Job 6:23

6:23 Or ‘Deliver me ¹  from the enemy’s power, ² 

and from the hand of tyrants ³  ransom ⁴  me’?

Job 15:24

15:24 Distress and anguish ⁵  terrify him;

they prevail against him

like a king ready to launch an attack, ⁶ 

Job 38:23

38:23 which I reserve for the time of trouble,

for the day of war and battle? ⁷ 

Job 41:15

41:15 Its back ⁸  has rows of shields,

shut up closely ⁹  together as with a seal;

Job 36:16

36:16 And surely, he drew you ¹⁰  from the mouth of distress,

to a wide place, unrestricted, ¹¹ 

and to the comfort ¹²  of your table

filled with rich food. ¹³ 

[6:23]  ¹ tn The verse now gives the ultimate reason why Job might have urged his friends to make a gift – if it were possible. The LXX, avoiding the direct speech in the preceding verse and this, does make this verse the purpose statement – “to deliver from enemies….”

[6:23]  ² tn Heb “hand,” as in the second half of the verse.

[6:23]  ³ tn The עָרִיצִים (’aritsim) are tyrants, the people who inspire fear (Job 15:20; 27:13); the root verb עָרַץ (’arats) means “to terrify” (Job 13:25).

[6:23]  ⁴ tn The verb now is the imperfect; since it is parallel to the imperative in the first half of the verse it is imperfect of instruction, much like English uses the future for instruction. The verb פָּדָה (padah) means “to ransom, redeem,” often in contexts where payment is made.

[15:24]  ⁵ tn If “day and darkness” are added to this line, then this verse is made into a tri-colon – the main reason for transferring it away from the last verse. But the newly proposed reading follows the LXX structure precisely, as if that were the approved construction. The Hebrew of MT has “distress and anguish terrify him.”

[15:24]  ⁶ tn This last colon is deleted by some, moved to v. 26 by others, and the NEB puts it in brackets. The last word (translated here as “launch an attack”) occurs only here. HALOT 472 s.v. כִּידוֹר links it to an Arabic root kadara, “to rush down,” as with a bird of prey. J. Reider defines it as “perturbation” from the same root (“Etymological Studies in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 2 [1952]: 127).

[38:23]  ⁹ sn The terms translated war and battle are different Hebrew words, but both may be translated “war” or “battle” depending on the context.

[41:15]  ¹³ tc The MT has גַּאֲוָה (ga’avah, “his pride”), but the LXX, Aquila, and the Vulgate all read גַּוּוֹ (gavvo, “his back”). Almost all the modern English versions follow the variant reading, speaking about “his [or its] back.”

[41:15]  ¹⁴ tn Instead of צָר (tsar, “closely”) the LXX has צֹר (tsor, “stone”) to say that the seal was rock hard.

[36:16]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew verb means “to entice; to lure; to allure; to seduce,” but these have negative connotations. The English “to persuade; to draw” might work better. The verb is the Hiphil perfect of סוּת (sut). But the nuance of the verb is difficult. It can be equivalent to an English present expressing what God is doing (Peake). But the subject is contested as well. Since the verb usually has an evil connotation, there have been attempts to make the “plaza” the subject – “the wide place has led you astray” (Ewald).

[36:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a broad place where there is no cramping beneath [or under] it.”

[36:16]  ¹⁹ tn The word נַחַת (nakhat) could be translated “set” if it is connected with the verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest,” but then “to lay to rest, to set”). Kissane translates it “comfort.” Dhorme thinks it could come from נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”) or נָחַת (nakhat, “to descend”). But his conclusion is that it is a dittography after “under it” (p. 545).

[36:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “filled with fat.”