Ayub 6:6

6:6 Can food that is tasteless ¹  be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white ²  of an egg?

Ayub 6:13

6:13 Is ³  not my power to help myself nothing,

and has not every resource ⁴  been driven from me?

Ayub 12:13

12:13 “With God ⁵  are wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are his. ⁶ 

Ayub 15:1

Eliphaz’s Second Speech ⁷ 

15:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

Ayub 16:16-17

16:16 my face is reddened ⁸  because of weeping, ⁹ 

and on my eyelids there is a deep darkness, ¹⁰ 

16:17 although ¹¹  there is no violence in my hands

and my prayer is pure.

Ayub 21:31

21:31 No one denounces his conduct to his face;

no one repays him for what ¹²  he has done. ¹³ 

Ayub 30:13

30:13 They destroy ¹⁴  my path;

they succeed in destroying me ¹⁵ 

without anyone assisting ¹⁶  them.

Ayub 41:22

41:22 Strength lodges in its neck,

and despair ¹⁷  runs before it.

[6:6]  ¹ tn Heb “a tasteless thing”; the word “food” is supplied from the context.

[6:6]  ² tn Some commentators are not satisfied with the translation “white of an egg”; they prefer something connected to “slime of purslane” (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 59; cf. NRSV “juice of mallows”). This meaning is based on the Syriac and Arabic version of Sa`adia. The meaning “white of the egg” comes from the rabbinic interpretation of “slime of the yolk.” Others carry the idea further and interpret it to mean “saliva of dreams” or after the LXX “in dream words.” H. H. Rowley does not think that the exact edible object can be identified. The idea of the slimy glaring white around the yolk of an egg seems to fit best. This is another illustration of something that is tasteless or insipid.

[6:13]  ³ tn For the use of the particle אִם (’im) in this kind of interrogative clause, see GKC 475 §150.g, note.

[6:13]  ⁴ tn The word means something like “recovery,” or the powers of recovery; it was used in Job 5:12. In 11:6 it applies to a condition of the mind, such as mental resource. Job is thinking not so much of relief or rescue from his troubles, but of strength to bear them.

[12:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:13]  ⁶ sn A. B. Davidson (Job, 91) says, “These attributes of God’s [sic] confound and bring to nought everything bearing the same name among men.”

[15:1]  ⁷ sn In the first round of speeches, Eliphaz had emphasized the moral perfection of God, Bildad his unwavering justice, and Zophar his omniscience. Since this did not bring the expected response from Job, the friends see him as a menace to true religion, and so they intensify their approach. Eliphaz, as dignified as ever, rebukes Job for his arrogance and warns about the judgment the wicked bring on themselves. The speech of Eliphaz falls into three parts: the rebuke of Job for his irreverence (2-6); the analysis of Job’s presumption about wisdom (7-16), and his warning about the fate of the wicked (17-35).

[16:16]  ⁸ tn An intensive form, a Qetaltal form of the root חָמַר (khamar, “red”) is used here. This word has as probable derivatives חֹמֶר (khomer, “[red] clay”) and חֲמוֹר (khamor, “[red] ass”) and the like. Because of the weeping, his whole complexion has been reddened (the LXX reads “my belly”).

[16:16]  ⁹ sn A. B. Davidson (Job, 122) notes that spontaneous and repeated weeping is one of the symptoms of elephantiasis.

[16:16]  ¹⁰ sn See Job 3:5. Just as joy brings light and life to the eyes, sorrow and suffering bring darkness. The “eyelids” here would be synecdoche, reflecting the whole facial expression as sad and sullen.

[16:17]  ¹¹ tn For the use of the preposition עַל (’al) to introduce concessive clauses, see GKC 499 §160.c.

[21:31]  ¹² tn The expression “and he has done” is taken here to mean “what he has done.”

[21:31]  ¹³ tn Heb “Who declares his way to his face? // Who repays him for what he has done?” These rhetorical questions, which expect a negative answer (“No one!”) have been translated as indicative statements to bring out their force clearly.

[30:13]  ¹⁴ tn This verb נָתְסוּ (natÿsu) is found nowhere else. It is probably a variant of the verb in Job 19:10. R. Gordis (Job, 333-34) notes the Arabic noun natsun (“thorns”), suggesting a denominative idea “they have placed thorns in my path.” Most take it to mean they ruin the way of escape.

[30:13]  ¹⁵ tc The MT has “they further my misfortune.” The line is difficult, with slight textual problems. The verb יֹעִילוּ (yo’ilu) means “to profit,” and so “to succeed” or “to set forward.” Good sense can be made from the MT as it stands, and many suggested changes are suspect.

[30:13]  ¹⁶ tn The sense of “restraining” for “helping” was proposed by Dillmann and supported by G. R. Driver (see AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 163).

[41:22]  ¹⁷ tn This word, דְּאָבָה (dÿ’avah) is a hapax legomenon. But the verbal root means “to languish; to pine.” A related noun talks of dejection and despair in Deut 28:65. So here “despair” as a translation is preferable to “terror.”