Job 12:9

12:9 Which of all these ¹  does not know

that the hand of the Lord ²  has done ³  this,

Job 18:21

18:21 ‘Surely such is the residence ⁴  of an evil man;

and this is the place of one who has not known God.’” ⁵ 

Job 33:29

Elihu’s Appeal to Job ⁶ 

33:29 “Indeed, God does all these things,

twice, three times, in his dealings ⁷  with a person,

[12:9]  ¹ tn This line could also be translated “by all these,” meaning “who is not instructed by nature?” (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 93). But D. J. A. Clines points out that the verses have presented the animals as having knowledge and communicating it, so the former reading would be best (Job [WBC], 279).

[12:9]  ² tc Some commentators have trouble with the name “Yahweh” in this verse, which is not the pattern in the poetic section of Job. Three mss of Kennicott and two of de Rossi have “God.” If this is so the reminiscence of Isaiah 41:20 led the copyist to introduce the tetragrammaton. But one could argue equally that the few mss with “God” were the copyists’ attempt to correct the text in accord with usage elsewhere.

[12:9]  ³ sn The expression “has done this” probably refers to everything that has been discussed, namely, the way that God in his wisdom rules over the world, but specifically it refers to the infliction of suffering in the world.

[18:21]  ⁴ tn The term is in the plural, “the tabernacles”; it should be taken as a plural of local extension (see GKC 397 §124.b).

[18:21]  ⁵ tn The word “place” is in construct; the clause following it replaces the genitive: “this is the place of – he has not known God.”

[33:29]  ⁷ sn Elihu will repeat these instructions for Job to listen, over and over in painful repetition. See note on the heading to 32:1.

[33:29]  ⁸ tn The phrase “in his dealings” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarification.