Job 12:13

12:13 “With God ¹  are wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are his. ² 

Job 12:16

12:16 With him are strength and prudence; ³ 

both the one who goes astray ⁴ 

and the one who misleads are his.

Job 23:14

23:14 For he fulfills his decree against me, ⁵ 

and many such things are his plans. ⁶ 

Job 25:2

25:2 “Dominion ⁷  and awesome might ⁸  belong to ⁹  God;

he establishes peace in his heights. ¹⁰ 

Job 37:18

37:18 will you, with him, spread out ¹¹  the clouds,

solid as a mirror of molten metal?

[12:13]  ¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:13]  ² sn A. B. Davidson (Job, 91) says, “These attributes of God’s [sic] confound and bring to nought everything bearing the same name among men.”

[12:16]  ³ tn The word תּוּשִׁיָּה (tushiyyah) is here rendered “prudence.” Some object that God’s power is intended here, and so a word for power and not wisdom should be included. But v. 13 mentioned wisdom. The point is that it is God’s efficient wisdom that leads to success. One could interpret this as a metonymy of cause, the intended meaning being victory or success.

[12:16]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses a wordplay here: שֹׁגֵג (shogeg) is “the one going astray,” i.e., the one who is unable to guard and guide his life. The second word is מַשְׁגֶּה (mashgeh), from a different but historically related root שָׁגָה (shagah), which here in the Hiphil means “the one who misleads, causes to go astray.” These two words are designed to include everybody – all are under the wisdom of God.

[23:14]  ⁵ tn The text has “my decree,” which means “the decree [plan] for/against me.” The suffix is objective, equivalent to a dative of disadvantage. The Syriac and the Vulgate actually have “his decree.” R. Gordis (Job, 262) suggests taking it in the same sense as in Job 14:5: “my limit.”.

[23:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “and many such [things] are with him.”

[25:2]  ⁷ tn The word הַמְשֵׁל (hamshel) is a Hiphil infinitive absolute used as a noun. It describes the rulership or dominion that God has, that which gives power and authority.

[25:2]  ⁸ tn The word פָּחַד (pakhad) literally means “fear; dread,” but in the sense of what causes the fear or the dread.

[25:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “[are] with him.”

[25:2]  ¹⁰ sn The line says that God “makes peace in his heights.” The “heights” are usually interpreted to mean the highest heaven. There may be a reference here to combat in the spiritual world between angels and Satan. The context will show that God has a heavenly host at his disposal, and nothing in heaven or on earth can shatter his peace. “Peace” here could also signify the whole order he establishes.

[37:18]  ⁹ tn The verb means “to beat out; to flatten,” and the analogy in the next line will use molten metal. From this verb is derived the word for the “firmament” in Gen 1:6-8, that canopy-like pressure area separating water above and water below.