Job 18:8-10

18:8 For he has been thrown into a net by his feet ¹ 

and he wanders into a mesh. ² 

18:9 A trap ³  seizes him by the heel;

a snare ⁴  grips him.

18:10 A rope is hidden for him ⁵  on the ground

and a trap for him ⁶  lies on the path.

[18:8]  ¹ tn See Ps 25:15.

[18:8]  ² tn The word שְׂבָכָה (sÿvakhah) is used in scripture for the lattice window (2 Kgs 1:2). The Arabic cognate means “to be intertwined.” So the term could describe a net, matting, grating, or lattice. Here it would be the netting stretched over a pit.

[18:9]  ³ tn This word פָּח (pakh) specifically refers to the snare of the fowler – thus a bird trap. But its plural seems to refer to nets in general (see Job 22:10).

[18:9]  ⁴ tn This word does not occur elsewhere. But another word from the same root means “plait of hair,” and so this term has something to do with a net like a trellis or lattice.

[18:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “his rope.” The suffix must be a genitive expressing that the trap was for him, to trap him, and so an objective genitive.

[18:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “his trap.” The pronominal suffix is objective genitive here as well.