2:4 But 9 Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for 10 skin! 11 Indeed, a man will give up 12 all that he has to save his life! 13
1 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
2 sn The pronoun you is plural in Greek.
3 tn Or “necessary.” BDAG 873-74 s.v. πρός 1 has “πρ. τῆς σωτηρίας in the interest of safety Ac 27:34”; L&N 27.18 has “‘therefore, I urge you to take some food, for this is important for your deliverance’ or ‘…for your survival’ Ac 27:34.”
4 tn Or “deliverance” (‘salvation’ in a nontheological sense).
5 tn The words “were to follow” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. They must be supplied to clarify the sense in contemporary English.
6 tn Or “boards” according to BDAG 913 s.v. σανίς.
7 tn Grk “on pieces from the ship”; that is, pieces of wreckage from the ship.
8 tn Grk “And in this way it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
9 tn The form is the simply preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive. However, the speech of Satan is in contrast to what God said, even though in narrative sequence.
10 tn The preposition בְּעַד (bÿ’ad) designates interest or advantage arising from the idea of protection for (“for the benefit of”); see IBHS 201-2 §11.2.7a.
11 sn The meaning of the expression is obscure. It may come from the idea of sacrificing an animal or another person in order to go free, suggesting the expression that one type of skin that was worth less was surrendered to save the more important life. Satan would then be saying that Job was willing for others to die for him to go free, but not himself. “Skin” would be a synecdoche of the part for the whole (like the idiomatic use of skin today for a person in a narrow escape). The second clause indicates that God has not even scratched the surface because Job has been protected. His “skin” might have been scratched, but not his flesh and bone! But if his life had been put in danger, he would have responded differently.
12 tc The LXX has “make full payment, pay a full price” (LSJ 522 s.v. ἐκτίνω).
13 tn Heb “Indeed, all that a man has he will give for his life.”