
Text -- Job 2:10-13 (NET)




Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics



collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
Wesley: Job 2:10 - -- Shall we poor worms give laws to our supreme Lord, and oblige him never to afflict us? And shall not those great and manifold mercies, which from time...
Shall we poor worms give laws to our supreme Lord, and oblige him never to afflict us? And shall not those great and manifold mercies, which from time to time God hath given us, compensate these short afflictions? Ought we not to bless God for those mercies which we did not deserve; and contentedly bear those corrections which we do deserve. And if we receive so much good for the body, shall we not receive some good for our souls? That is, some affliction, whereby we may be made partakers of his holiness? Let murmuring therefore, as well as boasting, be forever excluded.

By any reflections upon God, by any impatient or unbecoming expression.

Wesley: Job 2:11 - -- Who were persons eminent for birth and quality, for wisdom and knowledge, and for the profession of the true religion, being probably of the posterity...
Who were persons eminent for birth and quality, for wisdom and knowledge, and for the profession of the true religion, being probably of the posterity of Abraham, a - kin to Job, and living in the same country. Eliphaz descended from Teman, the grandson of Esau, Gen 36:11. Bildad probably from Shuah, Abraham's son by Keturah, Gen 25:2. Zophar is thought to be same with Zepho, (Gen 36:11.) a descendant from Esau. The preserving of so much wisdom and piety among those who were not children of the promise, was an happy presage of God's grace to the Gentiles, when the partition wall should be taken down.

In the posture of mourners condoling with him.

Wesley: Job 2:13 - -- Which was the usual time of mourning for the dead, and therefore proper both for Job's children, and for Job himself, who was in a manner dead, while ...
Which was the usual time of mourning for the dead, and therefore proper both for Job's children, and for Job himself, who was in a manner dead, while he lived: not that they continued in this posture so long together, which the necessities of nature could not bear; but they spent the greatest part of that time in sitting with him, and silent mourning over him.

Wesley: Job 2:13 - -- About his afflictions and the causes of them. The reason of this silence was the greatness of their grief for him, and their surprize and astonishment...
About his afflictions and the causes of them. The reason of this silence was the greatness of their grief for him, and their surprize and astonishment at his condition; because they thought it convenient to give him time to vent his own sorrows, and because as yet they knew not what to say to him: for though they had ever esteemed him to be a truly good man, and came with full purpose to comfort him, yet the prodigious greatness of his miseries, and that hand of God which they perceived in them, made them now question his sincerity, so that they could not comfort him as they had intended, and yet were loth to grieve him with reproofs.

JFB: Job 2:11 - -- The view of RAWLINSON that "the names of Job's three friends represent the Chaldean times, about 700 B.C.," cannot be accepted. Eliphaz is an Idumean ...
The view of RAWLINSON that "the names of Job's three friends represent the Chaldean times, about 700 B.C.," cannot be accepted. Eliphaz is an Idumean name, Esau's oldest son (Gen 36:4); and Teman, son of Eliphaz (Gen 36:15), called "duke." EUSEBIUS places Teman in Arabia-Petræa (but see on Job 6:19). Teman means "at the right hand"; and then the south, namely, part of Idumea; capital of Edom (Amo 1:12). Hebrew geographers faced the east, not the north as we do; hence with them "the right hand" was the south. Temanites were famed for wisdom (Jer 49:7). BARUCH mentions them as "authors of fables" (namely, proverbs embodying the results of observation), and "searchers out of understanding."

JFB: Job 2:11 - -- Shuah ("a pit"), son of Abraham and Keturah (Gen 25:2). PTOLEMY mentions the region Syccea, in Arabia-Deserta, east of Batanea.
Shuah ("a pit"), son of Abraham and Keturah (Gen 25:2). PTOLEMY mentions the region Syccea, in Arabia-Deserta, east of Batanea.

JFB: Job 2:11 - -- Not of the Naamans in Judah (Jos 15:41), which was too distant; but some region in Arabia-Deserta. FRETELIUS says there was a Naamath in Uz.
Not of the Naamans in Judah (Jos 15:41), which was too distant; but some region in Arabia-Deserta. FRETELIUS says there was a Naamath in Uz.

JFB: Job 2:12 - -- They threw ashes violently upwards, that they might fall on their heads and cover them--the deepest mourning (Jos 7:6; Act 22:23).

JFB: Job 2:13 - -- They did not remain in the same posture and without food, &c., all this time, but for most of this period daily and nightly. Sitting on the earth mark...
They did not remain in the same posture and without food, &c., all this time, but for most of this period daily and nightly. Sitting on the earth marked mourning (Lam 2:10). Seven days was the usual length of it (Gen 50:10; 1Sa 31:13). This silence may have been due to a rising suspicion of evil in Job; but chiefly because it is only ordinary griefs that find vent in language; extraordinary griefs are too great for utterance.
Clarke: Job 2:10 - -- Thou speakest as one of the foolish - Thou speakest like an infidel; like one who has no knowledge of God, of religion, or of a future state. The Ta...
Thou speakest as one of the foolish - Thou speakest like an infidel; like one who has no knowledge of God, of religion, or of a future state. The Targum, who calls this woman Dinah, translates thus: "Thou speakest like one of those women who have wrought folly in the house of their father."This is in reference to an ancient rabbinical opinion, that Job lived in the days of the patriarch Jacob, whose daughter Dinah he had married

Clarke: Job 2:10 - -- Shall we receive good - This we have received in great abundance for many years
Shall we receive good - This we have received in great abundance for many years

Clarke: Job 2:10 - -- And shall we not receive evil? - Shall we murmur when He afflicts us for a day, who has given us health for so many years? Shall we blaspheme his na...
And shall we not receive evil? - Shall we murmur when He afflicts us for a day, who has given us health for so many years? Shall we blaspheme his name for momentary privations, who has given us such a long succession or enjoyments? His blessings are his own: he never gave them to us; they were only lent. We have had the long, the free, the unmerited use of them; and shall we be offended at the Owner, when he comes to reclaim his own property? This would be foolish, ungrateful, and wicked. So may every one reason who is suffering from adversity. But who, besides Job, reasons thus? Man is naturally discontented and ungrateful

Clarke: Job 2:10 - -- In all this did not Job sin with his lips - The Chaldee adds, But in his heart he thought words. He had surmisings of heart, though he let nothing e...
In all this did not Job sin with his lips - The Chaldee adds, But in his heart he thought words. He had surmisings of heart, though he let nothing escape from his lips.

Clarke: Job 2:11 - -- Job’ s three friends - The first was Eliphaz the Temanite; or, as the Septuagint has it, Ελιφαζ ὁ Θαιμανων βασιλευς, ...
Job’ s three friends - The first was Eliphaz the Temanite; or, as the Septuagint has it,

Clarke: Job 2:11 - -- Bildad the Shuhite - Or, as the Septuagint, Βαλδαδ ὁ Συχεων τυραννος, Baldad, tyrant of the Suchites. Shuah was the son of A...
Bildad the Shuhite - Or, as the Septuagint,

Clarke: Job 2:11 - -- Zophar the Naamathite - Or, according to the Septuagint, Σωφαρ Μιναιων Βασιλευς, Sophar king of the Minaites. He most probably ...
Zophar the Naamathite - Or, according to the Septuagint,

Clarke: Job 2:12 - -- They rent every one his mantle - I have already had frequent occasions to point out and illustrate, by quotations from the ancients, the actions tha...
They rent every one his mantle - I have already had frequent occasions to point out and illustrate, by quotations from the ancients, the actions that were used in order to express profound grief; such as wrapping themselves in sackcloth, covering the face, strewing dust or ashes upon the head, sitting upon the bare ground, etc., etc.; significant actions which were in use among all nations.

Clarke: Job 2:13 - -- They sat down with him upon the ground seven days - They were astonished at the unprecedented change which had taken place in the circumstances of t...
They sat down with him upon the ground seven days - They were astonished at the unprecedented change which had taken place in the circumstances of this most eminent man; they could not reconcile his present situation with any thing they had met with in the history of Divine providence. The seven days mentioned here were the period appointed for mourning. The Israelites mourned for Jacob seven days, Gen 50:10. And the men of Jabesh mourned so long for the death of Saul, 1Sa 31:13; 1Ch 10:12. And Ezekiel sat on the ground with the captives at Chebar, and mourned with and for them seven days. Eze 3:15. The wise son of Sirach says, "Seven days do men mourn for him that is dead;"Sirach 22:12. So calamitous was the state of Job, that they considered him as a dead man: and went through the prescribed period of mourning for him

Clarke: Job 2:13 - -- They saw that his grief was very great - This is the reason why they did not speak to him: they believed him to be suffering for heavy crimes, and, ...
They saw that his grief was very great - This is the reason why they did not speak to him: they believed him to be suffering for heavy crimes, and, seeing him suffer so much, they were not willing to add to his distresses by invectives or reproach. Job himself first broke silence.
Defender: Job 2:11 - -- Job was a famous man, and the news concerning his calamity spread rapidly, reaching three nearby tribal kingdoms and, apparently, the three men who oc...
Job was a famous man, and the news concerning his calamity spread rapidly, reaching three nearby tribal kingdoms and, apparently, the three men who occupied positions similar to Job's in Uz. These three "friends" gathered as quickly as they could to learn what had happened and to "comfort" him.

Defender: Job 2:11 - -- Eliphaz, the chief spokesman of the three, was from Teman, an ancient city later prominent among the Edomites who eventually took over that whole regi...
Eliphaz, the chief spokesman of the three, was from Teman, an ancient city later prominent among the Edomites who eventually took over that whole region.

Defender: Job 2:11 - -- Bildad was from Shuhu, an Aramaean city south of Haran, on the middle Euphrates.
Bildad was from Shuhu, an Aramaean city south of Haran, on the middle Euphrates.

Zophar was from Naamah, a city believed to be in Arabia."

Defender: Job 2:13 - -- The scene defies imagination. Job had been living on the ash dump outside the city for a long time before his friends could arrive. He was no longer w...
The scene defies imagination. Job had been living on the ash dump outside the city for a long time before his friends could arrive. He was no longer welcome in the city in which he had formerly been chief citizen, so ugly and foul was his presence. His former friends and colleagues could not even recognize him (Job 2:12). The most Godly man in the world seemed now to be forsaken and repudiated by the God he had loved and served for many years, and he was grief-stricken to a degree probably no one else in the human family has ever experienced. He still trusted God, but Satan was far from finished with his experiment."
TSK: Job 2:10 - -- Thou speakest : Gen 3:17; 2Sa 19:22; Mat 16:23
as one : 2Sa 6:20, 2Sa 6:21, 2Sa 13:13, 2Sa 24:10; 2Ch 16:9; Pro 9:6, Pro 9:13; Mat 25:2
shall we recei...
Thou speakest : Gen 3:17; 2Sa 19:22; Mat 16:23
as one : 2Sa 6:20, 2Sa 6:21, 2Sa 13:13, 2Sa 24:10; 2Ch 16:9; Pro 9:6, Pro 9:13; Mat 25:2
shall we receive : Job 1:1-3, Job 1:10, Job 1:21; 2Sa 19:28; Lam 3:38-41; Joh 18:11; Rom 12:12; Heb 12:9-11; Jam 5:10
In all this : Job 1:22; Psa 39:1, Psa 59:12; Mat 12:34-37; Jam 3:2

TSK: Job 2:11 - -- friends : Job 6:14, Job 16:20, Job 19:19, Job 19:21, Job 42:7; Pro 17:17, Pro 18:24, Pro 27:10
Temanite : Job 6:19, Job 15:1; Gen 36:11, Gen 36:15; Je...

TSK: Job 2:12 - -- knew him : Job 19:14; Rth 1:19-21; Lam 4:7, Lam 4:8
their voice : Gen 27:34; Jdg 2:4; 1Sa 11:4, 1Sa 30:4; 2Sa 13:36; Est 4:1
they rent : Job 1:20
spri...

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes: Job 2:10 - -- As one of the foolish women speaketh - The word here rendered "foolish" נבל nâbâl from נבל nâbêl , means properly stu...
As one of the foolish women speaketh - The word here rendered "foolish"
What shall we receive good at the hand of God - Having received such abundant tokens of kindness from him, it was unreasonable to complain when they were taken away, and when he sent calamity in their stead.
And shall we not receive evil? - Shall we not expect it? Shall we not be willing to bear it when it comes? Shall we not have sufficient confidence in him to believe that his dealings are ordered in goodness and equity? Shall we at once lose all our confidence in our great Benefactor the moment he takes away our comforts, and visits us with pain? This is the true expression of piety. It submits to all the arrangements of God without a complaint. It receives blessings with gratitude; it is resigned when calamities are sent in their place. It esteems it as a mere favor to be permitted to breathe the air which God has made, to look upon the light of his sun, to tread upon his earth, to inhale the fragrance of his flowers, and to enjoy the society of the friends whom he gives; and when he takes one or all away, it feels that he has taken only what belongs to him, and withdraws a privilege to which we had no claim. In addition to that, true piety feels that all claim to any blessing, if it had ever existed, has been forfeited by sin. What right has a sinner to complain when God withdraws his favor, and subjects him to suffering? What claim has he on God, that should make it wrong for Him to visit him with calamity?
Wherefore doth a living man complain,
A man for the punishment of his sins?
In all this did not Job sin with his lips - See the notes at Job 1:22. This remark is made here perhaps in contrast with what occurred afterward. He subsequently did give utterance to improper sentiments, and was rebuked accordingly, but thus far what he had expressed was in accordance with truth, and with the feelings of most elevated piety.

Barnes: Job 2:11 - -- Now when Job’ s three friends heard - It would seem from this that these men were his particular friends. They came every one from hi...
Now when Job’ s three friends heard - It would seem from this that these men were his particular friends.
They came every one from his own place - His residence. This was the result of agreement or appointment thus to meet together.
Eliphaz the Temanite - This was the most prominent of his friends. In the ensuing discussion he regularly takes the lead, advances the most important and impressive considerations, and is followed and sustained by the others. The Septuagint renders this
He is supposed to have lived on the east of Idumea. Eusebius places Thaeman in Arabia Petrara, five miles from Petra (see the notes at Isa 16:1), and says that there was a Roman garrison there. The Temanites were cclebrated for wisdom. "Is wisdom no more in Teman?"Jer 49:7. The country was distinguished also for producing men of strength: "And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed;"Oba 1:9. That this country was a part of Idumea is apparent, not only from the fact that Teman was a descendant of Esau, who settled there, but from several places in the Scriptures. Thus, in Eze 25:13, it is said, "I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and I will make it desolate from Toman, and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword."In Amo 1:12, Teman is mentioned as in the vicinity of Bozrah, at one time the capital of Idumea: "But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah;"see the notes at Isa 21:14. The inhabitants of this country were distinguished in early times for wisdom, and particularly for that kind of wisdom which is expressed in close observation of men and manners, and the course of events, and which was expressed in proverbs. Thus, they are mentioned in the book of Baruch, 3:23: "The merchants of Meran and of Theman, the authors of fables, and searchers out of understanding,"
And Bildad the Shuhite - The second speaker uniformly in the following argument. The Septuagint renders this, "Bildad the sovereign of the Saucheans,"
And Zophar the Naamathite - An inhabitant of Naamah, whose situation is unknown. The Septuagint renders this, "Zophar, king of the Minaians -
Here is evidently the doctrine of "transubstantiation,"the change of bread into flesh, and of wine into blood, and bears the marks of having been interpolated by some friend of the papacy. But when or by whom it was done is unknown. It is a most stupid forgery. The evident intention of it was to sustain the doctrine of transubstantiation, by the plea that it was found far back in the times of Job, and that it could not be regarded, therefore, as an absurdity. To what extent it has ever been used by the advocates of that doctrine, I have no means of ascertaining. Its interpolation here is a pretty sure proof of the conviction of the author of it that the doctrine is not found in any fair interpretation of the Bible.
For they had made an appointment together - They had agreed to go together, and they evidently set out on the journey together. The Chaldee - or someone who has interpolated a passage in the Chaldee - has introduced a circumstance in regard to the design of their coming, which savors also of the Papacy. It is as follows: "They came each one from his place, and for the merit of this they were freed from the place destined to them in Gehenna,"a passage evidently intended to defend the doctrine of "purgatory,"by the authority of the ancient Chaldee Paraphrase.
To come to mourn with him, and to comfort him - To show the appropriate sympathy of friends in a time of special calamity. They did not come with an intention to reproach him, or to charge him with being a hypocrite.

Barnes: Job 2:12 - -- And when they lifted up their eyes afar off - " When they saw him at the distance at which they could formerly recognize him without difficulty,...
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off - " When they saw him at the distance at which they could formerly recognize him without difficulty, disease had so altered his appearance that at first sight they knew him not"- Noyes.
They lifted up their voice - This is a common expression in the Scriptures, to denote grief; Gen 27:38; Gen 29:11; Jdg 2:4; Rth 1:9; 1Sa 24:16, " et soepe al ."We learn to suppress the expressions of grief. The ancients gave vent to their sorrows aloud. - They even hired persons to aid them in their lamentations; and it became a professional business of women to devote themselves to the office of making an outcry on occasions of mourning. The same thing prevails in the East at present. Friends sit around the grave of the dead, or go there at different times, and give a long and doleful shriek or howl, as expressive of their grief.
And they rent every one his mantle - See the notes at Job 1:20.
And sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven - Another expression of sorrow; compare Lam 2:10; Neh 9:1; 1Sa 4:12; Jos 7:6; Eze 27:30. Thc indications of grief here referred to, were such as were common in ancient times. They resemble, in a remarkable manner, the mode in which Achilles gave utterance to his sorrow, when informed of the death of Patroclus. Iliad xviii. 21-27.
A sudden horror shot through all the chief,
And wrapp’ d his senses in the cloud of grief;
Cast on the ground, with furious hands he spread
The scorching ashes o’ er his graceful head,
His purple garments, and his golden hairs,
Those he deforms with dust, and these he tears:
On the hard soil his groaning breast he threw,
And roll’ d and grovell’ d as to earth he grew.
Pope
Thus far the feelings of the three friends were entirely kind, and all that they did was expressive of sympathy for the sufferer.

Barnes: Job 2:13 - -- So they sat down with him upon the ground; - see Job 1:20, note; Job 2:8, note; compare Ezr 9:3, "I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked ...
So they sat down with him upon the ground; - see Job 1:20, note; Job 2:8, note; compare Ezr 9:3, "I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head, and my beard, and sat down astonished."
Seven days and seven nights - Seven days was the usual time of mourning among the Orientals. Thus, they made public lamentation for Jacob seven days, Gen 50:10. Thus, on the death of Saul, they fasted seven days, 1Sa 31:13. So the author of the book of Ecclesiasticus says,"Seven days do men mourn for him that is dead;"Eccles. 22:12. It cannot be supposed that they remained in the same place and posture for seven days and nights, but that they mourned with him during that time in the usual way. An instance of grief remarkably similar to this, continuing through a period of six days, is ascribed by Euripides to Orestes:
Τλήμων Ὀρέστης; ο δὲ πεσὼν ἐν δεμνίοις Κεῖται. Ἓκτου δὲ δὴ τόδ ἦμαρ, κ. τ. λ.
"‘ Tis hence Orestes, agonized with griefs
And sore disease, lies on his restless bed
Delirious.
Now six morns have winged their flight,
Since by his hands his parent massacred
Burnt on the pile in expiatory flames.
Stubborn the while he keeps a rigid fast,
Nor bathes, nor dresses; but beneath his robes
He skulks, and if he steals a pause from rage,
‘ Tis but to feel his weight of wo and weep."
And none spake a word to him - - That is, on the subject of his grief. They came to condole with him, but they had now nothing to say. They saw that his affliction was much greater than they had anticipated.
For they saw that his grief was very great - This is given as a reason why they were silent. But "how"this produced silence, or why his great grief was a cause of their silence, is not intimated. Perhaps one or all of the following considerations may have led to it.
(1) They were amazed at the extent of his sufferings. Amazement is often expressed by silence. We look upon that which is out of the usual course of events without being able to express anything. We are "struck dumb"with wonder.
(2) The effect of great calamity is often to prevent utterance. Nothing is more natural or common than profound silence when we go to the house of mourning. "It is the lesser cares only that speak; the greater ones find not language."Curae leves loquuntur, ingentes stupent.
(3) They might not have known what to say. They had come to sympathize with him, and to offer consolation. But their anticipated topics of consolation may have been seen to be inappropriate. The calamity was greater than they had before witnessed. The loss of property and children; the deep humiliation of a man who had been one of the most distinguished of the land; the severity of his bodily sufferings, and his changed and haggard appearance, constituted so great a calamity, that the usual topics of conversation did not meet the case. What "they"had to say, was the result of careful observation on the usual course or events, and it is by no means improbable that they had never before witnessed sorrows so keen, and that they now saw that their maxims would by no means furnish consolation for "such"a case.
(4) They seem to have been very early thrown into doubt in regard to the real character of Job. They had regarded him as a pious man, and had come to him under that impression. But his great afflictions seem soon to have shaken their confidence in his piety, and to have led them to ask themselves whether so great a sufferer "could"be the friend of God. Their subsequent reasonings show that it was with them a settled opinion that the righteous would be prospered, and that very great calamities were proof of great criminality in the sight of God. It was not inconsistent with this belief to suppose that the righteous might be slightly afflicted, but when they saw "such"sorrows, they supposed they were altogether beyond what God could send upon his friends; and with this doubt on their minds, and this change in their views, they knew not what to say. How "could"they console him when it was their settled belief that great sufferings were proof of great guilt? They could say nothing which would not seem to be a departure from this, unless they assumed that he had been a hypocrite, and should administer reproof and rebuke for his sins.
(5) In this state of things, to administer "rebuke"would seem to be cruel. It would aggravate the sorrows which already were more than he could bear. They did, therefore, what the friends of the afflicted are often compelled to do in regard to specific sufferings; they kept silence. As they could not comfort him, they would not aggravate his grief. All they could have said would probably have been unmeaning generalities which would not meet his case, or would have been sententious maxims which would imply that he was a sinner and a hypocrite; and they were therefore dumb, until the bitter complaint of Job himself Job 3 gave them an opportunity to state the train of thought which had passed through their minds during this protracted silence. How often do similar cases occur now - cases where consolation seems almost impossible, and where any truths which might be urged, except the most abstract and unmeaning generalities, would tend only to aggravate the sorrows of the afflicted! When calamity comes upon a person as the result of his sins; when property is taken away which has been gained in an unlawful manner; when a friend dies, leaving no evidence that he was prepared; when it is impossible to speak of that friend without recalling the memory of his irreligious, prayerless, or dissolute life, how difficult is it to administer consolation! How often is the Christian friend constrained to close his lips in silence, or utter only "torturing"general truths that can give no consolation, or refer to facts which will tend only to open the wound in the heart deeper! To be silent at such times is all that can be done; or to commend the sufferer in humble prayer to God, an expedient which seems not to have been resorted to either by Job or his friends, It is remarkable that Job is not represented as calling upon God for support, and it is as remarkable that his friends during these seven days of silent grief did not commend the case of their much afflicted friend to the Father of mercies. Had "Job"prayed, he might have been kept from much of the improper feeling to which he gave vent in the following chapter; had "they"prayed, they might have obtained much more just views of the government of God than they had hitherto possessed.
Poole: Job 2:10 - -- As one of the foolish women i.e. like a rash, and inconsiderate, and weak person that dost not understand nor mind what thou sayest. Or, like a wicke...
As one of the foolish women i.e. like a rash, and inconsiderate, and weak person that dost not understand nor mind what thou sayest. Or, like a wicked and most profane person; for such are frequently called fools in Scripture, as Psa 14:1 74:18 , and everywhere in the Proverbs.
Shall we poor worms give laws to our supreme Lord and Governor, and oblige him always to bless and favour us, and never to afflict us? And shall not those great, and manifold, and long-continued mercies, which from time to time God hath freely and graciously given us, compensate for these short afflictions? Ought we not to bless God for those mercies which we did not deserve, and contentedly to bear those corrections which we deserve and need, and (if it be not our own fault) may get much good by.
In all this did not Job sin with his lips by any reflections upon God, by any impatient or unbecoming expressions.

Poole: Job 2:11 - -- They were persons then eminent for birth and quality, for wisdom and knowledge, and for the profession of the true religion, being probably of the p...
They were persons then eminent for birth and quality, for wisdom and knowledge, and for the profession of the true religion, being probably of the posterity of Abraham, and akin to Job, and living in the same country with him.

Poole: Job 2:12 - -- Afar off to wit, at some convenient distance from him; whom they found sitting upon the ground, either in the open air, or within his own house.
Kne...
Afar off to wit, at some convenient distance from him; whom they found sitting upon the ground, either in the open air, or within his own house.
Knew him not his countenance being so fearfully changed and disfigured by his boils.
Sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven either upon the upper part of their heads, which look towards heaven; or cast it up into the air, so as it should fall upon their heads, as they did Act 22:23 . See Jos 6:6 Neh 9:1 Lam 2:10 .

Poole: Job 2:13 - -- Sat down with him upon the ground in the posture of mourners condoling with him.
Seven days and seven nights was the usual time of mourning for the...
Sat down with him upon the ground in the posture of mourners condoling with him.
Seven days and seven nights was the usual time of mourning for the dead, Gen 1:10 1Sa 31:13 , and therefore proper both for Job’ s children, who were dead, and for Job himself, who was in a manner dead whilst he lived. But we must not fancy that they continued in this place and posture so long together, which no laws of religion or civility required of them, and the necessities of nature could not bear; but only that they spent a great or the greatest part of that time in sitting with him, and silent mourning over him. And so such general expressions are frequently understood, as Luk 2:37 24:53 Act 20:31 .
None spake a word to him either,
1. About any thing. Or rather,
2. About his afflictions, and the causes of them. The reason of this silence was, partly the greatness of their grief for him, and their surprise and astonishment at his condition; partly, because they thought it convenient to give him some further time to vent his own sorrows; and partly, because as yet they knew not what to say to him: for though they had ever esteemed him to be a truly wise and godly man, and came with full purpose to comfort him; yet the prodigious greatness of his miseries, and that hand and displeasure of God which they manifestly perceived in them, made them at a stand, and to question Job’ s sincerity; so that they could not comfort him as they had intended, and yet were loth to grieve him with those convictions and reproofs which they thought he greatly needed. And here they stuck till Job gave them occasion to speak their minds.
Haydock: Job 2:10 - -- Foolish. The same word often means impious, (chap. i. 22.) and ignorant, (Haydock) or "delirous." (Aquila) (Psalm xiii. 1.) ---
Lips. The Jews...
Foolish. The same word often means impious, (chap. i. 22.) and ignorant, (Haydock) or "delirous." (Aquila) (Psalm xiii. 1.) ---
Lips. The Jews assert, without reason, that he was guilty in his heart. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 2:12 - -- Heaven. This denoted mourning or indignation, Josue vii. 6., and Acts xxii. 23.
Heaven. This denoted mourning or indignation, Josue vii. 6., and Acts xxii. 23.

Haydock: Job 2:13 - -- Seven days, &c. They sat with him for a good part of the day, and of the night, during seven days: and spoke nothing all that time that could give h...
Seven days, &c. They sat with him for a good part of the day, and of the night, during seven days: and spoke nothing all that time that could give him any uneasiness. (Challoner) (Menochius) (Olympiad.) ---
They mourned for him as if he had been dead. Their mutual grief was too great for utterance. But the text seems to intimate that they remained with Job, all this time. (Scultet.) (Calmet) ---
Their design in coming was really to afford him consolation; but being under a mistake, respecting the conduct of Providence towards mankind, (Calmet) they erred involuntarily, (Tirinus) and by attempting to prove their assertions, as if none but criminals could be so grievously afflicted, they eventually insulted the holy man, Tobias ii. 15. ---
They argued on the principle, "that under a just God no one is miserable, unless he have deserved it;" not reflecting that god sometimes puts his best servants to the trial, that their merit and glory may increase. Notwithstanding their piety and learning, they became therefore the devil's most powerful agents unawares: (Calmet) and though they were not properly heretics, as they acquiesced when better informed, they were a figure of them, by drawing from many undeniable truths false inferences, and by a parade of learning, and of new things. (St. Gregory, Mor. iii. 24., and v. 18.) ---
They also judged rashly of Job's secret behaviour. (Worthington)
Gill: Job 2:10 - -- But he said unto her, thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh,.... The wicked and profane women of that age; he does not say she was one of...
But he said unto her, thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh,.... The wicked and profane women of that age; he does not say she was one of them, but spake like them; which intimates that she was a good woman, and had always been thought to be so; but now spake not like herself, and one of her profession, but like carnal persons: Sanctius thinks Job refers to the Idumean women, who, like other Heathens, when their god did not please them, or they could not obtain of them what they desired, would reproach them, and cast them away from there, throw them into the fire, or into the water, as the Persians are said to do; and so Job's wife, because of the present afflictive providence, was for casting off God and all religion; in this she spake and acted like those wicked people later observed, Job 21:14; and like those carnal professors among the Jews in later times, Mal 3:14; this was talking foolishly, and Job's wife spake after this foolish manner, which he resented:
what? this he said as being angry with her, and having indignation at what she said; and therefore, in this quick, short, and abrupt manner, reproves her for her folly:
shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? as all good things temporal and spiritual, the blessings of Providence; and all natural, though not moral evil things, even all afflictions which seem, or are thought to be evil, come from the mouth of God, and are according to his purpose, counsel, and will; so they are all dispensed by the hand of God, and should be kindly, cheerfully, readily, and willingly received, the one as well as the other; see Lam 3:38. Job suggests that he and his wife had received many good things from the Lord, many temporal good things, as appears from Job 1:2; they had their beings in him, and from him; they had been preserved in them by him; they had had an habitation to dwell in, and still had; God had given them food and raiment, wherewith it became them to be content; they had had a comfortable family of children until this time, and much health of body, Job till now, and his wife still, for ought appears; of their former happy circumstances, see Job 29:1; and besides these outward mercies, they had received God as their covenant God, their portion, shield, and exceeding great reward; they had received Christ as their living Redeemer; they had received the Spirit, and his grace, the root of the matter was in them; they had received justifying, pardoning, and adopting: grace, and a right unto and meetness for eternal life, which all good men receive of God; and therefore such must expect to receive evil things, or to partake of afflictions, since God has appointed these for them, and has told them of them, that they shall befall them; and beside they are for their profit and advantage; and the consideration of the good things that have been received, and are now enjoyed, as well as what they have reason to believe they shall enjoy in heaven to all eternity, should make them ready and willing to bear evil things quietly and patiently; see Heb 11:26; so Achilles in Homer m represents Jove as having two vessels full of gifts, one of good things, the other of evil, and sometimes he takes and gives the one, and sometimes the other:
in all this did not Job sin with his lips; not in what he said to his wife, it was all right and good; nor under the whole of his affliction hitherto, he had not uttered one impatient, murmuring, and repining word at the hand of God; the tongue, though an unruly member, and under such providences apt to speak unadvisedly, was bridled and restrained by Job from uttering anything indecent and unbecoming: the Targum, and many of the Jewish writers, observe that he sinned in his heart, but not with his lips; but this is not to be concluded from what is here said; though it is possible there might be some risings of corruptions in his heart, which, by the grace of God that prevailed in him, were kept under and restrained from breaking out.

Gill: Job 2:11 - -- Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him,.... Of the loss of his substance, servants, and children, and of his own h...
Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him,.... Of the loss of his substance, servants, and children, and of his own health; the news of which soon spread in the adjacent countries, Job being a person of great note, and his calamity so very extraordinary and uncommon: who these three friends were is after observed; they living at some distance from him, held a correspondence with him, and he with them, being good men; and now act the friendly part in paying him a visit under such circumstances; Pro 17:17;
they came everyone from his own place; from the country, city, town, or habitations where they lived; whether they walked or rode is not said, their names are as follow:
Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; the first of these, Eliphaz, was either from Teman, a city in Edom, on the borders of Arabia Deserta, as the Targum; or a descendant of Teman, a grandson of Esau; not Eliphaz the son of Esau, Gen 36:11 as the Targum on that place says; for he was the father of Teman, from whom this Eliphaz sprang: the second, Bildad, was a descendant from Shuah, a son of Abraham, by Keturah, Gen 25:2; whose posterity with geographers are called Sauchites, Sauchaeans, Sacceans, and settled in Arabia Deserta, from whence Bildad came: the third, Zophar the Naamathite, who he was, and why so called, is not certain; there is nothing but conjectures concerning him; it is most probable that he lived in Arabia Deserta, or on the borders of it, near to Job's country and that of his other two friends n; there was a Naamath in the land of Uz, which was Job's country according to Fretelius o: the Septuagint version calls Eliphaz the king of the Temanites, and Bildad the tyrannus, or governor, of the Sauchaens, and Zophar king of the Minaeans p:
for they had made an appointment together; upon hearing of Job's trouble, they got together, and fixed upon a time and place to meet together and proceed on in their journey to Job's house:
to come to mourn with him, and to comfort him; the first word signifies to "move to him" q not as Sephorno explains it, to go with him from place to place, that he might not lay hands on himself; but rather, as the Latin interpreter of the Targum, to move their heads at him; as persons, to show their concern for, and sympathy with, the afflicted, shake their heads at them: the meaning is, that they came to condole his misfortunes, and to speak a word of comfort to him under them; and no doubt but they came with a real and sincere intent to do this, though they proved miserable comforters of him; Job 16:2.

Gill: Job 2:12 - -- And when they lifted up their eyes afar off,.... Either when at some distance from Job's house, and he being without in the open air, as some think; o...
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off,.... Either when at some distance from Job's house, and he being without in the open air, as some think; or as they entered his house, he being at the further part of the room, or in another further on, which they could see into:
and knew him not; at first sight; until they came nearer to him, his garments being rent, and his head shaved, and his body covered all over with boils; so that he was so deformed and disfigured that they could not know him at first, and could scarcely believe him to be the same person:
they lifted up their voice and wept: they wept and cried aloud, being greatly affected with the sight of him, and their hearts sympathizing with him under his afflictions, being his cordial friends, and of that disposition, to weep with those that weep:
and they rent everyone his mantle, or "cloak"; in token of mourning, as Job had done before; see Gill on Job 1:20,
and sprinkled dust upon their heads towards heaven; that is, they took up handfuls of dust from off the ground, and threw it up in the air over their heads, which fell upon them and covered them; which was another rite or ceremony used by mourners, as Jarchi observes, and showed the vehemence of their affections and passions, and the confusion they were in at seeing their friend in such a miserable condition; see Jos 7:6.

Gill: Job 2:13 - -- So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights,.... Which was the usual time of mourning, Gen 50:10; not that they were in this...
So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights,.... Which was the usual time of mourning, Gen 50:10; not that they were in this posture all this time, without sleeping, eating, or drinking, and other necessaries of life; but they came and sat with him every day and night for seven days and nights running, and sat the far greater part of them with him, conforming themselves to him and sympathizing with him:
and none spake a word unto him; concerning his affliction and the cause of it, and what they thought about it; partly through the loss they were at concerning it, hesitating in their minds, and having some suspicion of evil in Job; and partly through the grief of their own hearts, and the vehemence of their passions, but chiefly because of the case and circumstances Job was in, as follows:
for they saw that his grief was very great; and they knew not well what comfort to administer, and were fearful lest they should add grief to grief; or they saw that his "grief increased exceedingly" r; his boils, during these seven days, grew sorer and sorer, and his pain became more intolerable, that there was no speaking to him until he was a little at ease, and more composed and capable of attending to what might be said; they waited a proper opportunity, and which they quickly had, by what Job said in the following chapter: this account is given of his three friends in this place, because the greater part of the book that follows is taken up in giving an account of a dispute which passed between him and them, occasioned by what he delivered in the next chapter.

expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Job 2:11 The second infinitive is from נָחָם (nakham, “to comfort, console” in the Piel). This word may be derived fr...


NET Notes: Job 2:13 The three friends went into a more severe form of mourning, one that is usually reserved for a death. E. Dhorme says it is a display of grief in its m...
Geneva Bible: Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not ( n ) recei...

Geneva Bible: Job 2:11 Now when Job's three ( p ) friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bi...

Geneva Bible: Job 2:12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled...

Geneva Bible: Job 2:13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that [his] grief was very ( r ) gr...

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> Job 2:1-13
TSK Synopsis: Job 2:1-13 - --1 Satan appearing again before God, obtains further leave to tempt Job.7 He smites him with sore boils.9 Job reproves his wife, who moved him to curse...
MHCC -> Job 2:7-10; Job 2:11-13
MHCC: Job 2:7-10 - --The devil tempts his own children, and draws them to sin, and afterwards torments, when he has brought them to ruin; but this child of God he tormente...

MHCC: Job 2:11-13 - --The friends of Job seem noted for their rank, as well as for wisdom and piety. Much of the comfort of this life lies in friendship with the prudent an...
Matthew Henry -> Job 2:7-10; Job 2:11-13
Matthew Henry: Job 2:7-10 - -- The devil, having got leave to tear and worry poor Job, presently fell to work with him, as a tormentor first and then as a tempter. His own childre...

Matthew Henry: Job 2:11-13 - -- We have here an account of the kind visit which Job's three friends paid him in his affliction. The news of his extraordinary troubles spread into a...
Keil-Delitzsch: Job 2:10 - --
10 But he said to her, As one of the ungodly would speak, thou speakest. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not also receive evil?
The an...

Keil-Delitzsch: Job 2:11 - --
After the sixth temptation there comes a seventh; and now the real conflict begins, through which the hero of the book passes, not indeed without si...

Keil-Delitzsch: Job 2:12 - --
Their Arrival:
12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his ...

Keil-Delitzsch: Job 2:13 - --
Their Silence:
13 And they sat with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights; and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his pain was...
Constable: Job 1:1--2:13 - --I. PROLOGUE chs. 1--2
The writer composed the prologue and epilogue of this book in prose narrative and the main...

Constable: Job 1:6--2:11 - --B. Job's Calamities 1:6-2:10
God permitted Satan to test Job twice.23 The first test touched his possess...

Constable: Job 2:1-10 - --2. The second test 2:1-10
Satan again claimed that Job served God only because God had made it a...
