2:4 But 1 Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for 2 skin! 3 Indeed, a man will give up 4 all that he has to save his life! 5
14:13 “O that 6 you would hide me in Sheol, 7
and conceal me till your anger has passed! 8
O that you would set me a time 9
and then remember me! 10
18:21 ‘Surely such is the residence 11 of an evil man;
and this is the place of one who has not known God.’” 12
20:26 Total darkness waits to receive his treasures; 13
a fire which has not been kindled 14
will consume him
and devour what is left in his tent.
21:21 For what is his interest 15 in his home
after his death, 16
when the number of his months
has been broken off? 17
24:22 But God 18 drags off the mighty by his power;
when God 19 rises up against him, he has no faith in his life. 20
27:18 The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon, 21
like a hut 22 that a watchman has made.
30:15 Terrors are turned loose 23 on me;
they drive away 24 my honor like the wind,
and like a cloud my deliverance has passed away.
31:9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door, 25
31:31 if 26 the members of my household 27 have never said, 28
‘If only there were 29 someone
who has not been satisfied from Job’s 30 meat!’ –
1 tn The form is the simply preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive. However, the speech of Satan is in contrast to what God said, even though in narrative sequence.
2 tn The preposition בְּעַד (bÿ’ad) designates interest or advantage arising from the idea of protection for (“for the benefit of”); see IBHS 201-2 §11.2.7a.
3 sn The meaning of the expression is obscure. It may come from the idea of sacrificing an animal or another person in order to go free, suggesting the expression that one type of skin that was worth less was surrendered to save the more important life. Satan would then be saying that Job was willing for others to die for him to go free, but not himself. “Skin” would be a synecdoche of the part for the whole (like the idiomatic use of skin today for a person in a narrow escape). The second clause indicates that God has not even scratched the surface because Job has been protected. His “skin” might have been scratched, but not his flesh and bone! But if his life had been put in danger, he would have responded differently.
4 tc The LXX has “make full payment, pay a full price” (LSJ 522 s.v. ἐκτίνω).
5 tn Heb “Indeed, all that a man has he will give for his life.”
6 tn The optative mood is introduced here again with מִי יִתֵּן (mi yitten), literally, “who will give?”
sn After arguing that man will die without hope, Job expresses his desire that there be a resurrection, and what that would mean. The ancients all knew that death did not bring existence to an end; rather, they passed into another place, but they continued to exist. Job thinks that death would at least give him some respite from the wrath of God; but this wrath would eventually be appeased, and then God would remember the one he had hidden in Sheol just as he remembered Noah. Once that happened, it would be possible that Job might live again.
7 sn Sheol in the Bible refers to the place where the dead go. But it can have different categories of meaning: death in general, the grave, or the realm of the departed spirits [hell]. A. Heidel shows that in the Bible when hell is in view the righteous are not there – it is the realm of the departed spirits of the wicked. When the righteous go to Sheol, the meaning is usually the grave or death. See chapter 3 in A. Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic and the Old Testament Parallels.
8 tn The construction used here is the preposition followed by the infinitive construct followed by the subjective genitive, forming an adverbial clause of time.
9 tn This is the same word used in v. 5 for “limit.”
10 tn The verb זָכַר (zakhar) means more than simply “to remember.” In many cases, including this one, it means “to act on what is remembered,” i.e., deliver or rescue (see Gen 8:1, “and God remembered Noah”). In this sense, a prayer “remember me” is a prayer for God to act upon his covenant promises.
11 tn The term is in the plural, “the tabernacles”; it should be taken as a plural of local extension (see GKC 397 §124.b).
12 tn The word “place” is in construct; the clause following it replaces the genitive: “this is the place of – he has not known God.”
13 tn Heb “all darkness is hidden for his laid up things.” “All darkness” refers to the misfortunes and afflictions that await. The verb “hidden” means “is destined for.”
14 tn Heb “not blown upon,” i.e., not kindled by man. But G. R. Driver reads “unquenched” (“Hebrew notes on the ‘Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sirach’,” JBL 53 [1934]: 289).
15 tn Heb “his desire.” The meaning is that after he is gone he does not care about what happens to his household (“house” meaning “family” here).
16 tn Heb “after him,” but clearly the meaning is “after he is gone.”
17 tc The rare word חֻצָּצוּ (khutsatsu) is probably a cognate of hassa in Arabic, meaning “to cut off.” There is also an Akkadian word “to cut in two” and “to break.” These fit the context here rather well. The other Hebrew words that are connected to the root חָצַצ (khatsats) do not offer any help.
18 tn God has to be the subject of this clause. None is stated in the Hebrew text, but “God” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “life” at the end of the line.
20 tn This line has been given a number of interpretations due to its cryptic form. The verb יָקוּם (yaqum) means “he rises up.” It probably is meant to have God as the subject, and be subordinated as a temporal clause to what follows. The words “against him” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation to specify the object and indicate that “rise up” is meant in a hostile sense. The following verb וְלֹא־יַאֲמִין (vÿlo’-ya’amin), by its very meaning of “and he does not believe,” cannot have God as the subject, but must refer to the wicked.
21 tn Heb כָעָשׁ (kha’ash, “like a moth”), but this leaves room for clarification. Some commentators wanted to change it to “bird’s nest” or just “nest” (cf. NRSV) to make the parallelism; see Job 4:14. But the word is not found. The LXX has a double expression, “as moths, as a spider.” So several take it as the spider’s web, which is certainly unsubstantial (cf. NAB, NASB, NLT; see Job 8:14).
22 tn The Hebrew word is the word for “booth,” as in the Feast of Booths. The word describes something that is flimsy; it is not substantial at all.
23 tn The passive singular verb (Hophal) is used with a plural subject (see GKC 388 §121.b).
24 tc This translation assumes that “terrors” (in the plural) is the subject. Others emend the text in accordance with the LXX, which has, “my hope is gone like the wind.”
25 tn Gordis notes that the word פֶּתַח (petakh, “door”) has sexual connotations in rabbinic literature, based on Prov 7:6ff. (see b. Ketubbot 9b). See also the use in Song 4:12 using a synonym.
26 tn Now Job picks up the series of clauses serving as the protasis.
27 tn Heb “the men of my tent.” In context this refers to members of Job’s household.
28 sn The line is difficult to sort out. Job is saying it is sinful “if his men have never said, ‘O that there was one who has not been satisfied from his food.’” If they never said that, it would mean there were people out there who needed to be satisfied with his food.
29 tn The optative is again expressed with “who will give?”
30 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Job) has been specified in the translation for clarity.