Job 18 | TNotes

Summary for Job 18:2-3: 18:2-3 ^a How long before you stop talking? Bildad addressed Job in the plural, perhaps meaning “people like you.”
18:5 ^b The light of the wicked will be snuffed out could be a metaphor for a life of confused darkness (Prov 4:19 ^c); more likely, it indicates an early death (Prov 13:9 ^d; 24:20 ^e).
18:7 ^f The stride that is shortened is the opposite of walking and running in the blessed life (Prov 4:12 ^g).
Summary for Job 18:8-10: 18:8-10 ^h A series of hunting devices illustrates the biblical principle of retribution (see study note on 34:11).
Summary for Job 18:11-13: 18:11-13 ⁱ Bildad applies the biblical principle of retribution (18:8-10 ^j) to Job, as do Eliphaz (15:21-23 ^k) and Zophar (20:25 ^l).
18:13 ^m death devours: Isaiah later reversed the figure and saw the Lord as swallowing up death (Isa 25:8 ⁿ; see 1 Cor 15:54 ^o).
18:15 ^p The image of burning sulfur recalls the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24 ^q) and suggests the fate of all the wicked (Ps 11:6 ^r; Rev 19:20 ^s; 21:8 ^t).
18:17 ^u Being forgotten by those who come later is a familiar curse against the wicked (see 18:19 ^v; Pss 34:16 ^w; 109:13 ^x; Prov 10:7 ^y).
18:19 ^z This curse of childlessness (see 18:16 ^aa; Pss 109:13 ^ab; Isa 14:21-22 ^ac) and Bildad’s earlier cruelty (Job 8:4 ^ad) show that he regarded Job’s condition as the just reward for his wickedness (1:18-19 ^ae).
18:20 ^af in the west ... in the east: These phrases might refer to people from times past and times to come or to people from various places.
18:21 ^ag Bildad kept implying that Job had rejected God (15:4 ^ah, 13 ^ai, 25 ^aj).