Job 13:11

13:11 Would not his splendor ¹  terrify ²  you

and the fear he inspires ³  fall on you?

Job 13:20-22

13:20 Only in two things spare me, ⁴  O God, ⁵ 

and then I will not hide from your face:

13:21 Remove ⁶  your hand ⁷  far from me

and stop making me afraid with your terror. ⁸ 

13:22 Then call, ⁹  and I will answer,

or I will speak, and you respond to me.

Job 23:15

23:15 That is why I am terrified in his presence;

when I consider, I am afraid because of him.

Job 31:23

31:23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me, ¹⁰ 

and by reason of his majesty ¹¹  I was powerless.

Job 33:7

33:7 Therefore no fear of me should terrify you,

nor should my pressure ¹²  be heavy on you. ¹³ 

Job 37:1

37:1 At this also my heart pounds

and leaps from its place.

Psalms 39:10

39:10 Please stop wounding me! ¹⁴ 

You have almost beaten me to death! ¹⁵ 

Psalms 90:11

90:11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger? ¹⁶ 

Your raging fury causes people to fear you. ¹⁷ 

[13:11]  ¹ sn The word translated “his majesty” or “his splendor” (שְׂאֵתוֹ, sÿ’eto) forms a play on the word “show partiality” (תִּשָּׂאוּן, tissa’un) in the last verse. They are both from the verb נָשַׂא (nasa’, “to lift up”).

[13:11]  ² tn On this verb in the Piel, see 7:14.

[13:11]  ³ tn Heb “His dread”; the suffix is a subjective genitive.

[13:20]  ⁴ tn The line reads “do not do two things.”

[13:20]  ⁵ tn “God” is supplied to the verse, for the address is now to him. Job wishes to enter into dispute with God, but he first appeals that God not take advantage of him with his awesome power.

[13:21]  ⁶ tn The imperative הַרְחַק (harkhaq, “remove”; GKC 98 §29.q), from רָחַק (rakhaq, “far, be far”) means “take away [far away]; to remove.”

[13:21]  ⁷ sn This is a common, but bold, anthropomorphism. The fact that the word used is כַּף (kaf, properly “palm”) rather than יָד (yad, “hand,” with the sense of power) may stress Job’s feeling of being trapped or confined (see also Ps 139:5, 7).

[13:21]  ⁸ tn See Job 9:34.

[13:22]  ⁹ tn The imperatives in the verse function like the future tense in view of their use for instruction or advice. The chiastic arrangement of the verb forms is interesting: imperative + imperfect, imperfect + imperative. The imperative is used for God, but the imperfect is used when Job is the subject. Job is calling for the court to convene – he will be either the defendant or the prosecutor.

[31:23]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX has “For the terror of God restrained me.” Several commentators changed it to “came upon me.” Driver had “The fear of God was burdensome.” I. Eitan suggested “The terror of God was mighty upon me” (“Two unknown verbs: etymological studies,” JBL 42 [1923]: 22-28). But the MT makes clear sense as it stands.

[31:23]  ¹¹ tn The form is וּמִשְּׂאֵתוֹ (umissÿ’eto); the preposition is causal. The form, from the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to raise; to lift high”), refers to God’s exalted person, his majesty (see Job 13:11).

[33:7]  ¹² tc The noun means “my pressure; my burden” in the light of the verb אָכֲף (’akhaf, “to press on; to grip tightly”). In the parallel passages the text used “hand” and “rod” in the hand to terrify. The LXX has “hand” here for this word. But simply changing it to “hand” is ruled out because the verb is masculine.

[33:7]  ¹³ tn See Job 9:34 and 13:21.

[39:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “remove from upon me your wound.”

[39:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from the hostility of your hand I have come to an end.”

[90:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Who knows the strength of your anger?”

[90:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and like your fear [is] your raging fury.” Perhaps one should emend וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ (ukhyir’otekh, “and like your fear”) to יִרְאָתְךְ (yir’otkh, “your fear”), understanding a virtual dittography (אַפֶּךָ וּכְיִרְאָתְךְ, ’apekha ukhyir’otekh) to have occurred. In this case the psalmist asserts “your fear [is] your raging fury,” that is, your raging fury is what causes others to fear you. The suffix on “fear” is understood as objective.