Job 4:9

4:9 By the breath ¹  of God they perish, ² 

and by the blast ³  of his anger they are consumed.

Job 17:5

17:5 If a man denounces his friends for personal gain, ⁴ 

the eyes of his children will fail.

Job 7:6

7:6 My days ⁵  are swifter ⁶  than a weaver’s shuttle ⁷ 

and they come to an end without hope. ⁸ 

Job 7:9

7:9 As ⁹  a cloud is dispersed and then disappears, ¹⁰ 

so the one who goes down to the grave ¹¹ 

does not come up again. ¹² 

Job 31:16

31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, ¹³ 

or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

Job 33:21

33:21 His flesh wastes away from sight,

and his bones, which were not seen,

are easily visible. ¹⁴ 

Job 36:11

36:11 If they obey and serve him,

they live out their days in prosperity

and their years in pleasantness. ¹⁵ 

Job 9:22

Accusation of God’s Justice

9:22 “It is all one! ¹⁶  That is why I say, ¹⁷ 

‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’

Job 11:20

11:20 But the eyes of the wicked fail, ¹⁸ 

and escape ¹⁹  eludes them;

their one hope ²⁰  is to breathe their last.” ²¹ 

Job 19:27

19:27 whom I will see for myself, ²² 

and whom my own eyes will behold,

and not another. ²³ 

My heart ²⁴  grows faint within me. ²⁵ 

[4:9]  ¹ tn The LXX in the place of “breath” has “word” or “command,” probably to limit the anthropomorphism. The word is מִנִּשְׁמַת (minnishmat) comprising מִן (min) + נִשְׁמַת (nishmat, the construct of נְשָׁמָה [nÿshamah]): “from/at the breath of.” The “breath of God” occurs frequently in Scripture. In Gen 2:7 it imparts life; but here it destroys it. The figure probably does indicate a divine decree from God (e.g., “depart from me”) – so the LXX may have been simply interpreting.

[4:9]  ² sn The statement is saying that if some die by misfortune it is because divine retribution or anger has come upon them. This is not necessarily the case, as the NT declares (see Luke 13:1-5).

[4:9]  ³ tn The word רוּחַ (ruakh) is now parallel to נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah); both can mean “breath” or “wind.” To avoid using “breath” for both lines, “blast” has been employed here. The word is followed by אַפוֹ (’afo) which could be translated “his anger” or “his nostril.” If “nostril” is retained, then it is a very bold anthropomorphism to indicate the fuming wrath of God. It is close to the picture of the hot wind coming off the desert to scorch the plants (see Hos 13:15).

[17:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “for a portion.” This verse is rather obscure. The words are not that difficult, but the sense of them in this context is. Some take the idea to mean “he denounces his friends for a portion,” and others have a totally different idea of “he invites his friends to share with him.” The former fits the context better, indicating that Job’s friends speak out against him for some personal gain. The second half of the verse then promises that his children will suffer loss for this attempt at gain. The line is surely proverbial. A number of other interpretations can be found in the commentaries.

[7:6]  ⁷ sn The first five verses described the painfulness of his malady, his life; now, in vv. 6-10 he will focus on the brevity of his life, and its extinction with death. He introduces the subject with “my days,” a metonymy for his whole life and everything done on those days. He does not mean individual days – they drag on endlessly.

[7:6]  ⁸ tn The verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to be light” (40:4), and then by extension “to be swift; to be rapid” (Jer 4:13; Hab 1:8).

[7:6]  ⁹ sn The shuttle is the part which runs through the meshes of the web. In Judg 16:14 it is a loom (see BDB 71 s.v. אֶרֶג), but here it must be the shuttle. Hezekiah uses the imagery of the weaver, the loom, and the shuttle for the brevity of life (see Isa 38:12). The LXX used, “My life is lighter than a word.”

[7:6]  ¹⁰ tn The text includes a wonderful wordplay on this word. The noun is תִּקְוָה (tiqvah, “hope”). But it can also have the meaning of one of its cognate nouns, קַו (qav, “thread, cord,” as in Josh 2:18,21). He is saying that his life is coming to an end for lack of thread/for lack of hope (see further E. Dhorme, Job, 101).

[7:9]  ¹⁰ tn The comparison is implied; “as” is therefore supplied in the translation.

[7:9]  ¹¹ tn The two verbs כָּלַה (kalah) and הָלַךְ (halakh) mean “to come to an end” and “to go” respectively. The picture is of the cloud that breaks up, comes to an end, is dispersed so that it is no longer a cloud; it then fades away or vanishes. This line forms a good simile for the situation of a man who comes to his end and disappears.

[7:9]  ¹² tn The noun שְׁאוֹל (shÿ’ol) can mean “the grave,” “death,” or “Sheol” – the realm of departed spirits. In Job this is a land from which there is no return (10:21 and here). It is a place of darkness and gloom (10:21-22), a place where the dead lie hidden (14:13); as a place appointed for all no matter what their standing on earth might have been (30:23). In each case the precise meaning has to be determined. Here the grave makes the most sense, for Job is simply talking about death.

[7:9]  ¹³ sn It is not correct to try to draw theological implications from this statement or the preceding verse (Rashi said Job was denying the resurrection). Job is simply stating that when people die they are gone – they do not return to this present life on earth. Most commentators and theologians believe that theological knowledge was very limited at such an early stage, so they would not think it possible for Job to have bodily resurrection in view. (See notes on ch. 14 and 19:25-27.)

[31:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”

[33:21]  ¹⁶ tc Heb “are laid bare.” This is the Qere reading; the Kethib means “bare height.” Gordis reverses the word order: “his bones are bare [i.e., crushed] so that they cannot be looked upon.” But the sense of that is not clear.

[36:11]  ¹⁹ tc Some commentators delete this last line for metrical considerations. But there is no textual evidence for the deletion; it is simply the attempt by some to make the meter rigid.

[9:22]  ²² tc The LXX omits the phrase “It is all one.” Modern scholars either omit it or transpose it for clarity.

[9:22]  ²³ tn The relationships of these clauses is in some question. Some think that the poet has inverted the first two, and so they should read, “That is why I have said: ‘It is all one.’” Others would take the third clause to be what was said.

[11:20]  ²⁵ tn The verb כָּלָה (kalah) means “to fail, cease, fade away.” The fading of the eyes, i.e., loss of sight, loss of life’s vitality, indicates imminent death.

[11:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb a “place of escape” (with this noun pattern). There is no place to escape to because they all perish.

[11:20]  ²⁷ tn The word is to be interpreted as a metonymy; it represents what is hoped for.

[11:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the breathing out of the soul”; cf. KJV, ASV “the giving up of the ghost.” The line is simply saying that the brightest hope that the wicked have is death.

[19:27]  ²⁸ tn The emphasis is on “I” and “for myself.” No other will be seeing this vindication, but Job himself will see it. Of that he is confident. Some take לִי (li, “for myself”) to mean favorable to me, or on my side (see A. B. Davidson, Job, 143). But Job is expecting (not just wishing for) a face-to-face encounter in the vindication.

[19:27]  ²⁹ tn Hitzig offered another interpretation that is somewhat forced. The “other” (זָר, zar) or “stranger” would refer to Job. He would see God, not as an enemy, but in peace.

[19:27]  ³⁰ tn Heb “kidneys,” a poetic expression for the seat of emotions.

[19:27]  ³¹ tn Heb “fail/grow faint in my breast.” Job is saying that he has expended all his energy with his longing for vindication.