Ayub 8:11

8:11 Can the papyrus plant grow tall ¹  where there is no marsh?

Can reeds flourish ²  without water?

Ayub 24:18

24:18 ³ “You say, ⁴  ‘He is foam ⁵  on the face of the waters; ⁶ 

their portion of the land is cursed

so that no one goes to their vineyard. ⁷ 

Ayub 35:11

35:11 who teaches us ⁸  more than ⁹  the wild animals of the earth,

and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’

Ayub 38:11

38:11 when I said, ‘To here you may come ¹⁰ 

and no farther, ¹¹ 

here your proud waves will be confined’? ¹² 

[8:11]  ¹ sn H. H. Rowley observes the use of the words for plants that grow in Egypt and suspects that Bildad either knew Egypt or knew that much wisdom came from Egypt. The first word refers to papyrus, which grows to a height of six feet (so the verb means “to grow tall; to grow high”). The second word refers to the reed grass that grows on the banks of the river (see Gen 41:2, 18).

[8:11]  ² tn The two verbs, גָּאָה (ga’ah) and שָׂגָה (sagah), have almost the same meanings of “flourish, grow, become tall.”

[24:18]  ³ tc Many commentators find vv. 18-24 difficult on the lips of Job, and so identify this unit as a misplaced part of the speech of Zophar. They describe the enormities of the wicked. But a case can also be made for retaining it in this section. Gordis thinks it could be taken as a quotation by Job of his friends’ ideas.

[24:18]  ⁴ tn The verb “say” is not in the text; it is supplied here to indicate that this is a different section.

[24:18]  ⁵ tn Or “is swift.”

[24:18]  ⁶ sn The wicked person is described here as a spray or foam upon the waters, built up in the agitation of the waters but dying away swiftly.

[24:18]  ⁷ tn The text reads, “he does not turn by the way of the vineyards.” This means that since the land is cursed, he/one does not go there. Bickell emended “the way of the vineyards” to “the treader of the vineyard” (see RSV, NRSV). This would mean that “no wine-presser would turn towards” their vineyards.

[35:11]  ⁸ tn The form in the text, the Piel participle from אָלַף (’alaf, “teach”) is written in a contracted form; the full form is מְאַלְּפֵנוּ (mÿ’allÿfenu).

[35:11]  ⁹ tn Some would render this “teaches us by the beasts.” But Elihu is stressing the unique privilege humans have.

[38:11]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verb receives the permission nuance here.

[38:11]  ¹¹ tn The text has תֹסִיף (tosif, “and you may not add”), which is often used idiomatically (as in verbal hendiadys constructions).

[38:11]  ¹² tn The MT literally says, “here he will put on the pride of your waves.” The verb has no expressed subject and so is made a passive voice. But there has to be some object for the verb “put,” such as “limit” or “boundary”; the translations “confined; halted; stopped” all serve to paraphrase such an idea. The LXX has “broken” at this point, suggesting the verse might have been confused – but “breaking the pride” of the waves would mean controlling them. Some commentators have followed this, exchanging the verb in v. 11 with this one.