Job 9:4

9:4 He is wise in heart ¹  and mighty ²  in strength ³  –

who has resisted ⁴  him and remained safe? ⁵ 

Job 11:19

11:19 You will lie down with ⁶  no one to make you afraid,

and many will seek your favor. ⁷ 

Job 13:13

13:13 “Refrain from talking ⁸  with me so that ⁹  I may speak;

then let come to me ¹⁰  what may. ¹¹ 

Job 14:20

14:20 You overpower him once for all, ¹² 

and he departs;

you change ¹³  his appearance

and send him away.

Job 16:10

16:10 People ¹⁴  have opened their mouths against me,

they have struck my cheek in scorn; ¹⁵ 

they unite ¹⁶  together against me.

Job 28:5

28:5 The earth, from which food comes,

is overturned below as though by fire; ¹⁷ 

Job 30:12

30:12 On my right the young rabble ¹⁸  rise up;

they drive me from place to place, ¹⁹ 

and build up siege ramps ²⁰  against me. ²¹ 

Job 31:14

31:14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; ²² 

when he intervenes, ²³ 

how will I respond to him?

Job 31:36

31:36 Surely ²⁴  I would wear it proudly ²⁵  on my shoulder,

I would bind ²⁶  it on me like a crown;

Job 41:13

41:13 Who can uncover its outer covering? ²⁷ 

Who can penetrate to the inside of its armor? ²⁸ 

[9:4]  ¹ tn The genitive phrase translated “in heart” would be a genitive of specification, specifying that the wisdom of God is in his intelligent decisions.

[9:4]  ² sn The words אַמִּיץ (’ammits) and כֹּחַ (koakh) are synonyms, the first meaning “sturdy; mighty; robust,” and the second “strength.” It too can be interpreted as a genitive of specification – God is mighty with respect to his power. But that comes close to expressing a superlative idea (like “song of songs” or “anger of his wrath”).

[9:4]  ³ tn The first half of the verse simply has “wise of heart and mighty of strength.” The entire line is a casus pendens that will refer to the suffix on אֵלָיו (’elayv) in the second colon. So the question is “Who has resisted the one who is wise of heart and mighty of strength?” Again, the rhetorical question is affirming that no one has done this.

[9:4]  ⁴ tn The verb is the Hiphil of the verb קָשָׁה (qashah, “to be hard”). It frequently is found with the word for “neck,” describing people as “stiff-necked,” i.e., stubborn, unbending. So the idea of resisting God fits well. The fact that this word occurs in Exodus with the idea of hardening the heart against God may indicate that there is an allusion to Pharaoh here.

[9:4]  ⁵ tn The use of שָׁלֵם (shalem) in the Qal is rare. It has been translated “remain safe” by E. Dhorme, “survived” by the NEB, “remained unscathed” by the NAB and NIV, or “succeeded” by KJV, G. R. Driver.

[11:19]  ⁶ tn The clause that reads “and there is no one making you afraid,” is functioning circumstantially here (see 5:4; 10:7).

[11:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “they will stroke your face,” a picture drawn from the domestic scene of a child stroking the face of the parent. The verb is a Piel, meaning “stroke, make soft.” It is used in the Bible of seeking favor from God (supplication); but it may on the human level also mean seeking to sway people by flattery. See further D. R. Ap-Thomas, “Notes on Some Terms Relating to Prayer,” VT 6 (1956): 225-41.

[13:13]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew has a pregnant construction: “be silent from me,” meaning “stand away from me in silence,” or “refrain from talking with me.” See GKC 384 §119.ff. The LXX omits “from me,” as do several commentators.

[13:13]  ¹² tn The verb is the Piel cohortative; following the imperative of the first colon this verb would show purpose or result. The inclusion of the independent personal pronoun makes the focus emphatic – “so that I (in my turn) may speak.”

[13:13]  ¹³ tn The verb עָבַר (’avar, “pass over”) is used with the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) to express the advent of misfortune, namely, something coming against him.

[13:13]  ¹⁴ tn The interrogative pronoun מָה (mah) is used in indirect questions, here introducing a clause [with the verb understood] as the object – “whatever it be” (see GKC 443-44 §137.c).

[14:20]  ¹⁶ tn D. W. Thomas took נֵצַח (netsakh) here to have a superlative meaning: “You prevail utterly against him” (“Use of netsach as a superlative in Hebrew,” JSS 1 [1956]: 107). Death would be God’s complete victory over him.

[14:20]  ¹⁷ tn The subject of the participle is most likely God in this context. Some take it to be man, saying “his face changes.” Others emend the text to read an imperfect verb, but this is not necessary.

[16:10]  ²¹ tn “People” is supplied; the Hebrew verb is third plural. The colon reads, “they have opened against me with [the preposition is instrumental] their mouth.” The gestures here follow the animal imagery; they reflect destructive opposition and attack (see Ps 22:13 among others).

[16:10]  ²² tn This is an “insult” or a “reproach.”

[16:10]  ²³ tn The verb יִתְמַלָּאוּן (yitmalla’un) is taken from מָלֵא (male’), “to be full,” and in this stem, “to pile up; to press together.” The term has a military connotation, such as “to mobilize” (see D. W. Thomas, “ml'w in Jeremiah 4:5 : a military term,” JJS 3 [1952]: 47-52). Job sees himself surrounded by enemies who persecute him and mock him.

[28:5]  ²⁶ sn The verse has been properly understood, on the whole, as comparing the earth above and all its produce with the upheaval down below.

[30:12]  ³¹ tn This Hebrew word occurs only here. The word פִּרְחַח (pirkhakh, “young rabble”) is a quadriliteral, from פָּרַח (parakh, “to bud”) The derivative אֶפְרֹחַ (’efroakh) in the Bible refers to a young bird. In Arabic farhun means both “young bird” and “base man.” Perhaps “young rabble” is the best meaning here (see R. Gordis, Job, 333).

[30:12]  ³² tn Heb “they cast off my feet” or “they send my feet away.” Many delete the line as troubling and superfluous. E. Dhorme (Job, 438) forces the lines to say “they draw my feet into a net.”

[30:12]  ³³ tn Heb “paths of their destruction” or “their destructive paths.”

[30:12]  ³⁴ sn See Job 19:12.

[31:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “arises.” The LXX reads “takes vengeance,” an interpretation that is somewhat correct but unnecessary. The verb “to rise” would mean “to confront in judgment.”

[31:14]  ³⁷ tn The verb פָקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” but with God as the subject it means any divine intervention for blessing or cursing, anything God does that changes a person’s life. Here it is “visit to judge.”

[31:36]  ⁴¹ tn The clause begins with the positive oath formula, אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’).

[31:36]  ⁴² tn The word “proudly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied (note the following line).

[31:36]  ⁴³ tn This verb is only found in Prov 6:21. But E. Dhorme (Job, 470) suggests that (with metathesis) we have a derivative מַעֲדַנּוֹת (ma’adannot, “bonds; ties”) in 38:31.

[41:13]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the face of his garment,” referring to the outer garment or covering. Some take it to be the front as opposed to the back.

[41:13]  ⁴⁷ tc The word רֶסֶן (resen) has often been rendered “bridle” (cf. ESV), but that leaves a number of unanswered questions. The LXX reads סִרְיוֹן (siryon), with the transposition of letters, but that means “coat of armor.” If the metathesis stands, there is also support from the cognate Akkadian.