Job 1:20

1:20 Then Job got up ¹  and tore his robe. ²  He shaved his head, ³  and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground. ⁴ 

Isaiah 15:2

15:2 They went up to the temple, ⁵ 

the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. ⁶ 

Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, ⁷  Moab wails.

Every head is shaved bare,

every beard is trimmed off. ⁸ 

Isaiah 22:12

22:12 At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning,

for shaved heads and sackcloth. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 6:26

6:26 So I said, ¹⁰  “Oh, my dear people, ¹¹  put on sackcloth

and roll in ashes.

Mourn with painful sobs

as though you had lost your only child.

For any moment now ¹²  that destructive army ¹³ 

will come against us.”

Jeremiah 7:29

7:29 So, mourn, ¹⁴  you people of this nation. ¹⁵  Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the hilltops. For the Lord has decided to reject ¹⁶  and forsake this generation that has provoked his wrath!’” ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 16:6

16:6 Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them. ¹⁸ 

Amos 8:10

8:10 I will turn your festivals into funerals, ¹⁹ 

and all your songs into funeral dirges.

I will make everyone wear funeral clothes ²⁰ 

and cause every head to be shaved bald. ²¹ 

I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; ²² 

when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day. ²³ 

[1:20]  ¹ tn The verb וַיָּקָם (vayyaqom, “and he arose”) indicates the intentionality and the rapidity of the actions to follow. It signals the beginning of his response to the terrible news. Therefore, the sentence could be translated, “Then Job immediately began to tear his robe.”

[1:20]  ² sn It was the custom to tear the robe in a time of mourning, to indicate that the heart was torn (Joel 2:13). The “garment, mantel” here is the outer garment frequently worn over the basic tunic. See further D. R. Ap-Thomas, “Notes on Some Terms Relating to Prayer,” VT 6 (1956): 220-24.

[1:20]  ³ sn In mourning one normally put off every adornment that enhanced or embellished the person, including that which nature provided (Jer 7:29; Mic 1:16).

[1:20]  ⁴ tn This last verb is the Hishtaphel of the word חָוָה (khavah; BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחָה); it means “to prostrate oneself, to cause oneself to be low to the ground.” In the OT it is frequently translated “to worship” because that is usually why the individual would kneel down and then put his or her forehead to the ground at the knees. But the word essentially means “to bow down to the ground.” Here “worship” (although employed by several English translations, cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, CEV) conveys more than what is taking place – although Job’s response is certainly worshipful. See G. I. Davies, “A Note on the Etymology of histah^awah,” VT 29 (1979): 493-95; and J. A. Emerton, “The Etymology of histah^awah,” OTS (1977): 41-55.

[15:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[15:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.

[15:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”

[15:2]  ⁸ sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.

[22:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “for baldness and the wearing of sackcloth.” See the note at 15:2.

[6:26]  ¹⁰ tn These words are not in the text but are implicit from the context.

[6:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the translator’s note there.

[6:26]  ¹² tn Heb “suddenly.”

[6:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “the destroyer.”

[7:29]  ¹⁴ tn The word “mourn” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation for clarity to explain the significance of the words “Cut your hair and throw it away.”

[7:29]  ¹⁵ tn The words, “you people of this nation” are not in the text. Many English versions supply, “Jerusalem.” The address shifts from second masculine singular addressing Jeremiah (vv. 27-28a) to second feminine singular. It causes less disruption in the flow of the context to see the nation as a whole addressed here as a feminine singular entity (as, e.g., in 2:19, 23; 3:2, 3; 6:26) than to introduce a new entity, Jerusalem.

[7:29]  ¹⁶ tn The verbs here are the Hebrew scheduling perfects. For this use of the perfect see GKC 312 §106.m.

[7:29]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the generation of his wrath.”

[16:6]  ¹⁸ sn These were apparently pagan customs associated with mourning (Isa 15:2; Jer 47:5) which were forbidden in Israel (Lev 19:8; 21:5) but apparently practiced anyway (Jer 41:5).

[8:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “mourning.”

[8:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I will place sackcloth on all waists.”

[8:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “and make every head bald.” This could be understood in a variety of ways, while the ritual act of mourning typically involved shaving the head (although occasionally the hair could be torn out as a sign of mourning).

[8:10]  ²² tn Heb “I will make it like the mourning for an only son.”

[8:10]  ²³ tn Heb “and its end will be like a bitter day.” The Hebrew preposition כְּ (kaf) sometimes carries the force of “in every respect,” indicating identity rather than mere comparison.