Job 40:2
Context40:2 “Will the one who contends 1 with the Almighty correct him? 2
Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”
Job 40:8-9
Context40:8 Would you indeed annul 3 my justice?
Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?
40:9 Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s, 4
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
1 tn The form רֹב (rov) is the infinitive absolute from the verb רִיב (riv, “contend”). Dhorme wishes to repoint it to make it the active participle, the “one who argues with the Almighty.”
2 tn The verb יִסּוֹר (yissor) is found only here, but comes from a common root meaning “to correct; to reprove.” Several suggestions have been made to improve on the MT. Dhorme read it יָסוּר (yasur) in the sense of “to turn aside; to yield.” Ehrlich read this emendation as “to come to an end.” But the MT could be read as “to correct; to instruct.”
3 tn The verb פָּרַר (parar) means “to annul; to break; to frustrate.” It was one thing for Job to claim his own integrity, but it was another matter altogether to nullify God’s righteousness in the process.
4 tn Heb “do you have an arm like God?” The words “as powerful as” have been supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.