29:8 the young men would see me and step aside, 1
and the old men would get up and remain standing;
38:41 Who prepares prey for the raven,
when its young cry out to God
and wander about 2 for lack of food?
39:4 Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open; 3
they go off, and do not return to them.
1 tn The verb means “to hide; to withdraw.” The young men out of respect would withdraw or yield the place of leadership to Job (thus the translation “step aside”). The old men would rise and remain standing until Job took his seat – a sign of respect.
2 tn The verse is difficult, making some suspect that a line has dropped out. The little birds in the nest hardly go wandering about looking for food. Dhorme suggest “and stagger for lack of food.”
3 tn The idea is that of the open countryside. The Aramaism is found only here.