Job 18:16

18:16 Below his roots dry up,

and his branches wither above.

Job 26:5

A Better Description of God’s Greatness ¹ 

26:5 “The dead ²  tremble ³  –

those beneath the waters

and all that live in them. ⁴ 

Job 30:7

30:7 They brayed ⁵  like animals among the bushes

and were huddled together ⁶  under the nettles.

Job 30:14

30:14 They come in as through a wide breach;

amid the crash ⁷  they come rolling in. ⁸ 

Job 34:26

34:26 He strikes them for their wickedness, ⁹ 

in a place where people can see, ¹⁰ 

Job 36:20

36:20 Do not long for the cover of night

to drag people away from their homes. ¹¹ 

Job 40:21

40:21 Under the lotus trees it lies,

in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh.

[26:5]  ¹ sn This is the section, Job 26:5-14, that many conclude makes better sense coming from the friend. But if it is attributed to Job, then he is showing he can surpass them in his treatise of the greatness of God.

[26:5]  ² tn The text has הָרְפָאִים (harÿfa’im, “the shades”), referring to the “dead,” or the elite among the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14; Ps 88:10 [11]). For further discussion, start with A. R. Johnson, The Vitality of the Individual, 88ff.

[26:5]  ³ tn The verb is a Polal from חִיל (khil) which means “to tremble.” It shows that even these spirits cannot escape the terror.

[26:5]  ⁴ tc Most commentators wish to lengthen the verse and make it more parallel, but nothing is gained by doing this.

[30:7]  ¹ tn The verb נָהַק (nahaq) means “to bray.” It has cognates in Arabic, Aramaic, and Ugaritic, so there is no need for emendation here. It is the sign of an animal’s hunger. In the translation the words “like animals” are supplied to clarify the metaphor for the modern reader.

[30:7]  ² tn The Pual of the verb סָפַח (safakh, “to join”) also brings out the passivity of these people – “they were huddled together” (E. Dhorme, Job, 434).

[30:14]  ¹ tn The MT has “under the crash,” with the idea that they rush in while the stones are falling around them (which is continuing the figure of the military attack). G. R. Driver took the expression to mean in a temporal sense “at the moment of the crash” (AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 163-64). Guillaume, drawing from Arabic, has “where the gap is made.”

[30:14]  ² tn The verb, the Hitpalpel of גָּלַל (galal), means “they roll themselves.” This could mean “they roll themselves under the ruins” (Dhorme), “they roll on like a storm” (Gordis), or “they roll on” as in waves of enemy attackers (see H. H. Rowley). This particular verb form is found only here (but see Amos 5:24).

[34:26]  ¹ tn Heb “under wicked men,” or “under wickednesses.” J. C. Greenfield shows that the preposition can mean “among” as well (“Prepositions B Tachat in Jes 57:5,” ZAW 32 [1961]: 227). That would allow “among wicked men.” It could also be “instead of” or even “in return for [their wickedness]” which is what the RSV does.

[34:26]  ² tn The text simply uses רֹאִים (ro’im): “[in the place where there are] seers,” i.e., spectators.

[36:20]  ¹ tn The meaning of this line is difficult. There are numerous suggestions for emending the text. Kissane takes the first verb in the sense of “oppress,” and for “the night” he has “belonging to you,” meaning “your people.” This reads: “Oppress not them that belong not to you, that your kinsmen may mount up in their place.”