12:12 Is not wisdom found among the aged? 1
Does not long life bring understanding?
92:14 They bear fruit even when they are old;
they are filled with vitality and have many leaves. 2
16:31 Gray hair is like 3 a crown of glory; 4
it is attained 5 in the path of righteousness. 6
65:20 Never again will one of her infants live just a few days 7
or an old man die before his time. 8
Indeed, no one will die before the age of a hundred, 9
anyone who fails to reach 10 the age of a hundred will be considered cursed.
1 tn The statement in the Hebrew Bible simply has “among the aged – wisdom.” Since this seems to be more the idea of the friends than of Job, scholars have variously tried to rearrange it. Some have proposed that Job is citing his friends: “With the old men, you say, is wisdom” (Budde, Gray, Hitzig). Others have simply made it a question (Weiser). But others take לֹא (lo’) from the previous verse and make it the negative here, to say, “wisdom is not….” But Job will draw on the wisdom of the aged, only with discernment, for ultimately all wisdom is with God.
2 tn Heb “they are juicy and fresh.”
3 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
4 sn The proverb presents the ideal, for it is not concerned with old people who may be evil. The KJV tried to qualify the interpretation by making the second half of the verse a conditional clause (“if it be found in the way of righteousness”). This is acceptable but unnecessary. The book of Proverbs is simply laying out the equity of longevity for righteousness and premature death for wicked people. In this line “gray hair” is a metonymy of adjunct/effect, representing old age; and the “glorious crown” (taking the genitive as attributive) provides a fitting metaphor to compare the hair on the head with a crown.
5 tn Heb “it is found” (so NASB) or “it will be found.”
6 sn While the proverb presents a general observation, there is a commendable lesson about old people who can look back on a long walk with God through life and can anticipate unbroken fellowship with him in glory.
7 tn Heb “and there will not be from there again a nursing infant of days,” i.e., one that lives just a few days.
8 tn Heb “or an old [man] who does not fill out his days.”
9 tn Heb “for the child as a son of one hundred years will die.” The point seems to be that those who die at the age of a hundred will be considered children, for the average life span will be much longer than that. The category “child” will be redefined in light of the expanded life spans that will characterize this new era.
10 tn Heb “the one who misses.” חָטָא (khata’) is used here in its basic sense of “miss the mark.” See HALOT 305 s.v. חטא. Another option is to translate, “and the sinner who reaches the age of a hundred will be cursed.”