Discovery BoxJob 10:14 
Context10:14 If I sinned, then you would watch me
and you would not acquit me of my iniquity.
Job 12:15
Context12:15 If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; 1
if he releases them, 2 they destroy 3 the land.
Job 16:11
Context16:11 God abandons me to evil 4 men, 5
and throws 6 me into the hands of wicked men.
Job 21:3
Context21:3 Bear with me 7 and I 8 will speak,
and after I have spoken 9 you may mock. 10
Job 22:22
Context22:22 Accept instruction 11 from his mouth
and store up his words 12 in your heart.
Job 33:7
Context33:7 Therefore no fear of me should terrify you,
nor should my pressure 13 be heavy on you. 14
Job 33:12
Context33:12 Now in this, you are not right – I answer you, 15
for God is greater than a human being. 16
1 tc The LXX has a clarification: “he will dry the earth.”
2 sn The verse is focusing on the two extremes of drought and flood. Both are described as being under the power of God.
3 tn The verb הָפַךְ (hafakh) means “to overthrow; to destroy; to overwhelm.” It was used in Job 9:5 for “overturning” mountains. The word is used in Genesis for the destruction of Sodom.
4 tn The word עֲוִיל (’avil) means “child,” and this cannot be right here. If it is read as עַוָּל (’avval) as in Job 27:7 it would be the unrighteous.
5 sn Job does not refer here to his friends, but more likely to the wicked men who set about to destroy him and his possessions, or to the rabble in ch. 30.
6 tn The word יִרְטֵנִי (yirteni) does not derive from the root רָטָה (ratah) as would fit the pointing in the MT, but from יָרַט (yarat), cognate to Arabic warrata, “to throw; to hurl.” E. Dhorme (Job, 236) thinks that since the normal form would have been יִירְטֵנִי (yirÿteni), it is probable that one of the yods (י) would have affected the word עֲוִיל (’avil) – but that does not make much sense.
7 tn The verb נָשָׂא (nasa’) means “to lift up; to raise up”; but in this context it means “to endure; to tolerate” (see Job 7:21).
8 tn The conjunction and the independent personal pronoun draw emphatic attention to the subject of the verb: “and I on my part will speak.”
9 tn The adverbial clauses are constructed of the preposition “after” and the Piel infinitive construct with the subjective genitive suffix: “my speaking,” or “I speak.”
10 tn The verb is the imperfect of לָעַג (la’ag). The Hiphil has the same basic sense as the Qal, “to mock; to deride.” The imperfect here would be modal, expressing permission. The verb is in the singular, suggesting that Job is addressing Zophar; however, most of the versions put it into the plural. Note the singular in 16:3 between the plural in 16:1 and 16:4.
11 tn The Hebrew word here is תּוֹרָה (torah), its only occurrence in the book of Job.
12 tc M. Dahood has “write his words” (“Metaphor in Job 22:22,” Bib 47 [1966]: 108-9).
13 tc The noun means “my pressure; my burden” in the light of the verb אָכֲף (’akhaf, “to press on; to grip tightly”). In the parallel passages the text used “hand” and “rod” in the hand to terrify. The LXX has “hand” here for this word. But simply changing it to “hand” is ruled out because the verb is masculine.
14 tn See Job 9:34 and 13:21.
15 tn The meaning of this verb is “this is my answer to you.”
16 tc The LXX has “he that is above men is eternal.” Elihu is saying that God is far above Job’s petty problems.
