3:12 Why did the knees welcome me, 1
and why were there 2 two breasts 3
that I might nurse at them? 4
3:15 or with princes who possessed gold, 5
who filled their palaces 6 with silver.
15:8 Do you listen in on God’s secret council? 7
Do you limit 8 wisdom to yourself?
1 tn The verb קִדְּמוּנִי (qiddÿmuni) is the Piel from קָדַם (qadam), meaning “to come before; to meet; to prevent.” Here it has the idea of going to meet or welcome someone. In spite of various attempts to connect the idea to the father or to adoption rites, it probably simply means the mother’s knees that welcome the child for nursing. See R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 42.
2 tn There is no verb in the second half of the verse. The idea simply has, “and why breasts that I might suck?”
3 sn The commentaries mention the parallel construction in the writings of Ashurbanipal: “You were weak, Ashurbanipal, you who sat on the knees of the goddess, queen of Nineveh; of the four teats that were placed near to your mouth, you sucked two and you hid your face in the others” (M. Streck, Assurbanipal [VAB], 348).
4 tn Heb “that I might suckle.” The verb is the Qal imperfect of יָנַק (yanaq, “suckle”). Here the clause is subordinated to the preceding question and so function as a final imperfect.
5 tn The expression simply has “or with princes gold to them.” The noun is defined by the noun clause serving as a relative clause (GKC 486 §155.e).
6 tn Heb “filled their houses.” There is no reason here to take “houses” to mean tombs; the “houses” refer to the places the princes lived (i.e., palaces). The reference is not to the practice of burying treasures with the dead. It is simply saying that if Job had died he would have been with the rich and famous in death.
9 tn The meaning of סוֹד (sod) is “confidence.” In the context the implication is “secret counsel” of the
10 tn In v. 4 the word meant “limit”; here it has a slightly different sense, namely, “to reserve for oneself.”