Job 4:21

4:21 Is not their excess wealth ¹  taken away from them? ² 

They die, ³  yet without attaining wisdom. ⁴ 

Job 12:2

12:2 “Without a doubt you are the people, ⁵ 

and wisdom will die with you. ⁶ 

Job 13:5

13:5 If only you would keep completely silent! ⁷ 

For you, that would be wisdom. ⁸ 

Job 26:3

26:3 How you have advised the one without wisdom,

and abundantly ⁹  revealed your insight!

Job 28:12

No Price Can Buy Wisdom

28:12 “But wisdom – where can it be found?

Where is the place of understanding?

Job 28:18

28:18 Of coral and jasper no mention will be made;

the price ¹⁰  of wisdom is more than pearls. ¹¹ 

Job 28:20

God Alone Has Wisdom

28:20 “But wisdom – where does it come from? ¹² 

Where is the place of understanding?

Job 32:7

32:7 I said to myself, ‘Age ¹³  should speak, ¹⁴ 

and length of years ¹⁵  should make wisdom known.’

Job 32:13

32:13 So do not say, ¹⁶  ‘We have found wisdom!

God will refute ¹⁷  him, not man!’

Job 33:33

33:33 If not, you listen to me;

be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Job 38:37

38:37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,

and who can tip over ¹⁸  the water jars of heaven,

Job 39:17

39:17 For God deprived her of wisdom,

and did not impart understanding to her.

[4:21]  ¹ tn The word יֶתֶר (yeter, here with the suffix, יִתְרָם [yitram]) can mean “what remains” or “rope.” Of the variety of translations, the most frequently used idea seems to be “their rope,” meaning their tent cord. This would indicate that their life was compared to a tent – perfectly reasonable in a passage that has already used the image “houses of clay.” The difficulty is that the verb נָסַע (nasa’) means more properly “to tear up; to uproot.” and not “to cut off.” A similar idea is found in Isa 38:12, but there the image is explicitly that of cutting the life off from the loom. Some have posited that the original must have said their tent peg was pulled up” as in Isa 33:20 (A. B. Davidson, Job, 34; cf. NAB). But perhaps the idea of “what remains” would be easier to defend here. Besides, it is used in 22:20. The wealth of an individual is what has been acquired and usually is left over when he dies. Here it would mean that the superfluous wealth would be snatched away. The preposition בּ (bet) would carry the meaning “from” with this verb.

[4:21]  ² tc The text of the LXX does not seem to be connected to the Hebrew of v. 21a. It reads something like “for he blows on them and they are withered” (see Isa 40:24b). The Targum to Job has “Is it not by their lack of righteousness that they have been deprived of all support?”

[4:21]  ³ sn They die. This clear verb interprets all the images in these verses – they die. When the house of clay collapses, or when their excess perishes – their life is over.

[4:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “and without wisdom.” The word “attaining” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[12:2]  ⁵ tn The expression “you are the people” is a way of saying that the friends hold the popular opinion – they represent it. The line is sarcastic. Commentators do not think the parallelism is served well by this, and so offer changes for “people.” Some have suggested “you are complete” (based on Arabic), “you are the strong one” (based on Ugaritic), etc. J. A. Davies tried to solve the difficulty by making the second clause in the verse a paratactic relative clause: “you are the people with whom wisdom will die” (“Note on Job 12:2,” VT 25 [1975]: 670-71).

[12:2]  ⁶ sn The sarcasm of Job admits their claim to wisdom, as if no one has it besides them. But the rest of his speech will show that they do not have a monopoly on it.

[13:5]  ⁹ tn The construction is the imperfect verb in the wish formula preceded by the infinitive that intensifies it. The Hiphil is not directly causative here, but internally – “keep silent.”

[13:5]  ¹⁰ tn The text literally reads, “and it would be for you for wisdom,” or “that it would become your wisdom.” Job is rather sarcastic here, indicating if they shut up they would prove themselves to be wise (see Prov 17:28).

[26:3]  ¹³ tc The phrase לָרֹב (larov) means “to abundance” or “in a large quantity.” It is also used ironically like all these expressions. This makes very good sense, but some wish to see a closer parallel and so offer emendations. Reiske and Kissane thought “to the tender” for the word. But the timid are not the same as the ignorant and unwise. So Graetz supplied “to the boorish” by reading לְבָעַר (lÿba’ar). G. R. Driver did the same with less of a change: לַבּוֹר (labbor; HTR 29 [1936]: 172).

[28:18]  ¹⁷ tn The word מֶשֶׁךְ (meshekh) comes from a root meaning “to grasp; to seize; to hold,” and so the derived noun means “grasping; acquiring; taking possession,” and therefore, “price” (see the discussion in R. Gordis, Job, 309). Gray renders it “acquisition” (so A. Cohen, AJSL 40 [1923/24]: 175).

[28:18]  ¹⁸ tn In Lam 4:7 these are described as red, and so have been identified as rubies (so NIV) or corals.

[28:20]  ²¹ tn The refrain is repeated, except now the verb is תָּבוֹא (tavo’, “come”).

[32:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “days.”

[32:7]  ²⁶ tn The imperfect here is to be classified as an obligatory imperfect.

[32:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “abundance of years.”

[32:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “lest you say.” R. Gordis (Job, 368) calls this a breviloquence: “beware lest [you say].” He then suggests the best reading for their quote to be, “We have attained wisdom, but only God can refute him, not man.” H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 209) suggests the meaning is a little different, namely, that they are saying they have found wisdom in Job, and only God can deal with it. Elihu is in effect saying that they do not need God, for he is quite capable for this.

[32:13]  ³⁰ tn The root is נָדַף (nadaf, “to drive away; to drive off”). Here it is in the abstract sense of “succeed in doing something; confound,” and so “refute; rebut.” Dhorme wants to change the meaning of the word with a slight emendation in the text, deriving it from אָלַף (’alaf, “instruct”) the form becoming יַלְּפֶנוּ (yallÿfenu) instead of יִדְּפֶנּוּ (yiddÿfenu), obtaining the translation “God will instruct us.” This makes a smoother reading, but does not have much support for it.

[38:37]  ³³ tn The word actually means “to cause to lie down.”