B.—JOB: That which experience teaches concerning the prosperity of the ungodly during their life on earth argues not against but for his innocence:
Job 21
1. Introductory appeal to the friends:
Job_21:1-6
1 But Job answered and said:
2 Hear diligently my speech,
and let this be your consolations.
3 Suffer me that I may speak;
and after that I have spoken, mock on.
4 As for me, is my complaint to man?
and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?
5 Mark me, and be astonished,
and lay your hand upon your mouth.
6 Even when I remember I am afraid,
and trembling taketh hold on my flesh.
2. Along with the fact of the prosperity of the wicked, taught by experience (Job_21:7-16), stands the other fact of earthly calamity befalling the pious and the righteous:
Job_21:7-26
7 Wherefore do the wicked live,
become old, yea, are mighty in power?
8 Their seed is established in their sight with them,
and their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
neither is the rod of God upon them.
10 Their bull gendereth and faileth not;
their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock,
and their children dance.
12 They take the timbrel and harp,
and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
13 They spend their days in wealth,
and in a moment go down to the grave.
14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us,
for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways.
15 What is the Almighty that we should serve Him?
and what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?
16 Lo, their good is not in their hand!
the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17 How oft is the candle of the wicked put out?
and how oft cometh their destruction upon them?
God distributeth sorrows in His anger.
18 They are as stubble before the wind,
and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.
19 God layeth up His iniquity for His children:
He rewardeth him, and he shall know it.
20 His eyes shall see his destruction,
and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what pleasure hath he in his house after him,
when the number of his months is cut off in the midst?
22 Shall any teach God knowledge?
seeing He judgeth those that are high.
23 One dieth in his full strength,
being wholly at ease, and quiet.
24 His breasts are full of milk,
and his bones are moistened with marrow.
25 And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul,
and never eateth with pleasure.
26 They shall lie down alike in the dust.
and the worms shall cover them.
3. Rebuke of the friends because they set forth only one side of that experience, and use it to his prejudice
Job_21:27-34
27 Behold, I know your thoughts,
and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me.
28 For ye say, Where is the house of the prince?
and where are the dwelling-places of the wicked?
29 Have ye not asked them that go by the way?
and do ye not know their tokens?—
30 that the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction?
they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
31 Who shall declare his way to his face?
and who shall repay him what he hath done?
32 Yet shall he be brought to the grave,
and shall remain in the tomb.
33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him,
and every man shall draw after him,
as there are innumerable before him.
34 How then comfort ye me in vain,
seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. The obstinacy of the friends, who show neither the desire nor the inclination to solve the mystery of Job’s sufferings in a friendly spirit, and in such a way as would not wound his feelings, drives Job to come out in theoretic opposition to the narrow and external interpretation of the doctrine of retribution advocated by them, and to change his reply from the essentially personal character which it had previously borne into a strict criticism of their doctrine. Having first calmly but bitterly challenged their attention to that which he had to communicate to them (Job_21:2-6), he urges against them the mysterious fact that often the ungodly revel in superfluity of prosperity to the end of their life, while on the contrary the pious are often throughout their earthly life pursued by misfortune (Job_21:7-26). In view of a distribution of prosperity and adversity so unequal, and so much at variance with the moral desert of men, it was decidedly unjust, nay malicious and false on the part of the friends to undertake to brand him as a wicked man on account of his misfortune (Job_21:27-34). The whole discussion which brilliantly demonstrates Job’s superiority over the friends in respect to the stand-point of ethical perception and experience, and which serves to introduce the last turn which the colloquy takes, and which is decisive of his complete victory, is divided into five strophes, of five verses each, the first strophe covering the exordium (Job_21:2-6), the remaining four constituting the Second Division [the former two of these strophes again being occupied with the fact, the latter two with the argument showing the fact to be irreconcilable with their theory of retribution; Dillm.]; followed by two strophes of four verses each [rebuking the one-sidedness of the friends] constituting the Third Division (Job_21:27-34.)
2. First Division (and strophe): Exordium: Job_21:2-6. Job announces that he is about to speak of a mysterious and indeed an astounding phenomenon, which demands the entire attention of the friends.
Job_21:2. Hear, I pray, hear my speech! and let this be instead of your consolations—or: “in order that this may supply the place of your consolations, may prove to me a comfort instead of them, seeing that they so poorly accomplish their purpose” (comp. Job_15:11; Job_16:2). [A fine touch of irony: attentive silence would be a much more real comfort than all their ineffectual talk!]
Job_21:3. Suffer me (
ùָׂàåּðִé
, with Kamets before the tone, comp. Jon_1:12; 1Ki_20:33; Gesenius § 60 [§ 59] Rem. 1)—and then will I speak (I,
àָֹֽâֹëִé
, in contrast with the “you” of the Imper., although without a particularly strong accent); and after that I have spoken, thou mayest mock (
úìòéâ
, concessive, Ewald § 136, e). The demand for a patient hearing of his rebuke, which reminds us somewhat of the saying of Themistocles—“Strike, but hear me!” (Plutarch, Themist. c. 11), is specifically addressed in the second half to Zophar, whose last discourse must have grieved him particularly, and who in fact after the rejoinder which Job now makes had nothing more to say, and could only leave the mocking assaults on Job to be resumed by his older companions. [So in Job_16:3 Job had singled out Eliphaz in his reply, and again in Job_26:2-4, he singles out Bildad].
Job_21:4. Does my complaint go forth from me in regard to man?i.e. as for me (
àָðֹëִé
emphatically prefixed, and then resumed again in
ùׂéçé
, Gesen. § 145 [§ 142], 2), is my complaint directed against men? is my complaint (
ùִׂéçִé
as in Job_7:13; Job_9:27; Job_10:1), concerning men, or is it not rather concerning something that has a superhuman cause, something that is decreed by God? That in this last thought lies the tacit antithesis to
ìְàָãָí
is evident from the second member: or why should I not be impatient? lit. “why should my spirit not become short,” comp. Job_6:11; Mic_2:7; Zec_11:8; Pro_14:29. That which follows gives us to understand more distinctly that it was something quite extraordinary, superhuman, under the burden of which Job groans, and concerning which he has to complain. [The rendering of the last clause found in E. V. Lee, Wemyss, etc.: “And if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?” is both less natural, in view of the antecedent probability that
åְàִí
is cor-related to the
ä
interrogative, less simple, and less satisfactory in the meaning which it yields. E.].
Job_21:5. Turn ye to me and be astonished, and lay the hand on the mouth,viz.: as being dumb with astonishment, comp. Job_29:9; Job_40:4—
åְäָùַׁîּåּ
Imper. cons. Hiph. from
ùָׁîַí
(comp. Job_17:8; Job_18:20) [with Pattach for Tsere in pause], obstupescite. According to the reading
äֳùַׁîּåּ
(Imper. Hoph. of the same verb) [as some regard it even with the punctuation
äָùַׁîּåּ
= hoshammu] the meaning is not essentially different.
Job_21:6. Verily if I think on it I am confounded (
åְðִáְäָìְúִּé
apodosis; comp. Job_7:14) and my flesh seizes on horror. In Heb.
áְּùָׁøִé
is subject; comp. the similar phraseology in Job_18:20.
ôָּìַּöåּú
, from
ôָּìַõ
Job_9:6, means convulsive quaking, terror, as in the New Testament
ἐêèáìâåῖóèáé êáὶ ἀäçìïíåῖí
(Mar_14:33). It is to be noted how by these strong expressions the friends are prepared to hear something grave, fearful, astounding, to wit a proposition, founded on experience, which seems to call in question the divine justice, and to the affirmation of which Job accordingly proceeds hesitatingly, and with visible reluctance.
3. Second Division: First Half: The testimony of experience to the fact that the wicked are often, and indeed ordinarily prosperous: Job_21:7-16.
Second Strophe:Job_21:7-11. Why do the wicked live on—instead of dying early, as Zophar had maintained, Job_20:5. The same question is propounded by Jeremiah, Job_12:1 seq.; comp. Psalms 73. Mal_3:13 seq. Become old, yea, strong in power, or: “are become old (lit. advanced in years, comp.
òַúִּé÷
) and mighty in possessions.” In regard to
âָּáַø äַéִì
(with accus. of specification) comp. the equivalent phrase
äִùְׂâָּä äַéִì
, Psa_73:12; and in regard to
çַéִì
see above Job_15:29; Job_20:15; Job_20:18.
Job_21:8. Their posterity is established
ðָëåֹï
here not—“standing in readiness,” as in Job_12:5; Job_15:23, but “enduring, firmly established, as in (Psa_93:2) before them round about them, surrounding them in the closest proximity; this is the meaning of
òִîָּí
, not: “like themselves” (Rosenm., Umbreit, Sohlottm., Vaih., [Fürst, Noyes] etc.), in behalf of which latter signification to be sure Job_9:26 might be cited; but the parallel expression—“before their eyes”—in the second member, favors rather the former sense. [And their offspring before their eyes.
öֶàֱöָàִéí
, as in Job_5:25—“is exactly expressed by our issue, though perhaps the reduplication rather implies issue’s issue.” Carey]. Job, having been himself so ruthlessly stripped of his children, makes prominent above all else this aspect of the external prosperity of the wicked, that namely which is exhibited in a flourishing posterity, a fine trait of profound psychological truth! [To be noted moreover is the pathetic repetition of the thought in both members of the verse, and its no less pathetic resumption in Job_21:11. This picture of a complete and peaceful household, with its circle of joyous youth fascinates the bereaved father’s heart exceedingly, and he dwells on it with yearning fondness!]
Job_21:9. Their houses [are] peace (
ùָׁìֹåí
, the same as
áְּùָׁìåֹí
; comp. Job_5:24 [where see rem. in favor of the more literal and forcible rendering obtained by not assuming the preposition at all; E.] Isa_41:3) without fear.
îִôַּçַã
, like
îִáְּùָãִå
Job_19:26; (comp. Job_11:15; Isa_22:3) and the rod of Eloah cometh not upon them, i. e. to punish them; comp.
ùֵׁáֶè
in Job_9:34; Job_37:13 [How different from the fate of his own “house!” No such “Terror,” no such “Scourge” as that which had made his a ruin!—E.].
Job_21:10. From the state of the household the description turns to that of the cattle, with the peculiarity that here exceptionally the sing takes the place of the plur., which is used almost throughout to designate the wicked (so again below Job_21:19, and in like manner Job_24:5; Job_24:16 seq.). His bull gendereth and faileth not (Zöckler lit.—“his bull covereth and impregnates”].
ùׁåֹø
, in itself of common gender, is here indicated as a masc. both by the contrast with
ôָּøָä
in b, and by its predic.
òִáַּø
, “to cover, to gender” (comp.
òָáåּø
“produce fruit,” Jos_5:11-12). The additional strengthening clause
åְìֹà éַâְòִì
, neque efficit ut ejiciat (semen) indicates that the impregnation is successful. The second member is entirely parallel.—His cow calveth easily (
ôִּìֵֹè
, synon. with
äִîְìִéè
,
îִìֵּè
, Isa_34:15; Isa_66:7) and miscarries not, neque abortum patitur, comp. Gen_31:38; Exo_23:26.
Job_21:11. Once more Job recurs to the fairest instance of earthly prosperity, the possession of a flourishing troop of children. On
òֲåִéìִéí
comp. above on Job_19:18 [where however the word suggests, as it does not necessarily here, a bad quality in the children themselves; Bernard’s rendering “they send forth their wicked little children,” introduces an incongruous element into the picture, which Job contemplates here as a pleasing and attractive one.—E.] As to
ùִׁìֵּçַ
, “to send forth, to let loose,” see Isa_32:20.
Third Strophe:Job_21:12-16. They (the wicked) sing loud with the playing of timbrel and harp; hence with joyous festivity, as in Isa_5:12—
éִùְׂàåּ
(scil.
÷åֹì
) lit. “they raise their voice,” i. e., in loud jubilations or songs of joy; comp. Isa_42:11—
áְּúåֹó åְëִðּåֹø
, used as in Psa_49:5 [4] of the musical accompaniment; hence, “with, to the timbrel and harp.” On the contrary the reading preferred by the Masora and several Rabbis,
ëְּúֹó å×
would signify “at, during the playing of the timbrel, etc.” (
ëְּ
of the proximate specification of time, as in
ëָּòֵú
[“about the time”],
ëִּîְòָè
, etc.). Concerning
òåּâָá
, instead of which several MSS. and Ed’s have in Job_30:31
òֻâָá
, and in Psa_150:4
òֻâָּá
, comp. Delitzsch on Gen_4:21; Winer, Realwörterb. II., 123 seq. [“The three musical instruments here mentioned are certainly the most ancient, and are naturally the most simple, and indeed may be regarded as the originals of every species of musical instrument that has since been invented, all which may be reduced to three kinds—string instruments, wind instruments, and instruments of percussion; and the
ëִּðּåֹø
harp, the
òåּâָá
, pipe, and the
úֹּó
, tabor, may be considered as the first representatives of each of these species respectively.” Carey, see illustrations in Carey, p. 453 seq., and Smith Bib. Dict. under “Harp, Timbrel, and Organ”].
Job_21:13. They spend in prosperity their days.—So according to the K’ri
éְëַìּåּ
(lit. “they complete, finish,” comp. Job_36:11; Psa_90:9), while the K’thibh
éְáַìּåּ
would be, according to Isa_65:22 = “they use up, wear out” (usu conterunt) [which is more expressive than the K’ri, signifying not only that they bring their life to an end, but that they use it up, get out of it all the enjoyment that is in it.—E.]. In either case the affirmation is made in direct contradiction to the opposite descriptions of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, as e. g., Job_15:32; Job_18:14; Job_20:11.—And in a moment (
áְּøֶâַò
like our “in a trice” [Germ.: “im Nu”], hence quickly, easily, without a struggle) they sink down to Sheol,—they thus enjoy a quick death, free from suffering, having fully enjoyed their life even to the end. The connection does not allow us to understand it of an “evil sudden death,” but rather requires the idea of a euthanasy.—
éֵçַúּåּ
might in itself be the Imperf. Niph. of
çúú
: “they are frightened down” [others, e. g., Bernard; “they are crushed, or hurled down”], to which however the Accus. loci
ùְׁàåֹì
is ill suited. More correctly the form is derived from
ðçú
, the Imperf. of which is written either
éִðְçַú
, or
éֵçַú
. It may be read here either
éֵçָúåּ
(for
éֵçֲúåּ
—so Ewald, Hirzel), or with reduplication of the
ú
in pause [Dageshforte emphatic, Green, § 24, c] after the Masora; comp. Gesen. Lehrgeb., p. 45; Ewald, § 93, d.
Job_21:14 seq. And yet they say unto God, “Depart from us,”etc., etc., i. e., notwithstanding their prosperity [“the fut. consec.
åַéּàֹîְøåּ
does not here denote temporally that which follows upon and from something else, but generally that which is inwardly connected with something else, and even with that which is contradictory, and still occurring at the same time;” Del.], which should constrain them to gratitude towards God, they will know nothing about Him, yea, they account the service of God and prayer to Him as useless.
ôָּâַò áְּ
, precibus adire; comp. Rth_1:16; Jer_7:16; Jer_27:18.
Job_21:16. After the frivolous words of the ungodly Job here resumes his own description, and concludes the section in which he states his proposition.—Behold, not in their hand stands their prosperity.—This is not an objection assumed by Job to be made by his opponents, as below in Job_21:19 (Schnurrer, Schlottm., Kamph.) [Noyes, Elzas], but an expression of Job’s own conviction, who intends herewith to set forth that not they, but God Himself is in some mysterious way the cause of their prosperity, by which he would indicate the difficulty of the problem, with which he is here occupied in general. The sentence is not an expression of Job’s disapprobation of the view of life prevalent among the wicked (Ewald) [Carey, Wordsworth], for such an expression of disapprobation first appears in b, and the position of the words in a shows clearly that the main emphasis lies on
áְּéָãָí
. The interrogative rendering of the clause, “Behold! is not their prosperity in their hand?” (Rashi, Hirzel, Heiligst., Welte, Hahn [Renan]) is contradicted by the use of
äֵï ìֹà
, not
äֲìֹà
at the beginning. [Moreover the connection with b according to such a rendering is strained.—E.]—The counsel of the wicked be far from me!—The same formula of detestation recurs in the following discourse of Eliphaz, Job_22:18—
øָֽçֲ÷ָç îֶðּé
is used in a precative or optative sense (Ewald, § 223, b); it is thus essentially equivalent to the formula elsewhere in use—
çֲìִéìָä ìִé
. [“It is the perf. of certainty, which expresses that which is wished as a fact, but with an emotional exclamative accent.” Del.]. In respect to
òֵöָç
, here in the sense of fundamental maxim, disposition, view of life, comp. Job_5:13; Job_10:3; Job_18:7. Job thus persists decidedly here again in his refusal in any way to renounce God; comp. Job_1:11; Job_2:5. [This strong repudiation by Job of the practical atheism of the wicked is of especial importance to the moral problem of the book.—E.].
4. Second Division: Second Half. Antithetic demonstration of the preceding proposition derived from experience, with reference to the opposite affirmations of the friends, and their possible reproaches.
Fourth Strophe:Job_21:17-21. [The views of the friends in regard to retribution denied both as to the fact and the principle].
Job_21:17 involves a reference to certain expressions which Bildad had used in Job 18 in justification of his doctrine, particularly to his description of the “extinguishing of the light of the wicked” (Job_18:5), and of the sudden destruction (
àֵéã
—“prop pressure of suffering” Del.) of the same (Job_18:12), but only to call in question the correct application of these figures.—How oft does the lamp of the wicked go out, and their destruction break upon them?—In Job’s mind this “how oft” (
ëַּîָּä
, comp. Psa_78:40) is naturally equivalent to “how rarely;” for he decidedly doubts the general correctness of those affirmations of Bildad Moreover the influence of this interrogative “how oft” extends to the third member of the verse [which accordingly is not to be rendered affirmatively, as in E. V., “God distributed sorrows in His anger”—a rendering which changes the meaning of the entire context, making it an assertion by Job that God does punish the wicked as the friends had taught—whereas on the contrary Job is asking how often was this the case?—E.]: (how often) does He distribute sorrows in His anger? The subject is God (comp. Job_20:23). The particular affirmation of his opponents, to which Job here alludes, is the close of Zophar’s last speech (Job_20:29), the
çֵìֶ÷
of which is distinctly enough echoed here in the
éְçַìֵּ÷
. The retrospective reference to this passage would be still more definite if we were to derive
çֲáָìִéí
from
çֶáֶì
, measuring-line (so the Targ., Ewald, Hirz., Dillmann [Schlott., Renan, Fürst]), and explain it to mean “lots, heritages” (comp. Psa_16:6). It is more natural, nevertheless, (with the LXX. Vulg., Gesenius, Rosenm. [E. V., Good, Lee, Noyes, Ber., Rod., Elz.], etc., to take the word in its ordinary sense = “sorrows, calamities” (plur. of
çֵáֶì
). [“The plur. does not occur in that tropical sense (of “lots”), and if it were so intended here,
çַáְìֵéäֶí
, or
çֲáָìִéí ìָäֶí
might at least be expected.” Del.]. Also the translation “snares, gins,” (Stickel, Hahn, Delitzsch) yields a meaning good in itself, and would have, moreover, the special recommendation of furnishing a retrospective reference to Job_8:10-12, the same passage of Bildad’s discourse to which a and b look. The expression—“to distribute snares”—is however altogether too harsh, and the assumption that such an unusual expression is occasioned by the collateral reference to Job_18:10 seq., and to Job_20:29, is altogether too artificial.
Job_21:18 (over which the influence of
ëַּîָּä
continues to extend): How often are they as Straw (chopped straw) [a figure occurring only here: the figure of chaff is more frequent. Del.] before the wind, and as chaff (Psa_1:4; Isa_17:13) which the whirlwind snatches away? An allusion to Zophar’s description, Job_20:8-9, if not as regards the expressions, still as regards the sense.
Job_21:19. “God lays up his calamity for his (the wicked man’s) children!” (
àåֹðåֹ
from
àָåֶï
in the signification “calamity;” comp. Job_11:11; Job_15:35.) [There is possibly a play on the word
àåðå
, which may be rendered either “his wealth,” or “his calamity.”—His treasure is the coming wrath!
àåï
also means “iniquity,” and some (E. V., Del., etc.) render it so here. Here, however, the “evil” which is the punishment of “evil” best suits the context.—E.] This is an objection of the opponents, which links itself to similar affirmations by Eliphaz (Job_5:4) and Zophar (Job_20:10), and which Job himself here formulates, in order forthwith to refute it: (Rather) let Him recompense it to him (or, in view of the emphasis belonging to the word bearing the principal tone: “to him let Him repay it”) that he may feel it (
éָãַò
here sentire, to feel, to be sensible of, as in Isa_9:8; Hos_9:7; Eze_25:14). In a manner quite similar the prophets Jeremiah (Job_31:29 seq) and Ezekiel (Job 18) controvert the similar doctrine of the vicarious expiation of the guilt of parents by their posterity. [Job’s view is that retribution can be such only when it falls on the offender himself. It may affect others—although Job does not say that himself—it must reach him. E.]
Job_21:20 continues the refutation of that false theory of substitution or satisfaction, and illustrates at the same time how the evil doer is to
éãò
or “feel” the divine punishment.—
ëִּéã
“destruction,” (lit. “a thrust, blow,” plaga), only here in the Old Testament; synonymous with the Arabic caid. The figure of drinking the divine wrath has immediate reference to Zophar’s description, Job_20:23. [“The emphasis lies on the signs of the person in
òֵéðָå
and
éִùְׁúֶּä
May his own eyes see his ruin; may he himself have to drink of the divine wrath.” Del.]
Job_21:21 gives a reason for that which he has just said against that perverted theory by calling attention to the stolid insensibility of the evil-doer, as a consummate egoist, in respect to the interests of his posterity. For what careth he for his house after him: lit. “for what is his concern, his interest (
çֵôֶõ
here, as in Job_22:3; comp. Isa_58:3) in his house after him” (i.e., after his death)?
àַçֲøָéå
is in close union with
áְּáֵéúåֹ
(comp. e. g.Gen_17:19) not with
çֶôְּöåֹ
. If the number of his months is apportioned to him; or “while [or when] the number, etc.” The whole of this circumstantial clause, which is a partial echo of Job_15:20 (comp. Job_14:5), expresses the thought, that the selfish pleasure-seeking evil-doer is satisfied if only his appointed term of life remains to him unabridged. This general meaning may be maintained whether, in accordance with Pro_30:27, we explain
çָöַõ
to mean: “to allot, to appoint,” thus rendering it as a synonym of
çָöָä
(Job 40:30 [Job_41:6]; so Targ., Gesen., Ewald, Dillm.); or, which is less probable, we take it as a denominative from
çֵõ
, “arrow,” in the sense of “casting lots, disposing of by lot” [from the custom of shaking up arrows for lots—a doubtful sense for the Hebrew] (so Cocceius, Rosenm., Umbreit, Hirzel, etc.); or whether, finally, we assign to the word the meaning of “cutting off, completing” (Gesenius in Thes., Stickel, Delitzsch [E. V. Good, Ber., Noy., Schlott., Con., Rod., Ren., Fürst] etc.)—to which latter interpretation, however, the expression—“the number of his months”—is not so well suited, for a number is not properly cut off. [In any case the addition of E. V., “when the number of his months is cut off in the midst,” is erroneous; for even if we assign to the verb the signification—“cut off”—the meaning of the clause is cutting off at the end, not in the midst. What is the evil-doer’s concern in his house, when he himself is no more? The other meaning given above however—“to apportion”—gives a more vivid representation of his brutal selfishness, his unconcern even for his own flesh and blood, provided he himself have his full share of life and its enjoyments. What careth he for his house after him, if the full number of his own months be meted out to him? E.] The number of
çֻöָּöåּ
is determined by the subordinate [but nearest] term of the subject, by virtue of an attraction similar to that in Job_15:20 (Gesen. § 148 [§ 145], 1) [Green, § 277].
Fifth Strophe:Job_21:22-26 : [The theory of the friends involves a presumptuous dictation to God of what He should do, seeing that His present dealings with men, and their participation of the common destiny of the grave, furnish no indication of moral character].
Job_21:22. Shall one teach God knowledge.
ìְàֵì
as containing the principal notion is put emphatically first. In respect to the dative construction of verbs of teaching (as in Greek
äéäÜóêåéí ôéíß ôé
) comp. Ewald, § 283, c.: Seeing He judgeth those that are in heaven: lit: “and He nevertheless judges (
åְäåּà
, circumstantial clause) the high” [Carey: “dignities.” The LXX read
ãîéí
,
öüíïõò
]. The “high” are simply the heavenly spirits, the angels as inhabiting the heights of heaven (
îְøåֹîִéí
, comp. Job_16:19; Job_25:2; Job_31:2), not the celestial heights themselves, as Gesenius explains, with a reference to Psa_78:69, a reference, however, which is probably unsuitable. Still less does it mean “the proud” (Hahn, Olshausen), a signification which
øָí
by itself, and without qualification never has. This proposition, that God exercises judicial power over the exalted spirits of heaven, Job advances here all the more readily, that the friends had already appealed twice in similar words to the same fact of the absolute holiness and justice of God (Job_4:18; Job_15:15). They had indeed done this with the intent of supporting their narrow-minded doctrine of retribution, while on the contrary Job, by the same proposition would put their short-sighted theory to the rout, and direct attention to the unfathomable depth and secresy of God’s counsels, and of the principles of His government.
Job_21:23-26 demonstrate this unfathomableness and incomprehensibleness of the divine judgments (Rom_11:33) by two examples, which are contrasted each with the other (Job_21:23, Job_21:25 :
æֶäÎæֶä
, “the one—the other”), of one man dying in the fulness of his prosperity, of another who is continually unfortunate, but whom the like death unites with the former, notwithstanding that their moral desert during their life was altogether different, or directly opposite in character. The assumption of many ancient and some modern commentators, as e. g. Hahn, that by the prosperous man described in Job_21:23 seq. a wicked man, and by the unfortunate man described in Job_21:25 a pious man is intended, without qualification, is arbitrary, and hardly corresponds with exactness to the poet’s idea. The tendency of the parallel presented is rather in accordance with Job_21:22, to show, in proof of the mysteriousness of the divine dealings and judgment, that what happens outwardly to men in this life is not necessarily determined by their moral conduct, but that this latter might be, and often enough is directly at variance with the external prosperity.
Job_21:23. The one dies in the fulness of his prosperity; lit. “in bodily prosperity,” in ipsa sua integritate. In respect to
òֶöֶí
“self” [essence, the very thing] comp. Gesen. § 124 [§ 122], 2, Rem. 3; and in respect to
úֹּí
, “integrity in the physical sense, bodily, in general external well being,” comp. the word
îְúֹí
generally used elsewhere in this sense, Psa_38:4 [3], 8 [7], and also
úְּîִéîִéí
Pro_1:12—
ùַׁìְàֲðָï
in the second member, which is not found elsewhere is an alternate form of
ùַׁàַðָï
, “unconcerned,” enlarged by the introduction of a liquid [comp.
æìòó
from
æòó
, æstuare, and
áìñí
,
âÜëóáìïí
, from
áùׂí
; Del.]. According to Rödiger, Olsh., it is possibly just an error in writing for
ùַׁàֲðָï
, the form given above in Job_12:5.
ùָׁìֵéå
stands here for the more frequent defective form
ùָׁìֵå
, Job_20:20; comp. Jer_49:31.
Job_21:24. His troughs are full of milk. Most moderns, following the lead of the Talmudic
îַòֲèָï
“olive-trough,” as well as the authority of the Targ. and many Rabbis, take
òֲèִéðִéí
correctly in the sense of “vessels, troughs” [“milk-pails,” Luther, Wolfsohn, Elzas; “bottles,” Lee; “skins,” Carey (i. e. undressed skins, the abundance of milk making it necessary to use these)], to the rejection of interpretations which are in part singularly at variance, such as “cattle-pastures” (Aben-Ezra, Schult. [Renan, Weymss] etc., “veins” (Fürst), “jugular veins” (Saad.), “sides” (Pesh.) [Noyes, Con.], “bowels” (LXX., Vulg. [“breasts,” Targ., E. V.; “loins,” Rodwell; “sleek skin,” Good. “The assumption that
òèéðéå
must be a part of the body is without satisfactory ground (comp. against it e. g.Job_20:17, and for it Job_20:11); and Schlottm. very correctly observes that in the contrast in connection with the representation of the well-watered marrow one expects a reference to a rich, nutritious drink.” Delitzsch]. The meaning of this member of the verse accordingly reminds us in general of Job_20:17, which description of Zophar’s Job here purposely recalls, in like manner as in “the marrow of the bones,” in b he recalls Job_21:11 of the same discourse. [And the marrow of his bones is well-watered]. In respect to “well-watered,” an agricultural or horticultural metaphor, comp. Isa_58:11.
Job_21:25. The other dies with a bitter soul (comp. Job_3:20; Job_7:11; Job_10:1), and has not enjoyed good; lit. “and has not eaten of the good” (or “prosperity,”
èåֹáָä
as in Job_9:25) with
áְּ
partitive, as in Psa_141:4; comp. above Job_7:13 [
àָëַì áְּ
perhaps like
øָàָä á
conveying the idea of enjoyment, as Schlottmann suggests. Not, however, of full enjoyment, but rather tasting of it.—Not as in E. V. “and never eateth with pleasure;” against which lies (1) The customary usage of
áְּ
partitive after verbs of eating and drinking; (2) The objective meaning of
èåֹáָä
, which cannot be taken of subjective pleasure.—E].
Job_21:26. Together [or: beside one another] they lie down in the dust (of the grave), and worms cover them.—
øִîָּä
, decay, worms, as above in Job_17:14. Comp. our proverbial expressions in regard to the equality of the grave, the impartiality of death, etc.
5. Third Division: A rebuke of the friends on account of their one-sided judgment touching the external prosperity of men, a judgment which was only unfavorable as regards Job: Job_21:27-34.
Sixth Strophe:Job_21:27-30.—Behold I know your thoughts [
îäùáåú
, counsels, plans], and the plots (
îְæִîּåֹú
, sensu malo, as in Pro_12:2; Pro_14:17; Pro_24:8) [“is the name he gives to the delicately developed reasoning with which they attack him”: Delitzsch; the schemes which they invent to wound him, the painful dilemmas into which they would entrap him: E.] with which ye do violence to me: with the intent namely of presenting me at any cost as a sinner. [“By the construction of
çîí
with
òì
the notion of falling upon and over-powering is indicated.” Schlottm.].
Job_21:28, hypothetical antecedent with
ëִּé
, is related to Job_21:29 as its consequent, precisely like Job_19:28 to Job_21:29. [So Ewald. Del., Dillm. But such a construction seems neither natural nor forcible. The causal rendering: “For ye say, etc.,” is simpler and stronger. It was from just such taunts as the following that Job knew their spirit, and detected their insidious plots against his reputation and his peace. The causal rendering is adopted by E. V. Good, Wem., Noy., Words., Schlott., Con., Rod., Carey, Elzas, etc. E. ]. If, [or, when] ye say: “Where is the house of the tyrant? (
ðָãִéá
, sensu malo, as in Isa_13:2, not in the neutral sense, as above in Job_12:21) [a title of honor, similar in use to our nobleman, generosus, for which, in its personal application to Job here, “tyrant” seems too strong a rendering. Neither here, nor in Is. l.c., is such a rendering called for. In this member the prominent idea is station, rank: the moral character of the
ðãéá
is indicated in the following member. E.], and where the tent inhabited by the wicked? lit., “the tent of the habitations of the wicked,’ by which possibly a spacious palatial tent is intended, with several large compartments within it (such as the tents of the Bedouin sheikhs are to this day), which can be recognized from afar by their size. [
îùׁëðåú
“is not an externally, but internally multiplying plur.; perhaps the poet by
áéú
intends a palace in the city, and by
àäì îùׁëðåä
a tent among the wandering tribes, rendered prominent by its spaciousness, and the splendor of the establishment” Del.]. It is to be noted moreover how distinct an allusion there is in the question to the repeated descriptions of the destruction of the tent of the wicked by Eliphaz and Bildad (Job_15:34; Job_18:15; Job_18:21).
Job_21:29. Have ye not inquired then [
ùְׁàֶìְúֶּí
for
ùְׁàַìúֶּí
; see Green, § 119, 2] of those who travel: lit. “the wanderers, passers by, of the way;” comp. Lam_1:12;. Psa_80:13, etc. [“People who have travelled much, and therefore are well acquainted with the stories of human destinies.” Del.]. Andtheir tokens ye will at least not fail to know;i. e. that which they nave to tell of examples of prosperous evil-doers and righteous ones in adversity (they, who have travelled much, who know about other lands and nations!) that you surely will not disregard, controvert, or reject?
úְּðַëֵּøåּ
, Piel of
ðëø
, expresses here, as in Deu_32:27 : 1Sa_23:7; Jer_19:4, the negative sense of “ignoring, denying,” while occasionally, e. g. in Elihu’s use of it, Job_34:19, it signifies also to “acknowledge” (a meaning elsewhere found in the Hiphil). [So here E. V. Lee, Conant, Ewald, Schlott.—according to which rendering the second member is a continuation of the question begun in the first].
àåֹäåֹú
, “tokens,” means here “things worthy of note, remarkable incidents, memorabilia, anecdotes of travel.”
Job_21:30 gives in brief compass the substance and contents of these lessons of travel: That in the day of destruction (
àֵéã
, as in Job_21:17) the wicked is spared (i. e. is held back from ruin;
çùׂêְ
as in Job_16:6; Job_33:18), in the day of overflowing wrath they are led away:i. e. beyond the reach of the devastating effect of these outbursts of divine wrath (
òֲáָøåֹú
as in Job_40:11), so that these can do them no harm. The Hoph.
äåּáַì
, which is used below in Job_21:32 of being escorted in honor to the grave, expresses here accordingly, in like manner as in Isa_55:12, being led away with a protecting escort (as, for example, Lot was conducted out of Sodom). [Noyes gives to the verb here the same application as in Job_21:32, and explains: He is borne to his grave in the day of wrath; i. e. he dies a natural, peaceful death]. The only unusual feature of this construction, which in any case is much to be preferred as a whole to that of Ewald [Rodwell] “on the day when the overflowings of wrath come on” is the
ìְéåֹí
, instead of which we might rather look for
áְּéåֹí
, “in the day.” It is nevertheless unadvisable, in view of the context, to translate the second member—as e. g. with Dillman [E. V., Con., Carey]—“they are brought on to the day of wrath;” for such a proposition could not possibly, be attributed to the travellers, but at most to the friends; it would thus of necessity follow a very abruptly [and unnaturally]; neither would any essential relief be obtained from a transposition of Job_21:30 and Job_21:29 as suggested by Delitzsch. [Zöckler overlooks, however, the explanation of those (such as Scott, Carey, Conant, Wordsworth, Barnes, etc.) who regard the whole of this verse as expressing, through the travellers of Job_21:29, Job’s own conviction that the wicked are reserved for future retribution, that they are led forth to a day of wrath hereafter; that accordingly present exemption from the penalty of sin proves nothing as to a man’s real character. Such an explanation, however, is to be rejected for the following reasons: (1) It is at variance with the drift of the book’s argument. (2) It is inconceivable, if Job held so clearly and firmly to the doctrine of future retribution, as this view of the passage before us would imply, that he did not make more use of it in his discussions. (3) It is inconsistent with the connection (a) Why should he produce this view here as a foreign importation? Why should he rest it on experience? Observe that the proposition—the wicked are spared in times of calamity is a deduction from experience, for the truth of which Job might well appeal to the testimony of those who by much observation and experience could testify to the fact. But surely the doctrine of a future retribution must rest on other authority—the witness of conscience, the testimony of a divine revelation, the consensus of the wise and holy (not merely of the
òåֹáְøֵé ãֶøֶêְ
) in all ages and lands. (b) It is inconceivable that Job having carried his hearers forward to the retribution of the Hereafter as the solution of the mystery of the present should proceed to speak (as he does in the verses immediately following) of the present prosperity and pomp of the wicked, and of the continuance of the same to and upon the grave, in the same strain as before. Especially does the conclusion reached in Job_21:33 seem strange and unsuitable, if we suppose the sublime truth of a full retribution to be declared in Job_21:30—E.]
Seventh Strophe:Job_21:31-34. Who to His face will declare His way? and hath He done aught—who will requite it to Him? This inquiry evidently proceeds not from the travellers, whose utterance has already come to an end in Job_21:30, but from Job himself. Moreover it concerns not the sinner, but God, the unsearchably wise and mighty disposer of men’s destinies, whose name is not mentioned from reverential awe. So correctly Aben-Ezra, Ewald, Hirzel, Heiligst., Dillm. Regarded as the continuation of the discourse of the travellers (as it is taken by the majority of commentators) [so Del., Schlott., Renan, Scott, Good, Lee, Bernard, Rod., Words., Elzas, Merx], the verse must naturally be referred to the wicked man, characterizing his unscrupulous arbitrary conduct, which no one ventures to hinder or punish. But for this view the expression
îִé éְùַׁìֶּñÎìåֹ
, “who will requite it to him?” would be much too strong. Moreover a sentiment of such a reflective cast would be strange in the mouth of the travellers from whom we should expect directly only a statement of fact (
àåֹúåֹú
Job_21:29). [Referred to God the meaning would be: Who will challenge the divine conduct? He renders no account of His actions. His reasons are inscrutable; and however much His dealings with men seem to contradict our notions of justice, our only recourse is silence and submission. But against this interpretation it may be urged: (1) It requires too many abrupt changes of subject. Thus we should have for subject in Job_21:30 the wicked man, in Job_21:31 God, in Job_21:32 the wicked again, and this while in Job_21:31 and Job_21:32 the subject is indicated only by personal pronouns. It is highly improbable that
åְäåּà
in Job_21:31 b, and
åְäåּà
in Job_21:32 a are used of different subjects. (2) The expressions are unsuitable to the thought attributed to them, especially the clause
îִé éְùַìֶּñÎìåֹ
, which, as Delitzsch argues, used of man in relation to God, has no suitable meaning. On the other hand the application to the wicked gives a smooth connection, at the same time that the expressions are entirely appropriate to describe his career of lawless impunity. The
åäåà
of Job_21:32 moreover acquires by this application its proper emphasis (see on the verse). To the objection made above—that a moral reflection of the sort would be inappropriate in the mouth of travellers, it may be replied that it is not properly a reflection, but a statement of fact, the fact, namely, of the evildoer’s exemption from responsibility and punishment. On the contrary, so far from being called to account, or properly punished, he escapes in the day of calamity (Job_21:30), he defies the world (Job_21:31), and is buried with honor (Job_21:32). Carey thinks that Job here “makes evident allusion to a custom that prevailed among the ancient Egyptians, whose law allowed any one to bring an accusation against a deceased person previously to his interment (and even kings themselves were not exempted from this death judgment); if the accusation was fully proved, and the deceased was convicted of having led a bad life, he was obliged to be placed in his own house, and was debarre
