Job 19:9

19:9 He has stripped me of my honor

and has taken the crown off my head. ¹ 

Job 20:6

20:6 Even though his stature ²  reaches to the heavens

and his head touches the clouds,

Job 29:3

29:3 when ³  he caused ⁴  his lamp ⁵ 

to shine upon my head,

and by his light

I walked ⁶  through darkness; ⁷ 

Job 41:7

41:7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons

or its head with fishing spears?

Job 1:20

1:20 Then Job got up ⁸  and tore his robe. ⁹  He shaved his head, ¹⁰  and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground. ¹¹ 

Job 10:15

10:15 If I am guilty, ¹²  woe ¹³  to me,

and if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head; ¹⁴ 

I am full of shame, ¹⁵ 

and satiated with my affliction. ¹⁶ 

Job 12:24

12:24 He deprives the leaders of the earth ¹⁷ 

of their understanding; ¹⁸ 

he makes them wander

in a trackless desert waste. ¹⁹ 

Job 22:12

22:12 “Is not God on high in heaven? ²⁰ 

And see ²¹  the lofty stars, ²²  how high they are!

Job 24:24

24:24 They are exalted for a little while,

and then they are gone, ²³ 

they are brought low ²⁴  like all others,

and gathered in, ²⁵ 

and like a head of grain they are cut off.’ ²⁶ 

Job 29:25

29:25 I chose ²⁷  the way for them ²⁸ 

and sat as their chief; ²⁹ 

I lived like a king among his troops;

I was like one who comforts mourners. ³⁰ 

Job 2:12

2:12 But when they gazed intently ³¹  from a distance but did not recognize ³²  him, they began to weep loudly. Each of them tore his robes, and they threw dust into the air over their heads. ³³ 

Job 16:4

16:4 I also could speak ³⁴  like you,

if ³⁵  you were in my place;

I could pile up ³⁶  words against you

and I could shake my head at you. ³⁷ 

Job 1:17

1:17 While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “The Chaldeans ³⁸  formed three bands and made a raid ³⁹  on the camels and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! ⁴⁰  And I – only I alone – escaped to tell you!”

[19:9]  ¹ sn The images here are fairly common in the Bible. God has stripped away Job’s honorable reputation. The crown is the metaphor for the esteem and dignity he once had. See 29:14; Isa 61:3; see Ps 8:5 [6].

[20:6]  ² tn The word שִׂיא (si’) has been connected with the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift up”), and so interpreted here as “pride.” The form is parallel to “head” in the next part, and so here it refers to his stature, the part that rises up and is crowned. But the verse does describe the pride of such a person, with his head in the heavens.

[29:3]  ³ tn This clause is in apposition to the preceding (see GKC 426 §131.o). It offers a clarification.

[29:3]  ⁴ tn The form בְּהִלּוֹ (bÿhillo) is unusual; it should be parsed as a Hiphil infinitive construct with the elision of the ה (he). The proper spelling would have been with a ַ (patakh) under the preposition, reflecting הַהִלּוֹ (hahillo). If it were Qal, it would just mean “when his light shone.”

[29:3]  ⁵ sn Lamp and light are symbols of God’s blessings of life and all the prosperous and good things it includes.

[29:3]  ⁶ tn Here too the imperfect verb is customary – it describes action that was continuous, but in a past time.

[29:3]  ⁷ tn The accusative (“darkness”) is here an adverbial accusative of place, namely, “in the darkness,” or because he was successfully led by God’s light, “through the darkness” (see GKC 374 §118.h).

[1:20]  ⁴ tn The verb וַיָּקָם (vayyaqom, “and he arose”) indicates the intentionality and the rapidity of the actions to follow. It signals the beginning of his response to the terrible news. Therefore, the sentence could be translated, “Then Job immediately began to tear his robe.”

[1:20]  ⁵ sn It was the custom to tear the robe in a time of mourning, to indicate that the heart was torn (Joel 2:13). The “garment, mantel” here is the outer garment frequently worn over the basic tunic. See further D. R. Ap-Thomas, “Notes on Some Terms Relating to Prayer,” VT 6 (1956): 220-24.

[1:20]  ⁶ sn In mourning one normally put off every adornment that enhanced or embellished the person, including that which nature provided (Jer 7:29; Mic 1:16).

[1:20]  ⁷ tn This last verb is the Hishtaphel of the word חָוָה (khavah; BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחָה); it means “to prostrate oneself, to cause oneself to be low to the ground.” In the OT it is frequently translated “to worship” because that is usually why the individual would kneel down and then put his or her forehead to the ground at the knees. But the word essentially means “to bow down to the ground.” Here “worship” (although employed by several English translations, cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, CEV) conveys more than what is taking place – although Job’s response is certainly worshipful. See G. I. Davies, “A Note on the Etymology of histah^awah,” VT 29 (1979): 493-95; and J. A. Emerton, “The Etymology of histah^awah,” OTS (1977): 41-55.

[10:15]  ⁵ sn The verbs “guilty” and “innocent” are actually the verbs “I am wicked,” and “I am righteous.”

[10:15]  ⁶ tn The exclamation occurs only here and in Mic 7:1.

[10:15]  ⁷ sn The action of lifting up the head is a symbol of pride and honor and self-respect (Judg 8:28) – like “hold your head high.” In 11:15 the one who is at peace with God lifts his head (face).

[10:15]  ⁸ tn The expression שְׂבַע קָלוֹן (sÿva’ qalon) may be translated “full of shame.” The expression literally means “sated of ignominy” (or contempt [קַלַל, qalal]).

[10:15]  ⁹ tn The last clause is difficult to fit into the verse. It translates easily enough: “and see my affliction.” Many commentators follow the suggestion of Geiger to read רְוֶה (rÿveh, “watered with”) instead of רְאֵה (rÿ’eh, “see”). This could then be interpreted adjectivally and parallel to the preceding line: “steeped/saturated with affliction.” This would also delete the final yod as dittography (E. Dhorme, Job, 152). But D. J. A. Clines notes more recent interpretations that suggest the form in the text is an orthographic variant of raweh meaning “satiated.” This makes any emendation unnecessary (and in fact that idea of “steeped” was not helpful any way because it indicated imbibing rather than soaking). The NIV renders it “and drowned in my affliction” although footnoting the other possibility from the MT, “aware of my affliction” (assuming the form could be adjectival). The LXX omits the last line.

[12:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “the heads of the people of the earth.”

[12:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “heart.”

[12:24]  ⁸ tn The text has בְּתֹהוּ לֹא־דָרֶךְ (bÿtohu lo’ darekh): “in waste – no way,” or “in a wasteland [where there is] no way,” thus, “trackless” (see the discussion of negative attributes using לֹא [lo’] in GKC 482 §152.u).

[22:12]  ⁷ tn This reading preserves the text as it is. The nouns “high” and “heavens” would then be taken as adverbial accusatives of place (see GKC 373-74 §118.g).

[22:12]  ⁸ tn The parallel passage in Isa 40:26-27, as well as the context here, shows that the imperative is to be retained here. The LXX has “he sees.”

[22:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “head of the stars.”

[24:24]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew throughout this section (vv. 18-24) interchanges the singular and the plural. Here again we have “they are exalted…but he is not.” The verse is clear nonetheless: the wicked rise high, and then suddenly they are gone.

[24:24]  ⁹ tn The verb is the Hophal of the rare verb מָכַךְ (makhakh), which seems to mean “to bend; to collapse.” The text would read “they are made to collapse like all others.” There is no reason here to change “like others” just because the MT is banal. But many do, following the LXX with “like mallows.” The LXX was making a translation according to sense. R. Gordis (Job, 271) prefers “like grass.”

[24:24]  ¹⁰ tn The verb קָפַץ (qafats) actually means “to shut in,” which does not provide exactly the idea of being gathered, not directly at least. But a change to קָטַף (qataf, “pluck”) while attractive, is not necessary.

[24:24]  ¹¹ sn This marks the end of the disputed section, taken here to be a quotation by Job of their sentiments.

[29:25]  ⁹ tn All of these imperfects describe what Job used to do, and so they all fit the category of customary imperfect.

[29:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their way.”

[29:25]  ¹¹ tn The text simply has “and I sat [as their] head.” The adverbial accusative explains his role, especially under the image of being seated. He directed the deliberations as a king directs an army.

[29:25]  ¹² tc Most commentators think this last phrase is odd here, and so they either delete it altogether, or emend it to fit the idea of the verse. Ewald, however, thought it appropriate as a transition to the next section, reminding his friends that unlike him, they were miserable comforters. Herz made the few changes in the text to get the reading “where I led them, they were willing to go” (ZAW 20 [1900]: 163). The two key words in the MT are אֲבֵלִים יְנַחֵם (’avelim yÿnakhem, “he [one who] comforts mourners”). Following Herz, E. Dhorme (Job, 422) has these changed to אוֹבִילֵם יִנַּחוּ (’ovilem yinnakhu). R. Gordis has “like one leading a camel train” (Job, 324). But Kissane also retains the line as a summary of the chapter, noting its presence in the versions.

[2:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they lifted up their eyes.” The idiom “to lift up the eyes” (or “to lift up the voice”) is intended to show a special intensity in the effort. Here it would indicate that they were trying to see Job from a great distance away.

[2:12]  ¹¹ tn The Hiphil perfect here should take the nuance of potential perfect – they were not able to recognize him. In other words, this does not mean that they did not know it was Job, only that he did not look anything like the Job they knew.

[2:12]  ¹² tn Heb “they tossed dust skyward over their heads.”

[16:4]  ¹¹ tn For the use of the cohortative in the apodosis of conditional sentences, see GKC 322 §109.f.

[16:4]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ sn The action is a sign of mockery (see Ps 22:7[8]; Isa 37:22; Matt 27:39).

[1:17]  ¹² sn The name may have been given to the tribes that roamed between the Euphrates and the lands east of the Jordan. These are possibly the nomadic Kaldu who are part of the ethnic Aramaeans. The LXX simply has “horsemen.”

[1:17]  ¹³ tn The verb פָּשַׁט (pashat) means “to hurl themselves” upon something (see Judg 9:33, 41). It was a quick, plundering raid to carry off the camels.

[1:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “with the edge/mouth of the sword.”