Christian
Churches of God
No. F018vii
Commentary
on Job Part 7
(Edition 2.0 20250930-20251018)
Chapters
37-42
Christian
Churches of God
E-mail: secretary@ccg.org
(Copyright © 2025 Wade Cox)
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Job Chapters 37-42 (RSV)
Chapter 37
1“At this also my heart
trembles, and leaps out of its place. 2 \Hearken to the thunder
of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth. 3Under
the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth. 4After
it his voice roars; he thunders with his majestic voice and he does not
restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard. 5God thunders
wondrously with his voice; he does great things which we cannot comprehend. 6For
to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth’; and to the shower and the
rain, ‘Be strong.’ 7He seals up the hand of every
man, that all men may know his work. 8Then the beasts go into
their lairs, and remain in their dens. 9From its chamber comes
the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds. 10By the
breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast. 11He
loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. 12They
turn round and round by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands
them on the face of the habitable world. 13Whether for
correction, or for his land, or for love, he causes it to happen. 14“Hear
this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God. 15Do
you know how God lays his command upon them, and causes the lightning of his
cloud to shine? 16Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the
wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge, 17you whose
garments are hot when the earth is still because of the south wind? 18Can
you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a molten mirror? 19Teach
us what we shall say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of
darkness. 20Shall it be told him that I would speak? Did a man
ever wish that he would be swallowed up? 21“And now men cannot look
on the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and
cleared them. 22Out of the north comes golden splendor; God is
clothed with terrible majesty. 23The Almighty—we cannot find him; he
is great in power and justice, and abundant righteousness he will not violate. 24Therefore
men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”
Intent of Chapter 37
36:27 - 37:22 The Fifth Poem of Elihu.
This text has no introduction but is taken as the
Fifth Poem of Elihu. It is understood as dealing with God as the Sovereign
Ruler of Nature. His purpose and His benevolence are seen in the unfolding of
the seasons. It commences with autumn in 36:26-33 and then develops on in
37:1-13 with the winter system and then ends with summer in (vv. 14-22). The
sequence is developed by the rabbinical and other commentators (see OARSV n.)
to be based on the autumnal calendar with the commencement of the year in the
fall of Tishri which is based on the Mystery and Sun Cults. Such claims by
these devotees of the Babylonian Sun Cults are false and contrary to the Law of
God (see No. 156). For this reason Judah was sent into captivity in
70 CE; because they would not, and still do not, repent. For this reason they
went through the Holocaust, and they will go through the Tribulation under the
Witnesses and the Messiah (see Nos 141D; 141D_2; 141E; 141E_2; 300B). The text, in 36:24-33, actually refers to the
abundance of God's provision in the earth, both on land and sea. It is by these
provisions that God judges people and declares with whom He is wrath, in their
iniquity. Abib (determined from the New Moon nearest the equinox in March), is
the beginning of years for all mankind (Ex. 12:2). 37:1-5 deals with the use of the
thunder and lightning to do things we, as yet, do not understand, in the
creation.
vv. 6-7 show that the snow and the rain, He causes to
fall on the earth for His purpose.
vv. 8-13 God uses the forces of nature as in
the winter to prepare the earth for His Will, either for correction or for the
sake of the land or for His love of the creation, He causes it to happen.
vv. 14-20 Here Elihu addresses Job and asks him what is
his knowledge concerning the workings of the universe under the Almighty. Can
he emulate the works of God and spread out the skies. Can Job teach us what to
say to God?
vv. 21-24 Final Admonition of Elihu
God (Eloah vv. 15,22) manifests His terrible
majesty and although we cannot find Him, He is great in power and justice. He
is far beyond man's knowledge and imagination but abundant righteousness He
will not violate. So also human wisdom
does not replace or equal the fear of God.
What now follows is the entry of God and His answer
to Job out of the whirlwind. The God here is Eloah, who is the Father of the
sons of Ha Elohim in Ch. 38:7. In this
way Eloah achieved plurality as the centrality of the Elohim as Ha Elohim (No. 187).
Chapter 38
The Lord Answers Job
1Then the Lord answered Job out of the
whirlwind: 2“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without
knowledge? 3Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and
you shall declare to me. 4“Where were you when I laid the foundation
of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5Who
determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
6On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when
the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8“Or
who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth from the womb; 9when
I made clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10and
prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, 11and said,
‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves
be stayed’? 12“Have you commanded the morning since your days
began, and caused the dawn to know its place, 13that it might
take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? 14It
is changed like clay under the seal, and it is dyed like a
garment. 15From the wicked their light is withheld and their
uplifted arm is broken. 16“Have you entered into the springs of the
sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? 17Have the gates of
death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? 18Have
you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this. 19“Where
is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, 20that
you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its
home? 21You know, for you were born then, and the number of
your days is great! 22“Have you entered the storehouses of the
snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 23which I
have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? 24What
is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east
wind is scattered upon the earth? 25“Who has cleft a channel for the
torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt, 26to bring
rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man; 27to
satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground put forth
grass? 28“Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of
dew? 29From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has
given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven? 30The waters become hard
like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. 31“Can you bind
the chains of the Plei′ades, or loose the cords of Orion? 32Can
you lead forth the Maz′zaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear
with its children? 33Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can
you establish their rule on the earth? 34“Can you lift up your voice
to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you? 35Can you
send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? 36Who
has put wisdom in the clouds, or given understanding to the mists? 37Who
can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
38when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cleave fast
together? 39“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the
appetite of the young lions, 40when they crouch in their
dens, or lie in wait in their covert? 41 Who provides for
the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for
lack of food?
Intent of Chapter 38
38:1-42:6 The voice from the whirlwind
Many commentators used to consider these chapters
not original and tried to separate them from the original text. (see also OARSV
n.). The purpose was to discredit the Monotheist basis of the theology that
established the One True God as the Creator ab origine and the multiple elohim
and multiple Morning Stars, as Sons of God. That position completely refutes
Trinitarian Theology. However, the words of Chs. 38-42 are in complete harmony
with the earlier text and are clearly part of the main body of the text.
God then intervenes and
answers Job out of the whirlwind (38:1).
38:1-40:5 First Discourse of the Lord.
v. 1 The whirlwind The whirlwind is a
frequent setting of Theophanies or divine appearances as we see in Nah. 1:3;
Zech. 9:14; Pss. 18:7-15; 50:3; Ezek. 1:4; Hab. Ch. 3.
vv. 2-3 He says to Job: Who is this that darkens
counsel without knowledge. God tells him to gird up your loins like a man. I
will question you and you shall declare to me. The deity here is the Elohim of
v. 7. He is the Ha Elohim and is the One True God Eloah. This is the superior
Deity of Psalm 45:6-7, whom no man has seen or ever can see (Jn. 1:18; 1Tim.
6:16) and not the subordinate deity, who also is the Christ of Heb. 1:8-9). He
is one speaking to Job as the El of 38:41. In 39:17; 40:2 we again see Eloah
listed as the Almighty in control of the creation. In 40:9, 19) we again see
the El referred to as the Elohim of Israel as the subordinate God of Israel.
Understanding this distinction is critical to understanding Scripture.
vv. 4-7 This text is one of the most important texts
in the Scriptures. The text deals with the Creation hundreds of millions of
years ago and not the re-creation of Genesis Ch. 1. under the elohim of Jn.
1:1-18).
v. 4 Here God tells us that it was He that laid
the foundations of the earth. He asks Job in v. 5: Who determined its
measurements when it was He that did so. This was also the test of Prov.
30:4-5. It is asked: what was His name and what was His son's name. There in
the next verse (5) he answers: every word of Eloah is pure. This being
is the Elahh of the Chaldean and Aramaic and the Allah' of Arabic. He is the
One True God that sent Jesus Christ, see Jn. 17:3.
v. 6 The question is thrown at Job the fact that
the earth is suspended in space and does not rest on anything and revolves
around the sun as an elliptical spheroid.
v. 7 Here we see that the Deity summoned the
Morning Stars who were the commanders of the Elohim host with all the sons of
God. These were the sons of Ha Elohim or the Elohim who was Eloah before He
created the Elohim and became the Father. This being is the Yahovih of SHD 3069
and not the subordinate Yahovah (see No. 024).
vv. 8-11 Job is given further questions regarding the
bounds imposed on the creation of the sea.
vv. 12-21 He poses the question to Job, if he knew how
to command the morning and further questions regarding the creation of time and
the gates of death. He is urged to declare it if he has such knowledge.
v. 21 He asks an almost sarcastic question
regarding Job knowing, because he was born then, and the number of his days is
great.
vv. 16-38 He is the master of the deep, light and
darkness, snow, hail, and lightning, constellations, clouds and mist and the
waters of the heavens and the earth as dust and mud.
vv. 22-24 The questions here regard
the regulation of wind and rain and snow and hail.
vv. 25-30 concerns the control of water and ice.
vv. 31-33 He established the control of the stars.
He controls the ordinances of the heavens and their
rule on earth.
vv. 34-38 Here He controls and regulates the heavens.
38:39-39:30 God as protector of animals.
This a general address to mankind in their
arrogance.
Chapter 39
1“Do you know when the
mountain goats bring forth? Do you observe the calving of the hinds? 2Can
you number the months that they fulfil, and do you know the time when they
bring forth, 3when they crouch, bring forth their
offspring, and are delivered of their young? 4Their young ones
become strong, they grow up in the open; they go forth, and do not return
to them. 5“Who has let the wild ass go free? Who has loosed the
bonds of the swift ass, 6to whom I have given the steppe for his
home, and the salt land for his dwelling place? 7He scorns the
tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver. 8He
ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing. 9“Is
the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your crib? 10Can
you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you?
11Will you depend on him because his strength is great, and
will you leave to him your labor? 12Do you have faith in him that he
will return, and bring your grain to your threshing floor? 13“The wings of the ostrich wave
proudly; but are they the pinions and plumage of love? 14For she
leaves her eggs to the earth, and lets them be warmed on the ground, 15forgetting
that a foot may crush them, and that the wild beast may trample them. 16She
deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in
vain, yet she has no fear; 17because God has made her forget wisdom,
and given her no share in understanding. 18When she rouses herself
to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider. 19“Do you give
the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with strength? 20Do you
make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrible. 21He
paws in the valley, and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet
the weapons. 22He laughs at fear, and is not dismayed; he does not
turn back from the sword. 23Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing
spear and the javelin. 24With fierceness and rage he swallows the
ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet. 25When
the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, the thunder
of the captains, and the shouting. 26“Is it by your wisdom that the
hawk soars, and spreads his wings toward the south? 27Is it at your
command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? 28On
the rock he dwells and makes his home in the fastness of the rocky crag. 29Thence
he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it afar off. 30 His
young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there is he.”
Intent of chapter 39
39:1-30 In this text God asserts His control over,
and protection of, animals, so that man is powerless to deal with these
matters.
Chapter 40
1And the Lord said to Job: 2“Shall
a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer
it.”
Job’s Response to God
3Then Job answered
the Lord: 4“Behold,
I am of small account; what shall I answer thee? I lay my hand on my mouth. 5I
have spoken once, and I will not answer twice, but I will proceed no further.”
God’s Challenge to Job
6Then the Lord answered Job out of the
whirlwind: 7“Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and
you declare to me. 8Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you
condemn me that you may be justified? 9 Have you an arm like
God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? 10“Deck yourself
with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor. 11Pour
forth the overflowings of your anger, and look on every one that is proud, and
abase him. 12Look on every one that is proud, and bring him
low; and tread down the wicked where they stand. 13Hide them
all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below. 14Then
will I also acknowledge to you, that your own right hand can give you victory. 15“Behold,
Be′hemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. 16Behold,
his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. 17He
makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. 18His
bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. 19“He
is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his
sword! 20For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild
beasts play. 21Under the lotus plants he lies, in the covert of
the reeds and in the marsh. 22For his shade the lotus trees cover
him; the willows of the brook surround him. 23Behold, if the river
is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against
his mouth. 24Can one take him with hooks, or pierce his
nose with a snare?
Intent of Chapter 40
40:1-5 Here God challenges
Job to answer the Almighty.
Job wisely refuses to argue
with him.
v. 1 Shall a faultfinder
contend with the Almighty? Read with some ancient versions, “Will he who
disputes with the almighty yield?” (So OARSV n.). We see in the texts that the
Deity never condemns Job for moral faults. He clearly implies that he has been
guilty of theological arrogance and insolence. It is this fault that is being
corrected in this trial and we see that God has used this to bring Job further
along to perfection under this period of his judgment and he clearly will be
eligible for the First Resurrection (No. 143A) (Rev. 20:1-4) as part of the elect and an elohim.
40:6-41:34 Second Discourse
of the Lord
40:6-9 The Divine challenge is renewed. It appears that Job is silenced, but
his thoughts reveal that he is not convinced.
v. 8 will you condemn me that you
may be justified Here we see that the main theme of the text is that
self-righteousness leads man and the Host to condemn God, and it is from that
lesson that Satan was judged here also.
v. 9 shows the supremacy of God
over both the Host and mankind.
vv. 10-14 God challenges Job to do as He does and then God will acknowledge him.
vv. 15-24 God then uses Behemoth or the Hippopotamus as an example.
v. 19 says he is the first of the works of God (Heb. Ways). God says
let him who made him bring near his sword. He is thus the primeval monster
rather than a mere beast. So also Leviathan in 41:1-34 below is not the
ordinary crocodile but the primeval sea monster (3:8; 26:13; Ps. 74:14),
associated with chaos (see also OARSV n.).
Chapter 41
1“Can you draw out
Levi′athan with a fishhook, or press down his tongue with a cord? 2 Can
you put a rope in his nose, or pierce his jaw with a hook? 3Will
he make many supplications to you? Will he speak to you soft words? 4Will
he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant for ever? 5Will
you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on leash for your
maidens? 6Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up
among the merchants? 7Can you fill his skin with harpoons, or his
head with fishing spears? 8Lay hands on him; think of the
battle; you will not do it again! 9Behold, the hope of a man is
disappointed; he is laid low even at the sight of him. 10No one
is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he that can stand before
me? 11Who has given to me, that I should repay
him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. 12“I will not
keep silence concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
13Who can strip off his outer garment? Who can penetrate his double
coat of mail? 14Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his
teeth is terror. 15His back is made of rows of shields, shut up
closely as with a seal. 16One is so near to another that no air can
come between them. 17They are joined one to another; they clasp
each other and cannot be separated. 18His sneezings flash forth
light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. 19Out of his
mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth. 20Out of
his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.21His
breath kindles coals, and a flame comes from his mouth. 22In
his neck abides strength, and terror dances before him. 23The
folds of his flesh cleae together, firmly cast upon him and immovable. 24His
heart is hard as a stone, hard as the nether millstone. 25When
he raises himself up the mighty are afraid; at the crashing they are
beside themselves. 26Though the sword reaches him, it does not
avail; nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin. 27He counts
iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. 28The arrow cannot
make him flee; for him slingstones are turned to stubble. 29Clubs
are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins. 30His
underparts are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself like a threshing sledge
on the mire. 31He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea
like a pot of ointment. 32Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one
would think the deep to be hoary. 33Upon earth there is not his
like, a creature without fear. 34He beholds everything that is
high; he is king over all the sons of pride.”
Intent of Chapter 41
41:1-34 Leviathan in 41:1-34 is not the ordinary crocodile but the primeval sea monster (3:8; 26:13; Ps. 74:14),
associated with chaos (see also OARSV n.).
Here God, the creator, is in control of all forces of power or evil in
the creation despite appearances to the contrary (see also Ps. 104:26). He
serves as an example of God's power.
The use of and reference to Behemoth and
Leviathan in these texts are not simple references to the Hippopotamus and the
Crocodile. There are probable references to the Key figures of the Fallen
Host; the Aion and Satan as the two system commanders of the Host. They
are covered in the text The Government of God (No. 174). Their rule is over from 2027 with the Advent
of the Witnesses and the Messiah over 2027-2030.
Chapter 42
Job Is Humbled and
Satisfied
1Then Job answered
the Lord: 2“I
know that thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of thine can be
thwarted. 3‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for
me, which I did not know. 4‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question
you, and you declare to me.’ 5I had heard of thee by the hearing of
the ear, but now my eye sees thee; 6therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Job’s Friends Are
Humiliated
7After the Lord had spoken these words to
Job, the Lord said to
Eli′phaz the Te′manite: “My wrath is kindled against you and
against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my
servant Job has. 8Now therefore take seven bulls and seven
rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering;
and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal
with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me what is right,
as my servant Job has.” 9So Eli′phaz the Te′manite
and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Na′amathite went and did what
the Lord had told them;
and the Lord accepted
Job’s prayer.
Job’s Fortunes Are
Restored Twofold
10And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job,
when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11Then
came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and
ate bread with him in his house; and they showed him sympathy and comforted him
for all the evil that the Lord had
brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and a
ring of gold. 12And the Lord blessed
the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand
sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand
she-asses. 13He had also seven sons and three daughters. 14And
he called the name of the first Jemi′mah; and the name of the second
Kezi′ah; and the name of the third Ker′en-hap′puch. 15And
in all the land there were no women so fair as Job’s daughters; and their
father gave them inheritance among their brothers. 16And after
this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons,
four generations. 17And Job died, an old man, and full of days.
Intent of Chapter 42
42:1-6 God now knows from the divine activity here
the purpose fulfilled.
Job says that no purpose of God can be thwarted.
(v. 2). v. 3a is a quotation from 38:2. Job acknowledges his finitude.
v. 4 a repeat of the divine questioning. (40:7).
preparing for the following confession.
v. 5. Here we see the difference between hearing
through the doctrines of tradition and now seeing and being given understanding
through the words of God and the Holy Spirit (No. 117). Here Job is given faith through prophetic vision
as were the prophets and the apostles and elect of the faith. God came to Job personally which is the
purpose of the text in delineating the future of the faith of the elect from
Pentecost 30 CE. God cared so much that He communicated with a mere man and set
the scene for the Ministry of the Christ from 27 CE to 30 CE under the Sign of
Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 013). Judah was given 40 years for repentance and they
did not repent and were sent into captivity at the end of the Seventy Weeks of
Years of Daniel 9:25 in 70 CE. The text does not simply justify Job’s innocence
but confers greater benefit on him than a mere extension of his life as the
longest living one of the descendants of Abraham, including Abraham, himself.
The philosophical problems of Evil are now transformed into the rapport
possible with the Creator through the religious experience and communion
possible with God through the Holy Spirit
v. 6. Job
says that I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. The Heb. verb
to despise is obscure but the OARSV considers it is related to a Heb. verb
meaning to melt to nothing.
I repent is not the usual one for repentance of sin,
but one expressing the utmost grief and self deprecation (so the OARSV n.). The
vision of God here even before the Law was given to Moses at Sinai, prepares us
all for the journey to become elohim.
42:7-17. Epilogue
The OARSV holds that the 'style language and
situation of the folktale (1:1-2:13) reappears abruptly' (see Introduction).
Here the Lord issues a rebuke to Eliphaz the Temanite and the other two
friends. They are rebuked, and Job has been upheld, as more correct than they.
He is placed in a position of being their mediator once they proffer a burnt
offering as he did (1:5).
v. 10 Job's restoration followed, not just his
repentance but his intercession on behalf of his friends. This was the lesson
that was to be taught to the friends (v. 8) and one they should have known from
the outset. Intercessory power is in accord with the ancient legend (see Ezek.
14:14, 20) (so also the OARSV n.).
vv. 10-17 Job receives a double restitution. The text
makes no mention of healing, but it is implied in the benefits and extension of
life given to him along with the many benefits he enjoyed that would have been
impossible without healing.
v. 11 a piece of money Heb. A qesitah
(see Gen. 33:19; Josh. 24:22).
v. 14 The names of Job's new daughters are Jemimah,
Dove; Keziah, Cinnamon; Keren-Happuch, Horn of Eye-shadow.
v. 15b an exceptional procedure (comp. Num.
27:1-11).
vv. 16-17 Job was fit and of good capacity in his
seventies before he was ill and then he lives after his trial a further 140
years and had sons and daughters again. Thus he was approx. 210 years of age
and he was alive when Moses entered Midian under Hobab the Jethro, High Priest
of Midian. This was used to prepare Moses for the Christ and the Exodus of
Israel from Egypt twenty-five years after the death of Job.
Summary
Job was third son of Issachar (b. 1748 BCE). He was
born the year after Joseph was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. He died at
about 210+ years of age some 25 years before the Exodus. His life span appears to be from 1728 BCE to
1514 BCE. Moses was some fifty-five
years of age and had been in Midian for about fifteen years. The Book of Job
was most probably written by Moses, as part of his training, and
indoctrination, under his father-in-law Hobab, the Jethro, or High Priest of
Midian. The object of the Book is to show the end of the lord (Jas.
5:11), the end in steadfastness of the faith, the end to which Job was brought
in 40:4-6, and of his impotence in attaining righteousness, and his reliance on
God's Divine Omnipotence for salvation under God's Omniscience and
Predestination (No. 296). The three
friends show the impotence of Human Experience (Eliphaz), Human Tradition
(Bildad), and Human Merit (Zophar). It is Elihu that points to God as the giver
of Divine righteousness for helpless guilty sinners. The entire world was
corrupted by these false ideas. The text shows us the sheer magnitude of the
elohim host, as the sons of God. It also shows us clearly that there is One
True God named Eloah, and here the focal point of the discussion. The Scriptures
tell us that He alone is immortal, and whom no man has seen, or ever can see
(Jn. 1:18; 1Tim. 6:16). He is the Almighty, who sent Jesus Christ and knowing
them is eternal life (Jn. 17:3). Both Satan and the Elohim of Israel worked to
him as sons of God. Both were anointed covering cherubs. That elohim appearing
to the patriarchs (Gen. 48:15-16), and Job here, was the Angel of Redemption
referred to in the body (see Ch. 19:25ff). He is the subordinate God of Israel
we see in Psalm 45:6-7 and who, from Heb. 1:8-9, we are told was the Christ. It
was this elohim that gave the Law to Moses some 165 years after he appeared to
Job. Both the works of Job and the
Pentateuch were penned by Moses and detail the Law of God and the Testimony.
This deity never left Israel over the entire time of the Patriarchs and the
prophets and the Body of Christ. The problem was that Israel and Judah, as a
people, simply would not listen and obey. They thus were sent into captivity
and dispersion; Israel (No. 212F) in 730-722 BCE and Judah (No. 212E) finally in 70 CE at the end of the Seventy weeks
of years. (No. 013).
We see in Part 1 that the exemplary behaviours of
Job are raised before the Heavenly Council and the elohim of the earth (2Cor.
4:4) is told by the Almighty of his quality. Satan denies he is doing it out of
faith. Satan then places himself and the Host in his charge on trial because of
what he is about to do to Job, to show his unworthiness. Remember that is was Satan that has opposed
the creation of mankind to become elohim in the creation under the Plan of
Salvation (Nos. 001, 001A; 001B; 001C; 001D). This entire process did not just involve Job;
Satan and the Host here with him had been subverting the Human Creation since
Adam and Eve in 4004 BCE and were responsible for human sin by religious
misdirection, in the first instance. This was then Satan's test as to his
unjust control of the creation. We see in Part 2 (F018ii) and Part 3 (F018iii) these friends completely abandon the Second Great
Commandment (No. 257) when Job is tested. They turned on him completely.
Satan used the Law to kill Job's children as they
kept the pagan festivals of Birthdays, where the self is elevated as a god, on
that day. Satan used every breach of
just conduct to break Job and did not do so. Job's glaring weakness was his
excessive self-righteousness and his capacity to accuse God for his
afflictions. Job introduces in his pleas the need for a mediator. It is in part
4 (F018iv) that we see Job reveal the details of that
mediator, as the Redeemer (19:25ff). This is the Angel of Redemption stated by
his grandfather Jacob to be the elohim of Israel, which were the tribes to stem
from Jacob, as Israel (Gen. 48:15-16). Israel was given to him by Eloah in
Deut. 32:8-9. This is the subordinate God of Psa. 45:6-7; Heb. 1:8-9), whose
God was Eloah, now the Ha Elohim of the Host. It is the elohim of Israel that
here speaks to Job and the patriarchs and prophets in Israel.
We see in Part 5 (F018v) the erroneous nature of what was identified as
Zophar’s third discourse, as advanced by Oxbridge scholars and Bullinger. This
aspect is explained more correctly there.
It is here that the Covenant of God is also misunderstood, and that is
explained more fully. Also in chapter 28 we see that the OARSV agrees that “the
Orthodox model of the Jewish sages reveals an entirely different concept of
wisdom from that implied” in the text of Job.
Part 6 (F018vi) shows, from Job's oaths of behaviour, his deep
understanding of the moral responsibilities required of him under the Law of
God. This was 165 years before it was given to Moses at Sinai by the Elohim of
Israel, who became the Christ. He has a
deep understanding of the requirements of the Law regarding widows and orphans.
Here we see God sends Elihu, in the Holy Spirit, to deal with them all. He
explains their errors. In Ch. 33 he explains the role of the Redeemer (vv.
23-28). He explains that man is granted a relationship with God, and that He
teaches all men of their salvation. It is God that controls the world and its
operations and He regulates it according to the works of man. He condemns the elders and Job for his
self-righteousness. Elihu goes on to exalt God's goodness and he proclaims His
majesty.
In Part 7 we end the address of Elihu (Ch. 37) and
then we commence the address of the Elohim of Israel in Ch. 38 onwards. We
explain who this God is here. We see Job answered out of the Whirlwind and we
see that it is this God, who was the Creator, Eloah or Ha Elohim, and He
summoned the Sons of God and their Morning Star Commanders to the earth to see
the system here created. This was hundreds of millions of years before the
re-creation after it became tohu and bohu when he sent the elohim of Israel and
Satan as the Morning Star of the Southern Sector of the universe to refurbish
the earth in 4004 BCE as we see in Gen. Ch. 1; Jn. 1:1-18).
In 38:39 – 39:30 we see Him as the protector and
regulator of animals.
In Ch. 40 we see the Second Discourse of the Lord,
the Elohim of Israel. This continues over Chs. 40-Chs. 42. In Ch. 42 the Lord
silences Job and then rebukes the three friends. He then orders their
repentance and after Job has completed his repentance he is appointed as the
priest of the friends in offering sacrifice for them and through his
intercession they are forgiven. These lessons then proceed to delineate the
steps ahead of mankind in order for him to be accepted and to become elohim (No. 001).
We then have the epilogue over vv. 7-17 and we see
the way of salvation expounded.
Annex
A
Use of the words Almighty, God and Lord in Job, from Strong’s Hebrew
Dictionary
Almighty 7706 Shaddai 5:17; 6:4;
6:14; 8:3; 8:5; 11:17; 13:3; 15:25; 21:15; 21:20; 22:3; 22:17; 22:23; 22:25;
22:26; 23:16; 24:1; 27:2; 27:10; 27:11; 27:13; 29:5; 31:2; 31:35; 32:28; 33:4; 34:10;
34:12; 35:13; 37:23; 40:2;
Lord 3068 Yehovah 1:6; 1:7;
1:8; 1:9; 1:12; 1:21; 2:1; 2:2; 2:3; 2;4; 2:6; 2:7; 12:9; 38:1; 40:1; 40:3;
40:6; 41:1; 42:7; 42:942:10; 42:11;42:12.
Lord 136
Adonai 28:28;
God 430 Elohim 1:1;
1:5, 1:6, 1:8; 1:9, 1:16; 1:22; 2:1; 2:3; 2:9; 2:10; 5:8; 20:29; 28:23; 32:2;
34:9; 38:7;
God 433 Eloah 3:4;
3:23; 4:9; 4:17; 5:17; 6:4; 6:8; 6:9; 9:13; 10:2; 11:5; 11:6; 11:7; 12:4; 12:6;
15:8; 16:20; 16:21; 19:6; 19:21; 19:26; 21:9; 21:19; 22:12; 22:26; 24:12; 27:3;
27:5; 27:8; 27:10; 29:2; 29:4; 31:2; 31:6;
33:12; 32:26; 35:10; 37:15; 37:22; 39:17; 40:2;
God 410 el 5:8; 8:3;
5:8; 8:13; 8:20; 9:2; 12:6; 13:3; 13:7; 13:8; 15:4; 15:11; 15:13; 15:25; 16:11;
18:21; 19:22; 20:15; 20:23; 20:29;
21:14; 21:17; 21:22; 22:2; 22:13; 22:17; 23:16; 25:4; 27:2; 27:11; 27:13;
27:22; 27:9; 31:14; 31:23; 31:28; 32:13; 33:4; 33:14; 33:29; 34:5; 34:10;
34:12; 34:23; 34:31; 34:37; 35:13; 36:5; 36:22; 36:26; 37:5; 37:10; 37:14;
38:41; 40:9; 40:19;
Bullinger’s
Notes on Chs. 37-42 (for KJV)
Chapter
37
Verse
2
His voice . His mouth. Figure of
speech Anthropopatheia. App-6 .
Verse
8
places = lurking-places, or lairs.
Verse
10
breath. Hebrew. neshamah. App-16 .
Verse
12
world = vast expanse, or the habitable world.
Hebrew. tebel .
Verse
16
clouds = thick clouds.
Verse
18
sky = skies.
looking glass = mirror.
Verse
21
wind. Hebrew. ruach. App-9 .
Verse
23
THE ALMIGHTY. Hebrew Shaddai. App-4 .
power. The Hebrew accents mark off three distinct attributes: (1)
power supreme; (2) righteousness abundant; (3) the consequent reverence from
men, Job 37:24 .
Chapter
38 Jehovah ' s own ministry, and the theme is Himself.
Elihu ' s ministry furnishes the text: "God is greater than man
"(Job 33:12 ). This leads up to "the end of the Lord" (James 5:11 ). "How should mortal man be just with God? "See Job 4:17 ; Job 9:2 ; Job 15:14 ; Job 33:9 ; Job 34:5 . How different from the ministry of the three friends, which,
like most ministries of to-day, consists in the effort to make men
"good" by persuasion.
Verse
2
Who is this . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6 .
darkeneth. Hebrew. hashak. See note on Job 3:6 .
Verse
3
man. Hebrew. geber . App-14 .
answer thou Me = cause Me to know.
Verse
4
hast understanding = knowest.
Verse
6
foundations = sockets.
fastened = sunk.
Verse
7
stars sang. Figure of speech Prosopopoeia. App-6 . See
App-12 .
sons of God = angels. See note on Genesis 6:2 , and the eight occurrences of the expression in O.T. See also
App-23 and App-25 .
Verse
9
thick darkness. Hebrew. 'araphel. See note on Job 3:6 .
Verse
10
brake up = assigned.
Verse
12
the morning. See the Alternation below, verses: Job 38:12-14 .
Verse
13
the wicked = lawless. All the ancient versions and early printed
editions read "the lawless"
Verse
16
search = secret.
Verse
17
doors = gates.
Verse
19
way. Supply Ellipsis: "Where is the way [to the place where]
light", &c.
Verse
22
treasures = treasuries.
Verse
23
against the day, &c. . - e.g. as in Joshua 10:10 .
Verse
24
part = divide up into parts: as the rays of light in a prism.
Verse
26
man. Hebrew ' ish . App-14 .
man. Hebrew. 'adam. App-14 .
Verse
28
dew = night mist. See note on Psalms 133:3 .
Verse
31
Pleiades. Hebrew. kimah. See App-12 .
Orion. Hebrew kesil. App-12 .
Verse
32
Mazzarotli = the twelve signs of the Zodiac marking the path of the
sun in the heavens. App-12 . Arcturus. Hebrew. 'ayish the greater
sheepfold: known to day as "the great bear". See App-12 .
Verse
33
ordinances = statutes.
the = his.
Verse 36
in the inward parts. Hebrew. tuchoth: Occurs only here
and Psalms 51:6 . See note on Job 28:28 and Proverbs 1:7 .
Chapter
39
Verse
1
Knowest
thou . . . ? Note the Figure of speech Erotesis ( App-6 ), used
by Jehovah throughout this chapter for emphasis.
Verse
4
with
corn = in the open field. Hebrew. bar. A Homonym with three
meanings: (1) pure, clear, clean (Job 11:4 .Song of Solomon 6:9 , Song of Solomon 6:10 . Psalms 19:8 ; Psalms 24:4 ; Psalms 73:1 , &c); hence corn winnowed and cleansed (Genesis 41:35 , Genesis 41:49 . Psalms 65:13 .Proverbs 11:26 . Joel 2:24 , &c); (2) the ground, or open field (Job 39:4 ), because bare and clean. Compare Proverbs 14:4 ; (3) ton: see note on Psalms 2:12 .
Verse
5
ass. Probably
= mule.
Verse
10
the
unicorn = the wild bull.
Verse
11
trust =
confide in. Hebrew. batah. App-69 .
Verse
13
Gavest
thou. The Ellipsis ( App-6 ) is correctly supplied.
Verse
19
thunder =
rustling mane.
Verse
20
afraid =
leap.
grasshopper =
locust.
nostrils =
snorting.
Verse
26
her. Hebrew
= his.
Verse
28
She =
He.
Verse
30
where the slain are, &c: i.e. on a field of battle.
Compare Matthew 24:28 . Luke 17:37 .
she. Authorized Version, 1611, reads "he".
Chapter
40
Verse
1
the
LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
Verse
2
he
that contendeth = the caviller, or reprover.
THE
ALMIGHTY. Hebrew Shaddai. App-4 .
he
that reproveth = contender with, or disputer.
Verse
4
I am
vile. This is true wisdom. This is "the end of the Lord" (James 5:11 ), and the "end" of this whole book.
what
. . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6 .
lay
mine hand, &c. Symbolic of silence and submission.
Verse
5
Once
. . . twice. Hebrew idiom ( App-6 ) for doing a thing repeatedly.
Compare Psalms 62:11 .
but. Some
codices, with Septuagint and Syriac, omit "but".
Verse
7
man. Hebrew. geber. App-14
.
Verse
9
an
arm. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. App-6 .
GOD. Hebrew
El. App-4 .
Verse
11
rage =
overflowings.
Verse
12
wicked =
lawless. Hebrew. rasha'. App-44 .
behemoth: probably
the hippopotamus (Greek for river-horse).
Verse
16
Lo. Figure
of speech Asterismos. App-6 .
navel =
muscles.
Verse
23
trusteth = believeth. Hebrew. batah. App-69 .
Chapter
41
Verse
1
Canst
thou . . . ? Note the Figure of speech Erotesis ( App-6 )
throughout this chapter.
leviathan : probably
the crocodile.
Verse
2
hook =
reed.
Verse
9
Behold. Figure
of speech Asterismos. App-6 .
Verse
11
prevented =
anticipated.
is =
that is.
Verse
13
discover =
uncover.
with =
within.
double
bridle = double row of teeth.
Verse
16
air. Hebrew. ruach. App-9
.
Verse
18
neesings. Obsolete
for sneezings. From A. S. fneosan. Chaucer spells it fnesen.
Verse
21
breath =
soul Hebrew. nephesh. App-13 .
Verse
25
breakings =
terrors.
purify
themselves = mistake their way; are bewildered; or, beside themselves.
Verse
26
dart =
missile. Not same word as in Job 41:29 . (Hebrew. massa').
habergeon =
coat of mail.
Verse
29
darts =
clubs. Not same word as in Job 41:26 . (Hebrew. tothak) .
laugheth. Figure
of speech Prosopoaia . App-6 .
Verse
34
children of pride = sons of pride, or proud beasts.
Chapter
42
Verse
1
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
Verse
3
Who is he . . . ? Supply the obvious Ellipsis ( App-6 )
thus: "[Thou askedst] 'Who is this? ' "&c.; which Jehovah did ask
in Job 38:1-3 .
Verse
4
Hear = Hear, now.
I will demand of thee. Supply the Ellipsis ( App-6 ):
"[Thou saidst]; ' Let him answer Me' "(See Job 40:2 ).
Verse
6
I abhor myself, and repent. "The end of the Lord" (i.e.
what Jehovah designed as the great lesson of this book) is at length reached.
Compare James 5:11 .
Verse
7
these words: i.e. ch. Job 38:1 -- Job 41:34 .
not spoken of Me the thing that is right. We have, therefore, an
inspired record of what they said; but all they said was not inspired, and
cannot be quoted as the Word of Jehovah.
as My servant Job hath: i.e. in Job 42:1-6 .
Verse
8
seven. See App-10 .
burnt offering. Hebrew. 'olah . App-43 . See App-15 .
him = his face: face being put by Figure of
speech Synecdoche (of the Part), App-6 , for the whole person.
Verse
9
Job. Hebrew the face of Job, as in Job 42:8 .
Verse
10
turned the captivity. Figure of speech Paronomasia (
App-6 ), shdb eth sh buth, emphasizing recovery or deliverance from
any trouble, as in Psalms 126:1 , Psalms 126:4 , &c.
twice as much. This blessing was included in "the end of the
Lord" (James 5:11 ). See note on p. 666.
Verse
11
evil = calamity. Hebrew. ra'a' . App-44 . Compare Isaiah 45:7 .
every man. Hebrew. 'ish . App-14 .
piece = weight, as in Genesis 33:19 . The Septuagint reads "a lamb, and four drachms weight of
gold, even of unstamped [gold]"; or, "a piece of gold stamped with a
lamb. "
every one. Hebrew. 'i s h . App-14 .
Verse
12
and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton ( App-6 ), in
verses: Job 42:12-15 , to emphasize each particular thing.
Verse
14
Jemima = beautiful as the day (Septuagint and Vulgate) or as a
dove.
Kezia = fragrant as cassia (i.e. cinnamon).
Keren-happuch = horn of beauty or plenty. Compare Job 42:15 .
Verse
16
an hundred and forty years: i.e. from 1656 to 1516.
Verse
17
full of days = satisfied with days. The Septuagint has a long
subscription, for which see App-62 . The Arabic has a similar subscription,
which professes to have been taken from the Syriac, but it is not in the Syriac
version as given in Walton's Polyglot.