Ayub 25:1--26:14
Konteks25:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
25:2 “Dominion 2 and awesome might 3 belong to 4 God;
he establishes peace in his heights. 5
25:3 Can his armies be numbered? 6
On whom does his light 7 not rise?
25:4 How then can a human being be righteous before God?
How can one born of a woman be pure? 8
25:5 If even the moon is not bright,
and the stars are not pure as far as he is concerned, 9
25:6 how much less a mortal man, who is but a maggot 10 –
a son of man, who is only a worm!”
26:1 Then Job replied:
26:2 “How you have helped 12 the powerless! 13
How you have saved the person who has no strength! 14
26:3 How you have advised the one without wisdom,
and abundantly 15 revealed your insight!
26:4 To whom 16 did you utter these words?
And whose spirit has come forth from your mouth? 17
26:5 “The dead 19 tremble 20 –
those beneath the waters
and all that live in them. 21
26:6 The underworld 22 is naked before God; 23
the place of destruction lies uncovered. 24
26:7 He spreads out the northern skies 25 over empty space; 26
he suspends the earth on nothing. 27
26:8 He locks the waters in his clouds,
and the clouds do not burst with the weight of them.
26:9 He conceals 28 the face of the full moon, 29
shrouding it with his clouds.
26:10 He marks out the horizon 30 on the surface of the waters
as a boundary between light and darkness.
26:11 The pillars 31 of the heavens tremble
and are amazed at his rebuke. 32
26:12 By his power he stills 33 the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab the great sea monster 34 to pieces. 35
26:13 By his breath 36 the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. 37
26:14 Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! 38
How faint is the whisper 39 we hear of him!
But who can understand the thunder of his power?”
[25:1] 1 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.
[25:2] 2 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] 3 tn The word פָּחַד (pakhad) literally means “fear; dread,” but in the sense of what causes the fear or the dread.
[25:2] 4 tn Heb “[are] with him.”
[25:2] 5 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.
[25:3] 6 tn Heb “Is there a number to his troops?” The question is rhetorical: there is no number to them!
[25:3] 7 tc In place of “light” here the LXX has “his ambush,” perhaps reading אֹרְבוֹ (’orÿvo) instead of אוֹרֵהוּ (’orehu, “his light”). But while that captures the idea of troops and warfare, the change should be rejected because the armies are linked with stars and light. The expression is poetic; the LXX interpretation tried to make it concrete.
[25:4] 8 sn Bildad here does not come up with new expressions; rather, he simply uses what Eliphaz had said (see Job 4:17-19 and 15:14-16).
[25:5] 9 tn Heb “not pure in his eyes.”
[25:6] 10 tn The text just has “maggot” and in the second half “worm.” Something has to be added to make it a bit clearer. The terms “maggot” and “worm” describe man in his lowest and most ignominious shape.
[26:1] 11 sn These two chapters will be taken together under this title, although most commentators would assign Job 26:5-14 to Bildad and Job 27:7-23 to Zophar. Those sections will be noted as they emerge. For the sake of outlining, the following sections will be marked off: Job’s scorn for Bildad (26:2-4); a better picture of God’s greatness (26:5-14); Job’s protestation of innocence (27:2-6); and a picture of the condition of the wicked (27:7-23).
[26:2] 12 tn The interrogative clause is used here as an exclamation, and sarcastic at that. Job is saying “you have in no way helped the powerless.” The verb uses the singular form, for Job is replying to Bildad.
[26:2] 13 tn The “powerless” is expressed here by the negative before the word for “strength; power” – “him who has no power” (see GKC 482 §152.u, v).
[26:2] 14 tn Heb “the arm [with] no strength.” Here too the negative expression is serving as a relative clause to modify “arm,” the symbol of strength and power, which by metonymy stands for the whole person. “Man of arm” denoted the strong in 22:8.
[26:3] 15 tc The phrase לָרֹב (larov) means “to abundance” or “in a large quantity.” It is also used ironically like all these expressions. This makes very good sense, but some wish to see a closer parallel and so offer emendations. Reiske and Kissane thought “to the tender” for the word. But the timid are not the same as the ignorant and unwise. So Graetz supplied “to the boorish” by reading לְבָעַר (lÿba’ar). G. R. Driver did the same with less of a change: לַבּוֹר (labbor; HTR 29 [1936]: 172).
[26:4] 16 tn The verse begins with the preposition and the interrogative: אֶת־מִי (’et-mi, “with who[se help]?”). Others take it as the accusative particle introducing the indirect object: “for whom did you utter…” (see GKC 371 §117.gg). Both are possible.
[26:4] 17 tn Heb “has gone out from you.”
[26:5] 18 sn This is the section, Job 26:5-14, that many conclude makes better sense coming from the friend. But if it is attributed to Job, then he is showing he can surpass them in his treatise of the greatness of God.
[26:5] 19 tn The text has הָרְפָאִים (harÿfa’im, “the shades”), referring to the “dead,” or the elite among the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14; Ps 88:10 [11]). For further discussion, start with A. R. Johnson, The Vitality of the Individual, 88ff.
[26:5] 20 tn The verb is a Polal from חִיל (khil) which means “to tremble.” It shows that even these spirits cannot escape the terror.
[26:5] 21 tc Most commentators wish to lengthen the verse and make it more parallel, but nothing is gained by doing this.
[26:6] 23 tn Heb “before him.”
[26:6] 24 tn The line has “and there is no covering for destruction.” “Destruction” here is another name for Sheol: אֲבַדּוֹן (’avaddon, “Abaddon”).
[26:7] 25 sn The Hebrew word is צָפוֹן (tsafon). Some see here a reference to Mount Zaphon of the Ugaritic texts, the mountain that Baal made his home. The Hebrew writers often equate and contrast Mount Zion with this proud mountain of the north. Of course, the word just means north, and so in addition to any connotations for pagan mythology, it may just represent the northern skies – the stars. Since the parallel line speaks of the earth, that is probably all that was intended in this particular context.
[26:7] 26 sn There is an allusion to the creation account, for this word is תֹּהוּ (tohu), translated “without form” in Gen 1:2.
[26:7] 27 sn Buttenwieser suggests that Job had outgrown the idea of the earth on pillars, and was beginning to see it was suspended in space. But in v. 11 he will still refer to the pillars.
[26:9] 28 tn The verb means “to hold; to seize,” here in the sense of shutting up, enshrouding, or concealing.
[26:9] 29 tc The MT has כִסֵּה (khisseh), which is a problematic vocalization. Most certainly כֵּסֶה (keseh), alternative for כֶּסֶא (kese’, “full moon”) is intended here. The MT is close to the form of “throne,” which would be כִּסֵּא (kisse’, cf. NLT “he shrouds his throne with his clouds”). But here God is covering the face of the moon by hiding it behind clouds.
[26:10] 30 tn The expression חֹק־חָג (khoq-khag) means “he has drawn a limit as a circle.” According to some the form should have been חָק־חוּג (khaq-khug, “He has traced a circle”). But others argues that the text is acceptable as is, and can be interpreted as “a limit he has circled.” The Hebrew verbal roots are חָקַק (khaqaq, “to engrave; to sketch out; to trace”) and חוּג (khug, “describe a circle”) respectively.
[26:11] 31 sn H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 173) says these are the great mountains, perceived to hold up the sky.
[26:11] 32 sn The idea here is that when the earth quakes, or when there is thunder in the heavens, these all represent God’s rebuke, for they create terror.
[26:12] 33 tn The verb רָגַע (raga’) has developed a Semitic polarity, i.e., having totally opposite meanings. It can mean “to disturb; to stir up” or “to calm; to still.” Gordis thinks both meanings have been invoked here. But it seems more likely that “calm” fits the context better.
[26:12] 34 tn Heb “Rahab” (רָהַב), the mythical sea monster that represents the forces of chaos in ancient Near Eastern literature. In the translation the words “the great sea monster” have been supplied appositionally in order to clarify “Rahab.”
[26:12] 35 sn Here again there are possible mythological allusions or polemics. The god Yam, “Sea,” was important in Ugaritic as a god of chaos. And Rahab is another name for the monster of the deep (see Job 9:13).
[26:13] 36 tn Or “wind”; or perhaps “Spirit.” The same Hebrew word, רוּחַ (ruakh), may be translated as “wind,” “breath,” or “spirit/Spirit” depending on the context.
[26:13] 37 sn Here too is a reference to pagan views indirectly. The fleeing serpent was a designation for Leviathan, whom the book will simply describe as an animal, but the pagans thought to be a monster of the deep. God’s power over nature is associated with defeat of pagan gods (see further W. F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan; idem, BASOR 53 [1941]: 39).
[26:14] 38 tn Heb “the ends of his ways,” meaning “the fringes.”
[26:14] 39 tn Heb “how little is the word.” Here “little” means a “fraction” or an “echo.”
