Job 6
Summary for Job 6:1-7:21: 6:1–7:21 a Job’s response attacks his counselors (ch 6 b) and challenges God (ch 7 c). He excuses his passionate words by referencing the depths of his misery (6:2-3 d; 7:11 e). Job says that Eliphaz has failed to offer comfort or sympathy as a friend, having chosen instead to haggle over stale theological precepts.Summary for Job 6:3-4: 6:3-4 f In the Old Testament, arrows are associated with supernatural peril, pestilence, and destructive ills (7:20 g; 16:12-13 h; Deut 32:23-24 i, 42 j; Pss 7:12-13 k; 38:2 l; 64:7 m; 91:5-6 n; Lam 2:4 o; 3:12-13 p; Ezek 5:16 q).
6:6 r the tasteless white of an egg? Job’s riddle-like complaint probably refers both to Eliphaz’s weak counsel and the detestable situation God had allowed him to endure.
6:9 s At one time, both Moses and Elijah wished that God would kill them (Num 11:15 t; 1 Kgs 19:4 u).
Summary for Job 6:14-27: 6:14-27 v Job and his friends might have been bound by a covenant of loyalty and faithfulness (Hebrew khesed; see Gen 21:23 w; Exod 15:13 x; 1 Chr 16:34 y) that made them like brothers (Job 6:14-15 z), protectors (6:21-23 aa), and trusted friends (6:27 ab). If this was the case, Job was accusing his friends of violating their covenant with him.
6:19 ac The city of Tema in the northern Arabian desert was at the junction of roads from Damascus to Mecca and from the Persian Gulf to Aqaba (Isa 21:14 ad; Jer 25:23 ae). It might have been named after one of Ishmael’s descendants (Gen 25:15 af). It was not the same as Teman, Eliphaz’s home in Edom.
• Sheba, located in southwest Arabia, was a market city for precious commodities (Ps 72:10 ag, 15 ah; Isa 60:6 ai; Jer 6:20 aj; Ezek 27:22-23 ak; 38:13 al).
6:27 am even send an orphan into slavery: Job, the former protector of orphans (31:17 an, 21 ao), used a proverbial example of his counselors’ hard-heartedness toward the defenseless (see 17:5 ap).
6:30 aq Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong? (literally Can’t my palate discern malice?): Job might have been echoing his earlier comment about a tasteless, revolting diet (6:6-7 ar).
Job 7
7:1 as Human life has been a struggle since the Fall (Gen 3:17 at; 5:29 au; Eccl 1:2 av, 13-14 aw; 2:11 ax, 17 ay; Rom 8:20-22 az).7:2 ba A worker was to be paid at the end of each day (Lev 19:13 bb; Deut 24:15 bc), though this did not always happen (Jer 22:13 bd; Mal 3:5 be; Jas 5:4 bf).
7:3 bg Job’s trial might already have gone on for months.
• The Hebrew term (‘amal) that runs throughout Job is translated as “misery/miserable” (3:20 bh; 11:16 bi; 16:2 bj; 20:22 bk) or as “trouble” (3:10 bl; 4:8 bm; 5:6 bn, 7 bo; 15:35 bp).
7:5 bq Job’s reference to maggots signified mortality (25:6 br) and the rampant corruption of Sheol (17:14 bs; 21:26 bt; 24:20 bu; see Isa 14:11 bv).
Summary for Job 7:6-21: 7:6-21 bw Job cried out to God, complaining that life was too brief (7:6-10 bx). This complaint contrasts ironically with his earlier desire that God end it all (6:9 by).
7:7 bz Those who call upon God to remember are typically seeking covenant mercy (Pss 35:6 ca; 106:4 cb).
• Job’s declaration that life is but a breath (Hebrew ruakh) meant either that he was one breath away from death or that his life was like a passing wind (Ps 39:9 cc, 11 cd).
7:8 ce You see me now, but not for long: The Greek Old Testament omitted this verse to avoid the implication that God would be unable to see Job in Sheol (see study note on 7:9).
7:9 cf die (literally go down to Sheol): This is the first explicit mention of Sheol in Job. It is described as a place of rest from earthly pressures and distinctions (3:13-19 cg) and as a dark dwelling place (10:21-22 ch; 17:13 ci) deep in the earth (11:8 cj) that is covered in dust (17:16 ck). It is the destiny of all the living (30:23 cl) from which no one can return (10:21 cm; see Gen 37:25 cn; 2 Sam 12:12 co).
7:11 cp I cannot keep from speaking: Job echoed Eliphaz’s inability to refrain from words (4:2 cq).
7:12 cr The sea monster (Hebrew yam) and dragon (Hebrew tannin) represent chaotic opposition to God’s orderly creation. In Canaanite mythology, Yam was the primordial sea god and Tannin was a sea monster (Jer 51:34 cs) or a mythological deity of chaos (Ps 74:13-14 ct). This kind of chaos is also represented in Job as Leviathan (Job 3:8 cu; Isa 27:1 cv) or Rahab (Job 9:13 cw; 26:12 cx; Isa 51:9 cy). The Lord is sovereign over the sea and all that it represents (Job 26:12 cz; 38:8-11 da; Ps 89:9-10 db; Jer 5:22 dc).
Summary for Job 7:13-14: 7:13-14 dd Job’s sickbed dreams and visions echoed those of Eliphaz (4:12-16 de).
7:16 df for my few remaining days: Literally for my days are a vapor (Hebrew hebel); see thematic note for All Is ‘Vapor’ at end of chapter.
Summary for Job 7:17-18: 7:17-18 dg that you should make so much of us: Cp. Ps 8:4-5 dh, which treats the same thoughts positively.
• examine (Hebrew paqad): In Ps 8:4 di, the same term means “to honor or care for”; Job used the term ironically, meaning “to be pestered” (cp. “attacked,” Isa 26:14 dj).
7:19 dk Won’t you leave me alone (literally How long will you not look away from me): Job sought the opposite of the watchful care that faithful people usually seek (Num 6:25 dl; Pss 27:9 dm; 69:17 dn; 80:3 do, 7 dp, 19 dq; Lam 1:9 dr).
• to swallow: This is equivalent to “a chance to catch my breath.”
7:20 ds watcher of all humanity: Rather than praising God for his goodness expressed in watchfulness (Deut 32:10 dt; Ps 25:21 du; Prov 24:12 dv), Job blamed God for hostile surveillance, which actually characterizes Satan’s activity (Job 1:7 dw).
• Why is from the language of lament (see study note on 3:11-24).
• your target: See 6:4 dx; Lam 3:12 dy.
Thematic note: All Is “Vapor”
A key word in Ecclesiastes is the Hebrew term hebel (“vapor,” often translated “meaningless”). This word expresses the core of the Teacher’s judgment concerning life in this world.
At its root, hebel means physical “breath” or “vapor.” Hebel is used seventy-eight times in the Old Testament, but in only three instances is the physical meaning clearly intended (Ps 62:9 dz; Prov 21:6 ea; Isa 57:13 eb). In the other seventy-five instances, the word is used metaphorically to describe what is incomprehensible, futile, meaningless, false, transitory, or insubstantial. The term is often used to describe the insubstantiality, unreality, and worthlessness of false gods (Deut 32:21 ec; 2 Kgs 17:15 ed). In this sense, hebel is the opposite of “glory”—the substantial, weighty, and lasting presence of God. Sometimes the word hebel stands for the way life is fleeting and momentary, like vapor (Job 7:16 ee; Ps 144:4 ef). In other cases, it refers to the meaninglessness and frustration of life (Pss 78:33 eg; 94:11 eh; Isa 49:4 ei).
There is a long tradition of understanding hebel in Ecclesiastes as meaning “vanity,” not in the sense of thinking too highly of oneself, but in the sense of experiencing life as futile and without purpose or meaning. The ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament used the word mataiotēs, which means “emptiness” or “futility.” The Latin Vulgate then translated hebel with the Latin word vanitas, which means “purposelessness, pointlessness, hollowness, worthlessness.” From the Vulgate comes the long-standing tradition of translating the word as “vanity” in English. Most translators today understand the word hebel in this sense: Life on earth has no apparent purpose or meaning, and all that we do is futile.
Some translators, however, understand hebel in Ecclesiastes to be referring primarily to the transitory impermanence of life. Vapor has no permanence or weight. This translation leads to a different understanding of Ecclesiastes: Life is not so much meaningless and futile as it is impermanent and fleeting. Many phrases in Ecclesiastes allude to the fleeting nature of human life and its efforts. In the New Testament, a similar thought can be found in James 4:13-15 ej. The understanding of hebel as “impermanence” in Ecclesiastes has merit in explaining the book coherently; it is, however, a minority view among scholars.
The NLT translates hebel in Ecclesiastes as “meaningless.” However, while reading Ecclesiastes, it is helpful to keep in mind the root of the word (“breath” or “vapor”) that stands behind the metaphors.
The brevity, frustration, and apparent meaninglessness of life can be depressing. This discouragement should motivate us toward working more wisely and diligently and enjoying life while we can. We have all observed the apparent absurdity of life’s tragedies, such as the success of a wicked fool or unchecked injustice. But these things come into proportion when we remember God’s sovereignty, because “God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad” (Eccl 12:14 ek).
Passages for Further Study
Deut 32:21 el; 2 Kgs 17:15 em; Job 7:16 en; Pss 62:9 eo; 78:33 ep; 94:11 eq; 144:4 er; Prov 21:6 es; Eccl 1:2 et; Isa 30:7 eu; 49:4 ev; 57:13 ew
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