Job 3:15

3:15 or with princes who possessed gold, ¹ 

who filled their palaces ²  with silver.

Job 27:16

27:16 If he piles up silver like dust

and stores up clothing like mounds of clay,

Job 28:15

28:15 Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it,

nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

Job 31:39

31:39 if I have eaten its produce without paying, ³ 

or caused the death ⁴  of its owners, ⁵ 

[3:15]  ¹ tn The expression simply has “or with princes gold to them.” The noun is defined by the noun clause serving as a relative clause (GKC 486 §155.e).

[3:15]  ² tn Heb “filled their houses.” There is no reason here to take “houses” to mean tombs; the “houses” refer to the places the princes lived (i.e., palaces). The reference is not to the practice of burying treasures with the dead. It is simply saying that if Job had died he would have been with the rich and famous in death.

[31:39]  ³ tn Heb “without silver.”

[31:39]  ⁴ tc The versions have the verb “grieved” here. The Hebrew verb means “to breathe,” but the form is Hiphil. This verb in that stem could mean something of a contemptuous gesture, like “sniff” in Mal 1:13. But with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in Job 11:20 it means “to cause death,” i.e., “to cause to breathe out; to expire.” This is likely the meaning here, although it is possible that it only meant “to cause suffering” to the people.

[31:39]  ⁵ tn There is some debate over the meaning of בְּעָלֶיהָ (bÿ’aleyha), usually translated “its owners.” Dahood, following others (although without their emendations), thought it referred to “laborers” (see M. Dahood, Bib 41 [1960]: 303; idem, Bib 43 [1962]: 362).