Job 16:4

16:4 I also could speak ¹  like you,

if ²  you were in my place;

I could pile up ³  words against you

and I could shake my head at you. ⁴ 

Psalms 22:7-8

22:7 All who see me taunt ⁵  me;

they mock me ⁶  and shake their heads. ⁷ 

22:8 They say, ⁸ 

“Commit yourself ⁹  to the Lord!

Let the Lord ¹⁰  rescue him!

Let the Lord ¹¹  deliver him, for he delights in him.” ¹² 

Isaiah 37:22

37:22 this is what the Lord says about him: ¹³ 

“The virgin daughter Zion ¹⁴ 

despises you – she makes fun of you;

daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head after you. ¹⁵ 

Lamentations 2:15

ס (Samek)

2:15 All who passed by on the road

clapped their hands to mock you. ¹⁶ 

They sneered and shook their heads

at Daughter Jerusalem.

“Ha! Is this the city they called ¹⁷ 

‘The perfection of beauty, ¹⁸ 

the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” ¹⁹ 

Matthew 27:39

27:39 Those ²⁰  who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads

[16:4]  ¹ tn For the use of the cohortative in the apodosis of conditional sentences, see GKC 322 §109.f.

[16:4]  ² tn The conjunction לוּ (lu) is used to introduce the optative, a condition that is incapable of fulfillment (see GKC 494-95 §159.l).

[16:4]  ³ tn This verb אַחְבִּירָה (’akhbirah) is usually connected to חָבַר (khavar, “to bind”). There are several suggestions for this word. J. J. Finkelstein proposed a second root, a homonym, meaning “to make a sound,” and so here “to harangue” (“Hebrew habar and Semitic HBR,” JBL 75 [1956]: 328-31; see also O. Loretz, “HBR in Job 16:4,” CBQ 23 [1961]: 293-94, who renders it “I could make noisy speeches”). Other suggestions have been for new meanings based on cognate studies, such as “to make beautiful” (i.e., make polished speeches).

[16:4]  ⁴ sn The action is a sign of mockery (see Ps 22:7[8]; Isa 37:22; Matt 27:39).

[22:7]  ⁵ tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”

[22:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.

[22:7]  ⁷ sn Shake their heads. Apparently this refers to a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 109:25; Lam 2:15.

[22:8]  ⁸ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons. The psalmist here quotes the sarcastic taunts of his enemies.

[22:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “roll [yourself].” The Hebrew verb גלל here has the sense of “commit” (see Prov 16:3). The imperatival form in the Hebrew text indicates the enemies here address the psalmist. Since they refer to him in the third person in the rest of the verse, some prefer to emend the verb to a perfect, “he commits himself to the Lord.”

[22:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:8]  ¹² tn That is, “for he [the Lord] delights in him [the psalmist].” For other cases where the expression “delight in” refers to God’s delight in a person, see Num 14:8; 1 Kgs 10:9; Pss 18:19; 40:8.

[37:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”

[37:22]  ¹⁴ sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.

[37:22]  ¹⁵ sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.

[2:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).

[2:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “of which they said.”

[2:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.

[2:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.

[27:39]  ²⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.