4:11 The mighty lion 1 perishes 2 for lack of prey,
and the cubs of the lioness 3 are scattered.
29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, 4
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; 5
30:2 Moreover, the strength of their 6 hands –
what use was it to me?
Men whose strength 7 had perished;
1 tn The word לַיִשׁ (layish) traditionally rendered “strong lion,” occurs only here and in Prov 30:30 and Isa 30:6. It has cognates in several of the Semitic languages, and so seems to indicate lion as king of the beasts.
2 tn The form of the verb is the Qal active participle; it stresses the characteristic action of the verb as if a standard universal truth.
3 tn The text literally has “sons of the lioness.”
4 tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).
5 tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.
7 tn The reference is to the fathers of the scorners, who are here regarded as weak and worthless.
8 tn The word כֶּלַח (kelakh) only occurs in Job 5:26; but the Arabic cognate gives this meaning “strength.” Others suggest כָּלַח (kalakh, “old age”), ֹכּל־חַיִל (kol-khayil, “all vigor”), כֹּל־לֵחַ (kol-leakh, “all freshness”), and the like. But there is no reason for such emendation.