Verse 18. The paths of their way] They sometimes forsake their ancient channels, whiQh is a frequent case with.the rirer Ganges i and, growing iunaller and smaller from being divided into numerous streams, they go to nothing and perish — are at last utterly lost in the sands.
Verse 19. The troops of Tema looked] The caravans coming from Tetna are represented as arriving at those places where it was well known torrents did descend from the mountains, and they were full of expectation that here they could not only slake their thirst, but fill their girhoA or water-skins; but when they arrive, they find the waters totally dissipated and lost. In vain did the caravans of Sheba wait for them; they did not reappear: aAd they were confounded, because they had hoped to find here refre^- ment and rest.
Verse 31. For now ye are nothing] Ye are just to me as those deceitfhl tprrents to the caravans of Tema and Sheba; they were nothing to Uiem; ye are notking to me.
Ye see my casting down] Ye see that J have been hurried from my eminence into want and misery, as the flood from the top of the mountains, which is divided, evaporated, and lost in the desert.
And are afraid.] Ye are terrified at the calamity that has come upon me; and instead of drawing near to comfort me, ye start back at my appearance.
harshness ofhufrignds. down, and
22 Did I say, Bring rnito mo? or, Give a reward for mc of your substance?
23 Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?
24^ Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
25 How forcible are right words! but w£all^ doth your arguing reprove?
26 Do ye imagine to reprove words,* apli^ the speeches of one that is desperate, wluch are as wind?
Verse 22. Did I say, bring unto nie?] ^Tiy do you stand aloof? Have I asked you to bring me any presents 1 or to supply my wants out of your stores t
Verse 23; Or, Deliver me] Did I aejotd to you to come and atenge me of the' destroyers of my property, or to rescue my substance out of the hands of my enemies 1
Verse 24. Teach me] Show me where I am mistaken. Bring proper arguments to convince me of my errors; and you will soon find liiat I shall gladly receive your counsels, and abandmi Yhe errors of which I may be convicted.
"^erse 25. Haw forcible are right words'] A wellconstructed argument, that has tru^ for its basis, is irresistible.
But what doth your arguing reprove f] Your reasoning is defective, because your prStnises are false; and your conclusions prove nothing« because oT the falsity of the premises whence they are dr^wn. The last clause, literally rendered, is, What, repiroof, in a reproof from you t As you have proved no fault you have consequently reproved no vice. Instead of HD 13f1Di mah nimretsu, " how forcible," 13fS:03 tlD mah nimUUu, " how savoury or pleasant," is the jeading of two MSS., the Chaldee, and some of the rtMimst Both senses- are good, but the common reading ia to be preferred.
Verse 26. Do ye imagine to reprove wdrds]. Is il some expressions which in my hurry, and under the pressure of unprecedented affliction, I have utt«xed> that ye catch at? You can find no flaw in <my conduct; would ye make me an offbnder for a word % Why endeavour to take such advantage of a man who com))lainsin the bitterness of his heart, through despair of life and happiness 1
Verse 27. Ye overwhelm the fatherless] Ye flK) that I am as destitute as the most miserable orphan; would ye overwhelm such a one? and would you dig a pit for your friend—-do ye lay wait fbr me, and endeavour to entangle me in mv talk 1 I believe this to be the spirit of Job^s words.
o/ CHAP.
Verse 28. Loiok upon me] ^'View me; consider my ciicnmstances; compare my words; and you must be ecNiTiiieed that I hare spoken nothing but triith.
Verse 29. Rettam, I pray you] ' Reconsider the whole mAject. Do not be offended. Yed^ reconsider the sulh- Jeei; my righteousness is in it — ^my argumentation iis a aiflMeat proof of my innocence. ** ' Tiene 30. Is there iniquity in my tongue t] Am I not an konesi man t and if in my haste my tongue liad altered Jalsiiy, would not my* conscience discern it 1 and do you think that such a man as your friend is voald defend what he knew to be Mnrong?
29 ^ Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is • in it.
cannot ^ my taste discern perverse things?
I HAVE done what I coul(i to* make this chapter plain, to preserre the connection, and show the dependence of the seyeral parts- on each other; without which many of the sayings would have been very obscure. The whole chapter is an inimitable apology for what he had uttered, and a defence of his conduct. This might have ended the controversy, had not hm, friepds been determined to bring him in guilty. They. had prejudged his cause, and assumed a certain position, from which they^ were determined- not to be driven.
Job continues to deplore his helpless and afflicted state ^ 1-6. He expostulates with God concerning his qffltc^ lioTM, 7-i8; describes the disturbed state of his mind by visions in the night season; abhors life) 13-16; and, showing that he is unworthy of 'the notice of God /begs pardon and respitet 17-21.
2 As a servant • earnestly dcsirelh tlie sha-
NOTES ON CHAP. VII. Verse 1. Is there not an appointed time^to man] Tbe Hebrew^ wlA its literal rendering, is aa follows: f "IK h-; TnVlh Hax kSh halo tsaba leenosh aley arets, ** 1b there net a warfare to miserable man upon the earth %^ And thus most of the versions have understood the words. The Septuagint: Jlorepov ovxi TtipanifltoO eoTi 6 ^loc avOftonov em njg yrjc; " Is not the life of man a place of trial upon earth 1" The TcbftJMn: Militia est vita hominis super terram, *The life ef man is a warfare upon earth.'^ The ' Cmaldek is the same. N^y a-t-U paseomme un train de guerre ordonne aux mortels sur la terret "Is iiare not a continual campaign ordained for mortals «pon the earth t^ FftBUCH Biblk. The German and DoTPB the same. Coteroalb: Xs not tte Kfe oV «a« n^m firtli a betj; hatasle? Carmarden, Rouen^ 1566: tH^ ntan an? certajpne tj^me upon cartli? SraiAC and Arabic: " Now, man has time upon the earth." Nan i egli it tempo determinato a Vhuomo sopra la terra? " Is* there not a determined time to man upon the earth V Bib. Ital., 1562. All these are nearer to the true sense than ours; and of a bad translation, worse use has been made by many theologians. I bdieve the simple sentiment which the writer wished to cooYoy is this: Human life is a state of probation; and every day and j^ace is a time and dow, and as a hireling lookelh ^ ^- ^Ij- 24^4. for the reward of his work: Ame I. diymp.
place of exerciser to train us Up for eternal life. Here is the exercise^ and here the warfare: we are enlisted in the bandi of the Church militant, and must accomplish our time of service, and be honourably dismissed from the warfare, having conquered through the blood of the Lamb; and then receive the reward of the heavenly inheritance.
Verse 2. Earnestly dcsirelh the shadow] As a man who labours hard in the heat of the day earnestly desires to get under a shade, or wishes for the long evening shadows, that he may rest from his labour, get his day^d wages, retire to his food, and then go to rest. Night is probably what is meant by the shadow; as in Virgil, i£n.. iv., -ver. 7: Humentemque Aurora polo dimoverat umbram. *' The morning had removed the humid shadow, i. e., night, from the world.'* Where Seryius justly observes: Nihil interest, utrum UMBRAM aT^NocTBM dicot: Nox enim umbra terra est, *' It makes no difierehce vVhother he says shadow or night; for night is the shadow of the earth."
Verse 3. So am I made to possess] But night is no relief to me; it is only a continuance of my anxiety and labour. I am like the hireling, I have my appointed labour for the day. I am like the soldier harassed by the enemy: 1 am obliged to be continually on the watch, always on the look out, with scarcely any rest.
Antcii. c.cir. night be gone? and I am full ^^^' of tossings to and fro unto the
5 My flesh is 'clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin* is brokeni and bedome loathsomb.
. jM|j|l- Verse 4. When I lie down] I hare so little rest, ^9^Bat when I do lie down I long for the return of the ^^UHljlht, that I may rise. Nothing can better depict the 9tate ef a man under continual afflictions, which afford him no respite^ his days and his nights being spent in constant anguish, utterly unable to be in any ope posture, so that he is continually changing his position in his bed, finding ease nowhere: thus, as himself expresses It, he iafull of tossings.
Verse 5. My flesh is clothed with worms] This is perhaps no figure, bat is literally true: the miserably ' ulcerated state of his body« exposed to the open air, and in a state of gteat destitution, was favourable to those insects that sought such places in which to deposit their ova, which might hare produced the animals io question. But the figure is too horrid to be farther illustrated.
Clods of dust] I believe all the comroentators'have here missed the sense. I supt>ose Job to allude Co those incrustations of indurated or dried pus* which V * are formed on the tops of pustules in a state of decay: "* * such as the sccdei which fkll fVom the pustules of the smallpox, wkeik the patient becomes convalescent. Or, if JobV disease was the elephantiasis^ it mayrefbr to the furfurnceous scales which are continually fMling off the body in that disorder. It is well known, that in IhzsMisease the skin becomes very rigid^ so as to cmck across, especially at the different ^'om^j, out of whieh fissures a loathsome ichor is continually exuding. To somethingflike this the words may refer, My skin '*, • is BROKEN, and become loathsomb../ Verse 6. Swifter ihaa n weaver^ s shuttle] The word X?» areg signifies rather the weaver than his shuttle. And it has been doubted ^\'hether any such iostiument were in use in the days of Job. Dr. Russell, in his account of Aleppo, shows that though they wove many kinds of carious cloth, yet no shuttle was used, as they conducted every, thread of the woof by their ^n^er5. That some such instrument as the shut- He was in use from time immemorial, there can be no doubt: and it is certain that such ^instrument must have been in the view of Job, without which the figure would lose its etpressioh* and force. In ahnost every nation the whole of human e^istenee has been cbm>- pared to a wehf and the principle. of life, through the continual succession of moments, hours, days, weeks, months, and. years, io a thread woven through that web. Hence arose the fable of the Parca or Fatesj called tiso the Destinies or Fatal Sisitrs. They were the daughters of Erebus and Nox, darlaMss and night; and were three ia. number, and named -Clotho, Lache-
8 " The eye of him that hath seen me shall sjee nde no more: thine eyes are upon me, " and I am ngt. / •
sis, and Atropos. Clotho held the distaff; Lachesis^ spun off the thread; add Atropos cut it ofif with her scissors, when it wqjb determined that life should end. Job, j^resents' ttie thread of his life as being spun <mt with great rapidity and tenuity, and about to be cut off.
And are spent without?iope.] Expectation of future good was at an end; hope of the aHeviation of his miseries no longer existed.: The hope of future good^ the balm of life: where that is not, there is despair; where despair is, tliere is hell. The fable above mentioned is referred to by Virgil, Eel. iv., ver. 46, but is there applied to time: —.
*.* The Fates, when they this happy thread have spun, Shall bless the sacred clue, and bid it smoothly run.^^
A fine example of this figure is* found in the Teemouf Nameh, which I shall give in Mr. Good's translation: —
*^ Praise be to God, who hath woven the web of human affairs in the loom of his will and of his wisdom, and hath made waves of times and of seasons to flow from the fountain of his providence into the ocean of his power. ^^ The simile is fine, and elegantly expressed.
Verse 7. My life is wind] Mr. Good trans]ttfl8i " O remember that, if my life pass away, mine eye shall turn no more to scenes of goodness;" which he paraphrases thus: " O remember that, if my life pass away, never more shall I witness those scenes ef Divine favour, never more adore thee for those proofs of unmerited mercy, which till now have been so perpetually "bestowed on me.** I think the common trans* lation gives a very good sense.
Verse 8. Shall seetielw more] ' If I die in my present state, with ail Has load of undeserved odium which is cast upon me l»y my friends, X shall never have an opportunity of vindicating my character, and regaining the good opinion of mankind.
10 He shall tetum no more to his house,, 'neither shall his place know him any more.
1 1 Therefore I will * not refirain ttiy mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will ' complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Thine eyes are upon me^ and i am not.] Thou canst look me into nothing. Or, Let thine eye be upon me as jadged to death, and I shall immediately cetise to live among men.
Verse 9. As the cloud i» consumed] As the cloud is dissipated, so is the breath of tiiose that go down to the grave. As that cloud shall never return, so shaH it be with the dead; they return no more to sojourn with the living. See oh the following verses.
Verse 10. He ^hall return, no more to his house^ neither shall his place know him any more'.] He does not mean that he shall be annihilated, but that^he shall never more^come an inhabitant of the earth.
The word SlKBT, which we properly enou^i translate grate, here signifies also the state of the dead', hades, and sometimes any deep pit, or ew9R hell itself.
Verse 11. Thertfore I will not re/rain]'^ All is hopeless; I will therefore indulge myself in cpmptaining.
Verse 12. Am la sea, or a whale] "Am I condemned as the Eg]^ptians were who were drowned in the Red Sea 1 or am I as Pharaoh, who was drowned in It in his sins, that thou settest a keeper over me V Targum, Am I as dangerous as the sea, that I should be encompassed d>put with barriers, lesi 1 should hurt mankind! Am I like an ungovernable wild beasi or dragon, that I must be put under locks and bars? 1 think our owd version less exceptionable than any other hitherto given of this verse. The meaning is sufficiently plain. Job was hedged about and shot in with insuperable difficulties of various kinds; he was -entangled as a wild beast in a net; the more he siniggted, the more he lost his strength, and the less probability there was of his being extricated from his present situation. The sea is shut in with btrrieTS, over which it cannot pass; for God has '^ placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree^ that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they dot prevail; though they rear, yet can they not pasai.over it;*^ Jer. V. 32. *^For >hou hast set a hound that they may not pass over; that tlMly timi not again to cover the earth;*' Psa. civ. 9. "Or who shnt up the sea with doors, when h Icake foith, as if it had issued out of the womb % When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkneat a swaddling band for it, and brake op for it my decreed place, and set
*15 So that my soiil chooseth strangling, and death rather • than my life.
17 * What is man; that thou shouldest mai
bars aiid doors; and said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but Bo farther: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed;''^^ chapi xxxviii. 8.
Here then is JoVs allusion 1 the hounds, doorSf garment, swaddling bands, decreed ' place, and bars^ are the fbiUchers or keepers which God has set to pre-* vent the sea ffom overflowing the earth i so Job^s afflictions and distresses were the bounds and bars which Gfod had apparently set to prevent him from ipjuririg his fellow creatures. At least Job, in his complaint, so takes it. Am I like the sea, which thou hast imprisoned within bounds, ready to oTJsrwhcAm and destroy the country 1 or am 1 like a dragon, whi<{h must be cooped up in the same way, that it may not have the power to kiU and d.estroy ^ Surely in my prosperity. I gave no. evidence of sudh a disposition; therefore should not bo' treated ^ a man dangerous td •"- ' sooiety. In this Job shows that he toill not refrain, his mouth.
Verse 14. Thou scarest me with dreams] ^Pherc is no 'doubt that Satan was permitted to haunt his imagi^ nation with dreadful' dreams and terrific appearances; ho that, as soon as he fell asleep, he was suddenly roused' and alarmed by those appalling images. He needed rest by sleep, but was afraid U> close his eyes because of the horrid images which were preseatad)q *^'^ ^ his imagination. Could there, be a state more deplox^ ^^ able than this?.
Verse 15. Chooseth strangling] It ui very likely that he felt, in those interrupted and dismal slumbers, an oppression afid •ilifficulty of breathing something like the incubus or nightmare; and, distressing as this waS; he would prefer death by this means to any longer Hfe in such miseries.
Verse 16. I loathe it; I would not live (dway] Life, in Such circumstances, is hateful to me; and though I wish for long life, yet if length of dftys were offered to me with the sufferings which I now undergo, I would despise the offer and spurn the booo.
Mr. Oood is not satisfied with o«r common version, and has adopted the following, which in his notes he endeavours to illustrate and defend: • - Verse 15. So that my soul coveteth suffocation,
And death in comparison with my suffering. 16. No longer would 1 live! '0, release me! How are my days vanity!
1 8 And that tbou. should est visit him every morning, and try him every moment 1
1 9 How long wih thou not depart fmm me, nor let mc alone ull I swallovir down ray spittle?
20 I have sinned; what shall I do inito
t!iee, ^ 0 lliou Preserver of men? why * hast thou set me as a mark against Uiee, so that I am a bm** den to myself?
2 1 And why dost ihou not pardon my transgi-essioHj and take away mine iniquity? for now sJiall I sleep in the dust; ojjd lliou shalt seek me in the morning, bnt I shall nol be.
nify him T arid that thou ^ktyuidest Met thine he^ti upon himf] Two different ideaa have been drawn ffom ihese words? —
^3. How a^tonmliing in thy kindness that Utou fihoulJest fij: thij kcarl — thy Btronn^est aflecUons, on such a poor, bajse, vile, impotent ereaiiire as man, (t?UH enosfhy) that thou shuulilosL so highly him beyond all oihur croalurei, and mark hiin with ' the most l^artieular notice of thy providonee aad grace f
The paTapht'kse of Calmei is as follows; *' Does man, sudh iis be it present is, mehl thy attention! What is man that God should make it bia businesa to exaiiiinc!, try, prove, and adlict him ^ Is it m>t doing him too mueh honour to Ihink nhos seriously about hira 1 O Lord! T am not woithy that thou shoul Jest concern thyself aboot mc /"
Verse 19. Till I stcallt/w dmi^n my spittle f] This la a provcrhial pxpr^ssion, and exists among the Arabs to tho prest*trt day j tho very laog-uage being nearly the sstme. It sig'mfies the same as, Let m^ draiv my hreath; give mc a moment^s ^pace; hi me have ev^n ike twfnAltng of an eye* 1 am urgod by nij siiff« rings to coottLtue my complaint; but my ^rength in exhausted^ my mouth diy with speaking. Suspend my sulTerings even for so short a space as b nect^ssary to tswa^low ray spittle, that my parched tongue may be moistened, eo that I may renew tny complaint.
Vcfise 20* 1 have xinncd; what shall I Jo) Drr Kenmcott conte^ids Ihat these words are spoken to Eliphai^, and not lo Gon, and would paraphrase them thus: ** You aay 1 must have been a srnn(>r. What then \ t have Jtot sinned against Ihee, O thou spy upon mankind! Why hast thon set up mc as a butt or mark to slioot al ' Why ntii / beoome a burden unto thee? Why not rather overlook my Iranag^rcesion, and pass by mine iniquity T T am n«w sinking to the dust? To- morrow J perbapa, I shall be sought in vain!'* See his irmdicatio» of Job at the end of these notes on this hfM>k. Others consider the address as made to God. Takeo in ibia hght, the sense is plain enotigh.
Those who suppose thai the address is made to God, translate the 30th verse thus: "Be il that I have sinned, what injury can 1 do urilo thee, O thou Observer of man t Why hast thou set me up as a exalt mark for thee, and why am I made a burden to thee!^^ The Scpiuagint is thus: Ei tyt^ f/ftaprQv^ n ^vr^Qo^t TTpa^at^ o twtata^tvo^ tov vovv tsjv av&ptiwi^v; ^ / have sinned t ichai can 1 do^ O thou who know est the mind of men f Tliou knowest that it is iniixjsaible for me to make any r estjtutioH* 1 caimot blot out my offences; but whether I have sinned eo as to bruig all lb esc eabmitics upoti me^ thod knowe&t, who sc archest the hearts of men*
Verse 2 L Ai^ why dost ihtm not pardm] XUes© words are spoken after the tnanner of mcn^ If thoo hare any design to eare nte, if I have siunedi why dost thou nol pardon my transgression, as thoo seest chat I am a dying man j and to-morrow morning thou m^yest seek me to do me good, bui in all prolmbilify 1 shall then be no more, and all tliy kind thoughts towards me sbitU bti uoavailtiigl If I have sinned, then why fill on Id not I have a part in that racrey that flowa so freely to all mankirid!
That Job does not criniinjitc htmself here, ^ oo^ text inihnates, is evident enough from his ot^m repeated assertions of hijs innoeettce. And it is most certain that Bildad, who imtned lately answers, did not consider him as criminalrng but as /w^^t/}/i>i^»^ himself - and this is tho verj'' ground on which he takes up iha subject. Were we to admit the contrary, we should find strange inconsistencies, if not contradictions, in Jol/e speeches: on such a ground the controversy must have immediately terminated, as he would then have acknowledged that of which his friends accused him; and l|ore the hook of Job would have ended.
Biidad answers J and reproves 'Jcb for his /tist\fying himself, 1, S* Shows that God ts justj and ne^et punishes hut for iniquity; atkd inttmales that it was vn account of their sin^ that Au children were cut off^ 3, 4, States thaii if Job wmtld huihUe himself to the Almighty ^ prot'^ided he mere innocent, his captiviii/ ipouid soon be tamed, and ftis latter end he abundantly prosperous^ 5—7. Appeals to the &ncier^s for the truth of what he satfs; and draws ext^mples frotn the vegete^le world ^ to show how soon the wicked may he eut off, and the hope of the hypocrite perish, B-19. Asserts that God neiwr did cast ojf a perfect man mtr help tlie wicked; and thatj if Job h^ mnpceni, his end shedl te crowned with prosperity y^O-^'2. 0 50 t 4*)
^ * If ihod woulde^t seek unto God betimes, and malce thy supplicaiion lo the Almighty;
KOTES ON CHAP. VTIL I. Biidad the Shukitr] Supposed to be « ai of Shvaht one fvf the soEra of Abmhain^ by Ketitrab. wlie d\¥elt in Arabia Desertii called in Scriplore the wi count ri/. See Gen. xiv, 1, 2, G.
\''erae 2. Jfoiv ton^ udt thou sptak these thtngjt /] W|k tliofi fttili go ao to charge God foolishly? Thy het^fy aJSiction prov^e^ tbiit thou a^rt under bis wmth; wnd hlft wraih, thus manifvstedt proves that it i^ for tlry Atos tli^t he puntsfieih Ihee..
Be like m sirm^ mnd f] The ArahtCj wiih whicb the S^fise igree^, is j^fJw' ^^j ruch-alazamati, the sp^%i cf prtde. Will thou continue to breathe forth tf itmpmt fifttords f This is more Uteral,
Vme 3.. D^h God pervert jud^minl?} God afflicts, ihe«; c;ui be Afflict thee for caught? As lie is Ju»t., his judg^ieiil m jttst: iinf! he could not lnJlict piftiiahmeal onless there b> chiidrea hate been «ti£ oil by a terrible judgment; bai wms it mpt beeatue by irans^ession they hiLd filled up the laessare of ibeix in;c|uity 1
And kg hare cast (hem autaif] Has 9ent ihem offj says ihe T^r^m^ (a the fdace of Ihetr tranagressian^ — to tiiai paniahment due to ibeir e»ins.
Vet3i! 5, If th&ti tpouidcsl feek unto God\ Though God hai w» aeTerely siQieted thee, and removed Ihy chiiirta hf a terrible judgment; yec if thou wilt now hwaM^ thfielf before fiini, and implore his mer^y, ibou ilialt be aaved^ He cut ihcm ofT in their sins, bal Sic icparci thet x vnd this is a prCKif tti^t he waits to he gracious to lbe6«
Vi?Ti« 0. If th^ti wert ymte mtd uprighil Concerning tkf g'uili lliera can be no doubt \ for if thou hadat been a holy man* and these calomiliea had oecufted throug^h accident, or merely by the malice of iby etjemicft, would not God, long ere this, hare manifti«t«4 Ilia power and justice in thy behalf, punished fft^«Hiiuest and restored thee to atflueiiee I n* ikahiUiiton if ihy ngkigmtme^^] Strongly ijotiieaL If thy bouse had been as a temple of Godt in ulueh hia worship bad been performed, and his eotEmiaiidiQents obeyed, would it now be la a atato of fuin Ml desolation!
7 Though thy beginning was smallj yet thy latter end should greatly increase*
8 • For inquire, I pray thee, of the forraer age, and ''prepare thyself to the search of their fathers:
9 (For ^ we are but of yesterday, and know * nothing, Uecmise our days upon earth are a shadow i)
/orw)«r jnfa/^, compared to that into which God would have brought ibee, would be small; for to show Ins respect for thy piely^ because thou hadst, through thy faithful artacbment to him, auITered the loss of alt things, he wooid have greatly multiplied thy former prosperity t so that Ihou shouldest now have vaaily more than thou did at ever before posaeae*
Terse 8. Inquire— af the former age] f}^'") nviS ledor rishon^ of the first nge; of the patriarchs; the fifflt generation of men ihat dwelt upon the earth: not of tlte age thai was just pasir as Mr* Peters and several others have imagined^ ia order to keep up the presvimptton of Joh^s high antiquity « Biid&d moat evidently refers to an antiquity exceedingly remote.
Verse 0. For we are but of yesterday ^ and know nothing] II ia evident that Biidad refers to those times in which human life was protracted to a tnuoh longer date than that in which Job lived; when men, from the lo ug period of eight or nine hundred years ^ had the opportunity of making many observations, and treasuring upavaatfundof knowledge and experience. In comparison with ihem^ he cons id era that age aa nothings and that generation as being only of yejter^ da$f, not having had opportunity of laying up know* ledge; nor could they expect it, as th^ir days upon earth would be but a shadma^ compared with that suh~ stantial time in whieh the fatheia had lived. Perhaps there may be an alltision here to the shadow projected by the ^omon of a dial, during the time the aun is above the horizon. As i^ a- siftgle solar day^ so ia our lift. The following beautiful inotto I have seen on a sundial: Umbrae aemus! " We are shadows P* referring to the differeiit shadows by which the gnomon marked the hours, during the course of the day; and all intended to convey this moral lesson to the paaaengers: Your life is composed of time, marked out by such shadows as these. Such as time is^ such are you; as fleeting, as transiloryi as umsubstantiaL These shadows lost, time iS lost; time lost, soul lost! Roader^ take heed \
The writer of this book probably had before his eyes these words of Davidj in his last prayer, 1 Chron. xxix. 16:" For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were; our day a upon earth are as a shadow, and lliere ia no expectation ''
10 Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and "utter words out of their heart?
1 1 Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water?
13 So are the p^ths of air that Ante V. c.'cir forget God; and the ' hypocrite's ^^' '. hope shall perish:
There is no reason to hope that they shall bQ prolonged; for our lives, are limited down to threescore years ^d. ten^ as the average of the life eren of old* men.
Verse 10. ShaU not they teach thee] Wilt thoo not treat their maxims with the utmost deference and re-* spect? They utter words from their heart — ^i^'hat they say is the fruit of long and careful experience.
Verse 11. Can the rush grow] The word KDi gome, which we translate nuA, is, wi^out doubt, the Egyptian flag papyrus, on which the ancients wrote, and fr6|n.which our paper derives ijt3 dame. The Septvagint„ who made xh^it Greek translatiiO^ in Egypt, (if this hook made it |>art of it,) and knew well the import of each word in both languages, render KDJl gome by traifvpo^ p€tpyrus, thus; M9 BaXkei vanvpoiavev ifdarot; Can the papitrus ftntrish- without water? Their translation leaves do doubt concerning the meaning of the original. They were probably writing on -the very substance in question, while making their translation. The technical Ian-: gaage of' no science is sd thoroughly barbarous as that of botany 7 thedesciiptton of this plant by JUr^ niw«,*shall be a proof., The plant he calls *• Oyperus Papyrus; Class Triandria; OttDER Monogynia;' Culm three-sided, naked; umbel longer than the involucres; iatrolucels three-leaved, setaceous, longer; spikelets in threes.'— Egypt, Ac. Involucre eightleaved; general umbel copious, the rays sheathing at the base; partial on very short pedunoles.; spikelets ahemate, sessile; £ulm leafy at the baae; leaves hollow, ensiform.^'
Hear our plain countryman John Gerarde, who de^ scribes the same plant i '' Papyrus Nilotica^ Paper Reed, hath many large flaggie leaves, somewhat triangular nnd smooth, not much unlike those of catstaile, rising iminediately from a ioft of roots, compact of many strings; aniOngst the which it shooteth op two or three naked -stalkes, square, and rising some six or seven cubits high above the water.; at the top vliereof there stands a tnit or bundle off chaffie threds, set in comely order, resembling a toft of floores^ bnt. barren and void of seed;" Gibaroe's Herbal, p. 40. Which of the t^o descriptions is easiest to he onderstood by common i»nse, either with or without "a* knowledge of the Latin language t This |>lant gh>ws in the muddy banks of the NHe, as k. requires an abqndance of water for its nourishment.
Can the flag grow without water t] Parkhurst supposes that the woxd VTSH aehu, which we render flt^, is the same with that species of reed which Mr. Has" sel^ist found growing near the. river Nile. H« deacnbes it (p. dT) as "having scarcely any branches, but mimerous leaTOs, which are narrow, smooth, chan- 4i!» nelled on the upper sotface; and the* plant about eleven feet high. The Egyptians make ropes of the leaves. /They lay the plant in water j like hemp, and then make good and strong cables of them.*^ As HK ach signifies to join, connect, associate, hence TW achi^ a brother, inx achu may coroe from the same root, and "have i^ nanie from its osefolhese in.making ropesy cables, &c., which are composed of ojyoctele^f threads, and sefrve to. tie, bind together, S^p.
Verse 1 2. Whilst it is yet in his greenness] We do loot know enough of the natural history of this plant to be able to discern the strength of this^ allumoin; but we learn from it that, although this plant be very' succulent, and grow to a gr^at size, yet it is shortlived, aiid speedily withers; and this we may suppose* to be in the dry season, or on the retreat of the viraters of fhe Nile. However, Soon win, soon rottbk, is a jooaxim in horticulture.
Verse 13. So are the paths] Thepapyrtts and the rush flourish vrhOe they have k plentiful supply of ooze and water;' but take these away, aJid their prosperity is speedily at an end: so it is with the. wicked and profane; their prosperity is of short duration, however great it may appear to be in the beginning. Thou also, O thou enemy of God, hast flourished for a time; bat the blast of God is come opoB thee, and now thou art dried up from the very roots.
7%e hypocrite'* s hope shall perith] A hypocrite, or rather prpfligate, has no inward religion, for his heart is not right with God; he has only hope, aiid that -perishes when he gives np the ghost. '
This^is the'firM place in which the word, hypocrite occurs, Or the nouac^Jn chaneph, which rather Conveys the idea oi pollution and defilement than of hypocrisy. A hypocrite is one who only carries the mask, of god- Hmessy to serve ''eecnlar purpoeee; who wishes to be. taken for a religionist, though he is conscious he has no religion. Such a person oannot have ht^e of any good, because he knows he is insincere: but the person in the text has hope; therefore hypocrite eahnot be the meaning of the original woiti. But all the vile, the polluted, and the profligate have kepe; they hope to end their iniquities before they end life; and they hope to get at last to the kingdom of heaven..Hypocrite Is a very improper translation of. the Hebrew..
Verse 1 4. Whose hope shall be- cut off] Such per* sons, subdued by the strong habits of ^in, hope on fruitlessly, till the last thread of the web of life is cut off from -the beam; and then they.And no more strong^ in their hope than is in the threads of thespidCT^s web.
Mr. Good renders, Thus shall..their ■ support rot away.. The foundation on which they trust is rotten; a
The wretched staU of the wicked, CHAP. VIIL - and the hieesednees of the peifect
16 ^ He. shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall liold it fast, but it shall not endure.
16 He if green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden..
17 His roots are wrapped about the heap, amd seeth the {dace of stones.
IS "If he destroy' him from. his place, then it shall deny film, sayings I have not seen thee.
and by and by the whole superstructure of their eonfidenee shall tumble into ruin.
Verse 15. He shdU lemn upon his hau^e] This is an allusion to the spider. When he suspe^fts his web, here called his house, to be frail or unsuse, he leans «poB it ia diferent parts, propping himself on bis faMider legs, and pulling with his fore clkws, to see iC ak be safe. If be find &ny part of it injured, he i^- media|(ely adds new cordage to ^uU part, and atta^^hes k s^oBgly to the wall. When he finds all sale and str<»g, he retires into hia hole ' at one comer, supposing himself to be in a 6tate of complete security, wl^m in a. moment the brush or the besom sweep's away both himself^ his house, and- liis confidence. This I haFc several times observed; and it is in this that the strength and point of the comparison consist. The wicledy whose hope is is his temporal possed^ sioos, strengthens and keeps his house in repair; and thus leans on his earthly supports; in a moment; as in the case of the spider, his house is overwhelmed by the blast of God's judgments, and himself probably boned in its ruins. This is a very fine and expressive metaphor,- which not one of the commentators that I have seen has ever discovered.
Verse 16. He is green before the sun] This is another metaphor. The wicked is represented as a loxuriant plant, in a good soil, with all the advantages of a good situation; well exposed to the sun; the' roots fntervolving themselves with stones, so as to render the triee more stable; but suddenly a blast eomes, and the tree begins to die. The sudden fading of its leaves, '&c., shows that its root is become as rottenness, and its vegetable life destroyed. 1 have often observed sound and healthy trees, which were flooVishing in all the pride of vegetative health, suddenly struck by some unknown and incomprehensible blast, begin to die. away,. and perish from the roots. I have seen 'also the prosperous wicked, in the inscrutable, dispensations of the Divine providence, blasted, stripped, made bare, and despoiled, in the same way.
Verse '18. If he destroy him from his place] Is not this a plain reference to the alienation of his inheritonce 1 God destroys him from it; it becomes the property of another; ^nd on his revisiting it, the l^ace, by a striking prosopopatia, says, " I know thee not; I have never seen thce.^^ This also have I e
19 Behold, this is the jey of i-Jf-^-^'-.^S^ his way, and ° out of the earth Ante i. oiymp. shall others grow. AnteVc.cir.
away a perfect man, neither will he *»help the evil doers:
21 Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and Uiy lips with ^ rejoicing.
22 They that hate thee shall be « clothed with shame; and Ihe dwellings-place of the wicked ^ shall come to naught
Verse 19. Behold this is the joy of his way] A st|;ong irony. ' Here is the issue of all his mirth,, of hb sporfs, games, and pastimes! Sed the unfeeling, domineering, polluting and polluted scape^grace, levelled with those whom he had despised,- a servant of servants, or unable to work through his debaucheries, cringing for a morsel of bread, or ingloriously ending his days in that bane of any well-ordered and civilized state, a parish workhouse. This also I have mps^ literally witnessed.
Out of the earth shall others groUf.] As in the preceding, case, when one i^ant or tree is blaMed.or cot down, another may be plfintsd in ^he same place $ so, when a spendthrift has run through his property, another possesses his inheritance, and grows up from that soil in which he himself might have continued to flourish, had it not been for his extravagance and folly.
TIhs verse Mr. Good applies to God himself, with no advantage to the argument, nor elucidation of ^ the sense, that I can see.: L- shall give his translation, and refer to -his learned, notes for his vindication of the version he has given: —
" Behold the Eternal (Kin) exulting in his course; Even over his dust shall raise up another."
In this way none of the ancient versions have understood the passage. I believe it to be ^ strong irony, similar to that which^ some thfitk flowed from the pen of the same writer: Rejoice, O young man^ in thy youth; and let. thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth; and walk in the ways of thine hearty and in the sight of thine eyes. But know thou, that for all these God will bring thee into judgment; Eccles. xi. 9. These two places illustrate each other.
Verse 30. Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man] ^This is another of the maxims of the ancients, which Bildhd produces: '^-As sure as he will pupisb and root out the wicked, so surely will he ^fend and save the righteous."
Verse 21. Till he -Jill thy mouth with laughing"^ Perhaps it may be well to translate after Mr. Good **Even yet may he fill thy mouth with laughter!** The two verses may be read as a prayer; and pro* bably^they were thus expressed by Bildad, who speaks with less virulence than his predecessor, though with equal positiveness in respect to the grand charge, viz..
Iffikou wert mtmstm^^no meoM faagn^^udej Go4 w^Ui^iot htme i^icte^ SMrunprpcedent^dcafanitiu upanftheii *.-^ /"^ > * ^^Tliis most exo^UoB^^poiitioi^'^Mi:i«:0O ^* ^ipiiie to matter oT tmi, mm losmded iiprilfrr|mdriDPi jRlH^of Atey derired from t^pe miacn/j. ' Surely ohsef^ VoCtofi most have, io namberless instances, corrected tM mistake. They must have seen many whrthless mm in high prosperity^ and many of the excellent of the earth in deep adversity and affiictioh; hut the op^ posite was an article of their creed, and all appearances and facts most take its cdouring.
Job's fViends must have been 'acquainted, at least, with the history of the ancient patriarchs; and most certainly they contained facts of an opposite nature.
Righteous JU was persecuted- and murdered b)r fcis -wicked brother Cain. Abram was obliged to leave his own country on account of worshipping the true Godt so all tradition has said. Jacob was persecuted by his brother Esau; Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers; Moses was obliged. to flee, from Egypt, and was variously tried and afflicted, even by his own brethren. Not to mention DomVf, and almojst all the prophets. AU these wer^ proofs that tlie best of men were fVequently 'exposed to sore afflictions and heavy calamities; and it is not by the prosperity or adversity of men in this world, that we are to judge of the approbation or disapprobation of God towards them. In every case our Lord^s rule is infallible: By their fruits ye shall know them*
Job acknowledges Ood*s justice and man's sinfulness^ 1-3- Celebrates his almighty power as manifested in the earth and in the heavens^ 4-10. Maintains that Gbd bfflicts the innocent as well as the wicked, without any respect to their works: and hath delivered the -e^rth into' the hands of the wicked, 11-34. Complains of his lot, and maintains his innocence, 2.5-35. ' - nPHENJob answered and.^aid, 2 Iknow tf t5 do of a trutli: but how should ■ mart be just »»wilh God? ' ^
3 If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.
4 '^He is wise in heart, and ^ ftiighty in strength; who hath. hanlened - hirhself
Verse 2. / know ii'ia so of a tKuth\ I acknowledge the general truth of the maxims you have advanced. God^ will not ultimately punish a righteous person, nor shall the wicked finally triuo^ph; and though righteous hefc^re man, and truly sipcere in my piety, yet I know, when compared with the immaculate holiness of God, all my righteotisness is' nothing.
Verse 3. If he will contend with him] God is so holy, and his law so strict, that if he will enter into ju<fgment with his creatures, the most upright of them cannot be Justified in his sight.
One of a thousand,] Of a thousand offences of which he may he accused he cannot vindicate himself even in one, ^Qow little that any man does, even in the way of righteousness, truth, and mercy, can stand the penetrating eye of a just and holy God, when all motives, feelings, and objects, come.to be scrutinized I In his sight, on this ground, no man living can be justified. 0, how necessary to fallen, weak, miserable, iaa{ierfect and sinful man, is the' doctrine of jiistifica- ^on by faith, and sanctification through the Divine Spirit, by the sacrificial death and mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Verse 4. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength]. By his infinite knowledge he searches
6 Which removeth the mountains, and they luiow not: which OYerturneth them in his anger.. ^ -
6 Which ^ shaketh the earth out "of her place, and • the pillars thereof tremble.
.7 Which commandeth the sun, and it
eut and sees all- things, and by his almighty power. -he can punish all delinquencies. He that rebels agaiiist. him must be destroyed.
Verse 5. Removeth the mountains ^ and they^ kifiow not] This seems to refer to earthquakes.. By- those strong convulsions^ mountains, valleys, hills, even whole islands, are removed in an instant *; and to this latter circumstance ^he words, they know not, most probably refer. The work is done in the twinkling of an eye; no.warning is given; the mountain, that seemed to be as firm as the earth on which it rested, was in the -same 'moment both visible and invisible; so suddenly was it swallowed up.
Verse 6. The pillars thereof tremble.] This also refers to an earthquake, and to that tremulous motion which sometimes gives warning of -the approaching catastrophe, and from which this violent convulsion of nature has received its name. Earthquakes, in Scripture language, signify also violent Commotions and disturbances in states; mountains often signify rulers^ sun,.empires; stars, petty states,. But it is most likely that the expressions here ave to be understood literally.
Verse 7. Which command^h the sun] Obscures it either witk clouds, with thick darlm^ss, or with an eclipse.
8 '.Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and trcadeth upon the ' waves of the sea.
9 ^ Which maketh ^ Arcturus, OrionT, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
10 ^ Which docth great things past finding
Se^Ulk up tke stars,] Like the contents of a letter, wrapped up and sealed, so that it eannot be read. Sometiines the heavens become as black as ebony, and Qo star, figure, or character, in tbis l^reat book of God can be read.
Verde 8. And treadeth upon (he waves'] This is a ▼erj majestic imag^e. God not only walks upon the walers, but, when the sea runs mountains high, he steps from billow to hillow in his almighty and essential majesty. There is a similar sentiment in David, Psa. zzix. 10: *'The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, tbe Loid sitteth King for ever.** But both are far outdone by the Psalmist,. Psa. zviii. 0-15, and especially in these words, ver.-lO, IJe di4 fly on Ihe unngs of the wind. Job is great, but in every reaped David is greater.
Verse 9. Which maketh' Arcturus^ Orion, and Pleutdes, and the chambers of the ^outh,] Fox this translation the original words are HTDl ^^DD V}^ ntS^ |a"l mm oseh ash, kesUy vechimah vehadrey theman, which are ttius rendered by the Skptuaoutt: 'O troirjv nXetada, kol '£<nrf/>or, Kai kpKXovpoVy koi ralitia voTdv; *^ Who makes the Pleiades, and Hepscrus, and Arcturus, and Orion, and the c]}ambers of the south.^
The VcLOATE, Qui facit ^-rcturumt st Oriona, et n^adas^ et inleriora Austri; ^ Who maketfar Arcturus, and Orion, and the Hyades, aqd the innermost chain' bers of the south.**
The Tasgum follows the Hebrew, but paraphrases the latter clause thus: ** and the chambers or houses of the planetary domination in the southern hemisphere."**
The Striac and Arabic, " Who maketh the Pleiades, and Arcturus, and the giant, (Otion or Hercules^ and the boundaries of the south.'*
CoTBRDALc has, TEtt maketl) tte toaj^nes of Iieaben, t|e ^rfons, t^c bif stattcs anti V^t secrete places of t^e ssiitli. And on the rti starres he has this marginal note: some caU ttiese seben starres, tlie clock Jienne toft^ Mr cMckelu. See below.
Edmund Becke^ in his edition, 1549, follows CoverdaU; but puts vatnes of heaven (or,vsaynes, which Carmarden, in his Bible, Rouen, 1566, mistaking, changes into waves of heaven.
Barker's Bible, 1615, reads, "He maketh the starres Arctoros, Orion, and Pleiades, and the climates of the south.'* On \lrhich he his this note, "These are the names of certain starres, whereby he meaneth thai all starres, both knowen and unknowen, are at His appointment.**
1 1 ^ Lo/ he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passedi on also, but I perceive hinr not.
12 ~ Behold, he taketh away, "who hinder him? who will say Unto him, What doest thou?
Our early translators seem to agree much with the German and Dutch *. Sc mac^et Hen tsagen sm ^im* met, unti ^rton, unH Tife 6rinc1ten, unH tli Aterne gegen mrttaji; " He maketh the wagon of hetfVeh, {Charleses wain,) and OxioD, and the clacking hen, {the Pleiades,) and the stars of the mid-day region." See above, under Coverdale.
The Dutch vdtsion is not much unlike the German, from which it is taken: Mit Hen tDagen waecj^t, tie a ^rlon, cn^e ^t sebcngestemte, en^ Ve Mnnenkame*' rnt bM't)Ctt|licii,
The European versions, in general, copy one or other of the above, or make a compound translation trom the whole; but all are derived ultimately from the SeptuagUU and Vulgate,.
As to the Hebrew words, they might as well have been applied to any of the other constellations of heaven: -indeed, it does not appear that constellations are at all meant.' Parkhurst and Bate have given, perhaps, the best iolerpretation of the words, which is as follows:-^
-" nao kimah, from n33 camah, to be hot or warm^ deniQ!tes' genial heat or warmth, as opposed to tEf)? ash^ a parcljing,1)iting air, on the one side; and Vd3 kesil, the rigid, contracting cold, on the other; and the chambers (thick clouds) of the south." See more iir Parkhurst, under HDD.
I need scarcely add that these words have been variously translated by critics aod commentators. Dr. Hales Iranslates^ kimah and keeil by Taurus and Scorpio; and, if this translation. were indubitably correct, we might follow him to his conclusions, viz., that Job lived 2337 years before Christ! See at the end of this chapter.
Verse 10. Great things past finding out] Great things without end; wonders without number.-—^. Targum.
Verse 1 1. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him noC\ He is incomprehensible in all his ways, and in all his works; and he' must be so if he be Goo, and work as God; for his own nafure and his operations are past finding out.
Verse 12. /fc taketh away] He never gives, but he is ever lending:■ and while the gif\ is usef\)l or is improved, he permits it to remain; but when it be* comes useless or is misused, he recalls it.
What doest thou f] He is supreme, and will give account of none of his matters. He is infinitely wise, and canoot mistake. He is infinitely kind, and can
13 If God will not withdraw his anger, ® the p proud helpers do stoop under him.
14 How much less shall t answer him, and choose out my words to reason ]B^ih him?...
15 *i Whom, though I were righteoi|% yet would 1 not answer, but I would make supplication to my Judge.
16 If t had called, ' and' he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he 'bad beafkened njrw my YoicjB.
18 He will not suffer me to uSk/bmy breathy but filleth me with bitterness.
do ^nothing cruel. He is infinitely good, and, can ilo nothing wrong. No one, therefore, should question either his motives or 'his ofScatioBS.
Ants I. (Nynm.
Verse 13. 1£ God wiil mftwUhdrmff his anger] ft is of no OSS 4a contend with God; "be cannot be successfully resisted; aU his opposers must perish..
Verse 14. How much le^ shall 1 answer] I cannot contend with my Maker. He is the Lawgiver and the Judge. ' How shall I stand in'jadgfknent-beifore him f
Verse 15. Though I werb righteous] Though clear of all the crimes, public and secret, of which yon ac« cuse me, yet I would not dare to stand before. his Jmma<niUte holiness. Man^s holiness may profit man, but in the sight of the tnifinite purity of.-God it is nothing. Thus sung an eminent poet;-^ ** I loathe myself when God I see,.And into nothing fall; Content that thou exalted be. And Christ be all in all.".
/ toould make supplication to my Judge.] Though not conscious of any sin, I should not think myself thereby justified; but would, from a conviciLion of the exceeding breadth of the commandment, and the limited nature of my own perfection, cry out, "Cleanse thou me from secret faults!"
oould scarcely suppo^, such is. hi^ majesty and such hiff holiness, that he could condescend to notice a being so mean^ and in every respect so infinitely- &ffieath his notice. These. sentin^ents sufficiently confuted that slander of his friends, i^ho said he was presumptuous, had not becoming notions 6f the majesty of God, and used blasphemous expressions against his Boyereign authority.
Verse 17. He hreaketh mi foith 4i tempest] The Targum, Syriac, and Arabic have this sense: He powerfully smites even every hair of my head, and multiplies my wounds without cause, That is, There is no reason known to myself, or to any man, why I should be thus most oppressively ajQiicted. It is, he IS Strong: and if of judgment, Ante i. oiympb * who shall set me a time to Ante u.o. cir. plead?.-; ^ ''^'
20 If I justify iByafil^ mine own mouth shafl condemn me: if J say I am perfect, it dirfi also proTe nie perverse....
2%.Tbis is one thingy thmfore I said t^ ■ He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
23 If the scourge slay suddenly, he will lau^ at the trial of the innocent
24 The earth is given into the hand tff the wicked: ^ he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not^ where, and who i5 he?
Verse 18. He'will riot suffer me to take my hreath] I have no respite' in my afflictions; t suffer continually in my body, and my 'mind is incessantly harassed.
Verse 19. Ifl speak of strength, /o,he'is strong] Human wisdom, power, and influence avail nothing before him. '. '
Who shall set me a time] ^^ryv \:5 mi yoideni, " Who \vould be a witness for me 1" or. Who would dare to Appear io my behalf? Almost all the terms in this part of the speech of Jqb, frpm ver, 1 1 to ver. 24, are forensic or juridical, and are taken from legal pro^ cesses and pleadings in their gates or courts of justice.
Verse 20. If I justify myself]. God must have some reason for his conduct towards me; I therefore do not pretend to justify iriyself; the attifempt to do it. would* be an insult to his majesty and justice. Though I ain conscious of none of the crinAes of which you accuse me; and knqw not why he contends with me; yet he must have some reaison, and that reason he does not choose to exj)lain.
Verse 21. Though I were perfecf] Had I the fullest couviction that, in every thought, word, and' deed, I were blameless before him, yet I would not plead this; nor would I think it any security for a life of
Verse 16. If I had called, and he haS answered] T ease and prosperity, oi* any proof that^my d^s should
Verse 28. This is one thing] My own observation shows, that in the course of providence the righteous and the wicked have an equal lo^; for when any sudden calamity comes, the innocent and iltb guilty fallalike. There may be a few exceptions, but they are very extraordinary, and very rare.
Verse 24. The earth is given. into the hand of the wicked] Js it not most evident that the worst men possess most of this world^s goods, and that the. righteous are scarcely fever in power or affluence 1 This was. the case in Job's time; it is the case stUl. Therefore prosperity and adversity in this life are no marks either of' God's approbatjian or disapprobation.
25 Now * my dajrs are swifter
'^' 26 They arc passed away as
tfe " swift ^ ships: * as the eagle that hasteth to flic prey.
He cArereth the faces of the judges thereof] Or, The face* of its decisions he shall cover. God is o& ten fltMad in Scripture as doing a thing which he onlf permitM to be done. So he permits the eyes of judgment to be blinded; and hence false decisions. Mr. Gofid translates the rerse thus:• — ** Tlie earth is given over to the hand of m justice;
Where every one liveth i»it not so t" And rindicates the translation in his learned notes: bat I think the Hebrew, will not bear this- rendering; especially that in the third line.
Where, and who is he f] If -this be not the cas6, who IS he that acts in this.w3y, and where ia he to be found? If God docs not permit these things, who. is it that orders them? •.
Cozerdale translates, ^8 for t|)e toorHir, lie fltbett ft sbrr fnto t|e potDcr of.tte tofckc^, sitct as t^^ rtt'ltrs tt trUfcrot all lonTics are full. Ss ft not so? Wtiere ts tbcre rnf, but be fs socb one? This sense is clear enouj^h, if the ong:inal ^^i\\ bear it. The last clause id thus rendered by the Si/riac and Arabic, Wha can bear his indignation J.
Verse 25. Swifter than a post] yi '•JO minni rats, than a runner. The light-footed messenger or courier who canies niessages from place to place.
They flee away] The Chaldee says, My days are swifter than the shadow of a^ flying bird. So swiftly do they flee away that I cannot discern them; and when past they cannot be recalled. Tliere is a sentiment like this in Viroil, Geor, lib. iii., ver. 284: —
Verse 26. As the swift ships] n^K HVJK oniyoth eheh. Ships of desire, or ships of Ebeh, says our margin; perhaps more correctly, inflated- ships, the •ails bellying out with a fair brisk wind, tide favourable, and the vessels themselves lightly freighted.
The Vulgate has, Like ships freighted with apples. Ships laden with the befit fruits. — Taboitm. Ships well adapted for sailing. — ^Arabic. JS^jblpes t^at be jtooH unlitr sale.— Coverdalb. Probably this - relates to the light fast-sailing shii)s on the Nile, which were made of reeds or papyrus.
28 ' I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou *• wilt not hold me innocent.
30 ^ If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;
31 Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes j|hall ® abhor me.
reading of forty-seven of Kwnieotfs and De R&ssPs MSS., and x>f the Syriac version. If this be the true reading, what ii its sense? My days are gone off like the light vessels of the pirates, having stripped me of my property, and carried all irrecoverably away, nnder the strongest press of safl, that they osy effect their escape, and secure their booty. '
The next words. As the ee^U that hasteth' to the prey, seem at least to countensnee, if not confirm, the above reading: the idea of rohbery and spoU, prompt attack and sudden retreat^ is preserved in both images.
Verse 27, 7 will forget my complaint] I will /orsake or forego my complaining. I will have off my heaviness.. Vcloate, I will change my countenance — force myself to smile, and endeavour to assume the appearance' of comfort.
Verse 28. I am afraid of all my sorrows] Co^erdale translates, afler the Vulgate, E%tn %m X afraseH of «n mu toorftes. Even were I to cease from complaining, I fear lest not one of my works, however well intehtigned, would stand thy scrutiny, or meet with thy approbation.
Thou wilt not hold me innocent.] Coverdale, after the Vulgate, #or X knoU)e t1)ou fabourcst njDt an cbCl Hoer; but this is not the sense of the original: Thoa wilt not acqui^ me so as to take away my afflictions from me.
Verse 29. If I be wicked] If I am the sinner yon suppose 'me to be, in vain should I labour to cpunterfeit joy, and cease to Complain of my sufferings.
Verse 30. If I wash myself with snow water] Supposed to have a more detergent quality than common water; and it was certainly preferred to comifion water by the ancients. Of this we find an example in an elegant but licentious author: Tandem ergo discubuimus, pueris Alexandrinis aquam in manus nivatam infundenlibus, aliisque insequentibus ad' pedes. -^Fktr. Satyr.yC^^. xxxi. ''At length we sat dQwn, and had snow, water poured on our hands by lads of Alexandria," &c.
Mr; Good supposes that there is an allusion here to the ancient rite of washing the hands in token of innocence. See Psa. xxvi. 6: / will wash my hands in innocency; and Ixxiii. 13: Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innogbnct. And by this ceremony Pti^^^. declared himself inno» cent of the blood of Christ, Matt, xxvii. 24.
Verse 31. And mine own clothes shall abhor me.] Such is thine infinite purity, when put in opposition to the purity of man, that it will bear no comparison. Searched and tried by the eye of God, I should be
32 For ^ h^ is not a man as
33 '^ Neither is there ""any ^ day'j3-man bctwhtl us, that might Jay his hand upon us both.
fonnd B& a Upvr, so that my men cUthes would dread in toucii me, for ftiar of being jnfceii^d l*y my cornip* tfon. Tilts is a a!rong und bdd ^gure; ai>d is derived from the corrupted state of his hodt/f which hia clothes dreaded to touch, because of the coatEL^ioua nature of his dug order*
Verse 32. For he £» n<7£ a man as I am] I eamiot contend tvith him as with one of my feliow3 in a court of jusiiee, i^erae 33» Neiiher u there ant/ da^'^s-man] U'^J'D h^3^0 beyneynu tnochiacky a reprover ^ arguer^ or umpirt bHwetn ux. DatVaiaii, in our law, means an arbitrator, or umpire between party and party; as it were hcstowing a da^y or certain time on u ceriuin day, to deereej judge, or decide a matter. — Mtnshieu. Day is used in law for the if ay ttf appearanee m court, either originaUy or upon assignation, fur hearing a matter for trial.— /(rfcm. But arbitrator is the proper meaning of the term here: one who is, by the cortiient of bat It parties, lo judge between thcm^ aiid settle, theif difTerences*
Instejw! o# tff* kS tu yesh, there U n^t, 5 flee n of KemiicoiVs and Dt RmssVs MSS., isith Uie Scptuaginl^ Syruit, and Arabk, read B?mS /u ycjA, / wUh there icere: m^ O thai there were! EtiSe jjv 6 fit&Lni^ v^J'i KOL tXtyX'^^ f^^* 6iaK0ViJv avapsn^v apt^Tjpwv-i O tfhat we had a mediator^ an advocate, and Judge hctuteen t£j bolh! — Sept* Poor Job I He did not yet know the Mediator between God and man; tlie only means hy whiob God and man can be brought together and reconciled. Had St. Paul this in his ©ye w*hen he iiTote 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6 t For i\i€te is one God^ and one Medialor between God and ment the man Christ Jesus; toho gatte kimxlf a rans&m/or i^t. Without ihis Medmlor^ and the ransojn price which ha has laid down^ God and man can never be united: and thtit this tmipn might be made possible^ Jesus took the human into conjunction with his Dirijie nature \ and thus Qod t^oj manifest in Ihe Jlesh.
Verse 34* Lei htm ta^e hU rod away} In the Ma- &oretic Bibles, the word ltD3t£^ skibt*, his rod^ is written with a large t3 tetk^ as above; and as the letter in numerals stands for 0> the Masora says the word was thijs written to show the mne calamities under which Job bad suffered^ and wldcb be wished God to remore.
As ID^^ff shebet signiHeSf not only rod, but also seep* ire or the ensign of roycdlyj Job might here refer to God sitting in bis majesty upon the judgment-seat; and this sight an appalled him^ that, (iMed with terror, he was unable to speak* >^nien a sinful soul sees God in his majesty, terror seises upon it, and prayer is impossible. We have a beautiful illustration of this, Isa* vi. 1-5: "I flaw the Lord siltiftf upon a throne, hi^h and lifted up, and hia train filled the temple*
Then said I, Wo is me, for I am undone, beoauee I am a man of unclean Ijps; for mine eyes haf e seen the King, the Lord of hosta/'
Verse 35. But it is not so with me.} I am not in such eircnmstanocs as to plead with my Judge. 1 believe the sense of these words is nearly as Coverdale has expressed it: — ffitx 3is lanif aa JE am la >fir|i frar>- tulncKsr, if caa male nc ansUirtr. A natural picture of the state of a penitent soul, \^bich needs no additional colouring.
On the names of the eonstellations mentioned ver. 0, and again' chap, xxxvlii* 31, ^c*, much has heen written, and to little effcet. 1 have already* in the notes, expressed my douhta whether any consteHatton be intended. Dr* Hfdes, however, finds in these names, as he things, astronornical data^ by which he aacertarns the time of Job. 1 shall give hia words: —
*^ The cardinal constellations of spring and autumn, in Job^s time, were Chimah, and Chesd or TaK^uj, and Scorpit}; iJotieed ix. 9^ and again, XJCJtviii. 31, 32; of which thd principal stars are, Atdebarant the bull's ©ye, and Aniares, the scorpion's heart. Knowiugf, therefore, the longiiudes^ of these stars, at present, the interval of lime from thenee to the assumed date of Job^s trial will givG the dilTerenee of the longitudes; and ascertain their positions then, with respect to the vernal and autumnal points of interaeetion of the equinoctial and ecliptic; according to the usual rate of Iha precession 0/ the equinoxes^ one degree in 7 1 y/e^rs. See that article, vol. i.f p/185.
*^ The following calculations I c^we to Uie kindness and skill of the respectable iJr. Brinkhy, Andrew^s Professor of Astronomy in the University of Dublin,
*' In A. D* 1800 Aldebaran was in 2 signs, 7 degrees, eaat longitude. But since the date of Job^s trial, B. C. 2336, 1* e., 413B years, the precession of the eqnino.^es amounted to 1 sign, 37 degrees, 53 minutea; which^ being aohtracted from the former quantity, icft Aldebaran in only 0 degrees, 7 minutes longitude, or distance from the vernal intersection; which, falling within tlie constellation Taurus^ consequently rendered ii the cardinal consteUation ot sprang ^ as Pisces is at present,
" Ih A* D. 1600 Antares w^as in fl signi, 6 degrees, 5S minutes, east longitude; or S signs, G degrees, 59 minutes, east of the autumnal interseeti^in: from which subtracting as before the amoiyit of the precession, Aniarts was lefl only 9 degrees, 5 minutes east. Since, thonj the autumnal equinox was found vriihin Scorpiov this was the cardinal eonsteilation of autumn^ as Virgo is~at present*
*' Such a combination and coincidence of rarioua rjys of evidence, derived from widely different sources kisiofjj sacred and profaaii tkrmuUgy, and astrmpmfy and aU converging to the same fbeua, tend aHooglj to esublish the time of /odV trial, as rightly assigned tothe year B. C. 9337,'or 818 years, aifter the deloge. 184 years before' the birth of Abram; 474 yoais before the aeulement of JacoVt family in Egypt; and 689 3rear8 before their ejroi^ or departnn £ron Sew Analysis of Chronology, vol. ii., p. -57.
Now all this is specious; and, were the soond, we might tely on the pennanence of ing, though the rains should descend, the floods and the winds blow and beat on that house. But aU these deductions and conclusions are founded am tiMi asswufUon that Chimah and Chesil mean Tattrus and Scorpio: but this is the very point that is. to be proved; for proof of this is not offered, nor, indeed, can be offered; and such assumptions are palpaUy nugatory. That Jffj; ash has been generally understood to signify the Great Bear; S*03 Kesil, Orion; and hso Kimah, the Pleiades;. may be seen everywhere: but that they do signify these constellations is perfectly uncertain. We have only conjectures concerning their meaning; and on such conjectures no system can be, boilL Genuine data, in Dr. Hates' s hands, are sure to be conducted to legitimate conclusions: but neither he nor any one else can construct an astronomical ' fabric in the limlus of conjectui^p. When JoS lived Is perfectly uncertain: but that this book was written S18 years after the deluge;. 184 years before the birth of Abraax, and 'G89 years before' the exodus; and that aU this is demonstrable from Chimah and Chesil signifying Taunu and Scorpio, whence the
'ift the Ibii of Job^ trial can be asoertaiaed; eaa Defer be ptoteii and should nei«r. be credited. «
In what many leaned men have wxittea on tie subject, I find aanoQeh aoUhy and aalliAetioa as from what la puMttij aid gOLtiHj atatad'ln At Gloasa QndmarM.*<-*
Qm facU Arciurmiu Dioerset swU cougfJligiiintSf vmioM status ecclesim signantes. Per Arctntum, qui mmftr' super arixontem nostrum appar^^ significatur status apoatdorum ^i in episcopis remanet. Per Oriona, q%U §si tempestatis^ signunff significatur staiuu martjrrum. Per Hyadas, qua significant pluvioab Staius doetorum doctriwe pluvium effunderitium. Per interiora austri, qtus sunt nobis occulta, status Anachoretarum, hominum aspectus declinantium. ^ These different constellations signify v{trious states of the Church..By Arcturus, which always appears above our horiaon, is signified the apostolic state, which stiH remains in episcopacy. By Orion, which is a tempesttfoBS sign, is signified the state of the martyrs. By *the Hyades, (kids,)_which indicate rain, the state of the doctors, pouring out the rain of doctrine, is sigiafied. ' And by the inner chambers of the souths which are hidden from us, the state of the Anchorets (hermits) is' signified, who always shun the sight of men."
Much more of the same allegorical matter may be found in the same place, the- Glossa Ordinaria of i$trabus of Fulda, on therninth ch&pter of Job. But how tinreid and empty are all these things! What an uncertain sound do aucb trumpets give }
Job ts weary of life, and expostulates with God, 1—6. He appeals to' God for his innocence; and pleaas on the weakness of his frame, and the manner of his fohnation, 7—13. Complains of his sufferings, and prays for respite, 14-20. Describes the state of the dead, 21, 22.* '
IVTY * soul is *» weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; * I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me;
Verse 1. My soul is tpeary of my life] Here Lb a proof that VD2 nephesh does not signify the animal life, but the soul or immortal mind, as distinguished from *n cAoi, that animal life; and is a strong proof that Job believed in the distinction between thepe two principles; was no materialist; but, on the contrary, credited the proper immortality of the 'soul. This is worthy of observation. See chap. xii. 10.
I vsiU leave my comjtlaini\ I will charge myself with the cause of my own calamities; and shall not charge my Maker foolishly: but I most deplore my irretched and forlorn state.
3 Is it good unto thee that thou shoulde^t oppress, that thou shouldest despise ^ the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
Verse 2. Do not condemn me] Let me not be afflicted in thy wrath.
Show me wherefore thoutontendeMt} If I am afflioted beoaose of my sins, show me what that sin is. God never afflicts but for j>ast sin, or to try his followers; or for the greater manifestation of his grace in their support and deliverance.
Verse 3. Is it good unto thee] Surely it can be no gratification to thee to distress the children of men, as if thou didst despise the work of thy own hands.
And shine upon the counsel] « For by my afflictions the haish Judgments of the wicked will appear to be coofirmed: viz., that God regards not his most fer-
» n • *?"'•?St 4 Hast thou eyes of flesh? or Ante I. oiymp. • geest thou as man seeth? ▲nte^u. Coir. ^ A.re thy days as the days of ^^' man? ore thy years as man's days,
6 That thou inquirest «fter mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?_
7 ^ Thou » knowest that I am not wicked; and iheire is none that can deliver out of thine hand.
8 ^ Thine hands » have made me and fashioned me together round-about; yet thou dost destroy me.
Verse 4. Hast thou eyes of flesh?]■ Dost thou judge as fnan judges 1 Illustrated by the next clause, $eesf ihou as man seeth?
Verse 5. Are My days as the days ofnian])orUM enosh, Wretched^ miserable man. Thy years as maiCs.^ 4aysi 'yil g<iber, the strong man. Thou art' not short-liTed, like man in his> present imperfect state; • nor can the years of the loiig-lived patriarohs.be compared with thine. The difference of ^e- phraseology in the original justifies this view of the subject. Man in his low estate cannot be likened unto thee; nor can he in his greatest excellence, though made in thy own image and likeness, be compared to thee.
Verse 6. That ihou inquirest] Is it becoming thy infinite dignity to concern thyself so much with the affairs or transgressions of a despicable paortal? A word spoken in the heart of most sinners.
Verse 7. Thou knowest that I am not wicked] While thou hast this- knowledge of me and my condttct, why appear to be siftikig me as if in order to find out sin; and though none can be found, treating me as though I were a transgressor?
Verse 8. Thine hands have made me] Thou ^art we^ acquainted with human nature, for thou art its author.. ^
And fashioned me together round about] All my powers* and faculties have been planned and' executed by thyself. It is thou who hast refined the materials out of which I have been formed, and modifiecf them into that excellent S3rmmetry and order in which they are now found; so that the um'on. and harmony of the different parts, (in^ yif|b#i)and their arrangement and completion, (2^^ sMh,) fioclaim equally thy wtsdomy skifit power, and goodness.
■ Yet thou dost destroy me.] ^Jij;S3ni vatteballeeni, "and thou wilt swallow me up." Men generslly care for and prize those works on which they have a^eni most time, skill, and pains: but, although ikm hast formed me with such incredible 'skill and labonry yet thou art about to destroy me! How dreadful an evil must sin be, when, on its account, God has pronounced the sentettoe of death on all maakjnd; aid that body, ■0 curioqsly and skilfully formed, must be deooBiposed, and reduced to dust!. « that * thou hast made me as- the Ant© u. c. cir. clay; and wilt thou bring i^e Ante i. oiymp. into dust again?. - /^-
10 ^ Hast thou not poiu^d vke out -as milk, and curdled me like cheese? • *
11 Thou hast clothed me. with skin and fleshy and hast. ^ fenced me with bones and sinews.
12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy vUitation* hath preserved my spirit..
V^rse 9. Thou hast made me as the day] Thon hast fashioned me, according to thy own mind, out of a mass of clay: after so -much skill and |>ain8 expended, men might natnraUy suppose they were to have a permanent being; but thou hast 4ecree4 to torn them into dost!
Verse 10. Hast thou not poured me ouLai milk] After all t)iat some leavned men have said on this subject, in order to confine the images here to simple ' nutrition, I am satisfied that generation is the true notion. Respicit ad fetus in n&atris utero prtmam formationem, quumin embryonem ex utriusqlie parentis semine coalescit.-^Ex^emine liquido, lac quodammodo referente, me formdsti. — In interpretando, inquiiMi^ rpnymus, omnino his accedo qui de genitalf semine accipiunf, quod ipsa tanquam natura emulget, ac dein concreseere in utero ae coalescere jubet.. I oiake no apology for leaving this untranslated.
l^lie different expressions in this and the following verse are very appropriate: the pfiuunng out like milk -—coagulating, clothing with skin and- flesh, fencing with bones and' sinews, are well imagined, and delicately, and &t the same time forcibly, expressed.
Xf I believed that Job referred to nutrition, which I do not, I might speak of the chyle, the chylopoietic organs, thQ lacteal vessels, and the generation of all the solids and fluids from this substance, which itself is deirived from the food taken into the stomach. But this process, properly speaking, does not take place till the human beii^ is brought into the world, it being pvSfioasly nourished by the 'mother by means of the funis umbilicus, without that action of the stomach by which the chyle is prepared.
Verse 13. ThoHMst granted me life and favour] Thou hast brodght me from my mother^s womb; given me an actoal existence among men; by thy favour or mercy thou hast provided me with the means of life; and thy visitation — thy continual providential care, has -preserved me in /i/e— -has given me the air I breathe, and furnished me with those powers which enable me to resfire it as an agent and preserver of life, It is by QgiTs continued visitation or influence that the life (^ aii);^ldaii & preserved; in him we live, move, and hofos mir heing.
V«fi$el3. And these things hast thou hid tn thine ieart] Thou hast had many gracious purposes con-
14 If I sin, then " thou.markest me, and thou wilt not acquit
15 If I be Wked, • wo unto me; ' and if I be righteous, ye^will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore ^ see thou mine affliction;
1 6 For it increaseth..' Thou huntest me as a fierce Con: and again thou showest thyself marrellous upon me.
17 Thou renewest "thy witnesses against me, and iricreasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.
ceming me which thou bast not made known; bot thy Tisaatioiis and mercy are safficient proofs of kindness toward* me; though for purposes unknown to rae thou hast aorely afflicted me, kad continuest to treat me as an enemy.
Yerae li. Jf I sin] From thee nothing can be hidden; if I sin, thou takest aecount of the transgression, and canst not hold fne for innocent ^hen thou koowest I am guilty.
IFerse 15. If I be wicked] I must meet with that ponisfament that is due to the workers of iniquity.
If I be righteous] I am only in the state which my doty to my Creator requires me to be in; and I cannot therefore suppose that on (his account I can desenre any thing by way of favour from the justice of my Maker.
I 9m full of confusion] ' I am confounded at my state and circmnstances. I know that thou art merciful, and doet not afflict willingly the children of meri; I know I hare not wickedly departed from thee; and yet I aiA treated by thee as if I were an apostate from erery'good. 1 am therefore full of confusion. See thou to my affliction; and bring me out of it in such a way as shall at once prore my innocence, the righteousnesa of thy ways, amd the mercy of thy nature.
Verse 16. For it increaseth,] ^obably this refers to the affliction mentioned above, which is increased in proportion to its duration. Every day made his eKape from sach a load of erils less and less probable.
Thau huntest me as a fierce lion] As the hunters attack the king of beasts in the forest, so my fiends attack me. They assail me ofi every side.
Thou showest thyself marvellous] Thy designs, thy wa3ra, thy works, are all incomprehensible to me; thou dost both confound and overpower me. Mr. Good trandafes thus: —
" For oproofling as a ravenous lion dost thou spring upon me. And again thou showest over rae thy vast power.^
Verse 17. Thou renewest thy witnesses] In this speech of Job he is ever referring to trials in courts of Judicature^ and almost aU his terms zie forensic.
18 •Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the
womb? O that I had given up Ante u. c' cir. the ghost, and no eye had seen me! ^^'
19 1 should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. ^
20 * Are not my days few? ^ cease then, and ^ let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,
2 1 Before I go tuhence I shall not return, * even to the. land of darkness y and llie shadow of death;
22 A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
Changes and war] I am as if attacked by successive tro<^; one company being wearied, another succeeds to the attack, so that I am harassed by continual warfare.
. Verse 1^. Wherefore then] Why didst thou give me a being, when thou didst foresee I should be exposed to such incredible hardships? See on chap. iii. 10, &c.
Verse 19. I should have been as though] Had I given up the ghost a?, soon as bom, as I could not then have b^en conscious of existence, it would have been, as ft respects myself, as though I had never been;' being immec^ately transported from my mother*s womb to the grave.
Verse 20. Are not my day i few f] My life cannot be long; let me have a little respite before I die.
Verse 21. I shall not return] I shall not return again from the dust to have a dwelling among men.
To the land of darkn^ss\ See the notes on chap, iii. 5. There are here a crowd of obscure and dislocated terms, admirably expressive of the obscurity and uncertainty of the subject. What do we know of the state of separate spirits f What do we know of the spiritual world 1 How do souls exist separate from their respective bodies? Of what are they capable, and what is their employment? Who can answer these questions } Perhaps nothing can be said much better of the state than is here said, a land of obscurity, like darkness.
The shadow of death] A plaoe where death rules, over which he projects his shadow, intercepting every light of every kind of life. Without any order, H^l D^")*1D velo sedarim, having no arrangements, no dis> -tirictions of inhabitants; the poor and the rich are there, the master and his slave, the king and the beggar, their bodies in equal conuption' and disgrace, their souls distinguished only by their moral character. Stripped of their flesh, they stand in their naked simplicity before God in that place.