translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: JOB

label: NET translator note

text: The verb “cursed” is the Piel preterite from the verb קָלַל ( qalal ); this means “to be light” in the Qal stem, but here “to treat lightly, with contempt, curse.” See in general H. C. Brichto, The Problem of “ Curse ” in the Hebrew Bible (JBLMS); and A. C. Thiselton, “The Supposed Power of Words in the Biblical Writings,” JTS 25 (1974): 283-99.


text: The text has וַיַּעַן ( vayya ’ an ), literally, “and he answered.” The LXX simply has “saying” for the entire verse. The Syriac, Targum, and Greek A have what the MT has. “[Someone] answered and said” is phraseology characteristic of all the speeches in Job beginning with Satan in 1:9 . Only in 40:1 is it employed when God is speaking. No other portion of the OT employs this phraseology as often or as consistently.


text: The relative clause is carried by the preposition with the resumptive pronoun: “the day [which] I was born in it ” meaning “the day on which I was born” (see GKC 486-88 §155. f , i ).


text: The verb is the Niphal imperfect. It may be interpreted in this dependent clause (1) as representing a future event from some point of time in the past – “the day on which I was born” or “would be born” (see GKC 316 §107. k ). Or (2) it may simply serve as a preterite indicating action that is in the past.


text: The MT simply has “and the night – it said….” By simple juxtaposition with the parallel construction (“on which I was born”) the verb “it said” must be a relative clause explaining “the night.” Rather than supply “in which” and make the verb passive (which is possible since no specific subject is provided, but leaves open the question of who said it), it is preferable to take the verse as a personification. First Job cursed the day; now he cursed the night that spoke about what it witnessed. See A. Ehrman, “A Note on the Verb ‘ amar ,” JQR 55 (1964/65): 166-67.


text: The word is גֶּבֶר ( gever , “a man”). The word usually distinguishes a man as strong, distinct from children and women. Translations which render this as “boy” (to remove the apparent contradiction of an adult being “conceived” in the womb) miss this point.


text: The first two words should be treated as a casus pendens (see D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 69), referred to as an extraposition in recent grammarians.


text: The verb דָּרַשׁ ( darash ) means “to seek, inquire,” and “to address someone, be concerned about something” (cf. Deut 11:12 ; Jer 30:14,17 ). Job wants the day to perish from the mind of God.


text: The verb is the Hiphil of יָפַע ( yafa ’), which means here “cause to shine.” The subject is the term נְהָרָה ( nÿharah ,“light”), a hapax legomenon which is from the verb נָהַר ( nahar , “to gleam” [see Isa 60:5 ]).


text: The verb is גָּאַל ( ga ’ al , “redeem, claim”). Some have suggested that the verb is actually the homonym “pollute.” This is the reading in the Targum, Syriac, Vulgate, and Rashi, who quotes from Mal 1:7,12 . See A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of ga ’ al, ” VTSup 1 (1953): 67-77.


text: The expression “the blackness of the day” ( כִּמְרִירֵי יוֹם , kimrire yom ) probably means everything that makes the day black, such as supernatural events like eclipses. Job wishes that all ominous darknesses would terrify that day. It comes from the word כָּמַר ( kamar , “to be black”), related to Akkadian kamaru (“to overshadow, darken”). The versions seem to have ignored the first letter and connected the word to מָרַר ( marar , “be bitter”).


text: The verb is simply לָקַח ( laqakh , “to take”). Here it conveys a strong sense of seizing something and not letting it go.


text: The pointing of the verb is meant to connect it with the root חָדָה ( khadah , “rejoice”). But the letters in the text were correctly understood by the versions to be from יָחַד ( yakhad , “to be combined, added”). See G. Rendsburg, “Double Polysemy in Genesis 49:6 and Job 3:6 ,” CBQ 44 (1982): 48-51.


text: The particle הִנֵּה ( hinneh , “behold”) in this sentence focuses the reader’s attention on the statement to follow.


text: The word גַּלְמוּד ( galmud ) probably has here the idea of “barren” rather than “solitary.” See the parallelism in Isa 49:21 . In Job it seems to carry the idea of “barren” in 15:34 , and “gloomy” in 30:3 . Barrenness can lead to gloom.


text: The word is from רָנַן ( ranan , “to give a ringing cry” or “shout of joy”). The sound is loud and shrill.


text: The verb is simply בּוֹא ( bo ’, “to enter”). The NIV translates interpretively “be heard in it.” A shout of joy, such as at a birth, that “enters” a day is certainly heard on that day.


text: Not everyone is satisfied with the reading of the MT. Gordis thought “day” should be “sea,” and “cursers” should be “rousers” (changing ’ alef to ’ ayin ; cf. NRSV). This is an unnecessary change, for there is no textual problem in the line (D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 71). Others have taken the reading “sea” as a personification and accepted the rest of the text, gaining the sense of “those whose magic binds even the sea monster of the deep” (e.g., NEB). sn Those who curse the day are probably the professional enchanters and magicians who were thought to cast spells on days and overwhelm them with darkness and misfortune. The myths explained eclipses as the dragon throwing its folds around the sun and the moon, thus engulfing or swallowing the day and the night. This interpretation matches the parallelism better than the interpretation that says these are merely professional mourners.


text: The verb is probably “execrate, curse,” from קָבַב ( qavav ). But E. Ullendorff took it from נָקַב ( naqav , “pierce”) and gained a reading “Let the light rays of day pierce it (i.e. the night) apt even to rouse Leviathan” (“ Job 3:8 ,” VT 11 [1961]: 350-51).


text: The verbal adjective עָתִיד (’ atid ) means “ready, prepared.” Here it has a substantival use similar to that of participles. It is followed by the Polel infinitive construct עֹרֵר (’ orer ). The infinitive without the preposition serves as the object of the preceding verbal adjective (GKC 350 §114. m ).


text: Heb “the stars of its dawn.” The word נֶשֶׁף ( neshef ) can mean “twilight” or “dawn.” In this context the morning stars are in mind. Job wishes that the morning stars – that should announce the day – go out.


text: The verb “wait, hope” has the idea of eager expectation and preparation. It is used elsewhere of waiting on the Lord with anticipation.


text: The absolute state אַיִן (’ ayin , “there is none”) is here used as a verbal predicate (see GKC 480 §152. k ). The concise expression literally says “and none.”


text: The subject is still “that night.” Here, at the end of this first section, Job finally expresses the crime of that night – it did not hinder his birth.


text: The Hebrew has simply “my belly [= womb].” The suffix on the noun must be objective – it was the womb of Job’s mother in which he lay before his birth. See however N. C. Habel, “The Dative Suffix in Job 33:13 ,” Bib 63 (1982): 258-59, who thinks it is deliberately ambiguous.


text: The word עָמָל (’ amal ) means “work, heavy labor, agonizing labor, struggle” with the idea of fatigue and pain.


text: The negative only occurs with the first clause, but it extends its influence to the parallel second clause (GKC 483 §152. z ).


text: The two verbs in this verse are both prefix conjugations; they are clearly referring to the past and should be classified as preterites. E. Dhorme ( Job , 32) notes that the verb “I came out” is in the perfect to mark its priority in time in relation to the other verbs.


text: The translation “at birth” is very smooth, but catches the meaning and avoids the tautology in the verse. The line literally reads “from the womb.” The second half of the verse has the verb “I came out/forth” which does double duty for both parallel lines. The second half uses “belly” for the womb.


text: The verb קִדְּמוּנִי ( qiddÿmuni ) is the Piel from קָדַם ( qadam ), meaning “to come before; to meet; to prevent.” Here it has the idea of going to meet or welcome someone. In spite of various attempts to connect the idea to the father or to adoption rites, it probably simply means the mother’s knees that welcome the child for nursing. See R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel , 42. sn The sufferer is looking back over all the possible chances of death, including when he was brought forth, placed on the knees or lap, and breastfed.


text: There is no verb in the second half of the verse. The idea simply has, “and why breasts that I might suck?”


text: Heb “that I might suckle.” The verb is the Qal imperfect of יָנַק ( yanaq , “suckle”). Here the clause is subordinated to the preceding question and so function as a final imperfect.


text: The word עַתָּה (’ attah , “now”) may have a logical nuance here, almost with the idea of “if that had been the case…” ( IBHS 667-68 §39.3.4f). However, the temporal “now” is retained in translation since the imperfect verb following two perfects “suggests what Job’s present state would be if he had had the quiet of a still birth” (J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 95, n. 23). Cf. GKC 313 §106. p .


text: The copula on the verb indicates a sequence for the imperfect: “and then I would….” In the second half of the verse it is paralleled by “then.”


text: The text uses a combination of the perfect (lie down/sleep) and imperfect (quiet/rest). The particle עַתָּה (’ attah , “now”) gives to the perfect verb its conditional nuance. It presents actions in the past that are not actually accomplished but seen as possible (GKC 313 §106. p ).


text: The last part uses the impersonal verb “it would be at rest for me.”


text: The difficult term חֳרָבוֹת ( khoravot ) is translated “desolate [places]”. The LXX confused the word and translated it “who gloried in their swords.” One would expect a word for monuments, or tombs (T. K. Cheyne emended it to “everlasting tombs” [“More Critical Gleanings in Job,” ExpTim 10 (1898/99): 380-83]). But this difficult word is of uncertain etymology and therefore cannot simply be made to mean “royal tombs.” The verb means “be desolate, solitary.” In Isa 48:21 there is the clear sense of a desert. That is the meaning of Assyrian huribtu . It may be that like the pyramids of Egypt these tombs would have been built in the desert regions. Or it may describe how they rebuilt ruins for themselves. He would be saying then that instead of lying here in pain and shame if he had died he would be with the great ones of the earth. Otherwise, the word could be interpreted as a metonymy of effect, indicating that the once glorious tomb now is desolate. But this does not fit the context – the verse is talking about the state of the great ones after their death.


text: The expression simply has “or with princes gold to them.” The noun is defined by the noun clause serving as a relative clause (GKC 486 §155. e ).


text: Heb “filled their houses.” There is no reason here to take “houses” to mean tombs; the “houses” refer to the places the princes lived (i.e., palaces). The reference is not to the practice of burying treasures with the dead. It is simply saying that if Job had died he would have been with the rich and famous in death.


text: The verb is governed by the interrogative of v. 12 that introduces this series of rhetorical questions.


text: The verb is again the prefix conjugation, but the narrative requires a past tense, or preterite.


text: Heb “hidden.” The LXX paraphrases: “an untimely birth, proceeding from his mother’s womb.”


text: The noun נֵפֶל ( nefel , “miscarriage”) is the abortive thing that falls (hence the verb) from the womb before the time is ripe ( Ps 58:9 ). The idiom using the verb “to fall” from the womb means to come into the world ( Isa 26:18 ). The epithet טָמוּן ( tamun , “hidden”) is appropriate to the verse. The child comes in vain, and disappears into the darkness – it is hidden forever.


text: The word עֹלְלִים (’ olÿlim ) normally refers to “nurslings.” Here it must refer to infants in general since it refers to a stillborn child.


text: The relative clause does not have the relative pronoun; the simple juxtaposition of words indicates that it is modifying the infants.


text: The parallelism uses the perfect verb in the first parallel part, and the imperfect opposite it in the second. Since the verse projects to the grave or Sheol (“there”) where the action is perceived as still continuing or just taking place, both receive an English present tense translation (GKC 312 §106. l ).


text: Here the noun רֹגז ( rogez ) refers to the agitation of living as opposed to the peaceful rest of dying. The associated verb רָגַז ( ragaz ) means “to be agitated, excited.” The expression indicates that they cease from troubling, meaning all the agitation of their own lives.


text: The word יָגִיעַ ( yagia ’) means “exhausted, wearied”; it is clarified as a physical exhaustion by the genitive of specification (“ with regard to their strength”).


text: “There” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied from the context.


text: The LXX omits the verb and translates the noun not as prisoners but as “old men” or “men of old time.”


text: The verb שַׁאֲנָנוּ ( sha ’ ananu ) is the Pilpel of שָׁאַן ( sha ’ an ) which means “to rest.” It refers to the normal rest or refreshment of individuals; here it is contrasted with the harsh treatment normally put on prisoners.


text: Or “taskmaster.” The same Hebrew word is used for the taskmasters in Exod 3:7 .


text: The versions have taken the pronoun in the sense of the verb “to be.” Others give it the sense of “the same thing,” rendering the verse as “small and great, there is no difference there.” GKC 437 §135. a , n. 1, follows this idea with a meaning of “the same.”


text: The LXX renders this as “unafraid,” although the negative has disappeared in some mss to give the reading “and the servant that feared his master.” See I. Mendelsohn, “The Canaanite Term for ‘Free Proletarian’,” BASOR 83 (1941): 36-39; idem, “New Light on hupsu ,” BASOR 139 (1955): 9-11.


text: The plural “masters” could be taken here as a plural of majesty rather than as referring to numerous masters.


text: Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: The verb is the simple imperfect, expressing the progressive imperfect nuance. But there is no formal subject to the verb, prompting some translations to make it passive in view of the indefinite subject (so, e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV). Such a passive could be taken as a so-called “divine passive” by which God is the implied agent. Job clearly means God here, but he stops short of naming him (see also the note on “God” earlier in this verse). sn In vv. 11, 12, and 16 there was the first series of questions in which Job himself was in question. Now the questions are more general for all mankind – why should the sufferers in general have been afflicted with life?


text: The verse simply begins with the participle in apposition to the expressions in the previous verse describing those who are bitter. The preposition is added from the context.


text: The verb is the Piel participle of חָכָה ( khakhah , “to wait for” someone; Yahweh is the object in Isa 8:17; 64:3 ; Ps 33:20 ). Here death is the supreme hope of the miserable and the suffering.


text: The verse simply has the form אֵין (’ en , “there is not”) with a pronominal suffix and a conjunction – “and there is not it” or “and it is not.” The LXX and the Vulgate add a verb to explain this form: “and obtain it not.”


text: The parallel verb is now a preterite with a vav ( ו ) consecutive; it therefore has the nuance of a characteristic perfect or gnomic perfect – the English present tense. sn The verb חָפַר ( khafar ) means “to dig; to excavate.” It may have the accusative of the thing that is being sought ( Exod 7:24 ); but here it is followed by a comparative min ( מִן ). The verse therefore describes the sufferers who excavate or dig the ground to find death, more than others who seek for treasure.


text: Here too the form is the participle in apposition “to him who is in misery” in v. 20 . It continues the description of those who are destitute and would be delighted to die.


text: The Syriac has “and gather themselves together,” possibly reading גִּיל ( gil , “rejoicing”) as גַּל ( gal , “heap”). Some have tried to emend the text to make the word mean “heap” or “mound,” as in a funerary mound. While one could argue for a heap of stones as a funerary mound, the passage has already spoken of digging a grave, which would be quite different. And while such a change would make a neater parallelism in the verse, there is no reason to force such; the idea of “jubilation” fits the tenor of the whole verse easily enough and there is no reason to change it. A similar expression is found in Hos 9:1 , which says, “rejoice not, O Israel, with jubilation.” Here the idea then is that these sufferers would rejoice “to the point of jubilation” at death.


text: This sentence also parallels an imperfect verb with the substantival participle of the first colon. It is translated as an English present tense.


text: The particle could be “when” or “because” in this verse.


text: This first part of the verse, “Why is light given,” is supplied from the context. In the Hebrew text the verse simply begins with “to a man….” It is also in apposition to the construction in v. 20 . But after so many qualifying clauses and phrases, a restatement of the subject (light, from v. 20 ) is required.


text: The LXX translated “to a man whose way is hidden” with the vague paraphrase “death is rest to [such] a man.” The translators apparently combined the reference to “the grave” in the previous verse with “hidden”


text: The verb is the Hiphil of סָכַךְ ( sakhakh ,“to hedge in”). The key parallel passage is Job 19:8 , which says, “He has blocked [ גָּדַר , gadar ] my way so I cannot pass, and has set darkness over my paths.” To be hedged in is an implied metaphor, indicating that the pathway is concealed and enclosed. There is an irony in Job’s choice of words in light of Satan’s accusation in 1:10 . It is heightened further when the same verb is employed by God in 38:8 (see F. I. Andersen, Job [TOTC], 109).


text: For the prepositional לִפְנֵי ( lifne ), the temporal meaning “before” (“my sighing comes before I eat”) makes very little sense here (as the versions have it). The meaning “in place of, for” fits better (see 1 Sam 1:16 , “count not your handmaid for a daughter of Belial”).


text: The word normally describes the “roaring” of a lion ( Job 4:10 ); but it is used for the loud groaning or cries of those in distress ( Pss 22:1; 32:3 ).


text: This second colon is paraphrased in the LXX to say, “I weep being beset with terror.” The idea of “pouring forth water” while groaning can be represented by “I weep.” The word “fear, terror” anticipates the next verse.


text: The construction uses the cognate accusative with the verb: “the fear I feared,” or “the dread thing I dreaded” ( פַחַד פָּחַדְתִּי , pakhad pakhadti ). The verb פָּחַד ( pakhad ) has the sense of “dread” and the noun the meaning “thing dreaded.” The structure of the sentence with the perfect verb followed by the preterite indicates that the first action preceded the second – he feared something but then it happened. Some commentaries suggest reading this as a conditional clause followed by the present tense translation: “If I fear a thing it happens to me” (see A. B. Davidson, Job , 24). The reason for this change is that it is hard for some to think that in his prime Job had such fears. He did have a pure trust and confidence in the Lord ( 16:19, 29:18 ff). But on the other hand, he did make sacrifices for his sons because he thought they might sin. There is evidence to suggest that he was aware that calamity could strike, and this is not necessarily incompatible with trust.


text: The verb אָתָה (’ atah ) is Aramaic and is equivalent to the Hebrew verb בּוֹא ( bo ’, “come, happen”).


text: The final verb is יָבֹא ( yavo ’, “has come”). It appears to be an imperfect, but since it is parallel to the preterite of the first colon it should be given that nuance here. Of course, if the other view of the verse is taken, then this would simply be translated as “comes,” and the preceding preterite also given an English present tense translation.


text: The LXX “peace” bases its rendering on שָׁלַם ( shalam ) and not שָׁלָה ( shalah ), which retains the original vav ( ו ). The verb means “to be quiet, to be at ease.”


text: The verb is literally “and I do/can not rest.” A potential perfect nuance fits this passage well. The word נוּחַ ( nuakh , “rest”) implies “rest” in every sense, especially in contrast to רֹגֶז ( rogez , “turmoil, agitation” [vv. 26 and 17 ]).


text: The last clause simply has “and trouble came.” Job is essentially saying that since the trouble has come upon him there is not a moment of rest and relief.