5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 1
5:33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, 2 ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 3
5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ 4 and ‘hate your enemy.’
8:8 “For inquire now of the former 8 generation,
and pay attention 9 to the findings 10
of their ancestors; 11
8:9 For we were born yesterday 12 and do not have knowledge,
since our days on earth are but a shadow. 13
8:10 Will they not 14 instruct you and 15 speak to you,
and bring forth words 16
from their understanding? 17
1 sn A quotation from Exod 20:14; Deut 5:17.
2 tn Grk “the ancient ones.”
3 sn A quotation from Lev 19:12.
4 sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.
5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
6 tn Grk “And opening his mouth he taught them, saying.” The imperfect verb ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) has been translated ingressively.
7 tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
8 sn Bildad is not calling for Job to trace through the learning of antiquity, but of the most recent former generation. Hebrews were fond of recalling what the “fathers” had taught, for each generation recalled what their fathers had taught.
9 tn The verb כוֹנֵן (khonen, from כּוּן, kun) normally would indicate “prepare yourself” or “fix” one’s heart on something, i.e., give attention to it. The verb with the ל (lamed) preposition after it does mean “to think on” or “to meditate” (Isa 51:13). But some commentators wish to change the כּ (kaf) to a בּ (bet) in the verb to get “to consider” (from בִּין, bin). However, M. Dahood shows a connection between כּנן (knn) and שׁאל (sh’l) in Ugaritic (“Hebrew-Ugaritic Lexicography,” Bib 46 [1965]: 329).
10 tn The Hebrew has “the search of their fathers,” but the word is probably intended to mean what that observation or search yielded (so “search” is a metonymy of cause).
11 tn Heb “fathers.”
12 tn The Hebrew has “we are of yesterday,” the adverb functioning as a predicate. Bildad’s point is that they have not had time to acquire great knowledge because they are recent.
13 tn E. Dhorme (Job, 116) observes that the shadow is the symbol of ephemeral things (14:2; 17:7; Ps 144:4). The shadow passes away quickly (116).
14 tn The sentence begins emphatically: “Is it not they.”
15 tn The “and” is not present in the line. The second clause seems to be in apposition to the first, explaining it more thoroughly: “Is it not they [who] will instruct you, [who] will speak to you.”
16 tn The noun may have been left indeterminate for the sake of emphasis (GKC 401-2 §125.c), meaning “important words.”
17 tn Heb “from their heart.”