Job 10:22

10:22 to the land of utter darkness,

like the deepest darkness,

and the deepest shadow and disorder, ¹ 

where even the light ²  is like darkness.” ³ 

Job 31:37

31:37 I would give him an accounting of my steps;

like a prince I would approach him.

Job 35:8

35:8 Your wickedness affects only ⁴  a person like yourself,

and your righteousness only other people. ⁵ 

Job 38:14

38:14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; ⁶ 

its features ⁷  are dyed ⁸  like a garment.

Job 12:3

12:3 I also have understanding ⁹  as well as you;

I am not inferior to you. ¹⁰ 

Who does not know such things as these? ¹¹ 

Job 6:15

6:15 My brothers ¹²  have been as treacherous ¹³  as a seasonal stream, ¹⁴ 

and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams ¹⁵ 

that flow away. ¹⁶ 

Job 9:32

9:32 For he ¹⁷  is not a human being like I am,

that ¹⁸  I might answer him,

that we might come ¹⁹  together in judgment.

Job 14:9

14:9 at the scent ²⁰  of water it will flourish ²¹ 

and put forth ²²  shoots like a new plant.

Job 19:22

19:22 Why do you pursue me like God does? ²³ 

Will you never be satiated with my flesh? ²⁴ 

Job 28:5

28:5 The earth, from which food comes,

is overturned below as though by fire; ²⁵ 

Job 36:22

36:22 Indeed, God is exalted in his power;

who is a teacher ²⁶  like him?

Job 40:9

40:9 Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s, ²⁷ 

and can you thunder with a voice like his?

Job 40:17

40:17 It makes its tail stiff ²⁸  like a cedar,

the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.

Job 41:24

41:24 Its heart ²⁹  is hard as rock,

hard as a lower millstone.

Job 1:8

1:8 So the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered ³⁰  my servant Job? There ³¹  is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away ³²  from evil.”

Job 2:3

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 ³³  to his integrity, ³⁴  so that ³⁵  you stirred me up to destroy him ³⁶  without reason.” ³⁷ 

[10:22]  ¹ tn The word סֵדֶר (seder, “order”) occurs only here in the Bible. G. R. Driver found a new meaning in Arabic sadira, “dazzled by the glare” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 76-77); this would mean “without a ray of light.” This is accepted by those who see chaos out of place in this line. But the word “order” is well-attested in later Hebrew (see J. Carmignac, “Précisions aportées au vocabulaire d’hébreu biblique par La guerre des fils de lumière contre les fils de ténèbres,” VT 5 [1955]: 345-65).

[10:22]  ² tn The Hebrew word literally means “it shines”; the feminine verb implies a subject like “the light” (but see GKC 459 §144.c).

[10:22]  ³ tn The verse multiplies images for the darkness in death. Several commentators omit “as darkness, deep darkness” (כְּמוֹ אֹפֶל צַלְמָוֶת, kÿmo ’ofel tsalmavet) as glosses on the rare word עֵיפָתָה (’efatah, “darkness”) drawn from v. 21 (see also RSV). The verse literally reads: “[to the] land of darkness, like the deep darkness of the shadow of death, without any order, and the light is like the darkness.”

[35:8]  ⁴ tn The phrase “affects only” is supplied in the translation of this nominal sentence.

[35:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “and to [or for] a son of man, your righteousness.”

[38:14]  ⁷ sn The verse needs to be understood in the context: as the light shines in the dawn, the features of the earth take on a recognizable shape or form. The language is phenomenological.

[38:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the objects or features on the earth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:14]  ⁹ tc The MT reads “they stand up like a garment” (NASB, NIV) or “its features stand out like a garment” (ESV). The reference could be either to embroidered decoration on a garment or to the folds of a garment (REB: “until all things stand out like the folds of a cloak”; cf. J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 497, “the early light of day makes the earth appear as a beautiful garment, exquisite in design and glorious in color”). Since this is thought to be an odd statement, some suggest with Ehrlich that the text be changed to תִּצָּבַּע (titsabba’, “is dyed [like a garment]”). This reference would be to the colors appearing on the earth’s surface under daylight. The present translation follows the emendation.

[12:3]  ¹⁰ tn The word is literally “heart,” meaning a mind or understanding.

[12:3]  ¹¹ tn Because this line is repeated in 13:2, many commentators delete it from this verse (as does the LXX). The Syriac translates נֹפֵל (nofel) as “little,” and the Vulgate “inferior.” Job is saying that he does not fall behind them in understanding.

[12:3]  ¹² tn Heb “With whom are not such things as these?” The point is that everyone knows the things that these friends have been saying – they are commonplace.

[6:15]  ¹³ sn Here the brothers are all his relatives as well as these intimate friends of Job. In contrast to what a friend should do (show kindness/loyalty), these friends have provided no support whatsoever.

[6:15]  ¹⁴ tn The verb בָּגְדוּ (bagÿdu, “dealt treacherously) has been translated “dealt deceitfully,” but it is a very strong word. It means “to act treacherously [or deceitfully].” The deception is the treachery, because the deception is not innocent – it is in the place of a great need. The imagery will compare it to the brook that may or may not have water. If one finds no water when one expected it and needed it, there is deception and treachery. The LXX softens it considerably: “have not regarded me.”

[6:15]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term used here is נָחַל (nakhal); this word differs from words for rivers or streams in that it describes a brook with an intermittent flow of water. A brook where the waters are not flowing is called a deceitful brook (Jer 15:18; Mic 1:14); one where the waters flow is called faithful (Isa 33:16).

[6:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and as a stream bed of brooks/torrents.” The word אָפִיק (’afiq) is the river bed or stream bed where the water flows. What is more disconcerting than finding a well-known torrent whose bed is dry when one expects it to be gushing with water (E. Dhorme, Job, 86)?

[6:15]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is rather simple – יַעֲבֹרוּ (ya’avoru). But some translate it “pass away” or “flow away,” and others “overflow.” In the rainy season they are deep and flowing, or “overflow” their banks. This is a natural sense to the verb, and since the next verse focuses on this, some follow this interpretation (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 15). But this idea does not parallel the first part of v. 15. So it makes better sense to render it “flow away” and see the reference to the summer dry spells when one wants the water but is disappointed.

[9:32]  ¹⁶ tn The personal pronoun that would be expected as the subject of a noun clause is sometimes omitted (see GKC 360 §116.s). Here it has been supplied.

[9:32]  ¹⁷ tn The consecutive clause is here attached without the use of the ו (vav), but only by simple juxtaposition (see GKC 504-5 §166.a).

[9:32]  ¹⁸ tn The sense of the verb “come” with “together in judgment” means “to confront one another in court.” See Ps 143:2.

[14:9]  ¹⁹ tn The personification adds to the comparison with people – the tree is credited with the sense of smell to detect the water.

[14:9]  ²⁰ tn The sense of “flourish” for this verb is found in Ps 92:12,13[13,14], and Prov 14:11. It makes an appropriate parallel with “bring forth boughs” in the second half.

[14:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “and will make.”

[19:22]  ²² sn Strahan comments, “The whole tragedy of the book is packed into these extraordinary words.”

[19:22]  ²³ sn The idiom of eating the pieces of someone means “slander” in Aramaic (see Dan 3:8), Arabic and Akkadian.

[28:5]  ²⁵ sn The verse has been properly understood, on the whole, as comparing the earth above and all its produce with the upheaval down below.

[36:22]  ²⁸ tn The word מוֹרֶה (moreh) is the Hiphil participle from יָרַה (yarah). It is related to the noun תּוֹרָה (torah, “what is taught” i.e., the law).

[40:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “do you have an arm like God?” The words “as powerful as” have been supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.

[40:17]  ³⁴ tn The verb חָפַץ (khafats) occurs only here. It may have the meaning “to make stiff; to make taut” (Arabic). The LXX and the Syriac versions support this with “erects.” But there is another Arabic word that could be cognate, meaning “arch, bend.” This would give the idea of the tail swaying. The other reading seems to make better sense here. However, “stiff” presents a serious problem with the view that the animal is the hippopotamus.

[41:24]  ³⁷ tn The description of his heart being “hard” means that he is cruel and fearless. The word for “hard” is the word encountered before for molten or cast metal.

[1:8]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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.

[2:3]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ 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.