretation The sentiment is, whichever interpretation be adopt- ed, that they had a common origin ; that God would watch over them alike as his children ; and that, therefore, they had equal rights. 16. Jf I have iciihheld the poor from their desire. Job now turns to another class of virtues, regarded also as of great importance in the patri- archal ages, kindness to the poor and the afflicted ; to the fitherless and the widow. He appeals tf) his former life on this subject ; affirms that he had a good conscience in the recollection of his dealiiigs with them, and impliedly declares that it could not have been for any deficien- cy in the exercise of these virtues that his calamities had come upon him. The meaning hero is, that he had not denied to the poor their wish. If they had coinc and desired bread of him, he had not withheld it. See ch. xxii. 7. IT Or caused the eyes of the widoio to fail. That is, I have not frustrated her hopes, or disap- pointed her expectations, when she lias looked intently upon me, and desired my aid. The 'failing of the eyes' refers to failing of the object of their c?[yectation ; or the expression means that she had not looked to him in vain. See ch. xi. 20. ] 7. Or have eaten my m.orsel myself alone. If I have not imparted what I had, though ever so small, to others. This was in accordance with the Oriental laws of hospitality. It is regarded as a fixed law among the x\rabians, that the guest shall always be helped first, and to that which is best ; and no matter how needy the family may be, or how much dis- tressed with hunger, the settled laws of hospitality demand that the stran- ger-gue.st shall have the first and best portion. Dr. Robinson, in his ' Bib- CHAPTER XXXI. 117 IS (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as lical J{(.'.se:irclies,' gives an nniusiiig itist.iiico of the extent to wliicli this law is carried, and the sternness with \vi:i.-h it is executed among tiic A abs. In the journey from Suez to I\i(>uiu Sinai, intending to furnish a nujiper ibr tiie Araljs in their employ, he and his fellow'-travellers had bougiit a kid, and led it along to the jilace of their encampment. At night the kid was killed and roasted, and the Arabs were anticipating a •savory supper. But those of whom they had bought the kid, learned in some way that they were to encamp near, and naturally concluded that the kid was bought to be eaten, and followed them to the place of en- cauipnicnt, to the number of five or six persons. " Now the stern law of Arabian hospitality demands, that whenever a guest is present at a meal, whether there be much or lit- tle, the first and best portion must be laid before the stranger. In this in- stance the five or six guests attained their object, and had not only the selling of the kid, but also the eating of it, while our poor Arabs, whose mouths had long been watering with expectation, weie forced to take up with the fragments." Vol. i. 118. There is often, indeed, ninch osten- tation in the hospitality of the Ori- entals, but the law is stern and inflexible. " No sooner," says Shaw (Travels, vol. i. p. 20), " was our food prepared, than one of the Arabs, having placed himself on the highest spot of ground in the neighborhood, called out thrice with a loud voice to all their brethren, the sons of the faithful, to come and partake of it ; though none of them were in view, or perhaps within a hundred miles of them." The great law of hospitality Job says he had carefully observed, and had not withheld what he had from the poor and the fatherless. 13. Fo' from mij youth he icas brought up with me. This verse is with a father, and I have guided ' her from my mother's womb ;) t i. e. the widow. usually regarded as a parenthesis, though very various expositions liavo been given of it. Some have under- stood it as denying that he had in a.iy way neglected tiie widow and the fatherless, and affirming that the or phan had always, even from his youth, found a father in him, and the widow a guide. Others, as our trans- lators, suppose that it is a parenthesis thrown in to indicate his general course of life, altiiough the impreca- tion which lie makes on himself, if he had neglected the widow and the or- phan, is found in ver. 22. Luther reads the two previous verses as ques- tions, and this as an answer to them, ;ind so also do RosenmOller and Noyes. Umbreit regards this verse as a parenthesis. This is probably to be considered as the correct interpre- tation, for this better agrees with the Hebrew than the other proposed. It implies a denial of having neglected the widow and the orphan, but the ftdl expression of liis abhorrence of a charge of having done so, is to be found in the strong language in ver. 22. The unusual Hebrew word ■^S^^5 stands probably for "^53iJ ^"la— ' he was brought up with mo.' This form of the word does not elsewhere occur. ^ Jis 2oith a father. That is, he always found in ine one who treat- ed him as a father. The meaning is, that he had always had under his care those who were orphans ; that from his very youth they had been accustomed to look up to him as a father; a