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 34:34

34:34 Men of understanding say to me –

any wise man listening to me says –

Job 34:10

God is Not Unjust

34:10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. ⁶ 

Far be it from ⁷  God to do wickedness,

from the Almighty to do evil.

Job 12:3

12:3 I also have understanding ⁸  as well as you;

I am not inferior to you. ⁹ 

Who does not know such things as these? ¹⁰ 

[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.

[34:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “men of heart.” The “heart” is used for the capacity to understand and make the proper choice. It is often translated “mind.”

[34:10]  ⁷ tn For this construction, see Job 27:5.

[12:3]  ¹¹ tn The word is literally “heart,” meaning a mind or understanding.

[12:3]  ¹² tn Because this line is repeated in 13:2, many commentators delete it from this verse (as does the LXX). The Syriac translates נֹפֵל (nofel) as “little,” and the Vulgate “inferior.” Job is saying that he does not fall behind them in understanding.

[12:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “With whom are not such things as these?” The point is that everyone knows the things that these friends have been saying – they are commonplace.