Ayub 10:18

An Appeal for Relief

10:18 “Why then did you bring me out from the womb?

I should have died ¹ 

and no eye would have seen me!

Ayub 28:7

28:7 a hidden path ²  no bird of prey knows –

no falcon’s ³  eye has spotted it.

Ayub 42:5

42:5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye has seen you. ⁴ 

[10:18]  ¹ tn The two imperfect verbs in this section are used to stress regrets for something which did not happen (see GKC 317 §107.n).

[28:7]  ² tn The “path” could refer to the mine shaft or it could refer to wisdom. The former seems more likely in the present context; the word “hidden is supplied in the translation to indicate the mines are “hidden” from sharp-eyed birds of prey above.

[28:7]  ³ sn The kind of bird mentioned here is debated. The LXX has “vulture,” and so some commentaries follow that. The emphasis on the sight favors the view that it is the falcon.

[42:5]  ⁴ sn This statement does not imply there was a vision. He is simply saying that this experience of God was real and personal. In the past his knowledge of God was what he had heard – hearsay. This was real.