Ayub 22:16

22:16 men ¹  who were carried off ²  before their time, ³ 

when the flood ⁴  was poured out ⁵ 

on their foundations? ⁶ 

Ayub 10:21

10:21 before I depart, never to return, ⁷ 

to the land of darkness

and the deepest shadow, ⁸ 

Ayub 15:32

15:32 Before his time ⁹  he will be paid in full, ¹⁰ 

and his branches will not flourish. ¹¹ 

Ayub 8:12

8:12 While they are still beginning to flower ¹² 

and not ripe for cutting, ¹³ 

they can wither away ¹⁴ 

faster ¹⁵  than any grass! ¹⁶ 

Ayub 15:7

15:7 “Were you the first man ever born?

Were you brought forth before the hills?

Ayub 21:29

21:29 Have you never questioned those who travel the roads?

Do you not recognize their accounts ¹⁷  –

Ayub 24:14

24:14 Before daybreak ¹⁸  the murderer rises up;

he kills the poor and the needy;

in the night he is ¹⁹  like a thief. ²⁰ 

Ayub 3:26

3:26 I have no ease, ²¹  I have no quietness;

I cannot rest; ²²  turmoil has come upon me.” ²³ 

Ayub 32:14

32:14 Job ²⁴  has not directed ²⁵  his words to me,

and so I will not reply to him with your arguments. ²⁶ 

Ayub 35:15

35:15 And further, ²⁷  when you say

that his anger does not punish, ²⁸ 

and that he does not know transgression! ²⁹ 

Ayub 31:5

31:5 If ³⁰  I have walked in falsehood,

and if ³¹  my foot has hastened ³²  to deceit –

Ayub 10:18

An Appeal for Relief

10:18 “Why then did you bring me out from the womb?

I should have died ³³ 

and no eye would have seen me!

Ayub 8:18

8:18 If he is uprooted ³⁴  from his place,

then that place ³⁵  will disown him, saying, ³⁶ 

‘I have never seen you!’

Ayub 10:19

10:19 I should have been as though I had never existed; ³⁷ 

I should have been carried

right from the womb to the grave!

Ayub 15:33

15:33 Like a vine he will let his sour grapes fall, ³⁸ 

and like an olive tree

he will shed his blossoms. ³⁹ 

Ayub 28:7-8

28:7 a hidden path ⁴⁰  no bird of prey knows –

no falcon’s ⁴¹  eye has spotted it.

28:8 Proud beasts ⁴²  have not set foot on it,

and no lion has passed along it.

Ayub 3:24

3:24 For my sighing comes in place of ⁴³  my food, ⁴⁴ 

and my groanings ⁴⁵  flow forth like water. ⁴⁶ 

Ayub 19:22

19:22 Why do you pursue me like God does? ⁴⁷ 

Will you never be satiated with my flesh? ⁴⁸ 

Ayub 31:17

31:17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself,

and did not share any of it with orphans ⁴⁹  –

Ayub 36:14

36:14 They die ⁵⁰  in their youth,

and their life ends among the male cultic prostitutes. ⁵¹ 

Ayub 5:26

5:26 You will come to your grave in a full age, ⁵² 

As stacks of grain are harvested in their season.

Ayub 16:3

16:3 Will ⁵³  there be an end to your ⁵⁴  windy words? ⁵⁵ 

Or what provokes ⁵⁶  you that you answer? ⁵⁷ 

Ayub 20:4

20:4 “Surely you know ⁵⁸  that it has been from old,

ever since humankind was placed ⁵⁹  on the earth,

Ayub 21:25

21:25 And another man ⁶⁰  dies in bitterness of soul, ⁶¹ 

never having tasted ⁶²  anything good.

Ayub 22:15

22:15 Will you keep to the old path ⁶³ 

that evil men have walked –

Ayub 28:12

No Price Can Buy Wisdom

28:12 “But wisdom – where can it be found?

Where is the place of understanding?

Ayub 31:16

31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, ⁶⁴ 

or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

Ayub 31:29

31:29 If ⁶⁵  I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy ⁶⁶ 

or exulted ⁶⁷  because calamity ⁶⁸  found him –

Ayub 31:32

31:32 But ⁶⁹  no stranger had to spend the night outside,

for I opened my doors to the traveler ⁷⁰  –

Ayub 32:19

32:19 Inside I am like wine which has no outlet, ⁷¹ 

like new wineskins ⁷²  ready to burst!

Ayub 38:21

38:21 You know, for you were born before them; ⁷³ 

and the number of your days is great!

Ayub 39:8

39:8 It ranges the hills as its pasture,

and searches after every green plant.

Ayub 39:27

39:27 Is it at your command ⁷⁴  that the eagle soars,

and builds its nest on high?

Ayub 8:9

8:9 For we were born yesterday ⁷⁵  and do not have knowledge,

since our days on earth are but a shadow. ⁷⁶ 

Ayub 8:11

8:11 Can the papyrus plant grow tall ⁷⁷  where there is no marsh?

Can reeds flourish ⁷⁸  without water?

Ayub 10:20

10:20 Are not my days few? ⁷⁹ 

Cease, ⁸⁰  then, and leave ⁸¹  me alone, ⁸² 

that I may find a little comfort, ⁸³ 

Ayub 15:10

15:10 The gray-haired ⁸⁴  and the aged are on our side, ⁸⁵ 

men far older than your father. ⁸⁶ 

Ayub 19:15

19:15 My guests ⁸⁷  and my servant girls

consider ⁸⁸  me a stranger;

I am a foreigner ⁸⁹  in their eyes.

Ayub 28:4

28:4 Far from where people live ⁹⁰  he sinks a shaft,

in places travelers have long forgotten, ⁹¹ 

far from other people he dangles and sways. ⁹² 

Ayub 34:32

34:32 Teach me what I cannot see. ⁹³ 

If I have done evil, I will do so no more.’

Ayub 1:17

1:17 While this one was still speaking another messenger arrived and said, “The Chaldeans ⁹⁴  formed three bands and made a raid ⁹⁵  on the camels and carried them all away, and they killed the servants with the sword! ⁹⁶  And I – only I alone – escaped to tell you!”

Ayub 42:12

42:12 So the Lord blessed the second part of Job’s life more than the first. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

[22:16]  ¹ tn The word “men” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the relative pronoun “who.”

[22:16]  ² tn The verb קָמַט (qamat) basically means “to seize; to tie together to make a bundle.” So the Pual will mean “to be bundled away; to be carried off.”

[22:16]  ³ tn The clause has “and [it was] not the time.” It may be used adverbially here.

[22:16]  ⁴ tn The word is נָהַר (nahar, “river” or “current”); it is taken here in its broadest sense of the waters on the earth that formed the current of the flood (Gen 7:6, 10).

[22:16]  ⁵ tn The verb יָצַק (yatsaq) means “to pour out; to shed; to spill; to flow.” The Pual means “to be poured out” (as in Lev 21:10 and Ps 45:3).

[22:16]  ⁶ tn This word is then to be taken as an adverbial accusative of place. Another way to look at this verse is what A. B. Davidson (Job, 165) proposes “whose foundation was poured away and became a flood.” This would mean that that on which they stood sank away.

[10:21]  ⁷ sn The verbs are simple, “I go” and “I return”; but Job clearly means before he dies. A translation of “depart” comes closer to communicating this. The second verb may be given a potential imperfect translation to capture the point. The NIV offered more of an interpretive paraphrase: “before I go to the place of no return.”

[10:21]  ⁸ tn See Job 3:5.

[15:32]  ⁹ tn Heb “before his day.”

[15:32]  ¹⁰ tn Those who put the last colon of v. 31 with v. 32 also have to change the verb תִּמָּלֵא (timmale’, “will be fulfilled”). E. Dhorme (Job, 225) says, “a mere glance at the use of yimmal…abundantly proves that the original text had timmal (G, Syr., Vulg), which became timmale’ through the accidental transposition of the ‘alep of bÿsi’o…in verse 31….” This, of course, is possible, if all the other changes up to now are granted. But the meaning of a word elsewhere in no way assures it should be the word here. The LXX has “his harvest shall perish before the time,” which could translate any number of words that might have been in the underlying Hebrew text. A commercial metaphor is not out of place here, since parallelism does not demand that the same metaphor appear in both lines.

[15:32]  ¹¹ tn Now, in the second half of the verse, the metaphor of a tree with branches begins.

[8:12]  ¹² tn The word has been traditionally translated “greenness” (so KJV, ASV), but some modern commentators argue for “in flower.” The word is found only in Song 6:11 (where it may be translated “blossoms”). From the same root is אָבִיב (’aviv, “fresh young ears of barley”). Here the word refers to the plant that is still in its early stages of flowering. It should not be translated to suggest the plant is flowering (cf. NRSV), but translating as if the plant is green (so NASB) is also problematic.

[8:12]  ¹³ sn The idea is that as the plant begins to flower, but before it is to be cut down, there is no sign of withering or decay in it. But if the water is withdrawn, it will wither sooner than any other herb. The point Bildad will make of this is that when people rebel against God and his grace is withheld, they perish more swiftly than the water reed.

[8:12]  ¹⁴ tn The imperfect verb here is the modal use of potential, “can wither away” if the water is not there.

[8:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “before.”

[8:12]  ¹⁶ tn The LXX interprets the line: “does not any herb wither before it has received moisture?”

[21:29]  ¹⁷ tc The LXX reads, “Ask those who go by the way, and do not disown their signs.”

[21:29]  tn The idea is that the merchants who travel widely will talk about what they have seen and heard. These travelers give a different account of the wicked; they tell how he is spared. E. Dhorme (Job, 322) interprets “signs” concretely: “Their custom was to write their names and their thoughts somewhere at the main cross-roads. The main roads of Sinai are dotted with these scribblings made by such passers of a day.”

[24:14]  ¹⁸ tn The text simply has לָאוֹר (la’or, “at light” or “at daylight”), probably meaning just at the time of dawn.

[24:14]  ¹⁹ tn In a few cases the jussive is used without any real sense of the jussive being present (see GKC 323 §109.k).

[24:14]  ²⁰ sn The point is that he is like a thief in that he works during the night, just before the daylight, when the advantage is all his and the victim is most vulnerable.

[3:26]  ²¹ tn The LXX “peace” bases its rendering on שָׁלַם (shalam) and not שָׁלָה (shalah), which retains the original vav (ו). The verb means “to be quiet, to be at ease.”

[3:26]  ²² tn The verb is literally “and I do/can not rest.” A potential perfect nuance fits this passage well. The word נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”) implies “rest” in every sense, especially in contrast to רֹגֶז (rogez, “turmoil, agitation” [vv. 26 and 17]).

[3:26]  ²³ tn The last clause simply has “and trouble came.” Job is essentially saying that since the trouble has come upon him there is not a moment of rest and relief.

[32:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Job) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:14]  ²⁵ tn The verb עַרַךְ (’arakh) means “to arrange in order; to set forth; to direct; to marshal.” It is used in military contexts for setting the battle array; it is used in legal settings for preparing the briefs.

[32:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “your words.”

[35:15]  ²⁷ tn The expression “and now” introduces a new complaint of Elihu – in addition to the preceding. Here the verb of v. 14, “you say,” is understood after the temporal ki (כִּי).

[35:15]  ²⁸ tn The verb פָקַד (paqad) means “to visit” (also “to appoint; to muster; to number”). When God visits, it means that he intervenes in one’s life for blessing or cursing (punishing, destroying).

[35:15]  ²⁹ tn The word פַּשׁ (pash) is a hapax legomenon. K&D 12:275 derived it from an Arabic word meaning “belch,” leading to the idea of “overflow.” BDB 832 s.v. defines it as “folly.” Several define it as “transgression” on the basis of the versions (Theodotion, Symmachus, Vulgate). The RSV took it as “greatly heed,” but that is not exactly “greatly know,” when the text beyond that requires “not know at all.” The NIV has “he does not take the least notice of wickedness.”

[31:5]  ³⁰ tn The normal approach is to take this as the protasis, and then have it resumed in v. 7 after a parenthesis in v. 6. But some take v. 6 as the apodosis and a new protasis in v. 7.

[31:5]  ³¹ tn The “if” is understood by the use of the consecutive verb.

[31:5]  ³² sn The verbs “walk” and “hasten” (referring in the verse to the foot) are used metaphorically for the manner of life Job lived.

[10:18]  ³³ tn The two imperfect verbs in this section are used to stress regrets for something which did not happen (see GKC 317 §107.n).

[8:18]  ³⁴ tc Ball reads אֵל (’el, “God”) instead of אִם (’im, “if”): “God destroys it” – but there is no reason for this. The idea would be implied in the context. A. B. Davidson rightly points out that who destroys it is not important, but the fact that it is destroyed.

[8:18]  tn The Hebrew has “if one destroys it”; the indefinite subject allows for a passive interpretation. The verb means “swallow” in the Qal, but in the Piel it means “to engulf; to destroy; to ruin” (2:3; 10:8). It could here be rendered “removed from its place” (the place where it is rooted); since the picture is that of complete destruction, “uprooted” would be a good rendering.

[8:18]  ³⁵ tn Heb “it”; the referent (“his place” in the preceding line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:18]  sn The place where the plant once grew will deny ever knowing it. Such is the completeness of the uprooting that there is not a trace left.

[8:18]  ³⁶ tn Here “saying” is supplied in the translation.

[10:19]  ³⁷ sn This means “If only I had never come into existence.”

[15:33]  ³⁸ tn The verb means “to treat violently” or “to wrong.” It indicates that the vine did not nourish the grapes well enough for them to grow, and so they dry up and drop off.

[15:33]  ³⁹ sn The point is that like the tree the wicked man shows signs of life but produces nothing valuable. The olive tree will have blossoms in the years that it produces no olives, and so eventually drops the blossoms.

[28:7]  ⁴⁰ tn The “path” could refer to the mine shaft or it could refer to wisdom. The former seems more likely in the present context; the word “hidden is supplied in the translation to indicate the mines are “hidden” from sharp-eyed birds of prey above.

[28:7]  ⁴¹ sn The kind of bird mentioned here is debated. The LXX has “vulture,” and so some commentaries follow that. The emphasis on the sight favors the view that it is the falcon.

[28:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “the sons of pride.” In Job 41:26 the expression refers to carnivorous wild beasts.

[3:24]  ⁴³ tn For the prepositional לִפְנֵי (lifne), the temporal meaning “before” (“my sighing comes before I eat”) makes very little sense here (as the versions have it). The meaning “in place of, for” fits better (see 1 Sam 1:16, “count not your handmaid for a daughter of Belial”).

[3:24]  ⁴⁴ sn The line means that Job’s sighing, which results from the suffering (metonymy of effect) is his constant, daily food. Parallels like Ps 42:3 which says “my tears have been my bread/food” shows a similar figure.

[3:24]  ⁴⁵ tn The word normally describes the “roaring” of a lion (Job 4:10); but it is used for the loud groaning or cries of those in distress (Pss 22:1; 32:3).

[3:24]  ⁴⁶ tn This second colon is paraphrased in the LXX to say, “I weep being beset with terror.” The idea of “pouring forth water” while groaning can be represented by “I weep.” The word “fear, terror” anticipates the next verse.

[19:22]  ⁴⁷ sn Strahan comments, “The whole tragedy of the book is packed into these extraordinary words.”

[19:22]  ⁴⁸ sn The idiom of eating the pieces of someone means “slander” in Aramaic (see Dan 3:8), Arabic and Akkadian.

[31:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “and an orphan did not eat from it.”

[36:14]  ⁵⁰ tn The text expresses this with “their soul dies.”

[36:14]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “among the male prostitutes” who were at the temple – the “holy ones,” with “holy” being used in that sense of “separated to that form of temple service.” So uncleanness and shame are some of the connotations of the reference. Some modern translations give the general sense only: “their life ends in shame” (NRSV); “and perish among the reprobate” (NAB); “die…after wasting their lives in immoral living” (NLT).

[5:26]  ⁵² tn The word translated “in a full age” has been given an array of meanings: “health; integrity”; “like a new blade of corn”; “in your strength [or vigor].” The numerical value of the letters in the word בְכֶלָח (bÿkhelakh, “in old age”) was 2, 20, 30, and 8, or 60. This led some of the commentators to say that at 60 one would enter the ripe old age (E. Dhorme, Job, 73).

[16:3]  ⁵³ tn Disjunctive questions are introduced with the sign of the interrogative; the second part is introduced with אוֹ (’o, see GKC 475 §150.g).

[16:3]  ⁵⁴ tn In v. 3 the second person singular is employed rather than the plural as in vv. 2 and 4. The singular might be an indication that the words of v. 3 were directed at Eliphaz specifically.

[16:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “words of wind.”

[16:3]  ⁵⁶ tn The Hiphil of מָרַץ (marats) does not occur anywhere else. The word means “to compel; to force” (see 6:25).

[16:3]  ⁵⁷ tn The LXX seems to have gone a different way: “What, is there any reason in vain words, or what will hinder you from answering?”

[20:4]  ⁵⁸ tn The MT has “Do you not know?” The question can be interpreted as a rhetorical question affirming that Job must know this. The question serves to express the conviction that the contents are well-known to the audience (see GKC 474 §150.e).

[20:4]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “from the putting of man on earth.” The infinitive is the object of the preposition, which is here temporal. If “man” is taken as the subjective genitive, then the verb would be given a passive translation. Here “man” is a generic, referring to “mankind” or “the human race.”

[21:25]  ⁶⁰ tn The expression “this (v. 23)…and this” (v. 25) means “one…the other.”

[21:25]  ⁶¹ tn The text literally has “and this [man] dies in soul of bitterness.” Some simply reverse it and translate “in the bitterness of soul.” The genitive “bitterness” may be an attribute adjective, “with a bitter soul.”

[21:25]  ⁶² tn Heb “eaten what is good.” It means he died without having enjoyed the good life.

[22:15]  ⁶³ tn The “old path” here is the way of defiance to God. The text in these two verses is no doubt making reference to the flood in Genesis, one of the perennial examples of divine judgment.

[31:16]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”

[31:29]  ⁶⁵ tn The problem with taking this as “if,” introducing a conditional clause, is finding the apodosis, if there is one. It may be that the apodosis is understood, or summed up at the end. This is the view taken here. But R. Gordis (Job, 352) wishes to take this word as the indication of the interrogative, forming the rhetorical question to affirm he has never done this. However, in that case the parenthetical verses inserted become redundant.

[31:29]  ⁶⁶ sn The law required people to help their enemies if they could (Exod 23:4; also Prov 20:22). But often in the difficulties that ensued, they did exult over their enemies’ misfortune (Pss 54:7; 59:10 [11], etc.). But Job lived on a level of purity that few ever reach. Duhm said, “If chapter 31 is the crown of all ethical developments of the O.T., verse 29 is the jewel in that crown.”

[31:29]  ⁶⁷ tn The Hitpael of עוּר (’ur) has the idea of “exult.”

[31:29]  ⁶⁸ tn The word is רָע (ra’, “evil”) in the sense of anything that harms, interrupts, or destroys life.

[31:32]  ⁶⁹ tn This verse forms another parenthesis. Job stops almost at every point now in the conditional clauses to affirm his purity and integrity.

[31:32]  ⁷⁰ tn The word in the MT, אֹרחַ (’orakh, “way”), is a contraction from אֹרֵחַ (’oreakh, “wayfarer”); thus, “traveler.” The same parallelism is found in Jer 14:8. The reading here “on/to the road” is meaningless otherwise.

[32:19]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “in my belly I am like wine that is not opened” (a Niphal imperfect), meaning sealed up with no place to escape.

[32:19]  ⁷² tc The Hebrew text has כְּאֹבוֹת חֲדָשִׁים (kÿ’ovot khadashim), traditionally rendered “like new wineskins.” But only here does the phrase have this meaning. The LXX has “smiths” for “new,” thus “like smith’s bellows.” A. Guillaume connects the word with an Arabic word for a wide vessel for wine shaped like a cup (“Archaeological and philological note on Job 32:19,” PEQ 93 [1961]: 147-50). Some have been found in archaeological sites. The poor would use skins, the rich would use jars. The key to putting this together is the verb at the end of the line, יִבָּקֵעַ (yibbaqea’, “that are ready to burst”). The point of the statement is that Elihu is bursting to speak, and until now has not had the opening.

[38:21]  ⁷³ tn The imperfect verb after the adverb אָז (’az, “then”) functions as a preterite: “you were born.” The line is sarcastic.

[39:27]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “your mouth.”

[8:9]  ⁷⁵ tn The Hebrew has “we are of yesterday,” the adverb functioning as a predicate. Bildad’s point is that they have not had time to acquire great knowledge because they are recent.

[8:9]  ⁷⁶ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 116) observes that the shadow is the symbol of ephemeral things (14:2; 17:7; Ps 144:4). The shadow passes away quickly (116).

[8:11]  ⁷⁷ 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]  ⁷⁸ tn The two verbs, גָּאָה (ga’ah) and שָׂגָה (sagah), have almost the same meanings of “flourish, grow, become tall.”

[10:20]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “are not my days few; cease/let it cease….” The versions have “the days of my life” (reading יְמֵי חֶלְדִי [yÿme kheldi] instead of יָמַי וַחֲדָל [yamay vakhadal]). Many commentators and the RSV, NAB, and NRSV accept this reading. The Kethib is an imperfect or jussive, “let it cease/ it will cease.” The Qere is more intelligible for some interpreters – “cease” (as in 7:16). For a discussion of the readings, see D. W. Thomas, “Some Observations on the Hebrew Root hadal,” VTSup 4 [1057]: 14). But the text is not impossible as it stands.

[10:20]  ⁸⁰ tn Taking the form as the imperative with the ו (vav), the sentence follows the direct address to God (as in v. 18 as well as 7:16). This requires less changes. See the preceding note regarding the plausibility of the jussive. The point of the verse is clear in either reading – his life is short, and he wants the suffering to stop.

[10:20]  ⁸¹ tn In the different suggestions for the line, the י (yod) of this word is believed to belong to the preceding word making “my life.” That would here leave an imperative rather than an imperfect. But if the Qere is read, then it would be an imperative anyway, and there would be no reason for the change.

[10:20]  ⁸² tn Heb “put from me,” an expression found nowhere else. The Qere has a ו (vav) and not a י (yod), forming an imperative rather than an imperfect. H. H. Rowley suggests that there is an ellipsis here, “hand” needing to be supplied. Job wanted God to take his hand away from him. That is plausible, but difficult.

[10:20]  ⁸³ tn The verb בָּלַג (balag) in the Hiphil means “to have cheer [or joy]” (see 7:27; Ps 39:14). The cohortative following the imperatives shows the purpose or result – “in order that.”

[15:10]  ⁸⁴ tn The participle שָׂב (sav), from שִׂיב (siv, “to have white hair”; 1 Sam 12:2), only occurs elsewhere in the Bible in the Aramaic sections of Ezra. The word יָשִׁישׁ (yashish, “aged”) occurred in 12:12.

[15:10]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “with us.”

[15:10]  ⁸⁶ tn The line reads: “[men] greater than your father [in] days.” The expression “in days” underscores their age – they were older than Job’s father, and therefore wiser.

[19:15]  ⁸⁷ tn The Hebrew גָּרֵי בֵיתִי (gare beti, “the guests of my house”) refers to those who sojourned in my house – not residents, but guests.

[19:15]  ⁸⁸ tn The form of the verb is a feminine plural, which would seem to lend support to the proposed change of the lines (see last note to v. 14). But the form may be feminine primarily because of the immediate reference. On the other side, the suffix of “their eyes” is a masculine plural. So the evidence lies on both sides.

[19:15]  ⁸⁹ tn This word נָכְרִי (nokhri) is the person from another race, from a strange land, the foreigner. The previous word, גֵּר (ger), is a more general word for someone who is staying in the land but is not a citizen, a sojourner.

[28:4]  ⁹⁰ tc The first part of this verse, “He cuts a shaft far from the place where people live,” has received a lot of attention. The word for “live” is גָּר (gar). Some of the proposals are: “limestone,” on the basis of the LXX; “far from the light,” reading נֵר (ner); “by a foreign people,” taking the word to means “foreign people”; “a foreign people opening shafts”; or taking gar as “crater” based on Arabic. Driver puts this and the next together: “a strange people who have been forgotten cut shafts” (see AJSL 3 [1935]: 162). L. Waterman had “the people of the lamp” (“Note on Job 28:4,” JBL 71 [1952]: 167ff). And there are others. Since there is really no compelling argument in favor of one of these alternative interpretations, the MT should be preserved until shown to be wrong.

[28:4]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “forgotten by the foot.” This means that there are people walking above on the ground, and the places below, these mines, are not noticed by the pedestrians above.

[28:4]  ⁹² sn This is a description of the mining procedures. Dangling suspended from a rope would be a necessary part of the job of going up and down the shafts.

[34:32]  ⁹³ tn Heb “what I do not see,” more specifically, “apart from [that which] I see.”

[1:17]  ⁹⁴ sn The name may have been given to the tribes that roamed between the Euphrates and the lands east of the Jordan. These are possibly the nomadic Kaldu who are part of the ethnic Aramaeans. The LXX simply has “horsemen.”

[1:17]  ⁹⁵ tn The verb פָּשַׁט (pashat) means “to hurl themselves” upon something (see Judg 9:33, 41). It was a quick, plundering raid to carry off the camels.

[1:17]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “with the edge/mouth of the sword.”