1 Samuel 4:12

Eli Dies

4:12 On that day ¹  a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and dirt was on his head.

Ayub 2:12

2:12 But when they gazed intently ²  from a distance but did not recognize ³  him, they began to weep loudly. Each of them tore his robes, and they threw dust into the air over their heads. ⁴ 

Yehezkiel 27:30

27:30 They will lament loudly ⁵  over you and cry bitterly.

They will throw dust on their heads and roll in the ashes; ⁶ 

[4:12]  ¹ tn Or perhaps, “the same day.” On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see Joüon 2:532 §143.f.

[2:12]  ² tn Heb “they lifted up their eyes.” The idiom “to lift up the eyes” (or “to lift up the voice”) is intended to show a special intensity in the effort. Here it would indicate that they were trying to see Job from a great distance away.

[2:12]  ³ tn The Hiphil perfect here should take the nuance of potential perfect – they were not able to recognize him. In other words, this does not mean that they did not know it was Job, only that he did not look anything like the Job they knew.

[2:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “they tossed dust skyward over their heads.”

[27:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “make heard over you with their voice.”

[27:30]  ⁶ tn Note a similar expression to “roll in the ashes” in Mic 1:10.