Promises of pardon and A. M. cir. 2484. B. C. cir. 1520. Ante I. Ol. Ante U.C. c.767. CHAP. XI. away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. 15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: 16 Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: 17 And thine age shall be clearer than d shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. .leadam maarchey leb לאדם מערכי לב .umeyehovah maaneh lashon ומהוה מענה לשון But from Jehovah is the answer to the tongue. prosperity to the penitent. B. C. Cir. 1520. A. M. cir. 2484. Ante I. OI. cir. 744. 18 And thou shalt be secure,because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou Ante U.C. c. 767. shalt take thy rest in safety. 19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee. 20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as 'the giving up of the ghost. Heb. entreat thy face. Ps. xlv. 12.- h Lev. xxvi. 16. Deut. xxviii. 65. k Ch. viii. 14. xviii. 14. Prov. xi. 7. Or, a puff of breath. Heb. flight shall perish from them. Gerar contending with Isaac's servants about the wells which the latter had digged; so that they were obliged to abandon two of the chief of them, and remove to a distance in order to dig and find quiet possession. See Gen. xxxi. 17-22. Zophar, in reference to all these sorts of contentions and petty It is man's duty to pray; it is God's prerogative to answer. Zophar, like all the rest, is true to his prin-wars about wells and springs, tells Job that in the state ciple. Job must be a wicked man, else he had not been afflicted. There must be some iniquity in his hand; and some wickedness tolerated in his family. So they all supposed. Verse 16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery] Thou shalt have such long and complete rest, that thou shalt scarcely remember thy labour. As waters that pass away] Like as the mountain floods, which sweep every thing before them, houses, tents, cattle, and the produce of the field, and are speedily absorbed by the sandy plains over which they run; so shalt thou remember thy sufferings: they were wasting and ruinous for the time, but were soon over and gone. Verse 17. Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday] The rest of thy life shall be unclouded prosperity. Thou shalt shine forth] Thou shalt be in this unclouded state, as the sun in the firmament of heaven, giving light and heat to all around thee. Thou shalt be as the morning.] Thus the sun of thy prosperity shall arise, and shine more and more unto the perfect day. This is the image which the sacred writer employs, and it is correct and elegant. Verse 18. And thou shalt be secure] Thou shalt not fear any farther evils to disturb thy prosperity, for thou shalt have a well-grounded hope and confidence that thou shalt no more be visited by adversity. Yea, thou shalt dig] I believe this neither refers to digging his grave, nor to curiously investigating surrounding circumstances; but to the custom of digging for water in the places where they pitched their tents. It was a matter of high importance in Asiatic countries to find good wells of wholesome water; and they were frequently causes of contention among neighbouring chiefs, who sometimes stopped them up, and at other times seized them as their own. Through envy of Isaac's prosperity the Philistines stopped up all the wells which Abraham had digged, Gen, xxvi. 12-16. And we find the herdsmen of of prosperity to which he shall be brought by the good providence of God, he shall dig-find wells of living water; none shall contend with him; and he shall rest in safety, all the neighbouring chieftains cultivating friendship with him; see on chap. v. 23, 24; and that this is the meaning of the passage the following verse shows: Thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee. Thou shalt be in perfect security; no enemy shall molest thee, and many shall seek thy friendship. Verse 20. The eyes of the wicked shall fail] They shall be continually looking out for help and deliverance; but their expectation shall be cut off. And they shall not escape] They shall receive the punishment due to their deserts; for God has his eye continually upon them. Dumanos abad minnehem, literally, "And escape perishes from them." Flight from impending destruction is impossible. And their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.] vethikvatham mappach naphesh, " And their hope an exhalation of breath," or a mere wish of the mind. They retain their hope to the last; and the last breath they breathe is the final and eternal termination of their hope. They give up their hope and their ghost together; for a vain hope cannot enter into that place where shadow and representation exist not; all being substance and reality. And thus endeth Zophar the Naamathite; whose premises were in general good, his conclusions legitimate, but his application of them to Job's case totally erroneous; because he still proceeded on the ground that Job was a wicked man, if not ostensibly, yet secretly; and that the sufferings he was undergoing were the means by which God was unmasking him to the view of men. But, allowing that Job had been a bad man, the exhortations of Zophar were well calculated to enforce repentance and excite confidence in the divine Job vindicates himself from JOB. the charges of Zophar. mercy. Zophar seems to have had a full conviction | life, and does not refer, at least very evidently, to a of the all-governing providence of God; and that future state. Probably his information on subjects of those who served him with an honest and upright divinity did not extend much beyond the grave; and heart would be ever distinguished in the distribution we have much cause to thank God for a clearer disof temporal good. He seems however to think that pensation. Deus nobis hæc otia fecit. God grant rewards and punishments were distributed in this that we may make a good use of it! CHAPTER XII. Job reproves the boasting of his friends, and shows their uncharitableness towards himself, 1-5; asserts that even the tabernacles of robbers prosper; and that, notwithstanding, God is the Governor of the world; a truth which is proclaimed by all parts of the creation whether animate or inanimate, and by the revolutions which take place in states, 6-25. 5 He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him A. M. cir. 2484. B. C. cir. 1520. Ante I. Ol. Ante U. C. c.767. AND ND Job answered and said, 2 No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. 3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these? 4 I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him the just upright man is laughed to scorn. that is at ease. h B. C. cir. 1520. A. M. cir. 2484. Ante I. Ol. Ante U.C.c.767. 6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. 7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: 8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach a Ch. xiii. 2.- b Heb. an heart. - Heb. I fall not d Heb. with whom are not such as these? 12. xcii. 7. Jer. xii. 1. Mal. iii. 15 lower than you.h Ch. xxi. 7. Ps. xxxvii. 1, 35. lxxiii. 11, Ch. xvi. 10. xvii. 2, 6. xxi. 3. xxx. 1. NOTES ON CHAP. XII. g Prov. xiv. 2.Ps. xci. 15. Thus he that calleth upon God, and whom God Verse 2. No doubt but ye are the people] Doubt-heareth, is mocked of his neighboure: the godly and less ye are the wisest men in the world; all wisdom is concentrated in you; and when ye die, there will no more be found on the face of the earth! This is a strong irony. Verse 3. I am not inferior to you] I do not fall short of any of you in understanding, wisdom, learning, and experience. Who knoweth not such things as these?] All your boasted wisdom consists only in strings of proverbs which are in every person's mouth, and are no proof of wisdom and experience in them that use them. Verse 4. I am as one mocked of his neighbour] Though I am invoking God for help and salvation, yet my friends mock me in this most solemn and sacred work. But God answereth me. The just upright man is laughed to scorn] This is a very difficult verse, on which no two critics seem to be agreed. Mr. Good translates the fourth and fifth verses thus : "Thus brother is become a laughing-stock to his companions, While calling upon God that he would succour him. The just, the perfect man, is a laughing-stock to the proud, A derision amidst the sunshine of the prosperous, For a vindication of this version, I must refer to his notes. Coverdale gives at least a good sense. innocent man is laughed to scorne. Godlynesse is a light despysed in the hertes of the rich; and is set for them to stomble upon. The fifth verse is thus rendered by Mr. Parkhurst: "A torch of contempt, or contemptible link (see Isai. vii. 4, xl. 2, 3), mnwy↳ leashtoth, to the splendours of the prosperous (is he who is) ready (17 nachon, Job xv. 23; xviii. 12; Ps. xxxviii. 17) to slip with his foot." The general sense is tolerably plain; but to emendations and conjectures there is no end. Verse 6. The tabernacles of robbers prosper.] Those who live by the plunder of their neighbours are often found in great secular prosperity; and they that provoke God by impiety and blasphemy live in a state of security and affluence. These are administrations of Providence which cannot be accounted for; yet the Judge of all the earth does right. Therefore prosperity and adversity are no evidences of a man's spiritual state, nor of the place he holds in the approbation or disapprobation of God. Verse 7. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee] Mr. Good's paraphrase here is very just: "Why tell ye me that the Almighty hath brought this calamity upon me? Every thing in nature, the beasts of the field, the fowls of the heaven, every inhabitant of earth and sea, and every thing that befalls them, are the work of his hands; and every thing feels and acknowledges him to be the universal Creator and Controller. It is the common doctrine of all nature Job reproves his friends CHAP. XIII. often contracts even those. All these things seem to occur as natural events, and the consequences of state intrigues, and such like causes; but when divine inspiration comes to pronounce upon them, they are shown to be the consequence of God's acting in his judgment and mercy; for it is by him that kings reign; it is he who putteth down one and raiseth up another. Verse 24. He taketh away the heart of the chief] Suddenly deprives the leaders of great counsels, or mighty armies, of courage; so that, panic-struck, they flee when none pursueth, or are confounded when about to enter on the accomplishment of important designs. for their harsh judgment. and thou shalt GROPE AT NOONDAY, as the BLIND GROPETH IN DARKNESS. And this also may refer to the unaccountable errors, transgressions, and judicial blindness of the Israelites in their journeying to the promised land; but it will apply also to the state of wicked nations under judicial blindness. The writer is principally indebted for his imagery, and indeed for the chief expressions used here, to Ps. cvii, 27: They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man. 39, 40: Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. He POURETH CONTEMPT UPON PRINCES, and CAUSETH THEM TO WANDER IN THE WILDERNESS, where there is No way. Mr. Good has some judicious reflections on this chapter, particularly on ver. 13-22: "It should be observed," says he, "that the entire passage has a reference to the machinery of a regular and political government; and that its general drift is to imprint on the mind of the hearer the important doctrine that the whole of the constituent principles of such a government, its officers and institutions; its monarchs and princes; its privy counsellors, judges, and ministers of state; its chieftains, public orators, and assembly of elders; its nobles, or men of hereditary rank; and its stout robust peasantry, as we should express it in the present day; nay, the deep designing villains that plot in secret its destruction; And causeth them to wander in a wilderness] A plain allusion to the journeyings of the Israelites in the deserts of Arabia, on their way to the promised land. Their chief, Aaron, had his courage all taken away by the clamours of the people; and so made them a molten calf to be the object of their worship, which defection from God was the cause of their wandering nearly forty years in the trackless wilderness. The reference is so marked, that it scarcely admits of a doubt; yet Houbigant and some others have called it in question, and suppose that those chiefs or heads of families which led out colonies into distant parts are principally intended. It answers too well to the case of the Israelites in the wilderness-that the nations themselves, and the heads or soveto admit of any other interpretation. Verse 25. They grope in the dark] The writer seems to have had his eye on those words of Moses, Deut. xxviii. 28, 29: The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart; reigns of the nations, are all and equally in the hands of the Almighty: that with him human pomp is poverty; human excellence, turpitude; human judg ment, error; human wisdom, folly; human dignity, contempt; human strength, weakness." CHAPTER XIII. Job defends himself against the accusations of his friends, and accuses them of endeavouring to pervert truth, 1-8. Threatens them with God's judgments, 9-12. Begs some respite, and expresses strong confidence in God, 13-19. He pleads with God, and deplores his severe trials and sufferings, 20-28. A. M. cir. 2484. Ante U.C.c.767. Lo O, mine eye hath seen all 3 Surely I would speak to 2 a What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you. a Ch. xii. 3.b Ch. xxiii. 3. xxxi. 35. NOTES ON CHAP. XIII. Verse 1. Lo, mine eye hath seen all this] Ye have brought nothing new to me; I know those maxims as well as you: nor have you any knowledge of which I am not possessed. Verse 3. Surely I would speak to the Almighty] ➡ ulam, O that :—I wish I could speak to the Almighty! I desire to reason with God.] He speaks here in reference to the proceedings in a court of justice. Ye pretend to be advocates for God, but ye are forgers 4 But ye are forgers of lies, C c Ch. vi. 21. xvi. 2. A. M. cir. 2484. him I could soon prove my innocence of the evils with which ye charge me. Verse 4. Ye are forgers of lies] Ye frame deceitful arguments: ye reason sophistically, and pervert truth and justice, in order to support your cause. Physicians of no value.] Ye are as feeble in your reasonings as ye are inefficient in your skill. Ye can neither heal the wound of my mind, nor the disease of my body. In ancient times every wise man professed skill in the healing art, and probably Job's friends had tried their skill on his body as well as on his mind. He therefore had, in his argument against divinity and physic is equal: in the former ye are forgers of lies; in the latter, ye are good-for-nothing physicians. I can see no reason to depart from the general meaning of the original to which the ancient Versions adhere. The Chaldee says: "Ye are idle physicians; and, like the mortified flesh which is cut off with the knife, so are the whole of you." The imagery in the former clause is chirurgical, and refers to the sewing together or connecting the divided sides of wounds: for topheley, which we translate forgers, comes from taphal, to fasten, tie, connect, sew together. And I question whether topheley here may not as well express SURGEONS, as "ropheey, in the latter clause, PHYSICIANS. Ye are CHIRURGEONS of falsity, and worthless PHYSICIANS. Verse 5. Hold your peace; and it should be your wisdom.] In Prov. xvii. 28 we have the following apophthegm: "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise; and he that shutteth his lips, a man of understanding." There is no reason to say that Solomon quotes from Job: I have already expressed my opinion that the high antiquity attributed to this book is perfectly unfounded, and that there is much more evidence that Solomon was its author, than there is that it was the composition of Moses. But, whenever Job lived, whether before Abraham, or after Moses, the book was not written till the time of Solomon, if not later. But as to the saying in question, it is a general apophthegm, and may be found among the wise sayings of all nations. I may observe here that a silent man is not likely to be a fool; for a fool will be always prating, or, according to another adage, a fool's bolt is soon shot. The Latins have the same proverb: Vir sapit, qui pauca loquitur, "A wise man speaks little." Verse 6. Hear now my reasoning] The speeches in this book are conceived as if delivered in a court of justice, different counsellors pleading against each other. Hence most of the terms are forensic. Verse 7. Will ye speak wickedly for God?] In order to support your own cause, in contradiction to the evidence which the whole of my life bears to the uprightness of my heart, will ye continue to assert that God could not thus afflict me, unless flagrant iniquity were found in my ways; for it is on this for their harsh judgment, 10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. B. C. cir. 1520. A. M. cir. 2484. Ante I. Ol. cir. 744. Ante U.C.c.767, 11 Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you? 12 Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. C 13 Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. 14 Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand? 15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust d Ch. xviii. 4.-e 1 Sam. xxviii. 21. Ps. cxix. 109. f Ps. xxiii. 4. Prov. xiv. 32. ground alone that ye pretend to vindicate the providence of God. Thus ye tell lies for God's sake, and thus ye wickedly contend for your Maker. Verse 8. Will ye accept his person?] Do you think to act by him as you would by a mortal; and, by telling lies in his favour, attempt to conciliate his esteem? Verse 9. Is it good that he should search you out? Would it be to your credit if God should try your hearts, and uncover the motives of your conduct? Were you tried as I am, how would you appear? Do ye so mock him?] Do ye think that you can deceive him; and by flattering speeches bring him to your terms, as you would bring an undiscerning, empty mortal, like yourselves? Verse 10. He will surely reprove you] You may expect, not only his disapprobation, but his hot displeasure. Verse 11. His dread fall upon you?] The very apprehension of his wrath is sufficient to crush you to nothing. Verse 12. Your remembrances are like unto ashes] Your memorable sayings are proverbs of dust. This is properly the meaning of the original: 47 zichroneycem mishley epher. This he speaks in reference to the ancient and reputedly wise sayings which they had so copiously quoted against him. Your bodies to bodies of clay.] This clause is variously translated: Your swelling heaps are swelling heaps of mire. That is, Your high-flown speeches are dark, involved, and incoherent; they are all sound, no sense; great swelling words, either of difficult or no meaning, or of no point as applicable to my case. Verse 13. Hold your peace] You have perverted righteousness and truth, and your pleadings are totally irrelevant to the case; you have travelled out of the road; you have left law and justice behind you; it is high time that you should have done. Let come on me what will.] I will now defend myself against you, and leave the cause to its issue. Verse 14. Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth] A proverbial expression. I risk every thing on the justice of my cause. I put my life in my hand, 1 Sam. xxviii. 21. I run all hazards; I am fearless of the consequences. Job encourages A.M. cir. 2484. Ante U.C. c.767. in him: a but I will maintain | me speak, and answer thou me. not come before him. A. M. cir. 2484. 17 Hear diligently my speech, and my de- 24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and claration with your ears. sholdest me for thine enemy? 18 Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified. C 19 Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.. 20 d Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee. e 25 h Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble ? 26 For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. 27 Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and 'lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou 21 Withdraw thine hand far from me: and settest a print upon them heels of my feet. let not thy dread make me afraid. 22 Then call thou, and I will answer: or let Verse 15. Though he slay me] I have no dependance but God; I trust in him alone. Should he even destroy my life by this affliction, yet will I hope that when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. In the common printed Hebrew text we have blo ayachel, I will NOT hope; but the Vulgate, Syriac, Arabic, and Chaldee have read lo, HIM, instead of slo, NOT; with twenty-nine of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and the Complutensian and Antwerp Polyglots. Our translators have followed the best reading. Coverdale renders the verse thus: Lo, there is nether comforte ner hope for me, yf he wil slaye me. But I will maintain mine own ways] I am so conscious of my innocence, that I fear not to defend myself from your aspersions, even in the presence of my Maker. Verse 16. He also shall be my salvation] He will save me, because I trust in him. An hypocrite] A wicked man shall never be able to stand before him. I am conscious of this; and were I, as you suppose, a secret sinner, I should not dare to make this appeal. Verse 18. Behold now, I have ordered] I am now ready to come into court, and care not how many I have to contend with, provided they speak truth. Verse 19. Who is he that will plead with me ?] Let my accuser, the plaintiff, come forward; I will defend my cause against him. I shall give up the ghost.] I shall cease to breathe. Defending myself will be as respiration unto me; or, While he is stating his case, I will be so silent as scarcely to appear to breathe. Verse 20. Only do not two things unto me] These two things are the following: 1. Withdraw thine hand far from me-remove the heavy affliction which thy hand has inflicted. 2. Let not thy dread make me afraid-terrify me not with dreadful displays of thy 1777 28 And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth-eaten. majesty. The reasons of this request are sufficiently evident: 1. How can a man stand in a court of justice and plead for his life, when under grievous bodily affliction? Withdraw thy hand far from me. 2. Is it to be expected that a man can be sufficiently recollected, and in self-possession, to plead for his life, when he is overwhelmed with the awful appearance of the judge, the splendour of the court, and the various ensigns of justice? Let not thy dread make me afraid. Verse 22. Then call thou] Begin thou first to plead, and I will answer for myself; or, I will first state and defend my own case, and then answer thou me. Verse 23. How many are mine iniquities] Job being permitted to begin first, enters immediately upon the subject; and as it was a fact that he was grievously afflicted, and this his friends asserted was in consequence of grievous iniquities, he first desires to have them specified. What are the specific charges in this indictment? To say I must be a sinner to be thus afflicted, is saying nothing; tell me what are the sins, and show me the proofs. Verse 24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face] Why is it that I no longer enjoy thy approbation? Holdest me for thine enemy?] Treatest me as if I were the vilest of sinners? Verse 25. Wilt thou break a leaf] Is it becoming thy dignity to concern thyself with a creature so contemptible? Verse 26. Thou writest bitter things against me] The indictment is filled with bitter or grievous charges, which, if proved, would bring me to bitter punishment. The iniquities of my youth.] The levities and indiscretions of my youth I acknowledge; but is this a ground on which to form charges against a man, the integrity of whose life is unimpeachable? |