Job 1:6-12

Satan’s Accusation of Job ¹ 

1:6 Now the day came when ²  the sons of God ³  came to present themselves before ⁴  the Lord – and Satan ⁵  also arrived among them. 1:7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” ⁶  And Satan answered the Lord, ⁷  “From roving about ⁸  on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it.” ⁹  1:8 So the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered ¹⁰  my servant Job? There ¹¹  is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away ¹²  from evil.”

1:9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Is it for nothing that Job fears God? ¹³  1:10 Have you ¹⁴  not made a hedge ¹⁵  around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed ¹⁶  the work of his hands, and his livestock ¹⁷  have increased ¹⁸  in the land. 1:11 But ¹⁹  extend your hand and strike ²⁰  everything he has, and he will no doubt ²¹  curse you ²²  to your face!”

1:12 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right then, ²³  everything he has is ²⁴  in your power. ²⁵  Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!” ²⁶  So Satan went out ²⁷  from the presence of the Lord. ²⁸ 

Job 2:1-8

Satan’s Additional Charge

2:1 Again the day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also arrived among them to present himself before the Lord. ²⁹  2:2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where do you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, ³⁰  “From roving about on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it.” ³¹  2:3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly ³²  to his integrity, ³³  so that ³⁴  you stirred me up to destroy him ³⁵  without reason.” ³⁶ 

2:4 But ³⁷  Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for ³⁸  skin! ³⁹  Indeed, a man will give up ⁴⁰  all that he has to save his life! ⁴¹  2:5 But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, ⁴²  and he will no doubt ⁴³  curse you to your face!”

2:6 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, ⁴⁴  he is ⁴⁵  in your power; ⁴⁶  only preserve ⁴⁷  his life.”

Job’s Integrity in Suffering

2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted ⁴⁸  Job with a malignant ulcer ⁴⁹  from the sole of his feet to the top of his head. ⁵⁰  2:8 Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape ⁵¹  himself ⁵²  with while he was sitting ⁵³  among the ashes. ⁵⁴ 

Psalms 109:6

109:6 ⁵⁵ Appoint an evil man to testify against him! ⁵⁶ 

May an accuser stand ⁵⁷  at his right side!

Luke 22:31

22:31 “Simon, ⁵⁸  Simon, pay attention! ⁵⁹  Satan has demanded to have you all, ⁶⁰  to sift you like wheat, ⁶¹ 

Luke 22:1

Judas’ Decision to Betray Jesus

22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, ⁶²  which is called the Passover, was approaching.

Luke 5:8

5:8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, ⁶³  for I am a sinful man!” ⁶⁴ 

Revelation 12:9-10

12:9 So ⁶⁵  that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him. 12:10 Then ⁶⁶  I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

“The salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God,

and the ruling authority ⁶⁷  of his Christ, ⁶⁸  have now come,

because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, ⁶⁹ 

the one who accuses them day and night ⁷⁰  before our God,

has been thrown down.

[1:6]  ¹ sn The text draws the curtain of heaven aside for the reader to understand the background of this drama. God extols the virtue of Job, but Satan challenges the reasons for it. He receives permission to try to dislodge Job from his integrity. In short, God is using Job to prove Satan’s theory wrong.

[1:6]  ² tn The beginning Hebrew expression “and there was – the day” indicates that “there came a day when” or more simply “the day came when.” It emphasizes the particular day. The succeeding clause is then introduced with a preterite with the with vav (ו) consecutive (see E. Dhorme, Job, 5).

[1:6]  ³ sn The “sons of God” in the OT is generally taken to refer to angels. They are not actually “sons” of Elohim; the idiom is a poetic way of describing their nature and relationship to God. The phrase indicates their supernatural nature, and their submission to God as the sovereign Lord. It may be classified as a genitive that expresses how individuals belong to a certain class or type, i.e., the supernatural (GKC 418 §128.v). In the pagan literature, especially of Ugarit, “the sons of God” refers to the lesser gods or deities of the pantheon. See H. W. Robinson, “The Council of Yahweh,” JTS 45 (1943): 151-57; G. Cooke, “The Sons of (the) God(s),” ZAW 76 (1964): 22-47; M. Tsevat, “God and the Gods in the Assembly,” HUCA 40-41 (1969/70): 123-37.

[1:6]  ⁴ tn The preposition עַל (’al) in this construction after a verb of standing or going means “before” (GKC 383 §119.cc).

[1:6]  ⁵ sn The word means “adversary” or with the article “the adversary” – here the superhuman adversary or Satan. The word with the article means that the meaning of the word should receive prominence. A denominative verb meaning “to act as adversary” occurs. Satan is the great accuser of the saints (see Zech 3 where “Satan was standing there to ‘satanize’ Joshua the priest”; and see Rev 12 which identifies him with the Serpent in Genesis). He came among the angels at this time because he is one of them and has access among them. Even though fallen, Satan has yet to be cast down completely (see Rev 12).

[1:7]  ⁶ tn The imperfect may be classified as progressive imperfect; it indicates action that although just completed is regarded as still lasting into the present (GKC 316 §107.h).

[1:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “answered the Lord and said” (also in v. 9). The words “and said” here and in v. 9 have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:7]  ⁸ tn The verb שׁוּט (shut) means “to go or rove about” (BDB 1001-2 s.v.). Here the infinitive construct serves as the object of the preposition.

[1:7]  ⁹ tn The Hitpael (here also an infinitive construct after the preposition) of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh) means “to walk to and fro, back and forth, with the sense of investigating or reconnoitering (see e.g. Gen 13:17).

[1:8]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew has “have you placed your heart on Job?” This means “direct your mind to” (cf. BDB 963 s.v. I שׂוּם 2.b).

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew conjunction כִּי (ki) need not be translated in this case or it might be taken as emphatic (cf. IBHS 665 §39.3.4e): “Certainly there is no one like him.”

[1:8]  ¹² tn The same expressions that appeared at the beginning of the chapter appear here in the words of God. In contrast to that narrative report about Job, the emphasis here is on Job’s present character, and so the participle form is translated here asa gnomic or characteristic present (“turns”). It modifies “man” as one who is turning from evil.

[1:9]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew form has the interrogative ה (he) on the adverb חִנָּם (khinnam, “gratis”), a derivative either of the verb חָנַן (khanan, “to be gracious, show favor”), or its related noun חֵן (khen, “grace, favor”). The adverb has the sense of “free; gratis; gratuitously; for nothing; for no reason” (see BDB 336 s.v. חִנָּם). The idea is that Satan does not disagree that Job is pious, but that Job is loyal to God because of what he receives from God. He will test the sincerity of Job.

[1:10]  ¹⁴ tn The use of the independent personal pronoun here emphasizes the subject of the verb: “Have you not put up a hedge.”

[1:10]  ¹⁵ tn The verb שׂוּךְ (sukh) means “to hedge or fence up, about” something (BDB 962 s.v. I שׂוּךְ). The original idea seems to have been to surround with a wall of thorns for the purpose of protection (E. Dhorme, Job, 7). The verb is an implied comparison between making a hedge and protecting someone.

[1:10]  ¹⁶ sn Here the verb “bless” is used in one of its very common meanings. The verb means “to enrich,” often with the sense of enabling or empowering things for growth or fruitfulness. See further C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).

[1:10]  ¹⁷ tn Or “substance.” The herds of livestock may be taken by metonymy of part for whole to represent possessions or prosperity in general.

[1:10]  ¹⁸ tn The verb פָּרַץ (parats) means “to break through.” It has the sense of abundant increase, as in breaking out, overflowing (see also Gen 30:30 and Exod 1:12).

[1:11]  ¹⁹ tn The particle אוּלָם (’ulam, “but”) serves to restrict the clause in relation to the preceding clause (IBHS 671-73 §39.3.5e, n. 107).

[1:11]  ²⁰ tn The force of the imperatives in this sentence are almost conditional – if God were to do this, then surely Job would respond differently.

[1:11]  ²¹ sn The formula used in the expression is the oath formula: “if not to your face he will curse you” meaning “he will surely curse you to your face.” Satan is so sure that the piety is insincere that he can use an oath formula.

[1:11]  ²² tn See the comments on Job 1:5. Here too the idea of “renounce” may fit well enough; but the idea of actually cursing God may not be out of the picture if everything Job has is removed. Satan thinks he will denounce God.

[1:12]  ²³ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) introduces a foundational clause upon which the following volitional clause is based.

[1:12]  ²⁴ tn The versions add a verb here: “delivered to” or “abandoned to” the hand of Satan.

[1:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in your hand.” The idiom means that it is now Satan’s to do with as he pleases.

[1:12]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew word order emphatically holds out Job’s person as the exception: “only upon him do not stretch forth your hand.”

[1:12]  ²⁷ tn The Targum to Job adds “with permission” to show that he was granted leave from God’s presence.

[1:12]  ²⁸ sn So Satan, having received his permission to test Job’s sincerity, goes out from the Lord’s presence. But Satan is bound by the will of the Most High not to touch Job himself. The sentence gives the impression that Satan’s departure is with a certain eagerness and confidence.

[2:1]  ²⁹ tc This last purpose clause has been omitted in some Greek versions.

[2:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “answered the Lord and said” (also in v. 4). The words “and said” here and in v. 9 have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:2]  ³¹ tn See the note on this phrase in 1:7.

[2:3]  ³² tn The form is the Hiphil participle, “make strong, seize, hold fast.” It is the verbal use here; joined with עֹדֶנּוּ (’odennu, “yet he”) it emphasizes that “he is still holding firmly.” The testing has simply strengthened Job in his integrity.

[2:3]  ³³ tn This is the same word used to describe Job as “blameless, pure.” Here it carries the idea of “integrity”; Job remained blameless, perfect.

[2:3]  ³⁴ tn The vav (ו) with the preterite is used here to express the logical conclusion or consequence of what was stated previously. God is saying that Job has maintained his integrity, so that now it is clear that Satan moved against him groundlessly (GKC 328 §111.l).

[2:3]  ³⁵ tn The verb literally means “to swallow”; it forms an implied comparison in the line, indicating the desire of Satan to ruin him completely. See A Guillaume, “A Note on the Root bala`,” JTS 13 (1962): 320-23; and N. M. Sarna, “Epic Substratum in the Prose of Job,”JBL 76 (1957): 13-25, for a discussion of the Ugaritic deity Mot swallowing up the enemy.

[2:3]  ³⁶ sn Once again the adverb חִנָּם (khinnam, “gratis”) is used. It means “graciously, gratis, free, without cause, for no reason.” Here the sense has to be gratuitously, for no reason.” The point of the verb חָנַן (khanan, “to be gracious”) and its derivatives is that the action is undeserved. In fact, they would deserve the opposite. Sinners seeking grace deserve punishment. Here, Job deserves reward, not suffering.

[2:4]  ³⁷ tn The form is the simply preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive. However, the speech of Satan is in contrast to what God said, even though in narrative sequence.

[2:4]  ³⁸ tn The preposition בְּעַד (bÿ’ad) designates interest or advantage arising from the idea of protection for (“for the benefit of”); see IBHS 201-2 §11.2.7a.

[2:4]  ³⁹ sn The meaning of the expression is obscure. It may come from the idea of sacrificing an animal or another person in order to go free, suggesting the expression that one type of skin that was worth less was surrendered to save the more important life. Satan would then be saying that Job was willing for others to die for him to go free, but not himself. “Skin” would be a synecdoche of the part for the whole (like the idiomatic use of skin today for a person in a narrow escape). The second clause indicates that God has not even scratched the surface because Job has been protected. His “skin” might have been scratched, but not his flesh and bone! But if his life had been put in danger, he would have responded differently.

[2:4]  ⁴⁰ tc The LXX has “make full payment, pay a full price” (LSJ 522 s.v. ἐκτίνω).

[2:4]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Indeed, all that a man has he will give for his life.”

[2:5]  ⁴² sn The “bones and flesh” are idiomatic for the whole person, his physical and his psychical/spiritual being (see further H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 26-28).

[2:5]  ⁴³ sn This is the same oath formula found in 1:11; see the note there.

[2:6]  ⁴⁴ tn The particle הִנּוֹ (hinno) is literally, “here he is!” God presents Job to Satan, with the restriction on preserving Job’s life.

[2:6]  ⁴⁵ tn The LXX has “I deliver him up to you.”

[2:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “hand.”

[2:6]  ⁴⁷ sn The irony of the passage comes through with this choice of words. The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) means “to keep; to guard; to preserve.” The exceptive clause casts Satan in the role of a savior – he cannot destroy this life but must protect it.

[2:7]  ⁴⁸ tn The verb is נָכָה (nakhah, “struck, smote”); it can be rendered in this context as “afflicted.”

[2:7]  ⁴⁹ sn The general consensus is that Job was afflicted with a leprosy known as elephantiasis, named because the rough skin and the swollen limbs are animal-like. The Hebrew word שְׁחִין (shÿkhin, “boil”) can indicate an ulcer as well. Leprosy begins with such, but so do other diseases. Leprosy normally begins in the limbs and spreads, but Job was afflicted everywhere at once. It may be some other disease also characterized by such a malignant ulcer. D. J. A. Clines has a thorough bibliography on all the possible diseases linked to this description (Job [WBC], 48). See also HALOT 1460 s.v. שְׁחִין.

[2:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “crown.”

[2:8]  ⁵¹ tn The verb גָּרַד (garad) is a hapax legomenon (only occurring here). Modern Hebrew has retained a meaning “to scrape,” which is what the cognate Syriac and Arabic indicate. In the Hitpael it would mean “scrape himself.”

[2:8]  ⁵² sn The disease required constant attention. The infection and pus had to be scraped away with a piece of broken pottery in order to prevent the spread of the infection. The skin was so disfigured that even his friends did not recognize him (2:12). The book will add that the disease afflicted him inwardly, giving him a foul breath and a loathsome smell (19:17, 20). The sores bred worms; they opened and ran, and closed and tightened (16:8). He was tormented with dreams (7:14). He felt like he was choking (7:14). His bones were racked with burning pain (30:30). And he was not able to rise from his place (19:18). The disease was incurable; but it would last for years, leaving the patient longing for death.

[2:8]  ⁵³ tn The construction uses the disjunctive vav (ו) with the independent pronoun with the active participle. The construction connects this clause with what has just been said, making this a circumstantial clause.

[2:8]  ⁵⁴ sn Among the ashes. It is likely that the “ashes” refers to the place outside the city where the rubbish was collected and burnt, i.e., the ash-heap (cf. CEV). This is the understanding of the LXX, which reads “dung-hill outside the city.”

[109:6]  ⁵⁵ sn In vv. 6-19 the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies severely. Some attribute this curse-list to the psalmist’s enemies rather than the psalmist. In this case one should paraphrase v. 6: “They say about me, ‘Appoint an evil man, etc.’” Those supporting this line of interpretation point out that vv. 2-5 and 20 refer to the enemies’ attack on the psalmist being a verbal one. Furthermore in vv. 1-5, 20 the psalmist speaks of his enemies in the plural, while vv. 6-19 refer to an individual. This use of the singular in vv. 6-19 could be readily explained if this is the psalmist’s enemies’ curse on him. However, it is much more natural to understand vv. 6-19 as the psalmist’s prayer against his enemies. There is no introductory quotation formula in v. 6 to indicate that the psalmist is quoting anyone, and the statement “may the Lord repay my accusers in this way” in v. 20 most naturally appears to be a fitting conclusion to the prayer in vv. 6-19. But what about the use of the singular in vv. 6-19? Often in the psalms the psalmist will describe his enemies as a group, but then speak of them as an individual as well, as if viewing his adversaries collectively as one powerful foe. See, for example, Ps 7, where the psalmist uses both the plural (vv. 1, 6) and the singular (vv. 2, 4-5) in referring to enemies. Perhaps by using the singular in such cases, the psalmist wants to single out each enemy for individual attention, or perhaps he has one especially hostile enemy in mind who epitomizes the opposition of the whole group. This may well be the case in Ps 109. Perhaps we should understand the singular throughout vv. 6-19 in the sense of “each and every one.” For a lengthy and well-reasoned defense of the opposite view – that vv. 6-19 are a quotation of what the enemies said about the psalmist – see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 72-73.

[109:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”

[109:6]  ⁵⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).

[22:31]  ⁵⁸ tc The majority of mss (א A D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï as well as several versional witnesses) begin this verse with an introductory comment, “and the Lord said,” indicating a change in the subject of discussion. But this is apparently a reading motivated by the need for clarity. Some of the best witnesses, along with a few others (Ì⁷⁵ B L T 1241 2542^c sy^s co), do not contain these words. The abrupt shift is the more difficult reading and thus more likely to be original.

[22:31]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “behold” (for “pay attention” see L&N 91.13).

[22:31]  ⁶⁰ sn This pronoun is plural in the Greek text, so it refers to all the disciples of which Peter is the representative.

[22:31]  ⁶¹ sn Satan has demanded permission to put them to the test. The idiom “sift (someone) like wheat” is similar to the English idiom “to pick (someone) apart.” The pronoun you is implied.

[22:1]  ⁶² sn The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a week long celebration that followed the day of Passover, so one name was used for both feasts (Exod 12:1-20; 23:15; 34:18; Deut 16:1-8).

[5:8]  ⁶³ sn Lord is a term of high respect in this context. God’s presence in the work of Jesus makes Peter recognize his authority. This vocative is common in Luke (20 times), but does not yet have its full confessional force.

[5:8]  ⁶⁴ sn Peter was intimidated that someone who was obviously working with divine backing was in his presence (“Go away from me”). He feared his sinfulness might lead to judgment, but Jesus would show him otherwise.

[12:9]  ⁶⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.

[12:10]  ⁶⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:10]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.

[12:10]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[12:10]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The translation “fellow believer” would normally apply (L&N 11.23), but since the speaker(s) are not specified in this context, it is not clear if such a translation would be appropriate here. The more generic “brothers and sisters” was chosen to emphasize the fact of a relationship without specifying its type.

[12:10]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “who accuses them continually.”