Job 26:7

26:7 He spreads out the northern skies ¹  over empty space; ² 

he suspends the earth on nothing. ³ 

Isaiah 45:18

45:18 For this is what the Lord says,

the one who created the sky –

he is the true God, ⁴ 

the one who formed the earth and made it;

he established it,

he did not create it without order, ⁵ 

he formed it to be inhabited –

“I am the Lord, I have no peer.

Jeremiah 4:23

4:23 “I looked at the land and saw ⁶  that it was an empty wasteland. ⁷ 

I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

Nahum 2:10

2:10 Destruction, devastation, and desolation! ⁸ 

Their hearts faint, ⁹ 

their knees tremble, ¹⁰ 

each stomach churns, ¹¹  each face ¹²  turns ¹³  pale! ¹⁴ 

[26:7]  ¹ sn The Hebrew word is צָפוֹן (tsafon). Some see here a reference to Mount Zaphon of the Ugaritic texts, the mountain that Baal made his home. The Hebrew writers often equate and contrast Mount Zion with this proud mountain of the north. Of course, the word just means north, and so in addition to any connotations for pagan mythology, it may just represent the northern skies – the stars. Since the parallel line speaks of the earth, that is probably all that was intended in this particular context.

[26:7]  ² sn There is an allusion to the creation account, for this word is תֹּהוּ (tohu), translated “without form” in Gen 1:2.

[26:7]  ³ sn Buttenwieser suggests that Job had outgrown the idea of the earth on pillars, and was beginning to see it was suspended in space. But in v. 11 he will still refer to the pillars.

[45:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.

[45:18]  ⁵ tn Or “unformed.” Gen 1:2 describes the world as “unformed” (תֹהוּ, tohu) prior to God’s creative work, but God then formed the world and made it fit for habitation.

[4:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “I looked at the land and behold...” This indicates the visionary character of Jeremiah’s description of the future condition of the land of Israel.

[4:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “formless and empty.” This is a case of hendiadys (two nouns joined by “and” both describe the same thing): one noun retains its full nominal force, the other functions as an adjective. The words תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) allude to Gen 1:2, hyperbolically picturing a reversal of creation and return to the original precreation chaos.

[2:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “Emptiness and devastation and being laid waste.” Several English versions attempt to reproduce the assonance, alliteration, and paronomasia of three similarly sounding Hebrew words: בּוּקַָה וּמְבוּקָה וּמְבֻלָּקָה (buqah umÿvuqah umÿvullaqah; NJPS “Desolation, devastation, and destruction!”; NRSV: “Devastation, desolation, and destruction!”).

[2:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “and melting heart.”

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and tottering of knees.”

[2:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and shaking in all of the loins.”

[2:10]  ¹² tn Heb “all of their faces.”

[2:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “gather” or “withdraw.” The Piel perfect קִבְּצוּ (qibbÿtsu) from קָבַץ (qavats, “to gather”) may be nuanced in the intensive sense “to gather glow; to glow [in excitement]” (HALOT 1063 s.v. קבץ pi. 4) or the privative sense “to take away, withdraw” (BDB 868 s.v. קָבַץ Pi.3). The phrase קִבְּצוּ פָארוּר (qibbÿtsu pa’rur) is very difficult; it occurs only here and in Joel 2:6 which also describes the fearful facial reaction to an invading army. It probably means: (1) to grow red in fear; (2) to grow pale in fear; or (3) to turn ashen in fear. This difficult phrase may be translated by the modern English idioms: “every face grows pale” or “every face flushes red in fear.”

[2:10]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term פָּארוּר (pa’rur) occurs only here and in Joel 2:6 where it also describes a fearful facial reaction. The meaning of פָּארוּר is debated and numerous etymologies have been suggested: (1) From פָּרוּר (parur, “cooking pot”; HALOT 964 s.v. פָּרוּר): LXX τὸ πρόσωπον πάντων ὡς πρόσκαυμα ξύτρας (to proswpon pantwn Jw" proskauma xutra", “all their faces are like a blackened/burned pot”); Vulgate et facies omnium sicut nigredo ollae (“all their faces are like a black pot”); Targum Jonathan (“covered with black like a pot”). This approach is adopted by the KJV and AV: “the faces of them all gather blackness.” (2) From פְּאֵר (pÿ’er, “beauty”). Taking קָבַץ (qavats) in a private sense (“gather in”), several scholars propose: “to draw in beauty, withdraw color,” hence: “their faces grow pale” (NASB, NIV); see K&D 26:192-93; A. Haldar, Studies in the Book of Nahum, 59. (3) From פָּרַר (parar, “break in pieces”). Due to fear, their faces have gathered wrinkles. (4) From IV פּרר (“to boil”), related to Arabic ’pr and Syriac npr (“to boil”): “their faces glow red in excitement” (HALOT 860 s.v.). (5) From פּאר (“grey, ash grey”): “their faces turn grey” (J. J. Gluck, “parur – paárur: A Case of Biblical Paronomasia,” OTWSA 12 [1969]: 21-26). The NJPS translation appears to adopt this approach: “all faces turn ashen.”