Job 4:11

4:11 The mighty lion ¹  perishes ²  for lack of prey,

and the cubs of the lioness ³  are scattered.

Job 29:13

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, ⁴ 

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ⁵ 

Job 30:2

30:2 Moreover, the strength of their ⁶  hands –

what use was it to me?

Men whose strength ⁷  had perished;

[4:11]  ¹ tn The word לַיִשׁ (layish) traditionally rendered “strong lion,” occurs only here and in Prov 30:30 and Isa 30:6. It has cognates in several of the Semitic languages, and so seems to indicate lion as king of the beasts.

[4:11]  ² tn The form of the verb is the Qal active participle; it stresses the characteristic action of the verb as if a standard universal truth.

[4:11]  ³ tn The text literally has “sons of the lioness.”

[29:13]  ⁴ tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).

[29:13]  ⁵ tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.

[30:2]  ⁷ tn The reference is to the fathers of the scorners, who are here regarded as weak and worthless.

[30:2]  ⁸ tn The word כֶּלַח (kelakh) only occurs in Job 5:26; but the Arabic cognate gives this meaning “strength.” Others suggest כָּלַח (kalakh, “old age”), ֹכּל־חַיִל (kol-khayil, “all vigor”), כֹּל־לֵחַ (kol-leakh, “all freshness”), and the like. But there is no reason for such emendation.