Ayub 1:20

1:20 Then Job got up ¹  and tore his robe. ²  He shaved his head, ³  and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground. ⁴ 

Ayub 7:17

Insignificance of Humans

7:17 “What is mankind ⁵  that you make so much of them, ⁶ 

and that you pay attention ⁷  to them?

Ayub 9:13-14

9:13 God does not restrain his anger; ⁸ 

under him the helpers of Rahab ⁹  lie crushed. ¹⁰ 

The Impossibility of Facing God in Court

9:14 “How much less, ¹¹  then, can I answer him ¹² 

and choose my words ¹³  to argue ¹⁴  with ¹⁵  him! ¹⁶ 

Ayub 21:6

21:6 For, when I think ¹⁷  about this, I am terrified ¹⁸ 

and my body feels a shudder. ¹⁹ 

Ayub 22:27

22:27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows to him. ²⁰ 

Ayub 24:23

24:23 God ²¹  may let them rest in a feeling of security, ²² 

but he is constantly watching ²³  all their ways. ²⁴ 

Ayub 36:23

36:23 Who has prescribed his ways for him?

Or said to him, ‘You have done what is wicked’?

[1:20]  ¹ tn The verb וַיָּקָם (vayyaqom, “and he arose”) indicates the intentionality and the rapidity of the actions to follow. It signals the beginning of his response to the terrible news. Therefore, the sentence could be translated, “Then Job immediately began to tear his robe.”

[1:20]  ² sn It was the custom to tear the robe in a time of mourning, to indicate that the heart was torn (Joel 2:13). The “garment, mantel” here is the outer garment frequently worn over the basic tunic. See further D. R. Ap-Thomas, “Notes on Some Terms Relating to Prayer,” VT 6 (1956): 220-24.

[1:20]  ³ sn In mourning one normally put off every adornment that enhanced or embellished the person, including that which nature provided (Jer 7:29; Mic 1:16).

[1:20]  ⁴ tn This last verb is the Hishtaphel of the word חָוָה (khavah; BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחָה); it means “to prostrate oneself, to cause oneself to be low to the ground.” In the OT it is frequently translated “to worship” because that is usually why the individual would kneel down and then put his or her forehead to the ground at the knees. But the word essentially means “to bow down to the ground.” Here “worship” (although employed by several English translations, cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, CEV) conveys more than what is taking place – although Job’s response is certainly worshipful. See G. I. Davies, “A Note on the Etymology of histah^awah,” VT 29 (1979): 493-95; and J. A. Emerton, “The Etymology of histah^awah,” OTS (1977): 41-55.

[7:17]  ⁵ tn The verse is a rhetorical question; it is intended to mean that man is too little for God to be making so much over him in all this.

[7:17]  ⁶ tn The Piel verb is a factitive meaning “to magnify.” The English word “magnify” might not be the best translation here, for God, according to Job, is focusing inordinately on him. It means to magnify in thought, appreciate, think highly of. God, Job argues, is making too much of mankind by devoting so much bad attention on them.

[7:17]  ⁷ tn The expression “set your heart on” means “concentrate your mind on” or “pay attention to.”

[9:13]  ⁸ sn The meaning of the line is that God’s anger will continue until it has accomplished its purpose (23:13-14).

[9:13]  ⁹ sn “Rahab” is not to be confused with the harlot of the same name from Jericho. “Rahab” is identified with Tiamat of the Babylonian creation epic, or Leviathan of the Canaanite myths. It is also used in parallelism to the sea (26:12), or the Red Sea (Ps 74:13), and so comes to symbolize Egypt (Isa 30:7). In the Babylonian Creation Epic there is reference to the helpers of Tiamat. In the Bible the reference is only to the raging sea, which the Lord controlled at creation.

[9:13]  ¹⁰ tn The verb שָׁחַח (shakhakh) means “to be prostrate” or “to crouch.” Here the enemies are prostrate under the feet of God – they are crushed.

[9:14]  ¹¹ tn The construction אַף כִּי־אָנֹכִי (’af ki ’anokhi) is an expression that means either “how much more” or “how much less.” Here it has to mean “how much less,” for if powerful forces like Rahab are crushed beneath God’s feet, how could Job contend with him?

[9:14]  ¹² tn The imperfect verb here is to be taken with the nuance of a potential imperfect. The idea of “answer him” has a legal context, i.e., answering God in a court of law. If God is relentless in his anger toward greater powers, then Job realizes it is futile for him.

[9:14]  ¹³ sn In a legal controversy with God it would be essential to choose the correct words very carefully (humanly speaking); but the calmness and presence of mind to do that would be shattered by the overwhelming terror of God’s presence.

[9:14]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is supplied in this line.

[9:14]  ¹⁵ tn The preposition אִם (’im, “with”) carries the idea of “in contest with” in a number of passages (compare vv. 2, 3; 16:21).

[9:14]  ¹⁶ tn The LXX goes a different way after changing the first person to the third: “Oh then that he would hearken to me, or judge my cause.”

[21:6]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”). Here it has the sense of “to keep in memory; to meditate; to think upon.”

[21:6]  ¹⁸ tn The main clause is introduced here by the conjunction, following the adverbial clause of time.

[21:6]  ¹⁹ tn Some commentators take “shudder” to be the subject of the verb, “a shudder seizes my body.” But the word is feminine (and see the usage, especially in Job 9:6 and 18:20). It is the subject in Isa 21:4; Ps 55:6; and Ezek 7:18.

[22:27]  ²⁰ tn The words “to him” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[24:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:23]  ²² tn The expression לָבֶטַח (lavetakh, “in security”) precedes the verb that it qualifies – God “allows him to take root in security.” For the meaning of the verb, see Job 8:15.

[24:23]  ²³ tn Heb “his eyes are on.”

[24:23]  ²⁴ sn The meaning of the verse is that God may allow the wicked to rest in comfort and security, but all the time he is watching them closely with the idea of bringing judgment on them.