Verse 23. The flak^ of his flesK\ His muscles are strongly and firmly. compacted.
Verse 2p. HaSirgeon.] The hauberk, the Norman armour for the head, neck, and breast, formed of rings. See on Neh. iv^ J6.
^verses state thkt he cannot be -wounded by any klndt of weapon, and that he cannot be resisted by any hu* maji strength..* ' '.
A young crocodile, s^n by M. Maillet^ Upehe feel long, and which ^ad nc^t Baton a morsel iof thirty 'five ' days, its mouth having been tied all that time, was nevertheless sex strong, that with a blow of its tail it overturned a bale of coffee, and five or six men, witH ^ utmost imaginable ease I What power tlieB n\ust lodge in onq twenty feet long, well fed,' and in health f * <w »
Verse 30. Sharp stones 2xe, under At^] So haid and impenetrable a^e.his scales, that splinters of flint are the same to him as the softest reeds.
, Verse ^l.* He maketh the deep ta boil like 'a pat]' Ttueis occasioned by strongly agitating the waters at or neur the bottom; and the froth which arises to the top ' from this agitation may have the ajffeiraice of oin{rnent, » But iseveral travellers say that the croock dile has a very strong «cent ef musk, and that iM'sreo imparts this smeU to the water through whkli lie passes,, and therefore the tbxt may be takM KteoraUy.. This property of the crocodile has been notioed by* several writers. *
Verse 32. He maketh a paph to shme after kim\ In certain states of the weather a rapid motion throu^.the -water, disengages many sfiarks jof phosphoric flie. I have se^ this at sea; once, particularly, in. a fine clear night, with a good breeze, in a fast-saiUag ves*^ sel, I leaned oyer the* stern, and watched Uiis pheno- * menon for hours. The wake of the jessei was like u stream of fire; millions of particles of fire wegre dism- ' 'gaged by the ship's swifl motion through the water, nearly in the sahie way as by the electric cushion itaX cylinder; and all continued to be. absorbed at a short distance from the vessel. Whether this phenomenofi takes place in fresh water or in the Nile, I have had no opportunity of observing.. •
The deep to be hoary.] By the frost and foam raised by the lapiS- passage of 'the animal through the water.
m ao creature among tetrestrial aminals so tboxoughly dngerous, so exceediagly strohg, abd so dihcult to bt womided or slain.
Who is mtde without fear.] Perhaips there is no deatme who is at all aeqoainted with man, so totally disstitnte of (ear as the crocodile.
Verse 34. He is. a kit^ over all the children of prideJ] 'There is do animal in the waters that does not fear* and fly from him*. Hence the Chaldee fen^ deis it, all the offspring of fishes.
Cdmet say a, that by the children of pride the Egyptians are meant; that the> crocodile is called their king, because he was one of their principal divinities; that the kings bf Egypt vrere called Pharaoh, which sig-' nifies a. crocodile; and that the Egyptians were proverbial for their pride^ as.4nay be seen in Ezck. xxxii. 12. A^ it is Tery natun^ to say that Job, wishing to point out a cruel animd^ adored by the Egyptians, and considered by them as their chksf divinity, Should describe him under (he name of ^ing of all the children tf pride. *..
Houbigani considers the |n'lS livyathan, the coupled dragon^ to be emblematical of Satan; ^ jlle lifts his proud look to God, and;^ptres to the.high "heavens; and is king OTcr all the sobs of pride." He i^* in effect, the governor of every proud, haughty, impious man. What a.kiog! What laws! Wiiat subjects!
pride; and that it is with the design to abate their pride, and confound them in the high notions they haye of their own importance, that God produces and descri(>es an animal of whom they are all afraid, and ivhom none of them can conquer.
Aexer all, what islemathah? I have strong doubts whether either whale or crocodile be meant. I think even the crocodile overrated by this description. Jle is too greaf, too (k)wcrful, loo important, in this representation. No beast, terrestrial or aquatic, deserves the high character here giyen, though that character' only considers him as unconquerably strong, ferociously cruel, and wonderfully made. Perhaps letiiathan wan some extinct mantmolh of the. waters, as behemoth was o'f the land.' However, I have followed the genetal opinion by treating him as the' crocodile throughout these ^notes; but could not finish without stating ray doubt? 09 the subject, though I have nothing better to offer in the place of the. animal in behalf of whtbh* almost all learned men a'nd critics, argpe, and concerning which they generally agree. As to its being an emblem either of Pharqoh or the devil, I can say little more 'than, / doubl., The' description is extremely dignified; and were we sure of the animal, I have no doubt we should find it in every instance correct. But aftey. all that has been said, we have yet to learn what leviathan is!. •
Mkumbfes himself brf ore God, 1-6. God accepts himi censures his three friends; dnd commands Job to offer sacrifices^ for them, that' he mfght pardon and accept theiii, as they' ha(f not sjfoken what Was right concerning their Maker, 7—9. The Lord turns Job^s captivity; and his friends visit him, and bring him presents, 10, 11. Job'*s affluence becomes double to what it was before, 12. His family is also increased, 13-15. Hamng lived one hpndred and forty' yeurs after his calamities, he dies, l^, 17.
2 I know tliat thou * canst do every thing, and that ^ no thought can be withholden from thee.
3 • Who is he that Iiidelh counsel without knowledge? therefore haye I uttered that I
"^erse 2. I know that thou canst do every thing] Thy power is unlimited; thy wisdom infinite.
Verse 3. Who is he that Md^ counsel] These are the words of Job, and they are a repetition of what Jehovah said, chap. xxxviiL 3: " Who is this that dark-* eneth, connsel* by words without knowledge V Job bow haTing* heard the Almighty^s speech, and having xeoeiTed his reproof, echoes back his words: " Who is he that biideth counsel without knowledge V Alas, /am the man; / liave uttered. what I understood not; things too wonderful for me, that I knew not..
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: • I will demand of lhe6, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of tlice by. the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth. thee:
loins hke, a man; I will demand of thee, tnd answer thou me." In allusion to this, Job exclaims to his Maker, _ver. 4: "Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will ask of thee, and declare thou unto me.." I acknowledge my ignorance; I confess my foolishness and presumption; I am ashamed of my conduct; I lament my imperfections; I implore thy mercy; and beg thee^ to show me thy will, that I may ever think, speak, and do, what is pleasing in thy sight..
-Things too wonderful] I have spoken of tHy judgments, which I did not comprehend.
Verse 5. / have heard of thie] I have now such a discovery of thee as I have never had bep^re. J have unto Job, the Loud a aid lo Eliphaz ihe Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and again at thy two friends: for yc have not spoken of nie the thing thai is riglit, as my eer- ¥anl Job hotL
*8 Therefore take imto you now ^ seven bullocks and «cvca ram;^> a'nd '^go to ijiy servant Job, and oiTer- up for yourselves a burnt- offer-
otily heard of ihce by tradinotjn or from imperfect ittibnnaUun; now the eye of my mind clearly periwivos thee; aail in seeing ihes, J nef mt/sdf; ftir tho lighl that discovers ihy glory and excellence, discovers my mcanncso aad vjleness. ^
Repent] I am deeply distressed on account of Ihe imagtrtaiioit^ of my hc:u'ty tho wi>rds of my tongudf and I ho arts of Jiiy life. I roll mysiilf in the dash aad sprinkle ashes upon my lie ad.. Job is now su^ciently humbled at iho feet of Jehovah; and having e^mcistly and iiiousiy prayed for inairuetion, tlie Lord, in a fiiirsbing^ jipeecb, which appears to be contained in Vhejirst fourteen, verses «f ch^>. xL, perfects bis teaching on the subject of the late controversy^ wliieh is concluded with, " When Ibou caost act like the "Almighty,'' which 13, in office t, what the qrfeatioos and eommandii amount to in the preceding verses of that chapter, " theo will I also CO nfe»^ unto thee, that thy own right hand ean save ihec," In tho fifih verse of I he fottitih phapl^r. Job says^ " Once have I spoken/' 'Thia. most refer to thedeolaraliau above, in the beginning of this chapter, (xlil.) And^ he goes on to state, ehap, piV d * ** Yen, Twrcs; but I will proceed no farther.*^ This second time is that in which he uses thc^ words; siAor which h& 3|H>ke no more; and tlie Lord (;on^ eluded with the remaining part of these fourteefi verses » vjz., from Tff- 7 to 14, in elusive. Then the thread of the storyi tn the form af a narration is resumed in this chapter (xUL) at ver. 7,
'V'ersc 7. After the Lord had $pohen ikese^ taatds] Those recorded at chap, x!, 7-li;. he said to Kliphax, who was the' eldest of the three ftiend^t nnd chief speaker: Ye have not spokcmtf me — "fight* Mr. Peters observer, " It will bo diMcolt to find any thing in the speeches of ^liphaz and his companions which tihouKl make the djfferenee here supposed, if we bcI aside the doctrine of \i future state; for in this view the others would speak more worthily of God tlian Job, by endeavouring to V indie ate his providence in the exact distribution of good and evil in this life: whereas Job's assertion, cbap^ is* S^, * This is one thing, therefore
9 So Ehphaz the Temanke and Bildad the Shuhilc and Zophar the Naamathttc went, and did according as the Lord commanded Uiem: the Loud also acccjited * Jobi. ' -
1 0 "" And the LtlRn turned the captivity of Jol^ wheii h^ prayed for his friefitj^ r also the
1 said it,* He destroy elh tkc perfect ttndJhc wicked^* which is the argument on which he ^11 along insists, ^vquld, iipon this supposition, be directly charging God that ha made no distinction between the good ntid tlio bad. But «jftw, take the other life into the account, and the. thing will appear In quite a contrary light; and we shall easily see the reason why God appro vCl of the sentimenLs of /<>^, and eondemns tho^e at hie friends ^ For aupjKJjjing the friends of Job to atgue that the rtghteott^ are never alllicted Without remedy here, nor the tote/ied prosperous on the whale in tliis life, which is. p. wroJig represciUatiqn of God''s proTi#^ dence;.izid Jab to ar^ae, nn the other hand, that the righteous are sometinfes aMicted here, ajtd that wUh-^ A}ul rcmedj/t hut sliall be rewm-ded V\ the /r/t' to tame; and that the Ainc^ed prosper here, hut shall ^e punished hereafter^ which is Ihe line represent attaa of the BiTiae proceedings; au^l lierc is a very api>arent difference in Ihe drift of the one^s discourse, aud of the others\ For Job, in this view^ speaks woitbily of God, and the rest utiwortlitly..: 'I^he best moral argument that maakitjd have ever had to believe in a life to ctwie, is tliat whiclr Job insists on — that good and etfit are, for itia most part, dealt out here promiscuously. Dn tfie con* trary, the topic urged by his. frieudt*, and which they push a gretit deal too far, tluu God rewards and punishes in, this world, tends, in its eonsequenoes, like that other opinion whieh was held by the stoics in MX^t times, that virtue is its own reward^ to safx the very foundation of that proof wo have, from re&isoa, of anotljer life. No wonder, therefore, thai the sentiments of the -one are approved, and those of the other condemned/'.
'^^erse B, Take — seven bullocks and set^en rams\ From this it appears that Job was considered a pri/tit^ not only in his o^vn family, but also for others* For his children he offered hurnt-oiferjngs> chap,.i- 5;^an4 now he is lo make the same kifid of offerings ^ aeifompanied m ith inte^xesston^ in behalf of his three frietids. Tliis is a full proof of the innocenco and integrity Qf Job: a more decided one could not- be given* that the accusalioni* of his friends, and their bitter speeches, were' a« nntruti as they svere mahvr>hnt. God thus clears Aw character, and confounds Mdr devices,
Verse 10* The Lord turned the eaptivitt/ of Job] TlkBVrdgat^h^i Dominus quoque eon versus est ad (KEuitefttiam Job*; *^And tho. Lonn turned Sob to aiid all they ihnt had been of his ac* f^ijuiiiitance before, and did eal bread with liim ' in his house: and Qiey bemoaned him, and [comforted him over all the evil that the Loiin [had brought upon him: every man also gave rliioi a piece of money, and every one an e$r* fling of gold*
[L<)nl (*n tn^^O m^mera dayai) lurnc^d the cAplivily fof Job/* There is a refnarlr"w'hich ihese words »ugwhich haa been rareljt if ot all^ noticed* Tt is I amd that tke Ltfrd turned the captimi^ of Itth wh£K ] KF rwAYKB roH HIS FRiiNna, He hud suQered niacb |ittt«a^ the ofjkhtdness af these friends; Uiey had hdii conduct wilhout feeling or mercy; and littd Jttal eaiiae lo bo trritnted ngiiinit them: and It Ik bid such a feeling towards thtm^ aererst parts bia di8eoar»es suflicieDtly prove. God waa now, 10 ahow Job his mercy; but mercy can be shoWD dj lo tbe merctfui; Job must forgive km unfeeling if bo wot] Id be f&rgtmen by tlie l^drd; he I Jirecia hinip therefore, to pray for ihem^ ver. B. He I vho can pray fur anothDr cannot enieitiin enmity Job did ao; and wA^n he prayed for his, God tamf^d the captivity of Job. ** Forgive^ [m»d yo ahall be forgiven."
A piece of mmty] nO*»p kenitth signifies a Jom&; y It ia aopposed that this piece of money had a lamb on it, as that quantity of gold was generally: value for a lamb. See my note on Gen, I9i where the subject is largely considered. ThB Yttigaie, Chatdee^ Septuagjnt, Ara^Cj and Synatj Vol-. III. ( 13)
1 2 So the Lord blessed '^ the ^ Jf "'^ ^j^ latter end of Job more than l)ia Ante r oirsuj}. beginning: for he had 'foarleen Ante ii cfoir. thousand sheep, and six thousand *^' camels, and a t lion sand yoke of oxen, and a thou.sand she-asses*
13 •He had alao seven sons and three daughters.
14 And he called the name of tlie first, Je* mi ma; and the name of the second, Kezia i and the name of the third j Keren-happuch.
have ant lamb or sheep; so It appears tbat they did not understtind the^cjrifoA as itnplying a piece of money of any kind^ but a sheep or a iamb.
Earring of gold] literally, a nose-jeuml. The Septuagtnt tmnslate^ rtrpaSfya^ov j^p^fmtv, a tetradrachm of gold, or gMen d&rie; but by adding xat atrfffiov, unstamped^ they inttmat£ that it wna itrtur drachms of uncotned gold.,
Verse 12* The Lord blessed ike latter end of Job] W«s it nol in consequence of hta friends bringing htm a iamb, sheep, or other kind of cattle^ tod the quantity of gold mentioned, that his stock of sheep was increased so speedily to i4,000f \ii^Cifm€h to flOOO, his oxen to 2000t and his she-asBcs to 1000 1
Mr, Heath takes the story of the conduct of Job^s friends by the worst handle; see ver. 11^ Is it not likely that they themselves were the cause of his sudden accumulation of property T and that they did not visit bim« nor seek his familiarity because he was nmc prosperous; but because they saw tbat God had turned his captivily, and miraculously healed him I This gave them fuU proof of his innocence, and they no longer etmsidered him an anathema ^ or devoted perron, whom they should avoid and detest, but one who had been suffering uader a strange dispensation of Divine Providence, and who was now no lijng«r a suspicious character, but a favourite of heaven* to whom they should show every possible kindneso* They therefore joined hands with God to make tbs poor man Itve, and their presents were the cause, under God^of his restoration to affluence. This takes tlie subject by the other handle; and I tbiDk, as f«i as the text is concerned, by the right one.
lie had fourteen thousand sheep] The re Eider, by referring to chap 1. 3* will perceive that the whole of Job's property was exactly doubled.
Verse 13- Seven s&ns and three daughters.] Thte was the same number as before; and so the Vulgate, Septungint, Syri&c, and Arabic read; but the ChaJdea donhles the sona^ ^* And he bad fourteen sons, and three daughters.**
Keren-happuch.] ^lUn pp kereri happuch^ the inverted Qfjhtpmg horn, comucopUt, the btfm of plenty. The Ohaklee will not permit ihesa names to pass without a comment, to show the reason of their unposition: '^ He called the first /emtmoA, becaase she was as/oir as the day; the second Keisiah, because she was as precious as cassia; the third J^eren-happtich, because her face was as splendid as the emerald" Cardmarden's Bible, 1566, has the Hebrew names.
The Vulgate has, ** He called the name of one Day, of the second Cassia, and of the third The Ham of Antifnony.^
The Torsions in general pre^jBrye these names, only the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic translate Jemimah^ DAT; and the former for Kerei^hapfuch has A/msX- Oaia^ Kepac, the ham of Amaithea. This refers to an ancient fable. Amtithea was the nurse of Jupiter, and fed him with goat's milk when he was young. The goat having by accident her horn struck c^, Jupiter translated the animal to the heavens, and gave her a place among the constellations, which she still holds; and made the ham ^e emblem of plenty: bence it is always pictured or described as filled with fruitSf flowers, and the necessaries and luxuries of life, tt is very strange how this fable got into the Septuagint.
Verse 15. Gave them inheritance among their brethren,'] This seems to refer to the history of the daoghn ters of Zelaphehad, given Num. xxviii. 1-8^ who appear to have been the first who were allowed an inheritance among their brethren, r
icpentanoe.'' The Chaldee: "The WORD of the
Verse 16. After this lived Jab a hundred and forty years} How long he had lived before his afflictions, we cannot tell. If we could rely op the Septuagi9Uf.9SL would be plain, who add here, Ta de iratra eni tOiaev, Suucooia reaaapanovTa; *' And aQ the years that Job lived were two hundred and forty.'' This makes him one hundred years of age when his trial commenced. Caverdale has, fSLiUx Wn lifbeH Jab tarts Stares,.omitting the hundred. So also in Beckers Bible, 1549. From the age, as marked down in the Hebrew text, we can iqfer nothing relative to tiie time when Job lived. See the subscription at the end of tha Arabic.
Verse 17. Job died, being old and full of days.'\ H« had aaen life in all its varieties; he had risen higher thaoall the men of the East* and sunk lower in aflliotion, poferty, and distress, than any other human being that had existed before, or has lived since. He d[ied when he was satisfied with this life; this the word jTStBT seba implies. He knew the worst and the best of human life; and in himself the whole history of Providence was exemplified and illustrated, and many of its mysteries unfolded.
We have now seen the end of the life of Job, and the end or design which God had in view by his alllictioos and trials, k which he has shown oa that he is
17 So Job died, being old and ■ fiill of days.
tery pitiful, and of tender mercy, James t. 1 1; aii to discern this end of the Lard should be the ob|eet of every person who reads or studies, it. Lmu tii«vcelsis Deo!
Both in the^ Arabic and Septuagint there is a considerable and important addition at the end of the seventeenth verse, which extends to many Unea; tif this, with its variations, I have given a translation in the paarACB.
*' The Book of the righteous- and renowned Job k finished, and contains 2553 verses.**
'< It is completed by the asfl»stance of the Most High God. The author of this copy would record thai this book has been translated into Arabic from the Syriie language.** *' Glory be to God, the giver of miderstanding!** '* The Book of Job is completed; and Ids age was two hundred and forty years.** ** Praise be to God for ever!"
So closely does the Arabic translator eopj- tha Syriac, that in the Polyglots one Latin Tersiott i for both, with the exception of a few marginal ] at the bottom of the column to show where the Syrimc varies.
At the close of a book I have usnaUj eadaarvNiind to give some account of the author^ at^oT hisi who was its chief subject. But the Book of Job is so umfm in its subject and circumstances, that it is almoal nnpossible to say any thing satisfactorily upon it, eacoept in the way of notes on the text. Than has been so much controversy on the person and srm ai Jots that he has almost been rednc^ to an ideal bsingt and the book itself considered rather as a spUnHd poem on an ethic subject than a real history of the man whose name it b^iurs.
The author, as we have already seen in the pNfmce^ is not known. It has been attributed Co Jeh hinudf; to fUiku, one of his friends; Xo-Mosu; to aoae «•- dent Hebrew, whose name is unknown; to Sekemn | to Isaiah the prophet \ and to Ezra the aeribe.
The time is involred in equal darknees: hefwre Moses, in the time of the exodus, or a Uttla mfUri \A the days of Solomon; during the Babyhnieh eapUmtyt or even later; have all been mentioned aa probable eras.
How it was originally written, and in what languoga^ have also been questions on whkdi great and leaned men have divided. Some.think h was originally written in prase, and afterwards reduced to poetry and the substmnce of the difiinrent apeeohas beinfovtaiBSd, ( 13*). * krt raimh added by wwf of emhellishmeni, Theodoire^ biiliop of Mopsuestia io Cilicia, a whtor of theyiwrM eentory, distingoishes between Job and tbe author of the iooi; that goes under his name, whom he accuses of a rain ostentation of profane sciences; of writing tfmMaus and poetical history; of making Job speak dungs inconsistent with his religion and piety, and tfsn proper to gire offence than to edify. As Theo^ dmra bad only seen the Book of Job in the Greek versiooj it must be owned that he had too much ground ks his severe, criticism, as there are in that Torsion sereral allusions to the- mythology of the Greeks, SDM of which are cursorily mentioned in the notes^ Among these may be techoned the names of constelr iaHaiu in chapters ix. and xxxriii., and the naming one of Job's daughters Keren^hajtpuqh,' the Jwm of Amaitheaj chap. xlii. 14.
We need not confound the time of Job and the time of the author of the book that' goes under his nante. Job may have been the same as Jt^fabj 1 Chron. i. 96—44, and the fifth in djescent from Abraham; while the author or poet, who reduced the memoirs into Terse, Bay hare lired as late as the Babylonish captivity.
As to the language^ though nerrous and elevated, it is rather a compound of dialects iYoiA^ regular language, Thoagh Hebrew be the basis, yet many of the words^ and frequently the idiom^ are pare Arabic, and a Chaldee phraseology is in many places apparent.
Wboerer was tbe author, and in whatsoever time it may bare been written, the Jewish and Christian Qinxch bare ever receired it as a canonical hook, re-: by tbe inspiration of the Almighty. It 'is r respects an obscure book, because it refers to all the wisdom of the East, If we understood all its | aHosioos, I bsTO little doubt that the best judges would not hesitate to declare.it the Idumean Encyclopa:dia. It most obriously makes continual references to sciences tbe most exalted and useful, and<to arts themost diiBenIt and ornamental. Of these the notes have prodnced frequent proofs.
Tbe author was well acquainted with aH the wisdom and learning of the ancient world, and of his own timea; and as a poet he stands next to David and Isaiah: and as his subjects hsTO been more raried than theixa, he knew well how to. avail himself of this and has pressed into his service all the and beauty of his art, to make the four persons, whom he brings upon the stage, keep up each his proper character, and maintain the opinions which they respectively undertook to defend. " Tbe history," •aym C^met^ *' as to the substance and circumstances, is exactly true. The sentiments, reasons, and argumetUs of the sereral persons, are very faithfully expteescd; bat it is rery probable that the terms and tmme of espnssion are the poeCs, or the writer's, whosoerer he may be.**
The autkorilyot this book has been as much acknowledged aa its Divine inspiration. The Prophet Ezekiel is the first who quotes it, chap. xir. 14^20, where he mentions Job with Noah and Daniel, in such a way as makes bis identity eqaal with theirs; and of their personal existence no one erer doubted.
The Apostle James, chap. r. 1 1, mentions him also, and celebrates his patisnce, and refere so particularly e to the termination and happy issue of hii trials, aa leares us no room to doubt that he had aeen his history, as here stated, in the book that bears his name.
St. Paul seems also to quote him. Compare Rom. ii. II, ** For there is no respect of persons with God,*^ with Job xxxir. 19, ** God accepteth not the person of princes, nor regardeth the ri6h mora than the poor; for. they are all the work of his hands. '^
1 Tim. ri. 7: ** For we brought nothing into this world; and it is certain we can cany nothing out.'* Job i. 21: " Naked came I out of my mother's womb; and naked shall I return thither.''
Heb. xii. 5: ** My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Jjord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him." Job r. 17; ** Happy is the. man whom God conrecteth; therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.'* A similar saying is found Pror. iii. 1 1, probably all coming from the same 8ourQ|B. See the comparisons frotn the writings of Solomon, in the preface.
Job is to be found in the* ancient martyrologies, with the title of prophet, saint, and martyr; and the Greek Chdrch celebrates a festival in his honour on the fifth of May; and the corrupt Churches of Arabia, Egypt^ Ethiopia, Russia, and Muscovy, follow it in their worship of Saint Job!
But no Church bos proceeded so far both to honour and disgrace this excellent man as the Church of Rome. I shall quote the words of Dom. Calmet, one of the most learned and judicious divines that Church could ever boast of. ** The Latins keep, his festival on the tenth of May. This, next to the Maccabees, brothers and martyrs, is the first saint to whom the western Church has decreed public and religious honours; and we know not of any saint among the patriarchs and prophets to whom churches hare been consecrated, or chapels dedicated in greater number, than to this holy man. We see abundance of them, particularly in Spain. vnd Italy. And he is inroked principally against the leprosy, itch, foul disease, and other distempers which relate to these.^^ See BaiilieU Lives of the Saints.
Calmet goes on to say that ** there are several reputable commentators who maintain that Job was afflicted with this scandalous disease; among whom are Vatablus, Cyprian Cisterc. Bolducius, and Pineda^ in their commentaries on Job; and Desganges in Epist. Me* dicin. Hist. De Lue Venerea. The Latin Church invokes Saint Job in diseases of this nature; and lasarettos and hospitals, wherein care is taken of persons who hare this scandalous distemper upon them, are for the most part dedicated to him." See CalmeVs Dissertation sur la maladie de Job, and his Dictionary, under the article Job.
The conduct of this Church, relatire to this holy man, forms one of the foulest calumnies erer inflicted on the character of either saint or sinner; and to make him the patron of erery diseased prostitute and debauchee through the whole extent of the papal dominions and influence, is a conduct the most execrable, and little short of blasphemy against the holiness of God. As to their lazarettos, hospitals, and chapels, dedicated to this eminent man on these scandalous groands, better raze them from their foundations, carry their materials to an unclean place, or tzaoqiart them to the valley rf the son of Hinnam, and comume them there; and then openly biiild othejrs dedicated ad fornicani^ Jovem^ in conjanction with Baal Peor and Ashtmrelhf the Priapus and Vmas of then: predecessors!
If those of that communion should think these reflections severe, iM them know that the stroke is hea- Tier than the gromni and let them put away from among them what is a diihonoor to God, a disgrace to his saints, and their own ineffable r^roach.
Of the disease under which Job laboured, enough has been said in the notes. On this head many writers have run into great extravagance. Bartholinus and Calmet state that he was afflicted with twelvfi sevei^ diseases; the latter specifies them. Pineda enumerates thirty-one or thirty-two; and St. Chrysostom says he was afflicted with aU the maladies of which the human body is capable; that he suffered them in their utmost extremities; and, in a word^ that on his one body all the maladies of the yforld were accumulated! How true is the saying, " Ou^r-doing is un-doing!" It "^ ie enough to say, that this great man was afflicted in * -U» property, family^ Ifody^ and soul; and perhaps none, before or since his time, to a greater- degree in all these kinds.
On Job's character his ow^ words are the best comment. Were we to believe his mistaken and- uncharitable/riemif, he, by assertion zxiA inuendOjVfSA guilty of almost every species of crime; but every charge of this kind is rebutted by his own defence, and the character given to him by the God whom he worshipped, frees him from even Uie suspicion of guflt.
His patience, resignation, and submission to the Divine will, are the most prominent parts of his character which are presented to our view. He bore the loss of every thing which a worldly man values without one unsanctified feeling or murmuring word. ^And it is in this respect that he is recommended to. our notice and to our imitation. His wailings relative to the mental agonies through which he passed, do not at all aflfect this part of his character. He bore the loss of his goods, the total ruin of his extensive and invaluable establishment, and the destruction of his hopes in the awful death of his children, without uttering a reprehensible word, or indulging an irreligious feeling.
If however we carefully examine our translation of this poem, we shall find many things in Job's speeches that appear to be blemishes in his character. Even his own concessions appear to be heayy taxes on the high reputation he has had for patience and humble submission to the Divine will. In several eases these apparent blemishes are so contrasted with declarations of the highest integrity and innocence that they amount nearly to contradictions. Dr. Kennicott has examined this subject closely, and has thought deeply upon it, and strongly assorts that this apparent inconsistency arises from a misapprehension of J ob's words in some cases, and mistranslation of them in others.
I shall take a large quotation on this subject from his ** Remarks on Select Passages of Scripture.''
So far Dr. Kennicott in Tindication of Job; and the reader will do justice to his learning and ingenuity. Allowing his general positions to be true, he has, in my opinion, pushed his consequences too far. Job certainly was not ^grievous sinner ^ but a most upright man. This point is sufficiently proved; but that' he accuses himself of nothing wrong, of no inward evU, is certainly not correct. He thought too highly pf himself; he presumed too much on what was without; bat when God shone upon hishei^rt, he saw that he
*i vas tUc, and therefore might most properly loathe M^fueif. There are mnltitudea who are decent and ■' ^oneet tn their outward behaTiour, whose hearts may be deceitful and desperately wicked. Even the -Pharisees made clean the outside of the cup and platter. JWi was a. very righteous and upright- man; but at J^ time in question, he was, not cleansed from all JbMrd sin. This removes all contradiction from what be asserts, and from what he concedes. \Vith this abatemeati Dr. KenhicotCs criticism may fairly stand. Wlie^%jnD sees himself in the light of God, he sees ljtif,1ijlii fiiiiii diieeniment, wisdom^ and reason, he
' jiid never Men belbre. His mind might have been prc^n^y deeply imbued with the principles of juslicet Tig^liwsness, and truth, his whole conduct be ipgulated by them, and he be conscious to himself
- ri<tMif.i0Jmi|ifieM becomes evident, and the deceitfulness of dMbeirt is discovered. That light refers every thing to the Divine standard, the holiness of God; and 0ie mao^s own righteousness in this eonipafison is found to be imperfection itself, and little short of imparity. Job appears to have been in this state: he thought himself rich and increased in goods, and to have need of nothing; but when God i^one in upon his heart, he found himself to be wretched, and misera" ble, and poor, and blind, and naked; and he was now as ready to confess his great vileness, as he was before to assert and vindicate the unimpeachable • righteous^ ness.of his conduct. Here was no contradiction. His friends attacked him on the ground of his being a bad and wicked man: this charge he repels with indignation, and dared them to the proof. 'They had nothing to allege but their system and their suspicions: but hd who suffers must have sinned. Job, being conseioos that this was false ap applied to him, knowing his own innocence, boldly requires on their ground to know why God contended with him}- God answers for himself; humbles the self-conftdejit yet upright man; shines into his heart, and then he sees that he is vtZe. When a beam of the solar light is admitted into an apartment we see ten thousand ^toins or motes dancing in that beam. These are no particles of Aj^A/, mAr did the light bring them there; they were there before^ but there was not light sufficient to make them manifest. Just so when the light of God visits the soul of a sincere man, who has been labouring in all his outward conduct to stand approved of God; he is astonished at his inws^d impurity, loathes himself, and is ready to think that many devils have suddenly entered into him. No: all the evils thou seest were there before, but thou hadst not light sufiicient to make them manifest. Shall it be said afler this, that the conduct of Divine Providence cannot be vinAcated in suffering an upright man to become a bott for the. malice of Satan for so long a time, and for no. purpose? The greatest, the most important purposes were accomplished by this trial. Job became a much better man than he ever was before; the dispensations of God?s providence were illustrated and justified; Satan^s devices unmasked; patience crowned and rewarded; and the Church of God greatly enrichdd 1^ having bequeathed to it the vast treasury of Divine truth which ii found in the BOOK OF JOB
Section I* — "On the Names cjiven to this Book,
'PHIS book is termed in Hebrew P'4nn *T0D Sepher TehiUim, which Bome learned men derive from 4n hal or ^hn halaly txx move 5m&/y,. irrudialE^ shine; and trandlate, The Book of the Shinings forth. Irradiations, ManifeatationSj or Displays^ namely, of Divine wisdom and love e^ibiled in God's demling with his chosen people, or with particular persons, as figurts^for the tune beings of what should be accomplished either in the person of Christy or in hm mystical body the Church* But as Italal signifies also lo prahe^ and praise arises from A sense of gratitude, is tlie expression of inward joy, and was often exhibited by brisk notes, sprightly mosic, &c*, it may be well denominated The Book of FraiseSt as the major part of the Psalras have for their subject the praises of the Lord.
That the Psalms were sung in the Jewish service, and frequently accompanied by musical instfumentSf there Is no doubt, for the fact is repeatedly mentioned; and hence the most tncient translation we have of the Psalms, viz., the Beptuagintt as it stands in what is called the Codex Alexandrinus, is called ^alr^pwi^, The Psoltery, which is a species of musical instmment resembling the harp^ according to tlie accounts given of it by some of the ancients Froni this term came the Psalterium of the Vulgate, and our word Psalter ^ all of which are deduced from the verb fak^, to singf as the voice no doubt always accompanied this instrument, and by it the key was preserved and the voice sustained,
A pMaim is called in Hebrew itaiD mizmor^ from i3t tamar^ to cut off, because in singing each word was separated into its component syllables, each syllable answering to a note in the mtidic.
The Hebrews divide the Psalms into^u^ books^ and this division is noticed by several of the primitive fathers* The origin of this division is not easily ascertained; but as it was considered a book of great excellence, and compared for its importance to the Pentateuch itself, it was probably divided into five books, as the law was contained in so many volumes. But where the divisions should take place the ancients are not agreed; and some of them divida into three ^f ties rather than into five part^; and for all these divisions they assign c^ttain allegorical reasons which merit little attention, The division of the Hebrews is as follows; —