29:25 I chose 1 the way for them 2
and sat as their chief; 3
I lived like a king among his troops;
I was like one who comforts mourners. 4
31:7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way,
if my heart has gone after my eyes, 5
or if anything 6 has defiled my hands,
33:14 “For God speaks, the first time in one way,
the second time in another,
though a person does not perceive 7 it.
39:1 “Are you acquainted with the way 8
the mountain goats 9 give birth?
Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?
1 tn All of these imperfects describe what Job used to do, and so they all fit the category of customary imperfect.
2 tn Heb “their way.”
3 tn The text simply has “and I sat [as their] head.” The adverbial accusative explains his role, especially under the image of being seated. He directed the deliberations as a king directs an army.
4 tc Most commentators think this last phrase is odd here, and so they either delete it altogether, or emend it to fit the idea of the verse. Ewald, however, thought it appropriate as a transition to the next section, reminding his friends that unlike him, they were miserable comforters. Herz made the few changes in the text to get the reading “where I led them, they were willing to go” (ZAW 20 [1900]: 163). The two key words in the MT are אֲבֵלִים יְנַחֵם (’avelim yÿnakhem, “he [one who] comforts mourners”). Following Herz, E. Dhorme (Job, 422) has these changed to אוֹבִילֵם יִנַּחוּ (’ovilem yinnakhu). R. Gordis has “like one leading a camel train” (Job, 324). But Kissane also retains the line as a summary of the chapter, noting its presence in the versions.
5 sn The meaning is “been led by what my eyes see.”
6 tc The word מֻאוּם (mu’um) could be taken in one of two ways. One reading is to represent מוּם (mum, “blemish,” see the Masorah); the other is for מְאוּמָה (mÿ’umah, “anything,” see the versions and the Kethib). Either reading fits the passage.
7 tn The Syriac and the Vulgate have “and he does not repeat it,” a reading of the text as it is, according to E. Dhorme (Job, 403). But his argument is based on another root with this meaning – a root which does not exist (see L. Dennefeld, RB 48 [1939]: 175). The verse is saying that God does speak to man.
8 tn The text uses the infinitive as the object: “do you know the giving birth of?”
9 tn Or “ibex.”