Job 6:22

Friends’ Fears

6:22 “Have I ¹  ever said, ²  ‘Give me something,

and from your fortune ³  make gifts ⁴  in my favor’?

Job 9:14

The Impossibility of Facing God in Court

9:14 “How much less, ⁵  then, can I answer him ⁶ 

and choose my words ⁷  to argue ⁸  with ⁹  him! ¹⁰ 

Job 20:7

20:7 he will perish forever, like his own excrement; ¹¹ 

those who used to see him will say, ‘Where is he?’

Job 23:6

23:6 Would he contend ¹²  with me with great power?

No, he would only pay attention to me. ¹³ 

Job 28:27

28:27 then he looked at wisdom ¹⁴  and assessed its value; ¹⁵ 

he established ¹⁶  it and examined it closely. ¹⁷ 

Job 30:31

30:31 My harp is used for ¹⁸  mourning

and my flute for the sound of weeping.

Job 31:10

31:10 then let my wife turn the millstone ¹⁹  for another man,

and may other men have sexual relations with her. ²⁰ 

Job 32:14

32:14 Job ²¹  has not directed ²²  his words to me,

and so I will not reply to him with your arguments. ²³ 

Job 35:3

35:3 But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’ ²⁴ 

and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’ ²⁵ 

[6:22]  ¹ tn The Hebrew הֲכִי (hakhi) literally says “Is it because….”

[6:22]  ² sn For the next two verses Job lashes out in sarcasm against his friends. If he had asked for charity, for their wealth, he might have expected their cold response. But all he wanted was sympathy and understanding (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 63).

[6:22]  ³ tn The word כֹּחַ (koakh) basically means “strength, force”; but like the synonym חַיִל (khayil), it can also mean “wealth, fortune.” E. Dhorme notes that to the Semitic mind, riches bring power (Job, 90).

[6:22]  ⁴ tn Or “bribes.” The verb שִׁחֲדוּ (shikhadu) means “give a שֹׁחַד (shokhad, “bribe”).” The significance is simply “make a gift” (especially in the sense of corrupting an official [Ezek 16:33]). For the spelling of the form in view of the guttural, see GKC 169 §64.a.

[9:14]  ⁵ tn The construction אַף כִּי־אָנֹכִי (’af ki ’anokhi) is an expression that means either “how much more” or “how much less.” Here it has to mean “how much less,” for if powerful forces like Rahab are crushed beneath God’s feet, how could Job contend with him?

[9:14]  ⁶ tn The imperfect verb here is to be taken with the nuance of a potential imperfect. The idea of “answer him” has a legal context, i.e., answering God in a court of law. If God is relentless in his anger toward greater powers, then Job realizes it is futile for him.

[9:14]  ⁷ sn In a legal controversy with God it would be essential to choose the correct words very carefully (humanly speaking); but the calmness and presence of mind to do that would be shattered by the overwhelming terror of God’s presence.

[9:14]  ⁸ tn The verb is supplied in this line.

[9:14]  ⁹ tn The preposition אִם (’im, “with”) carries the idea of “in contest with” in a number of passages (compare vv. 2, 3; 16:21).

[9:14]  ¹⁰ tn The LXX goes a different way after changing the first person to the third: “Oh then that he would hearken to me, or judge my cause.”

[20:7]  ⁹ tn There have been attempts to change the word here to “like a whirlwind,” or something similar. But many argue that there is no reason to remove a coarse expression from Zophar.

[23:6]  ¹³ tn The verb is now רִיב (riv) and not יָכַח (yakhakh, “contend”); רִיב (riv) means “to quarrel; to dispute; to contend,” often in a legal context. Here it is still part of Job’s questioning about this hypothetical meeting – would God contend with all his power?

[23:6]  ¹⁴ tn The verbal clause יָשִׂם בִּי (yasim bi) has been translated “he would pay [attention] to me.” Job is saying that God will not need all his power – he will just have pay attention to Job’s complaint. Job does not need the display of power – he just wants a hearing.

[28:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “it”; the referent (wisdom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:27]  ¹⁸ tn The verb סָפַר (safar) in the Piel basically means “to tell; to declare; to show” or “to count; to number.” Many commentators offer different suggestions for the translation. “Declared” (as in the RSV, NASB, and NRSV) would be the simplest – but to whom did God declare it? Besides “appraised” which is the view of Pope, Dhorme and others (cf. NAB, NIV), J. Reider has suggested “probed” (“Etymological studies in biblical Hebrew,” VT 2 [1952]: 127), Strahan has “studied,” and Kissane has “reckoned.” The difficulty is that the line has a series of verbs, which seem to build to a climax; but without more details it is hard to know how to translate them when they have such a range of meaning.

[28:27]  ¹⁹ tc The verb כּוּן (kun) means “to establish; to prepare” in this stem. There are several mss that have the form from בִּין (bin, “discern”), giving “he discerned it,” making more of a parallel with the first colon. But the weight of the evidence supports the traditional MT reading.

[28:27]  ²⁰ tn The verb חָקַר (khaqar) means “to examine; to search out.” Some of the language used here is anthropomorphic, for the sovereign Lord did not have to research or investigate wisdom. The point is that it is as if he did this human activity, meaning that as in the results of such a search God knows everything about wisdom.

[30:31]  ²¹ tn The verb הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) followed by the preposition ל (lamed) means “to serve the purpose of” (see Gen 1:14ff., 17:7, etc.).

[31:10]  ²⁵ tn Targum Job interpreted the verb טָחַן (takhan, “grind”) in a sexual sense, and this has influenced other versions and commentaries. But the literal sense fits well in this line. The idea is that she would be a slave for someone else. The second line of the verse then might build on this to explain what kind of a slave – a concubine (see A. B. Davidson, Job, 215).

[31:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “bow down over her,” an idiom for sexual relations.

[32:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Job) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:14]  ³⁰ tn The verb עַרַךְ (’arakh) means “to arrange in order; to set forth; to direct; to marshal.” It is used in military contexts for setting the battle array; it is used in legal settings for preparing the briefs.

[32:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “your words.”

[35:3]  ³³ tn The referent of “you” is usually understood to be God.

[35:3]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew text merely says, “What do I gain from my sin?” But Job has claimed that he has not sinned, and so this has to be elliptical: “more than if I had sinned” (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 224). It could also be, “What do I gain without sin?”