Job 29:20

29:20 My glory ¹  will always be fresh ²  in me,

and my bow ever new in my hand.’

Job 32:19

32:19 Inside I am like wine which has no outlet, ³ 

like new wineskins ⁴  ready to burst!

Job 10:17

10:17 You bring new witnesses ⁵  against me,

and increase your anger against me;

relief troops ⁶  come against me.

Job 14:7

The Inevitability of Death

14:7 “But there is hope for ⁷  a tree: ⁸ 

If it is cut down, it will sprout again,

and its new shoots will not fail.

Job 14:9

14:9 at the scent ⁹  of water it will flourish ¹⁰ 

and put forth ¹¹  shoots like a new plant.

Job 17:9

17:9 But the righteous man holds to his way,

and the one with clean hands grows stronger. ¹² 

[29:20]  ¹ tn The word is “my glory,” meaning his high respect and his honor. Hoffmann proposed to read כִּידוֹן (kidon) instead, meaning “javelin” (as in 1 Sam 17:6), to match the parallelism (RQ 3 [1961/62]: 388). But the parallelism does not need to be so tight.

[29:20]  ² tn Heb “new.”

[32:19]  ³ tn Heb “in my belly I am like wine that is not opened” (a Niphal imperfect), meaning sealed up with no place to escape.

[32:19]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text has כְּאֹבוֹת חֲדָשִׁים (kÿ’ovot khadashim), traditionally rendered “like new wineskins.” But only here does the phrase have this meaning. The LXX has “smiths” for “new,” thus “like smith’s bellows.” A. Guillaume connects the word with an Arabic word for a wide vessel for wine shaped like a cup (“Archaeological and philological note on Job 32:19,” PEQ 93 [1961]: 147-50). Some have been found in archaeological sites. The poor would use skins, the rich would use jars. The key to putting this together is the verb at the end of the line, יִבָּקֵעַ (yibbaqea’, “that are ready to burst”). The point of the statement is that Elihu is bursting to speak, and until now has not had the opening.

[10:17]  ⁵ tn The text has “you renew/increase your witnesses.” This would probably mean Job’s sufferings, which were witness to his sins. But some suggested a different word here, one that is cognate to Arabic ’adiya, “to be an enemy; to be hostile”: thus “you renew your hostility against me.” Less convincing are suggestions that the word is cognate to Ugaritic “troops” (see W. G. E. Watson, “The Metaphor in Job 10,17,” Bib 63 [1982]: 255-57).

[10:17]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew simply says “changes and a host are with me.” The “changes and a host” is taken as a hendiadys, meaning relieving troops (relief troops of the army). The two words appear together again in 14:14, showing that emendation is to be avoided. The imagery depicts blow after blow from God – always fresh attacks.

[14:7]  ⁷ tn The genitive after the construct is one of advantage – it is hope for the tree.

[14:7]  ⁸ sn The figure now changes to a tree for the discussion of the finality of death. At least the tree will sprout again when it is cut down. Why, Job wonders, should what has been granted to the tree not also be granted to humans?

[14:9]  ⁹ tn The personification adds to the comparison with people – the tree is credited with the sense of smell to detect the water.

[14:9]  ¹⁰ tn The sense of “flourish” for this verb is found in Ps 92:12,13[13,14], and Prov 14:11. It makes an appropriate parallel with “bring forth boughs” in the second half.

[14:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and will make.”

[17:9]  ¹¹ tn The last two words are the imperfect verb יֹסִיף (yosif) which means “he adds,” and the abstract noun “energy, strength.” This noun is not found elsewhere; its Piel verb occurs in Job 4:4 and 16:5. “he increases strength.”