translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: JOB

label: NET study note

text: The sarcasm of Job admits their claim to wisdom, as if no one has it besides them. But the rest of his speech will show that they do not have a monopoly on it.


text: The line is perhaps best understood as describing one who thinks he is invested with the power of God.


text: As J. E. Hartley ( Job [NICOT], 216) observes, in this section Job argues that respected tradition “must not be accepted uncritically.”


text: The expression “has done this” probably refers to everything that has been discussed, namely, the way that God in his wisdom rules over the world, but specifically it refers to the infliction of suffering in the world.


text: A. B. Davidson ( Job , 91) says, “These attributes of God’s [ sic ] confound and bring to nought everything bearing the same name among men.”


text: The verse is focusing on the two extremes of drought and flood. Both are described as being under the power of God.


text: The judges, like the counselors, are nobles in the cities. God may reverse their lot, either by captivity or by shame, and they cannot resist his power.


text: The rise and fall of nations, which does not seem to be governed by any moral principle, is for Job another example of God’s arbitrary power.