Job 18:13

18:13 It eats away parts of his skin; ¹ 

the most terrible death ²  devours his limbs.

Job 15:34

15:34 For the company of the godless is barren, ³ 

and fire ⁴  consumes the tents of those who accept bribes. ⁵ 

Job 31:12

31:12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction, ⁶ 

and it would uproot ⁷  all my harvest.

Job 22:20

22:20 ‘Surely our enemies ⁸  are destroyed,

and fire consumes their wealth.’

Job 24:19

24:19 The drought as well as the heat carry away

the melted snow; ⁹ 

so the grave ¹⁰  takes away those who have sinned. ¹¹ 

Job 39:24

39:24 In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground; ¹² 

it cannot stand still ¹³  when the trumpet is blown.

Job 15:30

15:30 He will not escape the darkness; ¹⁴ 

a flame will wither his shoots

and he will depart

by the breath of God’s mouth. ¹⁵ 

[18:13]  ¹ tn The expression “the limbs of his skin” makes no sense, unless a poetic meaning of “parts” (or perhaps “layers”) is taken. The parallelism has “his skin” in the first colon, and “his limbs” in the second. One plausible suggestion is to take בַּדֵּי (badde, “limbs of”) in the first part to be בִּדְוָי (bidvay, “by a disease”; Dhorme, Wright, RSV). The verb has to be made passive, however. The versions have different things: The LXX has “let the branches of his feet be eaten”; the Syriac has “his cities will be swallowed up by force”; the Vulgate reads “let it devour the beauty of his skin”; and Targum Job has “it will devour the linen garments that cover his skin.”

[18:13]  ² tn The “firstborn of death” is the strongest child of death (Gen 49:3), or the deadliest death (like the “firstborn of the poor, the poorest). The phrase means the most terrible death (A. B. Davidson, Job, 134).

[15:34]  ³ tn The LXX renders this line: “for death is the witness of an ungodly man. “Death” represents “barren/sterile,” and “witness” represents “assembly.”

[15:34]  ⁴ sn This may refer to the fire that struck Job (cf. 1:16).

[15:34]  ⁵ tn Heb “the tents of bribery.” The word “bribery” can mean a “gift,” but most often in the sense of a bribe in court. It indicates that the wealth and the possessions that the wicked man has gained may have been gained unjustly.

[31:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “to Abaddon.”

[31:12]  ⁶ tn The verb means “to root out,” but this does not fit the parallelism with fire. Wright changed two letters and the vowels in the verb to get the root צָרַף (tsaraf, “to burn”). The NRSV has “burn to the root.”

[22:20]  ⁷ tc The word translated “our enemies” is found only here. The word means “hostility,” but used here as a collective for those who are hostile – “enemies.” Some commentators follow the LXX and read “possessions,” explaining its meaning and derivation in different ways. Gordis simply takes the word in the text and affirms that this is the meaning. On the other hand, to get this, E. Dhorme (Job, 336) repoints קִימָנוּ (qimanu) of the MT to יְקוּמַם (yÿqumam), arguing that יְקוּם (yÿqum) means “what exists [or has substance]” (although that is used of animals). He translates: “have not their possessions been destroyed.”

[24:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “the waters of the snow.”

[24:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “so Sheol.”

[24:19]  ¹¹ tn This is the meaning of the verse, which in Hebrew only has “The grave / they have sinned.”

[39:24]  ¹¹ tn “Swallow the ground” is a metaphor for the horse’s running. Gray renders the line: “quivering and excited he dashes into the fray.”

[39:24]  ¹² tn The use of אָמַן (’aman) in the Hiphil in this place is unique. Such a form would normally mean “to believe.” But its basic etymological meaning comes through here. The verb means “to be firm; to be reliable; to be dependable.” The causative here would mean “to make firm” or “to stand firm.”

[15:30]  ¹³ tn Some editions and commentators delete the first line of this verse, arguing that it is simply a paraphrase of v. 22a, and that it interrupts the comparison with a tree that falls (although that comparison only starts next).

[15:30]  ¹⁴ tn This last line in the verse is the difficult one. The MT has “he shall depart by the breath of his mouth.” If this reading stands, then it must be understood that it is the breath of God’s mouth that is intended. In place of “his mouth” the LXX has “flower” (reading פִּרהוֹ [pirho, properly, “his fruit”] instead of פִּיו piv), and “fall” instead of “depart.” Modern commentators and a number of English versions (e.g., RSV, NRSV, TEV) alter יָסוּר (yasur, “depart”) to something like יְסֹעַר (yÿso’ar, from סָעַר [sa’ar, “to drive away”]), or the like, to get “will be swept away.” The result is a reading: “and his blossom will be swept away by the wind.” The LXX may have read the Hebrew exactly, but harmonized it with v. 33 (see H. Heater, A Septuagint Translation Technique in the Book of Job [CBQMS]: 61-62).