Kejadian 22:1

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22:1 Some time after these things God tested ¹  Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham ²  replied.

Ulangan 8:2

8:2 Remember the whole way by which he ³  has brought you these forty years through the desert ⁴  so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.

Ulangan 8:16

8:16 fed you in the desert with manna (which your ancestors had never before known) so that he might by humbling you test you ⁵  and eventually bring good to you.

Ayub 1:11-12

1:11 But ⁶  extend your hand and strike ⁷  everything he has, and he will no doubt ⁸  curse you ⁹  to your face!”

1:12 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right then, ¹⁰  everything he has is ¹¹  in your power. ¹²  Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!” ¹³  So Satan went out ¹⁴  from the presence of the Lord. ¹⁵ 

Ayub 2:3-6

2:3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly ¹⁶  to his integrity, ¹⁷  so that ¹⁸  you stirred me up to destroy him ¹⁹  without reason.” ²⁰ 

2:4 But ²¹  Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for ²²  skin! ²³  Indeed, a man will give up ²⁴  all that he has to save his life! ²⁵  2:5 But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, ²⁶  and he will no doubt ²⁷  curse you to your face!”

2:6 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, ²⁸  he is ²⁹  in your power; ³⁰  only preserve ³¹  his life.”

Mazmur 139:1-2

Psalm 139 ³² 

For the music director, a psalm of David.

139:1 O Lord, you examine me ³³  and know.

139:2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;

even from far away you understand my motives.

Mazmur 139:23-24

139:23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! ³⁴ 

Test me, and know my concerns! ³⁵ 

139:24 See if there is any idolatrous tendency ³⁶  in me,

and lead me in the reliable ancient path! ³⁷ 

Amsal 17:3

17:3 The crucible ³⁸  is for refining ³⁹  silver and the furnace ⁴⁰  is for gold,

likewise ⁴¹  the Lord tests ⁴²  hearts.

Zakharia 13:9

13:9 Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire;

I will refine them like silver is refined

and will test them like gold is tested.

They will call on my name and I will answer;

I will say, ‘These are my people,’

and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” ⁴³ 

Maleakhi 3:2-3

3:2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, ⁴⁴  like a launderer’s soap. 3:3 He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will offer the Lord a proper offering.

Maleakhi 3:1

3:1 “I am about to send my messenger, ⁴⁵  who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord ⁴⁶  you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger ⁴⁷  of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Pengkhotbah 1:7

1:7 All the streams flow ⁴⁸  into the sea, but the sea is not full,

and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again. ⁴⁹ 

Yakobus 1:13

1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, ⁵⁰  and he himself tempts no one.

[22:1]  ¹ sn The Hebrew verb used here means “to test; to try; to prove.” In this passage God tests Abraham to see if he would be obedient. See T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 44-48. See also J. L. Crenshaw, A Whirlpool of Torment (OBT), 9-30; and J. I. Lawlor, “The Test of Abraham,” GTJ 1 (1980): 19-35.

[22:1]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:2]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:2]  ⁴ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.

[8:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “in order to humble you and in order to test you.” See 8:2.

[1:11]  ⁶ tn The particle אוּלָם (’ulam, “but”) serves to restrict the clause in relation to the preceding clause (IBHS 671-73 §39.3.5e, n. 107).

[1:11]  ⁷ tn The force of the imperatives in this sentence are almost conditional – if God were to do this, then surely Job would respond differently.

[1:11]  sn The two imperatives (“stretch out” and “strike”) and the word “hand” all form a bold anthropomorphic sentence. It is as if God would deliver a blow to Job with his fist. But the intended meaning is that God would intervene to destroy Job’s material and physical prosperity.

[1:11]  ⁸ sn The formula used in the expression is the oath formula: “if not to your face he will curse you” meaning “he will surely curse you to your face.” Satan is so sure that the piety is insincere that he can use an oath formula.

[1:11]  ⁹ tn See the comments on Job 1:5. Here too the idea of “renounce” may fit well enough; but the idea of actually cursing God may not be out of the picture if everything Job has is removed. Satan thinks he will denounce God.

[1:12]  ¹⁰ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) introduces a foundational clause upon which the following volitional clause is based.

[1:12]  ¹¹ tn The versions add a verb here: “delivered to” or “abandoned to” the hand of Satan.

[1:12]  ¹² tn Heb “in your hand.” The idiom means that it is now Satan’s to do with as he pleases.

[1:12]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew word order emphatically holds out Job’s person as the exception: “only upon him do not stretch forth your hand.”

[1:12]  ¹⁴ tn The Targum to Job adds “with permission” to show that he was granted leave from God’s presence.

[1:12]  ¹⁵ sn So Satan, having received his permission to test Job’s sincerity, goes out from the Lord’s presence. But Satan is bound by the will of the Most High not to touch Job himself. The sentence gives the impression that Satan’s departure is with a certain eagerness and confidence.

[2:3]  ¹⁶ tn The form is the Hiphil participle, “make strong, seize, hold fast.” It is the verbal use here; joined with עֹדֶנּוּ (’odennu, “yet he”) it emphasizes that “he is still holding firmly.” The testing has simply strengthened Job in his integrity.

[2:3]  ¹⁷ tn This is the same word used to describe Job as “blameless, pure.” Here it carries the idea of “integrity”; Job remained blameless, perfect.

[2:3]  ¹⁸ tn The vav (ו) with the preterite is used here to express the logical conclusion or consequence of what was stated previously. God is saying that Job has maintained his integrity, so that now it is clear that Satan moved against him groundlessly (GKC 328 §111.l).

[2:3]  ¹⁹ tn The verb literally means “to swallow”; it forms an implied comparison in the line, indicating the desire of Satan to ruin him completely. See A Guillaume, “A Note on the Root bala`,” JTS 13 (1962): 320-23; and N. M. Sarna, “Epic Substratum in the Prose of Job,”JBL 76 (1957): 13-25, for a discussion of the Ugaritic deity Mot swallowing up the enemy.

[2:3]  ²⁰ sn Once again the adverb חִנָּם (khinnam, “gratis”) is used. It means “graciously, gratis, free, without cause, for no reason.” Here the sense has to be gratuitously, for no reason.” The point of the verb חָנַן (khanan, “to be gracious”) and its derivatives is that the action is undeserved. In fact, they would deserve the opposite. Sinners seeking grace deserve punishment. Here, Job deserves reward, not suffering.

[2:4]  ²¹ tn The form is the simply preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive. However, the speech of Satan is in contrast to what God said, even though in narrative sequence.

[2:4]  ²² tn The preposition בְּעַד (bÿ’ad) designates interest or advantage arising from the idea of protection for (“for the benefit of”); see IBHS 201-2 §11.2.7a.

[2:4]  ²³ sn The meaning of the expression is obscure. It may come from the idea of sacrificing an animal or another person in order to go free, suggesting the expression that one type of skin that was worth less was surrendered to save the more important life. Satan would then be saying that Job was willing for others to die for him to go free, but not himself. “Skin” would be a synecdoche of the part for the whole (like the idiomatic use of skin today for a person in a narrow escape). The second clause indicates that God has not even scratched the surface because Job has been protected. His “skin” might have been scratched, but not his flesh and bone! But if his life had been put in danger, he would have responded differently.

[2:4]  ²⁴ tc The LXX has “make full payment, pay a full price” (LSJ 522 s.v. ἐκτίνω).

[2:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Indeed, all that a man has he will give for his life.”

[2:5]  ²⁶ sn The “bones and flesh” are idiomatic for the whole person, his physical and his psychical/spiritual being (see further H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 26-28).

[2:5]  ²⁷ sn This is the same oath formula found in 1:11; see the note there.

[2:6]  ²⁸ tn The particle הִנּוֹ (hinno) is literally, “here he is!” God presents Job to Satan, with the restriction on preserving Job’s life.

[2:6]  ²⁹ tn The LXX has “I deliver him up to you.”

[2:6]  ³⁰ tn Heb “hand.”

[2:6]  ³¹ sn The irony of the passage comes through with this choice of words. The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) means “to keep; to guard; to preserve.” The exceptive clause casts Satan in the role of a savior – he cannot destroy this life but must protect it.

[139:1]  ³² sn Psalm 139. The psalmist acknowledges that God, who created him, is aware of his every action and thought. He invites God to examine his motives, for he is confident they are pure.

[139:1]  ³³ tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.

[139:23]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and know my heart.”

[139:23]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sar’apay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.

[139:24]  ³⁶ tn Many understand the Hebrew term עֹצֶב (’otsev) as a noun meaning “pain,” and translate the phrase דֶּרֶךְ עֹצֶב (derekh ’otsev) as “of pain,” but this makes little sense here. (Some interpret it to refer to actions which bring pain to others.) It is preferable to take עֹצֶב as “idol” (see HALOT 865 s.v. I עֹצֶב) and understand “way of an idol” to refer to idolatrous actions or tendency. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.

[139:24]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in the path of antiquity.” This probably refers to the moral path prescribed by the Lord at the beginning of Israel’s history. See Jer 6:16; 18:15, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.

[17:3]  ³⁸ sn The noun מַצְרֵף (matsref) means “a place or instrument for refining” (cf. ASV, NASB “the refining pot”). The related verb, which means “to melt, refine, smelt,” is used in scripture literally for refining and figuratively for the Lord’s purifying and cleansing and testing people.

[17:3]  ³⁹ tn The term “refining” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[17:3]  ⁴⁰ sn The term כּוּר (cur) describes a “furnace” or “smelting pot.” It can be used figuratively for the beneficial side of affliction (Isa 48:10).

[17:3]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and.” Most English versions treat this as an adversative (“but”).

[17:3]  ⁴² sn The participle בֹּחֵן (bokhen, “tests”) in this emblematic parallelism takes on the connotations of the crucible and the furnace. When the Lord “tests” human hearts, the test, whatever form it takes, is designed to improve the value of the one being tested. Evil and folly will be removed when such testing takes place.

[13:9]  ⁴³ sn The expression I will say ‘It is my people,’ and they will say ‘the Lord is my God’ is reminiscent of the restoration of Israel predicted by Hosea, who said that those who had been rejected as God’s people would be reclaimed and once more become his sons and daughters (Hos 2:23).

[3:2]  ⁴⁴ sn The refiner’s fire was used to purify metal and refine it by melting it and allowing the dross, which floated to the top, to be scooped off.

[3:1]  ⁴⁵ tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).

[3:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered Lord). Thus the focus is not on the Lord as the covenant God, but on his role as master.

[3:1]  ⁴⁷ sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.

[1:7]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “are going” or “are walking.” The term הֹלְכִים (holÿkhim, Qal active participle masculine plural from הָלַךְ, halakh,“to walk”) emphasizes continual, durative, uninterrupted action (present universal use of participle). This may be an example of personification; this verb is normally used in reference to the human activity of walking. Qoheleth compares the flowing of river waters to the action of walking to draw out the comparison between the actions of man (1:4) and the actions of nature (1:5-11).

[1:7]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “there they are returning to go.” The term שָׁבִים (shavim, Qal active participle masculine plural from שׁוּב, shuv, “to return”) emphasizes the continual, durative action of the waters. The root שׁוּב is repeated in 1:6-7 to emphasize that everything in nature (e.g., wind and water) continually repeats its actions. For all of the repetition of the cycles of nature, nothing changes; all the constant motion produces nothing new.

[1:7]  sn This verse does not refer to the cycle of evaporation or the return of water by underground streams, as sometimes suggested. Rather, it describes the constant flow of river waters to the sea. For all the action of the water – endless repetition and water constantly in motion – there is nothing new accomplished.

[1:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “God must not be tested by evil people.”