Ayub 6:6

6:6 Can food that is tasteless ¹  be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white ²  of an egg?

Ayub 9:8

9:8 he alone spreads out the heavens,

and treads ³  on the waves of the sea; ⁴ 

Ayub 12:19

12:19 He leads priests away stripped ⁵ 

and overthrows ⁶  the potentates. ⁷ 

Ayub 15:27

15:27 Because he covered his face with fat, ⁸ 

and made ⁹  his hips bulge with fat, ¹⁰ 

Ayub 18:16

18:16 Below his roots dry up,

and his branches wither above.

Ayub 24:25

24:25 “If this is not so, who can prove me a liar

and reduce my words to nothing?” ¹¹ 

Ayub 26:4

26:4 To whom ¹²  did you utter these words?

And whose spirit has come forth from your mouth? ¹³ 

Ayub 28:9

28:9 On the flinty rock man has set to work ¹⁴  with his hand;

he has overturned mountains at their bases. ¹⁵ 

Ayub 35:5

35:5 Gaze at the heavens and see;

consider the clouds, which are higher than you! ¹⁶ 

Ayub 38:28

38:28 Does the rain have a father,

or who has fathered the drops of the dew?

Ayub 41:14

41:14 Who can open the doors of its mouth? ¹⁷ 

Its teeth all around are fearsome.

[6:6]  ¹ tn Heb “a tasteless thing”; the word “food” is supplied from the context.

[6:6]  ² tn Some commentators are not satisfied with the translation “white of an egg”; they prefer something connected to “slime of purslane” (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 59; cf. NRSV “juice of mallows”). This meaning is based on the Syriac and Arabic version of Sa`adia. The meaning “white of the egg” comes from the rabbinic interpretation of “slime of the yolk.” Others carry the idea further and interpret it to mean “saliva of dreams” or after the LXX “in dream words.” H. H. Rowley does not think that the exact edible object can be identified. The idea of the slimy glaring white around the yolk of an egg seems to fit best. This is another illustration of something that is tasteless or insipid.

[9:8]  ³ tn Or “marches forth.”

[9:8]  ⁴ tn The reference is probably to the waves of the sea. This is the reading preserved in NIV and NAB, as well as by J. Crenshaw, “Wÿdorek `al-bamote ‘ares,” CBQ 34 (1972): 39-53. But many see here a reference to Canaanite mythology. The marginal note in the RSV has “the back of the sea dragon.” The view would also see in “sea” the Ugaritic god Yammu.

[12:19]  ⁵ tn Except for “priests,” the phraseology is identical to v. 17a.

[12:19]  ⁶ tn The verb has to be defined by its context: it can mean “falsify” (Exod 23:8), “make tortuous” (Prov 19:3), or “plunge” into misfortune (Prov 21:12). God overthrows those who seem to be solid.

[12:19]  ⁷ tn The original meaning of אֵיתָן (’eytan) is “perpetual.” It is usually an epithet for a torrent that is always flowing. It carries the connotations of permanence and stability; here applied to people in society, it refers to one whose power and influence does not change. These are the pillars of society.

[15:27]  ⁸ sn This verse tells us that he is not in any condition to fight, because he is bloated and fat from luxurious living.

[15:27]  ⁹ tn D. W. Thomas defends a meaning “cover” for the verb עָשָׂה (’asah). See “Translating Hebrew `asah,” BT 17 [1966]: 190-93.

[15:27]  ¹⁰ tn The term פִּימָה (pimah), a hapax legomenon, is explained by the Arabic fa’ima, “to be fat.” Pope renders this “blubber.” Cf. KJV “and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.”

[24:25]  ¹¹ tn The word אַל (’al, “not”) is used here substantivally (“nothing”).

[26:4]  ¹² tn The verse begins with the preposition and the interrogative: אֶת־מִי (’et-mi, “with who[se help]?”). Others take it as the accusative particle introducing the indirect object: “for whom did you utter…” (see GKC 371 §117.gg). Both are possible.

[26:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “has gone out from you.”

[28:9]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew verb is simply “to stretch out; to send” (שָׁלח, shalakh). With יָדוֹ (yado, “his hand”) the idea is that of laying one’s hand on the rock, i.e., getting to work on the hardest of rocks.

[28:9]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew מִשֹּׁרֶשׁ (mishoresh) means “from/at [their] root [or base].” In mining, people have gone below ground, under the mountains, and overturned rock and dirt. It is also interesting that here in a small way humans do what God does – overturn mountains (cf. 9:5).

[35:5]  ¹⁶ tn The preposition is taken here as a comparative min (מִן). The line could also read “that are high above you.” This idea has appeared in the speech of Eliphaz (22:12), Zophar (11:7ff.), and even Job (9:8ff.).

[41:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “his face.”