Ayub 5:23

5:23 For you will have a pact with the stones ¹  of the field,

and the wild animals ²  will be at peace ³  with you.

Ayub 22:21

22:21 “Reconcile yourself ⁴  with God, ⁵ 

and be at peace ⁶  with him;

in this way your prosperity will be good.

Ayub 25:2

25:2 “Dominion ⁷  and awesome might ⁸  belong to ⁹  God;

he establishes peace in his heights. ¹⁰ 

Ayub 21:13

21:13 They live out ¹¹  their years in prosperity

and go down ¹²  to the grave ¹³  in peace.

Ayub 25:1

Bildad’s Third Speech ¹⁴ 

25:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:

Ayub 9:33

9:33 Nor is there an arbiter ¹⁵  between us,

who ¹⁶  might lay ¹⁷  his hand on us both, ¹⁸ 

Ayub 15:21

15:21 Terrifying sounds fill ¹⁹  his ears;

in a time of peace marauders ²⁰  attack him.

Ayub 36:11

36:11 If they obey and serve him,

they live out their days in prosperity

and their years in pleasantness. ²¹ 

[5:23]  ¹ tn Heb “your covenant is with the stones of the field.” The line has been variously interpreted and translated. It is omitted in the LXX. It seems to mean there is a deep sympathy between man and nature. Some think it means that the boundaries will not be violated by enemies; Rashi thought it represented some species of beings, like genii of the field, and so read אֲדֹנֵי (’adone, “lords”) for אַבְנֵי (’avne, “stones”). Ball takes the word as בְּנֵי (bÿne, “sons”), as in “sons of the field,” to get the idea that the reference is to the beasts. E. Dhorme (Job, 71) rejects these ideas as too contrived; he says to have a pact with the stones of the field simply means the stones will not come and spoil the ground, making it less fertile.

[5:23]  ² tn Heb “the beasts of the field.”

[5:23]  ³ tn This is the only occurrence of the Hophal of the verb שָׁלֵם (shalem, “to make or have peace” with someone). Compare Isa 11:6-9 and Ps 91:13. The verb form is the perfect; here it is the perfect consecutive following a noun clause (see GKC 494 §159.g).

[22:21]  ⁴ tn The verb סָכַן (sakhan) meant “to be useful; to be profitable” in v. 2. Now, in the Hiphil it means “to be accustomed to” or “to have experience with.” Joined by the preposition “with” it means “to be reconciled with him.” W. B. Bishai cites Arabic and Ugaritic words to support a meaning “acquiesce” (“Notes on hskn in Job 22:21,” JNES 20 [1961]: 258-59).

[22:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:21]  ⁶ tn The two imperatives in this verse imply a relationship of succession and not consequence.

[25:2]  ⁷ tn The word הַמְשֵׁל (hamshel) is a Hiphil infinitive absolute used as a noun. It describes the rulership or dominion that God has, that which gives power and authority.

[25:2]  ⁸ tn The word פָּחַד (pakhad) literally means “fear; dread,” but in the sense of what causes the fear or the dread.

[25:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “[are] with him.”

[25:2]  ¹⁰ sn The line says that God “makes peace in his heights.” The “heights” are usually interpreted to mean the highest heaven. There may be a reference here to combat in the spiritual world between angels and Satan. The context will show that God has a heavenly host at his disposal, and nothing in heaven or on earth can shatter his peace. “Peace” here could also signify the whole order he establishes.

[21:13]  ¹¹ tc The Kethib has “they wear out” but the Qere and the versions have יְכַלּוּ (yÿkhallu, “bring to an end”). The verb כָּלָה (kalah) means “to finish; to complete,” and here with the object “their days,” it means that they bring their life to a (successful) conclusion. Both readings are acceptable in the context, with very little difference in the overall meaning (which according to Gordis is proof the Qere does not always correct the Kethib).

[21:13]  ¹² tc The MT has יֵחָתּוּ (yekhattu, “they are frightened [or broken]”), taking the verb from חָתַת (khatat, “be terrified”). But most would slightly repoint it to יֵחָתוּ (yekhatu), an Aramaism, “they go down,” from נָחַת (nakhat, “go down”). See Job 17:16.

[21:13]  ¹³ tn The word רֶגַע (rega’) has been interpreted as “in a moment” or “in peace” (on the basis of Arabic raja`a, “return to rest”). Gordis thinks this is a case of talhin – both meanings present in the mind of the writer.

[25:1]  ¹⁴ sn The third speech of Bildad takes up Job 25, a short section of six verses. It is followed by two speeches from Job; and Zophar does not return with his third. Does this mean that the friends have run out of arguments, and that Job is just getting going? Many scholars note that in chs. 26 and 27 there is material that does not fit Job’s argument. Many have rearranged the material to show that there was a complete cycle of three speeches. In that light, 26:5-14 is viewed as part of Bildad’s speech. Some, however, take Bildad’s speech to be only ch. 25, and make 26:5-14 an interpolated hymn. For all the arguments and suggestions, one should see the introductions and the commentaries.

[9:33]  ¹⁵ tn The participle מוֹכִיחַ (mokhiakh) is the “arbiter” or “mediator.” The word comes from the verb יָכַח (yakhakh, “decide, judge”), which is concerned with legal and nonlegal disputes. The verbal forms can be used to describe the beginning of a dispute, the disputation in progress, or the settling of it (here, and in Isa 1:18).

[9:33]  sn The old translation of “daysman” came from a Latin expression describing the fixing of a day for arbitration.

[9:33]  ¹⁶ tn The relative pronoun is understood in this clause.

[9:33]  ¹⁷ tn The jussive in conditional sentences retains its voluntative sense: let something be so, and this must happen as a consequence (see GKC 323 §109.i).

[9:33]  ¹⁸ sn The idiom of “lay his hand on the two of us” may come from a custom of a judge putting his hands on the two in order to show that he is taking them both under his jurisdiction. The expression can also be used for protection (see Ps 139:5). Job, however, has a problem in that the other party is God, who himself will be arbiter in judgment.

[15:21]  ¹⁹ tn The word “fill” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation.

[15:21]  ²⁰ tn The word שׁוֹדֵד (shoded) means “a robber; a plunderer” (see Job 12:6). With the verb bo’ the sentence means that the robber pounces on or comes against him (see GKC 373 §118.f). H. H. Rowley observes that the text does not say that he is under attack, but that the sound of fears is in his ears, i.e., that he is terrified by thoughts of this.

[36:11]  ²¹ tc Some commentators delete this last line for metrical considerations. But there is no textual evidence for the deletion; it is simply the attempt by some to make the meter rigid.