Ayub 2:10

2:10 But he replied, ¹  “You’re talking like one of the godless ²  women would do! Should we receive ³  what is good from God, and not also ⁴  receive ⁵  what is evil?” ⁶  In all this Job did not sin by what he said. ⁷ 

Ayub 38:2

38:2 “Who is this ⁸  who darkens counsel ⁹ 

with words without knowledge?

Ayub 40:4-5

40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy ¹⁰  – how could I reply to you?

I put ¹¹  my hand over my mouth to silence myself. ¹² 

40:5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;

twice, but I will say no more.” ¹³ 

Ayub 42:7-8

VII. The Epilogue (42:7-17)

42:7 After the Lord had spoken these things to Job, he ¹⁴  said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is stirred up ¹⁵  against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, ¹⁶  as my servant Job has. 42:8 So now take ¹⁷  seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede ¹⁸  for you, and I will respect him, ¹⁹  so that I do not deal with you ²⁰  according to your folly, ²¹  because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.” ²² 

[2:10]  ¹ tn Heb “he said to her.”

[2:10]  ² tn The word “foolish” (נָבָל, naval) has to do with godlessness more than silliness (Ps 14:1). To be foolish in this sense is to deny the nature and the work of God in life its proper place. See A. Phillips, “NEBALA – A Term for Serious Disorderly Unruly Conduct,” VT 25 (1975): 237-41; and W. M. W. Roth, “NBL,” VT 10 (1960): 394-409.

[2:10]  ³ tn The verb קִבֵּל (qibbel) means “to accept, receive.” It is attested in the Amarna letters with the meaning “receive meekly, patiently.”

[2:10]  ⁴ tn The adverb גָּם (gam, “also, even”) is placed here before the first clause, but belongs with the second. It intensifies the idea (see GKC 483 §153). See also C. J. Labuschagne, “The Emphasizing Particle GAM and Its Connotations,” Studia Biblica et Semitica, 193-203.

[2:10]  ⁵ tn The two verbs in this sentence, Piel imperfects, are deliberative imperfects; they express the reasoning or deliberating in the interrogative sentences.

[2:10]  ⁶ tn A question need not be introduced by an interrogative particle or adverb. The natural emphasis on the words is enough to indicate it is a question (GKC 473 §150.a).

[2:10]  sn The Hebrew words טוֹב (tov, “good”) and רַע (ra’, “evil”) have to do with what affects life. That which is good benefits people because it produces, promotes and protects life; that which is evil brings calamity and disaster, it harms, pains, or destroys life.

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “sin with his lips,” an idiom meaning he did not sin by what he said.

[38:2]  ⁸ tn The demonstrative pronoun is used here to emphasize the interrogative pronoun (see GKC 442 §136.c).

[38:2]  ⁹ sn The referent of “counsel” here is not the debate between Job and the friends, but the purposes of God (see Ps 33:10; Prov 19:21; Isa 19:17). Dhorme translates it “Providence.”

[40:4]  ¹⁰ tn The word קַלֹּתִי (qalloti) means “to be light; to be of small account; to be unimportant.” From this comes the meaning “contemptible,” which in the causative stem would mean “to treat with contempt; to curse.” Dhorme tries to make the sentence a conditional clause and suggests this meaning: “If I have been thoughtless.” There is really no “if” in Job’s mind.

[40:4]  ¹¹ tn The perfect verb here should be classified as an instantaneous perfect; the action is simultaneous with the words.

[40:4]  ¹² tn The words “to silence myself” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[40:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will not add.”

[42:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the Lord.” The title has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “is kindled.”

[42:7]  ¹⁶ tn The form נְכוֹנָה (nÿkhonah) is from כּוּן (kun, “to be firm; to be fixed; to be established”). Here it means “the right thing” or “truth.” The Akkadian word kenu (from כּוּן, kun) connotes justice and truth.

[42:8]  ¹⁷ tn The imperatives in this verse are plural, so all three had to do this together.

[42:8]  ¹⁸ tn The verb “pray” is the Hitpael from the root פָּלַל (palal). That root has the main idea of arbitration; so in this stem it means “to seek arbitration [for oneself],” or “to pray,” or “to intercede.”

[42:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I will lift up his face,” meaning, “I will regard him.”

[42:8]  ²⁰ tn This clause is a result clause, using the negated infinitive construct.

[42:8]  ²¹ tn The word “folly” can also be taken in the sense of “disgrace.” If the latter is chosen, the word serves as the direct object. If the former, then it is an adverbial accusative.

[42:8]  ²² sn The difference between what they said and what Job said, therefore, has to do with truth. Job was honest, spoke the truth, poured out his complaints, but never blasphemed God. For his words God said he told the truth. He did so with incomplete understanding, and with all the impatience and frustration one might expect. Now the friends, however, did not tell what was right about God. They were not honest; rather, they were self-righteous and condescending. They were saying what they thought should be said, but it was wrong.