Kejadian 17:14

17:14 Any uncircumcised male ¹  who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off ²  from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” ³ 

Ayub 31:22

31:22 then ⁴  let my arm fall from the shoulder, ⁵ 

let my arm be broken off at the socket. ⁶ 

[17:14]  ¹ tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.

[17:14]  ² tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:14]  sn The meaning of “cut off” has been discussed at great length. An entire tractate in the Mishnah is devoted to this subject (tractate Keritot). Being ostracized from the community is involved at the least, but it is not certain whether this refers to the death penalty.

[17:14]  ³ tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

[31:22]  ⁴ sn Here is the apodosis, the imprecation Job pronounces on himself if he has done any of these things just listed.

[31:22]  ⁵ tn The point is that if he has raised his arm against the oppressed it should be ripped off at the joint. The MT has “let fall my shoulder [כְּתֵפִי, kÿtefi] from the nape of the neck [or shoulder blade (מִשִּׁכְמָה, mishikhmah)].”

[31:22]  ⁶ tn The word קָנֶה (qaneh) is “reed; shaft; beam,” and here “shoulder joint.” All the commentaries try to explain how “reed” became “socket; joint.” This is the only place that it is used in such a sense. Whatever the exact explanation – and there seems to be no convincing view – the point of the verse is nonetheless clear.