Ayub 3:4

3:4 That day ¹  – let it be darkness; ² 

let not God on high regard ³  it,

nor let light shine ⁴  on it!

Ayub 8:20

8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, ⁵ 

nor does he grasp the hand ⁶ 

of the evildoers.

Ayub 21:14

21:14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!

We do not want to ⁷  know your ways. ⁸ 

Ayub 31:2

31:2 What then would be one’s lot from God above,

one’s heritage from the Almighty ⁹  on high?

Ayub 31:28

31:28 then this ¹⁰  also would be iniquity to be judged, ¹¹ 

for I would have been false ¹²  to God above.

Ayub 32:13

32:13 So do not say, ¹³  ‘We have found wisdom!

God will refute ¹⁴  him, not man!’

Ayub 36:26

The Work and Wisdom of God

36:26 “Yes, God is great – beyond our knowledge! ¹⁵ 

The number of his years is unsearchable.

Ayub 37:5

37:5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; ¹⁶ 

he does great things beyond our understanding. ¹⁷ 

[3:4]  ¹ tn 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.

[3:4]  ² sn This expression by Job is the negation of the divine decree at creation – “Let there be light,” and that was the first day. Job wishes that his first day be darkness: “As for that day, let there be darkness.” Since only God has this prerogative, Job adds the wish that God on high would not regard that day.

[3:4]  ³ tn 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.

[3:4]  ⁴ tn 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]).

[8:20]  ⁵ sn This is the description that the book gave to Job at the outset, a description that he deserved according to God’s revelation. The theme “God will not reject the blameless man” becomes Job’s main point (see 9:20,21; 10:3).

[8:20]  ⁶ sn The idiom “to grasp the hand” of someone means to support or help the person.

[21:14]  ⁷ tn The absence of the preposition before the complement adds greater vividness to the statement: “and knowing your ways – we do not desire.”

[21:14]  ⁸ sn Contrast Ps 25:4, which affirms that walking in God’s ways means to obey God’s will – the Torah.

[31:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “lot of Shaddai,” which must mean “the lot from Shaddai,” a genitive of source.

[31:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “it.”

[31:28]  ¹¹ tn See v. 11 for the construction. In Deut 17:2ff. false worship of heavenly bodies is a capital offense. In this passage, Job is talking about just a momentary glance at the sun or moon and the brief lapse into a pagan thought. But it is still sin.

[31:28]  ¹² tn The verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the Piel means “to deny.” The root meaning is “to deceive; to disappoint; to grow lean.” Here it means that he would have failed or proven unfaithful because his act would have been a denial of God.

[32:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “lest you say.” R. Gordis (Job, 368) calls this a breviloquence: “beware lest [you say].” He then suggests the best reading for their quote to be, “We have attained wisdom, but only God can refute him, not man.” H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 209) suggests the meaning is a little different, namely, that they are saying they have found wisdom in Job, and only God can deal with it. Elihu is in effect saying that they do not need God, for he is quite capable for this.

[32:13]  ¹⁴ tn The root is נָדַף (nadaf, “to drive away; to drive off”). Here it is in the abstract sense of “succeed in doing something; confound,” and so “refute; rebut.” Dhorme wants to change the meaning of the word with a slight emendation in the text, deriving it from אָלַף (’alaf, “instruct”) the form becoming יַלְּפֶנוּ (yallÿfenu) instead of יִדְּפֶנּוּ (yiddÿfenu), obtaining the translation “God will instruct us.” This makes a smoother reading, but does not have much support for it.

[36:26]  ¹⁵ tn The last part has the verbal construction, “and we do not know.” This clause is to be used adverbially: “beyond our understanding.”

[37:5]  ¹⁶ tn The form is the Niphal participle, “wonders,” from the verb פָּלָא (pala’, “to be wonderful; to be extraordinary”). Some commentators suppress the repeated verb “thunders,” and supply other verbs like “shows” or “works,” enabling them to make “wonders” the object of the verb rather than leaving it in an adverbial role. But as H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 236) notes, no change is needed, for one is not surprised to find repetition in Elihu’s words.

[37:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and we do not know.”