Ayub 2:4

2:4 But ¹  Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for ²  skin! ³  Indeed, a man will give up ⁴  all that he has to save his life! ⁵ 

Ayub 5:20

5:20 In time of famine ⁶  he will redeem you from death,

and in time of war from the power of the sword. ⁷ 

Ayub 9:19

9:19 If it is a matter of strength, ⁸ 

most certainly ⁹  he is the strong one!

And if it is a matter of justice,

he will say, ‘Who will summon me?’ ¹⁰ 

Ayub 11:8

11:8 It is higher ¹¹  than the heavens – what can you do?

It is deeper than Sheol ¹²  – what can you know?

Ayub 19:7

Job’s Abandonment and Affliction

19:7 “If ¹³  I cry out, ¹⁴  ‘Violence!’ ¹⁵ 

I receive no answer; ¹⁶ 

I cry for help,

but there is no justice.

Ayub 23:3

23:3 O that I knew ¹⁷  where I might find him, ¹⁸ 

that I could come ¹⁹  to his place of residence! ²⁰ 

Ayub 30:24

The Contrast With the Past

30:24 “Surely one does not stretch out his hand

against a broken man ²¹ 

when he cries for help in his distress. ²² 

Ayub 30:26

30:26 But when I hoped for good, trouble came;

when I expected light, then darkness came.

Ayub 34:17

34:17 Do you really think ²³ 

that one who hates justice can govern? ²⁴ 

And will you declare guilty

the supremely righteous ²⁵  One,

Ayub 36:33

36:33 ²⁶ His thunder announces the coming storm,

the cattle also, concerning the storm’s approach.

Ayub 37:13

37:13 Whether it is for punishment ²⁷  for his land,

or whether it is for mercy,

he causes it to find its mark. ²⁸ 

Ayub 42:16

42:16 After this Job lived 140 years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

[2:4]  ¹ tn The form is the simply preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive. However, the speech of Satan is in contrast to what God said, even though in narrative sequence.

[2:4]  ² tn The preposition בְּעַד (bÿ’ad) designates interest or advantage arising from the idea of protection for (“for the benefit of”); see IBHS 201-2 §11.2.7a.

[2:4]  ³ sn The meaning of the expression is obscure. It may come from the idea of sacrificing an animal or another person in order to go free, suggesting the expression that one type of skin that was worth less was surrendered to save the more important life. Satan would then be saying that Job was willing for others to die for him to go free, but not himself. “Skin” would be a synecdoche of the part for the whole (like the idiomatic use of skin today for a person in a narrow escape). The second clause indicates that God has not even scratched the surface because Job has been protected. His “skin” might have been scratched, but not his flesh and bone! But if his life had been put in danger, he would have responded differently.

[2:4]  ⁴ tc The LXX has “make full payment, pay a full price” (LSJ 522 s.v. ἐκτίνω).

[2:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Indeed, all that a man has he will give for his life.”

[5:20]  ⁶ sn Targum Job here sees an allusion to the famine of Egypt and the war with Amalek.

[5:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the hand of the sword.” This is idiomatic for “the power of the sword.” The expression is also metonymical, meaning from the effect of the sword, which is death.

[9:19]  ⁸ tn The MT has only “if of strength.”

[9:19]  ⁹ tn “Most certainly” translates the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh).

[9:19]  ¹⁰ tn The question could be taken as “who will summon me?” (see Jer 49:19 and 50:44). This does not make immediate sense. Some have simply changed the suffix to “who will summon him.” If the MT is retained, then supplying something like “he will say” could make the last clause fit the whole passage. Another option is to take it as “Who will reveal it to me?” – i.e., Job could be questioning his friends’ qualifications for being God’s emissaries to bring God’s charges against him (cf. KJV, NKJV; and see 10:2 where Job uses the same verb in the Hiphil to request that God reveal what his sin has been that has led to his suffering).

[9:19]  sn Job is saying that whether it is a trial of strength or an appeal to justice, he is unable to go against God.

[11:8]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew says “heights of heaven, what can you do?” A. B. Davidson suggested this was an exclamation and should be left that way. But most commentators will repoint גָּבְהֵי שָׁמַיִם (govhe shamayim, “heights of heaven”) to גְּבֹהָה מִשָּׁמַיִם (gÿvohah mishamayim, “higher than the heavens”) to match the parallel expression. The LXX may have rearranged the text: “heaven is high.”

[11:8]  ¹² tn Or “deeper than hell.” The word “Sheol” always poses problems for translation. Here because it is the opposite of heaven in this merism, “hell” would be a legitimate translation. It refers to the realm of the dead – the grave and beyond. The language is excessive; but the point is that God’s wisdom is immeasurable – and Job is powerless before it.

[19:7]  ¹³ tn The particle is used here as in 9:11 (see GKC 497 §159.w).

[19:7]  ¹⁴ tc The LXX has “I laugh at reproach.”

[19:7]  ¹⁵ tn The same idea is expressed in Jer 20:8 and Hab 1:2. The cry is a cry for help, that he has been wronged, that there is no justice.

[19:7]  ¹⁶ tn The Niphal is simply “I am not answered.” See Prov 21:13b.

[23:3]  ¹⁷ tn The optative here is again expressed with the verbal clause, “who will give [that] I knew….”

[23:3]  ¹⁸ tn The form in Hebrew is וְאֶמְצָאֵהוּ (vÿ’emtsa’ehu), simply “and I will find him.” But in the optative clause this verb is subordinated to the preceding verb: “O that I knew where [and] I might find him.” It is not unusual to have the perfect verb followed by the imperfect in such coordinate clauses (see GKC 386 §120.e). This could also be translated making the second verb a complementary infinitive: “knew how to find him.”

[23:3]  sn H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 159) quotes Strahan without reference: “It is the chief distinction between Job and his friends that he desires to meet God and they do not.”

[23:3]  ¹⁹ tn This verb also depends on מִי־יִתֵּן (mi-yitten, “who will give”) of the first part, forming an additional clause in the wish formula.

[23:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “his place of judgment.” The word is from כּוּן (kun, “to prepare; to arrange”) in the Polel and the Hiphil conjugations. The noun refers to a prepared place, a throne, a seat, or a sanctuary. A. B. Davidson (Job, 169) and others take the word to mean “judgment seat” or “tribunal” in this context.

[30:24]  ²¹ tc Here is another very difficult verse, as is attested by the differences among commentaries and translations. The MT has “surely not against a ruinous heap will he [God] put forth his [God’s] hand.” But A. B. Davidson takes Job as the subject, reading “does not one stretch out his hand in his fall?” The RSV suggests a man walking in the ruins and using his hand for support. Dillmann changed it to “drowning man” to say “does not a drowning man stretch out his hand?” Beer has “have I not given a helping hand to the poor?” Dhorme has, “I did not strike the poor man with my hand.” Kissane follows this but retains the verb form, “one does not strike the poor man with his hand.”

[30:24]  ²² tc The second colon is also difficult; it reads, “if in his destruction to them he cries.” E. Dhorme (Job, 425-26) explains how he thinks “to them” came about, and he restores “to me.” This is the major difficulty in the line, and Dhorme’s suggestion is the simplest resolution.

[34:17]  ²³ tn The force of הַאַף (ha’af) is “Is it truly the case?” The point is being made that if Job were right God could not be judging the world.

[34:17]  ²⁴ tn The verb חָבַשׁ (khavash) has the basic idea of “to bind,” as in binding on the yoke, and then in the sense of subduing people under authority (cf. Assyrian absanu). The imperfect verb here is best expressed with the potential nuance.

[34:17]  ²⁵ tn The two words could be taken separately, but they seem to form a fine nominal hendiadys, because the issue is God’s justice. So the word for power becomes the modifier.

[36:33]  ²⁶ tn Peake knew of over thirty interpretations for this verse. The MT literally says, “He declares his purpose [or his shout] concerning it; cattle also concerning what rises.” Dhorme has it: “The flock which sniffs the coming storm has warned the shepherd.” Kissane: “The thunder declares concerning him, as he excites wrath against iniquity.” Gordis translates it: “His thunderclap proclaims his presence, and the storm his mighty wrath.” Many more could be added to the list.

[37:13]  ²⁷ tn Heb “rod,” i.e., a rod used for punishment.

[37:13]  ²⁸ tn This is interpretive; Heb “he makes find it.” The lightning could be what is intended here, for it finds its mark. But R. Gordis (Job, 429) suggests man is the subject – let him find what it is for, i.e., the fate appropriate for him.