Ayub 23:8-12
Konteks23:8 “If I go to the east, he is not there,
and to the west, yet I do not perceive him.
23:9 In the north 1 when he is at work, 2
I do not see him; 3
when he turns 4 to the south,
I see no trace of him.
23:10 But he knows the pathway that I take; 5
if he tested me, I would come forth like gold. 6
23:11 My feet 7 have followed 8 his steps closely;
I have kept to his way and have not turned aside. 9
23:12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion. 10
Ayub 27:1-6
Konteks27:1 And Job took up his discourse again: 11
27:2 “As surely as God lives, 12 who has denied me justice, 13
the Almighty, who has made my life bitter 14 –
27:3 for while 15 my spirit 16 is still in me,
and the breath from God is in my nostrils,
27:4 my 17 lips will not speak wickedness,
and my tongue will whisper 18 no deceit.
27:5 I will never 19 declare that you three 20 are in the right;
until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!
27:6 I will maintain my righteousness
and never let it go;
my conscience 21 will not reproach me
for as long as I live. 22
[23:9] 1 sn The text has “the left hand,” the Semitic idiom for directions. One faces the rising sun, and so left is north, right is south.
[23:9] 2 tc The form בַּעֲשֹׂתוֹ (ba’asoto) would be the temporal clause using the infinitive construct with a pronoun (subject genitive). This would be “when he works.” Several follow the Syriac with “I seek him.” The LXX has “[when] he turns.” R. Gordis (Job, 261) notes that there is no need to emend the text; he shows a link to the Arabic cognate ghasa, “to cover.” To him this is a perfect parallel to יַעְטֹף (ya’tof, “covers himself”).
[23:9] 3 tn The verb is the apocopated form of the imperfect. The object is supplied.
[23:9] 4 tn The MT has “he turns,” but the Syriac and Vulgate have “I turn.”
[23:10] 5 tn The expression דֶּרֶךְ עִמָּדִי (derekh ’immadi) means “the way with me,” i.e., “the way that I take.” The Syriac has “my way and my standing.” Several commentators prefer “the way of my standing,” meaning where to look for me. J. Reider offers “the way of my life” (“Some notes to the text of the scriptures,” HUCA 3 [1926]: 115). Whatever the precise wording, Job knows that God can always find him.
[23:10] 6 tn There is a perfect verb followed by an imperfect in this clause with the protasis and apodosis relationship (see GKC 493 §159.b).
[23:11] 9 tn The last clause, “and I have not turned aside,” functions adverbially in the sentence. The form אָט (’at) is a pausal form of אַתֶּה (’atteh), the Hiphil of נָטָה (natah, “stretch out”).
[23:12] 10 tc The form in the MT (מֵחֻקִּי, mekhuqqi) means “more than my portion” or “more than my law.” An expanded meaning results in “more than my necessary food” (see Ps 119:11; cf. KJV, NASB, ESV). HALOT 346 s.v. חֹק 1 indicates that חֹק (khoq) has the meaning of “portion” and is here a reference to “what is appointed for me.” The LXX and the Latin versions, along with many commentators, have בְּחֵקִי (bÿkheqi, “in my bosom”).
[27:1] 11 tn The Hebrew word מָשָׁל (mashal) is characteristically “proverb; by-word.” It normally refers to a brief saying, but can be used for a discourse (see A. R. Johnson, “MasŒal,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 162ff.).
[27:2] 12 tn The expression חַי־אֵל (khay-’el) is the oath formula: “as God lives.” In other words, the speaker is staking God’s life on the credibility of the words. It is like saying, “As truly as God is alive.”
[27:2] 13 tn “My judgment” would here, as before, be “my right.” God has taken this away by afflicting Job unjustly (A. B. Davidson, Job, 187).
[27:2] 14 tn The verb הֵמַר (hemar) is the Hiphil perfect from מָרַר (marar, “to be bitter”) and hence, “to make bitter.” The object of the verb is “my soul,” which is better translated as “me” or “my life.”
[27:3] 15 tn The adverb עוֹד (’od) was originally a noun, and so here it could be rendered “all the existence of my spirit.” The word comes between the noun in construct and its actual genitive (see GKC 415 §128.e).
[27:3] 16 tn The word נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah) is the “breath” that was breathed into Adam in Gen 2:7. Its usage includes the animating breath, the spiritual understanding, and the functioning conscience – so the whole spirit of the person. The other word in this verse, רוּחַ (ruakh), may be translated as “wind,” “breath,” or “spirit/Spirit” depending on the context. Here, since it talks about the nostrils, it should be translated “breath.”
[27:4] 17 tn The verse begins with אִם (’im), the formula used for the content of the oath (“God lives…if I do/do not…”). Thus, the content of the oath proper is here in v. 4.
[27:4] 18 tn The verb means “to utter; to mumble; to meditate.” The implication is that he will not communicate deceitful things, no matter how quiet or subtle.
[27:5] 19 tn The text uses חָלִילָה לִּי (khalilah li) meaning “far be it from me,” or more strongly, something akin to “sacrilege.”
[27:5] 20 tn In the Hebrew text “you” is plural – a reference to Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad. To make this clear, “three” is supplied in the translation.
[27:6] 22 tn The prepositional phrase “from my days” probably means “from the days of my birth,” or “all my life.”
