Chapter 6

1 Job sheweth that his complaints are not causeless. 8 He wisheth for death, wherein he is assured of comfort. 14 He reproveth his friends of unkindness.

1. Job answered. Chapters 6 and 7 record Job’s reply to Eliphaz. His first response is to justify the bitterness of his complaint. However, the tone of his discourse changes. Instead of the almost feverish, doubting agony of the initial utterance he exhibits a spirit that may be characterized as mild, plaintive, and in some measure composed.

2. Grief. Heb. kaФasЊ, literally, “vexation,” or “impatience.” KaФasЊ is translated “wrath” in ch. 5:2. Eliphaz had criticized Job for his “vexation.” Job begins his defense by referring to this accusation.

Weighed. Job expresses the wish that balances might be provided and his vexation be placed over against his calamity. Bitter as his complaint had been, he felt that it was small compared with the distress that occasioned it.

3. Sand of the sea. A simile describing, in this case, great weight (see Prov. 27:3). Job concedes a certain extravagance in his language, but he feels that his rash words are justified by his terrible suffering.

4. Arrows of the Almighty. A figurative expression describing calamities generally (see Deut. 32:23; Ps. 7:13; 38:2; Eze. 5:16). Job here specifically names God as the author of his trouble. This thought seems greatly to add to his suffering, for he cannot understand why God should treat him thus.

Poison. It was common in some countries for warriors to fight with arrows dipped in poison (see Ps. 7:13). Instead of “the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit,” the clause may be translated “the poison whereof my spirit drinketh.”

Array. A picture representing Job’s evils arrayed against him like the forces of a hostile enemy.

5. When he hath grass. The braying of asses or the lowing of oxen indicates that some need of these animals has not been met. Similarly, Job’s complaints stem from what he considers to be a legitimate cause.

6. Unsavoury.Or, “tasteless,” “insipid,” “unseasoned.” Job considers his complaints a justifiable expression of repugnance at the diet on which he has been called to subsist.

White of an egg. Heb. rir challamuth, the meaning of which is obscure. Rir means slimy juice or saliva (see 1 Sam. 21:13). Challamuth is taken by some to refer to a plant with thick, slimy juice, called purslane. The rabbits take challamuth to refer to the yolk of an egg, and hence rir to the slimy part of the egg, namely the white. Since challamuth occurs only here, it is difficult to arrive at its meaning with any degree of certainty.

8. My request. The longing for death (ch. 3:11–19).

The thing that I long for. Literally, “my expectation,” or “my wish.”

9. Destroy. Literally, “crush.”

Cut me off. See Isa. 38:12. The idea seems to be that of cutting off the thread of life as the weaver cuts the finished material from the loom.

10. Comfort. There is something pathetic about the earnestness of Job’s longing for death. If he had been a pagan, he might have talked of suicide. His attitude toward life precludes such an idea. He must depend on God to order his life. He must submit to God, although he feels that his troubles are God’s arrows, tipped with venom. Even though he desires death, he shows not the slightest evidence of taking the matter in his own hands.

Harden myself. The meaning of this clause is uncertain. The word here translated “harden” does not occur elsewhere in the Bible. The LXX renders it “leap,” but with an entirely different context, rendering the verse, “Let the grave be my city, upon the walls of which I have leaped. I will not shrink from it; for I have not denied the holy words of my God.”

Concealed. Or, “disowned.” Job has no fear of death. He has confidence in his innocence. He is conscious of no denial of God.

11. My strength. Eliphaz has predicted a happier future (ch. 5:17–27). Job replies, “I do not have enough strength to wait for such promised blessings.”

Mine end. Is there sufficient purpose in further prolonging such a miserable existence?

12. Stones. To endure for an extended period such affliction would require a body of brass and the strength of stone.

13. My help in me. More literally, “Is it not true that there is no help in me?” The question is an acknowledgment of Job’s feeling of utter frustration.

14. Afflicted. The Hebrew of this verse is obscure. Some see in it the thought that friends should show gentleness to the despairing, even though the sufferer may have forsaken the fear of the Almighty. If this is the intent of his words, it must not be concluded that Job hereby admits apostasy. The last phrase must be considered as hypothetical, that is, even if he had renounced God, his friends should not forsake him.

Others, from the ideas suggested by the Syriac, Vulgate, and the Targums, give this translation: “‘He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty’” (RSV). Both translations make sense and fit the context.

15. My brethren. Job compares his friends to a stream which is swollen and turbulent in winter, when its waters are not so sorely needed, but which dries up and disappears in the heat of summer. These streams, known as wadis, are common in the Eastern countries. The fullness, strength, and noise of these temporary streams in winter are compared to the attitude of Job’s friends toward him in the days of his prosperity. The drying up of the waters at the approach of summer is compared to the failure of these friends in time of affliction.

16. Which are blackish. Probably referring to the spring, when melting ice and snow send dark turbulent waters down the ravines.

17. They vanish. When the water is needed, in the heat of the summer, the streams disappear.

18. Paths. Heb. Хorchoth, correctly rendered “paths,” or “roads,” and as such would refer to the streams winding into the desert and losing themselves in the sands. A slightly different vocalization of the Hebrew yields the translation “caravans” (see Isa. 21:13, where the word is rendered “travelling companies”). The figure, then, would show these caravans turning aside to find water in the river beds, and finding none, perishing of thirst in the barren wastes. See Vol. I, pp. 44, 45.

19. Troops. Heb. Хorchoth, the same word that is employed in v. 18. If the caravan idea is not present in v. 18, it is definitely introduced here.

Tema. A well-known oasis in northwest Arabia.

Looked. The picture is of caravans approaching the wadis, eagerly hoping to find water.

20. Confounded. Literally, “put to shame” (see Ps. 6:10; 22:5; 25:2, 3, 20). The word is also used in the sense of disappointment (see Isa. 1:29; Jer. 2:36).

21. Nothing. This is a translation of the marginal reading of the Hebrew Bible. The text as it stands reads “to him,” or “to it,” the meaning of which is uncertain. The LXX has “to me,” in this context: “but ye have come to me without pity.” Job makes sure that his friends understand his illustration. He is disappointed when he comes to them for comfort and finds none. They are like the dry beds where refreshing streams should have flowed.

Casting down. Literally, “terror.” Job penetrates to the motives of his friends. They had come with good intentions, meaning to comfort and console him, but when they saw his condition, they feared to show too much friendliness. They regarded him as an object of divine vengeance and were afraid lest, if they showed him sympathy, they might incur punishment.

22. Bring unto me. Job is not pleading for material benefits from his friends.

23. Deliver me. Job is not asking for vengeance upon his enemies, nor that his friends retrieve his stolen property.

24. Teach me. Eliphaz had insinuated that Job had sinned. However, no specific accusations had been made regarding Job’s life. True, his friends found fault with his words, but these merely reflected his despair. Job challenged his friends to present concrete evidence as proof that his suffering was a direct punishment for sin.

25. Right words. Literally, “words of uprightness.”

What doth your arguing reprove? Literally, “What does your reproving reprove?” Job argues that words that proceed from sincerity are effective. But, he asks, what force do your words have? Your reasoning is defective because your premises are false.

26. Reprove words. Job says, in effect: “Will you fasten on my words, spoken in the excitement of passion, rather than on the fact of my blameless conduct?”

As wind. Literally, “for the wind.” Job recognizes that his words have been expressions of despair. The text as it stands suggest that, like the wind, his speeches have been characterized by sound and fury rather than by calm trust and judgment. The literal translation suggests that his words were intended to be picked up and carried away by the wind, not to be taken as requiring reproof.

27. Overwhelm. Literally, “cause to fall [upon].” The expression is used for “casting lots,” and probably has such a meaning here. Lots are cast upon the orphan children who are being sold as slaves to pay the debts of their deceased father. The words are a harsh indictment of the friends.

28. Look upon me. “Look me in the eye,” Job says, “and judge from my countenance whether I am telling the truth.” Job’s conscious innocence expresses itself in this challenge.

29. Return. Or, “turn,” that is, “change your attitude.” You have unfairly assumed my guilt. Job is urging his friends to seek other explanations for his calamity. He insists that a further investigation would vindicate his righteousness.

30. My taste. Job is endeavoring to vindicate the soundness of his moral judgments. His sincerity cannot be doubted, but in placing too much confidence in his own sense of values, Job was on dangerous ground. God alone is competent to estimate man’s moral and spiritual worth. Job later admitted that he had uttered that which he understood not (ch. 42:3).

Ellen G. White comments

2    PK 162; 5T 313

4     AA 45; PK 435

8–10PK 163