Job 29:3

29:3 when he caused his lamp

to shine upon my head,

and by his light

I walked through darkness;


tn This clause is in apposition to the preceding (see GKC 426 §131.o). It offers a clarification.

tn The form בְּהִלּוֹ (bÿhillo) is unusual; it should be parsed as a Hiphil infinitive construct with the elision of the ה (he). The proper spelling would have been with a ַ (patakh) under the preposition, reflecting הַהִלּוֹ (hahillo). If it were Qal, it would just mean “when his light shone.”

sn Lamp and light are symbols of God’s blessings of life and all the prosperous and good things it includes.

tn Here too the imperfect verb is customary – it describes action that was continuous, but in a past time.

tn The accusative (“darkness”) is here an adverbial accusative of place, namely, “in the darkness,” or because he was successfully led by God’s light, “through the darkness” (see GKC 374 §118.h).