Job 18:21
18:21 ‘Surely such is the residence 1 of an evil man;
and this is the place of one who has not known God.’” 2
Job 21:30
21:30 that the evil man is spared
from the day of his misfortune,
that he is delivered 3
from the day of God’s wrath?
Job 28:28
28:28 And he said to mankind,
‘The fear of the Lord 4 – that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.’” 5
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.
1 tn The term is in the plural, “the tabernacles”; it should be taken as a plural of local extension (see GKC 397 §124.b).
2 tn The word “place” is in construct; the clause following it replaces the genitive: “this is the place of – he has not known God.”
3 tn The verb means “to be led forth.” To be “led forth in the day of trouble” means to be delivered.
4 tc A number of medieval Hebrew manuscripts have YHWH (“Lord”); BHS has אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”). As J. E. Hartley (Job [NICOT], 383) points out, this is the only occurrence of אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”) in the book of Job, creating doubt for retaining it. Normally, YHWH is avoided in the book. “Fear of” (יִרְאַת, yir’at) is followed by שַׁדַּי (shadday, “Almighty”) in 6:14 – the only other occurrence of this term for “fear” in construct with a divine title.
5 tc Many commentators delete this verse because (1) many read the divine name Yahweh (translated “Lord”) here, and (2) it is not consistent with the argument that precedes it. But as H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 185) points out, there is inconsistency in this reasoning, for many of the critics have already said that this chapter is an interpolation. Following that line of thought, then, one would not expect it to conform to the rest of the book in this matter of the divine name. And concerning the second difficulty, the point of this chapter is that wisdom is beyond human comprehension and control. It belongs to God alone. So the conclusion that the fear of the Lord is wisdom is the necessary conclusion. Rowley concludes: “It is a pity to rob the poem of its climax and turn it into the expression of unrelieved agnosticism.”
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.”
7 tn For this construction, see Job 27:5.