Job 22-26 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Job 22:1: 22:1–26:14 In this third round of speeches, Job’s friends explicitly accuse Job of being among the wicked and sharing their fate.

Summary for Job 22:1: 22:1–26:14 ^a In this third round of speeches, Job’s friends explicitly accuse Job of being among the wicked and sharing their fate.
Summary for Job 22:2-3: 22:2-3 ^b Eliphaz did not understand that God would gain pleasure from Job’s righteousness (1:8 ^c; 2:3 ^d), as he does from every righteous person (1 Chr 29:17 ^e; Ps 147:10-11 ^f; Prov 11:1 ^g, 20 ^h; 12:22 ⁱ). God would also gain glory from Job’s steadfast faith, which emphasized the lie behind Satan’s challenge (Job 1:9-12 ^j; 2:4-6 ^k).

• Job steadfastly claimed that he was perfect (23:10-12 ^l), as did God himself (1:1 ^m, 8 ⁿ; 2:3 ^o).
22:6 ^p Demanding clothing as security for lent money was forbidden by the law and condemned by the prophets (Exod 22:26-27 ^q; Deut 24:10-13 ^r; Ezek 18:7-8 ^s; Amos 2:8 ^t). In contrast, Job had provided clothing for the poor (Job 31:19-20 ^u).
22:9 ^v The Old Testament gives Israel the responsibility of caring for widows and orphans (Deut 10:18 ^w; 14:29 ^x) and repeatedly condemns their neglect as the worst of social evils (Exod 22:22-24 ^y; Deut 27:19 ^z). Job agreed that it was wicked (Job 24:3 ^aa, 21 ^ab) but claimed that he was innocent (29:12-13 ^ac; 31:16-18 ^ad, 21 ^ae).
Summary for Job 22:12-14: 22:12-14 ^af That’s why: Job had not claimed that God can’t see, but others have (Pss 10:11 ^ag; 73:11 ^ah; 94:7 ^ai).
22:18 ^aj I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking: Eliphaz threw Job’s words back at him (21:16b ^ak).
Summary for Job 22:19-20: 22:19-20 ^al The righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed: They will be glad to see justice done and injustices avenged (see also Ps 58:10-11 ^am; Rev 19:1-4 ^an). Eliphaz’s sentiment neglected God’s desire that sinful people repent (see Ezek 33:11 ^ao).
22:22 ^ap The term instructions (Hebrew torah, “law,” Deut 17:11 ^aq), used in Job only here, frequently refers to the Pentateuch (Genesis—Deuteronomy).

• Listen ... store: See Deut 4:1-2 ^ar; 6:6-9 ^as; Ps 119:11 ^at; Prov 2:1-9 ^au. Job had done this (Job 23:12 ^av).
22:23 ^aw return to the Almighty: Bildad (8:5-6 ^ax) and Zophar (11:13-14 ^ay) had already misapplied this biblical principle (Isa 55:6-7 ^az; Hos 14:1-2 ^ba; Zech 1:3 ^bb; Acts 26:20 ^bc), and now Eliphaz also misapplies it.
22:24 ^bd precious gold (literally Ophir): Ophir was probably located in southern Arabia (see 1 Kgs 9:28 ^be; 22:48 ^bf). The gold of Ophir was the standard in fine gold (Isa 13:12 ^bg); queens wore it at weddings (Ps 45:9 ^bh).
22:25 ^bi God promises to be his people’s treasure (Ps 16:5 ^bj; Isa 33:6 ^bk; Matt 19:21 ^bl; Mark 10:21 ^bm); although they possess nothing, they will be rich (2 Cor 6:10 ^bn; Jas 2:5 ^bo).
22:27 ^bp Ironically, Job will pray, God will hear, and Eliphaz will reap the benefits (42:8 ^bq).

• you will fulfill your vows: Vows were often stimulated by repentance and forgiveness (Hos 14:2 ^br; Jon 1:16 ^bs; 2:9 ^bt) and when seeking divine intervention (Judg 11:29-40 ^bu; 1 Sam 1:1-28 ^bv). Vows are binding (Num 30:2 ^bw; Deut 23:23 ^bx; Pss 22:25 ^by; 61:5 ^bz, 8 ^ca; 116:14 ^cb, 18 ^cc; Eccl 5:4-5 ^cd).
22:29 ^ce This difficult text probably conveys the effectiveness of a righteous man’s prayer. The principle (Pss 34:15 ^cf, 17 ^cg; 145:18 ^ch; Prov 15:8 ^ci, 29 ^cj; Jas 5:16 ^ck) is illustrated throughout Scripture (see, e.g., Gen 18:23-32 ^cl; 19:29 ^cm; 20:7 ^cn, 17 ^co; 32:28 ^cp; Exod 9:28-32 ^cq; 17:11 ^cr; 32:10-14 ^cs; Rom 5:19 ^ct).

‏ Job 23

23:2 ^cu Job dropped the doubt he had expressed earlier (9:14-20 ^cv, 32 ^cw) and here expressed confidence that he could successfully present his complaint.
23:4 ^cx present my arguments: Job wanted to make his case with God (13:3 ^cy, 18 ^cz, 22 ^da; 16:21 ^db; 31:35 ^dc); Abraham pled directly with God regarding Sodom (Gen 18:25-32 ^dd), and Moses did the same for Israel (Exod 32:12-13 ^de; Num 14:13-19 ^df).
Summary for Job 23:6-7: 23:6-7 ^dg Earlier, Job had believed that God was too strong for him to summon (9:19 ^dh), so he had requested an arbiter (9:33-34 ^di) and asked God not to terrify him (13:21 ^dj). Here he expressed more hope that God would grant him a fair hearing.

• acquitted: Job did not want to be pardoned as a guilty man but to be declared innocent (13:18 ^dk; see Pss 17:2-3 ^dl; 26:1-3 ^dm).
23:10 ^dn tests me: Job did not want the kind of chastising that would cleanse him like a refiner’s fire (Prov 17:3 ^do; Zech 13:9 ^dp; Mal 3:2-3 ^dq). He wanted an examination that would prove that he had been as pure as gold and did not need to amend his life (Job 22:23 ^dr).
Summary for Job 23:13-14: 23:13-14 ^ds No one can change God’s mind (9:12-13 ^dt; 11:10 ^du; 12:14 ^dv; 34:29 ^dw; Num 23:19-20 ^dx; Jas 1:17 ^dy).
Summary for Job 23:15-17: 23:15-17 ^dz terrified in his presence: See Pss 77:3 ^ea; 88:16 ^eb; 119:120 ^ec.

• Job had complained earlier of being plunged into darkness (Job 19:8 ^ed); Eliphaz (15:22 ^ee; 22:1 ^ef) and Bildad (18:6 ^eg, 18 ^eh) ascribed this fate to the wicked.

‏ Job 24

24:1 ^ei bring ... to judgment (literally set times): The times for God’s judgment are set (Eccl 3:17 ^ej; 8:6 ^ek; Dan 2:21 ^el; Luke 21:22-24 ^em), but they are not known to us (Acts 1:7 ^en). They will be revealed at the proper moment (1 Thes 5:1-28 ^eo; 1 Tim 6:15 ^ep).
Summary for Job 24:2-17: 24:2-17 ^eq This inventory of criminal behaviors focuses first on crimes against the weak (24:2-12 ^er) and then on the criminals themselves (24:13-17 ^es). 24:2 ^et The law, wisdom literature, and prophecy all condemned the moving of boundary markers (Deut 19:14 ^eu; 27:17 ^ev; Prov 22:28 ^ew; 23:10 ^ex; see study note on Hos 5:10).
24:3 ^ey The law did not allow seizing necessary belongings as security or collateral for a loan (22:6-9 ^ez; Deut 24:6 ^fa, 10-13 ^fb, 17-21 ^fc).
24:6 ^fd glean in the vineyards of the wicked: Job was depicting the desperate condition of the poor. If their fields had been stolen like Naboth’s vineyard (24:2 ^fe; see 1 Kgs 21:1-29 ^ff), the poor would harvest for the thieving owners what should have been their own crops; instead of owning the whole crop, they would get just the leftover pickings for themselves. Perhaps the point is that the poor were forced to glean from the fields of wicked people who left no gleanings (Lev 19:10 ^fg; 23:22 ^fh), instead of being able to glean from the righteous, who leave something for the poor (Lev 19:9-10 ^fi; 23:22 ^fj; Ruth 2:1-23 ^fk).
24:7 ^fl Unjust lenders sometimes left debtors without clothing or covering, which they had seized as collateral on loans (22:6 ^fm; Exod 22:26-27 ^fn; Deut 24:11-13 ^fo; Amos 2:8 ^fp).
24:9 ^fq widow’s child ... security for a loan: See 2 Kgs 4:1 ^fr; Neh 5:1-5 ^fs; Matt 18:25 ^ft.
24:11 ^fu without being allowed to taste it: These words, which are not in the original text, are implied by the parallel with starving and suffer from thirst.

• To force workers to tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst violates the principle of letting workers enjoy some of the produce they are harvesting (see Deut 25:4 ^fv; cp. 2 Tim 2:6 ^fw).
24:12 ^fx ignores their moaning: It appeared to Job that contrary to God’s own character (Exod 2:23-24 ^fy; Ps 12:5 ^fz), God neither relieved the plight of the wronged (Job 24:2-12 ^ga) nor hindered the wicked from harming their victims (24:13-17 ^gb).
Summary for Job 24:18-24: 24:18-24 ^gc These sentiments appear to oppose Job’s observations, so some scholars suggest that they were the words of Bildad or Zophar. However, Job might have been pronouncing curses on the wicked, sarcastically quoting his friends’ views, or saying that the fate of the wicked presented by Eliphaz (5:2-7 ^gd; 15:17-25 ^ge), Bildad (8:8-19 ^gf; 18:5-21 ^gg), and Zophar (20:4-29 ^gh) also overtakes the righteous (21:23-26 ^gi).

‏ Job 25

25:4 ^gj Eliphaz had said that it is nearly impossible to be innocent or pure (4:17-19 ^gk; 15:14-16 ^gl), and then only after suffering (22:21-23 ^gm). Bildad claimed that only the totally blameless could hope to be pure (8:20 ^gn).

‏ Job 26

26:2 ^go Job’s friends had not helped him (12:2 ^gp; 16:4 ^gq). Bildad’s denial that acquittal was possible hit Job’s most sensitive nerve (10:1-7 ^gr; 13:3 ^gs, 13-19 ^gt; 16:18-21 ^gu; 19:23-27 ^gv; 23:2-7 ^gw).
26:4 ^gx Eliphaz (4:15 ^gy), Zophar (20:3 ^gz), and Elihu (32:18 ^ha; 33:4 ^hb) all claimed to be prompted by the proper spirit (see Jer 29:8-9 ^hc; 1 Cor 12:10 ^hd; 1 Jn 4:1 ^he).
Summary for Job 26:5-6: 26:5-6 ^hf The underworld (Hebrew Sheol), the abode of all the dead, is located beneath the waters of the sea.

• The place of destruction (Hebrew Abaddon) existed specifically for the wicked.
26:7 ^hg The Hebrew tsapon (“north,” Gen 13:14 ^hh) sometimes refers to the northern mountain of the Canaanite gods (the Canaanite equivalent of Olympus); here the NLT understands it to refer to the sky, stretched out over empty space (see Gen 1:6-8 ^hi; Ps 104:2-3 ^hj; Isa 40:22-23 ^hk).
26:10 ^hl created the horizon: See Gen 1:6-10 ^hm; Ps 104:6-9 ^hn; Prov 8:29 ^ho.
26:11 ^hp Mountains at the edge of the horizon might be the foundations (or “pillars,” Judg 16:25-26 ^hq) of heaven or the earth (Job 9:6 ^hr). They were thought to reach from below the waters of the sea (Jon 2:6 ^hs) and up to the clouds to support the vaults of heaven.
26:12 ^ht the sea grew calm (cp. Exod 14:21 ^hu; Mark 4:39 ^hv): Or the sea was stirred up (cp. Isa 51:15 ^hw; Jer 31:35 ^hx). In either interpretation, God performed a miracle on behalf of his people.

• crushed the great sea monster: God’s dominance over the sea demythologized popular beliefs about the sea’s divinity. See also Pss 74:13-14 ^hy; 89:9-10 ^hz; Isa 27:1 ^ia; 51:9-10 ^ib.
26:13 ^ic His Spirit (or wind): God’s authority clears the skies after a storm (26:12 ^id).

• The gliding serpent corresponds to Yam and Rahab (see study note on 7:12); it provides background for the image of Satan as a dragon (Isa 27:1 ^ie; also Ps 74:13-14 ^if; see Gen 3:15 ^ig; Rom 16:20 ^ih; Rev 12:9 ⁱⁱ; 20:2 ^ij).