Job 21:21

For what is his interest ¹  in his home after his death, ²  when the number of his months has been broken off? ³ 

Job 14:5; Job 14:21; Ps 55:23; Ps 102:24; Ec 2:18,19; Lu 16:27,28

¹ tn Heb “his desire.” The meaning is that after he is gone he does not care about what happens to his household (“house” meaning “family” here).

² tn Heb “after him,” but clearly the meaning is “after he is gone.”

³ tc The rare word חֻצָּצוּ (khutsatsu) is probably a cognate of hassa in Arabic, meaning “to cut off.” There is also an Akkadian word “to cut in two” and “to break.” These fit the context here rather well. The other Hebrew words that are connected to the root חָצַצ (khatsats) do not offer any help.