Job 31:22

then ¹  let my arm fall from the shoulder, ²  let my arm be broken off at the socket. ³ 

Jos 22:22,23; Job 31:10,40; Ps 7:4,5; Ps 137:6

¹ sn Here is the apodosis, the imprecation Job pronounces on himself if he has done any of these things just listed.

² tn The point is that if he has raised his arm against the oppressed it should be ripped off at the joint. The MT has “let fall my shoulder [כְּתֵפִי, kÿtefi] from the nape of the neck [or shoulder blade (מִשִּׁכְמָה, mishikhmah)].”

³ tn The word קָנֶה (qaneh) is “reed; shaft; beam,” and here “shoulder joint.” All the commentaries try to explain how “reed” became “socket; joint.” This is the only place that it is used in such a sense. Whatever the exact explanation – and there seems to be no convincing view – the point of the verse is nonetheless clear.