PRINCETON, N. J. Part bt' the ♦ ADDI60N Al R LIBRARY, which ■•• i pn f" 1 UinSRS. K. L. • l v- Section ! Co- si'. Shelf, Book, i !*^^^** ... BS/4-/S- i L * • • a L • • t * JOB AND HIS TIMES, A PICTURE OF THE PATRIARCHAL AGE DURING THE PERIOD BETWEEN NOAH AND ABRAHAM, AS REGARDS THE STATE OF RELIGION AND MORALITY, ARTS AND SCIENCES, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, &c. A NEW VERSION OF THAT MOST ANCIENT POEM, ACCOMPANIED WITH NOTES AND DISSERTATIONS. THE WHOLE ADAPTED TO THE ENGLISH READER. THOMAS "WEMYSS, AUTHOR OF BIBLICAL GLEANINGS, SYMBOLICAL DICTIONARY, AND OTHER WORKS. LONDON : JACKSON AND WALFORD, 18, st. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD. 1839. LONDON : ill II Alii) (LAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET MILL TO MY MUCH-LOVED FAMILY, THIS WORK, COMPOSED UNDER THE DOMESTIC ROOF, IS DEDICATED, WITH ALL THE AFFECTION OF A HUSBAND AND A FATHER PRAYING THAT IF EVER THEY ARE VISITED WITH AFFLICTIONS LIKE THOSE OF THE PATRIARCH, THEY MAY BE ENABLED TO EXHIBIT SOMEWHAT OF HIS FAITH AND RESIGNATION. PREFACE. Accustomed for many years to read the Scriptures with great attention in the course of domestic devo- tional exercise ; and believing, as Dr. Wall observes, " that it is the duty of every Christian, who has a near prospect of forsaking this world, to leave off, in a great measure, the reading of other books, and to spend the remainder of his time chiefly in the perusal and study of the Holy Scriptures," the Author of the following work was led to examine the book of Job, in conse- quence of his becoming particularly impressed with it, as a book of a very singular nature, whether we regard its scope or composition ; as at first sight remarkably obscure in its meaning ; as bearing the stamp of a very high antiquity ; as containing the only deli- neation of patriarchal religion ; and as presenting an interesting picture of primitive manners, and the sim- plicity of the earliest times. Having formed his determination, the Author had recourse to the Hebrew original, to the Septuagint version, to the Latin Vulgate, to the version of Junius and Tremellius, of Arias Montanus, of Dathe, &c. ; to the French versions of Bridel and La Cone ; and VI PREFACE. to the English versions of Scott, Good, Wellbeloved, and an anonymous translator. From these, unitedly, he formed his own, making- perspicuity his main object, and avoiding- scholastic language as far as possible. In cases of difficulty, and these were not few, he found much advantage in studying the context, and bringing out a meaning in conformity to its scope ; nor did he disdain to use the readings of the Seventy when he saw in them a preferable, that is, a more coherent sense. In addition to the Hebrew Lexicons, he had re- course to Dr. Taylor's admirable Concordance, to Durell's Critical Notes, to the Philologia Sacra of Glassius, and to several other subsidia of the same kind. To enumerate the various authors he consulted on this occasion, would be no easy task. He has spared no labour in order to render his work com- plete. For those Notes which are not original, he is indebted to some of the authors above referred to ; and he prefers making a general acknowledgment in this place, in order to save the trouble of future reference ; though he has for most part appended the name of the author in the passages where such Notes occur. The Dissertations were formed on no regular plan, but were written as the subjects presented themselves ; brevity and condensation being principally aimed at, and an adaptation to the capacity of the mere English reader. Nothing would have been more easy than to enlarge at great length on all the several points, to Bwell the book, and to make a display of learned and PREFACE. Vll critical inquiry ; but he has contented himself with setting- down the passages on which the dissertations are founded, and drawing- the inferences which these sug-g-est. Calling no man master, he has not scrupled to deviate from the popular creed ; but where he has done this, he has been prompted by no desire of singularity, but solely by conviction and the love of truth. He has no wish to force his conclusions on any one ; indeed he knows it to be in vain to attempt this, since men are with difficulty brought to embrace truths of far greater obviousness, especially those truths which have acquired a bad name in consequence of their being held by, or found in connexion with, certain ill-favoured classes of religionists. In matters pertaining to Divine revelation, it is truly pitiable to see men range themselves under certain banners, as if the light which emanates from God were itself a partizan. May the world be speedily delivered from this base thraldom of the mind ! The pictures here represented to us are such as can be met with nowhere else. A good man — a man eminently good — is selected from among the sons of men, and made the subject on whom all the calami- ties incident to mankind were doomed to fall, except two, and these two nearly allied to each other — the loss of reason and of a good conscience. It is in truth a noble spectacle to see a man possessed of these, rising triumphant over every other bereavement. It proves in what true riches consist, and whence genuine fortitude arises ; the stream of his happiness cannot be dried up by all the scorching of adversity, for its viii PREFACE. source is in God. Never, since the beginning of time, was a siirht more truly grand presented to the human view, with the exception of " the Man of sorrows" himself, than this excellent patriarch struggling with every successive trial, maintaining the conflict with an undaunted mind, firmly avowing his integrity, appeal- ing for his sincerity to the Searcher of hearts himself, boldly calling upon God to put him on his trial, and determined to succumb to no other charge but his. The friends of Job exhibit a portrait of human weakness ; they suffer the fountain of sympathy and compassion to be completely dried up, in their eager- ness to maintain a plausible but unsound hypothesis, namely, that because calamities in general are the fruits of sin, therefore they are such in all cases. In vain do they exhaust their powers of rhetoric, — for of logic they possessed but a scanty portion, — in vain do they alternately use crimination, irony, sarcasm, an appeal to experience and antiquity, trite maxims, sage sentences, and all the treasures of Idumean lore ; Job stands unconvinced and unconvicted, — repels their charges with vehemence, plaintively bewails his con- dition, complains of their misplaced severity of judg- ment, and confidently appeals to the future for some conspicuous vindication of his character. The friends adhere with painful pertinacity to their unjust cen- sures, till the Almighty Arbiter interferes, and decides the contest in favour of the sufferer. The manners and customs of that day, so far as they can be gleaned from the narrative and colloquies, are evidently those of the most remote antiquity; yet PREFACE. IX they are such as plainly to show, that the arts and sciences had made 'greater progress in that age, than we of modern times are apt to allow. Claiming to ourselves many improvements, — the fruits of labour and ingenuity in our own day ; and puffed up with the supposed superiority of our discoveries over any that had been heretofore made, — we are in the habit of imagining that our forefathers lagged far behind us in the march of science ; and that their day was the infancy of all the arts. No decision can be more unjust. How is it to be accounted for, that the gold coins of the early Roman emperors are distinguished for the delicacy of their execution, as well as for the purity of the metal, and those of the later for their coarseness and alloy? Yet such is the fact. There are seasons, when the arts thrive, and when they decay, altogether independently of the lapse of time ; nor is it the particular century or age of the world that affects their prosperity, but the condition of man- kind, and the character of the times. Arts and sciences are not dependent on the growth of years ; nor is it likely, in the last age of the world, that they will excel all their former excellence : and if this be allowed, it need excite no wonder that in Job's day, which might comparatively be called the morning of the world's existence, they might be found to have arrived at a perfection and extent which we are in general back- ward to attribute to them. " The book," as Leon de Laborde observes, (Journey through Arabia, p. 8,) n displays a state of society in which a gradation of classes was acknowledged, the sciences were cultivated, X PREFACE. the fine arts were not unknown, luxury prevailed to a very considerable extent, the operations of war had been reduced to order ; commerce, by sea and land, had been carried on with foreign countries ; and almost all the ordinary mechanical trades with which we are now acquainted, afforded occupation to nume- rous families. Fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses, not only bespoke the princely rank of Job, but also indicated his extensive territorial possessions ; oxen being principally employed in the East in plough- ing the soil and treading out the corn. " They were acquainted with the use of scales, (chap, vi. 2,) and the weaver's shuttle, (chap. vii. 6 ;) they made cheese from milk, (chap. x. 10;) their gardens were protected by ground-traps and snares, (chap, xviii. 9, 10;) they were accustomed to cut inscrip- tions on tablets, (chap. xix. 24 ;) they had steel bows for their archers, (chap. xx. 24 ;) their arrows were kept in quivers, and they bore in battle the spear and shield, as well as the sword, (chap, xxxix. 22, 23.) The combat was animated by the sound of the trum- pet, (chap, xxxix. 24.) The war-horse of Idumea in those days is finely described, as having his neck clothed with thunder, (chap, xxxix. 19.) They had already turned their attention to astronomy; and the regions of the sky below their latitude they mystically described as 'the chambers of the south,' (chap. ix. {).) In natural history, they were acquainted with the habits of a variety of animals; they were conversant with the arts of mining; they also manufactured PREFACE. XI brass, and set a high value on precious stones, as well as on the gold of Ophir. They manufactured oil and wine. The soil was deemed of sufficient value to be divided by landmarks. They were acquainted with the extremes of wealth and poverty, and amused themselves with dancing to the sound of the timbrel, harp, and pipe. They had regular tribunals for the trial and punishment of offences. They were ac- quainted with the use of money ; they wore gold ear-rings, they used ointment, and possessed looking- glasses of polished metal. In short, it is plain, that the Edomites or Idumeans were the most intellectual, and in every respect the most civilized nation then in existence upon the earth." It was to explore that country, and its singular capital, Petra, that Monsieur de Laborde directed his steps from Egypt through the desert, to Mount Sinai and the country beyond, till he came to the City of Rocks, the most singular monument of ancient times, and the most remarkable fulfilment of scripture prophecy. Transported back into the regions of antiquity, and conversing with the sages of the primeval world, the fantastic vanities of the present day dwindle into in- significance, and all the pretensions of our contem- poraries seem as dust in the balance. There was a majesty, a grandeur, a solidity, and a solemnity in the transactions and characters of the patriarchal times, to which the frothiness and puerilitv of our manners and customs form a pitiable contrast. There was evidently an expansion and elevation of mind in the men of those times, to which the human race in Xll PREFACE. general is now a stranger. The pursuit of truth dis- tinguished the former ; the pursuit of wealth marks the latter. A strong religious feeling, and a reference of every thing to God, characterized the one ; a practical atheism and an impious presumption are the features of the other. Superior as the Christian economy is to all prior dispensations of religion, it does not appear to have wrought its proper effects in the human mind ; it has lost its native energy, or been wofully corrupted from its pristine simplicity ; since the saints of Job's period appear to have served God with a fidelity, purity, and acceptance, which we vainly look for in our own times. I leave this problem for the solution of those who are addicted to such investi- gations, this not being the proper place to pursue the inquiry. Should the reader derive any benefit from the perusal of the following pages, the Author trusts it may influence him to a more extended study of the Sacred Writings, — the genuine medicine of the mind, — the lamp of Eternal Truth, — the storehouse of consecrated wisdom, — by whose maxims alone life may be safely regulated, — under whose guidance alone death may be safely encountered. CONTENTS. Introductory Considerations, relative to the Book of Job. PAGE 1. General Scheme of the Book 1 2. Design of the Book 3 3. Canonicity of the Book 5 4. Integrity of the Book 7 5. Language in which it is written 9 G. Not a Dramatic Composition 11 7. Objections to its Antiquity 14 8. The same, on another ground 16 9. Allusions to Ancient Customs 18 10. Supposed Allusions to Egypt 24 11. Supposed Historical Allusions 26 12. Passages relating to the Messiah 29 1 3. Figures of Speech used in the Book 38 14. Qualities of Style 50 15. Elegiac Poetry 54 16. Hebraisms 55 17. Various Readings 60 18. Parallel Passages 71 19. Doctrines deducible 77 20. Occurrence of the name Jehovah 79 21. Additions of the LXX 80 22. Writer of the Book 82 Considerations relative to Job and his Circumstances. 1. Scene of the Poem 93 2. .Era of Job 95 3. Job a Real Person 98 4. Supposed Royalty of Job 99 5. The Disease of Job 101 6. The Wife of Job 103 7. The Daughters of Job 108 8. The Friends of Job HO 9. The Religion of the Patriarchs 112 10. The Religion of Job 114 11. The Morality of Job U9 12. Instances of his Irreverence 125 13. Job's Ideas of a Future State 127 14. Proof that Job's Friends knew nothing of Patriarchal History 133 \i\ ( ONTENTS. PAGE 15, Notices of Job in the Koran 134 The \iu Version 137 The Notes oh the Version 221 Supplementary Illustrations. 1. Sons of God 275 2. I'rivy Council of God 27G 3. The Satan of the Jews 283 4. Houses of Clay 285 5. Saints 286 G. The Divine Administration 287 7. The Stocks 28S 8. Gnashing of Teeth 289 9. Plurality of Persons 291 10. Sepulchral Rites 292 11. The Rephaim 294 12. Idolatrous Practices 297 13. Palmistry 300 14. Gates of Death 301 15. The Septenary Number 303 State of Arts and Sciences in Job's Day. 1. The Arts 307 2. The Medical Art 309 3. The Military Art 311 4. Modes of Travelling 313 5. Of Hunting 316 G. Of Writing 318 7. Mining Operations 319 8. Precious Stones 321 9. Coins 323 10. Process of Refining 325 1 1. Musical Instruments 32G 12. Cosmology 328 13. Astronomy 330 14. Meteorology ;;;; 1 1 ■'< . \ urora Borealis 340 1 G. Volcanoes • 344 17. V egetahle Productions ;) 4 (> is. Zoology 348 19. Behemoth and Leviathan 300 2(). Judicial Proceedings 3G1 Addenda ;•<;.', List or AUTHORS WHO HATE written on the Book or Jou 372 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS RELATIVE TO TIIF. BOOK OF JOB. INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS RELATIVE TO THE BOOK OF JOB. GENERAL SCHEME OF THE BOOK. An Arabian Prince, or Emir, is represented as living in the midst of his family, enjoying a life of unmixed prosperity, the consequence of his exemplary piety and rectitude. Suddenly the scene changes, and this excellent man is visited by a series of overwhelming calamities, the result of a transaction which passed in the council of the Most High, into the secret of which the reader is for a moment admitted. Three of his friends, princes or sages, come from a distance to condole with him. Astonished at his bereaved condition, they are pre- vented for a time from giving utterance to their feelings; but revolving in their minds, during that interval of silence, the series of calamities that had befallen the Patriarch, they come to the conclusion, that so severe a suffering must have been the fruit of extraordinary transgression on the part of Job. Meanwhile, he gives vent to the agony of his mind in terms the most passionate, execrates the day of his birth, and pours out effusions of the deepest anguish. At length, the eldest of the friends addresses him, but in no soothing tones ; and the other two, following up the same line of argument, charge Job directly, or by implication, with some unusual dereliction B X INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. of duty. To eacli of them, separately, the Patriarch replies. A second time, they reiterate their charges; — a second time Job vindicates himself. They repeat similar criminations a third time, and a third time receive similar answers. A mo- derator at length steps forward, and, in language more calm and philosophical, pronounces his opinion of the case. At last, the Deity interposes, and in a series of majestic inter- rogatories, convinces the whole party of their error, in forming false estimates of his administration ; shows them their nothingness in the scale of creation, restores his faithful servant to more than his former prosperity, accepts of his intercession for his friends, and thus the history has a happy conclusion. This is the brief outline of a narrative, which, abating some impetuous bursts on the part of Job, arising from the extreme severity of his sufferings, and his anxiety to vindicate his character from reproach, presents to the mind a picture of moral grandeur, to which we find no parallel in human history. In the course of the dialogue, much is said on both sides respecting the Divine power, justice, and providence, the scheme of the Divine administration, how far God punishes children for the iniquities of their fathers, and similar dis- cussions, all of them interesting, and ably handled, provided the sentiments were in every instance correct ; but, strange to say, the whole party appear ignorant of that grand truth, which would have solved these enigmas, namely, the doctrine of the soul's immortality, and of a future state of existence. To this they make no reference. The whole work tends to produce deep impressions of the wisdom and majesty of God, to inculcate unwavering faith and unreserved submission, to lead to an acknowledgment of our ignorance and weakness, and to wait in patience for a solution of those mysteries in which the present scene of tlungs is so thoroughly enveloped. DESIGN OF THE BOOK. DESIGN OF THE BOOK. That temporal calamities are not always sent as punish- ments of sin, but simply as trials of faith and patience, and as instructive examples to others. That submission to the will of Heaven is not only the indispensable duty of afflicted per- sons, but the most probable means of procuring their deliver- ance and restoration. That God doth not willingly afflict the children of men, but has always some higher purpose in view, — that his administration of the world must be an equitable one, since it could be no profit to him to oppress his crea- tures, — that God deals with every being in his immense family, in a manner suited to its nature, wants, and desti- nation — that in his sight nothing is too lofty, nothing too low ; that the hawk flies by his wisdom, and the eagle soars at his command ; that even the frightful crocodile and the huge rhinoceros are the objects of his care, and master-pieces of Divine workmanship. That pain, disease, poverty, be- reavement, in every case, have some higher end than the mere arbitrary infliction of calamity, — that the sum and substance of human comfort, in times of trial, is a humble but firm confidence in God, — that the Divine eye is always open and attentive to the affairs and actions of his human offspring, and that there is a close connexion between the Divine super- intendence and the subordinate causes and effects that arise in the natural and moral world. That God needs not the vindi- cation of his character by his creatures, but can always under- take his own defence, — that as the prosperity of the wicked is not of long duration, so neither is the calamity of the righteous ; — that the wicked are sometimes exalted, only to make their fall more conspicuous; that the righteous are sometimes depressed, and apparently deserted, only to make the Divine regard for them more eminently and triumphantly seen. Such are some of the principal maxims which it appears to be the design of the book to inculcate. The whole seems intended to demonstrate the insufficiency of human reason, b 2 ■* INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. and the rashness of men, whether in attempting to fathom the depths of Divine Providence in the government of the uni- verse, or in pronouncing dogmatically on the causes of the happiness or misery of individual men. All this is effected, not in a dry, formal, didactic way, but by means of an animated and prolonged discussion, each speaker taking his turn, and all being seated, according to the manner of the East. The whole is carried on in a style highly figurative and poetical, and embellished with a profusion of splendid images. Each speaker, as is common in such dis- cussions, is represented as retaining his own opinions. An interlocutor appears, and places the subject in a different light. He is interrupted by the appearance of the Deity. A thunder- storm is formed in the distance, and draws nearer. A profound silence reigns throughout nature ; at length an awful peal is heard ; the cloud bursts, and there proceeds from it a majestic voice, which, in a series of unanswerable interrogations, makes manifest, that his power is irresistible, and his counsels in- scrutable ; that the first and best duty of his creatures is un- reserved submission to his will, and an entire confidence in his decisions. The whole is calculated to produce the deepest humi- lity in man, and to lead to the most exalted conceptions of God. Thus, the book is a continual and enduring lesson on the providence of the Creator and our dependence, — on his power and our weakness, — on his greatness and our nothingness. Besides all this, the book has singular attractions, on ac- count of its prodigious antiquity, being by far the oldest of all the books that have come down to our times, and including fragments of didactic poetry which probably belonged to the antediluvian period. It is also a kind of patriarchal ency- clopaedia, as containing distinct, though brief, traces of philo- sophy, morals and history, as existing in these remote ages. The reader is transported into a distant land, in times not far removed from the cradle of the human race ; he finds himself in a new region, amongst men and manners previously un- known. Every thing wears a primitive, simple, and foreign aspect. The countenance of the people is grave, their manner dignified, their speech oracular.- The fire and eagerness of CANONICITY OF THE BOOK. 3 the eastern character are ready to burst forth, but the calmness and philosophy of the sage repress them. Their religious views are simple, but sublime : they know God, and revere him ; and each, in his own way, is indignant at any attack made on the equity of the Supreme Governor ; but they know nothing of the immortality of the soul, or of a world to come. Neither do they seem to have had any glimpse of a Redeemer, unless it were through the medium of the one rite of sacrifice, of which they would probably inquire the meaning, or they might learn traditionally the early promise of the victory to be ob- tained at some future period over the serpent by the woman's seed. Of all this, however, there is no trace in the book. To those who have suffered affliction, and whose tranquillity has been repeatedly broken by painful visitations, this book affords inestimable resources, in the way of consolation ; and to those who are of a contemplative and serious mind, there is no work more fit to make us feel the inanity of all human things, to detach our hearts from present scenes, and to direct our thoughts towards a better world. CANONICITY OF THE BOOK. We have little or no certain knowledge of the formation of the Jewish canon. All is conjecture. No one can confidently say, how, when, or by whom, the books which now compose it, were compiled, collected, and arranged. The early part of the Old Testament Scriptures may have been methodized by Moses ; a later part by Samuel ; a later still by Ezra, or by any of those we are accustomed to call the Minor Prophets, who lived in the last ages of the Jewish dispensation. That Job himself, I mean his history, and perhaps the book also, which contained that history, was known in the time of Ezekiel, is clear from the book of that prophet, chap. xiv. 14, 20. Now Ezekiel flourished about GOO years before Christ, and the book might have been admitted into the canon in, or before 6 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. liis day. If not, Obadiah, who was an Idumean, and who flourished nearly at the same time, might have introduced it among the sacred writings. At any rate the Seventy translated it about 277 years before Christ ; Josephus places it in the number of historical writings; Philo the Jew cites a fragment of it ; part of it is evidently imitated by Baruch ; the subject of it is mentioned in the book of Tobit ; and in the catalogue of Jewish canonical books, drawn up by Melito, Bishop of Sardis, near the end of the second century, we find it inserted after the Song of Songs, on the supposition that it was written by Solomon. Jerome introduced it into the Vulgate ; almost all the Fathers of the Church have quoted it. The Talmud places it after the book of Psalms, so that Jews and Christians equally acknowledge its canonicity. It is twice quoted in the New Testament, and James refers to its history. The quotations in the New Testa- ment are the following : — Job v. 13. " He taketh the wise in their own craftiness ;" quoted in 1 Cor. iii. 19, where Paul prefaces his quotation by the words "It is written," agreeably to the common form of quoting from other parts of Scripture. Job xxxix. 30. " Where the slain are, there is she," (*. e. the eagle,) quoted in Matt. xxiv. 28, and Luke xvii. 37. The book of Job presents internal characters of inspiration. It is founded on the grand principle of the Unity of God, as opposed to Polytheism, a principle which could only be known at that epoch by revelation. The morality it contains is ex- cellent, and is in harmony with that of Jesus Christ and his Apostles. It is very remarkable, that, on analyzing the book, with a view to discover the moral laws which regulated the conduct of the ancient Idumeans, before the publication of the Decalogue, and the departure of Israel from Egypt, we find a complete manual of practical morality, the oldest in the world, being not less than three thousand five hundred years, and bearing every mark, from its purity and simplicity, of a divine origin. INTEGRITY OF THE BOOK. INTEGRITY OF THE BOOK. The book, as elsewhere noticed, consists partly of a nar- rative, but chiefly of discourses. These last are closely connected with the narrative, and the one would be unintel- ligible without the other. Not that we are obliged to view them as uttered in the precise terms here delivered, for such poetical and rhetorical speeches as these are not wont to be spoken extempore, on sudden occasions, especially when men are in great perturbation of mind, and dejection of spirit, as Job himself was. Nor is a regular train of reason- ing, with corresponding replies, such as we find here, likely to be carried on, without some premeditation. But the sub- stance of what they said is conveyed in the form we now have it, as a composition designed for the instruction of the suffering righteous in every succeeding age. That those speeches are not merely improvisatory, is plain, from the form of the versification — from the exactness of the thoughts — from the studied comparisons — from the consistency of the argument, and the unity of design. That they occurred at first in the manner described, is most probable ; and they were afterwards transferred to the canvass, as we now have them, by an unknown writer, superintended by the Holy Spirit. Whether we have them precisely in the same forms in which they were originally penned, is another consideration. Although the paternal care of Providence has watched over the preservation of the sacred books, for the maintenance of true religion in the world, and for the production and con- firmation of faith, otherwise they would never have descended, as they have done, to our times, but might have been lost along with innumerable other records of antiquity ; yet the same Providence has not interfered, at the expense of a con- tinual miracle, to watch over the various copyists of the manuscripts of Holy Writ, to preserve them from the possi- bility of error. Hence, in the usual order of human imper- 8 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. fection, numerous faults of orthography, omissions of words or letters, and transpositions of lines and verses, if not of entire paragraphs, have naturally occurred. And it shews no want of reverence for the Inspired Writings, nor any insen- sibility of their value, but the contrary, to detect these faults, and to endeavour to amend them. Words and phrases omitted in the text have been some- times placed on the margin of the manuscript, to be reinstated in their proper situations when recopied ; but the next tran- scriber, mistaking the place, has inserted them out of their proper order. Glosses also, made on the margin, for the proprietor's own private use, have been transferred to the text, by the next proprietor or copyist, and have thus become integral parts of Scripture, though originally meant only for its interpretation. That these things are to be lamented in the case of any important document, still more in the case of the sacred writings, is certain ; but how were such mistakes to be prevented, except by a constant miracle ? Men wrote anciently on small detached leaves, which in all probability were not paged or numbered, and which, when they afterwards fell into unskilful hands, were easily liable to be displaced. Hence occasional transpositions have occurred. If the parchments were narrow, they wrote only on one column ; if broad, upon two or three, so that words and phrases might pass from one column to another ; and when this happened the manuscript became of course confused and incomprehensible. If there remained at the end of a roll any vacant space, it was sometimes filled up by a fragment or little piece foreign to the work itself; and this, not being always distinguished by a proper interval or mark, came to be con- sidered by ignorant transcribers as part of the work itself, was embodied accordingly, and thenceforth was viewed as part of the original. Sometimes the material on which the work was written, was of a frail nature, and liable to corrosion by worms, or otherwise ; hence passages became illegible, or portions were entirely lost, so that it became impossible to repair the loss; hence resulted considerable alterations. (See Kennicott's Remarks.) LANGUAGE IN WHICH IT IS WRITTEN. V The ancients wrote also in a continued series ; that is to say, ivithout dividing their tvords ; the marks which served to sepa- rate one word from another became unknown, and the figures of those consonants called final, and which might serve to indicate the end of some words at least, ceased to be used or to be understood. It was therefore a matter of no small difficulty to separate words correctly, and also to construct sentences, without running them into one another. All these causes operated to produce various readings, uncertainty of meaning, and the like. And these have no doubt had their influence on the book of Job, as well as on other parts of the sacred writings ; otherwise the harmony and correspondence of the several parts of the book would have been more apparent. Some have thought that the 28th chapter is out of its place, and ought to have formed the conclusion of the book, at least of the discourses ; and in our translation we have placed it at the end of the book, as a more appropriate situation. There are other transpositions, of which we have taken notice in the course of the translation. But such altera- tions require great caution, and the whole subject is one of extreme delicacy and difficulty, on account of the reverence due to the sacred writings. LANGUAGE IN WHICH IT IS WRITTEN. The poem contains, in the opinion of eminent linguists, a greater number of Arabic words, terminations, and forms, than any other book in the Old Testament ; yet it is not writ- ten in Arabic, nor yet, strictly speaking, in Hebrew, but in that mixed dialect which may be termed the medium between the Mosaic Hebrew and the Arabic. It is well known that the Oriental languages have a strong affinity to each other, and that they are all derived from a parent tongue, called the Semitic, as being spoken in the family of Shem. The de- scendants of that patriarch separated, to inhabit different countries. Of two emigrations, one was that of the Jocta- 10 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. nides, vvlio peopled Arabia tlie Happy ; another, that of the Nachorites, of whom some stopped in Palestine, and others established themselves on the border of the Desert. These last comprised a variety of people, Midianites, Idumeans, &c., by all of whom the Semitic language was spoken ; till at length time, distance, climate, mode of life, discoveries in arts and sciences, and other causes, introduced new modifica- tions, which altered its form more and more, till it finally disappeared, and the dialects which sprang from it became languages in their turn, receiving accessions as time advanced. The dialect of the book of Job may therefore be described as the Semitic language already sensibly altered, but bearing strong marks of the very highest antiquity ; and the poem, as a work evidently composed before the age of Moses, in Idumea, and by a Nachorite writer, or at least by one who understood their language. Hence the Arabic complexion and colouring, the local manners, and the images it presents. Some have said, that the Chaldaisms, Syriasms, and Arab- isms which abound in the work, clearly prove the lateness of its production. But we have the authority of the most dis- tinguished scholars, Schultens and Michaelis, in pronouncing that the charge of Chaldaisms is totally erroneous. Kennicott also shows that there are no charges of this kind against the book of Job, that will not equally affect the book of Genesis. That expressions of Syriac and Arabic affinity frequently occur, there can indeed be no question. This stands upon the authority of the most distinguished scholars, — Bochart, Pocock, Hottinger, and Walton. Nor is this denied by Schultens, Kennicott, and Michaelis. But from this they infer the remote antiquity of the work ; since, says Michaelis, the Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic are not to be considered so much different languages, as dialects of one radical language, origi- nally common to the descendants of Abraham ; and the higher we ascend, the more resemblance we shall consequently find. But besides, Michaelis adds, that one principal reason for our attributing to the book of Job, Chaldaic, Syriac, and Arabic expressions, may be its very great antiquity, and uncommon sublimity, occasioning a greater number of expres- NOT A DRAMATIC COMPOSITION. 11 sions difficult to be understood : which commentators are con- sequently led to explain from those several languages ; not because the words strictly belong to them, but because there are more books, and better understood in those languages, than in the Hebrew ; and hence it is supposed that the expres- sions actually belong to those languages. So that we may see the justness of Bishop Lowth's remark, that " from the lan- guage, and even from the obscurity of the work, no less than from its subject, it may fairly be inferred to be the most ancient of all the sacred books." And this mixture of foreign expres- sions goes far to prove that the author was not a Jew, but to have been originally from Idumea, or at least well acquainted with that country. Those who wish to see examples of the Arabisms, Syri- asms, and Chaldaisms said to exist in this book, may consult the Prolegomena of Walton, the Philology of Hottinger, Bochart's Hierozoicon and Sacred Geography, Pocock's works, Grotius on Job, &c. &c. NOT A DRAMATIC COMPOSITION. The book has been supposed by some to possess a dra- matic character ; but this opinion is contradicted by the style of the commencement and the close, which are undoubtedly narrative; also by the regular intervention of the historian himself, at the beginning of every speech, to inform us of the name of the speaker. Besides, there is no action in the work, and action is essential to the drama : all is still and quiet, and exhibits merely the tenor of ordinary colloquy. Long dis- courses of an argumentative kind, and proverbial sentences, constitute the essence of the book. There is a certain kind of division and arrangement in the conferences, but there are no scenes, in the dramatic sense of that term. We have a meeting of Eastern sages, who dispute about the order of Providence, as exemplified in the patriarch's case ; a sort of 12 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. contest on the real cause of God's visitation of Job ; conse- quently there is no drama. Neither is it necessary to characterise the composition, farther than by saying, that, except its exordium and its close, it is undoubtedly poetical from beginning to end : and some persons, such as Jerome, go so far as to say, that it is written in hexameter verses, consisting of dactyls and spon- dees ; but this is an assertion difficult to verify, as we have long since lost the true pronunciation of the Hebrew language. Jerome himself acknowledges that other feet frequently occur, and that the measure of the verses often differs in the number of the syllables of the several feet. We consider the whole of this as matter of conjecture. As to the form of its composition, consisting of several dis- courses, delivered by different interlocutors, and which appear too refined and sublime for mere extemporary effusions, the Orientals were well known to have been fond of such meet- ings, and of holding long conversations and reasonings, in elevated expressions and proverbial phrases, proposed and answered with an eloquent facility. We are not bound to suppose that these conferences were held at one sitting, but took place according to the feelings and convenience of the several speakers. It is not at all probable that the whole happened without interruption, rest, or refreshment. If the friends, during the first interview, remained seven days and seven nights without speaking a word, the subsequent dis- courses must have taken place after certain intervals. Of these discourses there are nine series, each of which must have occupied at least one day, in the slow, deliberate, and senten- tious manner of Eastern conversation and discussion, which has more of the solemn and oracular form than is consistent with our modern flippancy and fluency. Nor would it be surprising if the space of one day at least intervened between these different conferences, or even more than that ; and it is scarcely to be thought that Job's disease would allow him to carry on such frequent colloquies, without intermissions of repose. However this may be, there is a perfect unity of design in the whole composition ; and whether viewed in the NOT A DRAMATIC COMPOSITION. 13 light of a merely literary production, an inspired narrative, or a faithful record of actual facts, it carries with it all the marks of a very remote antiquity. Still there are some parts of the book which have much of a dramatic character. The three friends recite their parts. Job replies to each of them in turn. Nothing is decided or brought to issue. At length a spectator interferes, and courteously begs leave to take a part, after the others had exhausted their materials of disputation. He speaks well, but not with sufficient authority to close the controversy. At last the Almighty interposes, pronounces sentence on all parties, and awards each his due. This is the finale, or winding up of the scene. It is to be inferred, too, from several passages, that an audience was present at the whole debate, who, no doubt, took a lively interest in the scene, their sympathies being roused or repressed according to the conviction produced in their minds by the different speakers in their turn. But though all this be true, still, to call the poem a drama, or a tragedy, or the like, would be highly absurd, since that species of composition was utterly unknown in Job's day, and was a modern invention of the Greeks, who lived near the 100th Olympiad ; that is to say, which was not known till about four centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ, Epigenes or Thespis being the first inventors of Tragedy, and Eupolis or Cratinus those of Comedy, more than 2000 years after the computed time of Job. Were the book a mere dramatic composition, the work of some unknown poet, it would not have been written as it is; for Poetry, like Painting, endeavours to conceal the defects of its subject, by throwing some drapery over them; whereas, here we have not only represented to us Job's patience, but his impatience, — not merely his resignation, but his murmurs, — not simply his faith, but his despair. He feels every thing with deep sensibility, — he passes rapidly from one passion to its contrary, — he is now irritated, then calmed, — now he implores pity, then he demands justice, — he now addresses God as a tender father, then he complains of him as a severe master, — he loves life, and yet he sighs for death, — he smiles 14 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. on meeting with a sepulchre, he shudders on the brink of a tomb. His weaknesses arc brought out fully on the canvas ; and this is the supreme beauty of Holy Writ, in all its parts, that there is no attempt made to conceal human deformity, any more than to exaggerate it ; the only anxiety of Scripture being to do justice to the Divine character, to represent the great Parent in endearing aspects, and to vindicate the ways of God to man. OBJECTIONS TO ITS ANTIQUITY, FROM THE SUPPOSED REFERENCE TO PRIOR EVENTS. The following have been adduced as evidences of the late origin of the book ; — viz. Chap. ix. 7, referred to the miraculous darkness in Egypt, or the sun's standing still in Joshua's time. Chap. xii. 17 — 25, referred to the circumstances preceding and attending the Babylonish captivity. Chap. xii. 24, referred to the destruction of Pharaoh's host, or of the defeat of Israel by Amalek. Chap. xv. 20, referred to the division of the land of Canaan among the Israelites. Chap. xx. 20, referred to the plague that followed the supply of quails. Chap, xxviii. 11, referred to the passage of Israel through Jordan. Chap, xxxiii. 17, referred to the sickness and recovery of Hezekiah. Chap, xxxiii. 23, referred to the staying of the plague during David's reign, 1 Chron. xxi. Chap, xxxvi. 8 — 12, referred to the various fortunes of Jehoiachin. I have noticed some other passages, under the head " Slip- posed Historical Allusions." OBJECTIONS TO ITS ANTIQUITY. 15 It has been argued from the above, and from other expres- sions in the book, (such as ch. iii. 19 ; xxiv. 7, 9, 10; xxxi. 28 ; xxi. 19,) that the author was acquainted with the Mosaic laws relating to the manumission of slaves, to the giving and receiving of pledges, and to the punishment of idolatry ; as also to the principle of visiting the sins of the fathers on the children, &c. But an impartial examination of these several passages is sufficient to convince any sober mind, that they contain no- thing in favour of the hypothesis, to establish which they are adduced. The general nature of the language in the pas- sages referred to, the scope of the context, and the violence done to the version by some inadmissible criticism, shows that such passages may be equally applied to any other event, or adduced for any other purpose. This is not explaining, but torturing the Scriptures. As to those passages which are cited as supposed allusions to the Mosaic law, they are easily resolvable into references to certain principles and customs, existing as a jus commune in the patriarchal age, and which were afterwards incorporated with, or recognised in, the Jewish polity, as principles belong- ing to the law of nature, or the law of natural conscience. In regard to ch. xxxiv. 20, the terms there used, and the connexion of the passage, show, that if any particular event is designated, it must have been one in which a whole tribe or city was suddenly destroyed, and not merely the first-born in every family, or an invading army. It is highly probable that most of those passages in the book, which have been supposed to contain historical allusions, refer to events in Idumean or patriarchal histor} r , known rather by tradition than by record, and not to Jewish matters. In regard to ch. xx. 20, Dr. Magee (Atonement and Sa- crifice, vol.ii. p. 144) has ably shown, that for this supposition there is no foundation whatever, there being no instance of the phrase which Dr. Stock, in his version, introduces here, nor could the phrase grow out of the transaction ; and were it otherwise, the whole is inapplicable to the passage in question, 16 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. where the wicked oppressor is described as gorging himself with the produce of his own fraud and violence. Had the book of Job been written by a Jew, the historical allusions would have been far more distinct, as well as more numerous ; but here all the references are confessedly ohscure. OBJECTIONS TO ITS ANTIQUITY, ON ACCOUNT OF THE DEGREE OF CIVILIZATION THAT APPEARS IN IT. It is true that the degree of civilization which appears in the book of Job, ill accords with the ideas we are apt to enter- tain of the rudeness and ignorance of the times in which Job is supposed to have lived. But let us recollect, that two countries at least were exempt from the charge of ignorance : these two were Egypt and Idumea. All antiquity bears testimony to the science and genius of the Egyptian people ; but even they did not possess so many means of intelligence and improvement as the Idu- means did. The latter had in a great measure the advantage of an extended commerce, and that from time immemorial, along all the coasts of the Red Sea, and their fleets sailed regularly from the ports of Elath and Eziongeber. Besides, the route of the caravans lay through Idumea ; and hence much opportunity existed, not merely of adding to the wealth of their country, but to its science, culture, and improvement. Consequently we hear of the wisdom of the men of Teman from a very remote date ; the sages of Idumea were celebrated, their wisdom had become proverbial, and we have reason to believe that they possessed philosophers and poets at a time when most other nations were sunk in profound ignorance. There are several indications in Scripture, that these Eastern people were highly cultivated, and their wisdom celebrated, e. g. OBJECTIONS TO ITS ANTIQUITY. 17 Jer. xlix. 7. " Is there no more any wisdom in Teman ? Is counsel passed away from the prudent ? Hath their wisdom overshot itself?" Obad. v. 8. " Shall I not in that day, saith Jehovah, Destroy the wise men from Edom, And understanding from the mount of Esau ?" Baruch iii. 22. " Wisdom hath not been heard of in Canaan, Neither hath it been seen in Teman. The Hagarenes that seek wisdom on earth, The merchants of Meran and of Teman, The expounders of fables, And searchers out of understanding : None of these have known the way of wisdom, Or remember her paths." It is evident enough, from these quotations, that the inhabi- tants of those districts were celebrated for their knowledge ; and the sayings of Job's three friends give proof that their reputation stood on no slight foundation. If, as Sir William Temple observes, countries that are little exposed to invasion preserve knowledge better than others that are perpetually harassed by a foreign enemy, then what- ever knowledge the Idumeans possessed, they kept, and handed down to future generations. We know that in Astro- nomy the ancient Arabians were eminent ; in Physic also they excelled ; and they were not unskilled in Mathematics. There are vast quantities of their astronomical observations in the Bodleian Library. We owe to these Arabians the method of reckoning by ten figures or ciphers, which is of unspeakable use in all parts of Arithmetic. The use of Chemistry in Physic, and some of the most considerable chemical prepa- rations which have led the way to modern discoveries, have been unanimously ascribed to the Arabs. 18 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. ALLUSIONS TO ANCIENT CUSTOMS. Chap. i. 20. " And shaved his head." The shaving of the head was, as we frequently find, a sign of great mourning and affliction. That, and rending the mantle, are two of the methods by which the Easterns have, in all ages, been accustomed to express agony of mind. See Jer. vii. 9; xvi. 5; also xli. 5: and Isa. xv. 2, with Lowth's note there. See likewise Burder's Oriental Customs, p. 358. Chap. ii. 8. " And sat down among the ashes." Sitting or lying down in ashes was another custom observed on the like occasions. See Esther iv. 3 ; Job xlii. 6 ; Isa. lviii. 5 ; Jonah iii. 6, &c. &c. Jeremiah has given it the first place among many indications of sorrow, in describing the state of distress into which his country had fallen, Lam. ii. 8. " The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, and are silent : They have cast dust on their heads, and have girt themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem have bowed down their heads to the ground." Chap. ii. 12. " And threw dust through the air upon their heads." This custom, expressive of violent emotion, either of grief or rage, is referred to in Acts xxii. 23, where it is said, " They cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air." See also Josh. vii. 6: " The elders of Israel threw dust upon their heads," in token of mourning. And Ezekiel, in ALLUSIONS TO ANCIENT CUSTOMS. 19 describing the affliction consequent on the destruction of Tyre, says, ch. xxvii. 30, " They shall cast up dust upon their heads, They shall wallow themselves in the ashes." Sitting in the dust was also a mark of repentance and humili- ation, see chap. xlii. 6 : " Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Thus the king of Nineveh acted ; he sat down in ashes, on occasion of the national repentance. Jonah iii. 6, referred to above. Chap. ii. 13. " None spake a word to him." This silence, like other marks of mourning, is expressive of great affliction. In Jer. xlvii. 5, Ashkelon is said to be put to silence. In Isa. xv. 1, Moab is represented as being made speechless with grief and astonishment, the night that her cities were spoiled. Chap. iii. 14. " Who built solitary mansions for themselves." Perhaps it may be an allusion to the custom of kings and great men in the East, whose houses have a large circuit round them, so that they are remote from other houses, and cannot be overlooked. Hence the Vulgate has, " aedificant sibi solitudines." But see the note on this passage. Chap. iii. 15. " With princes that had gold." It was usual to bury a great deal of wealth with princes in their sepulchres. Thus Cyrus and Semiramis are said to have been buried. Chap. iii. 21. " Hidden treasures :" i. e. who would seek for death with more labour and perseve- rance than even those are accustomed to employ who dig the ground to discover hidden treasures. Here, as in several other passages of Scripture, there is an allusion to a practice not uncommon in the East, even at this day, of hiding treasures in the ground, to keep them safe from c 2 20 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. plundering hordes ; or in the midst of civil commotions. The owners being carried away or slain, and the hiding-place being known to none but themselves, these treasures would often be left in the ground, to be discovered by those who, knowing the practice, might be disposed to search for them. This ancient custom of burying treasure, and its continued prevalence in the East, is even now the occasion of much inconvenience to inquisitive travellers, who cannot open the ground for the purpose of either antiquarian or mineralogical research, without incurring the suspicion of digging for hidden riches, and exposing themselves to great danger. — Well- beloved. Many of the legends still current among the Spaniards, as connected with the dominion of the Moors in Spain, turn upon incidents of this kind. See the Alhambra, by Wash- ington Irving. Chap. vii. 2. " The hireling." It is probable that in ancient times the wages of labour were paid every evening to those who were hired. This is plainly conveyed in one of our Lord's parables (Matt. xx. 2), and was the custom from a far more remote antiquity. But the bond-servant, or domestic slave, had nothing to look for at the close of his day's labour, except rest in the shades of the evening, when no out-door work could be performed. Chap. vii. 12. A probable allusion to the embankments made to prevent the too great inundation of the Nile ; though some think that the passage alludes to the method of watching and snaring the crocodiles. See Burder, p. 363. Chap. ix. 26. " Vessels of reed." Vessels and rafts of this construction were anciently used on the Nile, and still are, and from their lightness move very rapidly. Chap, xviii. 6. " Daylight shall be darkness in his tent, And his lamp shall be- extinguished." ALLUSIONS TO ANCIENT CUSTOMS. 21 The Egyptians always have lamps burning in their houses, so that the want of light implies desolation. Chap, xviii. 17. " His memory shall perish in the land : He shall have no name in the public streets." Perhaps alluding to the custom of placing monumental inscriptions near the roads. Chap. xxi. 11. Job makes it part of the character of the prosperous wicked — that is, of those who, placing all their happiness in the enjoyments of sense, forget God and religion — that their children dance. Chap. xxi. 5. " Lay your hand upon your mouth." To lay the hand upon the mouth, is a mark of submissioi and silence. Chap. xxi. 29. " Ask those who travel by the highways, Or their monuments, you cannot miss them." Monuments or sepulchres were anciently placed by the wayside. Thus Lycidas in Virgil, Eel. ix. 59. " Hinc adeo media est nobis via, namque sepulchrum Incipit apparere Bianoris." Chap. xxiv. 9. " They steal the fatherless from the breast, And take in pledge the garment of the needy." In case of debt, under the Mosaic law, the creditor might seize the debtor's person, and sell him, together with his wife and children, if he had any. This is inferred from the words of the statute, in Levit. xxv. 39. This custom is here sup- posed by some to be alluded to, but the allusion is doubtful. Chap. xxiv. 11. Formerly the treaders of grapes in the wine-press were persons of mean condition, boys and girls, who trode the grapes with naked feet, whose leader was prce- fectus velcustos torcularis — the leader or guardian of the wine- press. 22 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. Olives also were expressed or squeezed at the wine-press ; hence in chap. xxix. 6, " And the rock poured me forth rivers of oil," the meaning is, as flowing in or from a wine-press. Chap, xxvii. 1. " His parable." The ancients called any thing Mashal, or a parable, that was written in a loftier or more concise style than history. Hence the Proverbs of Solomon are called Parables. It is used in the Psalms in this sense, Ps. lxxviii. 2 ; lxix. 4 : Numb, xxiii. 7, 18; also chap. xxiv. 19, 20, &c. Balaam is there said to take up his parable — i. e. he was for the moment transported with a prophetic spirit. Chap, xxvii. 16. " And lay up raiment as the clay." The allusion here is to the custom of amassing, in wardrobes, numerous suits of clothing, as a part of their treasures, in ancient times. Chap, xxvii. 18. " As a booth which the keeper maketh," (or as a shed which the watchman contriveth ;) in allusion to the little temporary huts made with the boughs of trees or the like, by those who were employed to protect the vineyards from pillage, in the fruit season, to screen them from the sun's heat. Such, or similar, was the booth of Jonah, under which he sat to watch the fate of Nineveh. The meaning of the passage is, " Whatever the wicked man builds, will he of very short duration." Chap. xxix. 7. " When I went forth to the gate, through the city, I took my seat in the public place." It is well known, that in ancient times, the assembly of the nobles and elders of the people was held at the gates of the city ; there was the place for administering justice, where the public court was held, and causes were brought before the tribunal. See 2 Sam. xviii. 24; xix. 8 ; 1 Sam. iv. 18; 1 Kings xxii. 10; Prov. xxxi. 31 ; Jer. i. 15. ALLUSIONS TO ANCIENT CUSTOMS. 2o So in chap. xxxi. 21. " If I have not protected the fatherless, When I saw my authority in the gate." i. e. If I have not used the authority, with which I was in- vested as a judge or magistrate, in behalf of the feeble and helpless, as well as of the rich and powerful. Chap. xxix. 8. " The aged arose, and stood up." " If an emir enter, all arise; nor do they resume their seats, until he who came in last, sits down first." — D'Arvieux, de Moribus Arabum. Chap. xxx. 10. " They forbear not to spit in my face." The Arabians never spit before a person whom they reve- rence. Herodotus and Xenophon both mention this custom. See at large, in Raphelius, vol. i. pp. 32, 33. If spitting in one's presence showed a want of respect, spitting in the face was a mark of the utmost contempt; yet of our blessed Lord it is said, by the prophet Isaiah, chap. 1. 6, " I gave my back to the smiters, And my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair ; My face I hid not from shame and spitting. 1 ' Christians in the East were wont to spit in the faces of the idols of the Gentiles, in token of contempt. See a curious story to this effect in Abulpharagius, Hist. Dynast, p. 265. Chap, xxxii. 18. " Behold, I am overcharged with matter ; The spirit of my bosom oppresses me ; My bosom is as wine that has no vent, As new skin bottles, it is bursting." An allusion to the very ancient practice of putting wine in leathern bottles, referred to with so much judgment by our blessed Saviour. It was in such vessels the Arabian travellers carried their wine. :.'!• INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. There is a reference to the same in chap, xxxviii. 37, where the clouds are called the " bottles of heaven :" " Who, by his wisdom, maketh the clouds serene, And restraineth the bottles of the sky ;" i. e. restrains the clouds from bursting, like leathern skins full of new wine. Chap, xxxvii. 18. " Molten mirror." Of these we read in very early times, not only here in the address of Elihu, but in Exod. xxxviii. 8, where mirrors of polished brass are supposed by most critics to be intended, though Dr. Geddes thinks otherwise. See his critical remarks on the passage. \ SUPPOSED ALLUSIONS TO EGYPT. Idumea being but a short way from Egypt, it is no way improbable, that the writer of the book should be acquainted with the latter country, that he should even have travelled into it, and that he should borrow some of his images from that quarter. It is well known, that images drawn from foreign subjects have a stronger effect on the imagination of the reader or hearer, merely on account of their remoteness, and of their being ill defined. Images drawn from every-day objects have no grandeur ; they are too familiar, too distinctly seen, and their properties are too well known. Hence the allusion to Egyptian animals, rites, or customs, would affect the mind of an Arabian far more than illustrations derived from the scenery of his native land, however full of romantic objects ; and hence it is that we are even now more fascinated by an Arabian tale than by one of which the scenery is wholly English. SUPPOSED ALLUSIONS TO EG\PT. 25 The allusions to Egypt, in the book of Job, are supposed to be the following : Chap. iii. 8. The Leviathan, or crocodile. Chap. iii. 14. The gigantic monuments which the kings had constructed for their burial-place ; and, as some think, even the isles, the supposed abode of ghosts, where they buried their dead, chap. ix. 25, 26. Chap. vii. \2. The dikes, or mounds, which they opposed to the extraordinary inundations of the Nile. Chap. viii. 11, 14, 16. The hieroglyphics of Egypt, of which number were the papyrus, the spider, and the ricinus, or palma christi. Chap. ix. 7. The writer here calls the sun Heres, a word which is neither Hebrew, nor Arabic, but Egyptian. Chap. ix. 26. He speaks of boats made of reeds, such as were used on the Nile. Chap. ad. 10. The hippopotamus ; and here the author calls the Nile the sea, as they term it in Egypt. Chap. xxxi. 36. The accuser presents the accusation in writing, which at that epoch was not customary, except in the tribunals of Egypt. But though these, and perhaps other allusions to Egypt, may be discovered in the poem before us, there is no reason to conclude from thence that the author himself was an Egyp- tian. He might be an Ishmaelite, who travelled with the caravans across the Isthmus of Suez. Were the poet a native Egyptian, his allusions to his country would have been still more frequent, and his Idumean images fewer. Whereas, the groundwork of the poem is plainly Arabian, and the mere embroidery is Egyptian. The sun of Egypt darted some rays on the head of the author, but the sun of Arabia shines on every side. When he rises to his highest sublimity, then he has recourse to foreign illustrations. He paints the Behemoth with his boldest pencil, and luxuriates in the description of the Leviathan. But had these animals been familiar to him, or to his readers, these high-wrought pictures would have been out of place. 26 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. SUPPOSED HISTORICAL ALLUSIONS. All the historical allusions, if any, that can be traced in this hook, to events noticed in the Hebrew Scriptures, are confined to those mentioned in the book of Genesis, and which may be supposed to have been traditionary in the patriarchal families, such as the Creation, the Deluge, and the Destruction of Sodom. But that such allusions exist at all, has been questioned by many. For any thing we can see, the poem before us may have been written prior to the composition of any part of the Pentateuch, since its whole scope, tendency, and manner, are entirely independent of such records. Chap. iv. 18. " Even his angels he chargeth with defection." The LXX. have " something wrong." Schultens has, " slip, or failure." The expression in the text, however rendered, is by no means such as to warrant our applying it to the original apostasy of the angels who fell. Nothing more seems to be meant than the imperfection of the most exalted spirits in comparison with the infinite perfection of the Deity. Chap. ix. 7. " Who commandeth the sun, and it riseth not." It would be a sad stretch of interpretation to suppose, as some have done, that there is here any allusion to the sun's standing still in Joshua's time, on the supposition that this book was not written till the era of the Captivity. The pas- sage is simply a declaration' of what God can do, rather than of what he has done. SUPPOSED HISTORICAL ALLUSIONS. 27 Chap, xviii. 15. " Brimstone shall be strewed upon his dwelling." This has been supposed to allude to the case of Sodom and Gomorrha, the term geperit, sulphur, being the same here that is used by the historian on that occasion. But that is no proof, since there is no other word in the language, besides this, to express the thing. The allusion may therefore be to the volcanic matter scattered abroad during an eruption, or to the effects of the electric fluid when it strikes a house or tent, and which is always followed by a strong sulphureous smell. Chap. xxvi. 12. " He divideth the sea by his power, By his understanding he smiteth through the proud." This couplet has been viewed by some as alluding to the miraculous passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea, and the destruction of the Egyptian army. But it would be incongruous to introduce an act of God's particular providence among general instances of almighty power ; and though such an introduction might appear allowable in the songs of the favoured nation themselves, yet it would be out of place in an Idumean, such as Job, who was not, nor could be, at all inte- rested in that marvellous event. In the text itself there is no authority for such a notion. The whole context plainly points to natural phenomena, and the substance of their meaning is — that God has made the world self-poised and balanced ; that he has collected the waters in the clouds above, to be distilled in rains upon the earth below ; that all the while he acts invisibly, making darkness his pavilion ; that created matter is sensible of his sovereignty ; that by his might he kindles the thunder-storm, the flash darting from quarter to quarter, till the clouds are disburthened of their moisture ; then the tempest ceases, the garnished heavens appear in all their splendour, and the sun is seen to traverse the ecliptic, which his hand hath bent into curves. After such an enumeration as this of the mighty works of God, no wonder that Bildad concludes by saying, 28 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. " Behold, these are but parts of his ways ; How small a whisper is heard of him ! The thunder of his power, O who can comprehend ?" Chap. xxxi. 33. " If I covered my transgressions as Adam, By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom." If Adam were to be here translated as a proper name, it would be a proof of Job's knowing something of the history of the creation, of the first man, and of his sin. But none of the versions translate it so, except Castalio and the English version. Nor do we see any instance elsewhere in the book of his knowing the history of the Creation, Paradise, the Fall, or the like. The Arabic and Syriac render the phrase generally, as men. The LXX. render it, or rather paraphrase it, involuntarily, or through the infirmity which belongs to man. The Vulgate, quasi homo, not quasi Adamus. Pagninus, in like manner, ut homo. Tremellius and Piscator, more hominum, after the manner of men. Mercer, sicut homines. Tindal, before men. Dathe, more humano — and subjoins to his translation the following remark : " Many interpreters think that Adam is here the proper name of the first man ; but since in the whole book of Job there is no one evident allusion to the sacred history, I rather agree with those who render the term ce- adem, ' as men, after the manner of men.' Elizabeth Smith translates the phrase, as a mean man; but for the word mean there is no authority, except when, contrasted with aish, a man of dignity and note. Diodati has " come sogliono far gli huomini," as mankind are wont to do. So that this supposed allusion goes for nothing ; although there is a probability that the general outline of the story of Adam's transgression had been handed down by tradition, so as to be generally known to those who lived near the patriarchal age. Yet we cannot build upon this probability anv argument as to the time of the writer of the book of Job, <>i pronounce with confidence that such must be the sense. PASSAGES RELATING TO THE MESSIAH. '29 PASSAGES RELATING TO THE MESSIAH. There are only two such, so far as I can discover, in the book of Job. They are chap. xix. 25, &c, and chap, xxxiii. 23. I shall treat of each in their order. Chap. xix. 25, &c. I have rendered thus : " For I know that my Vindicator liveth, And that, at length, he will appear on the earth, And though this, my skin, is thus corroded, Yet in my flesh I shall see God ; Whom I shall see as my Friend, And mine eyes shall behold him not estranged from me, When I shall have fulfilled all that is appointed for me." Which may be thus paraphrased, in connexion with the pre- ceding and subsequent verses : " O that my words, in vindication of myself, were recorded in some permanent memorial. For I am sure I have a Deli- verer left, who will hereafter espouse my cause, even on this side the grave ; and after these men have exercised their cruelty on me, I shall at length see God, whom I shall see declaring himself in my favour, and no longer alienated from me, as he seems to be at present. Then, when I shall have finished my trial, will ye not begin to say among yourselves, why have we persecuted him in such a manner, since the event has proved him guiltless of the crimes alleged against him? Beware, therefore, of drawing down the Divine judg- ments upon you ; for his vengeance will visit all unrighteous doings, so as to teach you candour and consideration for your neighbour in the time to come." This interpretation is justified by the following consi- derations : 30 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. 1. The translation above given is close to the original, and requires no supplements ; whereas, in our version, in order to make out the sense, the words day, though, worms, body, are obliged to be inserted ; and in this way, by supplying words, we may make the Scriptures speak any thing we please. 2. The Septuagint gives no countenance to our mode of rendering the passage. Its language is : " For I know that He is eternal Who is about to deliver me on earth, To restore this skin of mine which endures these things ; For by the Lord these things have been done to me, Of which I am conscious to myself, Which my own eye hath seen, and not another, But all was fulfilled in my own bosom." The Chaldee also has, " my Deliverer or Restorer." 3. There is no other passage in the whole book of Job, importing that he knew any thing of the Messiah, or that he believed in a resurrection from the dead at the last day. 4. It is a good and safe rule, to apply no Old Testament passage to Jesus Christ, which is not so applied to him in the New. Much mysticism and misinterpretation of Scripture have arisen from the violation of this rule. 5. Another proof of the correctness of our interpretation lies in the use of the words ol oper, " above the dust," which always mean on this side the grave, as in or under the dust signifies " after death." The word li, in Hebrew, which we translate " on my side," is exactly correspondent to the term lenore in Psalm exxiv. 1. " If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side ;" and la zer, in the next clause, is exegetical of li, and signifies " not alienated — not estranged — friendly." 6. There is a farther reason why the word gal or goel should be considered in the light here contended for, since the Hebrews have another term, which they use when they intend to speak of redeeming in a general sense. That word is pede. See Exod. xiii. 15; xxxiy. 20; Lcvit. xix. 20, &c. PASSAGES RELATING TO THE MESSIAH. 31 And notwithstanding this precision so observable in the Hebrew, gal is translated into Greek by the LXX. in no less than eight different ways, as may be seen in Trommius's Concordance to the Septuagint. 7. The language used in chap. xvi. 19 is not very dissimilar from this text: — " Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, And my eye-witness is on high," and is a proof that Job entertained expectations from that quarter, viz. — that God would sooner or later interfere to vindicate him. This is the whole amount of his faith, as regards this matter. 8. Had Job possessed a hope in the resurrection from the dead, and in a Saviour to come, he would never have cursed the day of his birth, as he desperately does in chap. iii. ; neither would he have uttered the impatient speeches he does in other parts of the book. And Zophar appears to have understood him as meaning a temporal deliverance ; for, in chap. xx. 27, in replying to Job's remarks, he denies that the patriarch could expect such an intervention. On the con- trary, says he, " The heaven shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him." And it is plain, when the final catastrophe of the Poem takes place, that Job had a reference to his own words and expec- tation, as recorded in chap. xlii. 5. He had said in the pas- sage before us, " I shall see God, Whom 1 shall see as my friend, And mine eyes behold." And at the close of the book, Job expressly says, " I have heard of thee (i. e. formerly) by the hearing of the ear, But now mine eye seeth thee." So that there must have been a visible manifestation of the Deity to him, in such form and manner as mortal eyes can bear, agreeably to his own hope expressed in this passage. OX INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. 9. We may farther remark, that had .lob in this place inti- mated his faith in the coming Messiah, in the explicit manner which is generally supposed, so eminent an example of faith would have entitled him to a place in that list of believers given in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chap. xi. ; whereas there is no mention made of Job in that catalogue, nor is he ever spoken of in the New Testament as an example of faith, but only as a pattern of patience, and that once, by the Apostle James. 10. Besides, the language here ascribed to him, as express- ing his expectation of a Redeemer, would have given Job a just claim to the character of a prophet, and he would have been celebrated as such amongst the Jews ; but we find no mention made of this character being attributed to him, and one mark of his not being so considered is this, — all the prophetical books have the names of the authors affixed to them, whereas this book is anonymous, like the other his- torical books, there being no reason why the name of the author should be affixed to them ; because, in matters of fact which are passed, an author may be easily disproved if he relates what is false, either of his own times, or of times of which other memorials are still extant. But the credit of prophecies concerning things to come must depend on the mission and authority of the prophet only, and therefore it was necessary that the names of the prophets should be annexed to their writings, that their predictions might be the more relied on, it being known by whom they were delivered. It cannot be shown that this book contains any prophecies, strictly so called ; and it is a dangerous mode of interpretation which aims at making the Scriptures more spiritual or evan- gelical than their author intended them to be. As for the interpretation which converts the passage into a prophecy of the resurrection of the body, besides that it implies a degree of light ill corresponding with the times in which Job is supposed to have lived, it requires such interpo- lation of new words, and forced construction of those found in the text, that an ingenious commentator might make any part of Scripture to depose in behalf of his favourite doctrine, by PASSAGES RELATlNCx TO THE MESSIAH. .» using such methods ; and therefore the best commentators have justly exploded it. Nor let it be imagined that we are undermining the foun- dations of our faith, by withdrawing a support that does not belong to it; it remains firmly fixed on the basis of truth, which cannot be moved, and which wants no assistance from falsehood and error. But neither are we in any wise allowed " to handle the word of God deceitfully," from an apprehen- sion of the ill use which unstable or wicked men may make of a right interpretation of it, at the hazard of their own salva- tion. Farther, this is no new view of the passage broached by the present writer, from a love of singularity or other mo- tives, but one that has been entertained by some of the most learned and excellent men of the past and present age ; viz. by Chrysostom, Ambrose, Grotius, Le Clerc, Reiske, Mi- chaelis, Vogel, Warburton, Father Simon, Geddes, Stock, Durell, Heath, Kennicott, and others. The other versions, that agree with our English one, seem all to have been more or less taken from Jerome ; who has — " For I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last day / shall arise from the earth, And again shall be surrounded with my skin, And in my flesh I shall see my God." An anonymous translator, on the other hand, renders thus : — " For I know that the Avenger of my cause liveth, And that he at length will appear upon earth," &c. " Whom I shall see as my friend, And mine eyes shall behold, as not an alien." And he adds ; " These words are to prepare us for the final catastrophe of the drama ;" evidently meaning the appearance of God, as related in chap, xxxviii. &c. Job often refers his cause to God, and is now confident that he will appear in his behalf. This agrees with the design of the whole, viz. That good men sometimes suffer, but that it is only by way of trial, and God will deliver them. 34 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. Herder, in his Oriental Dialogues, thus translates the pas- sage : — " I know that my Avenger liveth, And that he shall at last appear in my cause on the scene of contest : Let them then (my enemies) destroy my flesh, I shall nevertheless live and see God ; Him shall I behold as my Deliverer, And mine eyes shall see him, and not another." " These words," he adds, " are in their connexion so plain and clear, that it is not easy to conceive how they have been so often misinterpreted, and thereby rendered obscure. The friends of Job had persecuted and then forsaken him. He has nevertheless a friend remaining, who will be his avenger, — (this was the office of the nearest relation,) — and this avenger, this friend, is God. Job has an intimate persuasion that God is on his side, and will continue to be his guardian when every one else has deserted him. Then shall his inno- cence be displayed, and his cause triumph." To refer the passage to the general resurrection, would be to contradict the general scope and tenor of the poem, since not the slightest trace of such doctrine appears elsewhere in it. The sentiment of the patriarch is simply this, — that he felt a full assurance that at some future period God would inter- pose for him, vindicate his innocence, and punish his calum- niators. And this his expectation was completely verified ; for at the close of the time appointed for the trial of Job, the Almighty appears in solemn majesty, humbles the whole party in the dust by a series of questions fitted to demonstrate human weakness, orders sacrifice to be offered for Job's friends before they could be accepted, restores Job himself to more than his former prosperity, and crowns his latter end with honour and comfort. Is not this, then, the result which Job had in view, when he uttered these memorable words ? Scott, who adopts the popular view of the subject, in reply to the question, How did Job come to know all these particulars of the resurrection and a future state? says, " The PASSAGES RELATING TO THE MESSIAH. 35 prophecy of Enoch revealed a future judgment." But if by the prophecy of Enoch be meant, as it must be, the Book of Enoch the Prophet, that book is not merely apocryphal, as is now very well known, and as its contents plainly prove it to be, but it has been proved to be the work of some unknown Jew, about a hundred years before the Epistle of Jude was written, consequently was not extant in Job's time. Scott adds, that " the murder of Abel suggested the idea of a reward for the righteous in another world ; and Enoch's trans- lation led directly to the belief, that good men will enjoy the felicity of that better world in an embodied state." But the question still recurs, Were these facts known to the Idumean patriarch ; and, if known, are they not too slender a founda- tion on which to build such a fabric ? The other passage, supposed to have some reference to the Messiah, is in chap, xxxiii. 23 : — " But should there be near him a Messenger, An Interpreter, one of a thousand, To point out to the man his duty, Then God will be gracious to him, And will say, Release him from going down to the grave ; I have received a satisfaction," (or, an atonement.) The description given in the context, is of a man laid on a sick bed, and approaching near to death ; a change in his condition takes place, he recovers and is restored to health ; and this is effected by the instrumentality of another. The question arises, Who is meant by that other ? On this sub- ject there have been three opinions: 1st, That it was effected through the medium of a fellow-man ; 2d, That the person referred to is an angel ; and 3d, That it denotes Jesus Christ, as an Intercessor. Let us examine each of these opinions, keeping our eye on the context. 1st, That by the Messenger or Interpreter is to be under- stood a man, whose ministry God employs, so that the afflicted and dying person is brought by his means to repentance for his sins, the primary or main cause of his affliction. Hence n 2 36 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. the man is called an Angel, or Messenger — namely, from God ; and an Interpreter, that is, of the Divine will. The word Melitz, in the Hebrew, is never used to denote an angel, strictly so called. It occurs in Gen. xlii. 53, where it is rendered " Interpreter ;" and in the plural form in Job xvi. 20, where it is rendered " my friends." Isa. xliii. 27, " (public) teachers." 2 Chron. xxxii. 31, .... "ambassadors." Nor is there any thing in the rest of the language which leads us to think of a person more august than man. " One of a thousand," or of "the thousand," is a mere proverbial expres- sion, a definite for an indefinite number, denoting a person of unusual powers of persuasion, such as are but rarely met with. God can effect this by many methods. If he pleases to send some friend or neighbour, who may seriously admo- nish the afflicted man, and show him what his duty is, and wherein he hath sinned, and what is necessary to expiate his sin ; then, when the man admits the admonition, acknow- ledges his offences, and supplicates forgiveness, God autho- rizes his messenger to promise to the patient, deliverance from his disease. See to this effect, James v. 14 — 16, where the whole case is detailed at length, only with this difference, that it is the members of the Christian community who are there exhorted to use such means, and not sinners in general. And in the Gospel, the remission of sins, and the healing of diseases, are often spoken of as the accompaniments of each other. Elihu wishes to show Job that God has sufficiently mani- fested his care of men, by the methods he takes to point out their duty, and to recover them from wandering. One method is, to reveal his will to them in dreams (ver. 15); another, to preserve him from impending calamities of a visible nature (ver. 18); a third, by casting him on the bed of sickness, and, after sufficiently humbling him, to restore him to health, (ver. 19, &c.) One can see nothing in the character and office of the person here introduced as the sick man's monitor, PASSAGES RELATING TO THE MESSIAH. 37 but what will agree to any good man, eminent for wisdom and piety. There is nothing in the passage, or the context, which obliges us to suppose that Elihu meant an angel. God having, in the New Testament, given to men a perfect revelation of his will by Jesus Christ, no longer instructs his intelligent offspring, as he did of old, by dreams and visions, by angelic visits and suggestions, or by any other means not falling within the ordinary course of nature. Yet the events of his providence, especially as interpreted by the tenor of the Christian law, are full of instruction, and pregnant with admo- nition and reproof. We are bound, therefore, to take good heed to passing events, and to learn from them the lessons they are fitted to convey. Some writers imagine that Elihu in this passage is describ- ing himself under the character of messenger, as one who boasted that he was sent from God to be an interpreter of the Divine will to Job ; a supposition by no means improbable, when we consider the other instances of self-complacency that are apparent in this man's discourses. The 2d opinion is, that an angel, properly so called, is intended; who, in those ancient times, when angelic visits were far from rare, might come down on a divine mission, out of compassion to the sick man, and might declare the will of God to him. This appears to some the more probable, from the well-known doctrine of the Jews, in ancient and even in more recent times, concerning the influence of angels on human affairs. But as this hypothesis is without sufficient proof, one may hesitate respecting its accuracy. The 3d opinion, that Jesus Christ is here meant, is wholly foreign to the context; for there is no allusion here to the remission of sins in the evangelical sense, but merely to the removal of external afflictions with which God occasionally visits men because of their sins, and from which they may hope for deliverance by repentance. The apostolic phrases respecting the atonement of Christ as a Mediator under the New Covenant, may have led many good men to suppose that the same is meant here, and that Elihu referred to the doc- trine of mediation by the Son of God ; but it is difficult either 38 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. to discover or to support such view from the context. Let every man judge for himself. As to the term ransom, (on the margin, " atonement,") what- ever is a means of averting punishment, or of conciliating the Divine favour, is called in the Old Testament scriptures an atonement. The intercession of Moses (Exod. xxxii. 30) and the act of Phineas (Numb. xxv. 13) are so called; and here the sick man's repentance stands in the place of such. As the writer of the book of Ecclesiasticus, chap. xxxv. 3, says, " To depart from wickedness is a thing pleasing to the Lord, and to forsake unrighteousness is a propitiation." The LXX. and Vulgate both support the view here taken of the passage. FIGURES OF SPEECH USED IN THE BOOK. All human language partakes more or less of a figurative character. The languages of the East possess this quality in a very remarkable degree ; and the Scriptures, being written in those languages, exhibit it in every variety of form. Of these Scriptures, no portion is richer in this respect than the book of Job ; and had Longinus been acquainted with this poem, — which, from his silence respecting it, I very much doubt, though it is plain he knew something of the writings of Moses, — he would, in his admirable Treatise on the Sub- lime, have produced from it far more striking passages, in illustration of his system, than any that Homer or Demos- thenes ever wrote or uttered. In proceeding to give examples of the different kinds of figures, let it be remarked, that they are too numerous to be minutely specified : it will be enough to produce a few of the most remarkable ; and the first I shall notice is that called FIGURES OF SPEECH. INTERROGATION. The method of arguing by interrogation has always been considered as the most convincing : it shuts up the replicant within certain bounds ; and if he cannot answer the questions, he is vanquished in argument. This method was common in antiquity, and has been denominated the Socratic method, from its being employed generally by that eminent practical philosopher. Cicero, too, in his orations against Catiline, makes much use of the interrogative form, and with acknow- ledged effect. It may be employed successfully on most subjects, but especially on moral disputations or reasonings. The Almighty here condescends to use it, and does not disdain to mix with it a species of Irony, well fitted to show the crea- ture his own nothingness. It is not the precise nature of his operations that he here interrogates man upon, as if he wished to explain their secret laws, which man probably could not comprehend, if made known ; but it is their stupendousness he aims to impress, thereby producing on the mind of the auditor a sense of his utter helplessness. The great laws of gravitation and attraction are here adverted to, and the excel- lent wisdom by which all things are kept in due proportion and subordination to each other, so as to produce the greatest benefit to man, and to illustrate the infinite glory of God. The refraction of the solar rays by means of the atmosphere, so as to render the return of light less injurious to the human eye, is also hinted at ; in short, all those great principles by means of which the equilibrium of every part of nature is admirably kept up, and nothing suffered to occur in its ex- treme form. The use of interrogation has been well set forth by Lon- ginus, and by Pearce and Smith in their excellent Notes or that author. The former (Pearce) refers to the words of Deborah, speaking in the person of Sisera's mother (Judges v. 28), and to the language of the Saviour in Matt. xi. 7 — 9, as examples of this figure. The expressions of Balaam in Numb, xxiii. 19, and of Paul in Acts xxvi. 26, are also 40 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. adverted to. After which Dr. Smith observes, — " To these instances may be added the whole 38th chapter of Job, where we behold the Almighty Creator expostulating with his crea- ture, in terms which express at once the majesty and perfec- tion of the one, — the meanness and frailty of the other. There we see how vastly useful the figure of interrogation is, in giving us a lofty idea of the Deity, whilst every question awes us into silence, and inspires a sense of our insufficiency." IRONY. Of this figure there are several instances in the book before us ; and if under this figure we include the Sarcasm, examples of that occur also, some of which are noticed in the Notes. The first instance is found in chap. iv. 4, 5, where Eliphaz insinuates, that so long as Job was well, he could give good advice to others ; but now, when he was himself a sufferer, he sank under the weight of his afflictions ; like the character in Terence, " Facile omnes cum valemus, recta consilia aegrotis damus :" we can easily prescribe to the sick when we are well. Chap. v. 1. Eliphaz had maintained that innocence could not be made to suffer ; that calamity was the consequence of yuilt ; and by this ironical advice and question, he assures him that the case, in regard to himself and his family, is so plain, that no one will think it necessary to contest the sub- ject with him. Chap. xii. 2. Job here chastises his antagonists for assuming such airs of superiority over him, and in an ironical tone says to them, " Doubtless, ye are the only sages in the world ; and when you die, we shall in vain seek for others on the face of the earth." Chap. xxii. 4. " Will he reason with thee for fear of thee," &c. " Is he afraid his character will suffer hy thy complaints ?" Tliis is strong irony, and manifestly designed to ridicule those rash expressions in chap. i\. 32—85; xiii. 22, &c. FIGURES OF SPEECH. 41 Chap. xxvi. 1 — 4. All this is said ironically, in allusion to the irrelevancy of Bildad's remarks. The sense is, You have said many fine things, no doubt, at least in your own estimation, but they are all inapplicable to a man in my peculiar circumstances : they may be good in their way, but they are quite inappropriate. The Chaldee interpreters plainly understood them so, for they translate thus : " Why hast thou pretended to give succour, When thou thyself art without strength ? And to save others, while thine own arm is weak ? Why hast thou given counsel, When thou thyself art without understanding ? And supposest that thou hast shewn the very essence of wisdom ? The LXX. seem to have misunderstood the passage. Chap, xxxviii. 21, 22. There are several instances of keen irony here, and throughout the chapter, which are well calcu- lated to humble Job, and make him feel the folly of his own rash judgment respecting the ways of God. APOSTROPHE. The apostrophe, or address to an inanimate object per- sonified, is also to be met with in this extraordinary book. One instance occurs in chap. xvi. 18 : " O Earth, cover no blood shed by me," &c. Here the earth is addressed as a person, and called upon, by a vehement apostrophe, to come forward, and testify in court, as a witness against him, if he had shed innocent blood. In ancient times, the blood of the murdered was supposed to lie reeking on the ground, and to have a voice which appealed to Heaven. " The voice of thy brother's blood crieth to me from the ground," Gen. iv. 10. " The blood of sprinkling, which sjjeaketh better things than that of Abel," Heb. xii. 24. Chap. xvii. 14. " 1 say to corruption, My father," &c. 42 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. This is a striking example of the apostrophe ; he transfers all his filial and fraternal affections to the grave and the worm, showing, by this strong and beautiful mode of expression (as Scott observes) how welcome death and dissolution would be to him. In like manner Solomon, in Prov. vii. 4. " Say to Wisdom, Thou art my sister ; Call Understanding thy kinswoman ;" and a greater than Solomon has given his sanction to this phraseology in Matt. xii. 50. PERSONIFICATION. This bold figure is frequent in the book of Job. It is employed, as most know, when a character and person are assigned even to things inanimate or fictitious. Chap. v. 16. In order to convey an idea of the stupor with which the transgressor is struck dumb, when made to feel the Divine judgments, it is said here, " Iniquity stoppeth her mouth." Here iniquity is plainly personified. See Psalm cvii. 42. Chap. x. 17. " Thou renewest thy Witnesses against me." He calls the plagues inflicted upon him God's witnesses, each one in person testifying, as it were, to the Divine displeasure ; and the whole forming an army, of which troop succeeds troop, each assailing in its turn, and fresh reserves coming up. Chap. xiv. 7. The comparison here of a tree to a man is in the form of personification ; where hope, age, death, the scent of water, and reviviscence, are all attributed to the tree in their turn. Chap. xvii. 15, 16. Here the figurative language rises high : he gives personality to his hope ; and represents this imaginary being as lying down with him in the sleep of death. This is saying, in a poetical manner, that all his expectations ended in misery, death, and putrefaction. FIGURES OF SPEECH. 43 Chap, xviii. 13. " The first-bom of Death." Here death is spoken of as a person ; and some disease, which, from its severity and mortal issue, might be said to have the preeminence, is called Death's first-born, his might, and the beginning of his strength. Chap, xviii. 14. " Terrors shall march against him like a king." They shall come in person, like a king at the head of his army. A bold personification, borrowed from Eliphaz ; see chap. xv. 24. Chap, xxvii. 31. The east wind is here personified in the boldest style of oriental poetry. It is made to express ges- tures, and has a voice, both denoting scorn and exultation. Nothing can surpass this image in point of daring. Clapping of hands in token of joy is ascribed to inanimate creation in Psalm xcviii. 8, and Isa. lv. \2 ; but nothing comes up to the boldness of the present image, which seems to be taken from the custom of hissing and hooting a man who is discharged from a public office for malversations of any kind. Chap, xxviii. 14. " The Abyss saith — the Sea saith." Both are here represented as disclaiming their being the resi- dence of Wisdom. Chap, xxviii. 22. Destruction and Death are described as- affirming of Wisdom, that her reputation only had reached their ears. Chap. xxxi. 38. " If my own Land cry out against me," &c. Job here insinuates that he had always been a good master, even to his own farm-grounds ; that they had no reason for complaint, more having never been exacted from them than they could well bear. 1 1 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. ANTHROPOPATHEIA. A metaphor, by which things belonging to creatures, and especially to man, are ascribed to God. This is common in the Sacred Scriptures, and arises from the inadequacy of human language to express the proper attributes and opera- tions of Deity. Chap. x. 8. " Thy hands have made me and fashioned me." The Hebrew verb denotes labour, art, and diligence ; and describes God after the manner of men, like a sculptor or statuary, exercising pains, care, and anxiety, in the formation of his work. Chap. xi. 8. In describing, or rather in attempting to describe, the infinite perfections of God, the speaker is obliged to have recourse to inanimate objects to express the dimen- sions of them ; height, the heavens ; depth, the invisible abyss ; length, the earth ; breadth, the sea. This reminds one of Paul's beautiful exclamation in Rom. xi. 33, and his mathe- matical measurement in Ephes. iii. 18. Chap. xiii. 26. A metaphor applied to God, and bor- rowed from human courts, where the decisions of the Judge are conveyed in writing. COMPARISONS. The book of Job abounds with these, but we can only select a few. Chap. vi. 14 — 20. The comparison, here, is of the deceit- fulness of friends to one of those floods which promise an abundant supply of water, but are so soon dried up as to disappoint expectation, and to leave the thirsty traveller un- satisfied. Evaporation absorbs a part, and the sandy desert the rest. FIGURES OF SPEECH. 45 A more complete example (says Bishop Lowth) is scarcely to be found, than that passage in which Job impeaches the infidelity and ingratitude of his friends, who in his adversity denied him those consolations of tenderness and sympathy, which in his prosperous state, and when he needed them not, they had lavished upon him. — Lecture XII. Chap. vii. 1. The patriarch compares himself to a bond- slave, or a hired labourer, with this difference, that the night brought them relief, whereas his days were passed in painful vanity, and his nights also were full of trouble. It is the voice of anguish venting itself in lamentation over its appa- rently hopeless condition. Chap. ix. 25. " Swifter than a courier are my days," &c. Nothing can be more expressive of the rapid flow of human life than these three images. As to the ships, he probably means the vessels of papyrus, which by their lightness scud along the stream, impelled by the wind or current, and leaving no track in the water. METAPHORS. Let the following suffice for examples out of the rich abundance which the book contains. To mark the whole would be no easy task. Chap. iv. 19. " The dwellers in houses of clay ;" a metaphor, by which the frailty of the human body is most emphatically described. See 2 Cor. v. 1. " Whose foundation is in the dust ;" like houses built upon the sand. Matt. vii. 26. " They are crushed before the moth ;" they perish sooner than the feeblest insect. 46 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. Chap. vi. 26. " And the spirit of the words of a desperate man ;'* literally, the wind of the words ; a metaphor taken from the air. So in chap. xv. 2. " Should a wise man utter arguments of wind ?" i. e. mere futile empty reasonings : " Or swell his bosom with the east wind?" i. e. occupy himself with vain and fluctuating thoughts. Chap. xxi. 9. " The rod of God." A metaphor for any divine visitation of a painful or calamitous nature, intended as the chastisement of transgression. The passages are numerous wherein the metaphor occurs : there is one in the New Testament, which has not been generally noticed ; viz. Mark v. 29, where the woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years is said to be " healed of that plague," literally, of that scourge — a scourge inflicted by a rod — namely, by the rod of God. Atoc fiaariyt is used by Homer to denote a severe calamity inflicted by Jupiter. Chap, xxvii. 20. " As waters." It has been remarked by Bishop Lowth, that though meta- phors taken from waters abound in other parts of the Sacred Writings, the author of the book of Job has used them sparingly; which he justly conjectures to be owing to the aspect of nature in his country — Rocky Arabia, where deserts abound, and streams are few. Chap. xxxi. 24. " If I have made gold my reliance," &c. A metaphor taken from idol-worship. To trust in the pos- session of wealth as a means of security, is here expressed by language denoting something like idolatry ; since any thing that alienates the heart from God and duty, occupies the thoughts and engages the pursuit to the exclusion of Him and of his service, is properly an idol, and is branded in Scripture as such. FIGURES OF SPEECH. PROVERBIAL EXPRESSIONS. 47 Chap. ii. 4. " Skin after skin ; yea, all that a man possesses, he will give for his life." The word possesses shows what is meant by this otherwise obscure proverbial expression. It is not the skin of the body, but the wealth or substance, which in these days consisted much in skins and cattle ; and therefore the meaning is, pro- perty upon property ; all that a man has he is willing to part with, provided his life is uninjured. A phrase somewhat similar occurs in Amos iii. 15 : " And I will smite the winter-house, Together with the summer-house ; And the houses of ivory shall be destroyed ; And the great houses shall have an end ;" i. e. I will consume every species of habitation, and make a wreck of all property. Chap. iv. 8. " According to my observation, the ploughers of iniquity, And the sowers of mischief, reap what they have sown." A proverb drawn from nature, common to sacred and profane writers ; as much as to say — Every seed produces its like. Thus, Prov. xxii. 8. " He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity." Hosea viii. 7. " They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." 2 Cor. ix. 6. " He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly." Gal. vi. 7- " Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Chap. vi. 5. " Doth the wild ass bray when he hath fodder ?" Proverbial; as much as to say — Does a man complain for nothing, or without a reason i 48 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. Chap. vii. 9. " Till I can swallow my spittle." This is even now a proverbial expression among the Arabs, and signifies the same as " Give me time to breathe." Chap. viii. 1 1. " Can the papyrus grow without water V &c. The papyrus, or paper reed, and the bulrush, are well-known succulent plants, which absorb a great deal of moisture, and at the same time are soon dried up. As these plants are de- pendent on a foreign support, and are often parched up in the midst of their vigour, so sinful men, in the height of their prosperity, are suddenly cast down from their elevation, and abruptly removed from their enjoyments. This appears to have passed into a proverb, and no simi- litude can be more striking ; and as it is plainly a quotation from a former age, its antiquity recommends it as much as its beauty. Chap. xi. 12. " And the wild mule-colt may become a man." A proverb among the Arabians, meaning, that the man who is self-willed, intractable, and lawless, may in time become gentle, docile, and obedient. Chap. xii. 5. " Derision is prepared for calamity," &c. Proverbial ; denoting, that calamity generally meets with contempt or derision from the prosperous and secure man, whose self-conceit makes him ready to attribute the misfor- tunes of others to want of prudence or conduct. This was exactly Job's case with his friends. Our version has no meaning at all. Chap. xiii. 14. " I will carry my flesh in my teeth ;" i. e. I will expose myself to every hazard : a proverbial form of speaking, though not being elsewhere met with, it cannot be further exemplified. FIGURES OF SPEECH. 4!) Chap. xvii. 5. " He that speaketh smoothly to evil-doers," &c. A proverb : he that encourages men by flattery to proceed in their wicked courses, his children shall be visited with some temporal evil or calamity. Chap. xxx. 29. " I am black, but not by reason of the sun." Proverbial ; meaning blacker than if burnt by the sun. So the Arabs say — " Wise, but not as wise as Lockman " — meaning wiser than Lockman. Chap, xxxiv. 3. " For the ear trieth words as the mouth tasteth food." A proverb, and a favourite one, since Job also uses it in chap. xii. 11. Chap, xxxix. 30. " Where the carcase is, there is the eagle." A well-known proverb, used by our blessed Saviour, in Matt. xxiv. 28. Besides these, proverbial phrases occur in many parts, such as chap. vi. 6; chap. xiv. 19; chap, xxviii. 18; and chap, xxviii. 28. Maxims and practical observations, partly couched in the proverbial form, are also frequent. We can only notice one or two. Chap. iii. 23. " Yea, the way of man is hid from himself," &c. ; i. e. the designs of Providence are unknown to man, God having reserved them to himself. Chap. v. 21. " Thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not miss it." "Not sin" is the rendering in our version; but the word here translated sin, signifies also " to miss the mark, or to wander from it." The meaning, therefore, is — When thou lookest for thy dwelling, which thine enemies had threatened E 50 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. to demolish, or from whence thou hadst been driven, thou shalt find it safe, and shalt not miss of it — which is undoubt- edly the sense of the place. Chap. xiv. 5. His days are determined." We are not to understand the bounds of human life, here adverted to, as applying to individuals, but to the race of man in general. Perhaps there is no case in which God has determined absolutely that any man's age should be so long, and shall neither be more nor less. Human life is not bounded by a divine decree. The contrary supposition in- volves innumerable absurdities. QUALITIES OF STYLE. THE SUBLIME. A celebrated writer has remarked, and that justly, that one source of the sublime is obscurity. If so, it is impos- sible to produce a truer example of the sublime, than that in the 4th chapter of this book, the amazing sublimity of which consists chiefly in the terrible uncertainty of the thing described. We are first prepared with the utmost solemnity for the vision ; we are alarmed before we have discovered the cause of our emotion. It was in the dead hour of the night, all nature lay shrouded in darkness, and every creature was buried in sleep. Profound silence reigned over all. Eliphaz, wakeful and solitary, is musing on his couch. A superna- tural being enters his apartment ; its appearance is sudden and unexpected. It is an image, but formless and undefined. It is an image, and yet no image ; — a mere gliding spectre, its voice is hollow, like the whispers of the wind. The hair of the patriarch's flesh stands erect with fear, and the scene QUALITIES OF STYLE. 51 passes before him with an abruptness and terror truly appal- ling. It does not flit away ; it stands still. The patriarch is all attention. It makes a solemn pause, to prepare his mind for some momentous message. At length a voice is heard — a low, murmuring voice, with utterance slow and solemn, and the sentiments awfully impressive. Its message delivered, it vanishes, and leaves the patriarch overwhelmed with awe. This has no parallel in all ancient or modern poetry. The apparition of Creusa in the iEneid, the phantom of the Cape of Good Hope in Camoens, and the ghost in Shakspeare's Hamlet, are all more or less terrific ; but all fail, when placed in comparison with this of Job. We proceed to another passage of remarkable sublimity, — the description of the thunder-storm in chap. xxxv. 27, to chap, xxxvi. 5, which form parts of one whole. These verses clearly describe the rise, progress, and effect of the storm, the whole phenomena of which are well calculated to produce awe and trembling. Elihu paints the rising tempest in all its ter- rors ; and his description forms an excellent prelude to the approach of the Judge himself, who was to pronounce sen- tence in the cause of Job. Men stand astonished and dismayed, and become deeply conscious of their own helplessness and impotence. The process of evaporation, and the mode in which rain, clouds, and storms are generated, are clearly and correctly exhibited. The clouds become conglomerated, and then burst with terrific flashes and peals ; the lightning darts rapidly across the heavens, and is reflected from the bottom of the deep. The storm is viewed only in its awful, and not in any beneficent aspect; and hence God is supposed in this visitation to inflict punishment on the wicked, and to produce tremulation even in the good. Similar descriptions occur in Psalms xviii. and lxxvii., and also in Psalm xxix. ; but this of Elihu transcends them all in minuteness and in sublimity. The description of the war-horse is another noble specimen of the sublime, the fire and animation of which are perhaps nowhere equalled, except by the great Author himself in his account of the leviathan. His impatience to meet the armed e2 ">! INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. host — his swallowing the ground — his loud snorting with eagerness to engage — his courage and daring spirit, are all ad- mirably portrayed. But as I have elsewhere remarked on this subject, under the head " Zoological Notices," I shall not enlarge upon it here THE DESCRIPTIVE. Description is the great test of imagination, and enters largely into every species of poetical composition ; it seizes the distinguishing features, gives them the colours of life and reality, and places them in that light which makes the strongest impression on the mind. In proper description, all is parti- cular, and yet natural ; the style is simple, — nothing is exag- gerated ; it is a collection of strong, expressive images, fitted to convey an idea equally distinct and forcible. Thus, in the Song of Songs, it is not the rose only, but the rose of Sharon; not the lily only, but the lily of the valleys ; the flock is the flock that feeds on Mount Gilead ; the stream is that which comes from Mount Lebanon ; the mountains are the moun- tains of the leopards. Thus the image itself is connected with its locality ; you know where to find the original. These are not mere epithets, unmeaning and redundant, which add no- thing to the description, but only clog and enervate it. They add new ideas to the words they qualify, and serve to raise and to heighten their signification. The description of the caravans, in chap. vi. — of the course of the hypocrite, in chap. viii. — of the oppressor, in chap. xvi. — of the wicked, in chap, xviii. — of their temporary prosperitv, in chap. xxi. — of different transgressors, in chap. xxiv. — of his own past condition, in chap. xxix. — and of the melancholy contrast, in chap. xxx. — of the sick man restored to health, in chap, xxxiii., besides many others, are proofs of the fine descriptive power that reigns throughout this singular 1 ook; each of these forming a separate picture, which a skilful painter might transfer t«> his canvas. QUALITIES OF STYLE. 5$ OF THE PATHETIC. In one respect, the whole of this book is of a pathetic cast, inasmuch as the narrative itself is of a melancholy nature, as containing an account of the sufferings of an eminently good man. But besides this, there are several passages and senti- ments interspersed throughout, which display this quality in a remarkable degree. Who can read the description of Job's agony of grief in chap. iii. without feeling himself deeply agitated ? Where there are many to participate in a calamity, the burden seems to be lessened, in consequence of society in sorrow ; but where the whole falls vipon one person, and that one highly estimable, our sympathies are roused to no common height : and this was Job's case. Seated on the ashes, he sits alone in his sufferings, and these of the most severe and accumulated kind. Eve's expulsion from Paradise — Mil- ton's account of his blindness — recollections of the scenes of youth never to be visited again, are all more or less affecting; but in Job's case every species of human misery seems concen- trated, and nothing left but one, as a source of consolation — the testimony of a good conscience. But for particular specimens of the pathetic in this book, we may justly refer to chap, vii., where the afflicted saint makes his mournful appeal to God ; to chap, xiv., as an affect- ing description of the frailty of human existence ; to chap, xvi., descriptive of his miserable condition ; but above all, to chap, xix., where he bursts into the piercing exclamation, — " Pity me, pity me, O my friends ! For the hand of God hath touched me." 54 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. ELEGIAC POETRY. It is well known that grief, except when excessive, finds relief by venting itself in the language of lamentation and complaint. All nations have more or less exhibited speci- mens of the tender and mournful poetry, now called elegiac. Its characteristics are, tenderness, sweetness, and elegance ; it is the expression of painful feeling, arising from bereave- ment of some kind, and is simple, abrupt, and no way studious of ornament, the mind being in no fit state to seek for poetical embellishment. Such is the lament of David over Saul and Jonathan ; such also are the well-known Lamentations of Jeremiah, the dirge of a holy prophet weeping over the ruins of his country, and tracing her desolation to her own trans- gressions. That there should be much of the language of sorrow in the book of Job, is not to be wondered at, considering the circum- stances of the pious sufferer. Such are the following lines : — " I have sewed sackcloth on my skin, I have rolled my turban in the dust. My eye is bedimmed with weeping, On mine eyelids is the shadow of death. Yet there is no injustice in my hands, Also my prayer is pure. O earth, hide no blood shed by me, And let there be no concealment of cries made against me. And here, behold, my appeal is to heaven, And my witness is on high. My friends scorn me, But mine eye pours out tears unto God." Many passages besides might be produced, which, if they have not the form, have at least the spirit of the ancient elegy : but, as Bishop Lowth observes, these are parts of an entire HEBRAISMS. 55 poem, and are not rashly to be detached from the body of the work ; and it is sufficient here to mention those passages as exquisite treasures, which the Muse of Sorrow might legally claim as her own, were she disposed to assert her rigid rights. See chapters iii. vi. vii. x. xiv. xvii. xix. xxix. xxx. HEBRAISMS. To particularize all the Hebraisms in this book, would be no easy task; for, whatever foreign idioms may be found in it, the substance of the language is Hebrew, and is con- formed to the peculiarities of that tongue. To those who are acquainted with the Hebrew, the task is unnecessary ; to those who are ignorant, it would be useless or tedious. I have therefore merely selected a few, as examples of the general structure of the poem ; and these, chiefly for the purpose of throwing additional light on the passages in which they occur. Chap. i. 12. " Put forth thine hand ;" i. e. to kill or slay ; as in Gen. xxii. 12. " Lay not thine hand upon the lad." Gen. xxxvii. 22. " Lay no hand upon him." Neh. xiii. 21. "I will lay hands upon you." Esther ii. 21. " Sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus." In all these passages, " stretch forth the hand," as importing violence, would have been a more suitable translation of the phrase. Chap. i. 16. " Fire of God;" i. e. a very great fire : the name of God being added to nouns, when any thing very great or vehement is signified. The instances of this are numerous ; such as cedars of God, river of God, mountains of God, &c. Here it may denote a thun- derbolt, or flash of lightning. See Numb. xi. 1, 3. 56 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. Chap. iii. 1. " Opened his mouth." It is to be observed, that the Turks, Arabians, and Indians, and in general most of the inhabitants of the East, are a soli- tary, silent kind of people. They speak but seldom, and never long, without emotion. Speaking is a matter of moment among such people, as we may gather from their usual intro- ductions ; for before they deliver their thoughts, they give notice by sajung, " I will open my mouth," or unloose my tongue. So Matthew (chap. v. 2) describes our Lord before commencing his admirable sermon on the mount. So also in many other parts of Scripture. Chap. v. 3. " I saw the foolish taking root, And I suddenly cursed his habitation." Verbs that signify to be, to do, or to act, in Hebrew are some- times put for a mere knoioledge of the thing, as here — I knew that his habitation was, or would be cursed ; or, I denounced his habitation, which is a softer term. Chap. v. 7. " Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward ;" literally, as the sons of the burning coal lift up themselves to fly. Here, according to a common Hebraism, which attributes the term son to many subjects, animate and inanimate, the spark is said to be derived from the burning coal as its parent, from which it arises and shines. But I have preferred here the reading of the LXX., which translates it " birds," or " young vultures." Chap. v. 23. " Thou shalt be in league with the sons of the field;" by the sons of the field, meaning whatever animals or reptiles the fields produce, that might injure either Job, his servants, or his flocks. Good contends for this interpretation in a plausible note, though he himself translates it " tribes," and says the reading should be beni, instead of abeni. HEBRAISMS. o7 But though this expression, " sons of the field," is quite agreeable to the Hebrew idiom, as we have remarked above, yet, unhappily for this interpretation, it derives no support from any ancient version, nor yet, so far as is known, from any manuscript hitherto collated. If so, we must take up with the common rendering, " stones of the field," which may simply mean, that the soil should not be unfruitful, or the stones of the field hostile to the rising crop. But there is another sense in which the term may be used, if understood to allude to the practice of placing stones in the ground of those with whom men were at variance, as a warning that any one daring to till that field should be slain. This last meaning, however, seems too recondite, and the former is a more natural explanation. Chap. x. 2. " Do not condemn me ;" literally, do not make me wicked ; i. e. do not treat me as such. It is a rule in Biblical criticism, of which there are many examples, that verbs denoting simple being or action, are sometimes used when only a declaration is intended, or even a mere expectation that the act will be clone. Thus — Levit. xiii. 3, " He shall make him unclean ;" i. e. pro- nounce him to be so. Isa. vi. 10, " Make gross the heart of this people ;" i. e. de- clare it to be gross. 2 Cor. iii. 2, " The letter killeth" i.e. declares death to be the consequence of sin. Phil. iii. 7, " What things were gain ;" i. e. had been so esteemed. Chap. xi. 2. " A man of lips ;" a loquacious man. See in numerous instances; e.g. — Exod. iv. 10. " A man of words ;" an eloquent man. 1 Sam. xvi. IS. " A man of form ;" a handsome man. 2 Sam. xvi. 7. " A man of blood ;" a cruel man. 1 Kings ii. 26. " A man of death ;" a man deserving to die. 58 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. Prov. xv. 18. "A man of heat ;" an angry man. Prov. xix. 6. " A man of gifts ;" a munificent man. Isa. liii. 3. " A man of sorrows ;" one habitually grieved. Chap. xiii. 14. " I will put my life in my hands ;" i. e. I will expose my life to danger. This phrase occurs in several parts of Scripture, and always has the same significa- tion. The ground of it seems to be this : that as id, the hand, is often used as a metaphor for power, a person is said to put his life in his hand, when he is reduced solely to his own power or agency for the preservation of it. Or, the putting of any thing valuable into one's hands may signify exposing it to danger on this account, because it is then ready to be snatched away by any one that is stronger ; whereas a treasure locked up, and kept in a retired place, is not so easy to come at, nor affords the like temptation. Chap. xvi. 15. " And defiled my horn in the dust." The Hebrews frequently used the term horn as a figurative expression for strength, power, or honour. The last term is probably meant in this place. The metaphor is taken from the horns of animals, which constitute their strength and beauty. The Jewish altars were decorated with horns, and were considered as places of refuge when persons were pursued by enemies. The turban, or head-dress of the East, as used by men, was anciently of the shape of a horn, spiral and pointed. Whether this decoration had any relation to the idolatrous worship of the sun and moon, whose crescent form used to be designated by the name of horns, it is not easy to ascertain. Job's third daughter is called Keran-happuch, which signifies cornucopia, or the horn of plenty. Chap, xviii. 13. " The first-born of death." The privileges of the first-born among the Jews being very great, that which is chief, or most eminent in any kind, is called " the first-born." So here the first-born of death is HEBRAISMS. 59 either the most fatal or cruel death, or it denotes the ivorm, the first and earliest issue of putrefaction. Chap. xxiv. 1 9. The Hebrew sometimes omits the connect- ing particles, whether of conjunction or comparison ; as here : " As drought and heat consume the snow, So doth the grave those who have sinned.'' But see Good on the passage, who translates the whole verse differently, though I think he has mistaken the sense. Chap. xxix. 24. " I smiled upon them, and they were gay ; They rejected not the light of my countenance." This last expression is very common in the Old Testament Scriptures, the " light of the countenance" signifying a favour- able or friendly aspect, and the absence of it denoting unac- ceptableness, displeasure, or chagrin. See Gen. iv. 5. The meaning here is, — They were very careful not to abuse my smiles, and to give me no occasion to change my counte- nance or carriage towards them. See Numb. vi. 26. Ps. iv. 6; xxi. 6; xliv. S. Prov. xvi. 15. Chap. xxx. 8. " Children of fools" — lit. sons of Nabal ; i. e. they were a contemptible race ; for nebel, or nabal, in Scripture, generally signifies one who has no reputation, or one who is destitute of wisdom, goodness, and every principle of virtue. In the same verse occurs " children of no name ;" i. e. men of no eminence or renown. <'0 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. VARIOUS READINGS. The numerous various readings which occur in the manu- scripts of Scripture, may be attributed to two sources — chance and design — the greater number being attributable to the former of these two. They arise chiefly from the haste and carelessness of transcribers. When a transcriber was inattentive and absent, he might write, not what was in his copy, but whatever might be passing in his mind at the time ; or, when he wrote from the dictation of another, he might commit errors from merely hearing wrong. As many Hebrew letters are similar in form, it was easy, even when attentive, to mistake one letter for another ; and if he wrote from the dictation of another, he might err by reason of indistinctness in pronouncing ; and sometimes, when he was writing a whole clause from memory, after having read it in his manuscript, he might insensibly set down a synonymous word instead of what he had in his copy. He might also, in casting his eye on a preceding line, or word, write over again what he had written already, thus making a useless repetition ; or, casting his eye inadvertently on a subsequent word or line, he might write from that subsequent place, omitting all that intervened. He might afterwards discover his mistake, and not choosing to erase, he might return to the passage he had omitted, and insert it in the wrong place, and so produce a transposition. The second source of false readings is design, to which are to be ascribed such as are made knowingly and wilfully ; or such as, having been made accidentally, are allowed to remain, after being perceived, rather than by blotting injure the beauty of the manuscript ; and some might arise from the transcriber adding a clearer or fuller expression from a VARIOUS READINGS. 61 parallel passage, or altering in conformity to a favourite version, or to illustrate what they deemed obscure, or from dislike to a particular doctrine, or by adding the glosses of former transcribers, which they unwarrantably took into the text, or to answer some particular purpose. From all these, and other causes that might be assigned, many false readings have arisen, which may be ranked under four heads — Omissions, Additions, Alterations, and Trans- positions, whether of letters, words, or clauses. That the book of Job was equally liable to these, as the other books of Scripture, may be readily supposed ; nay, it might even be more so, from the obscurity of many passages, arising from the great antiquity of the composition, and the occurrence of Hebrew or Arabic terms not generally met with in the other books. For these various readings we must be content to refer to the Collations of Kennicott, De Rossi, and others. Our object here is to produce only a few of those variations that are found to exist between the Hebrew original and the Septuagint and Vulgate versions. It would have been easy to swell the list, but the mere English, or uncritical reader, would attach little or no value to them. The principal pur- pose to be served by their introduction, is, to check that positive and dogmatical spirit, which is prone to found some favourite doctrine on a particular text without first inquiring whether that text be genuine. A little inquiry might show, that the selected text, when examined closely, contained no such doctrine. In regard to the Septuagint, as elsewhere observed, it is occasionally so much of a paraphrase, rather than a literal version, that its various readings become neces- sarily multiplied, though the sense is in substance the same ; and to notice all these variations would be a mere waste of time. Chap. i. 3. The LXX. add, " And great was their labour over the land ;" for which there is nothing in the Hebrew. 62 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. Chap. i. 6. The Chaldee paraphrase here has, " Now there was a day of scrutiny in the beginning of the year, and the hosts of angels came, and stood in judgment before the Lord." Chap. i. 7. The same adds here, " To examine into the works of the sons of man." Chap. i. 21. Some versions add here, after Jehovah, the words " for ever and ever." The LXX., after " taken away," adds, " The Lord has done as it seemed good to him." Chap. ii. 9. There is a large addition here ; for which see " Additions of the LXX." Chap. iii. 8. The LXX. read thus : " Let him that curses the day, curse it, As one who is to attack the great sea-monster." " The meaning is," says Dr. Wall, " to catch a Tartar, or to rouse a lion." Chap. iii. 18. The LXX. have, " the tax-gatherer," an officer probably unknown in Job's day. Chap. iii. 22. One of Kennicott's MSS. reads here, in- stead of " exceedingly," " Who rejoice at the tomb, And exult when they find the grave." Chap. iv. 21. (LXX.) " He blows upon them, and they wither." Chap. v. 5. (LXX.) " What they have got together, the just shall eat ; And they themselves shall not escape mischiefs : Their strength shall be exhausted." Chap. v. 15. Eleven manuscripts read, " From the sword of their mouth ;" and with these manuscripts the Chaldee, Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic agree. VARIOUS READINGS. 63 Chap. vi. (LXX.) " 25 But my words are, it seems, devoid of truth, Because I do not beg assistance from you. 26 Your reproof can neither stop my speaking, Nor can I bear the tone of your oration : 27 Because you not only fall upon the orphan, But also insult your friend. 28 Sit down, I pray, and let there be no more reproaches. 29 Agree again with one that is a righteous man ; 30 For there is no iniquity in my tongue : And as for my palate, doth it not relish wisdom ?" Chap.vii. 1. (LXX.) " Is not man's life upon earth a state of trial ?" (Vulgate,) " of warfare ?" Chap. viii. 16. (LXX.) " Though he is green beneath the sun, His branch shall decay by rottenness. He is planted on a heap of stones ; He grows in the middle of flints." The Vulgate has, "he is moist before the sun comes upon him." Chap. ix. 8. The LXX. add, " As upon firm ground." Chap. ix. 26. " Swift ships.' Forty-seven manuscripts, and the Syriac version, read " hostile ships." Perhaps referring to the light vessels of pirates, under a press of sail, that they may escape with their booty. Chap. x. 13. (Vulg.) " I know that thou rememberest them all." Chap. x. 22. (Vulg.) " A murky land, covered with the thick darkness of death, A land of wretchedness and obscurities, Where the shadow of death is ; And no order, but sempiternal horror dwells everywhere." 64 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. Chap. xi. 12. (Vulg.) " Vain man is puffed up with pride, He supposes himself to be born free, like the wild ass's colt ;" i. INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. Chap, xviii. 4. (LXX.) " If you die, will the earth he uninhabited ? Will the hills be thrown down from their foundations ?" Chap, xviii. 14. (LXX.) " May health be expelled from his dwelling, And distress lay hold on him with the authority of a king." Chap. xix. 20. (LXX.) " The flesh next my skin has become rotten, And my bones begin to be corroded." (Symmachus.) " I tear off my skin with my teeth." (Vulgate.) " Only my lips are left about my teeth." Castalio and Tremellius are the same as the English version. Chap. xx. 2. (LXX.) " I did not suppose that thou wouldst return such an answer ; But do you not feel it more than I ?" Chap. xx. 17. (LXX.) " He shall not see the milking of his kine, Nor the distribution of his honey and butter." Chap. xx. 20. (LXX.) The rendering of the Greek here is a striking instance of the liberty which that version has so frequently taken with this book. It is not easily accounted for, unless by supposing various readings in the ancient He- brew manuscripts. It is thus : " There is no security for his possessions, Nor shall he be saved by what he valueth highly." It would be endless to notice all the errors of this version ; but the reader may discover how numerous they are, by consulting and comparing the Hebrew terms, as rendered into Greek in Trommius's Concordance to the Septuagint; e. g. Tern, perfection or uprightness, in chap. iv. 6, is rendered by the LXX. Kama, evil or perverseness ! Ruh, or ruach, VARIOUS READINGS. (>7 signifying wind, spirit, breath, &c. is translated in a variety of ways without the least necessity, thereby obscuring the sense, or altering the sentiment. It is plain they did not rightly understand, or else paid too little regard to, the proper sense of several Hebrew words ; thus : in chap. vi. 4, they render the term by blood; xv. 13, anger; xxvi. 13, the bars of heaven ; xxx. 22, sorrow. Chap. xxii. 12. (LXX.) " Doth not He who dwelleth on high observe 1 Doth he not humble the haughty ?" Chap. xxii. 15, &c. (LXX.) " Thou wilt not keep the old way, Which righteous men have trodden, Who were borne aloft, And whose foundations were the surgy stream. As for them who said, What can the Lord do to us, Or what can the Almighty bring upon us ?" &c. The Chaldee, instead of "out of time," reads "when their time was not yet ;" that is, the time or period to which they might have lived according to the course of nature. Chap. xxii. 18. " Far from me ;" — the LXX. have " Far from him." Chap. xxii. 20. (LXX. and Vulgate.) " Is not their substance dissipated ? And has not fire consumed the remainder ?" Chap. xxii. 25. (LXX.) " Thou shalt be as silver tried in the fire." Chap. xxii. 29. (LXX.) " Because thou hast humbled thyself thou wilt say, Such a one was insolent ; but he will save him whose eyes are lowly. He indeed will save the innocent. Save thyself therefore with clean hands." r 2 (58 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. None but the English version have any mention of an island. Chap.xxiv.il. (LXX.) " They have entrapped some unjustly in straits, And the path of justice they did not know." Chap. xxiv. 20. (LXX.) " Then was his sin brought to remembrance. Though he was dark as the darkness of night, Retribution shall be made for what he hath done. Every wicked man shall be crushed as rotten wood." Chap. xxvi. 12. (LXX.) " By his knowledge the monster was overthrown." Chap. xxvi. 13. (LXX.) " By a decree he doomed to death the apostate dragon." Chap, xxvii. 18. (LXX.) " His house is gone like moths, or like a cobweb." Chap, xxvii. 21. (LXX.) " The burning wind shall take him up, and go he must." Chap. xxix. 11. (LXX. and Vulgate.) " He hath opened his quiver against me." Chap. xxix. 28. (LXX.) " I went mourning without restraint. I stood in the congregation, and cried aloud." Here the Vulgate has in turba, which some ignorant tran- scribers have altered to in tuba, I cried with a trumpet. It is through negligences of this kind that various readings sometimes occur, and foolish mistakes creep in. Chap. xxx. 11. (LXX.) " For the defiling of another man's wife exciteth a fury of wrath not to be restrained." Chap. xxx. 29, 30. (LXX.) " If 1 have rejoiced at the downfal of my enemies, And my heart hath said, Aha ! Let mine ear hear myself cursed, And let me be a byeword among the people, When I am afflicted." VARIOUS HEADINGS. ()£> Chap. xx.v. 33. (LXX.) " If, when I had sinned inadvertently, I concealed my sin." No translator here introduces the word Adam but Castalio and the English ; nor is there any trace in the book of any reference to the history of the Creation, of the first trans- gression, Paradise, the Flood, &c. Chap, xxxiii. 13. (Symniachus.) " Thou sayest, To what purpose should one contend with him, For none of his words must be contradicted ?" (Vulgate.) " Thou art angry with him, That he has not answered all thy words." Chap, xxxiii. 23, &e. (LXX.) " Though there may be a thousand messengers of death, Not one of them can mortally wound him. If he determine in his heart to turn to the Lord, When he shall have shown man his charge against him, and pointed out to him his folly, He will support him, that he may not fall to death, And renew his body like the plastering on a wall ; And will fill his bones with marrow, And make his flesh soft like that of an infant, And restore him to full strength among men. 27 Then will the man blame himself, and say, What have I done ! He hath not chastened me As my sins deserve," &c. Chap. xxxv. 2. (LXX.) " Thou saidst, I am righteous before God." Chap, xxxvi. 28. There is a remarkable addition to this verse in the LXX. The whole verse is as follows : " The rains descend, And the clouds cover with their shadows multitudes of men. He hath impressed the hour on animals, That they might know their order in lying down. At all these things is not thy mind astonished, And thy heart ready to start from thy body ?" 70 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. But all the latter part of this chapter, and most of the next, is either mutilated in the copies, as Wall observes, or else there is no discovering the meaning ; for no translator makes tolerable sense, whether it be the Vulgate, Castalio, or the English. Where the Hebrew has five or six words to make part of a sentence, the LXX. has perhaps two or three like words, but no more. Chap, xxxviii. 7. (LXX.) " When the stars were made, all the angels of God praised me with a loud voice." Chap, xxxviii. 14. (LXX.) " Hast thou taken clay from the earth to form an animal, And placed on the earth a creature endowed with speech?" Chap, xxxviii. 17. 2d hemistich. (LXX.) " Have the door-keepers of Hades trembled at the sight of thee ?" Chap, xxxviii. 18. 2d hemistich. (LXX.) " Tell me, how broad is it ?" Chap, xxxviii. 36. The LXX. have a strange reading here : " Who hath given woman a skill in weaving, And a knowledge of the art of embroidering ?" The Vulgate reading is equally strange : " Who hath placed wisdom in the bowels of man ? Who hath given intelligence to the dunghill cock ?" i. e. I suppose, that it might be able to distinguish and pro- claim the watches of the night. Chap, xxxix. 7. (LXX.) " He scorneth the crowds of a city, And regardeth not the demand of the tax-gatherer." The Vulgate, too, has " exactor." — Wall jocosely observes, " There were, it seems, such creatures (as the tax-gatherer) in some countries in Job's time." This I should rather doubt. " Such creatures" belong to more modern systems of zoology. Chap, xxxix. 22. 2d hemistich. (LXX.) " His neck with terror." Vulgate. " With neighing." PARALLEL PASSAGES. 71 Chap. xli. 25. (LXX.) " When he turneth himself about, all the four-footed beasts on the earth shrink with fear." Chap. xli. 30. (LXX.) " His bed is sharp-pointed obelisks, And all the gold in the sea under him is but as dirt." (Vulgate.) " Under him shall be the beams of the sun ; He makes his bed of gold, as it were of mire." Strange discrepancies here ! Chap. xlii. 8. (LXX.) " Go to my servant Job, and he will offer a burnt-offering for you, and my servant Job will pray for you. For him only will I accept : for were it not for his sake I would destroy you, because you have not spoken what is true against my servant Job." Chap. xlii. 14. (LXX.) " And the third, The horn of Amalthea," (or what we call Cornucopia, the horn of plenty.) Chap. xlii. 16. (LXX.) " And Job lived after this affliction an hundred and seventy years. So that all the years which he lived were two hun- dred and forty." Chap. xlii. 17. " So Job died an old man, and full of days. And it is written, that he shall rise again, among those whom the Lord shall raise." PARALLEL PASSAGES. Chap. iii. We find a similar execration to this in .Jer. xx. 14 — 18, and in other places ; which are no proofs that the one borrowed from the other, but rather that this was the common mode of Asiatic thinking, speaking, and feeling on such 72 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. occasions. The passage in Jeremiah is as follows, from Blayney's version : — " Cursed be the day on which I was born : The day on which my mother bare me, let it not be blessed. Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, Saying, There is a male child born to thee, Making him exceedingly glad. And let the man be as the cities Which Jehovah overthrew, and repented not ; Even hearing an outcry in the morning, And an alarm at the time of noon. Who did not slay me from the womb, So that my mother might have been my grave, Even the womb of her that conceived me, for ever. Wherefore came I forth from the womb, To experience disquietude and sorrow, And that my days should be spent in shame V Here, as Bishop Lowtli observes (Lecture XIV.), the impre- cation of Jeremiah has more in it of complaint than of indig- nation ; it is milder, softer, and more plaintive, — peculiarly- calculated to excite pity, in moving which the great excellence of this prophet consists ; while that of Job is more adapted to strike us with terror, than to excite our compassion. The grief, or rather the despair of Job, is of the solemn, majestic, and truly tragic kind. There is everywhere the strongest indication of passion, and of a perturbed mind. He appears to have a direct picture or image of " that night " before his eyes, and to point it out with his finger. For the further illustration of this wonderful passage, I must refer to the Lecture itself. Should any one find fault with these passionate impreca- tions in the writings of holy men, let it be observed, that it would be wrong to interpret them in a literal sense ; they are mere bursts of uncontrollable emotion, and arc to be regarded as expressions of mourning and sorrow, rather than of indig- nation and malice. Interpreted literally, they would amount to absurdity ; as when David said, " Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew upon you, neither rain, nor fields of PARALLEL PASSAGES. 73 offerings ;" a matter not to be accomplished by a wish, since it would be a reversing of the laws of nature. Divested of their poetical embellishment, all that these good men meant, comes only to this : That as events turned out, to all human appear- ance, their birthday had proved an unlucky one to them, and that the person who carried tidings of their birth had been the messenger of ill news instead of good. But when this is painted with the pencil of poetry, the images of violent and tumultuous passion are purposely multiplied, and every object is described in its most appalling and revolting form. Chap. xix. 8. " He hath fenced up my way, so that I cannot go forward : He hath covered my path with thick darkness." The meaning here seems to be very similar to that of Jeremiah, in Lam. iii. 9 : " He hath blocked up my path with hewn stone ; My paths he hath distorted :" as if God had placed some insuperable obstacle in my way ; as if he had built a stone wall across, so as to oblige me to turn aside from the direct road ; so that I am at a loss how to proceed, like a man whose journey lay through dark and intri- cate paths. Chap. xxi. 14. " Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us, We desire not the knowledge of thy ways ;'' a passage not unlike, in sentiment, to Jer. ix. 6. The know- ledge of God, which is true religion, is incompatible with the habitual practice of any wickedness; and therefore it is natu- ral for those who resolve to persist in their wicked courses, to try to divest themselves of religious impressions and principles, which are sure to be troublesome, if they are insufficient to restrain them. In the book of Baruch, chap. iii. 14 to the end, there is a passage closely resembling that in the 28th chapter of Job, 74 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. beginning at the 12th verse. It must be quoted, in order to be compared. " Learn where is wisdom, where is strength, where is understand- ing. Who hath found out her place ? Who hath come into her treasuries ? Young men have seen light, and dwelt upon the earth, But the way of knowledge have they not known. Who hath gone up to heaven and taken her, And brought her down from the clouds ? Who hath gone over the sea, and found her, And will bring her for pure gold ? No man knoweth her way, Nor thinketh of her path. But He that knoweth all things, knoweth her, And hath found her out with his understanding. He that sendeth forth light, and it goeth, Calleth it again, and it obeyeth him with fear : He hath found out the way of knowledge, And hath given it to Jacob his servant, And to Israel his beloved." If this be an imitation of the passage in Job, of which it bears many marks, then every reader must see that it is no improve- ment on the latter, but is in all respects inferior. When the book of Baruch was written, by whom, or for what purpose, are questions difficult to answer. Though never considered a canonical book, it was cited and read in the earliest ages of Christianity, as a production entitled to credit. Dr. Good observes, that the sufferings of Job are often remotely alluded to, and his own description of them occasion- ally very closely copied by succeeding poets. This idea (says he) does not appear to have occurred to our expositors, but it will give a very happy and forcible illustration of many pas- sages of Scripture, and in some degree settle the point of the high antiquity of the poem. In this remark I concur; but some of the passages Dr. Good refers to as peculiarly parallel PARALLEL PASSAGES. 75 to others in the book of Job, seem to me to fall short in exact resemblance. For instance, he says chap. xix. 14 is so pecu- liarly parallel with Psalm xli. 5 — 9, as to render it almost impossible that the latter should not be a copy of the former, considering more especially how often other passages are imi- tated. Now, to me, the resemblance appears only a general one, and such as must necessarily occur where persons simi- larly situated are describing their distressed circumstances. In all these, the resemblance may be considered rather as casual, than as arising from imitation or citation. And could it be proved that one of the writers borrowed from the other, the question would still remain, Which was the borrower ? But the character of the writings themselves, when compared one with another, gives plain evidence on behalf of the superior antiquity of the book of Job. So far as any of the passages, above or hereafter referred to as parallel, are simply maxims or proverbial sentences, handed down from age to age, a succession of writers might employ them, as derived from one common source ; and the only method, perhaps, of discovering who had used them first, would be by ascertaining their most simple form ; for the earliest writer would express them most simply, and succeed- ing writers would be ready to employ adjuncts, or to give the maxim a greater degree of expansion. Dr. Magee observes, that it is objected by Codurcus, Gro- tius, and Le Clerc, that there are passages in the book of Job which so strongly resemble some in the Psalms and Proverbs, that we may fairly suppose them to have been taken from those writings. But to this Warburton has well replied, that " if the sacred writers must needs have borrowed trite moral sentences from one another, it may be as fairly said that the authors of the Psalms borrowed from the book of Job, as that the author of Job borrowed from the book of Psalms." And Peters, in his reply to Warburton, has shown that certain phrases, on which the latter had laid stress, as supporting his singular argument, have no peculiar stamp of age or country, and bear no marks whatever of being borrowed from other parts of Scripture. 76 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. It should also be observed, that in opposition to the above- mentioned objection of Grotius, Le Clerc, &c. Bishop Hare has endeavoured to show, that there is internal evidence that the Psalmist has borrowed from Job, not Job from the Psalmist. And Chappelow, in his Commentary on Job, re- presents the passages which are common to Job with the writers of the Psalms, Proverbs, &c. as proverbial forms of speech, sentences of instruction, or melim, as they are pecu- liarly called in Job, transmitted from one age to another. It is therefore not necessary to suppose that either borrowed from the other. Chap, xxxiv. 37. " He would clap his hands in the midst of us." The same image occurs in Jer. xlviii. 26. " Clap hands at Moab in his vomiting, That he also may become an object of derision." The image is applied to one who points out another to scorn and ridicule. Chap, xxxviii. 8. " Who shut up the sea with doors ?" Compared with Lam. iii. 43 : " Thou hast shut us up in thine anger." The same Hebrew verb, seac, occurs in these pas- sages, and in Job iii. 23 ; x. 1 1 ; and some have supposed, here, an allusion to the manner of enclosing wild beasts with toils, such as they could not break through. The same is alluded to in the following lines of Statius : " Sic curva feras indajjo latentes Claudit, et admotis paulatim cassibus arctat." Achill. i. 459. Chap, xxxix. 16. " She (the ostrich) is callous to her young, As if they were not hers." DOCTRINES DEDUCIBLE. 77 So in Lam. iv. 3. " The daughter of my people in cruelty Is like the ostriches in the desert." For an account of the ostrich, see Shaw's Travels. Omitting farther illustration of particular passages, it may be sufficient to present a list of some that have been con- sidered parallel, the resemblance being more or less striking. Compare Job vii. 7. with Ps. viii. 5 ; cxliv. 3. xii. 21,24. — cvii. 40. xv. 27. — xvii. 10. xv. 35. — , vii. 15; Isa. lix. xviii. 5, 6. — Prov. xiii. 9. xix. 13, 15. — Ps.xxxi. 12,13; xxxviii. 12. xxi. 5. — Mic. vii. 16. xxi. 7. — Jer. xii. 1. xxii. 30. — Ezek. xiv. 14, 20. xxiii. 28. — Prov. i. 7. xxxiv. 19. — Ps. civ. 19. xxxviii. 10, 11. — Prov. viii. 29. xxviii. — viii. Also, i. 21. — Eccles. v. 14. DOCTRINES DEDUCIBLE. We learn from this book : — That angels are imperfect beings, and liable to the Divine reproof. Chap. iv. 18. That there is no forming a certain judgment respecting the conditions of men, whether prosperous or adverse ; the human lot not being invariably regulated by a regard to the cha- racter and conduct of the individual, but occasionally at least influenced by reasons existing in the Divine Mind, as parts of his scheme of government, and by transactions which take place in the celestial court, to which man is not privy. Chaps, i. ii. 78 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. That complaints against Providence, which arise not from a murmuring and impious disposition, but solely from the severity of a man's sufferings, are not imputed to him as guilt. See chap, xlii., in which the Almighty, summing up the case, does not charge Job with those instances of irre- verence which he had so repeatedly manifested. That great sufferings are not always marks of the Divine displeasure, but are intended as trials of faith and patience. That the government of God is not exercised over man only, but extends to the brute creation. Chaps, xxxviii. xxxix. xl. That piety and holiness may exist in a very eminent de- gree, even under a comparatively obscure dispensation of religion. That those are more criminal in the eye of God, who pro- nounce false judgments on a man's sufferings, than the man who complains under the pressure of those sufferings. That man's best deeds may be pleasing, but are no way profitable, to God. Chap, xxii. 2. That the Divine favour is an inexhaustible mine of felicity ; and the man who delights himself in God is indifferent to earthly riches. Chap. xxii. 24. That hospitality is a sacred duty, and a neglect of it dis- pleasing to God. Chap. xxii. 7. That though the Deity is invisible by mortal men, he is intimately acquainted with all our ways, and with every course we take. Chap, xxiii. 8 — 10. That the wicked often prosper for a length of time, and seem to sin with impunity; but God merely delays their punishment, the day of retribution not being arrived. That the mansion of the dead is as much under the eye of God as the abode of the living. Chap. xxvi. 8. That no merchandize can purchase wisdom. Chap. xlii. 15. That we ought to entertain a proper reverence for kings. Chap, xxxiv. 18. That Divine judgments have a salutary tendency. Chap. xxxvi. 8. OCCURRENCE OF THE NAME JEHOYMI. 79 That God's justice is to be vindicated : — Because he is supreme, and therefore independent. Because he is evidently a benignant, not a severe Ruler. Because, from his nature, he is incapable of wrong. Because he is obviously impartial in his distributions and in his punishments. Because he perfectly knows the persons of men, their secret actions, and their motives. That a clear view of the perfections of God has a powerful effect in producing repentance. Other doctrinal deductions may be found in the Notes and Illustrations. OCCURRENCE OF THE NAME JEHOVAH. It is somewhat singular, that the name Jehovah occurs only in the prologue and epilogue of the book, and not at all in the poem itself, where the Supreme is uniformly called by the names of Al, Ale, Aleim, Schaddai, Adonai. There is only one place in the poem (chap. xii. 9) in which our editions have Jehovah, which appears to have been the error of some copyist in the manuscripts from which those editions were made, since all the other manuscripts have Adonai. But this distinction in the name of God does not authorize us to conclude that the prologue and epilogue were written by one author, and the poem itself by another ; since it is plain, that the poem closely connects with the prologue, and rests upon it as on a foundation, while the epilogue is in exact conformity to both, and a natural and proper sequel to them. Without the prologue and epilogue, the poem would have neither beginning nor end, and would in a great degree be inexplicable. Some persons, wishing to refer the whole composition to a later age, have contended, that the use of the name Jehovah SO INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. proves that the book could not have been composed until a certain period, when that name became familiar to the Jews ; and at any rate that it must be later than the age of Moses, God not having been known by that name till the commence- ment of Moses's mission, as appears from Exod. vi. 3. But this is a mistake ; for God tvas known to the patriarchs by that appellation, as is plain from its use in Gen. xiv. 22; xv. 2,8; xxiv. 3; xxviii. 13, 16; xxxii. 9. The sense of the passage in Exodus therefore is, not that the name was unknown to any before Moses's time, but the signification of the name, — viz. the nature and properties of the self-existent Being, expressed by that comprehensive term, which in the original signifies "faithful and steadfast, making things to be;" that is, fulfilling all his promises, which he began to accom- plish in the time and by the hand of Moses. So that the name was known long before, but God was not distinguished or acknoivledged by it before Moses's day. It is enough to remember, that Abraham called the mountain on which he was to have sacrificed his son, fehovah-Jireh.. And to remove all difficulty from the passage in Exodus, may we not inter- pret the Hebrew term shem by " character," instead of " name ?" and then the sense will be, " In my character of Al Shaddai, or the Omnipotent God, I was known to them formerly ; they then relied on my poiver to fulfil my promises : but now I will be more particularly known by the character of Je- hovah, or the performer of those promises." ADDITIONS OF THE LXX. The LXX. have some remarkable additions to the book of Job, which are not found in the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, or Arabic copies, though they are said to be translated out of a book in the Syrian language. They are as follow : — " For he dwelt in the land of Ausitis, on the confines of Idumea and Arabia. ADDITIONS OF THE LXX. 81 " His first name was Jobab, and having married an Arabian woman, he had by her a son, whose name was Ennon. " Now he himself was a son of father Zare, one of the sons of Esau, and his mother's name was Bosorra ; so that he was the fifth in descent from Abraham. " Now these were the kings who reigned in Edom, over which country he also bore rule. " The first was Balak, the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dannaba. " And after Balak, Jobab, who is called Job : and after him, Asom, who was general from the region of Thaimanitis : and after him, Adad, son of Barad, who smote Madiam (Midian) in the plain of Moab ; and the name of his city was Gethaim. " And the friends who came to Job were Eliphaz, of the sons of Esau, the king of the Thaimanites ; Baldad, the sovereign of the Saucheans ; and Sophar, the king of the Minaians." This account is in all the editions of the Septuagint, except the Complutensian. But the whole will so ill bear a strict examination, that one cannot think the translators themselves did at first put it there, but rather that it was the work of some later hand, added by some transcriber, who thought Jobab, mentioned Gen. xxxvi. 33, and Job, to be the same person. This addition is given differently in the Greek by the Vatican and the Alexandrian ; it is found in Theodotion, but not in Aquila or Symmachus. It is said also to have been in the old Italic. At what time it was introduced, can- not be conjectured ; but the Greek version of Job appears to have been earlier than Philo Judasus, from his quoting it in his book De nominum mutatione. See Wesley, Dissert, liii. ; Hody de vers. Grac. ; Drusius and Codurcus on Job ; Magee's work on Atonement and Sacrifice; and Shuckford's Con- nexions. For the sources whence this piece of addititious history was probably derived, the reader may turn to Gen. xxxvi. and 1 Chron. i. 82 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. WRITER OF THE BOOK. It is surprising that the name of the author of so excellent a composition should always have been concealed from the world. What his motives for such concealment were, and who he really was, it would be lost time to inquire, as it is now perhaps impossible to discover. The Talmud of Babylon makes Moses the author of this book. Kimchi, Manasseh ben Israel, and the greater part of the Rabbins are of the same opinion ; and Aben Ezra remarks that this was the opinion of all the ancient Hebrew doctors. This tradition has been followed by most of the ancient Chris- tian writers, as Origen, Jerome (who places the book of Job immediately after the Pentateuch), Gregory, Methodius, and others. The reasons for this opinion, as collected by Spanheim, are — 1st. The constant tradition of the Jews, who lay it down as a maxim, that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the history of Balaam, and of Job. 2d. The antiquity of the book itself, and consequently of its writer, who can be no other than Moses, he being the most ancient of the sacred penmen. 3d. The subject of the book, — an example of patience and deliverance, which Moses, no doubt, employed to encourage the Israelites to steadfastness during their bondage in Egypt. 4th. The leisure which Moses had in Midian, where he learned the history of Job, well known in that country, as the Idumcans were neighbours, and where he wrote the book. 5th. The agreement of the period of the history with that of the sojourn of Moses in Midian, when Job still lived in his restored prosperity, which no one could better describe than Moses. WRITER OF THE BOOK. 83 6th. The knowledge which Jethvo probably had of Job, in which also he instructed his son-in-law. 7th. The conformity of style between this book and the writings of Moses. 8th. The probability of this opinion, it being unlikely that Job should write his own history, much less his own praises, as in chap. i. ; and also considering the passage at the close of chap, xxxi., " The words of Job are ended," which is plainly the language of a third person. To which reasons the following replies have been given : — 1st. The Jewish tradition, respecting Moses being the author, is by no means so regular as some affirm. Some Rab- bins place Job in the time of the Judges ; and the Chaldee Paraphrase is not far from the same opinion, since it repre- sents Job as speaking of events that happened in Egypt and in the Desert in favour of Israel. Chrysostom and Polychro- nius also speak of doctors who believe that Job lived after the Law. Lord Chancellor Bacon (Hist. Vitae et Mortis) also places Job in the time of the Judges, after Moses and Joshua. And Castalio, on chap. xv. 18, 19, thinks there is a proof that Job lived long after Moses' time. Some Rabbins even place Job as contemporary with David and Solomon. Olympiodorus, Luther, and others, were of this opinion, because the Jews place the book of Job along with Psalms and Proverbs. Some descend lower, and make Job live during the captivity in Babylon, and keep a public school at Tiberias, merely because he is named after Daniel in Ezek. xiv. 14. And to mention no more of these follies, some maintain that he must have lived under Ahasuerus, because his three daughters were per- fectly beautiful, and Ahasuerus made search after such for his harem. 2d. That the poetical genius of Moses was equal to his capacity for writing historical prose, may be inferred from the few canticles he has left us in the Pentateuch ; but there is undoubtedly a difference of character between those compo- sitions and this book. The poems written by Moses which are extant, and which therefore form the proper materials for comparison, are the following : — o 2 84 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. The dying address of Jacob to his sons, Gen. xlix. The hymn of victory after the passage of the Red Sea, Exod. xv. The oracular responses of Balaam to Balak, Numb, xxiii. and xxiv. The poem called the Song of Moses, Deut. xxxii. His final prayer for the happiness of Israel, Deut. xxxiii. The style in all these is very different from that of the book of Job. The poetry of Job is sententious, bold, rich in ideas and images, and always in the highest manner of picturesque representation. That of Moses is, even in the sublimest pas- sages, more soft and flowing. In Job, we find a style rough and abrupt, like a sound transmitted through rocks and preci- pices, resembling the features of his own country ; the pictures are Idumean, as Herder observes, and not at all conformable to the flat and uniform territory of Egypt. The patriarchal and juridical descriptions of the eastern Emirs, which he applies to the Supreme Governor of the world, show the country in which he was born and educated, and the manners of the age in which he lived ; and bear no resemblance to the despotic rulers of Egypt, or their principles of legislation and action. 3d. As to Moses having translated this poem from the Arabic, while he sojourned with Jethro, his father-in-law, in Midian, there is no proof of such a matter. The work has not the appearance of a translation, but of an original compo- sition in the Hebrew language. The resemblance it bears to Arabian poetry is easily accounted for, from the proximity of the two countries. But in all the poems, strictly Jewish, that are found in the Old Testament, we meet with none that is exactly in the style of Job, nor any attempt at an imitation of it. The prophets borrow from each other, and passages pre- cisely parallel may be traced in many of them, but none of them borrow from Job ; his book stands quite alone, like an ancient pyramid on its base. It is not, and perhaps it cannot be, an object of imitation. As to the expressions and images that occur in the sacred books of a posterior date, seemingly parallel to some in the book of Job, they arc mere accidental WRITER OF THE BOOK. 85 coincidences, such as we meet with in all authors who treat of kindred subjects, and are not to be set down as transcripts. For instance, in the Psalms we find descriptions analogous to those in Job, but by no means of so high an order, nor in so impetuous a style. The first chapters, however, are an exception to these remarks ; they form the historical introduction, and are com- posed in prosaic language, but with such a patriarchal sim- plicity, graceful brevity, and calm sublimity, as to be entirely worthy of the author of the poem, and therefore form a con- sistent part of the whole ; nor is there any reason to suppose they were written by a different pen. The poem of Job is dissimilar from others in this respect also, that it is garnished with maxims, allusions, exclamations, ironies, comparisons, and terms and phrases in the sublime and extraordinary manner of the Arabians, compared with which every other sacred writer except Isaiah, and occasion- ally David, appears tame and unadorned. 4th. The entire absence of mention or reference to the his- tory of prior events, such as the Deluge, the burning of Sodom, the rite of circumcision, the Sabbath, &c. could hardly have taken place in a book of which Moses was the author. 5th. If Moses was the author, Job must have lived and died a considerable time before. If he had been contemporary, it would be impossible for Moses to have outlived Job by so many years as to be able to give us an account of Job's death, and of his numerous posterity : for it is said that Job lived 1 10 years after his sufferings were ended, and saw four gene- rations; whereas Moses lived 40 years before he fled to Midian, 40 years in that country, and 40 more after he was come out of it; in all, 120 years; — unless we remove the difficulty, by supposing that the concluding verses of the book were added afterwards by some inspired person, in order to make the history complete ; in the same manner as Joshua, or some other person, added the account of Moses's death and burial at the end of Deuteronomy. 6th. If Moses was the author, he must have written it cither before or after he received his commission from God. If 86 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. before, then where is its inspiration ? for this book being cano- nical, supposes that it was divinely inspired. If after, where was his leisure ? since his time was occupied either in waiting upon God to receive his orders, or in working miracles on behalf of Israel, or in executing the Divine purposes, or in leading the Israelites for forty years through the Desert. It is true he found leisure to compose the Pentateuch ; but this very engagement would leave him still less time for writing the book of Job. If Moses wrote the Pentateuch before the book of Job, how comes it that in these five books he never once names this eminent patriarch, whom Ezekiel and James, and two apocryphal writers (Baruch and Tobit) disdain not to mention ? On the other hand, if he wrote this work before the Pentateuch, how can we account, as already noticed, for his entire silence in regard to those admirable events which occurred in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the Wilderness ? As to his writing it to console the Israelites in their afflic- tions, it is a mere imagination, since there is nothing in the book calculated for that purpose. The picture of a good man reduced to disease and a dunghill, and having his suffer- ings aggravated by mistaken friends, bore no analogy to the bondage of a w r hole nation in Egypt, to the bricks without straw, and the exposure of the male children. Had this been the object of Moses, he would no doubt have inserted in the book some notice of the Abrahamic covenant, of his own mis- sion, of the prediction of their slavery, and their deliverance from it. Some have ascribed this poem to Solomon ; but the poetry of. lob is of a much more ancient date than that of the Pro- verbs. And it is observable, that Wisdom is not personified by Job, as it is in the Proverbs of Solomon. The poetry of the latter is brilliant ; that of the former, sublime. The lat- ter is full of sense and melody, but it has not the fulminating power and grandeur which characterise the old Idumean book. It is therefore a just matter of surprise, that any critic of judg- ment and taste should have attributed the composition to Solomon. The poetical style and manner of thinking are totally different in these two productions. WRITER OF THE BOOK. 87 Had Solomon been the author of the book of Job, skilled as that monarch was in natural history and in general science, we should have found far more evidence of his skill than the book contains. Rich as the book is in allusions of this kind, there is a poverty rather than an exuberance in it, compared with what we might have looked for from the pen of Solomon. Nor was his personal condition such as to render it probable that he should engage in this species of composition. Sur- rounded by the riches of the East, by all the luxuries of life, and all the splendours of royalty, it would seem an unsuitable theme to sit down to — that of delineating a poor sufferer, overwhelmed with every calamity to which our race is subject, and stripped of all that could constitute enjoyment, except the possession of his faculties and the consciousness of his inte- grity. When we do find Solomon composing a work on the vanity of human pursuits, instead of an animated dialogue, and the introduction of different characters, he moralizes in a strain peculiar to himself, in the form of oriental apophthegms, but with nothing of that descriptive power and richness of imagery which signalize the book of Job. The writer of the 1st book of Kings, chap. iv. 30, descants on Solomon's endowments, his skill in botany, zoology, &c, his more than a thousand songs, and his general literary me- rits ; and here was a fine opportunity, as Bridel observes, for introducing the mention of his having written that singular history, the book of Job, which plainly deserved a special notice. But the omission of all such notice is a pretty strong proof, that at that period Solomon was not considered as the writer of this extraordinary production. The book has been also attributed to Ezra as its author. But no one who has compared the writings of Ezra with the book of Job, can for a moment soberly entertain this opinion. For the reasons that might be given for opposing such a sup- position we have only to refer to Bishop Lowth's Letter to Dr. Warburton, to Michaelis's remarks on the subject, to Schultens, and to other critics of the highest eminence. 1 jightfoot and a few other learned men have been of opinion that Elihu is the true author of the book; but of this there is 88 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. no proof. They even pretend that he announces himself in that capacity in chap, xxxii. 16, 17; but that passage imports nothing of the kind, and is rather the remark of a respondent waiting to answer an unsatisfactory discourse, than of a man proposing to write down what he has heard. One mark of the very high antiquity of the book itself may be derived from this circumstance, — that though the term " months" occurs in the book, none of the months have proper names affixed to them, as in the law of Moses and elsewhere in Scripture. Neither is the term " new moons" to be met with in the book. Another mark of its high antiquity may be derived from this, — that the Mosaic dispensation changed the whole struc- ture of the language, and impressed upon it characters asso- ciated with the new rites that were then introduced. Of these there is no trace in the book of Job. The religion, manners, language, all are patriarchal. The mode of living is evidently pastoral. The patriarch of the district is the judge or magis- trate. God is represented in a paternal character ; there is no theocracy, except the universal government of God ; there is no priesthood, no public worship, no appointed service, nothing peculiar. God manifests himself by visions, and con- verses familiarly with men, as in the first ages of the world ; but he has no temple, no ark, no holy of holies — the magni- ficence of a God, but not the state of a King. Those who ascribe the composition of the poem to Job him- self, seem to make out a better case than the others. It is not probable that Job and his friends should, after his reco- very, allow events so extraordinary to pass, without some durable record of them ; nor could any stranger so well relate the conversations that occurred, in their precise order and manner, and the conflicting emotions of their hearts, as we find them here laid open. Job had sufficient time after his re-establishment to compose such a work ; and he might be prompted to it, not merely from the deep interest all men take in recording the perils they have escaped, but from a desire to do honour to Divine Providence, and for the instruc- tion of all posterity. If it be objected, that he describes WRITER OF THE BOOK. 89 himself as "a perfect and an upright man," and so maybe accused of self-commendation; we reply, that he has not spared himself on the other hand, but has minutely displayed his passionate feelings, his occasional sallies of irreverence, and other marks of frailty which an artful writer would have concealed. But the delineation of his character as " a perfect and an upright man," was necessary as an introduction to the subsequent events, is in part a key to the poem, and is not the mere language of self-praise. Caussin de Eloquentia, and Chappelow, both maintain that the book was, or must have been, written by Job himself. The same is the opinion of Bishop Lowth. But all these are mere conjectures, and probably must ever remain such. Whoever was the author of the book, we must seek for its date, not in the opinions of men, but in its own pages, which in their whole structure evidently belong to a most remote period of human history. They speak to us of the earliest ages, from the most distant lands, and from the hoary ruins of the greatest revolutions in taste and manners, which have taken place in three or four chiliads of years ; so that when we listen to their voice, we are constrained to say, " We are but of yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days on earth are but a shadow. Our fathers teach us and tell us, And utter words out of their heart." Were I permitted to add my own conjecture to that of so many learned men, I should say there was some probability that Joseph was the author of it. It is well known that he was taken out of the pit at Dothan by a company of Midian- itish merchants; that he must have travelled with their caravan a considerable way, since they carried him into Egypt ; that it is customary to beguile the way in travelling through deserts by stories and songs ; that he might have learned from them the history of Job — they living, when at home, in the neighbouring country; that he afterwards, either while in prison, or at leisure in Pharaoh's household, might occupy his time in writing what he had thus heard, and which was too me- morable to be forgotten. Hence the intermixture of Egyptian 90 INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS. images with the Arabian might be accounted for, as well as the absence of all reference to Moses and to the law of God, the whole poem being composed at a period previous to its promulgation. Hence also the mixed character of the style, and those other peculiarities which a careful reader will dis- cover; and hence its ready admission into the Jewish canon, although it related to the fortunes of an Idumean, Joseph being a favourite and a celebrated personage among the Jews, and one whose sufferings and exaltation were intimately inter- woven with their national history. It would be absurd to contend for this view of the matter as the true one; but considering the slight grounds on which former writers have rested their advocacy of certain claims to the authorship of this singular book, I may be forgiven in supposing my conjecture to stand on as good a foundation. I may just add, that Spanheim supposes Job himself to have been the principal compiler of the work, and to have bestowed upon it, after he was restored to prosperity, the regular poeti- cal form under which it now appears ; relying for materials chiefly on his own recollection and the aid of his friends, whose sentiments are embodied in the narrative. He conjectures also that it was originally written in Arabic, and translated into Hebrew about the age of Solomon, by some learned Jew acquainted with both languages, and moved by the Spirit of God to such an undertaking. CONSIDERATIONS RELATIVE TO JOB AND HIS CIRCUMSTANCES. CONSIDERATIONS RELATIVE TO JOB AND HIS CIRCUMSTANCES. SCENE OF THE POEM. CHAP. I. VER. I. The scene of this history is laid in Arabia, and particularly in that part of it anciently called Idumea. The land of Uz, where Job dwelt, no doubt received its name from Uz, the grandson of Seir the Horite ; and Seir inhabited the tract afterwards occupied by the Idumeans. See Gen. xxxvi. 28, and the 20th and 21st verses of the same chapter. Teman, the son of Ishmael, the father of the Arab tribes, gave his name to the country of Teman, whence came Eliphaz the Temanite. Shuah, or Scuah, from whence Bildad the Shuhite is named, is placed by geographers in the southern part of Arabia. Naama, the city of Zophar, was on the borders of Idumea; its name signifies pleasant. Buz, the residence of Elihu the Buzite, is mentioned by Jeremiah in connexion with Dedan and Tema, and may therefore be conjectured to have been also in Idumea. The names both of Elihu, and of his father Barachiel, import that 94 SCENE OF THE POEM. they were worshippers of the true God; for the father's name signifies " he who blesses God," and the son's signifies " he is my God," El, or Al, forming part of the name. Cush, mentioned in this book, was Arabia Petraea, or a part of it. Moses's wife was a Cushite ; she was from Midian, which was a town or district in Arabia, either in the territory of Cush, or contiguous to it. See Numb. xii. 1 ; Exod. ii. 1G, &c, and Habak. iii. 7. It lay north-east of Egypt, and therefore Egypt is properly described by Isaiah (xviii. 1,) as " beyond the rivers of Cush." From Syene to the borders of Cush, (Ezek. xxix. 10,) north-east, signifies the whole extent of Egypt ; flying Egyptians (chap. xxx. 9,) might easily go by ships, across the Red Sea, to Cush. The topaz of Cush, therefore, (Job xxviii. 19,) was not from Ethiopia, for it pro- duces none ; but was first discovered in Chitis, an Arabian island, and the name is Arabic. The Midianites, or Saracens, were mingled with the Ish- maelites ; whence it comes that they are named together, or the one for the other, in Gen. xxxvii. 25, 28 ; Judges vi. 3 ; viii. 24: and the Chaldee Paraphrase calls those Saracens, whom the Hebrews called Midianites. The word Saracen signifies " eastern," as living in the east of Arabia, from the Arabic term Scherk, as remarked by Pocock in his Notes on Abulpharagius. Arabia Petraea, as described by Pocock, is a rocky country, as its name imports, consisting of mountains, valleys between them, and sandy plains. The mountains are rocks of granite marble, Mount Sinai being about the centre of them. The valleys are the beds of torrents in winter, but dry in summer. The " Sons of the East," or eastern people, seems to have been the general appellation for that mingled race of people, the Idumeans, Midianites, and others. Thus God addresses the Babylonians, (Jer. xlix. 28,) — " Arise, ascend unto Kedar, (Arabia,) and lay waste the children of the east," — although these were really situated to the west of Babylon. The imagery of the book, and the manners described, are all in favour of the opinion, that Arabia Petraea, and particu- larly Idumea, was the country of Job ; and the references to /ERA OF JOB. 95 Egypt and its productions, though Egypt itself is not men- tioned in the poem, give further countenance to the same. That the geographical notices in the book are of a very limited nature, and seem scarcely to have extended beyond Arabia itself, is no way surprising, considering that, in those early days, emigration was confined to immediate neighbour- hoods, and colonies had not yet leisure to plant themselves in quarters any way remote. Were it otherwise, Job's know- ledge of other countries must have been derived from the scanty and imperfect accounts given by those who followed the route of the caravans, or who ventured to leave their own shores in the way of navigation to countries immediately contiguous. ^RAOF JOB. From the period to which Job's life extended, the very mention of which shews that his is a real history, we are led to conclude, with some probability, that the a?ra in which he lived was prior to the time of Abraham, and that he may be ranked amongst those postdiluvian patriarchs who flourished in the interval between Noah and the father of the faithful. Most of the patriarchs, whose ages are recorded by Moses, lived in that period to about the age ascribed to Job. After that period, human life appears to have been shortened. Peleg, who was five generations before Abraham, lived 239 years. Reu, the son of Peleg 239 Serug, the son of Reu 230 The lives of their descendants were not so long. Nahor, Abraham's grandfather, only lived . . 148 years. Terah, Abraham's father 205 If therefore Job lived, according to the Septuagint, 24-0 or 248 years, he must have been contemporary with Peleg, Reu, 96 KRA OF JOB. or Serug ; for men's lives were not extended to so great a length after their days. Moses lived to the age of 120 years. Aaron, to 121 Miriam, their sister, to 130 Joshua, when he died, was 110. When the ninetieth Psalm was penned, by whomsoever it was written, human life was computed at 70 or 80 years ; and it has remained such, with a few occasional exceptions, ever since. David himself attained only to the age of 70 : so that human life was thrice reduced ; namely, from nearly 1,000 years to about 300 ; from that, to 120 or 140 ; and from that, to 70 or 80 years. Solon, who lived in the time of the Babylonish captivity, says, in Herodotus, " I reckon the life of man at 70 years." It may be said, that the expression in chap. viii. 9, " We are of yesterday," has reference to an abridged duration of human life. But this is not conclusive; it may merely refer by comparison to the very extended age of the antediluvians, and is rather a poetical expression than one to be rigidly in- terpreted ; as David says, 1 Chron. xxix. 15, " Our days on earth are a mere shadow ; Yea, a nothing in measurement." So Herodotus says of Homer, that he was of yesterday, lib. ii. p. 124, though he lived 300 years before him. See the Note on chap. viii. 9. Computing the age of Job at the very lowest calculation, he must have lived 180, or 200 years, since he survived his calamities 140 years, and he must have been a man of forty or sixty years of age when these calamities took place ; for, as Shuckford justly observes, he had then seven sons and three daughters, and his children were grown up, and had establishments of their own, in which they feasted each other at certain seasons. Besides, Job must have lived before his trial a sufficient number of years to constitute a term of pro- bation in his moral character, before he could be stamped by the Almighty as a perfect ami an upright man: he must JERA OF JOB. 97 therefore have lived to be near 200 years old, at the very lowest reckoning. It may be noticed, as an incidental proof that Job lived before the Sinaitic law, that in chap. i. 20, he is said to have " shaved his head in token of mourning ;" while in verse 22, it is observed, " in all this Job sinned not." Now the law, as stated in Levit. xix. 27, 28, and in Deut. xiv. 1, forbids such practices. But Job sinned not in this matter, for where no law exists there can be no transgression. He lived before that law, consequently could not offend against it. To this it may be replied, that Job, being an Arabian, and not a Hebrew, the law did not extend to him. True ; but Job living" in that neighbourhood, if he had existed at such a period, could hardly fail to have heard something of the Divine injunctions to the Jewish people, and being a pious man, would probably have acted in conformity. Eusebius places Job before Moses two whole ages, and in this concurs with the opinion of many of the Hebrew writers, who, as Selden observes, describe him as living in the days of Isaac and Jacob. That the judgment of the eastern nations does not differ much from this, may be seen in Hottinger's Smegma Orientale. Shuckford thinks that Job was contemporary with Isaac. Spanheim places him between the death of Joseph and the departure from Egypt. In the table of descent given by Kennicott, Job is repre- sented as contemporary with Amram, the father of Moses. Numerous other opinions have been formed on this subject; a subject which naturally affords some scope for conjecture ; but the most satisfactory conclusion appears to us that which we have already drawn. The fixing his times at the period we have assigned, at once accounts for his perfect silence in regard to all God's dealings with Israel ; he could not allude to that which had not yet taken place, nor record events which had not hitherto occurred, nor name persons whose existence was posterior to his own ; and this at once sets at rest all difficulties on this point. ii 98 JOB A REAL PERSON. JOB A REAL PERSON. CHAP. I. VER. I. Whether such a personage as Job ever existed has been made a matter of dispute by some ; but the affirmative side of the question appears plain, when we find him ranked by Ezekiel with Noah and Daniel, (chap. xiv. 14, 20;) and re- ferred to in the most explicit manner by James, (chap. v. 1 1 ,) who, wishing to recommend patience by an example, referred his countrymen to this book. Besides this, his country and his circumstances being so particularly described, together with the names of his friends, and those of his family, we cannot help concluding that it is to be considered as a real history. Their discourses, too, are distinctly set down, and are specially directed to the con- dition in which he was placed. Nor would the example of a fictitious character carry with it half the weight in inculcating the virtue of patience, or any other virtue, as that of a real sufferer, distinguished by the magnanimous feeling and elevated understanding which are here attributed to Job. Viewing him as a person who once actually existed, this book is exactly the memorial which he himself wished for ; a memorial more permanent than any that could be engraved in brass, or carved on a rock. The memorial is interwoven with the sacred canon, and has been, and will be handed down to all generations who are made acquainted with the law of God. If the silence of other sacred writers respecting Job be remarked, let it first be inquired, whether they knew any thing of his history, and whether they wive under any obli- gation to mention it. SUPPOSED ROYALTY OF JOB. J)!) The history of Job is too circumstantial to be a mere fiction. Not only is his name given, and the place of his abode, but his dispositions, his integrity, his faith, his patience, his dignity, his fortitude, are all distinctly exemplified. Even his failings are enumerated, and his murmurs as carefully recorded as his thanksgivings. We have also the names and lineage of his friends, the numbers of his children, the names of his latest daughters, the age which he arrived at, all of them bearing marks of a real and veritable history rather than of a fictitious narrative. Arabian writers, too, and the Koran in particular, always make mention of Job as a real person, whose descendants were considered as remaining among them at a late period ; and his grave is shown in the East at this day. That it is shown in six different places, just as seven cities contended for the honour of being viewed as the birth- place of Homer, does not invalidate, but confirm the fact of his existence. The most celebrated tomb is that of the Tra- chonites, towards the springs of Jordan. It is situated be- tween the cities still bearing the names of Teman, Shuah, and Naama. There is another tomb publicly shown for that of the patriarch in Armenia ; and a third, near the walls of Constantinople ; which last more probably belonged to an Arabian warrior of the same name, who fell at the siege of that city in 672. SUPPOSED ROYALTY OF JOB. Many ancients, and some moderns, have supposed that .lob was a king. They found this notion on some passages in the Septuagint and Vulgate, where it is said, that he who was once a king, now sat naked on a dunghill. Also, on chap. iii. 13, 14, where Job says, that if he were dead, he might have reposed with kings and counsellors of the earth. They found it also on what is said of his wealth in chap, i., and of his being the greatest man in the East, chap. i. 3 ; of the honours ii 2 100 SUPPOSED ROYALTY OF JOB. that were paid to him, chap. xxix. 7, 8 ; of the diadem which he wore, ver. 14; of his liberality to the poor, ver. 12; and of his authority being like that of a king in his army, ver. 25 ; on the addition made by the LXX. that his three friends were kings ; and on their being called such in the book of Tobit, chap. ii. 13. But all this is either apocryphal, or contrary to Scripture, which represents Job and his friends as rich and powerful, but says not one word of their royalty, and speaks of them rather as private persons. Had it been otherwise, the nar- rative would have begun thus : " There was a certain king in Idumea, whose name was Job," since it would have added much more to the force of his example, had he been of royal condition ; and the Scriptures are generally careful to mark such circumstances. As to his diadem, it was simply a tiara, or turban ; and as to his being buried with kings, he merely means, that were he dead, he would be at rest as they are, and be no longer distressed with cares and anxieties. It is even doubtful whether such an office as that of king existed in the days of Job, still more in Idumea or Arabia, a country never ruled at large by sovereigns, but always boasting its political freedom. Neither is Job represented as losing his kingdom, when he sustained his other losses ; nor does he appear to have possessed any army with which to pursue the predatory Chaldeans ; and though his mistaken friends accuse him of various crimes, they never charge him with acting as a tyrant towards his subjects. On the other hand, he does not appear to have been subject to any sovereign, nor to have owned allegiance to any superior but God. His being a patriarch, or the head of a numerous family, coupled with his extensive flocks and ample possessions, would constitute him a sort of emir, prince, or chief magistrate, in liis district ; that is. in the territory of Uz, whose decisions in a judicial capacity would be received with the utmost deference, but that is all. As to the presents made to him after his recovery, which some have strangely supposed to have been a sort of tribute, or homage, what were they but the gifts of friendly congra- t illation, and intended to compensate for the goods he had lost ? THE DISEASE OF JOB. 101 As to the passage in Tobit, besides being apocryphal, it is not found in the original Greek, Hebrew, or Syriac of that book, but only in the Vulgate version ; consequently, it wants authenticity. And as to Job's friends, the narrative shows that they were no more than neighbours, or relations, who came to condole with him. Hence, from all these considerations, it appears, that the appendix to the Septuagint version of this book, which makes Job to be the same as Jobab, king of the Edomites, (Gen. xxxvi. 33,) is wholly in an error. THE DISEASE OF JOB. CHAP. II. VEK. VII. It is understood to have been a burning ulceration, such as is to be seen in the eastern countries, and which is known by the name of the Elephantiasis, or black leprosy of the Arabians; and derives its name from its rendering the skin of the patient, like that of an elephant, scabrous and dark- coloured, and furrowed all over with tubercles, loathsome alike to the individual and the spectators. The principal features of this disease are, the falling off of the hair, dilatation and distortion of the nostrils, hoarseness of voice, offensive smell from the breath and from the whole person, a fixed and ghastly look, difficulty of swallowing, frightful dreams, sleeplessness, &c. It is a chronic disorder, and brings to the grave very slowly, sometimes continuing for twenty years. There is an account of this disease in Avicenna, Galen, Celsus, and other ancient writers, distinguishing the Arabian from the Grecian form of it. The sacred narrative describes it thus, chap. ii. 7, 8: " Then the accusing angel departed from the presence of Jehovali, and smote Job with foul ulcers, from the sole of his foot to !<);> THE DISEASE OF JOB. his crown, so that he took a shell to scrape away the ichor, and sat down among the ashes." Job himself makes frequent and affecting references to his disorder, from which it is not difficult to collect its nature. Chap. iii. " 23 God hath shut out death from a man, To whom it would have been a repose. 24 For my groans anticipate my food, My lamentations burst forth like a torrent. 26 I have no respite ; I have no peace ; I have no rest ; I am grievously distressed." Chap. vi. " 8 Oh that my request were granted ! That God would fulfil my desire ; 9 That it would please him to destroy me, To stretch out his hand and cut me off ; 10 That would indeed be a comfort ; I should then exult in my grief." Chap. vii. " 4 When I lay me down to rest, I exclaim, When shall I arise, and the tedious night be gone ? I am full of restlessness until the dawn. 5 My body swarms with putrefaction, and with earthy filth ; My skin is stiff and corrupt with the ulcerous matter." Wakefulness and restlessness are among the terrible effects of the leprosy. The loathing of food is another effect. Ter- rific dreams are another well-known effect of this disease. Chap. vii. "13 When I say to myself, my bed shall comfort me, My couch shall ease my complaint ; 14 Then thou scarest me with frightful dreams, Thou terrifiest me with visions, 15 So that my soul would prefer suffocation, And death, in comparison with my sufferings. 16 But I spurn such thoughts, I shall not live always so : O release me, since my days-are vanity!" THE WIFE OF JOB. 108 Chap. xix. '16 1 call to my man-servant, he makes me no answer ; I entreat him with a suppliant voice. 1 7 My wife turns aside from my breath, Though I implore her by the offspring of my loins. 20 My bones protrude through skin and flesh ; The skin no longer covers my gums. 2 1 Pity me, pity me, O my friends, For the hand of God hath smitten me !" Chap. xxx. ' 17 My bones protrude through me in the night ; The fever that consumes me never sleeps. 18 My garment is changed by the violence of my sufferings ; My wrinkled skin girds me like a tunic. 1 9 God hath cast me down into the mire ; I am become mere dust and ashes. 30 My livid skin is parched on my body ; My bones are consumed with a burning heat. 31 My harp utters only mournful sounds ; My lute repeats only the dirge of woe." THE WIFE OF JOB. CHAP. II. VER. IX. Few subjects have given rise to more discussion than the conduct of this person towards her husband, as represented in our English version. Her language is so harsh and revolting, and so unlike a woman of piety, that, as a matter of mere feeling, one would be glad to give it any other interpretation. But as truth, and not feeling, ought to operate in our investi- gations into the true meaning of Scripture, we must proceed to examine into the real grounds on which the present reading- stands. The facts of the case seem to rest upon four consi- derations ; three of them circumstantial, and the other purely critical. 104 THE WIFE OF JOB. In regard to the first, it is no way probable, that the wife of so eminent a patriarch, and his only wife, so far as appears ; for there is no proof that Job was a polygamist, though poly- gamy was practised in those early times ; one who was accus- tomed to daily devotional exercises (see chap. i. 5); should for a moment allow herself to address her husband in the terms used in our version. Neither, in calling on him to bless God, could she utter the language ironically ; for irony would have been sadly out of place on such an occasion. In her address she may have had a reference to his own expression on a recent occasion, (chap. i. 21,) where he meekly says, "Blessed be the name of the Lord;" thereby insinuating, that having already lost his family, servants, and property, and being now affected in his bodily health, he had nothing further to expect but dissolution, and therefore he could not do better than reiterate his former exclamation, and conclude his life by blessing God, as the wise Arbiter of all human destiny. It is possible also, that viewing all calamities as proceeding from the hand of God, and her husband's as peculiarly severe, she might deem his sufferings to have arisen from some trespass or iniquity, which required a penitential confession, and therefore she may have uttered the words in the sense in which Joshua advises Achan, (Josh. vii. 19,) "Bless God;" i. e. Give glory to God, by confessing thy sins, hoping also that such confession might avert the Divine wrath, and procure to her husband a mitigation of his sufferings. 2. The answer of Job to her exhortation by no means dis- courages this view of the matter. Though somewhat reproach- ful, it is not so severe as the language put into her mouth by our translators would have justified; nor are we obliged to suppose that his reply had a reference to the former so much as to the latter part of her address. True, he calls her a foolish woman, probably on the ground of her misunder- standing his case, which was not of so desperate a nature as to find its only remedy in death : but he assents to her remark, by saying, " Shall we receive good (prosperity) at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil (adversity) also ?" 3. Neither does the Scripture throw out the least word of THE WIFE OF JOB. 105 reprehension as respects her conduct. She remains with her husband to the last; and at the close of her own and his trials, she becomes again the mother of ten children, and partakes of the renovated happiness of her husband. Nor, when the Almighty orders expiation to be made for the improper lan- guage of Job's friends, is there any mention made of her conduct, as betraying unbelief, impatience, or impiety. 4. The original term here rendered curse (berek) occurs in the Old Testament innumerable times ; and except here, and in five other places, is uniformly translated " bless." It is the word God used when he bestowed his benediction on the newly-created pair, the parents of the human race. It is the word used in the consecration of the Sabbath-day, as a day of rest from manual labour. The same term is employed when man is said to bless his Maker, to acknowledge him his superior, and to ascribe to him all his enjoyments. How, therefore, it should come here to have not only a different, but an opposite meaning, is difficult to conceive. If we look to the versions, which from their age seem to possess autho- rity, we find the LXX. saying, " Speak some word to God, and die ;" this, of course, leaves the matter ambiguous. The Chaldee has, " Bless God-," and the Vulgate uses the same term in this place. As to the modern interpreters, it is un- necessary to quote them. Some have renounce, others, bid farewell to, and others, vilify or blaspheme, and the like. Sanctius thinks that Job, in his answer, refers to the Idumean women, who, like other heathens, when their gods did not please them, or when they could not obtain from them that which they desired, would reproach and cast them away, and throw them into the fire, or the water, as the Persians are said to do. But this is mere conjecture, and very improbable in the wife of an eminent saint and servant of the true God. Homer informs us, that Achilles and Menelaus blasphemed Jupiter, (see Iliad I. 353 ; III. 3G5 ;) but this is no parallel case, nor can any such with propriety be adduced here. A very strong argument may be brought in behalf of the word berek, here signifying to " bless ;" not merely from its all but universal use in that sense throughout the Old Testa- 106 THE WIFE OF JOB. ment, but from the circumstance that the Hebrews possessed a word, indeed several words, signifying to curse, (kelel,) and that word is employed in the very commencement of the next chapter — " Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day." Now as it is well known that most writers are apt, when they have once employed a term in a certain sense, to use it in the same sense again ; so the author of this book might have been expected here to make choice of the term berek, if he had used it so recently in the sense of " cursing," or vice versa ; if he meant to assert that Job's wife really intended to exhort her husband to " curse God," why not employ the term kelel, which was ready to his hand and in his mind ? This is a strong presumption that she did not utter the word in an obnoxious sense. The other passages referred to as giving the meaning of " curse" to the term berek, are the following : — 1 Kings xxi. 10. " Thou didst blaspheme God and the king." In which place both the LXX. and the Vulgate have " bless." The passage refers to the history of Naboth, whose vineyard Ahab coveted, and wanted a pretence for seizing it ; but the fertile invention of his queen, Jezebel, soon supplied him with one ; viz. — by suborning witnesses to accuse Naboth of idol- atry, as one who had blessed (paid homage to) the gods and Moloch, — for so the Hebrew will fully bear to be rendered. And if it be objected that Jezebel herself was an idolatress, and could therefore scarcely punish a subject for this crime ; it is replied, that the law of Moses stood in full force ; and though secured in some degree by her station from having its penalties inflicted on herself or her husband, she had no objection to employ them against another, for the purpose of gratifying the inordinate desire of Ahab. The expression in ver. 13, therefore, will admit of the same solution. Moloch, or Melech, it is well known, represented the sun, as the king of the celestial host, and was worshipped as such. Job i. 5. " My sons may have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." THE WIFE OF JOB. 107 Here interpreters — unwilling that the children of so good a man should have such an imputation cast on them as that of " cursing God," and knowing that the word berek signifies " to bless," while the term god (aleinf) is in the plural — have proposed to explain the passage as if Job meant that he feared lest his sons should have blessed or praised the idol gods in their hearts ; and therefore when he offered up sacrifices for them, he was desirous of purifying them from the secret sin of idolatry. But this imputation would be nearly on a par with the other. Besides, the supposition of their falling into idolatry is scarcely admissible, inasmuch as the idolatry which afterwards prevailed, had not in Job's time begun to exist, nor was there any other species of false worship than that of the heavenly bodies; and it is very doubtful, considering their father's aversion to it (chap. xxxi. 27), whether the sons of Job were addicted to this. What then is the solution of the difficulty ? The only one hitherto proposed is, to understand the conjunction and here, not in the light of a connective, but a disjunctive, on the ground that it stands between two oppo- site propositions, and therefore cannot be considered as a copulative. Let the verse be read thus : " My sons may have sinned, nor blessed God in their hearts" — that is, my sons may have offended, by not blessing God — by not being sufficiently thankful to the Giver of all good for their enjoyments. In any other way, the language of the passage would be absurd. I have, however, rendered it more generally. The Greek version of Aquila, St. Ambrose, Jerome, and Piscator, all agree in using the term " blessed" in this place. And that the copulative is sometimes used for the disjunctive, all scholars know, and Glassius produces instances of it. Chap. i. 11. " He will curse thee to thy face." Chap. ii. 5. The same expression. These phrases, as Good remarks, have only to be rendered interrogatively, to remove the difficulty. Thus : " Will he then bless thee to thy face?" will he continue to perform the 108 THE DAUGHTERS OF JOB. same pious duties as before ? or, as I have preferred to render it, will he not then openly renounce thee? The Septuagint, which has taken several liberties with the book of Job in the way of addition, interpolation, and para- phrase, seems to have considered the address of Job's wife to her husband as a great deal too short for the occasion, and hence has put a long speech into her mouth, after the manner of a fretful and disappointed woman. Some other versions have the same passage, but it has no authority, not a word of it being found in the Hebrew text. As a curiosity, however, it is here given, as follows : — " How long wilt thou persist, saying, Behold, T will wait a little longer, In expectation of my deliverance ? Behold, thy memorial is perished from the earth ; Those sons and those daughters of ours, Whom I brought forth with pangs and sorrow, And for whom I toiled in vain. And thou thyself sittest among loathsome worms, All night long in the open air, While I am wandering about, a mere drudge, From place to place, and from house to house, Wishing for the setting of the sun, That I may rest from the labours and sorrows I endure. Do but say something for the Lord, and die." THE DAUGHTERS OF JOB. The names given them in chap. xli. 14, are all from the Arabic ; but interpreters have differed in assigning to them their respective meanings. 1. Jemima, according to one, means a turtle, or dove. According to another, the day, from her complexion and elegance. According to a third, days, to signify long life and prosperity. THE DAUGHTERS OF JOB. 109 The Chaldee says, " He called the first Jemima, because she was as fair as the day." The Vulgate and LXX. have simply day. 2. Kezia. All the interpreters agree in pronouncing this name to be synonymous with cassia or cinnamon, from its fra- grance. The Chaldee says, " Because she was as precious as cassia." Others will have it to mean " pleasing qualities, or worth." 3. Kerenhappuch. Supposed to signify " bosom of plenty " by some, "horn of plenty" by others, the latter sense being- more conformable to the original. According to some, it means stibium, a powder which eastern ladies used to ornament their persons. According to others, " inverted horn," to denote elegance of appearance, or plenty. The Chaldee says, " because her face was as splendid as the emerald." The Vulgate has, " horn of antimony." The LXX. has " the horn of Amalthea." Amalthea was the nurse of Jupiter, and fed him with goat's milk when he was young. The goat having, by accident, her horn struck off, Jupiter translated the animal to the heavens, and gave her a place among the constellations, and made the horn the emblem of plenty. But how this pagan fable found a place in the Septuagint, it is difficult to say. Why the names of these three sisters are particularly men- tioned, more than those of their brethren, seems to be for these two reasons ; viz. — because they were remarkably beautiful, and because they were peculiarly favoured in being allowed to divide their father's inheritance with their brethren, — a favour greater than that which was conferred on the daughters of Zelophehad, each of whom also has her name recorded in Numb, xxvii. 1, &c. This appears to have been the custom in Arabia, and is sanctioned by Mohammed in the Koran. 110 THE FRIENDS OF JOB. THE FRIENDS OF JOB. As to the friends of Job spending seven days and seven nights without uttering a word, and afterwards carrying on the conference for a considerable time without apparent inter- ruption, it is hardly necessary to sa}', that this must be under- stood with the necessary limitation. They remained with him so long as their avocations permitted, and at such intervals as the refreshments of sleep and diet allowed, always keeping more or less near to the sufferer, in order to express their sympathy, and to offer such views of his condition as their own reflections suggested. It would be utterly absurd to imagine that there was no pause in their discourses, nor any interval between their several meetings ; neither can we consider their discourses as wholly unpremeditated. Each speaker took the argument in succession ; he must have known, therefore, when his turn arrived, and have been prepared accordingly. These discourses also, though in themselves beautiful and instructive, are in the end disapproved by the Supreme Judge, and for reasons that are obvious, since though they contain some un- deniable truths, yet these truths are wholly misapplied. The oldest speaker, Eliphaz, is plainly the most sedate and moderate ; he commences in a mild and persuasive way, but as he advances he degenerates into sophistry, and in his second address endeavours to make a diversion from the main sub- ject, but unsuccessfully. There is an air of dignity and self-restraint, which distinguishes this speaker from those who come after him ; but in his references to Job's loss of property and the melancholy death of his children, there are severities approaching to the unfeeling, the force and injustice of which the patriarch must have deeply felt, since he complains of them in his reply. The appearance of friendship with which Eli- phaz sets out, is soon lost or laid aside, in consequence of the THE FRIENDS OF JOB. Ill unwarranted conclusion he had come to, that Job's afflictions were the punishment of guilt. Bildad attacks the poor sufferer with more keenness than Eliphaz, but with less acerbity than Zophar. He renews the charge which Eliphaz had advanced, but with less elo- quence and less delicacy. His second address is full of ima- gery, and is wrought up to a high pitch of terror. He is filled with resentment against Job, merely because the latter de- fends himself from their criminations ; and he uses provoking and taunting expressions. His denunciations are furious and awful ; yet he is rather elevated than sublime, and more pas- sionate than energetic. Zophar exceeds the other two, if possible, in severity of censure ; he is the most inveterate of the accusers, and speaks without feeling or pity. He does little more than repeat and exaggerate the arguments of Bildad. He unfeelingly alludes (chap. xi. 15) to the effects of Job's disease as appearing in his countenance. This is cruel and invidious. Yet in the same discourse how nobly does he treat of the Divine attributes, showing that any inquiry into them is far beyond the grasp of the human mind. And though the hortatory part of his first discourse bears some resemblance to that of Eliphaz, — for all the three friends in part copy from each other, — yet it is diversified by the fine imagery which he employs. He seems to have had a full conviction of the providence of God, as regulating and controlling the actions of men ; but he limits all his reasonings to a present life, and makes no refe- rence to a future world. This circumstance alone accounts for the weakness and fallacy of these men's judgments. In his second discourse there is much poetical beauty in the selection of images, and the general doctrine is founded in truth : its fallacy lies in its application to Job's peculiar case. The whole indicates great warmth of temper, inflamed by misapprehension of its object, and by mistaken zeal. After the victory of Job over these three sages, — for he does overcome them in argument, — a young speaker appears upon the scene. Though not mentioned before, it is plain that he must have been present from the commencement of the debate, 112 THE RELIGION OF THE PATRIARCHS. and have listened with great attention to the different speakers. He introduces himself at first with modesty, and with con- siderable eloquence; but he afterwards becomes bold and self-confident. His sayings, though plausible, and happily ex- pressed, are nevertheless, in his own judgment, like new wine in fermentation (chap, xxxii. 19). His images are noble, but there is no end of them, and they are at best no more than amplifications of those which Job and his friends had pre- viously employed, with more brevity and equal energy. He describes a rising tempest in all its terrors, and thus an- nounces, without perceiving it, the approach of the Great Sovereign and Judge. Some have gone so far as to question the genuineness of that part of the book which relates to Elihu, as not being in accordance with the rest of the poem, but a mere episode, introduced afterwards by some unskilful interpolator. His name, say they, does not appear among the friends of Job at the commencement, neither is he mentioned afterwards. But as the discourses of Elihu are found in all the manuscripts, and, though more diffuse, and differing in style from those of the other speakers, as they contain some important views of the matter in debate, and fall in with the general scheme of the book, there is no good reason for excluding them ; and the poem would appear defective without them. It is re- marked by some, that they are neither praised nor censured by the Almighty, though part of the argument which Elihu had advanced is pursued by God himself; from which it has been concluded that Elihu's sentiments were those which the writer of the book wished most to recommend. THE RELIGION OF THE PATRIARCHS. It consisted in a few simple principles ; but those few were sufficient to influence the whole of human conduct, to pro- mote individual happiness, to contribute to social welfare, and to conduce to the glory of God. They were these : THE RELIGION OF THE PATRIARCHS. 113 1st. That there is but one God, Jehovah; and therefore there could be no distraction in worship, no division of homage, no polytheism. Job xxiii. 13, and other places throughout the book. 2d. That this one God created the world, and all things that therein are, the planets that enlighten it, and the whole mundane system. Consequently no creature, considered as such, whether orb, or animal, or element, or substance, could be entitled to veneration and worship, or to be regarded as an object on which man could depend for supply, or help, or healing, since they are all, like himself, merely creatures. Job xxxviii. to xli., and elsewhere. 3d. That this world, so created, is governed by him who created it ; he is the sole and supreme Governor and Legis- lator, and all the acts of his providence are so many assertions of his government. He alone has a right to do what he pleases, his administration being founded on the principles of inflexible justice and immutable rectitude, and therefore can never be justly complained of. Job i. 9, 21; ii. 10; ix. 4—13. 4th. That as earthly sovereigns make use of subordinate officers to execute their purposes, so God, though perfectly and absolutely independent of such aid, is pleased to make use of the ministration of angels, through whose instrumenta- lity he carries on his scheme of government ; at the same time using the elements of his own world — brute animals, and men themselves — as inferior agents to act one upon another, as occasion requires. Job i. 6, 7; iii. 18, 19; xxxiii. 22, 23, and elsewhere. 5th. That those angels are not indefectible, but liable to failure in duty. Job iv. 18; xv. 15. 6th. That man also is defectible and impure. Job xv. 14, 16. 7th. That animal sacrifices are of divine institution, in order to appease the anger or displeasure of God ; but no reason is assigned in the book of Job why they are so, or on what their acceptableness is founded. Job i. 5; xlii. 8. 114 THE RELIGION OF JOB. 8th. That a righteous man may intercede for his fellow- men, and his intercession may be accepted. Job xlii. 8, 9. These appear to have been the principal points of the patri- archal creed, as collected from the book of Job. And whoso- ever among the heathen, at any period, or in any country, thus feared God and wrought righteousness, may be consi- dered as acting upon these principles, and as holding the reli- gion of the patriarchs. The dispensation by Moses, which followed after, enlarged that creed, and extended the duties to be performed, adding numerous ceremonial rites. The dispensation by Jesus Christ adopted the same funda- mental principles as those held in patriarchal times, but enforced them by new motives, and placed them under higher sanctions ; adding also a distinct revelation of a life to come, and a future judgment. THE RELIGION OF JOB. CHAP. 1. VER. V The religion of Job was conformed to the dispensation under which he lived ; that is, it was patriarchal. It was not a spe- cies of natural religion, for there exists no such thing. What is nature, in this sense, or what is natural religion, but a mere figment of the imagination ? It is plain that Job understood his duties ; and he could not have understood them, except by revelation made either to him or to his ancestors. The obla- tion was known to him, and was daily, or at least periodically offered by him. The specific number of victims also was known to him — the number seven ; a favourite number in Scripture, a favourite number (if we may so speak) with God, since seven days included the order of creation, and the first sabbatical rest ; and we are told that there are seven spirits THE RELIGION OF JOB. 115 before the throne of God; there are also seven prophetical trumpets, seals, and vials ; and so of the rest. Now these things above alluded to must have buen made known to him or to his forefathers, for they are matters that could never enter into the mind of man as being in themselves acceptable to God. And as Abel offered to God a more excellent, or rather a more abundant sacrifice than Cain, it is plain that the doctrine of expiation had been very early inculcated ; and that the institution of sacrifices was divinely appointed, not for their own sake, but as types and symbols of a Redeemer to come. Job therefore, as well as other holy men in ancient times, lived by faith and walked by faith. We have one cer- tain proof of this, if we had no other, in the exercise of his exemplary patience ; for of this virtue we are told, that it is not self-originated, but is the offspring of another more pow- erful virtue, namely, that " faith produceth patience." Con- sequently we have reason to believe that Job lived in humble expectation of a Messiah, though there is no mention of such a character in the book; — an omission which forms no objec- tion to its canonical authority, nor yet to him who is the prin- cipal subject of it, any more than the omission of the name of God in the book of Esther detracts from the value of that remarkable history, or from the excellence of the Jewish queen whose exaltation is there recorded. It is said of Jesus Christ, " To him gave all the prophets witness." This is true ; but Job was no prophet — he was simply a saint, yet a saint of so eminent a sanctity, that he is placed on a level with Noah and Daniel, and his intercession on behalf of a people considered to be equally efficacious, if exerted, as theirs. It is injudicious to stigmatize either a book or its author, because they make no distinct mention of a Saviour. On that ground we might discard the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Solomon's Song, as well as some others, from the Scrip- tures. If holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, then it belonged to the Spirit who inspired them, and not to themselves, to introduce references, prophetical or otherwise, to a future Saviour. It was on this ground, or at least a similar one, that Luther spoke slightingly of the Epistle i 2 1 1<; THE RELIGION OF JOli. of James, because it did not contain any allusion to his favou- rite doctrine of justification by faith, but something that appeared to him rather the reverse. Nothing is more inju- rious to the sound and true interpretation of Holy Writ, than an attempt to make it more spiritual and evangelical than its Author intended it to be. In this way we may find, or make, mysteries everywhere, as many have done, to the utter confounding of all doctrine and history. That Job entertained proper views of the Divine character, and conformed himself to the intimations he had received, is evident from the very marked approbation given to him, not only by the writer of the narrative, who pronounces him " perfect and upright," but by God himself, who confirms this testimony in his address to the Accusing Spirit, — " Hast thou seen my servant Job?" a title given him four times by the same Being in the concluding chapter of the book. Indeed, on this point turns the whole machinery, if we may so term it, of the poem. This is the very foundation of the book. To have put to so severe a test any other than an eminently pious and obedient man, would not have fulfilled the purpose of God ; an inferior character would have failed in the trial : whereas, at the conclusion of the scene, God justifies Job, and concedes the forgiveness of the three friends to Job's interces- sion, as a proof of his entire satisfaction with him. The piety of Job appears in a particular manner in his anxiety to guard against any trespass on the rights of God on the part of his children during their seasons of festivity. True religion does not manifest itself only on great occasions, but enters and insinuates itself into all the minutia of human conduct, so as to become a component part of every thing we do. In patriarchal families, such as that of Job, the remem- brance of God as the parent, benefactor, guide and preserver of the family, would be kept alive by every method that pious zeal could devise ; so that if it is said of the wicked, as one mark of their condition, that " God is not in all their thoughts," the very reverse would take place in Job's house- hold, — God would be present in every circumstance, and intermingle in every feeling. And though pious families will THE RELIGION OF JOli. 117 avoid, as much as may be, familiar intercourse with the wicked and profane ; yet in Job's day there might be idolatrous neighbours, with whom it was difficult to forbear communica- tion entirely, and whose example and principles might there- fore be in danger of contaminating his children on festive occasions, so as to make them think lightly of proper duty, or commit some act, on the impulse of the moment, that implied a dereliction of the true faith. It may be collected from chap. vi. 10, where the patriarch says, " I have not neglected the words of the Holy One," that he had been favoured on some occasions with special revela- tions, such as in these days were vouchsafed, in all probability, to the saints of God. The same seems to be insinuated in chap, xxiii. 12, where language is used that implies a reference either to some oral or written precepts, which Job took as the rule of his conduct : and at that early period, when, as we think, even the Pentateuch had not been composed, to what written code could Job refer ? As to the sacrifices offered by Job, it is plain that he offered them in the capacity of chief or head of the family, the head of the family being the priest in patriarchal times ; indeed, in all ages it was natural that the father or master of the family should take the office of performing devotional duties on behalf of his household before God, without any formal ap- pointment to such an office : and as in Job's day there was neither tabernacle nor temple, he offered his sacrifices to God wherever his abode might happen to be ; for there were then, as there are now, no holy or consecrated places ; every place was equally sacred, and the Infinite Spirit was understood to be everywhere present. We learn this from the example of Noah, Gen. viii. 20 ; from that of Abraham, Gen. xxii. 2 ; and from the patriarchs generally, before the introduction of the ritual law. If Job and his friends had not lived prior to that law, they could not miss to have referred to its usages, to its particular constitu- tions, and to have grounded their reasonings on the principles it reveals. Another proof of the state of religion in Job's day is his IIS THE RELIGION OF JOB. reference to Sabaism, or planet-worship, as the only existing species of idolatry. The mode of Divine communications by dreams and visions, also, as well as by visible prodigies, marks a very ancient era. In proof of this, see Job iv. 12, &c. ; xxxiii. 15, &c. ; xxxviii. 1, &c. ; xlii. 5, 7. These became much more rare after the giving of the Law. Again, we find God calling himself " the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob," in Exod. iii. G ; and he is frequently so termed afterwards ; but in the book of Job he is never named by that title. "While this son of affliction lay on his dunghill, saying to the worm, " Thou art my father," there is something very sacred and interesting in considering him, as viewed by in- visible spectators, exhibiting even to celestial beings a sublime picture of human faith, and strength, and submission, amidst the severest calamities a man could well undergo ; reminding one of Paul's remark, when, speaking of himself and his fellow-apostles, under the assaults of bitter persecution and obloquy, he says, " We are made a spectacle to God, to angels, and to men." That the patriarch is sometimes betrayed in the course of his conflict into bursts of querulousness, and of ardent irrita- bility, is no detraction from his real merit. It only proves that he was, as Elijah is represented by James to have been, " a man of like passions (or feelings) with other men," and not a superhuman being. But he soon recovers from this temporary ferment, and his better feelings become rein- forced by it. If Job had poured forth no complaints, he would have appeared to every one an inanimate or stoical person, who had no proper sentiment of his own condition. As the conference advances, Job grows more calm, and softens the harsh things he had thrown out with too much precipi- tation ; he wrests their weapons from the hands of his adver- saries, and turns them against themselves. Living under the same dispensation of religion in which we find Enoch walking with God, and privileged to escape death; and Noah acting so as to draw forth the Divine favour towards himself and family, in a manner to distinguish them from all THE MORALITY OF JOB. 11!) mankind— for God never yet left himself without a witness in any age of the world — we cannot wonder if Job also re- ceived sensible manifestations of the Divine favour, as having placed himself under the more immediate guidance and guar- dianship of Jehovah ; and his maintaining a consistent conduct is the more to be admired, since he was exposed to the con- tagion of bad example ; for the wild Arabs were probably then the same lawless rovers and freebooters they have ever since been. THE MORALITY OF JOB. The severe charges against his character, either directly or by marked insinuation, made by Job's professed friends in the course of their dialogues with him, obliged the holy patriarch to enter into a vindication of himself, and to appeal to his former conduct during the season of his prosperity. From this vindication we learn what his moral principles were ; and they appear less to resemble those involved in the code of laws given to Moses, than those promulgated in the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus Christ. The Decalogue says, " Thou shalt not commit adultery ;" in which form of expression we recognise a prohibition of the actual crime, but no reference to the inward sentiment. In the law of Christ, not only is the actual crime forbidden, but the unchaste desire of the mind, which is the embryo of the overt act, Matt. v. 28. In exact conformity to which, we find the patriarch saying, chap. xxxi. 1 : " I made a covenant with mine eyes, That I would not gaze upon a virgin. For what portion should I then have in God, Or what inheritance of the Almighty from on high ?" And this he grounds upon two considerations — the conse- quences of transgression, and the omniscience of God : 120 THE MORALITY OF JOB. " Doth not destruction follow the wicked, And shame pursue the workers of iniquity ? — Doth not the Eternal see my ways, And number all my footsteps?" He goes further than this ; and not merely disclaims all mental impurity which might be excited by the contemplation of virgin beauty, but denies that still baser feeling which might prompt to the destruction of another's conjugal happiness : " If my heart hath been enticed to a married woman, Or I have lain in wait at my neighbour's door, Then let my wife gratify another, And let others bow down upon her ; For this is the basest ivickedness, And a crime to be punished by the Judge ; It is a fire consuming to destruction ; It would root out all mine increase." Such are the noble sentiments of Job in regard to tins part of the Divine Law, — sentiments that would do honour to any era of the world, and in entire congeniality with the gospel of Christ. Overwhelmed by accumulated calamities, as Job was, and therefore strongly tempted to abridge his own existence by violent means, we find him not merely revolting from this impious practice, but calmly professing his determination to abide the issue : " All the days of my appointed time I will wait, till my release shall come." This thorough confidence in God, as one who does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men, is in striking con- trast to the conduct of those, who, whenever their prospects arc clouded, rush to self-destruction as a relief: " When all the blandishments of life are gone, The sinner creeps to death — the saint lives on." The examples of Achitophel and Judas are quite sufficient, were there no other reasons for deterring, to bring this dread- ful crime into utter disrepute. THE MORALITY OF JOB. 121 The worship of the One True God, to the exclusion of all false deities, is plainly an article in the patriarch's creed. Sabaism, or the adoration of the celestial luminaries, was probably the only species of idolatry existing in Job's time ; and, for aught we know, had become prevalent in his and in the neighbouring countries. But how indignantly does he renounce every departure of this kind from the allegiance he owed to Jehovah, when he says : " If I have looked with a superstitious eye At the Sun, when he shone in his strength, Or the Moon, when she walked in her brightness, And my heart hath been secretly enticed, And I have worshipped by carrying my hand to my mouth, I should have been chargeable with a great transgression, For I should have denied the Supreme God." An abhorrence of deceit is also a feature in the moral cha- racter of Job. Any attempt to overreach his neighbour, or even to covet what belonged to him, still more to accept a bribe as an inducement to perpetrate injustice, he pronounces to be far from his thoughts. He says : " If I have acted fraudulently, And my foot hath hastened to dishonesty, Let me be weighed in a just balance, That God may know mine integrity. If my step hath turned from the right way, And my heart hath gone after mine eyes ; If any bribe hath cleaved to my hands, Then may I sow, and another eat ; Let another root out what I have planted." A man's soundness of principle may safely be judged of by his conduct towards the members of his own family, and especially towards his domestic servants. In this point of view Job's character stands very high, since he professes before God, as well as before man, a conscientious regard to his de- pendants, and a determination to treat them equitably : 122 THE MORALITY OF JOB. " If I denied justice to my man-servant, Or to my maid-servant, when they disputed with me ; What then should I do, when God maketh inquest ? When he inquires, what answer should I give ? Did not He who formed me, form them ? Were we not fashioned alike in the womb ?" In ancient times, slaves had no action at law against their owners ; they might dispose of them as they did of their cattle, or any other property. The slave might complain, and the owner might hear him if he pleased, but he was not compelled to do so. Job states that he had admitted his servants to all civil rights ; and, far from preventing their case from being heard, he was ready to permit them to complain even against himself, if they had a cause of complaint, and to give them all the benefit of the law. Strict equity in dealing, though in itself laudable, is insuf- ficient to constitute a man truly amiable in the eyes of his fellow-men, unless it be accompanied by frequent acts of be- nevolence and charity; proving that, though justice be the rule of his conduct, compassion and generosity dwell with it in the same bosom, and are readily exercised when occasion calls. This Job protests to be a part of his own disposition : " If I withheld from the poor what they asked, Or have grieved the eyes of the widow, Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan hath not partaken with me ; If from my youth I did not nourish them as a father ; If from my earliest years I was not the widow's guide ; If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or any poor man without raiment." Pursuing an open and ingenuous course, with a conscience unsullied, and a countenance unabashed, Job attempted nothing like concealment of what was passing within his mind. He had nothing to hide, nothing to palliate. He was a living, walking, acting model of integrity, formed upon the reverential fear of God, and a scrupulous regard to his THE MORALITY OF JOB. 123 commandments. He offers to subject himself to any infamy or punishment, if his fellow-men could discover in him any delinquency : " If, human like, I concealed my sin, And hid my transgression in my bosom ; Let me be confounded before the multitude ; Let me be covered with public contempt ; Let me be dumb, nor dare to go abroad." He is so entirely confident of the purity and uprightness of his conduct and motives, that he proposes, in language of asto- nishing boldness and grandeur, to meet the scanning eye of the All-seeing himself, and lay his soul open to his dread in- spection. There is neither pride nor arrogance, presumption nor vain-glory, in thus demeaning himself. Self-vindication rendered it necessary, as regarded his fellow-men ; and, as regards God, it is only the language of an undaunted child of God appealing to his Father for the sincerity of his affec- tion ; an appeal, we may presume, more pleasing than offensive to the Most High : " O that God would deign to hear me ! This is my declaration : let the Almighty reply to it ; Let my opponent write down the charge : Surely I would wear it on my shoulder ; I would bind it round me like a diadem ; I would disclose to him the number of my steps ; I would approach him with the boldness of a prince." But without further comment, we may here give a sum- mary of the other branches of morality to which this holy man gave due observance, as we collect them from his own protestations. So far was he from neglecting the cause of the poor, and thereby incurring their imprecations, that he had gained their deepest reverence and attachment, as their uniform and stead- fast benefactor : " When the ear heard me, then it blessed me ; When the eye saw me, it gave signs of approbation. 124 THE MORALITY OF JOB. The blessing of him who was perishing came upon me, And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy." In his capacity as judge, lie discharged his office with un- deviating rectitude, and his decisions were fully approved of : " I put on equity, and clothed myself with it ; My justice was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind ; I was feet to the lame ; I was a father to the destitute ; And I inquired carefully into the cause of the stranger."' He was the friend, the protector, and adviser of the widow and the orphan. Chap. xxxi. 16, 17. He would not defraud of their wages the labourers who cultivated his land. Chap. xxxi. 39. He exercised in its fullest extent the virtue of hospitality: " The stranger lodged not in the street ; My door was open to every comer." The consequence of all which conduct was, that he was re- ceived with reverence, affection, and gratitude, wherever he went ; no one presuming to speak till he had done, to add to what he said, or to suggest any thing as being preferable or wiser. They listened patiently to his counsels, they gratefully followed his advice : " To me men gave ear, and attended ; They were silent at my admonition. After I had spoken, they replied not ; For my reasons dropped on them as dew ; They waited for me, as for a spring-shower ; They opened wide their mouths, as for the harvest-rain." The young shrank back from the presence of their emir through modesty ; the aged rose to meet him from respect. Confident of all this, Job at one time expected to die as he had lived, in calmness and prosperity, reaping the fruits of his piety and rectitude, and seeing his posterity enjoy the advan- tage of their progenitor's exalted reputation. INSTANCES OF JOB'S IRREVERENCE. 125 Then I said, I shall die in my nest ; I shall multiply my days as the palm-tree ; My root shall spread out to the waters ; The dew of night shall repose on my branches ; My glory shall be unfading around me, And my bow continue fresh in my hand." INSTANCES OF JOB'S IRREVERENCE. One is loth to point out defects in the character of such a man ; but the Scripture having already done so, it seems necessary to take some notice of them. While we cannot vindicate the daring and ardent expressions which this afflicted man uses, yet much allowance is to be made for the situation in which he was placed, and the exasperation induced by the grievous insinuations of his friends, who spoke as if they judged Job's protestations of his integrity and innocence to be insincere. Some allowance is also to be made on the ground of Oriental phraseology, which always uses bold and animated language, and consequently appears stronger than similar terms in our modes of speaking would be. Allowance too must be made for the simplicity of ancient times, which ad- mitted of no disguise nor palliation of things, but spoke of persons, characters, and events, precisely as they appeared to require. If Job sometimes speaks harshly of God, which in the following passages he evidently does, we must, as Dr. Taylor well observes, set the noble strains of his piety against the unguarded expressions of his sorrow ; and, further, we must imagine ourselves, as nearly as we can, in the same afflicted condition. One thing is to be carefully remarked, that, however indecent, amounting almost to impiety, Job's expressions are, the Almighty, at the close of the history, takes no notice of them in the way of reproach or repro- bation ; a fact, which, if it does not operate towards the 12G INSTANCES OF JOB'S IRREVERENCE. clearing of Job, yet speaks highly in praise of the Divino forbearance. Let us remember, too, that other characters in Scripture, besides Job, put the patience of their Maker to the test by their perverse and fretful complaints. I refer to the well-known instances of Moses and Jonah, both of whom littered language to God equalling in indecency the expres- sions of Job. Such is one beauty of the Sacred Records, which on this account alone can never be sufficiently admired, that they always describe men as they truly are, neither ex- aggerating the piety of the saint, nor speaking in aggravated terms of the criminality of the sinner. Chap. iii. 10, 13. The expressions here are very strong, and show clearly the distracted state of his mind; so much so, that, as Scott observes, his distress had well-nigh overset his reason. He feels himself miserable, and wishes to be out of misery ; at the same time, though in such circum- stances many men would have been tempted to commit suicide, Job never for a moment hints at such a thing. Chap. ix. 17 — 32, 35. The language here is also very bold, and not quite consistent with Job's general character : but who, in Job's desperate condition, can be expected to be always consistent ? Chap. x. 3, 13, &c. Here Job certainly charges God foolishly ; insinuating, in language not to be mistaken, that God was guilty of oppression ; that he had created him in order to render him miserable ; that his conduct towards him was extremely rigorous ; and that his piety had been of no service to him. His violent emotions, under the pressure of his sufferings, can alone extenuate such charges as these. Chap. xiii. 14, 21, &c. There is a boldness, and at the same time a magnanimity, in these passages, which strongly characterise the speaker, as one resolved to maintain his innocence at every possible hazard. He is willing to brave the greatest dangers rather than give up his cause. He is ready to dispute, not only before God, as a judge, but with God, as a party. If the vehemence of his agitation here carries him too far ; if he forgets the reverence and submission which the job's ideas of a future state. 127 creature owes to his Creator ; what shall we say, except that a man so harassed occasionally lost his proper self-possession ? In a soberer moment he would not have spoken thus. Chap. xvi. 7, 9, &c. The complaints, the expostulations, the appeals, in this chapter, all betray the same state of mind. He represents his calamities as an army, and God as a warrior at the head of them, crushing, breaking, overpower- ing him. The whole is in the grandest style of poetry, but it more than touches on the borders of impiety. Other examples may be found in the book, but none more striking than these, which, like weeds, may be buried in the patriarch's grave; while his real submission, and other esti- mable qualities, like the flowers in the turf, will bloom perpetually. JOB'S IDEAS OF A FUTURE STATE. It is in chap. xiv. more particularly that we are to look for the proofs or marks of Job's knowledge of a future life, since it is there that he expresses his sentiments on that subject most clearly. Interpreters differ widely in regard to what these sentiments are, and from the same text draw diametri- cally opposite conclusions. Calmly investigating, not their reasonings, but the Scripture itself, it seems difficult to form any other judgment than this, — that Job had no knowledge of a life to come. The following are the grounds on which this judgment is formed : — 1st. Because there is nothing in the text, either in chap. xiv. or elsewhere throughout the book, to warrant a contrary con- clusion. The silence on this subject is uniform. We have disposed of the only passage that appears to favour the affir- mative view — namely, chap. xix. 25 — 27; and have shown that it has an entirely different meaning. (See p. 29.) 128 job's ideas of a future state. 2d. Because Job elsewhere expresses the very same senti- ment ; namely, that death was the termination of his hopes and being. Thus, chap. iii. 18— 22, where all the expressions denote this feeling. Chap. vii. 6, 7, 8, 9. " He that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more." Chap. x. 21. " Before I go whence I shall not return, To the land of darkness and the shadow of death." Chap. xvii. 13—16. " If I wait, the grave is mine house. Where is now my hope ? As for my hope, who shall see it? They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust." So in chap. xiv. \2, " Till the heavens be no more, they shall not azvake, nor be raised out of their sleep;" i. e. they never shall awake, for such is the force of the ex- pression ; the same as when we say, Such an event will never take place while the world lasts : — see Psalm lxxxix. 29, where the days (i. e. the duration of heaven) is equivalent or parallel to the words for ever. See also verses 36 and 87 of the same psalm. See also Psalm lxxii. 17, where the phrase " forever" is equivalent to the phrase " as long as the sun." See also verses 5 and 7 of the same psalm ; and Deut. xi. 21 ; Jer. xxxi. 35 — 37 ; and Baruch i. 1 1 . According to a well-known grammatical rule, that adverbs denoting a termination of time, are, notwithstanding, often intended not to intimate a termination, but to signify perpe- tuity ; so here " till the heavens be no more," does not mean that the event will take place then, but that it will never take place at all. Of this the following scriptures are an exem- plification : — Deut. xxiv. : " No man knew of his sepulchre unto this day „•" — i. e. it never was discovered afterwards. 1 Sam. xv. 35, " Samuel came no more until the clay of his death ;" — i. e. he never came at all. job's ideas of a future state. 129 2 Sam. vi. 23, " Michal had no children until the day of her death :" — she could not possibly have any after. Isa. xxii. 14, " This iniquity shall not be purged till ye die ;" — i. e. never. Matt. i. 25, " He knew her not until she had brought forth," &c. — i. e. he never knew her. Rom. v. 13, " Until the Law, sin was in the world ;" — i. e. then as well as afterwards. 3d. Had Job possessed the hope of a future life, it would have been a strong comfort and an invaluable resource to his mind amidst all his calamities; and he would have tes- tified this his hope in language that could not be mistaken, in reply to the accusations of his friends ; but no such thing appears. 4th. It is remarkable, that his friends, on their side, never once have recourse to this subject, as an argument either for or against Job ; nor is there the least trace in their discourses of their being acquainted with such a doctrine. If they had known it, this would have been the strongest consolation they could have produced. 5th. The images in the close of chap. xiv. all show that Job considered the revival of man from the grave as a hopeless case, seeing that he describes every part of nature as tending and hastening to decay, and consequently man too, by way of analogy. Ver. 14 is especially remarkable, in which he appears to scout the idea of a man's return from death as being in itself a contradiction : " If a man die, shall he live again ? " as much as to say life and death, as existing in the same being, are incompatible. The question is so put, as evidently to admit only of a negative reply. 6th. The Accusing Angel had said, " Doth Job serve God for nought?" — by nought, meaning necessarily either prosperity in this life, or happiness in the life to come. But putting the case, that the patriarch, though deprived of the former and ignorant of the latter, yet continued to show piety towards God, the insinuations of the Accusing Spirit were thus proved perfectly groundless, and Job's patience and submission to the Divine will became the more exemplary and remarkable, as K 130 job's ideas of a future state. being uninfluenced by any expectation of future recompense in a life to come. 7th. It is to be inferred from 2 Tim. i. 10, that " life and immortality being brought to light by the gospel," the saints under the ancient dispensation could have no clear and dis- tinct knowledge of a future state and a resurrection from the dead, such as those had, and now have, who received that doctrine from the lips of Jesus Christ, or from the writings of his apostles. 8th. The Abrahamic covenant was the great source from whence the Jews derived their expectations of a resurrection from the dead, — at least of a resurrection of the just; and this is what Paul calls " the promise made by God to our fathers," (Acts xxvi. 6.) But the Abrahamic covenant must have been posterior to the day of Job, otherwise some allusion to it would surely have been preserved in the book. 9th. If any argue from our Lord's words, (Luke xx. 37,) that Moses and the Israelites had an obscure knowledge of this doctrine, we reply, An obscure knowledge they might have, provided they drew the inferences which our Lord shows they ought to have drawn from the language God used at the appearance in the burning bush ; but the probabilities are, that Job lived long prior to that event : and as in the case of the prophecies respecting the Messiah himself, — which Bishop Horsley in his sermons has ably shown were at first exceed- ingly dark, ambiguous, and enigmatical, and gradually became clearer as time advanced, — so in those relating to a future state, all at first was glimmer and uncertainty, till in after ages a more distinct development of the Divine purposes took place (as is evident from the conduct and language of the mar- tyrs under Antiochus Epiphanes, recorded in 2 Maccabees, chap. vii. verses 9, 14, 23) ; yet not so very clear, but that a numerous sect among the Jews existed in our Lord's day, and even in the times of the Apostle Paul, who wholly disbelieved in a resurrection. And that the Heathens were equally unin- structed in this doctrine, is plain from the reception given to Paul at Athens, the head-quarters of Grecian learning, and from the statements in their own writings of the Greek and job's ideas of a future state. 131 Roman philosophers themselves, as exemplified by Dr. Whitby in sundry quotations from their works, and also by Mr. Bre- kell, in his masterly discourse on Hebrews, chap. ii. 14. As to those who say, that by such interpretations we rob a Christian of his hopes, by depriving him of such evidence as these texts afford in favour of a future life, and the like ; we answer, that it is no robbery to strip a man of an error, and to give him a truth in its place ; and if their hopes have no better foundation than this, it is an insecure ground to rest them on. But why rest them here, when the New Testament gives the clearest discoveries of the doctrine on which they lay so much stress ? From all we can collect respecting the views entertained in ancient times concerning the state of the dead, the following appears to have been the case : — They considered it as consist- ing in a state of rest from labour and from suffering, and in an equality of circumstances. They did not regard the inhabi- tants of Scheol or Hades as absolutely unconscious, but as still possessing a kind of life. This is the opinion which Job expresses, (chap. iii. 13 — 19,) that kings and subjects, ser- vants and masters, are there all free and equal, but all destitute of activity and vigour, like a ghost or phantom without nerves or sinews. The season of real energy is past with respect to such ; but they fancifully or poetically represented them as disembodied beings, flitting about in the region of the dead. The dreams of worldly activity still pursue them, but they are mere dreams. Princes try to act their parts on a visionary theatre, but they can find no One either to applaud or obey them. A scene of this kind is strikingly portrayed in the 14th chapter of Isaiah, where a group ofmonarchs in the shades of Hades is described as rising from their thrones to meet the fallen king of Babylon, and to accost him in these terms: " Art thou too become weak as we ? Art thou made like to us ? Is thy pride brought down to the grave, And the sound of thy sprightly instruments ? Is the vermin become thy couch, and the earth-worm thy covering ? How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning !" K 2 132 JOBS IDEAS OF A FUTURE STATE. In the same shadowy state salutations are presented by infe- riors to superiors, but no return is deigned ; no voice of joy is heard — no sound of prayer — no oblation of praise ; there are no victories, and no defeats — no pursuit of science, no acqui- sition of knowledge — but a barren contemplation of gloomy or awful realities ; no rod of the oppressor, no groan of the oppressed — no industry, where there is nothing to occupy — no appetite, where there is nothing to satiate — nothing but silence. The writer of the Ecclesiastes has expressed all this with his accustomed brevity and energy (chap. ix. 10) : — " There is no work, nor device, Nor knowledge, nor wisdom, In the empire of shadows, Whither thou goest." The ancients, however, asserted the dominion of God as com- prehending the unseen as well as the visible world — the dead as well as the living. According to their notions, the universe was divided into three parts — the heavens, the earth, and the abyss or place under the earth. (See Exod. xx. 4 ; Psalm exxxv. 6 ; exxxvi. 5, 6.) The Eastern mode of burial, too, as Lowth observes (Lectures, chap, vii.), very naturally sug- gested much of the imagery employed in describing the state of the dead. The term Scheol, which never in the Old Testament signi- fies the hell of the damned, though sometimes translated in our version as if it meant so, is represented as a portion of space, vast and deep (as in chap. xi. 8), and as the common receptacle of departed spirits (chap. vii. 9), in which Job him- self earnestly desired to be (chap. xiv. 13), to which the wicked also go down (chap. xxi. 13). It is placed in the bowels of the earth, under the waters of the great abyss (chap. xxvi. 5, 6). This seems to have been a very ancient opinion, for the woman at Endor says of Samuel, " I saw the judge ascending out of the earth." See also Job xxxviii. 16, 17, where Scheol is spoken of in a peculiar manner. Scheol is rightly rendered " the grave" in chap. xvii. 13 — 16 ; and this is the land of dark- ness described with such solemn horror in chap. x. 21, 22. PATRIARCHAL HISTORY UNKNOWN TO HIS FRIENDS. 133 If the foregoing account of Hades, or Scheol, as being below, or, as the Latins call it, infernum, seems to be at vari- ance with Solomon's remark in Ecclesiastes, chap. iii. 21, let it be observed, that a very small and admissible variation in the reading, entirely alters the force of that passage. In- stead of, " Who knoweth the spirit of man, that goeth upward, And the spirit of the beast, that goeth downward to the earth V read thus, as proposed by Desvceux : " Who knows the breath of the sons of men, whether it ascendeth upward, And the breath of the brute, whether it descendeth downward to the earth?" /. e. their respiration being the same in its nature, it is impos- sible to say what becomes of that which constitutes animal life, immediately after death. For a more particular account of the opinions of the Jews respecting the separate state of souls, see a fragment of Jose- phus, preserved and published by Dr. Grabe, at the end of Athenagoras's works. PROOF THAT JOB'S FRIENDS KNEW NOTHING OF PATRIARCHAL HISTORY. In chap. viii. 20, Bildad says; " Behold, God will not cast away the upright, Neither will he help the evil doers." This sentiment is not only found here, but may be said to run through the whole of these men's speeches ; and though it be" true in the abstract, that God will not permanently forsake the righteous, nor bestow lasting prosperity on the wicked, yet the whole of human history furnishes examples of good men being afflicted and depressed, while bad men seem to flourish, ,ni(l to have much enjoyment. To overlook these facts, must 134 NOTICES OF JOB IN THE KORAN. necessarily lead to false and inconclusive reasoning; and had Job's friends been acquainted with the records of the earliest ages, the instances there given would have been sufficient to make them demur, in applying those maxims in the sweeping manner they do. Abel was a righteous man, yet his life was shortened by the hand of Cain. Cain was a murderer, and yet was suffered to live. Abraham was dear to God, and yet was obliged to leave his native country, and to become a wanderer in a foreign land. Jacob was persecuted by his brother Esau. And other unrecorded instances had no doubt occurred. Their perfect silence as to these events, and the fallacy of their rea- sonings, are a strong presumption that they were wholly unacquainted with them. Whether this unacquaintance arose from their position in the land of Idumea, or from the Mosaic accounts not having been yet committed to writing, or from any other cause, of course we can do nothing but conjecture. It is enough, that there is an absence of all allusion to such histories ; and this circumstance may assist in determining the date of the book, as in all probability composed at a period of the most remote antiquity. There are even now almost daily proofs that the Divine favour or displeasure towards men is not to be estimated by their external condition. NOTICES OF JOB IN THE KORAN. Job, or Aiub, is reported by some of the Arabian histo- rians to have been descended from Ishmael : by others, his descent is traced from Isaac, through Esau, from whom he was the third, or at most the fourth, in succession. And in the history given by Khendemir, who distinguishes him by the title of The Patient, it is stated that by his mother's side he was descended from Lot ; that he had been commissioned by God to preach the faith to a people of Syria ; that although no more than three had been converted by his preaching, he was, notwithstanding, rewarded for his zeal by immense pos- Mssions, &c. NOTICES OF JOB IN THE KORAN. 135 In chap. xxi. of the Koran, the false prophet speaks thus of him: " And remember Job, when he cried unto his Lord, saying, Verily, evil hath afflicted me, but thou art the most merciful of those who show mercy. Wherefore we heard him, and relieved him from the evil which was upon him ; and we restored unto him his family, and as many more with them, through our mercy, and for an admonition unto those who serve God." In chap, xxxviii. there is a similar passage, with some addi- tions, but not deserving of transcription. The other traditions respecting him are of too foolish a kind to merit particular notice. Some, to express the great riches which were bestowed on Job after his sufferings, say he had two threshing-floors, one for wheat, and the other for barley ; and that God sent two clouds, which rained gold on the one, and silver on the other, till they ran over. The traditions differ as to the continuance of Job's calami- ties: one will have it to be eighteen years, another thirteen, another three, and another exactly seven years, seven months, and seven hours. See Sale's Koran, vol. ii. p. 156 ; and D'Her- belot's Bibl. Orient, torn. i. p. 75, &c. One fact is plain from these traditions, — that there was such a person as Job, who lived in the patriarchal age, and was distinguished above all men by his sufferings and by his patience. Indeed the reverence for the name of Job has been extremely great from the earliest times, and continues so to this day, through all Arabia ; so that many of the noblest families among the Arabians have gloried in being descended from that patriarch. The famous dynasty of the great Saladin have been known by the name of Aioubites, or Jobites, their illustrious founder being called by the name of Job. (Magee on the Atonement, vol. ii. p. 202, ubi plura.) NEW VERSION THE BOOK OF JOB. SYNOPSIS OF THE BOOK OF JOB. CHAPTERS. Narrative of his History and Trials 1, 2. His Agony of Grief 3. First Series of Controversy between Eliphaz and Job . 4, 5, 6, 7. First Controversy between Bildad and Job . . . . 8, 9, 10. „ „ „ Zophar and Job ... . 11, 12, 13, 14. Second'Series of Controversy between Eliphaz and Job 15, 16, 17. „ ,, ,, ,, Bildad and Job . 18, 19. „ „ ,, ,, Zophar and Job 20, 21. Third Series of Controversy between Eliphaz and Job 22, 23, 24. „ „ „ ,, Bildad and Job . 25, 26. „ „ „ „ Zophar and Job 27, 28, 29, 30. Elihu's several Addresses to Job < i- '„ fi '„* ' Jehovah's Addresses to Job 38,39,40,41. Conclusion of the Poem 42. NEW VERSION THE BOOK OF JOB. CHAPTER I. THE NARRATIVE. 1 There was a man in the region of Uz, whose name was Job. He was a sincerely upright man, who worshipped 2 God, and who abstained from evil. There were born to 3 him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses, and a great number of servants. So that of all the sons of the East he was the wealthiest. 4 Now his sons had a custom of feasting at each other's houses, every one on his birth-day ; when they invited 5 their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of feasting were over, Job sent and made ex- piation for them, early the next morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of his children ; for he said, " Perhaps my sons may have sinned, and may have offended against God in their hearts." Thus did Job on every such occasion. G One day, when the sons of God went to present them- selves before Jehovah, the Accusing Angel went also with 142 THE NEW VERSION. 7 them. And Jehovah said to the Accusing Angel, " Whence comest thou ?" And the Accusing Angel in reply said to Jehovah, " From roaming round the earth, and walking 8 ahout it." Then Jehovah said to the Accusing Angel, " Hast thou taken notice of my servant Job ; he hath not his equal upon earth ; a man sincerely upright, worship- 9 ping God, and abstaining from evil?" The Accusing 10 Angel replied to Jehovah, " Is Job's worship of God dis- interested ? Hast thou not surrounded him with a fence, himself, his house, and all that belongs to him ? Thou hast blessed the labour of his hands, and his property 1 1 overspreads the land. But stretch forth thine hand, and smite all that he has : will he not then openly renounce 12 thee?" Then Jehovah said to the Accusing Angel, " Be- hold, all that he has is in thy power, only stretch not forth thine hand against himself." So the Accusing Angel departed from the presence of Jehovah. 13 And a day came, when the sons and daughters of Job were feasting and drinking wine at their eldest brother's 14 house, that a messenger came to Job, and said, " The oxen were ploughing, and the she-asses were pasturing at some 1 o distance, when the Sabeans rushed forth and seized them, and slew thy servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone having escaped am come to tell thee." 10 While this man was speaking, another came and said, " The fire of God hath fallen from heaven, and burnt up the sheep, and consumed the shepherds likewise, and I alone having escaped am come to "tell thee." 17 While this man was yet speaking, another came and said, " The Chaldeans, having formed three bands, rushed upon the camels and carried them off, and put the camel- drivers to the sword, and I alone having escaped am come to tell thee." 18 Whilst this man was still speaking, another also came and said, " Thy sons and thy daughters were feasting, and 19 were drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, and lo ! a mighty blast came from across the desert, and smote the four corners of the house, so that it fell upon the THE NARRATIVE. 143 young people, and they are dead; and I alone having escaped am come to tell thee." 20 On this Job rose up, and rent his mantle, and shaved his 21 head ; and, falling on the ground, he worshipped, and said : " Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return to earth : Jehovah gave ; Jehovah hath taken away ; Blessed be the name of Jehovah." 22 In all this Job did not sin, nor vent a murmur against God. CHAPTER II. THE NARRATIVE CONTINUED. 1 And a day came, when the sons of God went to present themselves before Jehovah ; and the Accusing Angel went 2 also with them. And Jehovah said to the Accusing o Angel, " Whence comest thou ?" And the Accusing Angel in reply said to Jehovah, " From roaming round 3 the earth, and walking about it." Then Jehovah said to the Accusing Angel, " Hast thou taken notice of my ser- vant Job, that he hath not his equal upon earth, a man sincerely upright, worshipping God and abstaining from evil ; and still he maintains his integrity, though thou hast excited me against him, to ruin him without a cause V 4 And the Accusing Angel answered Jehovah, and said, " Skin after skin, nay, all that a man possesses, he will 5 give up for his life ; but now stretch forth thine hand, and smite his whole person, will he not then openly re- 6 nounce thee ?" And Jehovah said to the Accusing Angel, 7 " Behold, he is in thy power ; only spare his life." Then the Accusing Angel departed from the presence of Jeho- vah, and smote Job with foul ulcers, from the sole of his 8 foot to the crown of his head, so that he took a shell to scrape away the ichor, and sat down among the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, " Dost thou still maintain 144 THE NEW VERSION. 10 thine integrity ? Bless God and die." But he replied to her, " Thou speakest like a woman without understanding ; What ! shall we then receive good from the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil also ?" In all this Job transgressed not with his lips. 1 1 Now the three friends of Job, Eliphaz of Teman, Bildad of Shuah, and Zophar of Naama, heard of all the cala- mities which had befallen him, and they came every man from his own home ; and having made an appointment together, they went to Job, to mourn with him and to 12 comfort him. And when, lifting up their eyes from a distance, they did not know him, they raised their voices and wept aloud ; and each man rent his mantle, and 13 sprinkled dust through the air upon his head. And they sat down with him on the ground seven clays and seven nights; and not one of them uttered a word to him, for they saw that his affliction was very grievous. CHAPTER III. JOB'S AGONY OF GRIEF. 1 At length Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day 2 of his birth ; and Job spake and said : 3 " Perish the day in which I was born, And the night when they said, A man-child is brought forth. 4 O let that day be darkness ! May God from above never regard it ; Yea, let no sun-shine come upon it. 5 Let darkness and the shadow of death cover it ; Let a spreading cloud hover over it ; Let it be frightened at its own deformity. 6 " That night — let thick darkness seize it ; Let it not be joined to the days of the yeaflr, Nor enter into the number of the months. job's agony of griff. 14.5 7 That night — may it be as a solitary rock ; Let no voice of joy ever come upon it! 8 Let the sorcerers of the day curse it, Who are expert in conjuring up Leviathan. 9 Let the stars of its twilight be extinguished ; Let it long for light, but never reach it ; Let it never see the eyelids of the dawn : 10 Because it closed not the doors of the womb to me, Nor shut out sorrow from mine eyes ; 11 Or like an untimely birth I had perished, Like abortions which never saw the light. 12 " O why did I not expire in the womb ; Why not perish in passing from the bowels ? 13 Why was I received on the knees ; Why have I sucked the breasts ? 14 I might now have lain still, and been quiet ; I might have gone to sleep, and been at rest, 15 Among the monarchs and despots of the earth, Who built solitary mansions for themselves ; 16 Or among chiefs, who abounded in gold, Who glutted their storehouse with silver. 1 7 There the wicked cease to be a terror, There the wearied are at rest. 18 The enslaved rest securely together, They hear no more the taskmaster's voice. 19 There the small and the great are the same ; The slave is on a level with his dreaded lord. 20 " Why is light given to the wretched, And life to the bitter in soul ? 21 Who long for death, but find it not; Who dig for it more than for hidden treasures ; 22 Who rejoice even to exultation, And triumph when they find the grave. 23 For God hath shut out death from a man, To whom it would have been a repose. 24 For my groans anticipate my food, My lamentations burst forth like a torrent. 25 For the terror which I dreaded has come upon me ; L 1 10 THE NEW VERSION. That which I feared has befallen me. Q6 I have no tranquillity — I have no peace — I have no rest — I am grievously distressed." CHAPTER IV. ELIPHAZ'S FIRST ADDRESS TO JOB. Scope. — Eliphaz censures Job for impatience — affirms that good men never die miserably, and relates a remarkable vision he had had. 1 Here Eliphaz the Temanite thus addressed him : 2 " May one utter a word to thee ? Thou art greatly cast down — but who can keep silence? 3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, And hast strengthened the feeble hands. 4 Thy words have upheld the fainting, And given courage to knees which were strengthless. 5 But now, when thy turn has arrived, thou faintest ; Thou art smitten, and thou yieldest to despair. G Ought not thy piety to inspire with hope, And the integrity of thy life with confidence ? 7 Recall to mind, I pray thee, What innocent person ever perished ? And where have the upright been cut off ? 8 I have always observed, that those who plough iniquity, And those who sow mischief, reap what they have sowed. 9 By the breath of God they perish ; By the blast of his nostrils they are consumed. 10 The raging of the lioness, the roar of the lion, have ceased ; The teeth of the young lions are broken ; 1 1 The old lion has perished for want of prey, The lion's whelps are dashed in pieces. 12 "A matter was imparted to me secretly ; It came to my ear like a muttering sound. ELIPHAZ'S FIRST ADDRESS TO JOI5. 147 13 In the terrifying hour of night visions, At the time when deep sleep falleth upon men, 14 A fear came upon me, and a horror, A shuddering went through all my bones ; 15 Then a spirit glided before me, The hair of my flesh stood on end. 16 It stood still — but I could not distinguish its form. A spectre stood before mine eyes — There was stillness — so that I heard a hollow murmur, saying : 17 ' Shall mortal man be just before God ? Shall a man be pure in the sight of his Maker ? 18 Behold, He cannot confide in those who serve him; Even his angels he chargeth with defection. 19 What then are the dwellers in tenements of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust ? 20 They are crushed before the moth, They are destroyed from morning to evening ; 21 They are for ever perishing unnoticed, Their fluttering round is soon over ; They die, quite destitute of wisdom.'" CHAPTER V. THE ADDRESS CONTINUED. Scope. — Eliphaz blames those who murmur against Providence. — It is in our own sinful nature that we find the true cause of our calamities. — Chastisement from God is to be appreciated as a means of wholesome correction. 1 " Appeal now ; will any one answer thee ? To which of the holy ones wilt thou turn ? 2 Passion transports the foolish man, And envy slays the weak. 3 I have seen the foolish man taking root, But I foresaw that his ruin was approaching. l 2 148 THE NEW VERSION. 4 His children are far from safety, They are insulted in the courts of judgment; There is no one to defend them. 5 Plunderers devour their harvest, Armed men seize their sheaves, Robbers swallow up their substance. 6 Affliction comes not forth from the dust ; Sorrow springs not up from the ground : 7 Behold, man is born to trouble, As birds by flying soar aloft. 8 Wherefore, I would seek to God ; To God I would commit my cause : 9 Who performeth great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number. 1 Who giveth rain to the earth, And sendeth moisture to the parched deserts. 1 1 Who setteth on high the lowly, And exalteth the mourners to safety. 1 2 Who defeats the devices of the crafty, So that their hands can perform no enterprise. 13 Who entangles the wise in their own cunning, And disconcerts the projects of oppressors ; 14 So that in the day-time they meet with darkness, And grope at noon-day, as at midnight. 15 Thus he saveth the poor from the sword, And the weak from the hand of the violent. 16 Thus hope comes to the feeble, And iniquity closes her mouth. 17 " Behold, happy is the man whom God corrccteth; Therefore, do not thou despise the chastisement of the Almighty : 18 For he causeth pain, and again removeth it ; Him whom he smote, his hands make whole. 19 In six distresses he will deliver thee ; Yea, in the seventh, no harm shall reach thee. 20 In famine he will deliver thee from death, And in war from the edge of the sword. 21 He will hide thee from the scourge of the tongue; job's reply to eliphaz. 149 Thou needest not be afraid of impending ills. 22 At destruction and famine thou shalt smile, And shalt not dread the beasts of the field. 23 With the stones of the field thou shalt be in league ; The savage beasts shall be at peace with thee. 24 Thou shalt know that thy family is secure, And in choosing thy habitation, thou shalt not err. 25 Thou shalt see a numerous posterity, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth. 26 In mature old age thou shalt descend to the grave, As a shock of ripe corn cut down in due season. 21 "Lo ! these things we have examined, and found so : Hear them, and apply them to thine own experience." CHAPTER VI. JOBS REPLY TO ELIFHAZ. Scope Job complains of his friends, that, so far from consoling him, they utter unjust reproaches, and so aggravate his trials. 1 To these things Job replied thus : 2 "Would to God my grief were weighed in a balance, And my calamity laid in one of the scales ! 3 It would be found heavier than the sand of the sea ; Therefore my complaints are vehement. 4 The arrows of the Almighty have pierced me through, Of which my soul imbibes the deadly poison : The terrors of God are ranged in battle against me. 5 Doth the wild ass bray amidst the green herb ? Doth the ox low when his fodder is near him ? 6 Are insipid aliments eaten without salt ? Is there any taste in the white of an egg ? 7 My soul refuses to touch such food. They arc to me like putrid meat. 150 THE NEW VERSION. 8 Oh that my request were granted ! That God would fulfil my desire : 9 That it would please him to destroy me, That he would stretch out his hand, and cut me off. 1 That would indeed be a comfort ; I should exult in my grief, if he would not spare me, Since I have not transgressed the commandments of the Holy One. 1 1 What is my strength, that I should hope ? And my life, that I should wish to prolong it ? 1'3 Is my strength that of stones ? Is my flesh made of iron ? 13 Although my situation is desperate, Does it follow that I have forsaken wisdom ? 14 He that withholds compassion from a friend, Will also forsake the fear of God. 15 As to my brethren, they are perfidious like a brook, Like the torrent which rushes through the valley ; 16 Whose waters are swollen by the melting of ice, And turbid by reason of the snow. 1 7 Summer comes, and they disappear ; The heat absorbs them, and they are dried up. 18 Caravans turn thither on their route ; They perish in the midst of the desert. 19 The travellers of Teman looked anxiously, The caravans of Sheba panted for them. 20 They bluslred for their own confidence ; They came to the spot, and were confounded. '.! 1 " In like manner, ye are become useless to me ; Ye see my misery, and recoil with horror. 'I'Z Have I said to any of you, Give me somewhat, Make me a present of your wealth ; ii ( 3 Free me from the power of my enemies, Redeem me from the hand of oppressors ? 2 1' Instruct me, and 1 will be silent ; Show me wherein I have erred. 25 In what respects are my words too severe ? What do you find to blame in them? job's reply to eliphaz. 151 ~6 Will you blame the expressions I have used ? The words of a desperate man are mere wind. 27 Ye cast a net over the orphan, Ye dig a pit for your friend. 28 Cast your eyes upon me, I pray you ; Find out what I have spoken falsely. 29 Examine me, but do it impartially ; Examine me anew, and acknowledge my integrity. 30 Is there iniquity under my tongue ? Can my palate no more distinguish falsehood ?" CHAPTER VII. THE REPLY CONTINUED. Scope. — Job's plaintive description of human life. — He repels the idea of suicide, and beseeches God to grant him some relief. 1 " Hath not man the life of a servant on earth ? Are not his days as the days of a hireling ? 2 Like a slave, he pants for the evening shade ; Like a hireling, he waits for the finishing of his work. 3 Thus seasons of misery are allotted to me, And nights of wretchedness are numbered to me. 4 When I lay me down to rest, I exclaim, ' When shall I arise, and the tedious night be gone V I am full of restlessness until the dawn. 5 My body swarms with putrefaction and with earthy filth ; My skin is stiff and corrupt with ulcerous matter. 6 My days are slighter than the weaver's yarn ; They are finished like the breaking of a thread. 7 O remember, that my life is a vapour, And mine eyes shall no more return to see good. 8 The eye that sought me shall find me no more ; Thine eye shall seek me, and I shall be gone. 152 THE NEW VERSION. 9 As the cloud is dissolved and vanisheth away, So he that descends to the grave shall not reascend. 1 He shall never return to his house ; His dwelling-place shall know him no more. 11 " Therefore I will not refrain my mouth, I will speak in the anguish of my mind, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12 Am I a sea or an amphibious monster, That thou settest a guard over me ? 13 When I say to myself, ' My bed shall comfort me, My couch shall ease my complaint ?' 1 4 Then thou scarest me with frightful dreams, Thou terrifiest me with visions : 15 So that my soul would prefer suffocation, And death, in comparison with my sufferings. 1 6 But I spurn such thoughts ; I shall not live always so : O release me, since my days are vanity ! 1 7 What is man, that thou shouldst sustain him, And shouldst pay attention to him ; 18 That thou shouldst visit him every morning, And prove him every moment ? 1 9 Why wilt thou not turn away from me, Nor let me alone till I draw my breath ? 20 Have I sinned ? What injury have I done to thee, O thou Observer of men ? Why set me up as a mark to shoot at, So that I am become a burden to myself? 21 Why not pardon my transgression ? Why not take away mine iniquity, That now I might lie down in the dust ? In the morning thou wouldst seek me ; but I should be gone." bildad's first address to job. 153 CHAPTER VIII. BILDADS FIRST ADDRESS TO JOB. Scope. — Bildad reproves Job for speaking disrespectfully of God — affirms that God always prospers the righteous — appeals to the experience of former ages, and gives Job hopes of an early restoration. 1 Then Bildad of Shuah interposed and said : 2 " How long wilt thou utter such things, And thy sayings burst forth like an impetuous wind ? 3 Will God pervert justice ? Will the Almighty pass an unrighteous judgment ? 4 If thy children have sinned against him, He hath cast them off on account of their transgressions. 5 If thou wouldst seek betimes unto God, And make thy supplication to the Almighty, 6 Provided thou wert just and upright, Even yet he would rise up for thee, And prosper the abode of thine integrity ; 7 And though thy beginning were small, Thy latter end would be very prosperous. 8 " Examine, I pray thee, former generations ; Inform thyself of the wisdom of their ancestors : 9 (For we are but of yesterday, and have no experience ; Our days on the earth are but a shadow.) 10 Shall they not teach thee and instruct thee, And from the heart utter maxims like these ? — 11 " { Can the papyrus grow without water ? Can the bulrush grow without moisture ? 12 While it is yet shooting, it languishes, And withers before it has perfected its herbage : [54 THE NEW VERSION. 13 Such are the paths of all that forget God ; So perisheth the hope of the profligate.' 14 " ' His confidence shall deceive him, And his house prove weak as a spider's web. 15 Though he prop it up, it shall not stand ; Though he take hold of it, it shall not endure.' 16 " ' He is green before the sun (grows hot) And his branch shoots forth, while under shelter. 1 7 His roots are matted strongly together ; They grow even in a flinty soil. 18 But he shall suddenly wither from his place, Which shall say to him, " I never knew thee.' " 19 Lo ! such is the catastrophe of the wicked, And others shall arise in his place. 20 But God will not reject the upright, Nor will he strengthen the hands of evil doers. 21 Even yet he may fill thy mouth with laughter, And thy lips with merriment. 22 Thine enemies shall be clothed with shame, And the dwelling of the wicked shall come to nought." CHAPTER IX. JOBS REPLY TO BILDAD. Scope. — -Though Job defends himself strenuously against the accusations of his friends, who urged, that because God had grievously afflicted him, therefore he must needs have been a wicked man ; yet, he never claims to be entirely sinless, but confesses before God his imperfections. 1 And Job replied thus : 2 " Of a truth, I know it is so : How can man be just before God ? i> If God condescend to argue with man, Man could not acquit himself, once in a thousand. job's reply to bildad. 155 4 Wise in heart, and mighty in strength (as he is), Who hath striven with him, and been successful ? 5 He removeth the mountains, ere they know it, He overturneth them in his wrath. 6 He shaketh the earth to its foundations, So that the pillars thereof totter. 7 He commandeth the sun, and it riseth not, He setteth his seal upon the stars. 8 He alone spreadeth out the heavens, And treadeth on the heights of the sea. 9 He maketh the blight, and the cold, The genial heat, and the thick clouds of the south. 10 He doeth things great and unsearchable, Things wonderful, not to be numbered. 1 1 Behold, he moveth towards me, but I see him not ; He passeth by, but I do not perceive him. 12 If he takes away, who shall bring back ? Who shall say to him, ' What art thou doing ? ' 1 3 God is he, whose anger no one can avert : Under him the most haughty are humbled. 14 How much less shall I contend with him? How shall I arrange my pleadings against him ? 15 With whom, though I were righteous, I would not argue, But would rather implore the mercy of my Judge. 10 Should I summon him, and he should make reply, I could scarcely believe that he attended to my voice. 17 He who from his whirlwind hath bruised me, And has multiplied my wounds without cause, 18 He hath not allowed me time to breathe, But loadeth me constantly with new sorrows. 19 If we decide by mere strength, then he must prevail ; And if by law, who shall set a day for him ? 20 If I vindicate myself, my own mouth would condemn mc : If I claim perfection, it would convict me of perversc- ness. :.'l I claim perfection! I should not know- myself! 156 THE NEW VERSION. I should disavow my own being ! 22 It is a singular thing, that I should come to this con- clusion, ' That God punishes alike the innocent and guilty." 23 Though he slays fools with his scourge, He also smiles at the calamities of the just. 2 1 He abandons a land to the violence of the wicked ; The face of their judges is hoodwinked, That they turn not to say, Who has done this ? 25 " Swifter than a courier are my days ; They flee away, they see no good. 26 They pass by like ships made of reeds, Like the eagle that pounces on the prey. 21 If I should say, I will forget my cares, I will change my aspect, and look cheerful ; 28 Then so many griefs alarm me, I feel that thou dost not acquit me. 29 Grant, then, that I am wicked ! Why should I therefore labour in vain ? 30 Should I wash myself in snow-water, And cleanse my hands in purity, 31 Still wouldst thou plunge me into filth, So that my own clothes would abhor me. 32 He is not a man like myself, whom I could reply to, That we should come together before the judge. 33 There is no arbitrator between us, To exert his authority over both. 34 Let him take away his rod from me, And no longer alarm me by his terror : 35 Then I might speak, and not be afraid of him, But at present I stand not upon equal terms." job's reply to bildad. 157 CHAPTER X. THE REPLY CONTINUED. Scope. — Job seeks to move God's compassion, and studies to divine the cause of his misfortunes — he looks forward to the region of shadows for relief. 1 "I am thoroughly weary of my life ; I will abandon myself to my complaints ; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I will say to God, ' Do not condemn me ; Show me wherefore thou contendest with me ! 3 Can it give thee pleasure to oppress me ; To reject the work of thine own hands, And to favour the counsel of the wicked ! 4 Are thine eyes like those of mortals ? Seest thou as man seeth ? 5 Are thy days as the days of a man, Or thy years like human life ; That thou searchest out mine iniquity, And makest inquest for my sin ? 7 Though thou knowest that I am not impious, And that none can deliver out of thy hand. 8 Thy hands have formed me, And moulded me compact on every side ; And now, wilt thou destroy me ? 9 Remember that thou hast moulded me as clay, And wilt thou again reduce me to dust ? 10 Hast thou not mingled me as milk, And made me solid as cheese ? 1 1 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, Thou hast fenced me with bones and sinews ; 12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, And by thy visitation preserved my spirit. 15S THE NEW VERSION. 13 These things are stored up with thyself, I know that these are thy property. 14 Have I so sinned, that thou hast made a mark of me, And wilt not acquit me of transgression ? 15 If I indeed am impious, woe is me ; But if I am righteous, I will not boast of it ; For I am loaded with ignominy, and deeply abased. 16 Elated like a lion, thou springest upon me, And again thou showest thy power over me. 1 7 Thou renewest thy tormenting attacks upon me, Thou increasest thy vexation against me, Fresh harasses and conflicts are with me ; 18 Why hast thou brought me forth from the womb? Why did I not die without an eye seeing me ; 19 And become as if I never existed, And been carried from the womb to the grave ? 20 Is not the term of my life of short duration ? Pray spare me, that I may enjoy some repose, 21 Before I go, whence I shall not return, To a land of gloom, and the shadow of death, 22 To a land of dissolution and extinction, Of the shadow of death, where there is no order, And where the very light is as pitchy darkness." CHAPTER XL zophar's first address to job. Scape. — Zophar, with sarcastic severity, blames Job for the length of his discourse, and reproaches him with undue confidence in his own integrity: he points out to him that God is unsearchable — invites him to repentance, and predicts the happy consequences arising from it : — he closes with a threat of the lot which God reserves for impenitent persons. 1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered in these terms: 2 " He who speaketh much, should be replied to, Otherwise the talkative man would appear to be right. zopiiar's first address to job. 159 3 If others heard thy boasting in silence, Thou mightest mock on without contradiction. 4 Thou sayest, ' My conscience is clear, And I am pure in thine eyes,' (addressing God.) 5 I wish God would indeed speak to thee, And open his lips against thee ; G That he would unfold to thee the secrets of wisdom : Then wouldst thou have double reason to remain tranquil ; Then thou wouldst know that God hath forborne A portion of the chastisement thou deservest. 7 Canst thou explore the deep things of God ? Canst thou comprehend the whole power of the Al- mighty ? 8 Higher than heaven ! What canst thou do ? Deeper than the mansion of the dead ! What canst thou know ? 9 Of greater extent than the measure of the earth ! Far wider than the breadth of the sea ! 10 If he seize — if he bind with chains — If he bring before the court — who can refute him ? 1 1 For he knows the foolish thoughts of the wicked, And can he see iniquity, and not notice it? \2 Let then the vain man learn wisdom, And not act as if born a wild ass's colt. 13 But if thou prepare thine heart, And stretch forth thy hands towards him ; 14 If thou remove iniquity from thy presence, And suffer no wickedness to dwell in thy tents ; 1 5 Then shalt thou lift up thy face without a stain, Thou shalt be courageous — thou shalt fear nothing. 16 Then thou shalt forget thy miseries, Or remember them only as a torrent that has passed. 17 Thy life shall be brighter than the noon day, Thy darkness shall assume the lustre of the dawn. 18 Thou shalt be secure, because thou hast hope ; Thou shalt dig around, and shalt sleep securely. 19 Thou shalt lie down without fear; The mighty shall court thine alliance. 160 THE NEW VERSION. 20 But the eyes of the wicked shall grow dim, Safety shall be far from them, Their hope shall be as an expiring breath. CHAPTER XII. JOB S REPLY TO ZOPHAR. Scope. — Job alleges facts, which demonstrate inequality in the condition of man- kind, and a seeming confusion in the distribution of good and evil, to prove that a man's external circumstances are no criterion of his moral character : — he appears to quote a part of what he says from some ancient Idumean poem. 1 To these observations Job replied : 2 " No doubt ye are sage folks, And wisdom will die with you. 3 But I have understanding as well as you ; I am inferior, in this respect, to none of you. Who is there that is ignorant of such things ? 4 But I am a man derided by his friends, Because I call upon God to listen to me. The just, the upright man, is a laughing-stock. 5 Contempt always attends upon calamity, While ease still waits upon prosperity. Those who slip with the foot, are sure to suffer for it. G The tents of plunderers are secure ; Secure are the abodes of them who provoke God, Whose power is to them instead of a God. 7 But now, inquire of the beasts, and they will teach you, And the fowls of the air, and they will explain to you, 8 And the shrubs of the earth, and they will show you, And the fishes of the sea will declare it to you : 9 Who amongst all these does not know, That all things arc arranged by the power of God ? 10 In whose hand is the soul of every living creature, And the breath of all mankind. job's reply to zophak. 1()1 1 1 Doth not the ear judge of words, As the palate tastes food ? 12 Wisdom belongs to the aged, And length of days gives understanding. 13 " In him reside wisdom and power, With him are prudence and understanding. 14 If he destroy, who can restore? If he bind a man, who can unloose him ? 15 If he restrain the waters, they dry up ; If he let them loose, they overflow the earth. 16 Strength and stability are with him, The deceived and the deceiver are his. 17 He leaves counsellors to their own folly, He suffers judges to become infatuated. 1 8 He dissolves the authority of kings, He bindeth a belt about their loins. 19 He leadeth princes into captivity, And prostrateth the mighty. 20 He deprives orators of their eloquence, And takes away discernment from the aged. 21 He poureth contempt upon nobles, He relaxeth the strength of heroes. 22 He reveals matters hid in profound darkness, He brings murderous designs to light. 23 He lets nations go astray, and destroys them ; He enlarges them, and scatters them abroad. 24 He deprives of understanding the chief men of a land, And makes them wander in a pathless desert. 25 They grope in darkness, and see no light, They stagger about like drunken men." \i 162 THE NEW VERSION. CHAPTER XIII. THE REPLY CONTINUED. Scope. — Job reproaches his friends with employing improper arguments to defend the justice of God, and wishes that God would examine his conduct himself, and have compassion on his weakness. 1 " Behold, mine eyes have seen all this, I have heard and understood it with my ears. 2 What ye know, I also know ; I am inferior to none of you. 3 Fain would I address myself to the Almighty ; I feel anxious to reason with God. 4 But as for you, ye are fabricators of falsehood ; Physicians of no value are ye all. 5 I wish ye would observe thorough silence, Then ye might pass for wise men. G Hear, I pray, my declaration, Attend to the remonstrances of my lips. 7 Will ye defend God by improper methods? Will ye justify him by means of deceit ? 8 Is it proper to show respect of persons, When ye wish to plead the cause of God ? 9 Will he be pleased with you, when he searches your thoughts ? Can you flatter him as you flatter man ? 10 He will most certainly reprove you, If ye respect persons, however speciously. 1 1 What! does not his majesty alarm you, Does not his fear overawe you ? 12 Your sententious discourses are worthless as ashes, Your maxims are nothing but mire. job's reply to zophar. 163 13 Hold your peace, for I must speak — I will, whatever it should cost me. 14 Come what may, I will take my flesh in my teeth, And carry my life in my own hand. 15 There! let him kill me — I have nothing to hope for — Only let me defend my conduct before him. 16 He himself would then become my deliverer, For no profligate durst come into his presence. 17 Hear what I am going to say, Give ear to my declaration. 18 As soon as I have arranged the pleadings of my cause, I know assuredly I shall be acquitted. 19 Who is there that can convict me ? Surely I would then be silent, and expire. 20 Yet, O my God, indulge me in two things, And then I will not shun thy presence. 21 Remove the pressure of thy hand from me, Let not the awe thou inspirest overwhelm me. 22 Then question me, and I will answer, Or let me speak, and do thou reply. 23 What is the amount of my transgressions and my sins? Show me my trespasses which I have committed. 24 Why dost thou hide thy face, And treat me as an enemy ? 25 Why break a poor driven leaf? Why pursue the dry stubble ? 26 Thou writest severe decisions against me, Thou imputest to me the sins of my youth. 27 Thou puttest my feet in confinement, Thou narrowly observest all my movements, Thou brandest the soles of my feet. 28 Me, who am already consumed with putrefaction, Like a garment corroded by the moth." m 2 1G4 THE NEW VERSION. CHAPTER XIV. THE REPLY CONTINUED. Scope. — Job draws a melancholy picture of the sad condition of man upon earth — he begs of God to conceal him for a time in the grave, until his anger be past — he accuses the Most High of severity towards men. 1 " Man, the offspring of woman, Is of few days, and full of inquietude. 2 He springeth up — and is cut off — like a flower ; He glideth away like a shadow, and maketh no stay. 3 Upon such a creature dost thou open thine eyes ? Dost thou cause such a being to come to trial before thee? 4 Who can become pure, or free from pollution ? Surely none — whether the course of his life be a day, 5 Or months be numbered out to him, He comes to the term thou hast set — but he cannot go beyond it. 6 O turn from him, that he may have some respite — Till he shall, like a hireling, have completed his day. 7 There is, indeed, hope for a tree ; For if lopped, it may sprout again, And its tender branches may not fail : 8 Though its root have grown old in the earth, And its trunk have become dead in the ground, 9 Through the fragrance of water it may revive, And put forth young shoots, as when planted. 10 But when man dies, he moulders into dust, When the mortal expires — where is he ? 11 As the billows pass away with the tides, And the rivers, when unsupplied, are dried up — job's reply to zofhar. 165 12 So man, composed to rest in the grave, riseth not ; Till the heavens be dissolved, they will not awake, No — they will not rouse up from their sleep. 13 " O that thou wouldst hide me in the mansion of the dead, That thou wouldst conceal me, till thine indignation cease ! Set me a fixed time, and then remember me. 14 "But should a man die, will he indeed be revived ? All the days appointed for me, I will wait, Until my release shall come. 15 Then thou wilt call, and I will answer thee, Yea, thou wilt have compassion on the work of thine hands. 16 "At present, thou numberest up my devices, Not one of my inadvertences escapes thee. 17 My offences are sealed up in a bag, Yea, thou tiest together mine iniquities. 18 "As the crumbling mountain dissolveth, As the rock moulders away from its place, 19 As the waters wear to pieces the stones, As their overflowings sweep the soil from the land ; So consumest thou the hope of man ; 20 Thou dost harass him continually till he perish, Thou weariest out his frame, and despatchest him. 21 His sons may come to honour, but he knows it not ; Or they may be impoverished, and he shall not perceive it: 22 For his flesh shall drop away from him, And his soul within him shall suffer grief." !()(} THE NEW VERSION. CHAPTER XV. THE SECOND ADDRESS OF ELIPHAZ. Scope. — He accuses Job of rejecting the consolations of God, and of employing the language of impious men — he repeats his former maxim, that no man is pure in God's sight ; and refers to some traditionary sayings, to prove that the happiness of the wicked is unsubstantial, and of short duration. 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite again took up the discourse : 2 " Does it become a wise man to give unsolid answers, And to swell his breast with the east wind ? 3 To refute arguments by proving nothing, And to use unprofitable words ? 4 Thou thyself castest off piety, And weakenest prayers directed to God. 5 Thine own words show thine iniquity, Though thou usest the tongue of the crafty. 6 Thine own mouth condemns thee, not I ; Thine own lips testify against thee. 7 Wert thou the first man that was born ? Wert thou formed before the mountains ? 8 Hast thou listened in the privy council of God, And drawn away wisdom to thyself? 9 What knowest thou, that we know not ? Or understandest thou, of which we are ignorant ? 10 The hoary headed and the ancient are among us, More venerable for years than thy father. I I Dost thou undervalue the Divine consolations, Or the addresses of kindness to thyself? 12 To what pitch of boldness would thy heart carry thee — At what have thine eyes taken aim — THE SECOND ADDRESS OF ELIPHAZ. 107 13 That thou shouldst let loose thy mind against God, And cast forth such words from thy mouth ? 14 Where is the man who is pure, The offspring of woman who is blameless ? 15 Behold, in his holy ones he cannot place confidence, The heavens are not clean in his sight. 16 How abominable and impure then must man be, Who drinketh iniquity like water ! 17 " Listen to me, and I will tell thee — What I have seen, I will relate ; 18 Which sages have proclaimed, As a matter known in the time of their ancestors, 19 To whom alone the land was given, When no stranger had come amongst them : — 20 " 'All the days of the wicked he is his own tormentor, And a reckoning of years is laid up for the violent. 21 A sound of alarm rings in his ears ; Even in peace the despoiler invades him. 22 He cannot hope to escape from darkness ; Even from the lurking-place the sword awaits him. 23 He wanders about, and becomes the prey of vultures ; He knows the evil day is prepared for him. 24 Distress and danger dismay him ; They oppress him like a tyrant. 25 He is destined to the heaviest sufferings, Because he stretched forth his hand against God, And acted haughtily towards the Almighty. 26 God shall press upon him with extended neck, Through the mailed bosses of his own buckler. 27 Though his face be enveloped with fat, Though he heaped up fat on his loins, 28 Yet in desolate cities he shall dwell ; Houses to be deserted by him, Which are destined to be reduced to ashes. 29 He shall not grow rich, nor have permanent wealth, Nor shall he be master of his own desires. 30 Pie shall not escape from darkness ; The lightning shall wither his green shoots ; 168 THE NEW VERSION. He shall be carried away by a wind sent from above. 31 Let him not trust to his own prosperity ; An unhappy change shall take place in his affairs : 32 Before his season it shall be accomplished, Nor shall his branch flourish. 33 He shall cast his unripe fruit like the vine, And shall shed his blossoms like the olive. 34 The house of the wicked shall be a barren rock ; Fire shall consume the tents of the ungodly. 35 Pregnant with mischief, they bring forth crime, And carry deceit in their womb.' " CHAPTER XVI. job's reply to eliphaz. Scope. — Job complains of the loquacity of his friends ; and that, far from easing him, they serve only to embitter his afflictions : — he describes the severity of his sufferings, appeals to the testimony of God, and conjures him to manifest his innocence in consideration of his approaching end : — he maintains, that though a righteous man may be causelessly afflicted, he ought nevertheless to persevere in his righteousness; and having no farther hope in this world, he sighs after the solitude of the tomb. 1 Then Job replied thus : 2 "I have heard many such discourses as these ; Miserable comforters are ye all. 3 When will there be an end of vain talk ? What induces you to speak in reply ? 4 Would I have spoken as ye do, If ye were in the same condition as I am ? Would I have heaped up words against you, And shaken my head at you ? 5 No, I would have fortified you with my mouth ; I would not have suppressed all sympathy. G Though I speak, my grief is not diminished ; Though I am silent, it is not assuaged. 7 For now, He hath reduced me to extremities ; job's reply to eliphaz. 169 Thou hast desolated my whole family. 8 Since thou hast bound me with chains, witnesses come forward, False witnesses rise up against me ; They accuse me to my face ; 9 They seize me in their fury ; In their hatred they gnash on me with their teeth ; Mine adversaries dart terrible looks at me. 10 They stretch out their mouths against me ; They inflict blows on my cheek reproachfully ; With one consent they glut their rage upon me. 1 1 God hath delivered me over to the wicked ; He hath hurled me into the hands of the impious. 1 2 I was in tranquillity, but he disturbed me ; Seizing me by the neck, he throws me on the ground. 13 He sets me up as a mark ; His archers surround me ; One transfixes my reins, and does not spare ; Another poureth out my gall upon the ground : 14 This one, every now and then, inflicts new wounds upon me ; That one rushes on me like a warrior. 15 I have fastened sackcloth on my skin, I have rolled my head in the dust. 16 My face is swelled with weeping, The shadow of death is on my eye-lids ; 17 Yet my hands are undefiled, And my prayers are sincere. 18 O Earth, cover no blood shed by me, Nor let any place prevent its cry against me ! 19 For my Witness is in heaven ; He who knows me is on high. 20 So long as my enemies deride me, My eye pours out tears to God. 21 Ah, that I might argue, though a mortal, with God, . And as a son of man with his equal ! 22 These few years are nearly come to an end ; T shall soon enter the path by which 1 shall not return." 170 THE NEW VERSION. CHAPTER XVII. THE REPLY CONTINUED. 1 " My breath is corrupt, my days are cut short, The grave is waiting for me. 2 Are not these symptoms of death an illusion ? Yet these images are continually present to me. 3 Give me your hand, lay down a pledge, "Who is he, besides thee, that will become my surety ? 4 Thou hast hidden understanding from these men, Do not therefore allow them to prevail. 5 He who exposes his friends to plunder, The eyes of his children shall be consumed. 6 He makes me a bye-word among men ; I am exposed to public contempt. 7 My eyes are therefore dim with indignation, And all my limbs are like a shadow. 8 At these things the upright are confounded, And the innocent is angry with the profligate. 9 Nevertheless, the just man is steadfast in his conduct, And he that is of pure hands fortifies his mind. 10 But repeat your discourses as often as you may, I do not find a wise man among you. 11 My days pass away — my projects are over — Even the purposes which were dear to my heart. 1 2 Night is assigned me for day, A light bordering on the confines of darkness. 13 I expect nothing but an abode among the dead, I shall stretch out my bed in the shades. 14 I accost corruption, as My father; I call the worm, My mother, and my sister. 15 Where then is my ground of hope ? Who shall ever see it fulfilled ? 1() It shall descend with me to the solitude of the tomb ; We shall repose together in the dust." bildad's second address to job. 171 CHAPTER XVIII. BILDAD S SECOND ADDRESS TO JOB. Scope. — Bildad reproaches Job with delivering himself up to despair, and tells him that God will not change in his favour the laws which regulate the universe. — A description of the calamities which God reserves for the impious — and offensive allusions to the malady of Job. 1 Then Bildad of Shuah interposed, and said : 2 " How long will ye discourse captiously ? Be temperate ; and then let us speak. 3 Why dost thou regard us as brutes ? Why should we appear contemptible before thee ? 4 Thou tearest thyself in thy fury : Shall the earth be deserted for thee ? Shall the rocks be removed from their place ? 5 The light of the wicked shall be extinguished ; The flame of his fire shall not shine. 6 Daylight shall be darkness in his tent ; His lamp shall be extinguished over him. 7 The steps of his strength shall be straitened, His own counsel shall subvert him. 8 He is caught by the feet in a pitfall ; Perfidious snares encompass him. 9 The trap shall lay hold of his heel, It shall fasten thoroughly upon him. 10 A cord is hid for him in the ground, And a gin under his path. 1 1 Terrors await him on all sides, They force him to retrace his steps. 12 His strength shall be enfeebled by hunger, Destruction shall march at his side. 172 THE NEW VERSION. 13 The first-born of death shall devour his skin, It shall greedily feed on his members. 14 Confidence shall be expelled from his dwelling, Terror shall seize him as a king. 15 It will make its abode in his tent, Nor shall any thing be left there ; Sulphur shall be rained upon his dwelling. 16 Below, his roots shall be dried up ; Above, his branches shall be withered. 17 His memoi'y shall be effaced from the land,' And no trace of him found among foreigners. 18 They shall drive him from day-bight into darkness, And hunt him out of the world. 19 He shall have neither son nor kinsman amongst his people, Nor any one remaining amongst his possessions. 20 The west shall be astonished at his end, The east shall be panic-struck. 21 Such are the dwellings of the impious man ; Such the state of him who despises God." CHAPTER XIX. JOB'S REPLY TO BILDAD. Scope. — Job continues to complain of the harshness of his friends, who persist in believing that he is punished for his sins : — he implores anew their compassion for a man whom God afflicts without cause — he consoles himself by the hope that God will one day manifest his innocence ; and finishes by threatening his accusers with the vengeance of Heaven. 1 To these remarks Job thus replied : 2 " How long will ye afflict me, And vex me with your words ? 3 Again and again ye have reproached me : Are ye not ashamed to treat me thus cruelly ? JOBS REPLY TO BILDAD. 173 4 If I am deceived in this matter, Let my error remain with myself. 5 But if ye will still attack me, Prove that I am wrong. G Acknowledge, I pray you, that it is God who afflicts me ; It is he who has enclosed me in his toils. 7 If I complain of severity, I receive no answer ; If I cry out, I obtain no redress. 8 He hath fenced up my way, that I cannot go forward ; He hath covered my path with thick darkness. 9 He hath deprived me of my glory, He hath taken the crown from off my head. 10 He hath broken me down on all sides, so that I perish ; He hath rooted up my hope like a tree. 1 1 His anger burns against me, He counts me in the number of his enemies. 12 His troops invade me ; They wheel their lines around me ; They encamp about my tent. 13 He hath removed my brethren from me, My familiar friends are quite estranged. 14 My relations have forsaken me, My bosom friends have forgotten me. 15 The very guests in my house, Yea, my own domestics look on me as a stranger ; I am reckoned an alien in their eyes. 16 I call to my man-servant, he makes me no answer ; I entreat him with a suppliant voice. 17 My own wife turns aside from my breath, Though I implored her by the offspring of my loins. 18 Even the children of my slaves spurn at me ; When I turn round, they hoot at me. 19 All my familiar friends abhor me ; Those whom I loved rise up against me. 20 My bones protrude through skin and flesh ; The skin no longer covers my gums. 21 Pity me, pity me, O my friends, For the hand of God hath smitten me ! 174 THE NEW VERSION. 22 Why, like God, should ye persecute me, And not rest satisfied with slandering me ? 23 " O that my words were recorded — O that they were engraven on a tablet, 24 With an iron graver upon lead, That they were sculptured in a rock for ever ! 25 I am sure that my Vindicator liveth, And will at length appear upon the earth. 26 And, though this skin of mine is thus corroded, Yet in my flesh I shall see God : 27 Whom I shall see on my side, And mine eyes shall behold him not estranged from me. My reins faint with desire of his arrival. 28 " Then will ye say, ' Why did we persecute him V — Since there is no ground of accusation against me. 29 Tremble for fear of the sword, For the sword hangs over the unrighteous ; Be assured that there is a retribution." CHAPTER XX. zophar's second address to job. Scope. — The whole of this discourse is minatory, in which, under different images, Zophar descrihes the punishments which God reserves for the impious : it is wholly directed against Job, and appears to have been uttered in a tone of great severity. 1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied thus : 2 " My feelings strongly urge me to reply ; I will therefore do it without losing time. 3 I have heard the disgrace of thy reproaches, But the strength of my understanding shall refute them. 4 " Ha ! knowest thou not this — from of old, Since the time when man was placed upon the earth — 5 That the triumph of the wicked is soon over, zophar's second address TO JOB. 17") And the joy of the impious is but for a moment ? Though his pride should mount up to heaven, And his head reach to the clouds; 7 Even amidst his splendour he shall perish for ever : Those who once knew him shall say, * Where is he V 8 He shall disappear as a dream that cannot be traced ; He shall vanish like a spectre in the night. 9 The eye that caught a glance at him shall see him no more; His place shall no more behold him. 10 His children shall be reduced to beggary, And constrained to restore that which he had seized. 1 1 His bones shall be filled with secret lusts ; He shall lie down in the dust with his sins. 12 " Though wickedness was sweet to his taste, Though it was hid under his tongue, 13 Though he indulged it, and would not give it up, But would retain it still in his palate, 14 His food shall be changed in his bowels, To the gall of asps in his stomach. 1 5 He shall vomit the wealth which he devoured ; God shall expel it from his bowels. 16 He shall suck the poison of asps ; The tongue of the viper shall destroy him. 1 7 He shall no more behold the brooks, The streams flowing with milk and honey. 18 What he seized he shall restore without reservation, Nor shall he enjoy the wealth he had acquired. 19 " Because he oppressed the orphans of the poor, And pulled down houses which he had not built ; 20 Because his appetite could not be satisfied, Nor did he refuse any thing to his lusts ; 21 He set no bounds to his voracity ; Therefore his happiness shall not be permanent. 22 Amidst the fulness of his tyranny he shall be in straits; All manner of distress shall come upon him. 23 Even when his appetite is satiated, God shall send on him the fury of his wrath, 17G THE NEW VERSION. And rain it upon him while he is eating. 24 Should he flee from the iron weapon. The bow of brass shall strike him through ;' 25 The arrow shall pierce through his body, The glittering shaft through his gall. 26 He shall die, oppressed with terrors ; Calamities of all kinds are treasured up for him. 27 A fire unblown shall consume him ; What remained in his tent shall be destroyed. 28 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity, The earth shall rise up against him. 29 The increase of his house shall roll away, Like torrents, in the day of indignation. 30 Such is the portion of the wicked from God, And such his heritage from the Deity." CHAPTER XXI. job's reply to zophar. Scope. — Job opposes his experience to that of his friends : — he maintains that many impious men have lived happily, and have even transmitted their tem- poral prosperity to their children : — he refutes the reasonings of his friends. 1 Then Job answered thus : 2 " Hear what I have to say ; It will stand me in stead of your consolations. 3 Bear with me while I speak, And after I have spoken, deride. 4 Are my complaints directed to men ? And were they so directed, Why should not my soul be grieved ? 5 Look at me and be amazed, And lay your hand upon your mouth. As often as I remember, I shudder, And my frame is seized with trembling. 7 Why do the impious live happy, JOBS REPLY TO ZOFHAR. 177 Grow old, and abound in wealth ? 8 Their offspring are established before them, And their posterity before their eyes. 9 Their houses are safe from fear ; They are not scourged with the Divine rod. 10 Their cattle are fruitful and active ; Their kine bring forth, and do not cast their young. 1 1 They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children leap for joy. 1 2 They rise up to the tabor and harp, They trip merrily to the sound of the pipe. 13 They pass their life happily, And descend quietly to the tomb. 14 Though they had said to God, ' Depart from us, We desire not the knowledge of thy ways ! 1 5 Who is the Almighty, that we should worship him ? And what avails it to address him in prayer ? ' 10 Lo, such do not enjoy constant happiness ; Far from me be their method of acting ! 17 How often is the lamp of the wicked extinguished ! How often does perdition rush upon them ! And God distributes their portion in his wrath. 18 How often are they like chaff driven by the wind, Or stubble carried off by a whirlwind ! 19 God, indeed, reserves punishment for their sons, But let him recompense his iniquity upon himself; 20 So that he may see his ruin with his own eyes, And drink of the poisoned cup of the Almighty. 21 How often doth God punish him in his family after him, When the number of his months is drawn out by lot ! 22 For who shall teach God wisdom, Him, who reigns on high ? 28 One dies in the fulness of his strength, In the possession of ease and quiet : 24 The stations of his cattle are full of milk, And his bones are moistened with marrow. '. 5 Another dies in the bitterness of his soul, Before he has enjoyed any pleasure. N 1 <° THE NEW VERSION. 26 Both of these repose together in the dust, The worms cover them alike. 21 But I know your thoughts, And the calumnies with which you unjustly attack me: 28 For ye say, Where is the house of the mighty man ; Where are the tents of the wicked ? 20 Have ye never inquired of travellers ; Are ye ignorant of their monuments ? 30 The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction ; In the day of vengeance he is brought to the grave. 31 Who hath reproved him on account of his life; Who hath requited him what he hath done ? 32 He is brought to the grave with pomp ; They keep watch over his tomb. 33 The sods of the valley are sweet to him ; Crowds follow his funeral solemnity ; Vast numbers go before it. 34 How vainly, therefore, would ye comfort me with falsi- ties ! Your answers are full of absurdity." CHAPTER XXII. THE THIRD ADDRESS OF ELIPHAZ. Smpe. — Eliphaz establishes the principle of man's unprofitableness to God — enters on an inquisitorial examination of Job — threatens him with the visita- tions due to great sinners, and lays before him the advantages of being recon- ciled to God. 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite addressed Job, and said : 2 " Can a man, then, be profitable to God, As one who is prudent profits himself? 3 Is it an advantage to the Almighty, that thou art right- eous ? Or again, that thou canst justify thy ways? THE THIRD ADDRESS OF ELIPHAZ. 179 4 Will he enter into a controversy through fear of thee ? Will he come to a trial with thee ? 5 Is not thy wickedness sufficiently great ? Yea, there is no bound to thine iniquities. 6 Thou hast unjustly taken a pledge from thy brethren, Thou hast stripped the destitute of their garments. 7 Thou hast not refreshed with water the weary, Thou hast refused bread to the hungry. 8 Thou hast suffered the man of power to seize the land, And the man of authority to take possession of it. 9 Thou hast sent widows empty away, And hast bruised the orphans' arms. ] Therefore thou art surrounded with snares, And sudden ruin alarms thee. 1 1 Thy light is changed into darkness, And a flood of waters covers thee. 1 2 Truly, God is higher than the heavens, And sees the topmost stars, however lofty : 1 3 How then dost thou say, ' Can God know ? Can he discern those things which are transacted in darkness ? 14 Thick clouds enclose him, that he cannot see ; He walks on the convexity of the heavens.' 15 " Hast thou observed the ancient tract, \ Which was trodden by wicked mortals ; 16 Who perished by a sudden death, Whose foundation is a molten flood ? 17 Who said to God, ' Depart from us, — What can the Almighty do to us ? ' 18 Though he had filled their houses with wealth. (Far from me be their wicked conduct !) 19 The righteous beheld and rejoiced; The innocent derided them, saying, 20 ' Surely their substance was carried away, And a fire consumed their riches.' 21 " Turn therefore to Him, and be an upright man ; So shalt thou have abundant produce. 22 Receive the law from his mouth, n 2 180 THE NEW VERSION. And store up his sayings in thy mind. 23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be restored, If thou put away all iniquity from thy tent. 24 Then shalt thou reckon treasure as dust ; Then shall he make fountains to rush forth amidst rocks. 25 For the Almighty himself shall be thy treasure, And be reckoned by thee as heaps of silver. 26 Then thou shalt delight in the Almighty, And shalt lift up thy face to God. 27 Thou shalt pray to him, and he will hear thee, And thou shalt perform thy vows. 28 What thou purposest shall be fulfilled, And on thy goings light shall shine. 29 For he humbleth the proud, But the lowly he bringeth into a spacious place. 30 He rescueth the innocent man ; So thou, too, shalt escape by the purity of thy hands." CHAPTER XXIII. JOB S REPLY TO ELIPHAZ. Scope. — Job expresses his anxiety to plead his cause before God, so persuaded is he of his own innocence: — he makes a new protestation of his innocence, and trembles to think that his calamities are not yet at their height. 1 Then Job replied in these terms : 2 " Are my complaints still rebellious ? His hand is heavier than my groanings. 3 O that I knew where I might find him ! I would approach even to his throne. 4 I would arrange my cause before him. And use arguments at full length. 5 Then I should know the answers he would make me, I should understand what he would say to me : G Whether he would contend with me with all his might. No, he would rather encourage me. ■ JOBS REPLY TO ELIPHAZ. 181 7 Then I might correctly state my cause before him, Assured I should be fully acquitted by my Judge. 8 But behold, if I go eastward, he is not there ; Or westward, I do not perceive him : 9 To the north, I feel for him, but trace him not ; To the south, he is concealed, that I cannot discern him ; 10 But he knows well the path I take. He puts me to the test, that I may come forth as gold. 1 1 My foot stands in the paths he has marked out ; I observe his way, and do not turn aside from it. \2 I do not neglect the precepts of his lips ; I have treasured up his words in my bosom. 13 But he is absolute — who can control him ? He doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. 14 He accomplishes his decree concerning me; With him there are many such purposes. 15 Wherefore I am alarmed by his presence ; Considering all things accurately, I fear him. 16 God wholly dispirits my mind ; The Almighty overwhelms me with awe. 17 Why was I not cut off before the darkness? Why hath he covered the darkness from my face ? " CHAPTER XXIV. THE REPLY CONTINUED. Scope. — Job complains that the righteous never see the judgments of God on great transgressors, and produces a detail of those crimes which were committed publicly, and with apparent impunity, in his day. 1 " Why are not seasons of judgment observed by the Almighty, That those who offend him may see his retribution ? 2 There are those who remove landmarks, — They plunder and destroy flocks. 182 THE NEW VERSION. 3 They drive away the orphan's ass, They distrain the widow's ox. 4 They turn the weak aside from the way, They oblige the poor of the land to hide themselves. 5 Behold, as wild asses of the desert, They go forth to their pursuits ; Rising early for the plunder of the wilderness, Their own and their children's maintenance. 6 They make others cut down their fields of corn, And crop the vineyard of those who oppress them. 7 They cause them to sleep naked without covering, And without shelter from the cold. 8 They leave them to be wet with the mountain dew, And to cling to the rock for want of shelter. 9 They tear the orphan from the mother's breast, And take the poor man's garment for a pledge. 10 They make them go naked, without any clothing, And though famished, to carry in their sheaves. 1 1 They make them labour between the walls in the scorch- ing noon ; Though they tread the vats, they make them suffer thirst. 12 In the city they make men groan aloud, And the souls of the afflicted heave heavy sighs. 13 Yet God doth not regard their supplication. " There are men who rebel against the light, Who neither regard its progress, Nor frequent its paths. 14 The murderer rises before dawn, That he may slay the poor and needy. And by night the thief breaketh in. 15 The eye of the adulterer watches for the dusk ; ' No eye,' says he ' shall detect me ;' He throws a covering over his face. 16 Such steal into houses in the dark ; In the day-time they shut themselves up. 17 They seek no acquaintance with the light; The dawn to them is as the shadow of death. THE THIRD ADDRESS OF BILDAD. 183 As the most frightful darkness, when it returneth. 18 Such should be as foam on the surface of the waters ; Their possessions in the land should be cursed, Nor should they behold the treading of the vineyards. 19 As drought and summer heat absorb the snow-water, So ought death to swallow up those sinners. 20 Forgotten by their kindred, and become the food of worms, Their remembrance should be blotted out, And their iniquity broken off like a tree. 2\ Such should have barren and childless wives ; No one should benefit their widows. 22 But these tyrants possess their strength firm ; They recover, when they themselves despaired of life. 2S God grants them security, and they are supported, Although their manner of life is observed by him. 24 At last they are removed by a sudden death ; They perish like others, and are enclosed in the tomb ; Like ripe ears of corn, they are cut down. 25 If these things are not so, who will convict me of false- hood ? Who will refute my observations ? " CHAPTER XXV. THE THIRD ADDRESS OF BILDAD. Scope. — Bildad replies to the first part of Job's discourse, by repeating the prin- ciple which Eliphaz had established — to wit, that no man should presume to think himself righteous in the sight of God : — he then celebrates the Divine power, and the justice by which God renders to every man according to his works. [N. B. It is plain that there is a transposition here : the speech of Bildad, as it stands in our version, is too brief and abruptly broken off, so as to be quite inconclusive ; and from the congruity of the subject, we arc constrained to think that from the 5th to the 14th verse of chapter xxvi. belong to ist THE NEW VERSION. this chapter, and should be incorporated with it. Bildad would have proceeded still farther to draw his inferences, but is stopped ; in all probability by the thunder-storm that ap- proached, after the passing away of which Job resumes the argument.] T Then Bildad of Shuah answered thus: c 2 " Dominion and dread are with God ; He decide th in the high heavens. 3 Are not his armies without number ? On whom doth not his light arise ? 4 How then can man be righteous before God ; How can he be pure who is born of a woman ? 5 Behold, even the moon — it abideth not ; Yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. 6 How much less frail man — that crawling worm ! The son of man — that mean reptile ! 7 The souls of the dead tremble from beneath ; The waters and their inhabitants. 8 The seat of spirits is naked before him, The region of destruction hath no covering. 9 He hath stretched out the north over vacant space, He hath suspended the earth upon nothing. 1 He hath enclosed the waters in the thick clouds, And the clouds are not broken by their weight. 1 1 He conceals the face of his throne, He spreads a thick cloud over it. \2 He has traced a circle on the surface of the waters, He has fixed the limits of night and day. IS The pillars of heaven tremble, They are struck with consternation at his reproof. 14 He raiseth the ocean by his power, And by his wisdom he compels it to subside. 15 By his wind the heavens become serene; His hand transfixes the ominous dragon. 16 Observe, this is a mere outline of his ways : How small a whisper is heard after him ! The thunder of his power who can duly comprehend ?" JOBS REPLY TO BILDAD. 185 CHAPTER XXVI. JOBS REPLY TO BILDAD. Scope. — Job mocks Bildad, as having said nothing which was not universally known — he protests his innocence again, and declares that nothing will induce him to own himself guilty. 1 Job replied in these terms : 2 " Ah, how hast thou assisted the feeble ! How hast thou strengthened the nerveless arm ! 3 What counsel hast thou given to the destitute of wisdom, What fulness of knowledge hast thou manifested ! 4 To whom were thy words addressed ? By whose inspiration hast thou spoken ? 5 " It is God who refuses to do justice to my cause, It is the Almighty who has vexed my soul. 6 So long as my life is in me, And the breath of God is in my nostrils, 7 My lips shall not speak fraudulently, Nor my tongue utter deceit. 8 Far be it from me to own you to be right ; I will defend my innocence to my latest breath. I) I maintain my integrity ; I will not part with it ; My conscience shall not reproach me while I live. 10 Let him who hates me be as the wicked, And he who riseth up against me, as the impious. 1 1 [ For what hope can the wicked have, that he should prosper, Or that God should grant him a tranquil life ? \2 Will God hear his cry, When distress cometh upon him ? 186 THE NEW VERSION. 13 Does the wicked man find pleasure in God, Does he pray to him continually ? 14 I will teach you concerning the operations of God; What is with the Almighty I will not conceal. 1 5 Lo, all of you have seen it ; Why then are ye so full of vain babbling ?" CHAPTER XXVII. ZOPHAR's THIRD ADDRESS TO JOB. Scope. — Zophar, with his accustomed vehemence and severity, describes the allot- ment of the wicked, under the Divine administration, in this present world, according to his own doctrine, that men are recompensed according to their works even in this life ; a plain proof that he had but a faint expectation, if any, of a life to come. [N. B. I have assigned these verses to Zophar for the fol- lowing reasons, for which I am indebted to an anonymous author, but which are in themselves to me convincing. 1. Because each of the other friends speaks three times, and there is no reason why Zophar should be denied the same privilege. If so, this seems the place where his third address should appear. 2. Job's reply to Bildad closes at the twelfth verse. The sentiments which follow to the end of the chapter are at variance with those of Job, whilst they perfectly agree with Zophar's ideas, and are expressed in his usual fierce manner. 3. The conclusion of Zophar's second speech, (chap. xx. 29,) and the thirteenth verse in this chapter, as it stands in the common version, are nearly the same in words, and precisely so in sentiment. 4. There can be little doubt that, through the error of transcribers, occasional omissions or transpositions, both of words and verses, may have taken place. (See Kennicott and zophar's third address to job. 187 Eichhorn on the passage.) See also Stuhlmann's Translation of Job. 5. This makes no alteration in the number of the chapters. 6. So little do these verses correspond with Job's senti- ments, that in one version of the book I have seen them appended to the discourse of Bildad, as a sequel to his. 7. It is necessary to supply the first line, which must have been dropped by the copyist, and the omission of which gave rise to the mistake.] 1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered thus : 2 " This is the portion of a wicked man with God, The heritage which oppressors shall receive from the Almighty : o His children shall be multiplied, but it is for the sword ; His offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. 4 His remains shall have no funeral, Nor shall his widow weep over them. 5 He had amassed silver like the dust ; He had prepared raiment like the clay : G What he had thus prepared shall clothe the just, And the innocent shall divide the silver. 7 He had built his house like a moth-worm, Like a booth which the garden-watchman constructs. 8 He lies down rich, but he shall carry nothing with him : He opens his eyes — his harvest is vanished. 9 Terrors shall fall upon him like a flood ; A tempest stealeth him away in the night. 10 The east wind seizes him, and carries him away ; The storm hurls him from his place. 1 I It shall fall upon him, and not spare him ; Vainly would he seek to escape it by flight. \2 It shall clap its hands at his punishment ; It shall hiss him from the place of his abode." [N.B. Chap, xxviii. of the old version is here omitted, and is placed at the end of the book.] 188 THE NEW VERSION. CHAPTER XXVIII. JOB S DISCOURSE CONTINUED. Scope. — Job speaks of his former felicity — of his estimation as a public character, and of the hope which he had entertained of dying before he had experienced new reverses — he describes the happiness and dignity which he enjoyed as an Arabian Emir. 1 Then Job continued his discourse, and said : 2 " O that it were with me as in months that are past, In the days when God was my guardian ! 3 When his lamp shone over my head, And by his light I walked through darkness : 4 As I was when in the prime of my life, "When God guarded my tabernacle : 5 When my vigour was still in me, And my family were round about me : 6 When streams of milk flowed where I went, And the rock poured me out rivers of oil : 7 When I walked early through the city, And a seat was set for me in the streets. 8 The young men saw me, and made way for me ; The aged ranged themselves around me. 9 The rulers restrained themselves from talking, And laid their hand upon their mouth. 10 The nobles observed silence, Their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. 1 1 When the ear heard me, it blessed me ; When the eye saw me, it gave signs of approbation. \2 For I delivered the poor when they implored assistance, And the orphan who had no defender. 13 The blessing of him who was perishing came upon me, And I caused the widow's heart to .sing for joy. job's discourse continued. 189 14 I put on equity, and clothed myself with it ; My justice was as a robe and a diadem. 15 I was eyes to the blind, I was feet to the lame ; 16 I was a father to the destitute, And I inquired carefully into the cause of the stranger. 17 I broke the jaws of the wicked, And plucked the prey out of his teeth. 18 Then I said, ' I shall die in my nest, I shall multiply my days as the palm-tree ; 19 My root shall spread out to the waters ; The dew of night shall repose on my branches ; 20 My glory shall be unfading around me, And my bow continue fresh in my hand.' 21 " To me men gave ear and attended ; They were silent at my admonition. 22 After I had spoken they replied not, For my reasons dropped on them as dew. 23 They waited for me, as for a spring-shower ; They opened wide their mouths, as for the harvest-rain. 24 If I smiled on them, they were gay, And rejoiced in my benignant aspect ; 25 If I frequented their society, I sat as a chief; I dwelt as a king among warriors, As one who comforteth the mourners." CHAPTER XXIX. job's discourse continued. Scope. — The contrast ; or, the sad condition to which Job now felt himself reduced. 1 " But now ! I am held in derision by my juniors, By men whose fathers I would have disdained To set among the dogs of my flock. 2 Of what value was the power of their hands ? 190 THE NEW VERSION. They had neither strength nor vigour in them. 3 Hardened by hunger and wretchedness, They retire into the solitude of the desert, Into desolate and uncultivated wastes. 4 They pluck up the mallow among thorns ; The root of the broom is food for them : 5 Should they leave their retreats for a moment, Men cry after them, as after a thief. G They dwell in cliffs among the valleys, In crevices of the earth, and in rocks. 7 They bray among the bushes like wild asses, They couple beneath the beds of nettles. 8 Brutish people, without character, and infamous, Who were driven in disgrace from their country ; 9 Yet to such as these I am an object of raillery : They make me the subject of their songs ; 10 They look on me with horror, and remove from me ; They allow themselves to spit in my presence. 1 1 Because God has loosed my cord and afflicted me, They also are unrestrained before me. 12 These base youths place themselves on my right hand, And push me with a design to make me fall. Their desolating troops encamp against me, 13 They break up the path which I frequented. They hasten to consummate my ruin : There is no one there to protect me. 14 They come upon me like a wide breach, They roll along like a desolation. 15 Terrors of every kind surround me, They pursue me like a violent wind, My happiness has passed away like a swift cloud. 16 And now my soul is pierced with grief. The days of affliction have taken hold of me ; 1 7 My bones protrude through me in the night ; The fever that consumes me never sleeps. 18 My garment is changed by the violence of my sufferings ; My wrinkled skin envelops me like a cloak. 19 God has cast me down into the mire ; job's discourse continued. 191 I am become mere dust and ashes. 20 I cry to thee (my God) but thou hearest me not ; I stand up, but thou dost not regard me. 21 Thou art become an adversary to me ; Thou makest war on me with thy strong arm. 22 Thou liftest me up in the air, Thou makest me ride on the storm ; Then thou dashest me to the ground. 23 I know that thou wilt drag me to the tomb, To the house appointed for all the living. 24 Yet thou stretchest not thy hand beyond the grave, And I shall find relief in the abode of dissolution. 25 I shall no longer weep over my painful existence ; My soul shall no longer be grieved for my sad lot. 26 I waited for enjoyment, and calamity came ; I hoped for light, and darkness surrounded me. 27 My bowels were in constant fermentation ; The days of affliction took me by surprise. 28 I walk, blackened by my malady, rather than by the sun ; I rise up in the assembly of the people, and shriek aloud. 29 I am a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches. 30 My livid skin falls off from my body ; My bones are consumed with a burning fever. 31 My harp utters only mournful sounds ; My lute repeats only the dirge of woe." CHAPTER XXX. job's discourse continued. Scope. — Job describes bis moral conduct in private life. " I made a covenant with my eyes, That I would not gaze upon a virgin. For what portion should I then have in God, Or what inheritance of the Almighty from on high ? 192 THE NEW VERSION. 3 Doth not destruction follow the wicked, And shame pursue the workers of iniquity ? 4 Doth not the Eternal see my ways, And number all my footsteps ? 5 " If I have acted fraudulently, And my foot hath hastened to dishonesty, G Let me be weighed in a just balance, That God may know mine integrity. t 7 If my step hath turned out of the way, And my heart gone astray after mine eyes, If any bribe hath cleaved to my hands, 8 Then let me sow, and let another eat ; Let another root out what I have planted. 9 " If my heart hath been enticed to a married woman, Or I have lain in wait at my neighbour's door, 10 Then let my wife gratify another, And let others bow down upon her. 1 1 For this is the basest wickedness, And a crime to be punished by the Judge. 12 It is a fire consuming to destruction ; It would root out all mine increase. 13 " If I denied justice to my man-servant, Or to my maid-servant, when they disputed with me — 14 What then shall I do, when God maketh inquest ? "When he inquires, what answer should I make ? 1 5 Did not He who formed me, form them ? Were we not fashioned alike in the womb ? 1G " If I withheld from the poor what they asked, Or have grieved the eyes of the widow, 1 7 Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan hath not partaken with me — 18 (Whereas from my youth I nourished them as a father, And was the widow's guide from my earliest years) — 19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or any poor man without raiment ; 20 If his loins have not blessed me, Nor himself been warmed with the wool of my sheep ; 21 If I have raised a hand against the orphan, job's discourse continued. 193 Because I saw I had authority in the gate — 22 May my shoulder-bone be dislocated, And my arm be broken at the elbow ! 23 No ! — the fear of God's judgments overawed me ; I could do nothing before his majesty. 24 " If I have made gold my reliance, And have said to fine gold, ' Thou art my trust ;' 25 If I exulted when my wealth was great, When my hand found vast riches ; 26 "If my own land exclaim against me ; If its furrows make complaint ; 27 If I have consumed its produce without wages, Or have deprived my hirelings of their reward, — 28 Let my land produce thistles instead of wheat, And poisonous weeds instead of barley. 29 " If 1 have looked at the sun when he shone, Or the moon, advancing in brightness ; 30 And my heart has been secretly enticed, And my hand has borne a kiss to my mouth — 31 This would have been a crime deserving to be judged, For I should have denied the Supreme God. 32 " If I have triumphed in the destruction of my enemy, Or leaped with joy when harm befell him, '. 33 (Whereas I suffered not my mouth to sin, By imprecating evil upon him) — 34 " If my domestics were not wont to say, ' Who is there that hath not been filled with his dainties V 35 The stranger lodged not in the street ; My door was open to every comer. 36 " If, human-like, I concealed my sin, And hid my transgression in my bosom, 37 Let me be confounded before the multitude ; Let me be covered with public contempt ; Let me be dumb, nor dare to go abroad. 38 " O that God would deign to hear me ! This is my declaration — let the Almighty reply to it ! Let my opponent write down the charge : 39 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder ; o 194 THE NEW VERSION. I would bind it round me like a diadem ; 40 I would disclose to him the number of my steps ; I would approach him with the boldness of a prince." Thus far are the discourses of Job. CHAPTER XXXI. DISCOURSES OF ELIHU. Scope. — He requests permission to speak, and promises an impartial examination of the matter in dispute. 1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he 2 appeared righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was displeased ; he was displeased with Job, because he thought 3 himself just before God ; and with his three friends, be- cause they had found no answer, and yet had condemned 4 Job. Now Elihu had waited till Job had finished speak- 5 ing, because they were older than he. But when he saw that they could reply no longer, then being incensed, he took up the discourse thus : 6 " I am young, and ye are old, Wherefore, being diffident, I delayed to offer my opinion. 7 I said, Days should speak, And multitude of years should utter wisdom. 8 But men are acted on by a Divine influence ; It is the inspiration of the Almighty which gives men understanding. 9 Princes are not always wise, Nor do aged men always judge correctly. 10 "Wherefore, I say, Listen to me, I also will declare my opinion. 1 1 Mark, I have listened to your discourses ; DISCOURSES OF ELIHU. 195 I have attended, that I might understand you rightly, Until you had investigated the matter thoroughly. 12 But, while I have listened to you, Lo, there is none who has confuted Job ; Not one of you can reply to his statements. 13 Say not then, ' We have discovered wisdom;' It is God who must confute him, and not man. 14 Since he has not directed his reasonings to me, I shall not make use of your arguments against him. 15 Struck with amazement, they make no answer ; They decline all further controversy. 1 6 I wait, they persist in their silence ; They are confused — they have nothing to say. 1 7 Therefore, I will enter on my own discourse ; I will produce my own opinion. 1 8 For I am overcharged with matter ; My mind within me impels me. 19 My feelings are like new wine closed up, As vessels of new wine they are bursting. 20 I must speak, that I may breathe freely ; I must open my lips, and make reply. 21 I shall, however, be rigidly impartial; I shall flatter no human being. , 22 I am not used to give nattering titles ; If I were, my Creator would soon cut me off. CHAPTER XXXII. DISCOURSES OF ELIHU CONTINUED. Scope. — Elihu condemns the obstinacy with which Job vindicates himself before God — he maintains that God punishes men by diseases, and when these have attained their end, he relieves men from them. 1 " Hear, then, O Job, what I say ; Attend carefully to my discourse : o 2 ID() THE NEW VERSION. 2 Behold now, I open my mouth ; My tongue gives utterance to my thoughts. 3 I will speak in the uprightness of my heart ; I will propose my opinion with sincerity. 4 The spirit of God influences me ; The inspiration of the Almighty impels me. 5 If thou canst reply to me, do it ; Range thy host of arguments against me, and stand firm. 6 I am thine equal in the sight of God ; My body, like thine, is made of clay. 7 I will not overwhelm thee with fear, Nor shall my hand lie heavy on thee. 8 I have listened to all that thou hast said ; I have correctly observed thy words. 9 ' I am pure,' sayest thou, 'and free from guilt ; I am clear of all transgression. 10 But God finds pretexts against me ; He holds me as his enemy : 1 1 He places my feet in the stocks, He watches all my movements.' 12 In this thou art far from right — and I will answer thee ; For God is superior to mortal man. \S Why then dost thou contend with him, Since he renders no account of his designs ? 14 Behold, at one time God speaketh out, But he does not repeat his words a second time. 15 " He speaks at times in dreams and visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth upon men ; When they repose quietly in their beds. 16 Then he opens the cars of men, And alarms them by serious warnings ; 17 That man may abstain from wickedness, And that his pride may be humbled. 18 " At another time he preserves man's life from de- struction, And his being from the power of the sword. 19 " Again, he chastens man with pain upon his bed, And all his bones are made to aclie, DISCOURSES OF ELIHU. 197 20 So that he can take no nourishment ; He nauseates even dainty meat. 21 His flesh wastes away, and cannot be seen ; And his bones, that were not seen, become prominent. 22 Then his soul draweth near to the grave, And his life to the destroyers. 23 But should there be near him a messenger, An interpreter, one of a thousand, To point out to the man his duty, Then God will be gracious to him and will say : 24 ' Release him from going down to the grave : I have received a propitiation.' 25 Then will his flesh fatten as a child's ; He shall return to the days of his youth ; 26 He shall give praise to God, and propitiate him ; He shall come with a cheerful countenance, and shouting, And shall render justice to men. 27 He shall sing before his fellow-men, and say, ' I had sinned, and perverted that which was right, But he chastened me not as my sins deserve. 28 He hath delivered me from going down to the grave, So that I live, and still see the light.' 29 " Behold, in these several ways God is wont to deal with man, 30 To bring him back from the tomb, To enlighten him with the light of the living. 3 1 Mark well, O Job, hearken to me ; Be silent, while I speak. 32 If thou hast any thing to reply, make answer ; Speak, for I desire to hold thee innocent. — 33 " Thou art silent, — then hear me ; Be still, and I will teach thee wisdom." 198 THE NEW VERSION. CHAPTER XXXIII. DISCOURSES OF ELIHU CONTINUED. Scope. — Elihu defends the justice of God against the charges of Job ; and mam • tains that God, being all-powerful and all-wise, cannot in any instance be accused of partiality in his treatment of men — he lays down the principles of the Divine government — he addresses himself to the friends of Job. 1 Then Elihu proceeded thus : 2 " Hear, ye wise men, my discourse ; And ye who possess knowledge, attend. 3 For the ear judges of words, As the palate tasteth meat. 4 Let us apply ourselves to the truth, And labour to discover what is right. 5 For Job saith, ' I am innocent, And God hath set aside my right. (i I am without reason esteemed a hypocrite ; I am a man of calamities, though I have not sinned.' 7 Where is there a man like Job, Who drinketh up scorning like water ? 8 He enters into society with the wicked ; He holds converse with the workers of iniquity. 9 For he hath said, ' It is of no advantage to a man To render himself acceptable to God.' 1 Therefore, ye wise men, hear me : Far from God be wickedness ! Far from the Almighty be injustice ! 1 1 For he will render to every man according to his deeds, And will retribute him agreeably to his conduct. 12 Certainly God will not act unjustly ; Nor will the Almighty pervert the ride of right. DISCOURSES OF ELIIIU. 199 1 o Who confided to him the administration of the world ? Who established him Ruler of the universe ? 14 Were he disposed to treat man rigorously, He could withdraw at once his life and his breath. 15 Then all flesh would perish together, And men would return to the dust. 1 (> If thou art wise, then, hear this ; Attend to the voice of my words. 1 7 Does God hate integrity because he delays vengeance (on the wicked) ? Who then will call the righteous Ruler unjust ? 18 Who will say to a king, ' Thou art wicked?' Or to princes, ' Ye are impious V 19 How much less will ye say so to Him, Who regards not the persons of princes, Nor prefers the rich to the poor, Since they are equally created by him ? 20 In the twinkling of an eye they die ; At midnight the people perish by some commotion, And the mighty are removed by no mortal hand. 2 1 For his eyes are open to the conduct of men ; He observes their every step. 22 There is neither darkness, nor deadly shade, Which can hide from his view the workers of iniquity. 23 He has no need of laborious inquiry In order to convict men at his tribunal. 24 He abases the mighty without long examination, And he setteth up others in their place. 25 For he knows all their doings ; He envelops them in darkness, and they are destroyed. 26 He punishes them, at other times, as wicked men, In the open sight of others. 21 Because they turned aside from him, And neglected to observe his commandments. 28 When the cry of the poor reaches him, And he hears the complaints of the oppressed ; 29 If He were silent, who would punish the wicked ; If He hid his face, who would avenge the weak — '-00 THE NEW VERSION. Whether it be whole nations, or individual men — 30 A corrupt king of mankind, Or an ensnared multitude of people ? 31 " Would it not be becoming to say to God, ' I have sinned ; I will offend no more : 32 Teach me what I understand not ; If I have acted unjustly, I will beware in time to come ?' 33 " Will God accept of any compensation from thee, If thou rejectest the correction which he sends ? Choose, then — it is for thee to do it, and not me — Speak, if thou hast any thing to say. 34 Men of understanding will assent to me ; Wise men will hear my words. 35 ' Job,' they will say, ' hath not spoken prudently ; His words have been without wisdom. 36 I wish that Job might be farther proved, For he has held the language of perverse men. 37 He adds rebellion to his sins ; He applauds himself in our presence ; He multiplies his words against God.' " CHAPTER XXXIV. DISCOURSES OF ELIHU CONTINUED. Scope. — Elihu blames Job for speaking so highly of his own integrity, and for com- plaining that God does not punish the violence of the wicked — he proves that man's moral conduct may affect himself, but can neither injure nor profit God. 1 Then Elihu proceeded as follows : 2 " Dost thou think thou judgest rightly, In saying, ' I am righteous before God V 3 Or in asking, ' What does it avail me, What profit shall I have in being free from sin ?' 4 This is the answer which I make To thee, and to thy friends with thee. DISCOURSES OF ELIHU. 201 5 Look to the heavens, and see; Contemplate the clouds which are higher than thou — 6 What harm can accrue to God when thou sinnest? When thou multipliest thy faults, what damage will it cause him ? 7 On the other hand, what gain is there to him when thou art just — Or what doth he receive at thy hand ? 8 Thy wickedness may hurt a man like thyself, And thy righteousness may profit a son of man. 9 Men claim assistance from the multitude of their op- pressors ; They cry aloud against the violence of tyrants : 1 But no one saith, ' Where is God my Creator, Who giveth me themes for praise in the night season ? 1 1 Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, And maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven.' 12 Hence, when they cry against the insolence of the wicked, He deigns them no answer. 13 For God does not listen to vain prayers, Nor will the Almighty regard them. 14 Thou complainest that judgment doth not take place : The cause is before him ; only wait for its decision. 15 Even now, though God is angry, he doth not punish men ; Neither doth he visit all their excesses. 16 Job hath therefore uttered that which is untrue, And hath rashly multiplied words." 202 THE NEW VERSION. CHAPTER XXXV. DISCOURSES OF ELIIIU CONTINUED. Scope. — Elihu insists on the certainty of punishments and rewards, and maintains that the calamities which afflict a man are intended to bring him to repentance — he describes the magnificence of God, especially in the thunder-storm. 1 Elihu then continued thus: 2 " Bear with me a little longer, while I try to convince thee, For I have still some things to allege on God's behalf. 3 I will draw my knowledge from remote times ; I will defend the justice of my Creator. 1 There shall be nothing deceitful in my discourse ; Thou thyself wilt acknowledge the truth of my opinion. 5 " Lo ! God is powerful, yet he despises no one, Because he unites with his power transcendant mag- nanimity. 6 He does not suffer the impious to be happy ; He exercises justice to those who are oppressed. 7 He withdraws not his regard from the righteous ; He sits beside kings on the throne ; It is He who establishes and exalts them. 8 Are any bound in irons, And captive in the bonds of affliction ? 9 Then he denounces their past conduct, And shows them the multitude of their sins : 10 He opens their ears to his discipline, And admonishes them to turn aside from evil. 11 If they hear his voice, and obey it, Their days are prolonged in enjoyment, And their years in pleasure. 12 If they refuse to listen, He pierces them with his arrows, And they perish in their own blindness. DISCOURSES OF ELII1U. 20.' 13 "As for the impious, who heap wrath upon themselves, And who cry not when he bindeth them — 14 They perish in the flower of their age, And close their life among the impure. 15 But he delivers the afflicted from their misery, After they have been instructed by adversity. 16 " Even so would he deliver thee from straits ; He would set thee at large, without confinement, And cover thy table with choice dainties. 17 But if thou persist in maintaining the cause of the impious, Thy chastisement will be as lasting as thy sin. 18 Fear the anger of God, lest he smite thee with a plague, From which no ransom can deliver thee. 19 Will he attach any value to thy riches, Thy gold, or the greatness of thy might ? 20 Neither sigh after the night, In which nations are carried away in judgment. 21 Beware, lest thou be guilty of this great sin, Of preferring to cease to live, Rather than continue to suffer. 22 " God is exalted in power ; Who is a sovereign like him ? 23 Who will demand an account of his doings ? Who dare say to him, ' Thou committest iniquity V 24 Recollect thyself, so as to extol his works, Which wise men behold with admiration ; 25 To which all men attend, And expect the issue from afar. 26 " Behold, God is great beyond our comprehension, Neither can the number of his years be searched out. 27 The drops of rain which descend, He draws up again in vapours, 28 Which the clouds distil ; They pour upon man abundantly. 29 He understands the expansion of the clouds, The thunder of his habitation. 30 Behold, he surrounds them with his lightnings, 204 THE NEW VERSION. And covers the bottom of the ocean. 31 Lo ! thus he judgeth the nations ; He giveth food in great abundance. 32 With his hands he grasps the lightning, And gives his order where it shall fall. 33 He commands that his friends should be safe, But he hurls his wrath against the wicked. 34 Truly, at this my heart trembles, And shudders in my bosom. 35 Hear with awe the concussion of his voice, And the peal that issues from his mouth. 36 Throughout the whole heaven is its flash, And its blaze to the ends of the earth. 31 After it pealeth the roar, He thundereth with his majestic voice. 38 The peals succeed without intei*mission, Yet no one can trace him, though his voice be heard." CHAPTER XXXVI. DISCOURSES OF ELIHU CONTINUED. Scope — Elihu descants farther on the power of God, as exhibited in the pheno- mena of the natural world — proposes some questions to Job, to convince him of his ignorance and weakness — and closes by an exhortation to the fear of God. [N. B. I have preferred beginning the chapter at this place, since any other division would have interrupted the sublime description of the thunder-storm; and our present division into chapters and verses has no authority except that of cus- tom, but is merely arbitrary, and in many instances extremely injudicious.] I " God doeth other great things, Which surpass our comprehension. 2 He gives command to the snow, ' Be thou on the earth ;' DISCOURSES OF ELIHU. 205 Likewise to the shower of rain, Even to the showers of the most violent rain. 3 By their means he shutteth up every man, That every man may know his own weakness. 4 Then the beasts retire into their coverts, And go to rest in their caverns. 5 From the recesses of the south sweeps the whirlwind, And cold from the chambers of the north. 6 By the blast of God the frost congeals, And the flowing waters become solid. 7 Also with a fair wind he drives away the thick cloud ; His splendour disperses the gloom. 8 Thus he revolves the seasons in his wisdom, That they may accomplish his will, Over the surface of the habitable world. 9 They execute his orders upon earth, Whether for correction, or for mercy ; He causeth them to know their place. 10 " Hearken to this, O Job ! be still, And contemplate the wondrous works of God ! 1 1 Knowest thou how G od disposeth these things ; How the light gives effulgence to the vapour ? 12 Knowest thou the different purposes of clouds, Wonders, perfections of wisdom ; 13 How thy garments grow warm, When the earth is tranquillized by the south wind ? 14 Hast thou with him spread out the sky, Which is polished like a molten mirror ? 15 Teach us what we should say to him, When arrayed in robes of darkness : 16 Or if brightness encompass him, how we may converse; For, should a man then speak, he would be consumed. 17 Men cannot bear the brilliancy of the light, When it shines resplendent in the heavens. 18 When a wind arising makes the sky serene, Like the golden brightness that shoots from the north, So God is clothed with awful splendour. 19 The Almighty! who can comprehend him! .'()() THE NEW VERSION. Surpassing in power and in judgment, Unspeakable in his righteousness ! 20 Men, therefore, ought to revere him : Those who are wise in heart will fear him." CHAPTER XXXVII. ADDRESS OF THE DEITY. 1 Then Jehovah addressed Job out of the tempest, and said : 2 " Who is this that obscures my designs By words without knowledge ? 3 Gird up now thy reins like a mighty man : I will question thee, and thou shalt answer me. 4 " Where wast thou when I founded the earth ? Declare, since thou hast understanding. 5 Who determined its dimensions, since thou knowest ; Who stretched out his measuring line upon it ? G Upon what were its bases fixed; Who laid its corner-stone ; 7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy ? 8 " Who enclosed the sea with doors, When it broke forth, issuing from the womb? 9 When I made the clouds its vesture, And thick darkness its swaddling-band : 10 When I assigned to it its proper limits, And fixed its barriers and its doors ; 1 1 And said, ' Thus far shalt thou come, but no farther ; Here shall the raging of thy waves be stayed.' 12 " Hast thou in thy life-time given orders to the morning, And pointed out to the dawn its place ; 13 That it might tinge with gold the wings of the earth, And might scare the wicked thereby ? ADDRESS OF THE DEITY. 5-07 14 The earth is turned round like clay to the seal, And all objects appear as if clothed. 15 It extinguishes the light of the wicked, And the arm that was lifted up is broken. 16 " Hast thou penetrated to the sources of the sea, Or walked through the depths of the abyss ? 1 7 Have the gates of death been opened to thee ; Hast thou seen the doors of the mansion of the dead ? 18 Dost thou know the dimensions of the earth ? Explain, since thou knowest all things. 19 Where dwells the light, and which is the way to it? And where has Darkness fixed her abode ? 20 Thou canst, no doubt, guide one to her boundaries ; Thou knowest the path to her domain. 21 Surely thou knowest it, for thou wast then born, And the number of thy days is great. 522 " Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snoiv ? Hast thou seen the magazines of hail, 23 Which I have stored up for a time of calamity, For a day of battle and combat ? 24 " In what manner is the light divided, When the eastern tempest bursts over the earth ? 525 Which opens a course for tempestuous showers, And a path for the thunder flash, 26 That it may rain on uncultivated regions, On deserts uninhabited by man ; 27 To saturate an untrodden land, That the bud of the tender herb may spring forth. 28 " Who is the father of the rain ? Who hath begotten the round drops of the dew ? 29 From whose womb doth ice proceed; And the hoarfrost of heaven, who hath gendered it; 30 When the waters are congealed like a stone, And the surface of the streams is bound with frost ? 31 " Canst thou restrain the genial influence of spring, Or unbind the chains of winter ? 32 Canst thou bring forth the signs of the Zodiac in their turn, 208 THE NEW VERSION. Or guide the northern constellations with their company ? 33 Knowest thou the laws of the heavenly bodies, Or canst thou arrange their offices on earth ? 34 Canst thou summon the clouds with thy voice, That the water-spout may suddenly cover thee ? 35 Canst thou dispatch the flashes of lightning, That they may go, and say, ' Here we are ?' 36 Who hath given wisdom to the wandering lights ? Who hath bestowed understanding on the meteors ? 37 Who hath in wisdom made the clouds serene, And restrained the bottles of the sky ; 38 So that the earth is compacted into a mass, And the clods of the ground cohere more firmly ?" CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE ADDRESS CONTINUED. " Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lioness ? Wilt thou appease the hunger of the lion's whelps, When they lie down in their dens, Or crouch in ambush under the grass ? " Who provides for the raven his food, When his young ones cry to God, And oppressed with hunger, wander to and fro ? " Hast thou known the time of the mountain goal's delivery, Or watched the pangs of hinds in travail ? Canst thou calculate the months they fulfil, Or knowest thou their course of breeding ? They bow themselves — they cast forth their young — They are delivered from their throes. Their nurslings are strong, and grow up in the desert ; They go forth, and return to them no more. " Who hath sent forth the wild ass free, ADDRESS OF THE DEITY. 209 And the reins of the wild mule who hath loosed ? 9 I gave him the desert for a habitation, The salt soil for a place of encampment. 10 He scorneth the tumult of the city, He heareth not the clamour of the driver ; 1 1 He traverseth the mountains as his pasturage, He hunteth after every green shoot. 12 " "Will the rhinoceros submit to serve thee ; Will he go to rest at thy stall ? 13 Canst thou make the harness bind him in the furrow ; Will he plough up the valleys after thee ? 14 Wilt thou rely on him because his strength is great ; Wilt thou leave thy labours to him ? 15 Wilt thou trust him to carry out thy seed, And to bring home thy threshed grain ? 16 " The wing of the ostrich tribe is for napping, But of the stork and the falcon for flight. 17 Behold, the ostrich leaves her eggs on the earth, And lets them grow warm in the sand ; 18 Forgetting that the foot may crush them, Or that the wild beast may trample on them. 19 She is callous to her young, as if they were not hers ; Vain hath been her travail, since she cares not for them. 20 For God has formed her destitute of wisdom, Neither has he imparted to her understanding. 21 At a suitable occasion she will rear herself aloft, She will laugh to scorn the horse and his rider. 22 " Hast thou invested the horse with strength, Hast thou clothed his neck with pride ? 23 Hast thou given him to launch forth as an arrow ? The violence of his snorting is terrible. 24 He paweth in the valley, and exulteth ; He rusheth impetuous against the armed host. 25 He mocketh at fear, and is not daunted, Nor turneth he back from the sword. 2G The quiver rattleth against him, The glittering spear, and the lance, 27 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage ; p 210 THE NEW VERSION. He is impatient when the trumpet soundeth. 28 When the trumpet soundeth amain, he saith, Ha! ha! He snuffeth the battle from afar, The thunder of the chieftains, and the shouting. 29 " Is it by thy skill that the falcon taketh flight; That she expandeth her wings towards the south ? 30 " At thy command doth the eagle soar aloft, And build her nest on high ? She dwelleth on the crag, Yea, broodeth on the peak of the cliff, ill Hence she espies the ravin, Her eyes trace the prey afar off. 32 Her young ones swoop up the blood ; Wherever the carcase is, there is she." CHAPTER XXXIX. THE ADDRESS CONTINUED. Scope. — Description of Behemoth. " Come, look on Behemoth, which I created in thy neighbourhood ; He feedeth on grass like an ox : Whose prodigious strength is in his loins, And his vigour in the muscles of his body. He erects his tail like a cedar ; The sinews of his haunches are braced together. His bones are like strong bars of brass, His joints like masses of iron. He is a masterpiece among God's productions ; The sword he uses is a gift from his Creator. Lo, the mountains furnish him with food, The beasts of the field sport around him. He reposeth beneath the lotos tree, In the covert of the reeds, and the ooze. The lotos trees cover him with their shade, The poplars of the Nile, while they surround him. ADDRESS OF THE DEITY. 211 9 Lo, he drinketh up a river, and recoileth not ; He would be secure, though Jordan should rush against Iris mouth. 10 Who can catch him with nets, while he looks on ? Who can by stealth put a ring through his nostrils ? [There is no doubt that the first fourteen verses of this chap- ter are out of their proper place. The context and the whole scheme of the poem demand their transposition. Their proper station is after verse 6th of chap, xli., to which place I have accordingly transferred them. Heath's observations on this subject are very forcible. " It is plain," says he, " from the 7th verse of the 42d chapter, that Jehovah is the last speaker in the poem." If, then, imme- diately after the end of the 39th chapter, we subjoin the 15th verse of the 40th chapter, and place the first fourteen verses of the 40th chapter immediately after the 6th verse of the 42d chapter, and by that means make them the conclusion of the poem, all will be right, and the 7th verse of the 42d chapter will be in its natural order. The action will be complete by the judgment of the Almighty, and the catastrophe of the poem will be grand and solemn. The insertion of these four- teen verses here, as Kennicott remarks, disturbs the order of things, since it breaks in upon the description of the animals, and upon God's appeal to his own works, in proof of his power and majesty. Nor let the greatness of this transposition surprise any. The ancient manuscripts were written on pieces of vellum, containing so many lines or words. These were afterwards sewed or stitched together in their proper and regular order. But if, by accident or oversight, a single piece of vellum, such as would contain these fourteen verses, were stitched in the wrong place, the transposition is at once accounted for. That such large parts have been transposed in ancient rolls, is abso- lutely certain ; and therefore the case might occur here. Let us also observe the present disorder of the speeches, which is this : — p 2 ~12 THE NEW VERSION. In chapters xxxviii. and xxxix. of our version, God first speaks to Job. The end of chap, xxxix. is followed by, " And the Lord answered Job and said," — whilst yet Job had not replied. At chap. xl. 3 — 5, Job answers and says, " He had then spoken twice, and would add no more .•" whereas this was his first reply, and he speaks again afterwards. From chap. xl. 15, to chap. xli. 34, are descriptions of Be- hemoth and Leviathan, which ought naturally to follow those of the horse, hawk, and eagle. And from chap. xlii. 1, to chap. xlii. 6, is now Job's speech ; after which we read in verse 7th, " After the Lord had spoken these words to Job."" All this confusion would be removed, if we only allow the transposition proposed ; and then the poem has a consistent close, and the concluding speech, as it ought to be, is spoken by Jehovah,] CHAPTER XL. THE ADDRESS CONTINUED. Scope. — Description of the Leviathan. 1 "Canst thou draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or tie his tongue with a cord ? 2 Canst thou fasten a ring in his snout, Or pierce his jaw with a barb ? 3 Will he speak to thee with entreaties ; Will he utter soothing supplications ? 4 Will he make a covenant with thee ; Wilt thou take him for a perpetual servant ? 5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird, Or cage him like; a sparrow for thy children ? 6 Will thy companions make a banquet of him? Will the merchants divide him among them ? ADDRESS OF THE DEITY. 213 7 Canst thou fill his skin with harpoons, And his head with fish-spears ? 8 Wilt thou lay thy hand upon him ? Remember, if thou dost, 'tis at thy peril. 9 Behold, it is a vain expectation ; The very sight of him fills with dismay. 10 None is so bold that he dares to rouse him ? Who, then, is able to rise up against me ? 1 1 Who hath benefited me, that I should requite him ? All that is under the heavens is mine. 12 I will not pass over in silence his limbs, His might, nor the structure of his frame. 13 Who can strip off the covering of his armour, Or come within the folds of his breast-plate ? 14 Who can open the doors of his mouth ? The rows of his teeth are terrible. 15 His scaly shields are his pride ; He is shut up close, as with a seal. 10 They are so compacted with each other, The air cannot enter between them. 17 They adhere so closely together, They are rivetted, and cannot be sundered. 1 8 His sneezing is like the lightning's flash ; His eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. 19 From his mouth issue burning lamps ; He belches out flakes of flame. 20 From his nostrils bursteth smoke, As from a seething-pot or cauldron. 21 His breath kindle th glowing coals ; A flame proceedeth from his mouth. 22 In his neck strength makes her abode, And destruction runs exulting before him. 23 The ribs of his body are glued together ; He is compact in himself, and cannot be moved. 24 His heart is as firm as a stone, As hard as the lower millstone. 25 When he raises himself, the mighty are afraid ; They who try to bruise him, miss their aim. 214 THE NEW VERSION. 26 The sword that assails him, effects nothing — The spear, the dart, or the harpoon. 27 He regards iron as straw, And brass as rotten wood. 28 The arrow cannot wound him ; Sling-stones are turned from him like stubble. 29 Darts are counted as chaff, And he laughs at the shaking of the spear. 30 His bed is on sharp flints, His couch on broken rocks in the mire. 31 He causeth the deep to boil like a cauldron ; He snuffeth up the sea as a perfume. 32 Behind him a pathway shineth ; He causeth the deep to look hoary. 33 No one on earth can govern him ; He is a creature entirely without fear. 34 He looketh on every thing with haughtiness ; He is a king over all the children of pride." CHAPTER XLI. THE ALMIGHTY'S ADDRESSES, AND JOB'S REPLIES. Scope. — God expostulates with Job — the latter acknowledges his temerity, con- fesses his ignorance, and solicits pardon — God thereupon restores him to his former prosperity, and doubles his possessions. 1 Then Job answered Jehovah, and said : 2 "I know that thou canst do all things, And that thy decrees no one can resist. 3 How should I disapprove of thine unsearchable wisdom? I have been uttering what I did not understand, — Things too marvellous, which I comprehended not. 4 Hear me, I beseech thee, and I will speak ; Let me ask questions, and explain them to me. 5 I heard of thee before by the hearing of the ear ; But now mine eye hath seen thee. THE ALMIGHTY'S ADDRESSES, AND JOB'S REPLIES. 215 G Wherefore I recall my inconsiderate speeches, And repent in dust and ashes." 7 Then Jehovah said unto Job : 8 " Let him who disputes with the Almighty, stand to it : He who censures God, let him answer him." 9 Then Job replied to Jehovah, and said : 10 " Behold, I am a poor creature — what shall I answer? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. 1 1 Once I have spoken, but I will proceed no further ; Yea, twice ; but I will not persevere." 12 Then spake Jehovah to Job, from the midst of the tempest, and said : 13 " Gird up now thy loins like a hero; I will question thee, and answer thou me. 14 Canst thou render my purpose void ? Wilt thou condemn me, to justify thyself? 15 Hast thou an arm like that of God ? Canst thou thunder with a voice like his ? 16 Deck thyself now with majesty and excellence : Array thyself in glory and beauty. 17 Pour forth the fury of thy wrath ; Look on the haughty, and humble him. 18 Look on the proud, and prostrate him — Crush down the wicked to the dust. 19 Hide them in the earth together ; Cover their faces with dishonour. 20 Then I will confess, to thy praise, That thine own right hand can save thee." ,'21 And it came to pass, after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite : " My wrath is kindled against thee, And against thy two friends ; For ye have not spoken of me correctly, As hath my servant Job. 216 THE NEW VERSION. 22 Therefore, take now for yourselves Seven bullocks and seven rams ; And go to my servant Job, And offer for yourselves a burnt-offering, That my servant Job may intercede for you — For him only I will accept ; Otherwise I should deal with you according to your rashness — For ye have not spoken of me correctly, As hath my servant Job." 23 So Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, went and did as Jehovah com- manded them ; and Jehovah forgave them for Job's sake. 24 And Jehovah reversed the affliction of Job, after he had interceded for his friends ; and Jehovah gave Job twice as 25 much as he had before. Then there came to visit him all his brethren and all his sisters, and all who were formerly acquainted with him ; and they ate bread with him in his house ; and they sympathized with him, and consoled him for all the calamity which Jehovah had brought upon him : and every one presented him with a girdle ; and every one gave him a pendant of gold. 26 And Jehovah blessed the latter days of Job more than his former days : for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a 27 thousand breeding-asses. And he had seven sons born to 28 him, and three daughters. And he called the eldest daughter, Jemima (beautiful as the day) ; and the second, Kezia (fragrant as cassia) ; and the third, Keren-happuc 29 (bosom of delight). And in all the land there were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job ; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brethren. 30 And Job lived after this (affliction) one hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, to the 31 fourth generation. Then Job died, an old man, and full of daysi CONCLUSION OF THE BOOK. 217 CHAPTER XLIL CONCLUSION OF THE BOOK. Scope. — Eulogy of Wisdom, [This chapter, as it stands in our version* is evidently out of its place. It contains no reference whatever, either to Job's sufferings, or to the accusations of his friends ; nor is it in any shape connected with the preceding and subsequent parts of the controversy. Almost all interpreters have noticed the abruptness of the transition, and have been at a loss to account for it, except by saying, that such transitions are after the manner of the Arabian writers. But this is not satisfactory, since the rest of the book is remarkable for its close coherence. How it should come to be transposed, as it appears in all the versions, as well as in the Hebrew original, is a matter not easily accounted for, except on the circumstance elsewhere referred to, as to the mode of assorting the different parts of ancient manuscripts. But viewed in itself, as a commenda- tion of wisdom, it forms an appropriate conclusion to the book of Job, on the same principle as the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, where Solomon sums up all he had previously advanced, by saying : " Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter : Fear God, and keep his commandments ; for this is the whole of man." So, here, the author sums up similarly : " Behold, the fear of Jehovah, that is wisdom ; And to depart from evil is understanding." It is rather difficult to suppose that Job should interrupt the disputation between himself and his friends, by producing a dissertation on the working of mines, and a nomenclature of precious stones and metals, as preparatory to the encomium on wisdom, whose worth transcends all these. The whole contains excellent moral instruction, valuable in every age, 218 THE NEW VERSION. and adapted to every class ; but it appears to be addressed to the general reader of the poem, rather than to any one of Job's opponents. It seems to say to all — that however great the difficulties which attend the discovery of the precious ores, and the mode of extracting them from the earth — far greater are the difficulties attendant on any endeavour to explore the unfathomable mines of that Supreme Providence which go- verns and regulates the universe. True wisdom, and the highest elevation to which human science can reach, consist in fearing this Almighty Being, and in turning aside from the path of evil. Can there be a fitter peroration to so extraordinary a poem than this magnificent Eulogy, of which it may be truly said — " Finis coronat opus !"] 1 Truly there is a vein for the silver, And a place for gold which they refine. 2 Iron is dug up from the earth, And the rock produce th copper. 3 Man diggeth into the place of darkness, And diligently exploreth each extremity ; The stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. 4 The channels of brooks choked up with sand, Which, though despised while under the foot, Are sifted and displayed among men. 5 The surface of the earth produceth bread, But its interior is the region of fire. C Among its stones are to be found sapphires, Spotted with small grains of gold. 7 There is a path which no fowl knew, Which the vulture's eye hath not descried, 8 Which the wild beasts' whelps have not trodden, Nor hath the swarthy lion stalked over it. 9 Man stretcheth forth his hand to the sparry ore, He overturneth mountains from their roots. 10 He scoopeth channels through the rocks, His eye discerneth every precious gem. CONCLUSION OF THE BOOK. 219 1 1 He restraineth the oozing of the streams, So that what was concealed becomes radiant. 12 But wisdom ! where shall it be found ? Where is the abode of understanding ? 13 Mortal man knoweth not its origin ; Nor is it to be found in the land of the living. 14 The abyss saith, " It is not in me ;" The sea saith, " Nor yet in me." 15 It cannot be obtained for virgin-gold; Nor shall silver be weighed for its price. 16 It cannot be purchased with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. 17 The diamond set in fine gold cannot equal it; Nor can jewels of pure gold compare with it. 1 8 Speak not of agates or of pearls, For the value of wisdom is far beyond rubies. 19 The emerald of Cush cannot rival it ; Nor for the Arabian topaz can it be bartered. 20 Wisdom ! whence then cometh it ? Where is the abode of understanding ? 21 It is hid from the eyes of the living ; It is concealed from the fowls of the air. 22 Destruction and Death say, " We have heard of its fame with our ears." 23 God alone understandeth its track ; Yea, he is acquainted with its abode. 24 For he seeth to the extremities of the earth ; He surveyeth under the whole heavens. 25 When he made a balance for the air, And adjusted the waters by measure — 26 When he fixed a course for the rain, And a path for the lightning of the storm — 27 Then he saw it, and proclaimed it ; He established it, and thoroughly proved it. 28 And to man he said — " Behold ! The fear of Jehovah, that is wisdom ! And to abstain from evil — is understanding!" NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. Notes on Chapter I. Ver. 1. The scope of this book, according to Maimonides, is to establish the great doctrine of Providence, whereby nothing will seem hard that befalls one. " Perfect and upright," is a Hebraism for " sincerely upright." 3. Servius, in his notes on Virgil, says, an estate, among the ancients, had its name in Latin (peculium) from peats, cattle ; of which their whole substance consisted. See Gen. xiii. 5 — 7. Job appears to have been an Arabian emir, or chief. " Sons of the East ;" i. e. inhabitants of the East. 5. Coverdale has, " Peradventure my sons have done some of- fence, and have been unthankful to God in their hearts." This Job did as the father and priest of the family, these offices being united in patriarchal times. See Gen. viii. 20 ; xii. 7, 8 ; xxxv. 17. C. The Scripture speaks of God after the manner of men ; and as kings transact their most important matters in a solemn assembly, so God is pleased to represent himself as having his council likewise, and as passing the decrees of his providence in an assembly of his holy angels. " Sons of God ;" in the Saxon version, God's angels. 10. "A fence." It is not improbable that the fence here spoken of, by which calamities and enemies of every kind were hindered from breaking in upon Job, was no other than a guard of angels, such as are said to encompass the righteous at all times. See Ps. xxxiv. 7 ; xci. 11. In the Arabic copy it is translated, " Hast thou not protected him with thy hand?" and the Syriac is to the 224 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. same effect. The Chaldee Paraphrast has, " Hast thou not covered him with thy word V i. e. by a divine command, that he should be protected : and to whom was this command likely to be given, but to angels ? 15. Mr. Good, speaking of the Sabeans and Bedouin Arabs, says, " Both are equally entitled to the appellation of Kedarines, the root of which, in Arabic, as well as in the Hebrew, implies ' assault, in- cursion, tumult.' " But here the learned author mistakes, for Kedar is not written with a caph, but with a Jcoph ; and, written thus, the verb signifies, to be black, dark, and swarthy ; and these tribes did not derive their name from either of those circumstances, but from Kedar, the son of Ishmael, who gave his name to Arabia, (Gen. xxv. 13.) See Scripture Magazine, vol. iii. p. 526. 16. " The fire of God," i. e. lightning — a Hebraism. 17. Though the Chaldeans lived on the borders of the Euphrates, they often roamed to a great distance in pursuit of plunder. 21. Cyprian of Carthage, quoting this passage, has it thus : " Naked came I out of my mother's womb, And naked shall I go tinder the earth." He refers to the grave, calling the earth his mother. See 1 Tim. vi. 7. Notes on Chap. II. 4. " Skin after skin." A man would consent to be stripped of all his property, in order to save his person. Sometimes, though not here, the skin is put by a metonymy for the whole body, as in Exod. xxii. 27, " It is his raiment for his skin ;" i. e. for his body. 9. " And die." Some have supposed a strong irony in these words. Job was exceedingly afflicted, yet he had said submissively, on occasion of his former trial, " Blessed be the name of Jehovah." His wife here seems to say, " You have only to proceed in blessing God amidst all your calamities ; there seems to be no end to them but death. If these are causes for thankfulness, go on to be thankful." This view of the subject would justify Job's reproof, " Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh." 13. Seven days were the time of mourning among the Hebrews. See Gen. l. 10: Eccl. xxii. 12. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 225 Notes on Chap. III. 1. " His day ;" i. e. his birthday. See parallel passages. 3. " Perish the day ;" i. e. he wishes that he had never been born. 8. There were probably, in ancient times, men professing sorcery, enchanters like Balaam, who pretended to great supernatural powers, who boasted that they could instantly tame the fiercest animals by their voices or incantations, and that they could, when they pleased, rouse the crocodile to come forth from its haunts to invade men. 9. " The eyelids of the dawn." A beautiful prosopopoeia, by which is to be understood the earliest splendour of those rays which dart from the rising sun, and the rapidity of whose motion may justly be compared to the twinkling of the eyes, so suddenly do they shoot forth over the face of creation. See also chap. xli. 18. 14. There is an indistinctness in the allusion here, which leaves us merely to conjecture, that by these expressions may be meant those mausoleums or sepulchral edifices which the Egyptian and Asiatic princes built for themselves during their lives ; or the famous pyramids of Egypt, some of which were probably older than the times of Job, (see Greaves on the Pyramids,) to keep their name from perishing ; and yet, if the pyramids that now exist Were built with any such view, how vain the thought of thus preserving the remembrance of the founders, since no trace now remains by which we can discover who were the builders of those immense and appa- rently indestructible piles ! 19. The levelling of all human distinctions in the grave, is here very beautifully expressed. 20. Job sometimes, out of reverence, omits the name of God, when he is using the language of complaint ; or the omission may be ascribed to another cause, namely, that such was the agitated state of the sufferer's mind, it escaped his notice that he had not men- tioned God in the preceding lines. He is too much hurried away by his feelings to attend to the formalities of regular composition. 21. Job here, as Scott observes, uses five different words to express the rapture of a person to whom death is welcome when he finds a grave. 24. i. e. my lamentations are like the noise of the murmuring stream, or the (lashings of the over-swollen torrent. Q 226 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. Notes on Chap. IV. G. Coverdale has : " Where is now thy fear of God, thy steadfastness, Thy patience, and the perfectness of thy life ?" 9. " The blast." Destruction is here described by the image of a furious tempest. 10. The meaning is, that the violent and oppressive reap their own reward or retribution in their own kind, and suffer from the very means they have used to procure their enjoyment. 12. A thing or matter; in the Hebrew, a word; that is, some- thing imparted by immediate revelation. Jer. xviii. 18. 17. Eliphaz inculcates the impiety of arraigning the Divine go- vernment, on the ground that all complaints from a sufferer imply injury on the part of him who inflicts the suffering. 18. With such imperfections as are comparatively folly in the eyes of Him who alone is wisdom and perfection. The expression is much too faint, as Scott observes, to denote the crime of the angels who sinned, and fell from their first estate : nothing more seems to be meant, than the imperfection of the most exalted spirits, in com- parison with the infinite perfection of the Deity ; and the inference intended is, If angels are defective, how much more must man be so, whose nature is inferior ! The same sentiment is repeated in chap, xv. 15, 16 ; and in chap. xxv. 5, 6. Neither by angels are we to understand here prophets, or messengers sent by God to men ; for he speaks of persons or beings distinct from those that dwell in houses of clay. And that he means good angels is evident, by giving them the title of his angels, as peculiarly belonging to his service. 19. The human body, in which the soul dwells, is here compared to a house of clay, founded in the dust, as opposed to the celestial habitations of angels. Paul uses the same comparison, 2 Cor. v. 1. The brevity of life is here likened to a day's duration ; as in Ps. xc. G, and Isa. xxxviii. 13. 21. They are made no wiser by so many examples of their own mortality. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 22" Notes on Chap. V. 2. Men's sufferings are the fruit of their own criminal passions. Natural evil is ordained to be the punishment of moral evil. Foolish and tveak are terms often employed in Scripture to denote persons whose understanding is deficient, in consequence of their violent and corrupt passions. 3. " Taking root ;" i. e. enjoying great prosperity. 6. " From the ground ;" i. e. by chance. 7. The meaning is, not that troubles come by an inevitable destiny, or simply from natural causes ; but proceed from the Divine government, formed on established rules. — Jerome translates it, " Man is born to troubles, and the bird to flight." 8. He proceeds to celebrate the power and goodness of God, in order to encourage Job to " commit his cause to him." 10. As the rain produces a wonderful change in the aspect of vege- table nature, before parched and blighted ; so the Divine Providence can effect a sudden transition from despair and misery to joy and comfort. 12. All these sayings refer to the particular providence of God, a doctrine often asserted in the course of this book. 17. Here the speaker points out the kind design of afflictions, and the friendly purpose of God in sending them. 19. " Six, and seven" — a definite put for an indefinite number, as is common in Scripture. See Eccles. xi. 2 ; Luke xvii. 4 ; Matt, xviii. 22. 21. " Scourge of the tongue ;" i. e. calumny. 23. " Stones of the field ;" i. e. his land should not be unfruitful. See 2 Kings iii. 25, But Scott thinks it may import protection in travelling. The sandals which they wore were a very slight guard to the feet in the rough and stony ways of their mountains. Compare Ps. xci. 11, 12. Dathe, again, thinks the images here are taken from the eastern mode of travelling, in a different respect ; where at night the traveller, like Jacob of old, may be glad of a stone for a pillow, which, by a figure of speech, may be said to afford him security, since hospitality in the East is always inviolable. But I consider neither of these views as correct. The images here refer not to an ambula- tory, but to a stationary condition ; and the whole expresses, that Q 2 228 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. the soil should not be unfruitful — that the seed sown should come to maturity. 24. " Tabernacle" means simply a tent, or moveable dwelling, com- posed of poles, pins, and cloth, or skins, to be pitched anywhere in a few moments, and struck again with the same ease. It is contrasted with "habitation," which signifies a solid, permanent dwelling-place. 27. " We." Eliphaz had perhaps consulted with his friends, and they may have laid down together the scheme of their addresses to Job. lint in Hebrew, plural nouns are sometimes used in place of their singulars, even when no peculiar emphasis is intended. See Sup- plementary Illustrations, Plurality of Persons. Notes on Chap. VI. 3. This is a poetical manner of saying that his afflictions are insup- portable. 4. " The arrows." He means the tormenting pains of his dis- order. 5. Animals are not accustomed to complain, unless destitute of fodder, or unless the food given them be contrary to their nature : so Job here insinuates that he turned aside from the consolation of Eli- phaz because it was not applicable to his real condition. 6. The eastern people often make use of bread, with nothing more than salt, or some such trifling addition, such as summer savory dried and powdered. See Russell's Hist, of Aleppo, quoted by Burder : but Dr. Good gives a different turn to the passage, thus : " Doth insipid food, without a mixture of salt, Yea, doth the white of an egg give forth pungency ?" The alteration is ingenious, and may by some be preferred. 10. Literally, " I would prance like a spirited horse." " The commandments." What commandments ? They must have been received by special revelation, as there were then no written oracles. See chap, xxiii. 12. 19. Dr. Good has here mistaken one Hebrew letter for another — a he for a lieth ; and consequently has recourse to a false etymology. He proposes to read thus : " The companies of Tema searched earnestly : " whereas it should be, as in our own English version, " The troops, or companies, of Tema looked anxiously." The NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 229 caravans went from Arabia Felix to Egypt. Their route lay through Arabia Petraea, Job's country. They were Ishmaelites, for Tenia was a son of Ishmael. Those of Seba were the same. The Queen of Sheba was from Arabia Felix. We read of those Ishmaelitish merchants in the history of Joseph, Gen. xxxvii. 25. 21. Literally, " ye are a nothing ;" i. e. ye are of no use tome, like the torrent beds from which the water has been suddenly exhausted. 22. Job had asked no favour from them ; all he wished for was sympathy and consolation. 26. The words of a desperate man ought not to be rigidly inter- preted. Job calls himself a desperate man, because he had no hope at this time of his restoration. Notes on Chap. VII. 1. " The life of a servant." The original term used here occurs in Numb. iv. 23, where it is employed to signify the time during which service was exacted from the Levites, from the age of thirty to that of fifty. 3. Job contrasts his condition with that of the hired labourer and slave ; they had rest in the night, whereas to him night afforded no relaxation. 4. " The night be gone." Time, as Scott observes, seems to a person in pain and distress to move very slowly. 6. The same comparison occurs here, as in chap. vi. 9, namely, of human life to the texture of a web. — " Breaking of a thread," for want of a thread to continue the work, or to begin a new web. 7. " Return to see good." Life is so short, that it scarce allows time to take a second look at the few enjoyments in it. In the Elegy on Bion by Moschus, contained in the third Idyl, there are strong resemblances to this passage. Query, had the author seen the book of Job in the ancient version of it ? 9. It appears from this that Job had no expectation of a resur- rection from the dead. 1 2. " Am I some fierce and untractable creature, which requires barriers to stop its ravages ?" See Jer. v. 22 ; Ps. civ. 9. Michaelis thinks, that by " the sea" here, Job meant the Nile, 230 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. which is so called in Isa. xxvii. 1 ; Ezek. xxxii. 2. So the Dead Sea, the Sea of Tiberias, &c. which are only great lakes. 12. " An amphibious monster." Probably, the crocodile. The inhabitants of Egypt are said to watch these creatures with great attention, and take proper precautions to secure them, so that they should not be able to avoid the deadly weapons afterwards used to kill them. The word here rendered " monster" is the same that is used in Gen. i. 21 of some large aquatic animal. In Exod. vii. 10, it refers to the serpent into which Moses's staff was changed. In general, it is applied to noxious and disagreeable animals, which, for want of a better term, are in our version called dragons, a word which conveys no particular idea, since there is no creature properly so called. 17. Why take so much pains with the human being, in nourishing and training him, and yet afterwards afflict him so grievously? See Ps. viii. 4 for a parallel expression. 20. It is necessary to render this interrogatively, because Job, throughout the book, maintains that he had not sinned, at least in the sense and degree his friends imputed to him. But we may in- terpret the words without an interrogation thus : Job had used pas- sionate and indecorous language towards God, and suddenly checking himself, he says, " I have sinned ;" i. e. I am wrong in thus fami- liarly expostulating with my Maker. Yet he has no sooner said this, than, prompted by his sufferings, he breaks out again, and recurs to the same train of feeling. At any rate, Job does not criminate himself ; to admit the conti'ary would be to make the poem strangely inconsistent. 21. " Take away mine iniquity." It was a matter of very ancient belief, that suffering was invariably the consequence of sin ; hence, to pardon iniquity, and to heal diseases, were equivalent expressions. See several instances of this in the Four Gospels ; and see John ix. 2. Notes on Chap. VIII. 9. Bildad refers to those very ancient times when human life was protracted to a much longer date than that in which Job lived ; and when men, in the course of an experience of eight or nine centuries, could store up a vast fund of knowledge and experience. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 231 Davies, in his Celtic Researches, refers to this passage in proof of the high antiquity of the book of Job, and as an evidence of know- ledge being handed down from one patriarch to another. In those early days tradition supplied the place of written records ; and matters of moment, being thrown into a versified form, were more easily retained in the memory. We have therefore here, and in other parts of the book, portions of the treasured wisdom of the antediluvian age. 1 1 . The papyrus and bulrush are well-known natives of the oozy banks of the Nile ; for an account of which see Celsius in Hierobotan. Partii. p. 137- We here see the proverbial form used in conveying instruction in that period of most remote antiquity. 13. I have here, and in other places, exchanged the term hypo- crite for profligate or impious, the latter being more appropriate. 16. The speaker here compares the impious man to a shrub or plant, of no long continuance, which grows quickly, and spreads itself abroad, but soon withers and disappears. Notes on Chap. IX, 4. The most ancient names of the Supreme Being were derived (Al-Shaddai, for instance) not from the Divine goodness and love, but from power and majesty, and the veneration and awe which these are adapted to excite. It could not well be otherwise. The idea of power is certainly the first which presents itself to the mind of man, when he considers the incomprehensible cause of his existence. The infinite, or at least indefinite power of their Maker, is the most natural feeling of which weak and helpless mortals can be conscious. The book of Job gives the most impressive proofs of this truth, and in terms the most elevated and sublime, as in this passage, and in chap. xii. 13, &c, where we have a similar display of this attribute, in which the nothingness of man is contrasted with the supremacy of God, and that by means of the boldest and most spirited imagery, poured out with an exuberance seldom, if ever, equalled. We have a third display in chap. xxvi. 6, &c, and indeed in numerous in- stances throughout the book. Herein the New Testament differs ~32 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. widely from the Old : while in the latter it is the Strong God, the Almighty, the Lord of hosts, — in the former, it is the God of all grace, the Father of mercies, the God of love. The distinction is too visihle not to be at once perceived by the most cursory reader. 6. Verbs expressing action or effect are sometimes to be under- stood as merely denoting the power to perform such action. Thus, here, "who shaketh," "who commandeth," &c. i.e. who is able to do so — not who actually does so. The expressions used here appear to describe those convulsions which we term earthquakes. The earth vibrates, mountains are thrown down, and rocks removed out of their place. 7. " Setteth a seal ;" i. e. covereth them with clouds, or with that pitchy darkness that accompanies earthquakes. 8. " Alone." This word, as Scott remarks, is not superfluous ; it asserts the unity of God in opposition to Polytheism. " Treadeth." See Habak. hi. 15, for a similar passage. 9. See Astronomical Notices. 13. " Haughty Rahab." A name sometimes applied to Egypt. — The LXX. never translate this term as a proper name. 16. The terms in this and the two preceding verses are law terms, referring to processes at the gate, or the public court of justice. 19. "Who shall fix the time for the trial, and compel him to attend ? Who shall set me a time to plead ?" All the terms here are forensic. 21. " Know myself." Literally, know my soul. Nepesh, with the affixes, forms the reciprocal pronoun self, myself, thyself, himself, &c. in Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic. Atten- tion to this would prevent many misconceptions of passages. 25. When enjoyment is succeeded by misery, the time spent in the former appears as an instant that is past. — Scott. 26. Schultens observes, in reference to the boats made of the Egyptian papyrus, " navibus arundine, vel papyro Nilotica textis, nil velocius." 31. " My own clothes." A bold figure, derived from the corrupted state of his body, which his clothes dreaded to touch, because of the contagious nature of his disorder. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 233 Notes on Chap. X. 1 . There is a contradiction in our English version of this text : to make Job say, " I will leave my complaint upon myself," and imme- diately after, " I will speak in the bitterness of my soul," when the whole tenor of Job's argument is to vindicate to himself the liberty of complaining, is, as Wall observes, not very likely. From the phrase in our version, " My soul is weary of my life," Adam Clarke infers that Job was no materialist, and that he here distinguishes the immortal mind from the animal life: but so emi- nent a linguist ought to have known or recollected, that the words "my soul" are a mere Hebraism, and mean no more than "/am weary of life ;" and so throughout the whole of the Old Testament, and especially the book of Psalms, where the phrase often occurs. In short, there is hardly a trace of immaterialism till we come to the New Testament, where our Lord plainly distinguishes, by speaking of God's casting both soul and body into Gehenna, Matt. x. 28. 4. Literally, " eyes of flesh ;" i.e. weak, imperfect, liable to error. "As man seeth;" i.e. Art thou deceived by appearances; canst thou discern only what is external ? 5. " Are thy days as the days of (anoush) a feeble man 1 Are thy years as (geber) the strong man's days ?" i. e. Art thou so short-lived as to make it necessary immediately to investigate the sins or failings of thy creatures, lest they should escape punishment ? 8. Men generally value those works on which they bestow much labour, and Job judges similarly of God, and therefore says, " Wilt thou destroy me ?" 10. This evidently alludes to the formation of the foetus in the womb, in exact agreement with anatomical science, of which the ancients, especially the Egyptians, were not ignorant. 13. Job now, under the influence of strong emotion, begins to sin with his lips, and " charges God foolishly." 21. "I shall not return," i. e. to have a dwelling among men. 22. " Where there is no order;" i.e. having no arrangements, and no distinction of inhabitants. All the imagery, as Lowth observes, which the Hebrew poets intro- duce in describing the state of the dead, may be traced to their mode of sepulture. Sec Lectures, No. 7, and his Notes on Isa. xiv. 8. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. Notes on Chap. XI. 2. " A talkative man." Hebraism ; literally, a man of lips. 4. " Thine eyes ;" i. e. God's. The vame of God is often omitted, and meant to be tacitly implied in this book. 6. This verse is very obscure, and is differently rendered by almost every interpi-eter. The meaning seems tobe,that if Job knewthe whole of the Divine procedure, he would be sensible that he was treated with great lenity, notwithstanding the severity of his sufferings. 8. "The mansion of the dead," or lower world, as opposed to " the highest heavens." 10. The meaning here is, that God makes a public example of great sinners by the signal circumstances of their destruction. He intends this to apply to Job. " Refute." Some have it, who can make him restore ; i. e. release the criminal. The whole is to be explained from the ancient forms of judgment, in which the people, in public assembly, pronounced sentence on the guilty. 12. The intention of Divine punishments is to recover men to solid reflection, and bring them into subjection to reason, and the law of God. 14. " Tents," beingthenthe usual abodes of man, the term is some- times applied to more permanent habitations. It is certain that Job lived in a city, not in a tent ; see chap. xxix. 7 ; though his house is called " a tent," chap. xxix. 4. 15. Though some have supposed there is in this passage an unfeel- ing allusion to the scars which the leprosy had made in Job's coun- tenance, it may merely mean that confidence with which a man, unconscious of guilt, appears in the presence of his fellow-men. 16. i. e. thou shalt not remember it at all ; for these winter tor- rents are tvliolly evaporated in summer. 17. " Thy time" or age " shall arise above the noon ;" meaning, thy prosperity will be very conspicuous. 18. An allusion to the practice of pitching tents near wells, in order to obtain a ready supply of water. The " hope " here referred to is hope in God — a firm confidence in the Divine protection. 19. A reference to the pastoral life, and the decumbent posture of animals, the shepherd lying down beside his flock, both of them secure from the attacks of bea9ts of prey. See Ps. xxiii. 2. " The mighty." See an example of this in Gen. xxvi. 20 — 29. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 235 Notes on Chap. XII. 3. "Such things as these;" i.e. such trite remarks, such com- mon-place sentiments. 4. From this verse, to the end of the chapter, Job quotes a number of ancient adages, such as he considered applicable to his own case, and the false reasonings of his friends. 6. See Gen. xxxi. 29 ; Hab. i. 11. 7. The proposal to interrogate the creatures lies in this, that, examine which you will, it will be found among them, as well as among men, that the weak must submit to the strong. The lion, wolf, and other rapacious animals, tear and devour those that are of less strength. The larger fishes observe the same course. Weeds and poisonous herbs also thrive better, and grow more luxuriantly, than useful plants, and fill the space which the others might occupy. 9. " They are all as God ordered them," — he permits moral evil, and he inflicts penal evil. 10. " The soul" (nepesh) " of all life" (hi), "and the breath" (ruh) " of all flesh" (besher.) 11. Does not the intellect judge of truth as clearly as the sense of taste enables a man to distinguish the different articles of food ? 12 — 25. It has been proposed by some to transpose these verses, and to place them after verse 2. The connexion may seem clearer in this way ; but, without the authority of manuscripts, we must forbear to remove them from their present situation. "With the aged is wisdom;" i.e. understanding is the natural result of long experience and observation. He refers to what Bildad had said, chap. viii. 8 — 10. The verses from this to the close are thought to be a quotation from some old Idumean poem ; or else a collection of maxims handed down from antediluvian ancestors or sages. 15. He causes drought and inundations, both of them ministers of evil, to the inhabitants of a country. There is here no allusion whatever to the general deluge. 18. i. e. he causes them to be carried into captivity. 20. See Isa. iii. 1 — 3. 21. " He relaxeth the strength ;" literally, he looseth the girdle. The girdle was not only the symbol of dignity, hut of warlike courage. Comp. Isa. v. 27. 236 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 24. See Ps. cvii. 40, where a very similar expression occurs, but without any allusion to the wanderings of the Israelites. There had been examples, even before Job's time, of a whole people carried away by the conqueror from their own country. See Gen. xiv. Notes on Chap. XIII. 4. See Ps. cxix. 69. 5. See Prov. xvii. 28. 12. " Your maxims ; " i.e. the maxims of antiquity, you quote so fluently, are of no value ; they are not applicable to my case. 14. These are plainly proverbial expressions, meaning, " I need not care to what risk I expose myself : Why should I be anxious for the preservation of my life?" See 1 Sam. xxviii. 21. The proverb seems to refer to an animal, who, bearing a piece of flesh in his mouth, becomes an object of envy or attack to other animals around him. 15. Bold as these expressions are, they show the courage of a clear conscience. The original word translated "kill" here, is a Chaldee term, and occurs only in two other places of the Old Testament, viz. chap. xxiv. 14; Ps. cxxxix. 19. 19. I should be content to suffer death as a convict. 22. All these phrases are to be taken in a judicial sense. He leaves to God the choice, whether he will be plaintiff or defendant. 23. Job calls here for the articles in the indictment — What are the charges ? Where are the proofs ? 25. The comparison here of himself to a tossed or driven leaf is exceedingly beautiful. 26. " Thou writest ;" a judicial term. 27. " In confinement ;" or in a clog, or footlock, such as is fas- tened to the feet or legs of slaves to prevent their escaping. 28. Some connect this verse with the following chapter, thus : " This body waxeth old like a leathern bag, Or like a garment, which is moth-eaten. He that is born of a woman is mortal, Short-lived, and full of disquietude." And the subject certainly requires it, (here being in this way a ureater and more obvious coherence of sense. It is more than NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 237 difficult to make the connexion of the verse with the 13th chapter clear ; yet I have left the verse where it stood, and affixed to it the best meaning I could find, thus giving the reader his option which he will prefer. Notes on Chap. XIV. 4. " Who can become pure ?" This passage refers not to the original corruption of human nature, but merely to that imperfec- tion and liability to error which appears to be the general con- dition of humanity. 6. From the brevity of human life he forms a plea in behalf of his deliverance from affliction. 9. " The fragrance" means the fragrant exhalation of the reviving brook. The metaphor is a fine one. The water acts upon the de- caying and perishing tree, as strong and powerful odours act on a fainting person. 10. See Job's ideas of a future state, page 127. 11. "As the billows," &c. They pass away in flowing, or by absorption, or evaporation, and never return ; but, like mankind, are succeeded perpetually by new series that occupy their place. No emblem can be more fit. 12. " Till the heavens be dissolved ;" that is, never, not at all. See page 128. " Their sleep." The resemblance of death to sleep has been re- marked in every age. Not only the Scriptures, but heathen writers, frequently notice it : only the heathens sometimes, if not generally, prefix the term never-ending to it, to show it is a sleep that knows no waking. The heathens, too, believed in a dissolution of the world, but it was under another form; viz. as an utter extinction of the system of the universe, to be followed by a complete void, or universal blank. 14-. " All the days;" literally, of my warfare — it is a military term — " till my release shall come ;" till I shall be relieved like a sentinel or soldier on duty. In one place, however, (Ps. xc. 5, 6,) the word is used to denote the springing again of grass, after it had once withered. In this sense it may mean a change of circumstances, from calamity and depression to renewed prosperity. 238 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 17. " Sealed up in a bag." See Hosea xiii. 12 : " The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up in a bag ; His sin is laid up in store." In both places there is an allusion to the custom of sealing up records in a bag, as writs to be produced in a court of justice, that none of them might be lost or passed by. 19. A reference to the continual operation of natural bodies on each other, the hardest substances being worn away by attrition : " Gutta cavat lapidem," &c. as Horace says. 21, 22. There is great pathos in these two verses. They imply, that there is no longer any connexion between the dead and the living, nor any knowledge in the former of what may happen to the latter, however dear to them, as children always are to their parents. So that those who die have just reason to lament their own lot, as having no hope of restoration. How different the language of the New Testament ! What a superior scene does it disclose ! Notes on Chap. XV. 2. " And to swell," &c. ; i. e. to admit into his mind vain and fluctuating thoughts. 6. " Thine own lips," &c. Eliphaz refers here to those expres- sions which Job had used in his previous replies, particularly where he proclaims himself free from transgression. 7. Literally, Wast thou born before Adam ? The Chaldee here has, " Wert thou born in the times before Adam, without father and mother?" 8. " Hast thou been present when the angelic assembly were in waiting before the throne of God, to give account of their ministry, and to receive fresh orders respecting the affairs of Providence in this world ?" — Scott. " Wert thou one of the celestial cabinet when God said, Let us make man in our image, and in our likeness?" — Adam Clarke. All these are strong sarcastic questions, and appa- rently uttered with great contempt. 10. Eliphaz probably refers here to himself and his friends, who surpassed Job in years. Eliphaz, being the oldest, takes the lead in the discourse, according to Oriental etiquette. 1 1 . All the versions here differ more or less from each other. It NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 239 would be of no use to mark their discrepancy, arising from a mis- understanding of the original. 12. Some translate thus : " Whither does thy soul (or thy passion) hurry thee ? What mean thy sparkling (or rolling) eyes ?" As much as to say, " None but a madman could speak and act as thou dost." — The term here rendered " taken aim," occurs nowhere else ; but, as traced to the Arabic, signifies "to scowl," and the like;) alluding either to the fierce look of a beast of prey, or the threaten- ing aspect of a thunder-cloud. Stock translates it, " What do thine eyes lour at ?" 16. " Who drinketh," &c. — a proverbial phrase, in allusion to the large draught of water which the camel takes. See a similar ex- pression in chap, xxxiv. 7- It means here, committing crimes without reluctance and without shame. 19. " To whom alone the land was given." Some suppose a reference here to the promised land given to the Israelites ; but this is absurd, unless it could be proved that the book was written after that time. Others refer it to the grant of the whole earth to Noah and his descendants ; a more likely reference, but neither may be intended. Others think that the land here meant is the country of Arabia Felix, assigned to the descendants of Joktan, and from which the Queen of Sheba afterwards came. The Arabs are distinguished into two kinds ; genuine or ancient, and new or foreign. The Jok- tanidas were the ancient inhabitants, long before Abraham's time. 20. This and the following verses, to the end of the chapter, are considered by interpreters to be a quotation from an ancient Idu- mean poem. The maxims here introduced are understood to have been current in ancient Arabia. Le Clerc supposes that they ori- ginated among the Joktanidae, or pure original Arabs. If so, they are of very high antiquity. Their scope is to show that the wicked cannot be otherwise than unhappy, and that merited punishment always awaits them from a just and holy God, who hates sin with a perfect hatred. A sentiment perfectly true in itself, but incorrect in its application to Job, whose case did not fall under this category. Besides, they considered God as uniformly acting in quality of an avenger of transgression in the present life, a position which Job denies, on the ground that the wicked are sometimes seen to prosper, and the righteous to suffer ; he therefore resolves the whole into the sovereign will of God. 240 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 22. The figurative expression here used, is borrowed from the practice of Arabian robbers and assassins, who used to observe from an eminence the approach of travellers. 24. Distress and danger are here personified as leaders of a for- midable army, attacking and overpowering their enemy. 27. To be " enveloped with fat," denotes not only that luxuriance of health and prosperity which is too commonly attended with profane haughtiness, but also the indulgence of sensual appetites, with a con- comitant disregard of the duties of religion. 30. The fate of the oppressor is in this verse described under the image of a tree struck by lightning, torn up, and carried away by a violent tempestuous wind. 32. " Nor shall his branch flourish ;" i. e. there shall be no scion from his roots. All his posterity shall fail. 33. The green grapes that appear in spring, and the olive blossoms in June and July, are often cut off by pestilential east winds. 34. " A barren rock." An Arabism — they shall have no posterity. "Tents of the ungodly;" literally, of bribery or corruption; i. e. of men addicted to such, — an ellipsis of the person. 35. See a parallel passage in Ps. vii. 14, 16 ; and in James i. 15. Notes on Chap. XVI. 4. " Shaken the head," an expression of contempt. 8. It is impossible not to be struck here with the similarity be- tween Job's complaints and our Saviour's sufferings. He describes himself as a malefactor, whose hands and feet are bound before execution. The sense is therefore, " Since thou hast placed me in the condition of a guilty man, every one rises against me as a witness." 9. 10. See a parallel passage in Ps. xxxv. 15, 16, where " hypo- critical mockers at feasts" should be rendered, " after the manner of profligate gluttons." 10. " Inflict blows on my cheek;" an act of the most insulting nature. See Lament, iii. 30; Micah iv. 14; Ps. iii. 8. Though this was actually done to our Lord, it is not probable that it was so literally in Job's case, but is merely a proverbial form of speech, to denote grievous insult or great injury. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 241 1 1 . The metaphors here are taken from the punishment of a male- factor ; they are expressive of the most ignominious usage. 12. " I was in tranquillity." See Dan. iv. 4. He compares him- self to a man who is seized by the hair of his head, and thrown down a precipice, where his limbs are broken. He probably alludes to some ancient mode of punishing criminals. 13. " Poureth out my gall ;" a metaphor, implying severe mental suffering. 14. Jeremiah appears to have imitated the whole of this passage closely from verse 9th to 14th, in conjunction with that in chap, xix. 7 — 12, in his Lament, chap. iii. 4 — 16. 15. "Sackcloth," the habit of mourners ; which, by reason of his ulcers, now stuck fast to his skin. " My head ;" literally, my horn. The horn is the emblem of power and honour. A change from dignity to ignominy is here denoted. " Ashes or dust;" another rite of mourning among the Arabians, borrowed from the Egyptians, and in use at a later period among the Greeks. See Priam in Homer. 16. His sight failed him, and his eyes became dim, like those of a dying man. 18. Equivalent to saying, Let no blood which I have spiUed be unrevenged. We have a passage to the same effect in Nehemiah iv. 5 : he addresses the earth, by way of apostrophe. It was an an- cient notion, that blood unjustly shed had a cry, and provoked God to vengeance. See Gen. iv. 10, 11 ; Isa. xxvi. 21 ; Ezek. xxiv. 7, 8. In Job's mouth this is the language of conscious innocence. 22. He here, as elsewhere, urges the shortness of life as a reason for his speedy trial before God. It is plain from this, that Job had no expectation of a life to come. In no part of the book can we dis- tinctly trace such a belief: if he held it, he has nowhere expressed it. In this passage we are led to infer that he could hope for no decision in his favour, or in his cause, except it were given him while life remained. 342 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. Notes on Chap. XVII. 1. The chapter is badly divided ; it belongs to the 16th, as a con- tinuation of it, and cannot be separated without injury to the sense. In this verse he gives a reason why he thought death was at hand. He feels the powers of his body failing, and apprehends himself to be drawing near his end. " The grave ;" i. e. the cell in the sepulchral chambers made ready to receive the dead. See Ezek. xxxii. 22, 23. 2. He here returns to inveigh against his friends. 3. See Prov. vi. 1. In acts of suretiship it was common to give the hand. See also (Edipus Colonnus, v. 646. " Besides thee." He means God. 4. He objects to the appointment of any of his three friends to plead the cause of God, on account of their ignorance and prejudice. " Understanding ;" i.e. a right decision respecting Job's own trials. 5. A proverbial expression, drawn from observation of what often happens. The infamy of a parent usually involves his children in its consequences. 6. He points to his friends, and especially to Eliphaz, as being most unjust censurers of his conduct. 9. " The just man ;" meaning himself. " Clean hands." The idea here suggested, is that of purity and holiness. Porphyry observes, that in the Leontian mysteries, the initiated had their hands washed with honey, instead of water, to intimate that they were to keep their hands pure from all wickedness and mischief, honey being of a cleansing nature, and preserving other things from corruption. — Burder. 11. " Purposes." He probably refers to the vain prospect held out by his friends, of a return to his former prosperity. He looks to death as his only relief. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 243 Notes on Chap. XVIII. 2. Purver renders this ; " How long will ye be in putting an end to the words ? Ye should consider that we are to speak after you." And in his note he supposes that there were other persons present besides the three friends ; and that they, being nearer neighbours than the others, might be anxious to vindicate Job from the insinuations of the latter. Beza and Patrick are of this opinion ; but the whole is mere conjecture. 3. He refers to Job's expressions in chap. xvii. 4, 10. 4. " Thou tearest thyself." The image is taken from an untamed beast. " Shall the earth," &c. ; i. e. will God alter the settled order of his government on thy account ? When the Orientals would reprove arrogance, they make use of these and similar apophthegms. 6. Alluding to the lamps hung from the ceiling in Arabian rooms ; for their entertainments were in the night. 8. " Pitfall;" a snare with pieces of wood put crosswise, covered over with turf or other matter to conceal the intention. It is still used in the East. 13. " The first-born of death ;" i. e. some distressing disease, that has a sort of pre-eminence in severity and fatality. The metaphor is borrowed from the law of the first-born, who received a double por- tion, and other prerogatives ; and hence whatever was eminent in its kind was called the first-born. 14. Terror is here personified much in the same way as the Furies are by the ancient poets and mythologists. There is no such expres- sion as " King of Terrors" in the text, so that we must part with this favourite phrase ; though why it should be deemed a favourite one, it is not easy to say, since it represents Death — the common lot of all, a great relief to some, and the door of blessedness to many — as a repul- sive and formidable thing. 15. Sulphureous matter or lightning shall consume his dwelling; probably alluding to the series of calamities which befel Job's family, or to the suffocating simoom, as an agent on that occasion ; or to lava r2 244 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. thrown out in volcanic eruptions, which spreads far and wide, and overwhelms human habitations. 16. Withered or scorched, as if by lightning. Silius Italicus, quoted by Schultens, has a similar description, lib. x. ver. 164: " Tandem cum toto cecidit," &c. See also Homer's Odyssey, b. xxii. ver. fin. 19. " Remaining;" i.e. of vassals or dependents, in the number of whom the wealthy Arabs prided themselves. Notes on Chap. XIX. 3. Again and again, or these ten times. Men under strong emo- tion are not accustomed to speak with precision. 4. The sentiment is like that of Plautus : " Mihi dolebit, non tibi, si quid ego stulte facero." " If I do a foolish action, it is I who shall suffer for it, not you." 5. "Attack;" literally, treat insolently. The same occurs in Ps. xxxv. 26, and Zeph. ii. 10. 8. Compare Lam. iii. 7 — 9, a parallel passage, and Blayney's note there. 9. " My glory ;" /'. c. my children, my servants, my wealth. 15. There is a reference here to those members of a family who, according to the custom of the Arabs, put themselves under some chieftain's protection, are adopted as his followers, and become dependent on him for their maintenance and security. See chap, xviii. 19. 17. i.e. I conjured her by the tenderest ties of affection. There is no need for supposing that Job had now any children left. The breath of a leper is exceedingly offensive. It is observable, says Scott, that Job never mentions his children except here, and in chap. xxix. 5. The subject was too painful to be often spoken of. The original term, here rendered " implored," is a metaphorical term, taken from the tender modulation of voice by which the camel expresses her fondness to her young one. 18. The children of slaves, born and educated in his house. 20. In consequence of his disease. Chappelow has it, " I am escaped with a torn skin." And an anonymous translator renders it, " I am become bald in the skin of my teeth." NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 245 23. " My words ;" not those he is about to utter, but all the de- clarations he had already made of his integrity, and his solemn appeals to God. See Isa. xxx. 8 ; Ezra iv. 15 ; Esther ii. 23. Lead is mentioned in Numb. xxxi. 22, among other metals ; in Exod. xvi. 10 as a ponderous metal ; in Jer. vi. 29 as fusible. The materials and instruments for writing here mentioned, are extremely ancient. " Formerly," says Pliny, (Nat. Hist. b. xiii. c. 11,) " they wrote on leaves of palm trees, and the barks of some trees ; afterwards public, and at a later day private, memorials began to be made of rolls of lead, or of linen or waxen materials." 24. " In a rock for ever ;" i. e. as long as the rock lasts. What are called " The Written Mountains," in the desert of Sinai, are covered with unknown characters ; but they are considered by tra- vellers who examined them, as the work of Christian pilgrims in the first ages of Christianity. 25. "I know," or I am sure; i.e. I am fully persuaded; — it amounts to nothing more. 27. " My reins ;" i. e. I most passionately desire this event. In the Vulgate of St. Jerome it is, " Reposita est haec spes in sinu meo." So in the Spanish version, " Esta esperanza reposa in mi seno." " Such the hope that reposes in my bosom." 29. " The sword." The sword in the hand of earthly magistrates is the emblem of punitive justice. The Scriptures accordingly put a sword into the hand of God, the Supreme Magistrate, to signify his vindictive justice. See Ps. vii. 12, 13; Isa. xxvii. 1. "A retribution ;" i. e. in the present state, — a matter very much overlooked, though the course of Divine Providence is conti- nually making it manifest. The final doom of man is reserved for the day of judgment, but that does not hinder God from both reward- ing and punishing men in this life, — a doctrine of very high import- ance, of the most salutary influence, and of the truth of which there are accumulated proofs. 24G NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. Notes on Chap. XX. 2. " Urge ;" an image in the original taken from the bursting forth of waters, and indicating the impetuosity of Zophar's reply. 7. If the words " for ever" are to be taken in their usual and lite- ral signification, then Zophar did not believe in a future resurrection ; but I rather think it is a mere vehement expression, denoting titter ruin. 10. i. e. They shall be in the most abject state of poverty. 12. From this to the 16th verse inclusive there is a fine allegory. The image is taken from the condition of those who swallow poison that is agreeable to the palate, but is succeeded by excruciating pains in the body, and which the patient is at length compelled to vomit. The pleasure derived from criminal indulgences, which have at length grown into a fixed habit, is here strongly marked, as well as the issue of such gratifications. 14. It shall corrode and torture his bowels. " Asps." SeeDeut. xxxii. 33, 34. 16. By " the tongue of the viper," may be meant metaphorically the terrible agonies of a conscience filled with remorse. 17. Rivers of milk and honey are emblems of the richest abun- dance and fertility. See chap. xxix. 6 ; Isa. vii. 22 ; Joel iii. 18. 18. " Enjoy ;" a meiosis, meaning he shall have nothing but sorrow in it. 19« Compare 1 Sam. xii. 3 ; Zech. xi. 16, 17. 23. Some have supposed an allusion here to the fate of the cities of the plain ; but it is more probably a general expression, like that in Ps. xi. 6. " By these and the following metaphors," says Glassius, " the greatness or extent of the Divine punishments inflicted on the wicked is denoted." 24. All his efforts to ward off his calamities will be ineffectual, since God is at war with him, and these different weapons represent the Divine vengeance. " Brass." Anciently all armour was made of brass, or more pro- perly copper. A bow of brass is mentioned in Ps. xviii. 35. 26. Sec Dent, xxxii. 34, 35. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 247 27- " A fire unblown," i. e. kindled by God himself — a calamity brought upon him by Divine power. Some have imagined that this refers to future punishment in the region of torment, but the other images in the context have plainly a relation to the present world ; therefore the interpretation cannot be admitted. 28. The heaven shall reveal his iniquity by storms and tempests : the earth shall rise up against him by inundations, earthquakes, &c. Notes on Chap. XXI. 7. From this verse to the 16th, Job describes the prosperity of the wicked in images partly borrowed from Arabian life, where their wealth consisted in flocks and herds. 16. Job in this and subsequent verses defends the very matter which his friends had denied. They maintained that wickedness and misery were inseparable, and that a man's calamities may always be traced to his sins. He proves that this is no sure test, for the wicked may often be seen leading a life of undisturbed prosperity, and that therefore the outward condition of a man is no test of his character. In the following verses he proceeds to prove that God acts in these events according to his own sovereign will, and not according to human rules of judging. By " one," in verse 23, he means an im- pious person. By " another," in verse 25, he means a pious man. The contrast in their circumstances must be resolved into something else than mere conduct and character. Job insists that mighty men had been cut off suddenly — so suddenly, that he asks, Where are their dwellings ? that this was a matter well known ; that travellers could point out their sepulchres ; nay, that they themselves knew this. 19. This proceeds on the supposition that the children follow their parents' evil example, or possess their ill-gotten property. Job seems to insinuate that it is not enough for the offspring of the wicked to suffer, — they should experience suffering in their own ])ersons ; it is no punishment on them, if their children are miserable, when they are unconscious, in the grave. 20. Compare Deut. xxxii. 33; Jer. xxv. 15; Rev. xiv. 8. The metaphor seems to be taken from those cups of poison which certain m NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. criminals were obliged to drink ; Socrates, for instance, in later times. 22. Can any one presume to dictate to God, how he should rule the world ? Jobs friends argued that God could not, consistently with his perfections, bring distress on good men, or allow the wicked to prosper. Job contends that God does both, for reasons inscrutable by men. 26. Compare Eccles. ii. 6 ; ix. 2. 27. i. e. I see that you persist in drawing false inferences from my condition. 28. i. e. Are they not overthrown, and cease to exist ? 29. A reference to those sepulchral monuments erected by the way-side in honour of deceased potentates, and therefore in full view of every traveller, who might naturally inquire into the character of those whose memory such buildings were intended to perpetuate, and might discover that most of them were tyrants or oppressors. The travellers to whom Job appeals, were probably the caravans of Tema and Sheba, trafficking to Egypt. See chap. vi. 19. 32. Solomon has similar reflections in Eccl. viii. 10, and other places. " I have seen wicked men carried to a stately burial." If Job or Solomon had not seen it, we see a great deal of it now-a-days, as Dr. Wall observes. 33. The sods with which the grave is decked, and which are kept verdant by the care and affection of survivors. A custom like this prevails in Wales and in other countries. Some think there is an allu- sion here to an opinion of the pagan Arabs, that on the death of a person, a bird, called Manah, haunted his sepulchre, uttering a lamentable scream ; but I cannot trace the allusion. A belief in the Manah is expressly forbidden in the Koran. Notes on Chap. XXII. 2. A very important doctrine, agreeing with what Elihu saw-, chap. xxxv. 7 ; and David, in Ps. xvi. 2 ; and Paul, in Rom. xi. 35. 4. Tbe meaning is, " Is God afraid his character will suffer by thy complaints, unless, in obedience to thy citation, he submit to a trial, and ar&uc his own cause ?" — " This is strong .irony. - ' — Scott. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. -MO G. See Exod. xxii. 26, 27 ; and Deut. xxiv. 6, 10. The poorly clad were said to be naked, as Seneca tells us, De Benefices, lib. v. 13 : " Qui male vestitum et pannosum, nudum se vidisse dicit." See Glassius, p. 949. 7. Hospitality was always regarded in the East as a sacred duty. In those sultry deserts it was esteemed an act of much kindness, and a virtue not to be dispensed with, to furnish thirsty travellers with water. 8. Eliphaz here challenges Job with mal-administration and par- tiality in judgment, that he had allowed the wealthy to prevail, and to seize the land of the defenceless. 10. An allusion to the hunting of wild beasts, when driven into an enclosure, and surrounded on all sides, that they cannot escape. 11. "A flood of waters" — a common metaphor in all ages for " overwhelming afflictions." 13. Eliphaz accuses Job here of denying the Divine providence, as if God did not, or could not, see what is passing in this lower world. 14. As much as to say, " God confines his presence and attention to the celestial regions." 16. An apparent allusion to Noah's flood ; but it may refer to some local inundation, or rather to some volcanic irruption in Arabia, well known to those who heard him. See the Section on Volcanoes. 17. Some have thought that these words are borrowed from the preceding chapter, and that there is a transposition here. (See Miss Smith's translation.) But there is no need for such a supposition : there are numerous instances in this book of the retort, where a speaker quotes the language of his opponent, and produces it anew, either for derision or refutation ; and he here refers to chap. xxi. 14, 15, in order to confront the destruction of these men to Job's assertion of their impunity and felicity. 18. These words are sarcastically repeated from Job's language in chap. xxi. 16. 20. There has been supposed here an allusion to the fate of Sodom, but without any certainty derived from the text ; and as there are no traces in any other part of the book, that the writings of Moses were known to, or read by, our author, it is not probable that he should have made any such reference. The language in the verse is the language of triumph over the fate of such characters as Eliphaz had been describing. 250 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 22. " Law-sayings." These must refer either to traditionary instructions, or to such personal and immediate revelations as God in these early ages not unfrequently vouchsafed by the ministry of angels, or by other means, so as to make men acquainted with his will. Query, Is not every dealing and intervention of Providence, and every internal suggestion of the Divine Spirit, in some sense a revelation to him who is the subject of it? 24. There is no geographical reference here to Ophir. The term aupher here is a verb, and signifies to gush or pour forth vehemently. And the sentiment in the text is, " If thou delight thyself in God, and return to him, thou wilt so utterly disregard earthly treasure, as to throw it on the highway, for thy sole delight and support will be in him." 26. " Lift up thy face ;" i. e. feel confidence in God. 29, 30. These verses present considerable difficulty, and have been variously rendered. The LXX. and Vulgate here differ from the Hebrew. None but the English version have any mention of an island. Glassius says there is an apocope of the nun here in the word ai, in the 30th verse, meaning, that God will deliver the man that is not innocent, or the guilty man. On which Junius and Tremellius have this annotation : — " Such will be the Divine blessing on thee, that he will even have mercy on others, who were not innocent, on thy account, according to the promise made to Abraham, Gen. xi. 35 ; also xviii. 24, and following. And Ezekiel seems to have had respect to this, when he associates the intercession of Job with that of Noah and Daniel, chap. xiv. 14. Notes on Chap. XXIII. 2. Literally, my hand ; but he means his trouble, or the wound inflicted on him by the hand of God. I thought it would tend more to perspicuity to translate it his. 9, These verses are not a description of the invisibility of the Divine Being, — a doctrine sufficiently taught elsewhere, — but are designed to mark the strong desire of the patriarch that God would favour him with some visible manifestation of himself, that he might NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 251 vindicate his character before him. None but a mind conscious of the firmest integrity would have earnestly sought such an interview. 10. i.e. from the furnace. The figure needs no explanation. The contrast here is fine : — " Though go where I may, I cannot find God ; yet he knows my course, and finds me out." 13. Literally, he is One; i.e. the only Potentate; he has no partner. 14. " Many things ;" i. e. equally mysterious as my own case. Doederlein proposes to read here, " And this is the end of my con- test with him." But Dathe thinks that Job in this expression inti- mates his fear lest worse calamities await him. 17. Why hath he concealed the grave (here called darkness) from my view ? I fain would die, but cannot. Notes on Chap. XXIV. 2. " Landmarks." They were stones or posts set up to distin- guish the boundaries of property, which was necessary in open countries before fences were formed. Dishonest men sometimes removed these landmarks, and enlarged their own bounds by con- tracting their neighbours'. The law of God denounces a curse on those who did so. See Deut. xix. 14 ; xxvii. 17 ; and Ainsworth and Geddes there. See too Micah ii. 2. 3. They deprive the widow and the orphan of their only means of sustaining themselves. 5. The comparison here to wild asses consists simply in their both inhabiting the desert ; for the wild ass is not a beast of prey, but is itself the prey of the lion. 6. The barley harvest was in March, the wheat harvest in the latter end of May, and the vintage in September and October. 7. " Cold." In the East generally, the cold in the night, even in the height of summer, is often very severe. See Gen. xxxi. 40. Dr. Shaw says, that in Arabia Petrasa, Job's country, the day is intensely hot, and the night intensely cold. 11. Dr. Russell says, from the beginning of May to the end of September the air is in general so hot, that it seems as if it came out of an oven. 252 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 12. Having shown the oppressions carried on in the country, he takes a view of those committed in the town. His object is to prove, in opposition to the mistaken doctrine of his friends, that God does not hastily punish every evil work, nor reward every good one. 13. " Rebel against the light;" i. e. who shun the light, because their deeds are evil. 14. SeeMicah ii. 1. 15. " Covering" — a hood, or cowl, attached to his cloak, which he uses to conceal his face. 16. " Steal ;" literally, dig through houses, which, being made of mud or clay, might be thus broken into. " Shut themselves up." Symmachus translates it thus : — " They hide themselves as with a seal ; " i. e. they keep as close as if they were shut up, and a seal put on the door of the room. 18. "The treading ;" that is, they should not enjoy the produce of the vineyards. See chap. xx. 17. 18. Interpreters would not have been so much at a loss in explain- ing this passage, from verse 18 to the end of the chapter, if they had attended to the scope of Job's observations, who after describing the crimes prevalent in his day, complains that such criminals go unpunished ; and repeats what he conceives should have been their destiny. 23. God, though a spectator of their actions, appears to be uncon- cerned, and to treat these men differently from what their crimes deserve. Notes on Chap. XXV. There is something truly sublime in this representation of the Supreme Ruler : his splendour darkens all others — his radiant hosts are numberless — his light and purity surpass all created excellence — the heavenly bodies are eclipsed, and retire before him — still greater is the disparity of man, whose impurity and meanness will not bear his inspection. But though the sentiments are just and noble in themselves, they labour under the defect of being inappropriate, since Job never denied Ihc Divine perfections, or for a moment questioned the authority of NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 253 God. Abstract discourses, therefore, however fine, which are not applicable to the subject in hand, lose much of their value from their being misplaced. And this is the case with Job's friends in general : they occasionally utter sublime truths, clothed in language highly poetical ; but when their discourses are analyzed, they are discovered to be far from the point in debate. Perhaps it is this which God refers to, when, at the close of the history, he says, " Ye have not spoken of me correctly, like my servant Job." 3. " His armies ;" i.e. his angels, who are called " the army of heaven," (Dan. iv. 35), and who are the ministers of his providence and the executioners of his vengeance. 5. " Abideth not," — does not stay for his scrutiny— as if its con- tinual changes of position and aspect arose from the conviction of its inferiority. It is always either waxing or waning, hid by clouds, or eclipsed by the earth. See chap. iv. 18 ; Isa. xxiv. 23. This discourse was probably delivered in a moonlight night, when only moon and stars are visible, since the sun is not mentioned. 7. " The waters ;" meaning the subterranean abyss. See Disser- tation on Rephaim. "The souls of the dead;" meaning tyrants and oppressors, who are poetically represented as suffering for their evil deeds in the deep recesses of the earth. 8. The abode of the dead is as visible to God as the habitations of the living. 9. " Stretched out;" a metaphor taken from a pavilion. See Isa. xl. 22. " Upon nothing;" i.e. without any visible support; or, as Milton expresses it, " The earth, self-balanced, on her centre hung." 11. " His throne ;" i. e. the heavens, or sky, called in Scripture, " the throne of God." See chap, xxxvi. 32 ; Isa. lxvi. 1. 12. " A circle." He has accurately defined the limits of sea and land, the boundary line of oceans and continents. This shows that Bildad had some notion of the spherical form of the earth and sea. 13. " The pillars of heaven ;" i. e. the mountains, on which the sky, or heaven, appears to rest. See Nahum i. 5 ; 2 Sam. xxii. 8. " His reproof;" i. e. earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or thunder- storms. 15. '•'Wind.'' The wind dissipates stormy clouds. 254) NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. " The ominous dragon ;" the constellation that forebodes tempests ; the constellation Draco, in the northern hemisphere. There is no allusion here to the crocodile of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and still less to Satan, although the LXX. render here, " the Apostate Dragon." Notes on Chap. XXVI. 1. The irony here is strong and pungent. 4. " Thou presumest to teach me, who do not need thy instruc- tion." Thou speakest as if thou wert inspired, but to very little purpose. 5. For this harsh language respecting God, Elihu afterwards re- proves him, chap, xxxiv. 5, 7. 7. I will utter my genuine sentiments ; I will not plead guilty while unconscious of guilt. 9. " Reproach me," with having subscribed to your verdict on my conduct. 10. i. e. Let him stand condemned when his cause is tried. 13. The Hebrew verbs were probably aorists in the primitive state of the language, and therefore may be rendered as the context requires. To find pleasure in God is the habit or disposition of a sincere worshipper, who will not only seek his favour in a time of distress, but will habitually seek it. Notes on Chap. XXVII. 4. See Jer. xvi. 4. " Buried in death," may mean, " shall lie where death may overtake them without interment." 5. " Raiment." A large wardrobe was an essential part of eastern opulence. 7. " A booth." He alludes to tire temporary huts or sheds made of reeds and boughs, constructed in vineyards and gardens, as a NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 255 shelter during the fruit-season, for the person employed, to guard it from pillage, and which are taken down as soon as the season is over. See Isa. i. 8 ; Lam. ii. 6. 9. He shall die a sudden and violent death. 10. The ancients were persuaded that some persons were carried away by storms and whirlwinds. Homer, in his Odyssey, b. xx., makes one exclaim, " Snatch me, ye whirlwinds, far from human race, Toss'd through the wide illimitable space." See also Isa. xli. 16. 11. He takes every measure to avert his doom, but to no purpose. 12. The eastern storm is here personified, and represented as acting in the manner men do when they condemn and hiss a public character who has incurred their disapprobation. It is a very bold personification. Notes on Chap. XXVIII. 18. Herder thinks that Job had probably here the phoenix in view, but this is too fanciful ; and it is a question, whether the fable of the phoenix was then known. Schultens remarks, that the image is taken from the eagle, who builds her nest on the summit of a rock. Security is the point of resemblance intended. The image is common among the Hebrew poets. Thus, Jer. xlix. 1 6 : " Though thou make thy nest lofty as the eagle's, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah." And Obadiah, verse 4 : " Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, And though thou set thy nest among the stars, Thence will I bring thee down, saith Jehovah." My reason for adopting " palm-tree" instead of "sand," in the second hemistich, is not in mere conformity to the LXX. and Vulgate, who seem, like Herder, to have got the notion of phcenix in their, heads, but because, in the following verse, the term " roots " is used, which could not in congruity apply to sand ; there is also the term " branches," in the next line, both which agree to the image of a tree, and render such translation more probable. 256 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. If). It is well known, that in the eastern countries, where it rarely rains during the summer months, the copious dews which fall there during the night contribute greatly to the nourishment of vegetables ; and are particularly serviceable to the trees, as Hasselquist observes, which would otherwise never be able to resist the heat. 20. The bow is a favourite image with oriental writers ; that in- strument being much in the hand, not merely for purposes of war, but for defence in travelling. It is the emblem of strength and power. 21. Some think these latter verses, from verse 21 to the end, would come in better after verse 10; but it is better to forbear too many transpositions lest the integrity of Scripture should be endan- gered. 24. Nothing can better describe the influence which Job possessed, and the reverence in which he was held, than such expressions as these. Indeed, the whole of this chapter, which is intended to con- vey a description of Job's public life, delicately delineates the high estimation in which he was held ; and the introduction of it here is evidently not for the purpose of vain boasting, or misplaced self- commendation, but in order to form a striking contrast between his past and his present condition. It would be easy to multiply these Notes, but the author refrains, on the ground of a conviction he has long entertained, that where the Scriptures are properly translated, they are intelligible in themselves without either annotation or paraphrase. Notes on Chap. XXIX. 1 . It is thought by some that Job in this chapter gives a descrip- tion of the Troglodytes of Mount Seir. " Dogs of my flock ;" i.e. not good enough to be made shepherds, or to be trusted in the meanest capacity. 4. Biddulph says, he saw many poor people gathering mallows and three-leaved grass, and asked them what they did with it ; they an- swered, it was all their food ; and that they boiled it, and did eat it. Then we took pity on them, and gave them bread, which they received very joyfully, and blessed God that there was bread in the world. — 1 burner, vol. iii. p. !<>(>. NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 257 5. Whenever they were discovered lurking about towns an outcry was raised against them, as against the pilfering Arabs of the desert. G. The rocks of Arabia-Petraea abound with caves. Diodorus Siculus has given a description of the country in his third book. 11. " Loosed my cord ;" i. e. has destroyed my authority by the afflictions he has laid upon me. 15. "A swift cloud." A striking emblem of transient duration, frequently used in Scripture, (Hosea vi. 4,) "Your goodness is as a morning cloud." See also Job vii, 9. 21. "Thou art become," &c. Very irreverent, but forced from him by the poignancy of his feelings in reflecting on his melancholy condition. 22. Some suppose here a reference to a sand storm, such as Bruce the traveller describes ; but this is not likely, from the last clause of the verse, which alludes to something more substantial. 23. " For all living." The grave is thus described as man's resting- place after the journey of life. Ancient tombs, as Montfaucon has remarked, often bore this inscription, " Quietorium," a resting-place ; and " quiescere," to rest, is often used of the dead in epitaphs. I am reminded by it of the following lines which I saw in a country churchyard : " Who that this narrow house may chance to see, Would wish to die, and sleep therein with me : Yet, gentle passenger, say which is best, The toilsome journey, or the traveller's rest ?" 28. His distemper had made his complexion swarthy, like that of the poor labourers in the field, under a scorching sun. 29. " Brother." He uses this term to express affinity in circum- stances. It is a common orientalism. The jackal makes a hideous howling in the night, and the ostrich utters the most doleful cries. They sometimes seem to groan as if in the greatest agonies, as Dr. Shaw informs us. 258 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. Notes on Chap. XXX. I. In chap, xxviii. Job had vindicated his public life from the accusations of his friends. He here maintains the purity and inno- cence of his conduct in private life. 5. All the articles of defence in this chapter are delivered in the imprecatory form, as much as to say, " If I have done so and so, may God do so and more to me." And where this is omitted in language, it is to be understood as supplied. 8. The Chaldee renders it, " the shoots of my young plants." Crinsoz has, " Qu'on arrache entitlement tout ce que je planterai." II. Job says it was such a crime as the judges were bound to condemn. 14. " Riseth up.'' Judges in the East appear usually to have stood up while passing sentence ; perhaps, also, in proposing solemn questions to the accused, and to the witnesses. See Ps. vii. ; ix. 19 ; Matt. xxvi. 62. 15. The equality of all men by nature, as Scott observes, is a strong argument against tyrannical abuse of those distinctions which Divine Providence has established in the world for the good of society. Would that planters in the West Indies and America might recollect this, and treat their slaves as brethren of mankind ! 22. There is something grand in this imprecation upon himself. 24. Instead of the lively form of the Hebrew phrase, the LXX. here have, by their paraphrastic method, lost the spirit of the original. 31. He is not speaking here of idolatry as a crime punishable by human magistrates, but as worthy of punishment by God. Only crimes committed against society come within the cognizance of human tribunals : all others must be left to the judgment of God. We still live under a theocracy, but not under that of the Jews, where God was the Supreme Magistrate of the nation, and crimes or sins committed against him were considered as acts of rebellion against a Sovereign. 36. It is supposed by some, that there is an allusion here to the history of the Fall, as contained in Gen. iii., and which became tra- ditionary in various countries. Rut it is more probably a reference NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 259 to the general custom of mankind, who attempt to conceal the crimes, and even the faults, which they have committed. 38, &c. The language here is exceedingly bold ; he challenges God to come into judgment with him, and to give his reasons for treating him with such severity. It is probably in reply to this, that God is heard afterwards to say : " Does he that contends with the Almighty recede ? Let him who disputes with God, answer him. Wilt thou disannul my judgments ? Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be acquitted?" However daring and culpable Job's language on this and other occa- sions may be — and it is impossible to defend it — there is a striking grandeur in it, considered as the expression of conscious integrity. " Thus far are the discourses of Job;" i. e. his defence or vindi- cation of himself against the charges of his friends is now closed : for though he is introduced as speaking again, it is in another manner, and for a different purpose. The words here used affect not in the slightest degree the authen- ticity of the rest of the book : besides, these words are wanting in many manuscripts of the Vulgate, are detached in the Hebrew text, and appear to be an unauthorized addition, probably at first written in the margin, and afterwards transferred to the text. Notes on Chap. XXXI. 8. True wisdom or superior sagacity is derived, not from years or mere experience, but from Divine assistance. If this youth, Elihu, therefore, speaks correctly on the case of Job, he insinuates that he does so in consequence of a divine admonition or influence. The ancients, even the heathen, ascribed all extraordinary endowments to such an influence ; and hence all the great poets begin with invoking God in some form. 15. These words are evidently addressed by Elihu to the audience, who had no doubt been present during the whole of the debate. The Arabs, in all probability, were wont to hold such assemblies for the discussion of points in religion, morals, or philosophy. s 2 2f)0 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 19. " The vessels ;" i. c. skins of goats or other animals used for that purpose, and so often referred to in the New Testament. 20. " I must open" — to give the fermentation vent. 21. The Hebrew word here used signifies to surname, or more properly to call a person by a name which does not strictly belong to him, and that generally in compliment or flattery. 22. " Flattering titles." It is well known to what an absurd, extravagant, and even impious length these are carried in eastern monarchies. Notes on Chap. XXXII. 9. "Thou sayest," &c. Compare chap. ix. 30; x. 7; xiii. 18, 19; xxiii. 16, 17. 10. " He seeketh pretexts." The word here rendered " pretexts" is found only in this place and in Numb. xiv. 34, where it is very improperly rendered " breach of promise," instead of being trans- lated " the ground of my resentment," or " the occasion of my anger." 11. See chap. xiii. 27, Job's words there ; and chap. xxx. 21. 1 2. He means to say, that such expressions cannot be defended. 14. If God's message be disregarded, we cannot look for its being repeated ; he will not be trifled with. 16. Compare chap, xxxvi. 10, 15. 22. " Destroyers" — a poetical periphrasis for death, all the causes of which are here considered as persons. 23. " An interpreter" — an eloquent person, so it signifies in the Chaldee. See Castell's Lexicon. (Scott.) " His duty ;" /'. e. what reason and religion require from a man in his situation ; namely, repentance, submission, and prayer for pardon. Castalio renders it suum officium. 28. " He hath delivered me ;" literally, my soul. See verse 22, and many other places, where this phrase stands either for the per- sonal or reciprocal pronoun. " As a noun, nepesh has been sup- posed to signify the spiritual part of man, or what we commonly call NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 261 his soul. I must for myself confess, that I can find no passage where it has undoubtedly this meaning." (See Parkhurst on Nepesh.) 32. These expressions of Elihu (as Scott observes) discover a candour and ingenuousness too seldom to be met with in religious disputes. Notes on Chap. XXXIII. 3. Elihu here retorts on Job the same observation he had made on his friends, (chap. xii. 11,) that it ought not to appear unjust to him if others examined his sayings, and inquired into them. 5. Job had never used any such expressions in the sense which Elihu imputes to him. He had merely protested his innocence as regarded the accusations of his friends, and he had complained of God as acting mysteriously towards him, and not according to the ordinary methods of his Providence. G. See chap. xvi. 8. 9. Job nowhere says so ; it is a mere inference drawn, or rather wrested from his discourses, by his friends, as Eliphaz in chap, xxii. 2. However, the verb " to say," may be taken impersonally, and used in a general sense ; as if he said, " Should God make no difference between good and bad men in their outward condition, it avails a man nothing to place his affections on God, and to study to please him." 10. i. e. Far be it from us to impute such things to the Deity. 12. Compare chap. xix. 6, where Job had said something similar. But Elihu proves the contrary in the following verse, from God's kind and indulgent government of the universe. 13. If God be a delegated Governor, who, pray, is his superior ? 14. &c. See the Wisdom of Solomon, chap. xi. 24, &c. for a similar passage. 18, 19. The doctrine here is the same as is laid down in the New Testament. Civil governors should be treated with respect, and that on account of their office. Rulers are but men, and as men they may be imperfect, or their conduct may be improper ; yet in their office they are the representatives of God ; the law is, as it were, embodied 262 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. in them ; the maintenance of social order centres in them. Hence their office is sacred, and to be reverenced, and not lightly to be infringed upon. 19. See an excellent comment on this verse in the Wisdom of Solomon, chap. vi. 7. 20. See Dan. ii. 24. 25. The meaning is, that God does not act thus out of mere sove- reignty, in the exercise of absolute power, but in consequence of his Omniscience, which enables him to perceive, not only the outward conduct, but the inward dispositions of men. 29. This verse may be otherwise rendered : " He also giveth quiet, and who will condemn ? He hideth the face, and who can behold it ? Both with respect to a nation, And with respect to a man, alike." Meaning, when he grants tranquillity to any, who can reverse his appointment? When he condemns, (denoted by " hiding the face,") who can prevent the execution of the sentence ? 31. Elihu here turns to Job, and applies his discourse to him, exhorting him to repent, and revoke his hard speeches against God, or else explain his meaning more clearly, lest others should be offended by what he said. Notes on Chap. XXXIV. 8. Job had no claim on God for prosperity and ease, as a return for any services he had rendered to God. No man can benefit his Maker. " We are unprofitable servants, even when we have done all that it is our duty to do." 10. The sense seems to be, that men do not seek assistance there, where it should first of all be sought, namely, from God their Cre- ator, but they expect help either from themselves or from their fellow- creatures. Yet if matters go ill with them, they utter loud and impatient cries, which God does not immediately hear, because he has a right to choose his own time. 14. Job had repeatedly complained of God's non-intervention. Elihu says, " The cause is before him, and he will soon decide it ; NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 263 only give him time." See Ps. ix. 4 : " Thou hast maintained my right and my cause." Ps. cxl. 12: " The Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted." 15. This verse has given much trouble to commentators, Our English version has no meaning. Dr. Good also seems to me to have failed. Elihu's argument appears to be this : " You (Job) complain of God's delay in removing your calamities ; but you must allow God to choose his own time. If he delays in relieving the righteous, he also delays in punishing the wicked ; and though daily displeased with sin, he does not instantly visit it with retribution. He acts on principles of Divine deliberation and forbearance. Precipitancy in action is no attribute of Deity, nor yet of men who are wise. Notes on Chap. XXXV. 8. Men who live in continual health and comfort, are apt to fall into an habitual forgetfulness of God. This lethargy God rouses them from by some painful visitation or calamity, thus exciting their consideration and attention, giving them leisure to reflect, humbling their natural pride, quelling their unruly passions, and laying open to them the folly of mere worldly pursuits. All such inflictions, therefore, are of a medicinal nature, and intended to be so. If they produce their effects, God graciously removes them, and the person returns to his former enjoyments with renewed gust, but with a chastened and reserved feeling, lest he should again incur the same correction. If, on the other hand, the medicine fails in its intended effect, the application of it is not repeated, but the patient is left to perish in his iniquities. 14. "The impure;" literally, "the consecrated;" but it means those persons who were consecrated to the worship of impure deities. 20. " Night," the season of destructive calamity, the night of Divine judgments, (see chap. xxiv. 20 ;) or he may refer to Job's impatient desire of death. 29. It is highly probable that Elihu now observed the gathering of the clouds, and the approach of the tempest, from the midst of which God shortly afterwards manifested himself. ~64 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 32. See the Wisdom of Solomon, chap. v. 17, 21, for a parallel passage. 33. Schultens enumerates no less than twenty-eight explanations of this verse. I hope the version now presented is sufficiently clear and coherent. 34. "At this;" i.e. at the nearer and louder approach of the storm. 36. The electric matter has been found to pass through a wire two miles and a half in length, as it were instantaneously. (Hamil- ton's Essays, quoted by Scott.) Notes on Chap. XXXVI. 3. He compels men, by wintry storms, to suspend their labour for a while, that they may be sensible of his supremacy, and may own it. 4. During the winter season, animals generally are in a torpid state. 5. " The whirlwind." Savary, speaking of the southern wind, says, " Sometimes it appears in the shape of an impetuous whirlwind, which passes rapidly, and is fatal to the traveller, surprised in the middle of the deserts. Torrents of burning sand roll before it, the firmament is enveloped in a thick veil, and the sun appears of the colour of blood. Sometimes whole caravans are buried in it." — (Burder, vol. 1, p. 382.) 6. " Blast," cold winds. See 1 Chron. xi. 22 ; Ps. clxvii. 16 ; Job vi. 16. 9. Men are too obstinate to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, till the very elements are armed against them. So that these phenomena are introduced either to punish men for their ini- quities, or in mercy to fertilize the earth for their enjoyment. 1 3. In Palestine and Arabia, as indeed in most countries, heat is occasioned by a soutb wind. In Arabia, at noon, the heat is so great, that no one stirs out from eleven to three o'clock. 14. In ancient times, mirrors were made of polished metal. See 1 Cor. xiii. 12 : " Now, we sit as by a mirror dimly ; but then, face to face." 16. " Overwhelmed by the Divine Majesty" — " No man can see my face and live." NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 265 Notes on Chap. XXXVII. 3. " Gird." As the upper garment in the East was large, loose, and flowing, it became necessary, before engaging in any active ope- ration, to draw it up, and fasten it closely round the waist with a girdle. Hence the frequent expression in Scripture of " girding the loins," applied to the mind, as here, to denote preparation and atten- tion. 6. " Corner-stone," a figure of speech, borrowed from the rules of architecture, and not to be understood literally. 7. " The morning stars" — sons of God. As one phrase is exege- tical of the other, both, in all probability, denote the angels. There is here, also, an allusion to an ancient custom, of laying the founda- tion of cities or of public buildings with shouts and acclamations. See Zech. iv. 7 ; Ezra iii. 10. 9. The figure here is extremely striking, since it represents the immense ocean as a mere infant in the hands of the Deity. 14. The meaning seems to be, that while night, and its compa- nion, darkness, continue, all nature presents one general blank ; but on the return of day, objects of every kind become visible. In the former case it resembled clay which has no impression on it ; in the latter, the same clay stamped with the signet, as was the custom in ancient times, before wax was used. This use of clay, where we employ wax, is incidentally noticed by Herodotus, (Euterpe, 38,) where, speaking of the examination of the victims by the Egyptian priests, he says, " If the animal is found unblemished, the priest marks it by twisting a slip of byblus around the horns, and then having spread thereon sealing clay, he impresses his signet. It has been thought by some, that there is here an allusion to those ancient cylindrical signets mentioned in Landseer's Sabean Researches, and by other writers ; but there seems to be no ground for the supposition. See also Harmer, vol. ii. p. 457. 15. The arm that was ready to commit some bold and atrocious act. 18. A strong irony. c 266 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 20. Also ironical. Here darkness and light are personified, and spoken of as having each an abode, a separate existence, a local habi- tation ; such is the boldness of poetic imagery. 23. The hail, being of a less beneficent nature than snow or rain, is here spoken of as a sort of artillery employed by God for purposes hostile to man. Its blasting and destructive effects are well known, hail-storms in some countries being attended with the most calami- tous consequences. See Exod. ix. 23; Josh. x. 10, 11. Even in African deserts, as Leo Africanus informs us, whole caravans have been destroyed by furious storms. In Scripture, moral purposes are always connected with natural phenomena, and so they should be in our minds. See chap, xxxvi. 16, 31. Compare Deut. xxxii. 23, 24. 28. " The father of the rain?" i. e. is it produced by any other power than mine ? 31, 32. In the original, cime, cesil, &c. In our version, the Pleiades, Orion, &c. The translation here given includes the sense without tying down to particular constellations. Notes on Chap. XXXVIII. 4. The rock-goat, or ibex, inhabits Abyssinia, Upper Egypt, Mount Sinai, and other places. It was known and noticed by the ancients, as an inhabitant of the mountains of Arabia. 8. The wild mule inhabits various parts of Asia, and is an untame- able animal, roaming over the salt wastes. See Gen. xvi. 12. — For the wild ass, see Pennant's History of Quadrupeds, vol. i. p. 8. 17. The eggs of the ostrich are of the size of an African citron, or a six-and-thirty-pound shot. They are left in the sand, and if some other ostrich discover them, she hatches them, as if they were her own, forgetting whether they are or not, so deficient is the recollec- tion of this bird. 19. Had this bird been indued with more instinctive sensibility, she would suffer keenly for her young ones, which she is obliged to leave behind her in her movements through the wilderness. The Arabs often meet with a few little ones, no bigger than well-grown pullets, half starved, straggling about, and roaming like so many distressed orphans for their mother. (Shaw's Travels, p. 452.) NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 267 N.B. In verse 13th of this chapter, according to our English Bible, but the 16th of this translation, the LXX. have retained some of the Hebrew words, as not knowing how to translate them ; viz. — veeXacraa, aertBa, reava. 22. " The horse." Our poet's knowledge of the horse, as well as of the hippopotamus and the crocodile, must have been derived from Egypt, since there were no horses in Arabia at that day, nor in Pales- tine till the days of Solomon. See 2 Chron. ix. 27, and 1 Kings x. 28. 2G. " The quiver ;" i. e. the arrows from the quiver. 27. He is eager to pass over the space between the hostile armies. 28. He rejoices that the moment for attack has at length arrived. Notes on Chap. XXXIX. The writer of the apocryphal book of Enoch appears to have seen the book of Job, since, in his fifty-ninth chapter, he makes mention of two monsters, one in the depths of the sea, and one in the dry desert, called Behemoth and Leviathan ; the former a male, the latter a female. There existed some Jewish fable of this kind, to which Dr. Lawrence refers in his Notes on the Translation of the Book of Enoch, p. 104. 1. The word " behemoth," or bemout, is the plural of heme, cattle in general. The Vulgate retains the Hebrew name, so do the Syriac and Arabic. The Chaldee has "creature, or animal." The LXX. have " beast, or wild beast," so that we have no light on this subject from the versions. 5. By his sword is probably meant his teeth, which are so hard and sharp, that they have been known to bite a man in two. 7. The " lotos trees " belong to a species of Mimosa, and are found on the rising grounds near the Nile. 9. The mention of Jordan might lead to the supposition that the author was a Hebrew ; but for this there is no necessity. The river of that name was well known over the East ; and in this place it is used indefinitely, or, as grammarians say, it is anarthrous : " He iy 2G8 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. unconcerned, though a Jordan, i. e. any river of that size, should reach to, or rush against, his mouth." 10. For an account of this animal, see Bochart, Pennant, Shaw, Harris, and Fragments to Calmet, No. 65. Notes on Chap. XL. 1. " Hook." Herodotus mentions the method (lib. ii. c. 70,) of taking the crocodile with a baited hook, but then it was a difficult and a dangerous operation ; and that is what is here implied. Thevenot says that they dig holes on the banks of the river, and cover them with sticks. The crocodiles fall into these and cannot get out. They leave them therefore for some days without food, and then let down nooses, which they pitch on their jaws, and thus draw them out. This also must be attended with peril. According to Herodotus, in the passage already referred to, they killed and ate crocodiles in Egypt. 10. This is the use which the Almighty makes of the reference to this terrible animal : "If you cannot cope with the crocodile, how will you contend with me ?" 22. The personifications here are truly sublime and wonderful. 31. By the deep, and the sea, here, we are to understand the Nile. See chap. vii. 12 ; Zech. x. 11. 33. i. e. amony terrestrial animals. Notes on Chap. XLI. 5, 0. In the warmth of the debate, which took place between Job and his friends, and in the anguish of his sufferings, Job had used some impatient expressions respecting the conduct of God towards him. For these he was first reproved by Elimi, and then by God himself; who, with unspeakable force and majesty, displays the glory of the Divine perfections. Job is deeply humbled,. and acknowledges, in NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 269 the strongest terms, his own vileness and insignificance. The im- pressions he now had of the majesty and glory, the wisdom and holiness of God, were far stronger, and more distinct, than any he had felt before. It was as if he had seen with his eyes what he had only heard of before from the report of others ; and the view filled him with self-loathing. 17, 18, &c. Act if thou canst like God, and assume his perfections to thyself ; treat the rich and the poor, the high and the low, alike ; show them thy supremacy and uncontrolled power. 21, 22. It must have been very humbling to these men, who had reviled Job as an outcast from the Divine favour, to be obliged to acknowledge their own restoration to that favour to his intercession. 24. " After he had interceded." Not till then. Job must forgive, before he could be forgiven. This is the New Testament doctrine exhibited in the Old Testament. 26. The doubling of his possessions may have been merely in substance, and not precisely, although the narrative speaks so. 30. In the Saxon, or very ancient English, book of Job, written not a thousand years after Christ, it is said, " In all, he lived two hundred and forty-eight years. He was the fifth man after Abraham his forefather." This version, however, possesses no authority. Notes on Chap. XLII. 3. " Stones of darkness;" i.e. stones buried deep in the earth; man follows the vein of metallic ore through these as far as it goes. Junius and Tremellius have hit on the right meaning here. Some of the metals mentioned in this chapter could only be known to Job through the medium of traffic, in which his neighbours, the Phoeni- cians, engaged very early. The Hebrew word for refine, in ver. 1, denotes separation of the stony earth, which adheres to the metal, by the action of fire. See Ps. xii. 6. I have translated " which they refine," not " where they fine it ;" for metals are not fined in the mine itself. Arabia Felix had anciently its mines of gold. Ps. lxxii. 15 : " To him shall be given of the gold of Sheba," which, in the LXX. and 270 NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. Arabic versions, is the gold of Arabia. Sheba was the ancient name of Arabia Felix ; and Job, who dwelt in Arabia Petraea, could be no stranger to the riches of that neighbouring country. See Scott. 5. " Fire." Its caverns abound with inflammable materials ; or, it may mean, that the bowels of the earth are the matrix of all those precious stones and metals, which, when found, dicover so much radiance and brilliancy. 7. "A path." The way into the mines, which it requires some intrepidity to explore. 9. He describes the prodigious labour in working the mines, than which nothing is harder, as Pliny observes, except the insatiable hunger after gold, which of all things is the hardest to subdue. 10. " Channels," either to drain away the water, or to wash away the dirt from the ore. 12. But what contrivance shall human ingenuity resort to in order to dive into the mysterious counsels of Providence ? 13. Man has no abilities or means to obtain this wisdom. 14. If you dig to the centre of the earth, you will lose your labour ; if you dive to the bottom of the sea, you are never the nearer. 15. It is not a matter of merchandise ; no money can buy it. In this, and the two following verses, gold seems to be spoken of in four different forms : 1. in the mine, or ore ; 2. stamped, or made current; 3. chased, or burnished; 4. consolidated with ornaments. See Adam Clarke. 16. The true names of the precious stones mentioned in this chapter are somewhat uncertain. 18. Pearls are esteemed in the East beyond all other jewels. 19. " Cush," according to Bochart, was that part of Arabia which bordered on the Red Sea. Topaz was an adjacent island in the same sea, and gave name to the precious stone which was found there. Ethiopia produces no such stones, therefore it cannot be meant here. 21. This sublime wisdom is not to be found within the limits of our world, but is communicated by the Most High. 22. Destruction and Death can give no account of it — they have merely heard of its high reputation. 23. God alone is acquainted with the plan and measures of his own moral administration. 24. It is a necessary attribute of the Governor of the world, that he should be omniscient. But man, whose knowledge as well as NOTES ON THE NEW VERSION. 271 nature is limited, cannot of himself form a correct judgment of the procedure and methods of Divine Providence. 25. Giving due balance to the winds, that they may blow where and when he pleases ; and proportioning the waters according to the quantity required. " By measure." Three-fourths of sea to one-fourth of land ; a proportion necessary for the purposes of evaporation, to afford suffi- cient moisture to the earth. 27. When he created the world, he saw the whole plan before him, from the formation to the consummation of all things. 28. " To man he said,'' by the dictates of revelation and reason. He taught wisdom to man, not man to him. The best end man can choose, is the enjoyment of the Divine favour ; and the best means for obtaining it, are the practice of those duties, and the cultivation of those dispositions, which are pleasing to God, and enjoined by him. SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. SONS OF GOD. CHAP. I. 6. " The sons of God went to present themselves before Jehovah ;" meaning, no doubt, the angels. Daniel uses the same expression, (Dan. iii. 25,) " the form of the fourth was like a son of God." What he meant by that expression appears from ver. 28 — " Blessed be God, who hath sent his angel." So that angel and son of God here signify the same thing. But in Gen. vi. 2, the term is not so to be understood, the original word Aleim there being used in the Hebrew sense, to denote greatness, power, or the like. " Sons of God," or " of the gods," therefore, in that passage, signifies the great ones of the earth, who, impelled by lawless lust, seized by violence, and appropriated to their own gratification, the daughters of plebeians, or inferior men, without regard to justice, domi- neering by their superior power ; and this mixed and spurious brood became still more vicious than their fathers, so as to provoke God to send a flood upon the earth. The phrase occurs also in chap, xxxviii. 7 : " When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy." 276 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. Why the morning stars ? Because it was at the time of the Creation, the morning of the first day. Both terms apply to the same beings. The LXX. here have — " When the stars were made, all the angels of God praised me with a loud voice." THE PRIVY COUNCIL OF GOD. CHAP. I. 6. Every attentive reader of the Sacred Oracles must have perceived, that the Divine Being, in infinite condescension to the weakness of man, permits himself to be described as if he possessed a frame resembling man's, and were endued with similar properties in many respects. Hence we read of the " hand," the " eye," the " ear," of God — of his " coming down," of his "searching and trying," and "remembering and forgetting," of his "anger and fury ;" nay, even of his " awaking from sleep." We are sure that such expressions are only to be understood as applied to God more humano ; and were we not thus permitted to speak of him, there would be no means of holding discourse concerning him ; for who can describe an Infinite Spirit ? In like manner, God is described as sus- taining relations and offices — he is a " Husband," a " Father," a " Shepherd," a " Judge," a " King." In the capacity of Judge there is a tribunal erected, at which he sits ; the books containing evidence are opened ; the upright are applauded and rewarded ; the guilty are condemned and punished. So it is in the case of God's acting as a king : he is represented as having a throne, a retinue, ministers of state, storehouses, an armoury, a cabinet, and privy councillors ; the latter con- stituted from among the pre-eminent angels more frequently admitted to the Sovereign's presence, made acquainted with his secret designs, and entrusted with the fulfilment of his purposes. There can be little doubt. that such is the scene THE PRIVY COUNCIL OF GOD. 277 presented to us in the first chapter of this book, verses 6, &c. It is the assembling of the privy council of the Most High ; the veil which severs the visible from the invisible world is for once drawn up, and we are admitted into the cabinet of the Almighty. That such a council exists, we learn from several passages of Scripture, though the subject has not been usually noticed : as, for instance, in chap. xv. 8 of this book, properly rendered thus : " Hast thou been a listener in the privy council of God, And drawn away wisdom to thyself?" Ps. lxxxix. 7. " God is greatly to be feared in the privy council of his holy ones, And to be revered by all that are round about him." Jer. xxiii. 18. " Who hath stood in the privy council of Jehovah, And hath seen and heard the matter ; Or who hath listened to and heard his words ?" 1 Kings xxii. 19. " I saw Jehovah seated on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him, on his right hand and on his left." Dan. vii. 9, 10. " I saw, and the thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days was seated — the council sat, and the books were opened." It is plain that all these expressions are used by the Supreme Eternal Spirit in order to adapt himself to human appre- hensions, and to render the description more intelligible. The scene in this last passage is probably in allusion to the San- hedrim or great council of the Jews ; and the books opened are described in reference to those public records of trans- actions, civil and ecclesiastical, which required to be inspected and decided on. It is in this way also we are probably to understand those otherwise obscure phrases in Gen. i. 26 : " Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness;" and that in Gen. xi. 7, " Go to, let us go down, and confound their language;" 278 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. which is thus paraphrased by Jewish interpreters : " The Lord spake to the seven angels which stand before him, Go to, now," &c. So here, in the text : " Now there was a day when the sons of God (the privy councillors) came to present themselves before Jehovah." We are not only informed of the existence of this cabinet of God, but ©f the precise number of angels who are honoured to compose it ; at least, so we are disposed to interpret the following passages : Rev. i. 4. " Grace be to you, and peace, from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful Witness." Here the seven spirits are put between the Deity and his Son. Rev. iii. 1. " These things saith He that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars." Rev. iv. 5. " And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which denote the seven spirits of God." Rev. viii. 2. " I saw the seven angels ivho stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets." These are the chief princes mentioned in Dan. x. 13 : " Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me." So that we are even informed of the name of one of these privy councillors : and in Rev. xii. 7, we are told, " Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels." And Jude mentions Michael the archangel as contending for the body of Moses. We have the name of another in Luke i. 17 : "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God ,•" i. e. as one of his privy councillors ; for, otherwise, all the angels equally are present before God. Paul seems to refer to these, when he thus adjures Timothy. ** I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and THE PRIVY COUNCIL OF GOD. 279 the elect (or pre-eminent) angels, that thou observe these directions;" meaning not the angelic host in general, but the "seven archangels who stand before the throne of God." 1 Tim. v. 21. So in Zech. iv. 10 : " These seven are the eyes of Jehovah, which run to and fro through the whole earth ;" that is, these seven lamps denote the seven angels, who are the watchers or prime ministers of his providence. This is confirmed by John, (Rev. v. 6.) "I saw a lamb, having seven horns and seven eyes, which denote the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth „•" nearly the very words of Zechariah. And if we may be allowed to refer to an apocryphal book, we find in Tobit xvi. 15, the following words : " I am one of the seven holy angels, who present the prayers of the saints, and who go in and out before the glory of the Holy One." And hence, in Persia, whose monarchy was at one time regulated in part by Daniel, as prime minister, there were seven chief princes ; so that the Persian court, in that respect, resembled the hierarchy of heaven. They are twice men- tioned in Scripture : (Esther i. 14,) " The seven princes of Media and Persia, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom " and in Artaxerxes' commission to Ezra, (chap, vii. 14,) they are called " the king's seven councillors." Perhaps, when the church of Jerusalem chose seven deacons to minister in the society, they had an eye the same way. And in Zech. iii. 9, it is said, " On one stone there are seven eyes," that is, that those seven eyes or angels super- intended the foundation which Zcrubbabel laid for the temple ; and so we may guess, as Mr. Mede says, at the meaning of what Hanani the seer told king Asa (2 Chron. xvi. 9,) " The eyes of the Lord (i. e. these seven eyes) run to and fro through the whole earth, to show themselves strong in behalf of those whose hearts are perfect towards him." The vision of the watchers and holy ones in Dan. iv. appears to have a relation to the same order of beings. " The matter" respecting Nebuchadnezzar undergoing a metamorphosis from man to brute, is said to be " by the decree of the watchers," and according to the word of the " holy ones ;" both which ~80 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. expressions seem to refer to angels, as commissioned to execute the purpose of God, which is described as in some sense the result of the council of Heaven, and so far may be called their decree — as Paul calls the gospel of Christ " his gospel," because he preached or proclaimed it ; — but the same is in ver. 24 called " the decree of the Most High," as ema- nating from him, though these favoured angels were per- mitted to participate in his councils, and were afterwards employed as his messengers to carry the same into effect. It was in this council, convened for special purposes, that the spirit here called "Satan" presented himself. The others who attended are called " the sons of God," a term evidently applied to angels in this book, chap, xxxviii. 7. He is plainly one of them ; at least, he is no way distinguished from the rest except by his name ; and this name has the definite article before it, showing that it is merely an appellative, and not a proper name. He is called " The Satan ;" and as the term Satan in Hebrew, like AiafioXog in Greek, is a name of office or character, we are not in this place necessitated to understand it of the evil spirit, but of one of the ministering angels, who held the office in the celestial court of public accuser or delator, or perhaps of general inspector of man- ners. The whole composition of the poem requires us so to understand it. Besides, it would be utterly incongruous to imagine, that the enemy of God and man, the impure spirit, should have free and undebarred access, whenever he chose it, to the Divine presence — that the Almighty should hold colloquies with him, and condescend to gratify him, especially for the accomplishment of purposes which might appear wholly malignant. Farther, the epistles of Peter and Jude give us a very different idea of the actual condition of evil spirits, and of course of their chief. According to them, they are cast down into Tartarus, and delivered into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment, even the judgment of the Great Day. Perhaps, during the period at which Christ sojourned upon earth, there might be an intentional remission of their sentence, since we find the Tempter endeavouring to ensnare THE PRIVY COUNCIL OF GOD. 281 our Saviour, and numberless persons possessed by demons, in a manner not heard of in preceding or succeeding ages. But, leaving this mysterious subject, there appears among the celestial ministers to be one who holds the office, whether stated or occasional we cannot say, of being an inspector or censor of human manners, in every part of the family of man, and who carries his reports to the Divine judgment-seat accordingly. For aught we know, instead of one, there may be many such, whose function it is to observe, to report, and to record, the proceedings of men upon earth. That such a one should make his appearance, therefore, at the privy council of God, is no way surprising ; and the colloquy that follows countenances the view we have taken. Inquiry is made of the angel as to his mission, and a particular reference is made to Job, as a perfect character ; on which the official accuser suggests some doubts of Job's integrity. If this functionary shows some distrust in regard to the disinterested nature of Job's piety, it .is only a. consequence of the employment with which he was invested. Such an officer is bound, on the one hand, not lightly to condemn those of whose conduct he is called to take the oversight, nor yet to believe too readily in the mere appearances of virtue. God, to put the matter to the fullest test, is pleased to give permission to inflict certain calamities on his servant, on the express reservation that his life should be spared. Let it be observed, that those suffer- ings to which Job is subsequently exposed, are not only with the permission, but by the express will of God. On this part of the subject the whole history hinges — all that succeeds is an illustration of it — and the result is, that Job is pronounced upright, and is acquitted of every charge against him ; while his friends, who seem to have acted as the instruments of the accusing angel, are blamed and condemned, though afterwards pardoned at Job's intercession. So that the book not merely exhibits the external picture of the patient sufferings of a righteous man, but places us behind the scenes, and shows us in what his sufferings first originated. If it be objected, that the suspicion of Job harboured by the angel was unjust, and represents the latter in no pleasing 288 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. light, let it be remembered, that angels are fallible — " even his angels he chargeth with folly," as we are told in this very book, (chap. iv. 18); — and besides, as already remarked, agreeably to the nature of his office, it was the employment of this angelic censor morum to detect any thing that might wear to him the semblance of insincerity, or of doubtful piety. Again; it is plain that the angel never exceeds his com- mission in the calamities with which Job was tried, but acts throughout in perfect accordance with the Divine command, and like a minister who simply obeyed the mandates of his Sovereign ; a character scarcely attributable to him who is commonly called Satan and Abaddon. Had this last been intended in the history, we should have had some allusion to him in the conclusion of the book, by way of triumph over a malignant adversary; but nothing of the kind occurs, nor would such triumph be decorous if we admit the view here taken. The Satan of the book of Job, then, is simply the recording angel of God — a messenger sent forth to examine and discover, to put to the test, and to correct. This accounts also for the intense anxiety of Job to plead his cause before God himself, who he felt confident would vindicate his con- duct and deliver him. And so at last God does ; the great Sovereign appears with majesty, appeals to his own stupen- dous works in answer to the vain reasonings concerning him, and pronounces sentence in Job's favour, who is restored to prosperity, and amply indemnified for all his sufferings. Thus there is a perfect unity of design throughout the book, which, viewed as a whole, is not only the most ancient, but the most finished composition now existing. Yet it must be remembered, that the scene here presented is not to be considered as a literal history, but rather as a figurative representation of what passes in the interior of the celestial sanctuary; in condescension to human capacity, the decorum of the scene being evidently borrowed from the custom of oriental kings, surrounded by their ministers of state. And though the spirit called here " the public accuser or inspector,"' is represented as inflicting certain sufferings THE SATAN OF THE JEWS. 283 upon Job, yet, throughout the poem, the patriarch's calamities are uniformly ascribed, both by himself and by his friends, immediately to God ; and for a very good reason — no human being knew, or was permitted to know, what was passing in the cabinet of Supreme Deity ; and, besides this, whether the matter was known or unknown, all that a monarch trans- acts, or allows to be transacted by his ministers or deputies, is justly considered as being transacted by himself, because it emanates from his authority. THE SATAN OF THE JEWS. " In opposition to the views of Warburton," says Dr. Rus- sell, in his Connexion of Sacred and Profane History, vol. i. p. 27, " I have endeavoured to prove, not only that the He- brews were well acquainted with the name and offices of Satan long before the conquest of their country by Nebuchadnezzar, but also that the notions concerning the character of the Evil One contained in the book of Job are quite inconsistent with those which the people of God learned in the East ; and con- sequently that the work just mentioned must be older than the Babylonish captivity. " It will be found that, in the earlier periods of their history, the descendants of Jacob believed in the existence of evil spirits, as well as of good ; but so far from holding, as they did subsequently to the times of Cyrus, that the former were the subjects and agents of a great malevolent demon, who had opposed himself to the counsels of the Most High, they regarded them all, good and bad, as the ministers of Jehovah, accustomed to appear in his presence, to receive his commands, to go forth in order to execute his will, and to take their place again among the sons of God, to render an account of the ser- vices which they had performed. " The Satan who is introduced into the scene in the book of Job, is clearly not the evil principle recognised among the 284 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. Persians, and adopted in some measure by the Jews of a later age. He appears there as the servant, not as the opposer of the Divine will ; and presents not, in fact, either in his cha- racter or in his attributes, any resemblance to that malignant spirit whose imaginary history, as one of the two principles, filled so large a portion of the theological institutes of Asiatic writers. " There is not, indeed, any ground for questioning the posi- tion of Warburton, that the Jews attained to new views of the character of Satan during their abode on the banks of the Euphrates. ( This evil being,' says he, ' was little known to the Jewish people till about this time. On the return from the captivity we find him better known ; and things are then ascribed to him, as the immediate and proper author, which were before given in an improper sense to the First and Ulti- mate Cause of all things.' " This distinction will not be denied by any one who has traced the history of opinion among the chosen people ; but I repeat, it is on the ground of this very distinction that I oppose the conclusion which the learned writer of the Divine Legation of Moses has attempted to establish ; inas- much as the Satan who appears in the book of Job is not the immediate and proper author of the actions which are ascribed to him; being there represented openly and avowedly as the minister or agent of the ' Ultimate Cause of all things.' It is therefore perfectly clear that the Satan who was employed by Divine Wisdom as the instrument of Job's affliction, belonged to the simple theology of the patriarchal ages, and not to the more complicated mysticism which was taught among the Assyrians and Persians." Again, in page 262 : " The malignant emissary who was let loose against the Arabian patriarch, bears hardly any resemblance to the prince of devils, who at a later period is described as opposing his kingdom to that of Heaven, and as waging an incessant war against the plans and servants of the Omnipotent. The Satan who vented his malice upon Job, accompanied the sons of God into the presence of the Great Father of the Universe, listened to questions, and showed him- HOUSES OF CLAY. 285 self ready to obey commands ; and such, I repeat, is not the character of the master demon, whom the Jews, after the time of Ezra, were used to contemplate as the enemy of God and of man." These passages are quoted in order to show, that the author of the present work is not alone in his opinion respecting the spirit or angel who is introduced in the first and second chap- ters of the poem. At the same time, the difference between his view and that of Dr. Russell will be evident to the reader. That the term " Satan" occurs in the earlier books of the Old Testament, — that is, in those written before the capti- vity, — is easily proved by a reference to Numb. xxii. 22 ; 1 Sam. xxix. 4 ; 2 Sam. xix. 22 ; and the 38th, 70th, and 109th Psalms. It occurs in some form about thirteen times. HOUSES OF CLAY. CHAP. IV. 19. The patriarch and his friends dwelt in Arabia, where the houses in general are built of white clay, and covered with reeds. Their foundations are laid in the dust or sand, the country affording no firmer basis on which to build. These habitations are exposed to all the accidents of that climate, such as violent winds, and large moving pillars of sand, called sand-floods, by which they are liable to be blown down, or overwhelmed and crushed to the ground, together with their inhabitants, unless they can effect a timely escape. Oftentimes they are " crushed before the moth," or rather the moth-worm, as the Hebrew word signifies, which lodges either in some part of their dress, or in the furniture of the dwel- ling ; and not unfrequently survives man, secure for a time from the general ruin by reason of its slender form, and of the soft and yielding nature of the material which it occupies. These desolating calamities more generally begin about sun- rising, and usually continue till towards evening ; and thus men 286 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. perisli from morning to evening, without any one regarding it. As all that neighbourhood is subject to the same common desolation, there is no man to regard or assist his neighbour ; and they who live at a distance from the scene of misery, have no means of approaching to afford aid. Angels dwell in heaven, exempt from calamity ; men dwell in houses of clay, a feeble protection, exposed to death each moment of their existence. And the human frame, which Paul calls " an earthly house," is in the ordinary course of nature liable to decay and to perish, and is often subject to untimely dissolution. It is a house of the feeblest structure, a mere tent or tabernacle, whose pins are soon drawn and its cords loosened, and then the body returns to its dust. (See Christ. Ob. vol. viii. p. 753.) SAINTS. Chap. v. 1. " To which of the holy ones wilt thou turn ?" The word " Saints" being now generally applied to holy men, is here used improperly in our version, for there is no doubt that the term kedeshim, in the original, refers to the heavenly hosts or angels ; and the question, as put to Job, is to this effect : " Whom, among the whole host of the holy ones, wilt thou instruct as thine advocate, to plead for thee ?" Strange to say, Bellarmine, from this text, draws a warrant for the invocation of saints, and pronounces Chemnitius drunk for asserting the contrary. But nothing can be more absurd than such a conclusion, for the argument here is not about dead saints, but living angels. The same correction is needful in chap. xv. 15: " Behold, he cannot confide in his holy ones," (i. e. in the ministering spirits,) " and the heavens are not clean in his sight." The remark is applicable to other passages of the Old Testament; e.g. Deut. xxxii. 2: " He came with ten thou- sand of his holy ones." Zech. xiv. 5 : " Jehovah my God shall come, and all the holy ones with thee." THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION. 287 THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION. CHAP. XII. The whole passage, from verse 18th to the end of the chapter, is a representation of the Divine government, of which all human history is nothing else but an illustration. We need not go back to ancient times for proof of this ; our own times furnish evidence enough. A child was born of obscure parents, in a small town, in one of the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. He is sent for education to a military school in France. He there learns the art of fortification, and the general tactics of war. He becomes a lieutenant of artillery, signalizes himself on several occasions by skill and bravery, and at length rises to be general of the army of Italy. In that capacity he makes forced marches, and gains several decisive victories over the Austrian forces in that quarter. He aspires to be Chief Consul of France, and becomes pos- sessed of that dignity. He aims at higher power, and consti- tutes himself Emperor of France and King of Italy, besides other titles. He wages successful war against the neighbouring nations, and at length succeeds so far, after many a sanguinary battle, as to place one brother on the throne of Spain, A second on that of Holland, A third he makes King of Westphalia, He creates his step-son Viceroy of Italy, And his brother-in-law King of Naples. He marries an Austrian princess, and thereby consolidates his power. At this period ten captive or dethroned kings are found wandering throughout Europe. Restless and ambitious, he strives for further mastery. The nations tremble at his strength, and dread his overwhelming 288 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. policy. At length they combine and overthrow him, and compel him to be content with the little sovereignty of Elba. Tired of inactivity, he escapes, lands in France, reigns for about a hundred days, fights a most desperate engagement, and is conquered at last. He is taken prisoner, and con- veyed forcibly to an island in the Atlantic, where he gradually pines away and dies. The original royal family is restored to the throne he had usurped. One of them attempts to reign despotically, and becomes involved in a contest with his people. He is dethroned and expatriated, and a branch of the house of Valois becomes sovereign in his stead. Who accomplished all this? Armies? No. — Statesmen and politicians ? No. — Contemporary kings ? No. The supreme government of God? Yes — the supreme government of God, and that only. All such events, whether they happened in ancient or in modern times, are to be traced at once to the over-ruling power of the Almighty. Such is the lesson which this passage of the book of Job conveys ; and every line of it has been repeatedly verified in the history of mankind. The maxims of remote antiquity on this subject therefore stand unrefuted and irrefutable. THE STOCKS. Chap. xiii. 27. " Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks." Chap, xxxiii. 11. " He putteth my feet in the stocks." However ancient this mode of punishment may be, it is not the sense of this place. The original term, sed, signifies some kind of impediment, obstruction, or hindrance, such as is produced by a clog fastened to the feet, similar to those for- merly used to be put on the feet of fugitive slaves or malefac- tors ; or to those applied to wild asses or colts, to keep them THE STOCKS. 289 in subjection, and prevent their running away ; and it is pro- bably to this the last clause of chap. xiii. 27 refers, which says, " Thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet ;" meaning some mark of ownership upon the lower part of the clog, branded or indented, as an evidence of property. Having mentioned this, it may be well to refer to one or two other places, in which the term " stocks" occurs in our version : e. g. Prov. vii. 22 : " Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks ;" which Dr. Hunt, in a learned dissertation on the subject, has proved to be an erroneous version, and trans- lates it thus : " Or as an hart boundeth into the toils, Till a dart strike through his liver." Again, in Jerem. xx. 2 : " Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks ;" which Dr. Blayney in- terprets " in the house of correction." The original word occurs twice besides ; viz. in chap. xxix. 26, and 2 Chron. xvi. 10 ; in both which places it is rendered simply " a prison," and is mentioned as a punishment due to or inflicted on one who assumed the character of a prophet without a proper call, or was presumed to have behaved unbecomingly as such ; houses of correction being also often established in the gates of cities, where courts of judicature were anciently held. In chap. xxix. 26, our version has, " That thou shouldst put him in prison and in the stocks." Here the two seem to be distinguished ; but Blayney renders it, " to the house of correction and to close confinement." The original term, here translated " stocks," occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew, but in Arabic signifies arctum esse, " to be enclosed or confined." The only remaining place in which the stocks, as a kind of punishment, are mentioned, is in Acts xvi. 24, where the gaoler made the feet of Paul and Silas fast in the stocks — literally, in the wood. What this expression implies, it is now difficult to say. In Roberts's Oriental Illustrations, which I have not seen, I understand there are some explanations of this passage, derived from the customs and manners of the East. Compare Ps. cv. 18, where the allusion is to iron fetters, u 290 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. which seem to have been so put on as to pain the feet as well as confine them. In the common version, it is, " He was laid in iron ;" in that used in the Book of Common Prayer, more poetically thus : " The iron entered into his soul ;" but as the iron cannot enter a man's soul, we may translate it lite- rally, " The iron entered his person." GNASHING OF TEETH. Chap. xvi. 9. " In their hatred they gnash on me with their teeth." The persons referred to are Job's enemies, and those false witnesses of whom he complains. Gnashing of teeth is a mark of the highest indignation and wrath. We learn this from Acts vii. 54, in the case of Ste- phen, and from several other passages. The demoniac in Mark ix. 18 is so described. The agony of those who are finally rejected by God is in part delineated by this expression, denoting their bitter dis- appointment on being excluded from the heavenly mansions. See Matt. xxv. 30, and other places. Gnashing of teeth is sometimes a symptom of envy, as in Ps. cxii. 10: " The wicked shall see and be grieved : He shall gnash with his teeth, and pine away : The desire of the wicked shall perish." This feeling of envy may be understood to influence the minds of the doomed, for similar reasons as when the rich man in torment sees Lazarus and Abraham in bliss, and tries to move their compassion, but receives for answer, " Son, remember that thou hast had thy good things, and Lazarus evil things," — you two have exchanged conditions. Gnashing of teeth is also an expression of horror, as is said in James ii. 19: " The demons also believe, and are filled with horror." The condition of such is well described by Isaiah, chap, xxxiii. 14: PLURALITY OF PERSONS. 291 " The sinners in Zion are struck with dread : Horror hath seized the hypocrites. Who among us can abide consuming fire ? Who can dwell amidst continued burnings ?" Homer uses gnashing of teeth to describe revenge, Iliad xix. 365: " Grief and revenge his furious heart inspire ; His glowing eyeballs roll with living fire ; He grinds his teeth, and furious with delay, O'erlooks th' embattled host, and hopes the bloody day." PLURALITY OF PERSONS. It is a known rule in Hebrew grammar, that plural verbs are sometimes used in a singular sense, confessedly in the second and third persons, and most probably in the first also. (Gerard's Inst. Glassius, Phil. Sacra, c. 51.) Chap, xviii. 2. Bildad, in using the plural number here, though addressing Job alone, is thought to have done it ironi- cally ; as much as to say, You suppose yourself equal to us three sages, therefore I must speak to you accordingly. But there is no need for this supposition ; the following examples show that the form often occurs : Gen. xxxiv. 27. " Because they had denied their sister ;" meaning Schechem alone. Matt. ii. 20. " They are dead who sought the child's life ;" meaning Herod. Gen. xxix. 27. " Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also." Laban alone says this. 2 Sam. xvi. 20. " (Jive counsel what we shall do." Absalom alone is speaking. u 2 292 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. 1 Kings xii. 9. " What counsel give ye, that we may answer this people ?" Rehoboam alone is spoken to, and lie alone replies. 1 Kings xxii. 3. " Ramoth is ours, and we be still, and take it not." Ahab is speaking. Dan. ii. 36. " We will tell the interpretation ;" i. e. I Daniel will. Mark iv. 30. " Whereunto shall ive liken?" It is Christ that speaks. John iii. 1 1 . " We speak that we do know." Christ says so, speaking of himself. Rom. i. 5. " We have received grace." Paul is writing of himself. Gen. i. 26. " Let us make man," does not necessarily imply a plurality of persons. And so in many other instances. Schultens says, " Numerum pluralem in stilo grandiori adhiberi." SEPULCHRAL RITES. Chap. xxi. 32. " Even this man shall be carried to the grave, And round his tomb they shall keep watch. The sods of the valley over him shall be sweet, And every man shall march after him, As innumerable others have gone before him." SEPULCHRAL RITES. 293 They shall watch over his tomb, to keep it clean and nice with plants, and flowers, and verdure. The Arabian sepulchres were generally situated in low grounds and valleys, for the purpose of irrigation, in order to preserve a perpetual verdure, and a succession of fragrant flowers. It was supposed that the person buried might be sensible in some degree of the pleasantness of the grave which contained him. In some cases the rites of sepulture were not allowed ; and to this it has been thought that there is an allusion in chap. xxvii. 19, but erroneously, as the context shows, for the pas- sage refers to sleep at night, rather than to the sleep of death. It is well known that the heathens had a notion that the souls of such persons as had not the rites of interment paid them, were considered as forced to wander for a hundred years. Some allusions to this notion appear in Virgil and in Homer. Chap. xlii. 11. " And ate bread with him in his house, And condoled with him, and comforted him." See Jerem. xvi. 7. " Neither shall men break bread among them, On account of a mourner." These two passages, in all probability, relate to the same thing ; namely, the custom of carrying provisions to mourners, and making an entertainment for them, on the ground that the mourner was so far swallowed up by grief, as to forget his own food; therefore each sent in his proportion of meat and drink, in hopes to prevail on him to partake of refreshment, such as might recruit his bodily strength and spirits. See this custom referred to in Tobit iv. 17, and in John xi. 19. The same custom still continues in the East, where provisions are eaten and healths are drunk, in the house of the deceased person, to the survivors of the family ; from which, no doubt, came the term, " the cup of consolation." 294 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. THE REPHAIM. Chap. xxvi. 5. " The souls of the dead tremble from beneath The waters and their inhabitants. The seat of spirits is naked before him, And the region of destruction hath no covering." This lias been thought to be a reference to the giants, or wicked inhabitants of the old world, who perished in the flood produced by breaking up the waters from beneath, or the fountains of the great deep. But these giants of the old world are called by Moses Nephilim, a very different term ; nor is there in the context the least allusion to such charac- ters, or to this event. That Rephaim, the term used here, means the manes mor- tuorum, the spirits of deceased persons in general, confined in Scheol or Hades, the receptacle of departed spirits, is plain from the following texts, wherein the same term is employed : Ps. lxxxviii. 10. " Wilt thou show wonders to the dead ? Shall the dead arise and praise thee ?" Prov. ii. 18. " For her house inclineth to death, And her paths unto the dead." Prov. ix. 18. " For he knoweth that the dead are there, And that her guests are in the depths of the grave." Prov. xxi. 16. " The man that wandereth from the way of understanding, Shall remain in the congregation of the dead." Isa. xiv. 9. " The grave from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee at thy coming : It stirreth up the dead for thee," &c. THE REPHAIM. 295 Isa. xxvi. 14. " They are dead, they shall not live ; They are deceased, they shall not rise." Isa. xxvi. 19. " Thy dead men shall live ; Together with my dead body they shall arise." In this last passage, the prophet had said, in verse loth, " Other lords besides thee have had dominion over us ;" viz. the gods of the heathen. Verse 14th it follows, these are no other than dead men (metim), in opposition to the living God; they are rephaim, departed spirits, who have not power to stir from their place of confinement ; they cannot rise. Again, in verse 19th, the dead men, who should live and rise again ; the inhabitants of the dust, who are called to awake and sing ; and the rephaim, the dead to be cast out by the earth ; are all the same individuals. In the passage Isa. xiv. 9, Scheol, the receptacle of the dead, is poetically described as stirring up her inhabitants, the rephaim, the spirits of departed captains and kings, repre- sented as sitting there upon their thrones, to meet with taunt- ing and insult the haughty tyrant of Babylon, on his being brought down to these gloomy shades. But the passage in Ps. lxxxviii. 10 — 12, particularly illus- trates the subject before us, and the meaning of rephaim : " Wilt thou show wonders to the dead ; Shall (rephaim) the deceased arise and praise thee ? Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave, Or thy faithfulness in destruction ? Shall thy wonders be known in the place of darkness, And thy righteousness in the land of oblivion ?" That the term Scheol uniformly signifies the abode of the dead, — the grave, as regards their bodies ; or the region of the de- parted, wherever that is, as regards their souls, — is placed beyond all doubt by its use in the numerous passages in which it occurs, and by the general consent of commentators. Bildad had spoken of God's majesty, and of man's impurity in respect of him. Job replies, by asking him whether he 206 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. thought the person whom he addressed did not know as much as himself; and sarcastically inquires (verse 4th), whose inspi- ration proceeded from him ? He then acknowledges, " that nothing is, or can be, concealed from the all-seeing eye of God; that the souls of the dead tremble under his view; and the shades of the wicked, sunk to the bottom of the abyss, can even there find no covering from his sight." So that here there is no historical allusion whatever, but simply a solemn and deliberate recognition of God's omni- science. That the word rephaim is occasionally used in Scripture to denote giants, is undeniable ; and this meaning of the term has been very ingeniously accounted for by Dr. Magee, who derives the term from the Hebrew verb repe, — resolvere, — to reduce to first elements. Rephaim therefore implies the dead, in that separated condition of the component parts of their nature which is produced by death ; and as the bodily part moulders into dust and becomes insensible, it is consequently applied to that active principle which retains the consciousness, and continues, as it were, the existence of the man. Rephaim then imports men in that state to which they are brought when reduced by dissolution to the simple and essential ele- ment, the soul ; and thence has been used to signify the ghosts of the deceased. These again, being clothed by the imaginations of the living in certain airy shapes, and magni- fied through terror to gigantic stature, in process of time lent their name to men of great and terrific bulk, and hence the appellation passed to giants, and became the denomination of certain classes of that description in Canaan. Again, these rephaim of the Canaanites, being distinguished amongst a people who were all odious for their crimes, and as such pro- nounced to be an abomination to the Lord, the idea of great wickedness so strongly associated with the name, was by degrees reflected back upon the primitive term ; so that rephaim, as applied to the souls of the dead, came at length to imply also specially the souls of the guilty dead. Thus rephaim becomes properly capable of three distinct senses — ghosts, giants, and ghosts of the wicked. IDOLATROUS PRACTICES. 297 The passages in which it occurs in the sense of giants are, Gen. xiv. 5; 2 Sam. v. 18, 22; xxiii. 13; 1 Chron. xi. 15; Isa. xvii. 5; Deut. ii. 11, 20; iii. 13; Josh. xv. 8; xviii. 16; xvii. 15, &c. That the Jews had a notion of the separate existence of the souls of the dead, and the possibility of their revisiting the earth, is evident from Saul's application to the witch of Endor, and particularly from the parable of the Rich Man and La- zarus, where the rich man requests Abraham to send Lazarus to admonish his brethren. But Abraham replies, that what he asked was impossible ; meaning, doubtless, without express commission from God, because the dead were not otherwise allowed to pass the gulf fixed between them and the earth. As to the second clause, " the waters and their inhabitants," we are told in Rev. xx. 13, that " the sea shall give up its dead ;" as if those who were drowned or buried in the sea had their place under the waters, as those who were buried on dry land had theirs under ground. See Magee on the Atonement. IDOLATROUS PRACTICES IN JOB'S DAY. In chap. xxxi. 26 — 28, there are evident allusions to the superstitious rites of idolaters. The custom of kissing the hand, in token of adoration, is very ancient, as well as uni- versal. The ground of it appears to be awe or respect. Pliny mentions it in his Nat. Hist. b. xxxviii. c. 2 : " In adorando dextram ad osculum referimus ;" In worshipping, we raise the right hand to the mouth, &c. Apuleius also observes, that many of his countrymen applied their right hand to their mouths, in order that they might perform due adoration to the goddess Venus. De Asin. lib. iv. Lucian also remarks, that the poor who had notliing to offer in sacrifice but the kissing of their hands, were not excluded. Dc Sacrif. 298 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. And Minucius Felix says, " Caecilius, observing the image of Serapis, according to the custom of the superstitious vulgar, moved his hand to his mouth, and pressed it to his lips." The Mohammedans, when they show veneration to an unseen being, kiss their hand, and put it to their forehead. Job says, " If I have looked at the sun when he shineth, Or the moon advancing in brightness, And my heart hath been secretly enticed, And I have laid my hand on my mouth, and kissed it, Then 1 should have been chargeable with a great transgression, For I should have denied the Supreme God." It is plain from this, the patriarch understood that adoration was due to Jehovah alone ; that the spirit of the first precept in the Decalogue was not unknown to him ; and that the lumi- naries of heaven were not objects of worship; whereas among blinded nations these attracted special attention, and had innu- merable votaries. The worship of the planets is of very high antiquity. In what quarter of the world it originated, is now unknown ; but it had evidently spread into Arabia at an early period, since Job appears to have been acquainted with it. It afterwards prevailed even in Judea, as is plain from many passages of the Old Testament, and was one of the causes of the Divine wrath against the Jewish people. See, inter alia, Jer. viii. 1, 2, &c. To prevent this species of false worship, the sun and moon are constantly in the Hebrew poetry represented as the ser- vants of God, fulfilling his will in their regular courses. Thus : Gen. i. 16. " And God made two great lights," &c. Ps. xix. 4. " In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun." Josh. x. 12. The sun and moon are commanded to stand still. Habak. iii. 11. They are described as overawed by the passing Deity. Judges v. 20. The stars are said to fight against Sisera, but it is on behalf of God's host or people. IDOLATROUS PRACTICES. 299 Matt. ii. 2. One of these stars is made the harbinger of Messiah. Ps. cxlvii. 4. God is said to number them, and to call them all by their names. The planetary worship is supposed to have originated among the Egyptians, and to have passed from them into Chaldea and Assyria. The Chaldeans might be led into this practice by their early attention to the science of astronomy, if it might be called a science in those times. Sabaism, or the worship of the host of heaven, is supposed to have had its origin in Persia by some ; but it is thought that the Persians worshipped the heavenly bodies, and fire as their representative, with a worship inferior to that which they paid to the Supreme Deity. It was an ancient opinion, of which Vh-gil has given us an intimation, (iEneid, vi. 725,) that these bodies were alive, and instinct with a glorious and divine spirit, dispensing light and heat, and life and vigour, to all the productions of the earth. It is this kind of idolatry which Job says he never was guilty of; and it is this against which Moses warns the Israel- ites, Deut. iv. 19 : " Take good heed to yourselves, lest thou lift up thine eyes to heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and all the host of heaven, shouldst be induced to worship them and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven." That the nations did not stop here, but multiplied their objects of worship, and degenerated into the basest and vilest superstitions, is no way surprising, since every deviation from true religion has a tendency to further corruption ; and when once men have forsaken the true God, they are abandoned by him, and they abandon themselves to every vanity of the ima- gination, and to every vicious practice that a blinded mind can addict itself to. Men could not well wander farther from God, than the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans did ; and if these nations were famous for invention in the arts and sciences, they were also infamous for the application of those very arts and sciences to the purposes of an irrational idolatry. 300 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. " It is remarkable," says Shuckford, " that the first corrupters of religion were kings." Ninus taught the Assyrians to worship fire. Syphis, King of Egypt, wrote a sacred book, which laid the foundation of all their errors. Nebuchadnezzar set up the golden image in the plains of Dura ; and image worship was brought into Persia by kings, as Dr. Hyde observes. When kings preside in reli- gion, as well as govern their people, there is always danger of their introducing some corruption, since whatever innovations they may take a fancy to, they know they have authority to enforce them. Romulus and Numa were the institutors of every part of the Roman religion in its pagan state ; and the kings of Lacedaemon did the same in the religion of Greece. And as to the popes, — who were at least kings, if not empe- rors, as well as high priests, — we know what awful changes they have introduced into Christianity. The author of the Book of Wisdom (chap. xiv. 16) confirms this view, that the heathen idolatries were set up by the commandments of kings. PALMISTRY. CHAP. XXXVII. 7. Palmistry, or Chiromancy, that is, the art of divining the fate, temperament, and disposition of a person, by inspecting the lines and lineaments of the hands, has founded some of its vain and trifling pretensions on a passage in this book, viz. chap, xxxvii. 7. The palmistcr, or diviner, foolishly pretends, that God has scaled upon every man's hand how long he shall live ; and that they can understand this by the lines and draughts in the palm of the hand. The passage, as it stands in our version, is : " He sealeth up the hand of every man, That all men may know his work." THE GATES OF DEATH. 301 But from this passage no such thing can be collected ; for Elihu is here occupied with expressing the greatness of the Divine operations, and the power of God in commanding the rain and other elements to affect the earth, and the general result of those atmospherical influences, namely, to put a stop to human labour, and to force man and beast to retire to their several shelters. Thus : " He issues a command to the snow — Be thou on the earth ; Likewise to the small rain, And to the tempestuous shower. So he putteth a seal (or stop) to every man's labour, That every man maybe sensible of his own weakness." As the science of Palmistry, if it ever deserved that name, is now disused, and the pretensions of such men are nearly exploded, it may seem hardly necessary to expose so absurd a matter, were it not to show how the Scriptures have been abused, and made to serve the purpose of impostors in the days of darkness, and what absurdities have been palmed on sacred writ. It is well known to scholars, that large volumes have been published, in former times, on this subject, parti- cularly one by John Taisnier, a famous mathematician, who wrote a large folio on Chiromancy, printed at Cologne, in 1683. THE GATES OF DEATH. Chap, xxxviii. 17. " Have the gates of death been opened to thee ? Hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death ?" No expression is more common in the Old Testament than these — "gates of death," "gates of the grave," "chambers of death." See Ps. xxxviii. 10; Prov. vii. 27; Ps. ix. 13; cvii. 18 ; and other places. And the phrase has been transplanted into the New Testa- ment writings : hence we find our Lord saying, (Matt. xvi. 18,) SU- 302 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. " and the gates of death shall not prevail against it ;" i. e. against my church ; meaning, that no opposition or perse- cution, even unto death itself, shall ever be able to arrest the progress of the gospel. It is the same as when he says, (Matt, xxviii. 20,) " Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world ;" i. e. your mortality shall not put a stop to the preaching of my gospel ; I will raise up others, and send them forth, in your stead, even to the end of time. In our version it is unhappily rendered " the gates of hell" as if meaning the powers of darkness ; but, both here, and in many passages of the Old Testament, the word hell, as de- noting the state of the damned, is not used, but a term which signifies the invisible state, or state of the dead generally, to which death is the gate or passage. Indeed the word hell, in its modern acceptation, never once occurs in the Old Tes- tament, whatever some critics may affirm; and the only reference to the place of punishment is that which is con- veyed by the image of " Tophet," or " the Valley of Hinnom," in Isa. lxvi. 24, from which the Greek term, " Gehenna,' used by our Lord, in his Sermon on the Mount, seems to be derived. Peter, in speaking of the same subject, uses the word " Tartarus" (2 Pet. ii. 4,) the heathen name for the place of punishment. And in the Apocalypse the usual term is " the lake that burnetii with fire and brimstone," into which, those that are cast, undergo the " second death." In the case of Job, the term could have no relation of this kind, nor yet could it refer simply to a grave or sepulchre, the door or entry to which is always known to the living. The case was different with regard to the habitation of de- parted spirits ; of which, neither Job, nor any other man, knew any thing. It is the same in chap. xi. 8, — " Deeper than hell, what canst thou know ?" Here neither the grave, nor the place of torment, is indicated. The opposition, or contrast, is between the height of Heaven and the depth of Hades ; that is, of the invisible state, a depth which cannot be known, and a height which cannot be measured. THE SEPTENARY NUMBER. 303 THE SEPTENARY NUMBER. CHAP. XLII. 8. In examining any book, our attention is naturally directed rather to what it contains, than to what it omits : but in the composition now before us, we are as much struck by the omissions as by the insertions. For instance, in this ancient patriarchal volume we find no reference whatever to the Sab- batical Institution, nor to any form or mode of worship, except one, and that is in the use of sacrifices. In chap. i. we are expressly informed that Job habitually offered burnt-offerings according to the number of his family, on the ground of offences which they might have possibly committed during their seasons of festivity ; and in the last chapter we are told, that God enjoined the patriarch's friends to offer for them- selves a burnt-offering, as an expiation for their improper course of conduct during the controversy that had taken place. The number enjoined is somewhat remarkable, being " seven bullocks and seven rams," the very same number which Balaam offered — the same also that David offered on bringing up the ark — the same that Hezekiah offered, as a sin-offering for the kingdom — and the same that Ezekiel prescribes as an ordinance at the Passover. This favourite septenary number, which appears in so many other particu- lars throughout Scripture, may be conjectured as having taken its rise from the seven days of creation ; but it may also have a further symbolical meaning, of which we are not aware. Yet this particular gives us no insight into the date of the book ; for the number seven might, after all, be derived from a traditional knowledge of God's having required Noah to collect the animals by sevens into the ark : and this circum- stance might lead to a supposition that such a number was acceptable to the Deity when sacrifice was offered. The 304 SUPPLEMENTARY ILLUSTRATIONS. sacrifices of Noah and of Abraham were also burnt-offerings ; nor do we find any others presented to God, except in the case of Cain, which was rejected. The inference from this is not difficult to be drawn. It could not arise from human invention or supposition, that such were acceptable to the Deity ; it must have been a matter of revelation. Even before the Law, Moses proposes to Pharaoh that he should be furnished with burnt-offerings to sacrifice to God, (Exod. x. 25 ;) and we find Jethro, his father-in-law, presenting the same, Exod. xviii. 12. The same septenary number presents itself in the very outset of the book, (chap. ii. 13 :) " They sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights." Seven days was the period appointed for mourning. The Israelites mourned for Jacob seven days, Gen. 1. 10. The men of Jabesh mourned seven days for Saul, 1 Sam. xxxi. 13 ; and Ezekiel sat on the ground with the captives at Chebar, and mourned with and for them seven days. The Son of Sirach says, " Seven days do men mourn for him that is dead," Ecclus. xxii. 12. This period, observed by the friends of Job, however the observance might originate, was in conformity to the custom of different a^es. STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES IN JOB'S DAY. STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES IN JOB'S DAY. THE ARTS. Chap. vi. 2. " Weighed in a balance." It is clear from this that balances or scales were in use in Job's day ; for, though the expression is figurative, all figures are taken from things that really exist, otherwise they would have no meaning. Chap. vii. 6. " Slighter than the weaver's yarn." There is a plain allusion here to the employment of weaving ; and, very probably, from this ancient poem, the allegory of the web of life, as woven by the Fates or Destinies, may have taken its rise. There is the same image in Hezekiah's com- plaint, Isa. xxxviii. 12. " My life is cut off, as by the weaver, He will sever me from the loom ; In the course of the day thou wilt finish my web." The image is frequent in profane authors, as in Lucian, quoted by Good, &c. 308 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. It has been doubted whether any such instrument as the shuttle was in use in the days of Job ; but that it, or some- thing similar, must have been in use from time immemorial, there can be no doubt. Unless we allow this, the figure here would lose its expression and force. Job 'represents the thread of his life as being spun out with great rapidity and tenuity, and about to be cut off. Chap. ix. 30. " Cleanse my hands in purity." Literally, with soap. Ber, or hour, the term used here in the original, signifies not only the alkaline or lixivial salt, procured from the ashes of salt- wort, or other plants, but the soap made of such salt. The potash, of which soap is made, must have been early known among the Arabians, since kali is an in- digenous plant in their country. There is also a native salt, the Jiatrum, or nitre, of the ancients, which is found in abun- dance in Egypt, and in many parts of Asia, where it is called soap-earth, because it is dissolved in water, and used like soap in washing. To which of these productions Job here refers, is uncertain. Chap. xiv. 2. " Like a shadow." The image of the shadow may simply refer to any of those shadows cast by the sun ; but some have understood it as referring: to the shadow on the sun-dial. That sun-dials did exist in Job's day is not at all improbable ; this mode of marking time being of very high antiquity, and attention to the movements of the heavenly bodies being proverbially common among those early nations, and at an after-period we read distinctly of the sun-dial of Ahaz. See the same image in chap. viii. 9. THE MEDICAL ART. 309 THE MEDICAL ART. Of this there is little or no trace in the poem. Job's own disease was such as could be cured only by the same hand that inflicted it. May not this be affirmed of all severe or violent distempers ? 4*, uJUL It is true, the word "physicians" occurs in chap. xiii. 4, but translators differ as to the meaning of the original term. Rephaim comes from the root repa, which signifies to frame or fabricate, to restore or repair ; and it is certainly employed in the latter sense in 1 Kings xviii. 30; compare Jer. vi. 14; viii. 11. But it is also employed in the secondary sense of restoring or repairing the human body when suffering from disease. See Gen. xx. 17; Exod. xv. 26; and other pas- sages ; and in some of the ancient versions it is used in that sense in this place. The LXX. have: " Ye are all bad physicians and curers of maladies." The Chaldee : " Ye are idol physicians, and like the mortified flesh which is cut off with the knife ; so are the whole of you." The Vulgate, on the other hand, has, " Cultores perversorum dogmatum," — framers of perverse opinions. An anonymous translator renders the passage : " But ye are forgers of fallacy ; All of you are fabricators of nonsense." And Good, thus : " What forgers of fallacy are ye — Fabricators of emptiness all of you." And, to quote no more, Scott versifies it thus : " But you, all you, are wranglers ; your replies Air pompous trifles, and defaming lies.'' 310 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. The physicians in Jacob's day, mentioned Gen. 1. 2, seem to have been mere embalmers; and their methods are de- scribed by Herodotus, in his Euterpe : but at a later period they must have been something more ; for in 2 Chron. xvi. 12, Asa is blamed, as having sought, in his disease, not to the Lord, but to the physicians. His doing so seems to stand condemned as an impiety. In these early ages men lived temperately ; their consti- tutions were good, and uninjured by luxurious and effeminate habits ; they were rarely sick till nature was exhausted, and then age and mortality admitted of no cure. An early death was so uncommon, as to be considered a punishment for some extraordinary wickedness ; and diseases were not thought to come in the ordinary course of nature, but to be inflicted by God for the correction of some particular crimes. Hence the elephantiasis of Job naturally led his friends to account him a person abhorred of God, and one who had been guilty of peculiar atrocities. When physicians actually began to practise the healing art, cannot now be determined with certainty : we read of many cases, in the books of Kings and Chronicles, of persons applying for the cure of diseases ; Naaman, for instance ; and at that time the ministers of religion, or the prophets of God, were thought the proper persons to be consulted. Asa is said to have lived, according to chronologers, about a. m. 30S7 ; but it was probably not till the time of Hippocrates, who flourished about a.m. 3570, that the art of physic attained to any thing like a regular form. His aphorisms are, to this day, acknowledged to have great merit. Those who wish to inquire farther into this curious subject, may consult, Mead's Medica Sacra ; Bartholine's Works ; Calmet's Dissertations, Vol. I. Diss. 18. Manget, Biblioth. Scriptorum Med. Scheuchzer's Physica Sacra; and other writers. THE MILITARY ART. 311 THE MILITARY ART. The traces of this science in the poem are few and scanty, yet they are sufficient to show that the art of war was by no means unknown. Indeed, unknown it could not be, early as Job may be supposed to have lived, since in the history of the book of Genesis we have only arrived at the fourteenth chapter, when we find a war carried on of four kings against five, in which Abraham was compelled by circumstances to take a part. In this poem we have pretty obvious allusions to Poisoned arrows — chap. vi. 4. The testudo, or buckler — chap. xv. 26. The attack and defence of places — chap. xvi. 14. The iron weapon — ) rp U i r , ( chap. xx. 24. I he bow ot brass — ) r The war horse — chap, xxxix. 19. In regard to the first of these, we learn that the use of poi- soned arrows must have been of very high antiquity. The language here is figurative, but every figure has its reality ; and in using these terms, Job no doubt had a reference to the practice of his own day in the prosecution of warfare. The wounds inflicted by such arrows produce a burning fever and an intense parching thirst, so as to dry up all the moisture in the system, inflame the blood, produce putrescence, and ter- minate in raging mania, from which the patient is relieved only by death. The metaphor occurs again in verse 9th, where the patriarch beseeches God to " loosen his hand," like an archer drawing his bow to the head, and then letting go his hand, that the arrow may fly to the mark. In chap. vii. 20, Job plainly alludes to the mark at which arrows are directed. See also chap. xvi. 12. In chap. xiv. 14, by "appointed time," Job means his pre- sent suffering condition ; and by " relief," his restoration to health and prosperity. These terms are figurative, being 312 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. borrowed from military usages, according to which, troops, after being for some time employed in active service, are at length recalled, and their place occupied by fresh forces. In chap. xvi. 14 we find the expression, " breach upon breach," which I have rendered differently, (see the version,) but which, if admitted, might seem to refer to the manner in which the wall of a besieged town is battered and broken through. The metaphors in chap. xix. 12 are borrowed from the works cast up by a besieging army, for the annoyance of a city with their arrows and engines of war. See Isa. xxxvii. 33. The art of war must surely have made a considerable pro- gress in those early days. Scott thus renders the passage : " His ire he kindled, and his armies sent On rapid march to my devoted tent ; His legions round my harmless dwelling formed Dreadful encampment, and with fury stormed." Chap. xx. 24. " Bow of steel." From this it may be collected that the military bow was made of steel, and consequently was very stiff and hard to bend, on which account they used their foot in bending their bows ; and therefore, when the prophets speak of treading the bow, and of bows trodden, they are to be understood of bows bent, as our translators rightly render it ; but the Hebrew word used in these places signifies to tread upon. Reference is made to this in Jerem. li. 3, where the prophet says, " Let the archer bend his bow, And let him not lift himself up in his brigandine." For, in using the large and long steel bows, which could not be bent by the force of the arms, they rested one end upon the ground, and pressing the other with the foot or knee, they drew back the arrow with their hands as far as ever they could, in order that it might fly with greater force. Hence the archer is called " one that treadeth the bow ;" and there- fore when he is bid not to lift himself up in his coat of mail, MODES OF TRAVELLING. 313 it is the same as bidding him not to desist from shooting with his bow. (Blayney.) See also 2 Sam. xxii. 35 ; Ps. xviii. 34. This weapon was thought so necessary in war, that it is there called the bow of war, or the battle-bow. Zech. ix. 10 ; x. 14. MODES OF TRAVELLING. It is well known, that from the earliest period to which historical information reaches, travelling to any distance was performed by means of caravans, or companies of travellers, who, for their greater security, marched in a body through the deserts, thus uniting the two purposes of self-defence and mutual accommodation. It is also known, that while exposed on the one hand to the attacks of predatory Arabs, they are liable on the other to much suffering from thirst, owing to the great scarcity of water in those deserts. Hence they are wont to employ camels for their vehicles, because these animals can bear much fatigue, eat little, and pass three or four days with- out drinking. These caravans encamp every night near to wells or rivulets known to the guides, and observe a discipline as regular as in war. The first mention we have of them in Scripture, appears to be in the history of Joseph, Gen. xxxvii. 25, where the histo- rian says, " They had now sittendown to eat a meal, when lo, on raising their eyes, they spied a caravan of Ishmaelites (Arabians) that had come from Gilead, with their camels loaded with frankincense, balsam, and mastich, which they were carrying down to Egypt." The next notice that occurs is in Judges v. 6, in the Song of Deborah, where she says, " In the days of Shamgar Ben-Anath, Unfrequented were the roads ; The caravans went through by-paths, Deserted were the villages of Israel." Isaiah, too, refers to them, in his oracle concerning Arabia, chap. xxi. 13, 14: 314 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. " In the forest, at evening, shall ye lodge, O ye caravans of Dedan. To meet the thirsty, bring ye forth water, O inhabitants of the southern country, With bread prevent the fugitive." To bring forth bread and water is an instance of common humanity in all cases of distress, especially in those desert countries where the necessaries of life are so difficult to be met with or procured. Moses forbids the Ammonite and Moabite to be admitted into the congregation of the Lord to the tenth generation, because they met not the Israelites with bread and water in the way, when they came forth out of Egypt. See Deut. xxiii. 4, and Lowth's Isaiah on this place. In the 6th chapter of Job, verse 19, in reference to the scarcity of water which these caravans sometimes experience, we have a striking picture of their difficulty and dismay. From the 16th to the 20th verse there is a fine description of a land-flood, its speedy disappearance in consequence of eva- poration, and the consternation of the caravans on arriving at the place, and finding no water where they expected full sup- plies ; the whole being applied by Job to his own case, who compares to those deceitful streams his three friends, by whom he found himself deserted, as to comfort, when he most required their help. He finely and feelingly says — " As to my brethren, they are perfidious like a brook, Like the torrent which rushes through the valley : Whose waters are swollen by the melting of ice, And turbid by reason of the snow. Summer comes, and they disappear ; The heat absorbs them, and they are dried up. Caravans turn thither on their route ; They perish in the midst of the desert. The travellers of Teman looked anxiously, The caravans of Sheba panted for them. They blushed for their own confidence ; They came to the spot and were confounded. Tn like manner ye are become useless to me ; Ye sec my misery, and recoil with horror." MODES OF TRAVELLING. 315 The caravans are here represented as dismayed, on finding the torrent-bed, which at a distance appeared to be full of water, completely dried up. The whole of this description is accurate and striking. Arabia has few rivers, and those tor- rents that are called rivers are of very transient existence, rushing violently while the rainy season lasts, but disappear- ing altogether in a time of drought, and scarcely leaving suffi- cient water to irrigate the fields, or even to quench the thirst of the scorched and weary traveller. The caravans coming from Tema are represented as arriving at those places where it was well known torrents did descend from the mountains, and they were full of expectation that here they could not only slake their thirst, but fill their water-skins. But when they arrive at the spot, they find the waters totally dissipated and lost. In vain did the caravans of Sheba wait for them, — they did not reappear, and they were confounded because they had hoped to find here refreshment and rest. A similar scene, arising from a different cause, is described in Jer. xiv. 3 : God had sent a great drought on Judah, for the punishment of their sins. The effect of this drought is thus represented, bearing in mind that in the simplicity of ancient times the children of nobility were employed in menial offices, like the daughters of King Alcinous, described by Homer, Odyss. ii. 50, &c. : " The nobles also have sent their children for water ; They came to the pits — they found no water. They returned with their vessels empty ; They were ashamed and confounded. They covered their heads" — (i. e. as a mark of affliction.) The caravans in Job's day were those that went from Arabia Felix with merchandise to Egypt. Their road lay through Arabia PetraBa, Job's country. The yearly caravan which now goes from Grand Cairo to Mecca, passes the same way. We find another allusion to these uncertain torrents in chap. xi. 16, where Zophar says — " Then thou shalt forget thy miseries, Or remember them only as a torrent that has passed." 31(5 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. Another mode of travelling in those days seems to be re- ferred to in chap. ix. 25 : " My days are swifter than a courier." The pace of camels is very slow — not more than ten or twelve leagues a day : but couriers, who carried dispatches, travelled very rapidly ; they either rode on dromedaries, which far out- run the swiftest horses, or else on foot, relieving each other at proper intervals ; in which case they could accomplish 150 miles a day. They are referred to in Jer. li. 31 : " Courier shall run to meet courier ;" that is, to carry the tidings of the taking of Babylon by Cyrus. They are also mentioned in 2 Chron. xxx. 6, where Hezekiah employs them to notify a solemn passover throughout the kingdom : and in Esther iii. 13, 15 ; viii. 10, 14; meaning the Persian letter-carriers instituted by Cyrus for the purpose of conveying speedy intelligence. See Xenophon, Cyropaedia, lib. viii. OF HUNTING. In chap, xviii. 7 — 13, there is an allusion to this; nor is it the only one. 1. A number of persons extend themselves in a forest, and drive the game before them, still narrowing the space from a broad base to a narrow point in form of a triangle, so that the farther they go, the less room they have on the right and left, the hunters lining each side, while the drivers with their dogs are coming up behind. To this the following line refers, ver. 7 : " The steps of his strength shall be straitened." 2. Nets, gins, and pitfalls, are laid or formed in different places, so that many animals are taken before they come to the point where the two lines close. Thus, verses 8 — 10: " He is caught by the feet in a pitfall ; Perfidious snares encompass him ; OF HUNTING. 31' The trap shall lay hold of his heel, It shall fasten thoroughly upon him : A cord is hid for him in the ground, And the gin under the path." 3. The howling of dogs, with the shouts of the huntsmen, fill him with dismay, and cause him to run himself beyond his strength and out of breath, (ver. 11) : " Terrors await him on every side ; They force him to retrace his steps." 4. While spent with hunger and fatigue, he is entangled in the spread nets ; and the huntsman either pierces him with an arrow or spear, or cuts the sinews of his legs, so that he is easily captured and destroyed : " His strength shall be enfeebled by hunger ; Destruction shall march at his side ; The first-born of Death shall devour his skin ; It shall greedily feed on his members." The sacred writers have many allusions of this kind. See Ps. cxl. 4, 5 : " Keep me, O Jehovah, from the hands of the wicked ; From unjust men deliver me, Who have formed contrivances to supplant my steps. The haughty hid a snare for me ; They spread out nets for my feet ; Close by the way they set gins for me." And in Ezek. xix. 6, &c. : " He became a young lion ; He learned to seize the prey — he devoured men : Then the nations set themselves against him ; They spread their net over him ; He was taken in their pit ; They put him in confinement, That his voice might no more be heard Among the mountains of Israel." There are many references to these modes of surrounding wild beasts in the history and in the psalms of David, where '318 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. he and his adherents were encompassed by Saul and his fol- lowers. See 1 Sam. xxiii. 7, 26; Ps. lxvi. 11, 12; xviii. 5. For other instances of allusion to this subject, in the book of Job, see chap. iii. 23 ; x. 11; xxxviii. 8. OF WRITING. Chap. xix. 23. " O, that even now my words were recorded ! O, that they were engraven on a tablet, With a pen of iron upon lead, That they were sculptured for perpetuity on a rock." Here are four different ideas, forming an admirable climax : 1. That his words were simply written, according to the ancient practice, when men wrote on the leaves of the palm, and the bark of certain trees, or on rolls of papyrus or parch- ment. 2. That they were engraven on a tablet; i. e. on squares of wood covered with wax, on which the letters were indented with a hard pen of any substance. 3. That they were cut in lead with an iron pen, such as Pliny mentions, who says, (lib. xiii. c. 11,) that " all public documents were preserved on leaden plates or sheets." 4. That they were permanently sculptured on some en- during rock, so as to remain there to future ages, like the written mountains of which travellers inform us. One of these methods is mentioned in Isa. xxx. 8. " Go now, write it before them en a tablet, And record it in letters upon a bonk, That it may be for future times, For a perpetual testimony." And another, by Jeremiah, (Jer. xvii. 1.) " The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron ; "With the point of a diamond it is engraved MINING OPERATIONS. 319 Upon the tablet of their heart, And upon the horns of their altars." See Prideaux's Connexion, vol. ii. b. 7, versus finem. The ancients used to inscribe their laws, maxims, and wise sayings, on tables of lead, as appears from various parts of the Talmud; for which see Buxtorf, Lexicon, p. 19, and Pausa- nias, Bceot. lib. ix. who mentions that there was shown to him at a fountain, a tablet of lead, on which he read ancient poems written, namely, Hesiod's ; but a great part had perished by the injuries of time. Linen books were also used by the ancients ; and the ban- dages of the mummies are often found covered with illegible characters. Some conjecture that the books of the Old Testament were written on linen. jSee Burder's Oriental Customs, 8vo. p. 367, &c. ubi plura. MINING OPERATIONS. CHAP. XI,II. From the passages relative to the working of mines, which we meet with in this chapter, some have been led to enter- tain doubts concerning the high antiquity of the book, but without reason ; since as soon as gold and silver, or precious stones, were discovered and dug out of the earth, there must have been mines, and modes of working them too. And we have intimation of this, as connected with a very early period of the world's existence ; since, in speaking of the situation of Eden, the sacred writer says, " The land of Havilah contained gold ; there also is bdellium and the onyx stone ;" (Gen. ii. 12 ;) and Tubal-Cain is described as an " instructor of every arti- ficer in brass and iron." Gen. iv. 22. In ver. 1 the fining of metals is mentioned as an instance of man's ability, distinct from his searching them out in the 320 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. mine; and iron and copper, as well as gold and silver, are the metals specified. Mines of iron, the most useful of all metals, are to be found almost every where ; and as to cop- per, Pliny says, it was first discovered in the island of Cyprus. And supposing Job's own country to have produced neither, these metals might have become known to him by means of Egyptian or Phoenician traffic. " The stones of darkness," (ver. 3,) no doubt, mean the metallic ore deposited in the deep and dark parts of the earth ; and digging is here mentioned as one mode of arriving at them. The miner, by his own labour and industry, gra- dually brings these subterranean treasures to light. Having once discovered the vein, he follows it to its extremity, and intermits not his search whilst there is the least hope of obtaining more. Ver. 4. He breaks up the channels of streams that had been choked, or diverted from their proper course, and sifts them in order to find the grains of gold deposited in their beds. He enters into caverns abounding with inflammable materials — " the region of fire," sulphur and bitumen — no danger daunts him — so strong is his thirst for the precious metals. He finds sapphires, or lapis lazuli, with golden-like spots, formed by pyrites of iron, from which the beautiful colour, called ultramarine, is obtained. He ventures into places which the most daring beasts of prey would hardly enter; and into which the vulture, however ravenous, never penetrated. Ver. 9. He breaks in pieces the hardest flints and marbles ; the stony strata, whatever they may be, that compose the roots or foundations of the mountains, assails them, as Pliny says, with iron wedges and mallets, and undermines a mass of earthy matter, in order that, by its fall, he may discover within, some traces of the metals he is in search of. Ver. 10. He carries aqueducts over valleys, and hews a way for those pipes through the rock, to detect the channels in which gold or silver is likely to be hid. Ver. 11. Sometimes the subterraneous waters burst, uncalled for, into the mine, in such abundance as to retard the work : PRECIOUS STONES. S2\ these lie drains off by suitable machinery, and tries to stop the openings from whence they issued. Such is the general view which the passage presents to us ; and though there can be no doubt, that the first eleven verses of the chapter relate solely and directly to this subject, yet some authors have strangely conceived, that there is here an allusion to the miraculous supply of water in the desert, or to the stopping of the course of the Jordan, that the Israelites might pass over, dry-shod, into the promised land. See Heath on Job, who imagines that verses ninth and eleventh contain a reference to Exod. xvii. 6, and to Josh. iii. 9 — 17. All the treasures here mentioned are a farther proof that the book of Job is an Idumean production. The people of that country carried on, very early, an extensive trade from Eziongeber and Elath, on the Arabian Gulf, which the Israelites did not attempt before the reign of Solomon. Hence the knowledge of Ophir and Cush, and their precious rarities here mentioned. PRECIOUS STONES. The stones, which are enumerated in the forty-second chapter, are the following : The sapphire, The onyx, The diamond, The agate, The pearl, The ruby, The emerald, The topaz. But on no subject is there more uncertainty, than in the attempt to ascertain the exact signification of the original terms. Our translators have affixed names to the twelve precious stones which were ordered to be set in Aaron's Y log STATE OI' ARTS AND SCIENCES. breast-plate, (Exod. xxviii. 17,) and likewise to those twelve which are mentioned in the description of the New Jerusalem, (Rev. xxi. 19;) hut with how much uncertainty, will appear to any one who shall consult the commentators upon these passages. The natural history of all countries must necessarily be, in some measure, obscure and unsatisfactory to a foreign reader ; because a true idea of many of the tilings referred to can only be got by inspection. The references, therefore, to the natural history of Idumea, or to what was in use among that people, must be as difficult to be understood in the sacred writings as in those of other authors : and they are not more so, but in proportion to their date. See Pilkington's Remarks, Sect. 17. Those who are curious on such subjects, which no doubt tend, when properly understood, to the illustration of Scrip- ture, will do well to consult Calmet on Pearls, &c. ; Lamy's Introduction, Of Precious Stones, chap. iv. ; Theophrastus' History of Stones, translated by Hill; and other similar works. Some have imagined the peninim of ver. 18, in chap, xlii., to mean magnets or loadstones ; but there is no proof that the attractive virtue of the magnet was known to the Jews or Arabians ; nor does it appear to be anywhere mentioned in Scripture. That it was known to the Greeks, is allowed ; but that was at a later period. A learned rabbi, Abraham Ben David, writing on this sub- ject, remarks : " For my part, I confess my ignorance of the particular species of precious stones which were set on the pectoral of the high-priest ; and I wonder at the confusion which I see in Onkelos and the other Targumists." It is well for inferior writers to follow his example ; otherwise nothing could be more easy than to make a display of learn- ing on topics like these. I shall only add, that precious stones are still found in Arabia in great abundance, and are carried to the annual fair at Mecca. coins. 323 COINS. Chap. xlii. 11. "A piece of money." Heb. " keshite." LXX. " a lamb," a " shekel of gold, and some unstamped." Vulg. " one sheep, or ewe." We know very little of the monetary system of the ancients; and, in all probability, trade was for a long time carried on by barter. Some countries had a coin which they called a lamb ; perhaps the stamp was a lamb, the occupations of man- kind, and their wealth, consisting chiefly in agriculture and the feeding of cattle. When Jacob (in Gen. xxxiii. 19) is said to buy a parcel of land for " a hundred pieces of money,'' the Septuagint translates it, " a hundred lambs." Some countries call a shekel "a piece of four drachms;" but the LXX. translators, being of Alexandria, generally call it " a piece of two drachms." The Alexandrian drachm was double that of the Attic. If we could ascertain the nature and value of the keshite, and when it was first introduced, it might assist us in disco- vering the date of the book of Job ; but that is, in some measure, hopeless. Many are of opinion, that coined money was not in use so early as Job's day : though not coined, it might be valued by weight, and used as a medium of com- merce. The LXX., by using the word unstamped, in the passage before us, seem to intimate that it was four drachms of uncoined gold. The only other places in the Old Testament, where this term keshite occurs, are, Gen. xxxiii. 19, above quoted, and Josh. xxiv. 32, in both which places the LXX. render it lambs : but the present of a lamb would have been very in- significant in Job's case, amongst a pastoral people, and he is immediately after spoken of as possessing fourteen thousand sheep — whence then came this great increase ? Besides, the y 2 32A> STATE OF AKTS AND SCIENCES. connexion of the word with " an ear-ring of gold," seems to show that it was a present of money or precious metal in some form, which is confirmed by what Stephen says, in Acts vii. 16, where, referring to the purchase made by Abraham, narrated in Gen. xxiii. he calls it " a sum of money." Bochart contends that it was a species of money, for the following reasons : 1. Because the Scripture, in treating of sheep and lambs, never calls them by this name. 2. Because the same term in the Talmudists, and almost all the modern Hebrew writers, signifies — money. 3. Because of its feminine termination, and the improba- bility that Jacob should buy a field for a hundred lambs, or that Job should receive such from his friends. 4. Because, at that period, those only were reckoned proper purchases which were made with money. 5. Because, in Acts vii. 16, the field is said to have been bought from the sons of Emmor, not with lambs, but with a money price. There are two authors who have written on the subject of ancient coins, who may perhaps have treated of this matter, but not having seen the works, I cannot refer to them ; viz. Bishop Cumberland's Essay towards the Recovery of the Jewish Measures, Weights, and Monies, 1686. Dr. Arbuthnot's Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights, and Measures. But the most probable view of this passage, after all, seems to be that entertained by Dr. Geddes, who thinks the word keshite is of Syriac extraction, and should be written with a samech instead of a shin, so as to be read kesita ; the meaning of which is a belt, or girdle. It is well known in what esti- mation belts were anciently held ; and from this, probably, may be derived the Greek kbotoq, and the Latin cestus, both signifying a girdle. It tends, in some measure, to confirm Geddes's view, that the term kesit is used in Ezek. ix. 2, to denote a writer's ink- horn, an instrument which we know was familiarly suspended from the girdle, and from that circumstance might derive its PROCESS OF REFINING. ' 325 name. See Shaw's Travels, p. 293, fol. edit., and Hanway's Travels, vol. i. p. 332, who says, they put their inkhorns under their sash. I may merely add, that Faber ad Harmarum, p. 2, p. 18, quoted by Dathe, understands, by kesita, a kind of precious vessel, fabricated of gold or silver, of which the value was fixed, which was in use in those days, in place of money, and therefore was sometimes given as a present. Such also was the nose or ear-jewel, for it signifies both, which was pre- sented to Job by his friends. PROCESS OF REFINING. Chap, xxiii. 10. " He knoweth the path that I take ; He trieth me, that I may come forth pure gold.'' Numerous are the references of this kind in Scripture, where the trial of good men's faith and patience is compared to the purifying and trying of metals by fire. Thus, in Dan. xii. 10. " Many shall be purified, and made white, and proved ;" alluding to that probation and discipline which the saints of God will generally experience, in order to prepare and qualify them for the enjoyment of their future inheritance. Sec also chap. xi. 35. Isa. xlviii. 10. " Behold, I have purified thee in the fire, but not as silver; I have tried thee in the furnace of affliction." Zech. xiii. 9. " And I will bring the third part through the fire, And will refine them as silver is refined, And will try them as gold is tried." 3~6 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. And the same form of speaking is continued in the New Testament in the same sense : thus, Rev. ii. 10. " Behold, the devil (the spirit of false accusation) shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried" &c. James i. 12. " Blessed is the man that endureth trial ; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life." 1 Peter i. 7. " That the trial of your faith (or fidelity) being much more precious than (the trial of) gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, may be found," &c. In all these figurative expressions, we must be content with the general sentiment implied ; namely, that the proper ten- dency of affliction is to purify the mind or spirit, and set it free from its baser qualities, as fire separates the pure metal from its dross or alloy. We must not press the metaphor too far, at any rate no farther than Scripture warrants, otherwise we pass into the region of fancy, and weaken, instead of strengthening the comparison. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. Chap. xxx. 31. " My harp utters only mournful sounds ; My lute repeats only the dirge of woe." It would be difficult in our times to give an exact descrip- tion of the several musical instruments mentioned in the Old Testament. Our English translators have shown themselves puzzled in this matter, and evidently appear to have rendered the Hebrew terms at random. It would have been well, however, if they had observed uniformity of rendering, in which they have been sadly deficient : e. g. nebcl is translated MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 327 a psaltery in one place, viol in another, and lute in a third. Tep is called a timbrel, and also a tabret. Menen is termed a stringed instrument ; but of what kind we are not informed. It is of no use attempting precision where we are wholly ignorant of the nature of these instruments ; it is enough to convey the general sense ; only it would be well to attach the same signification to the original term that has been once given it, and not to vary the meaning every time it occurs. From the names of these instruments, therefore, we can discover nothing that might serve as a guide in ascertaining the antiquity of the book of Job. Indeed, they seem to have been in existence before Job's day, since those here referred to are mentioned in Gen. iv. 21, under the same names, and we are there told who was the inventor of them. The kinura, or harp, seems to have been an instrument of the stringed kind, played on with the hand, or with a plec- trum. It was used either for plaintive strains, or on joyful occasions, since all instruments may be made to affect the mind differently, according as they are differently played on. As to the instrument here called the pipe, or lute, in our version " the organ," it very probably consisted of so many reeds, set or compacted together in a row, of different length and thickness, and capable of different modulations, which were blown into by moving them successively under the lower lip, and resembling the Panpipe of the present day. This instrument is referred to in the additional psalm, which we have in the version of the LXX., (as Ps. cli.) where David says, " My hands made the organ," speaking of himself when a shepherd : consequently, it was a pastoral instrument, simple in its form, and simple in its modulations, but capable of sufficient variety to please a shepherd's ear. It is the same instrument which is noticed in the last clause of chap. xxi. 12 of this book : " They rise up to the tabor and harp ; They trip merrily to the sound of the pipe." From which it would appear, that the amusement of dancing was enjoyed in company with the exercise of this instrument ; 0*28 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. of which Pfeiffer is said to have given a learned account, in his German work on the Music of the Hebrews, a work 1 have never met with. What we now term the organ is too complex an instrument to have had an existence in the days of Job, and therefore the use of the term in our version only conveys a false idea. The tep, or tabor, (from which evidently our English word tap) appears to have been a small drum or tympanum carried in the hand, such as we now call a tambourine, played on by beating with the fingers. It is rendered in our version a tabrct, (chap. xvii. 6,) but our translators have mistaken the sense, by deriving the term from tep, a drum ; instead of peteh, meaning a fool or laughing-stock, an object of derision, or, as some think, a prodigy, or example of Divine wrath. COSMOLOGY. Chap. ix. 6. " He shaketh the earth to its foundations, So that the pillars thereof totter." These expressions, as Scott observes, seem to describe that kind of earthquake, in which the earth vibrates alternately from right to left, whereby mountains have been sometimes brought to meet, and clash against each other. By " the pillars of the earth," here, which is merely a figurative expression, and of course not to be understood lite- rally, is meant the earth's immovable stability ; at least, Jerome so interprets the phrase : " Columnas hoc loco pro stabilitatc terra; intelligamus, quam Deus super semetipsam immobilissima mole fundavit." Chap, xxiii. 8, 9. Here the four cardinal points are plainly distinguished ; so that it appears these Idumeans had a correct view of this matter. The words forward, backward, left, and right, in our version, are intended to denote the cast, west. COSMOLOGY. 329 north, and south, the spectator being supposed to look towards the rising sun. The knowledge of this is important for fixing geographical situation. Thus, the Ishmaelites are said (Gen. xxv. 18,) to have dwelt before Egypt ; that is to say, to the east of it ; as is apparent from Gen. xvi. 7 ; Exod. xv. 22 ; 1 Sam. xv. 7. On similar principles the west is often called behind: thus, Mahaneh-dan (Judges xviii. 12) is said to be behind Kirjath-jearim ; i. e. westward of it. And the Mediterranean is called " the uttermost," i. e. the western " sea," Deut. xi. 24; Joel ii. 20; see also Zech. xiv. 8. The wind of the sea is " the west wind," Exod. x. 19. The west side is, in the Hebrew, " the seaward side," Exod. xxvii. 12; xxxviii. 12; and other places. For examples of the right hand being used for the south, we may refer to Josh. xvii. 7 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 13 ; 1 Sam. xxiii. 21. And for a similar use of the left, we may turn to Gen. xiv. 15, and Josh. xix. 27. Chap, xx vi. 7. " He it is who stretcheth out the north over empty space ; Who suspendeth the earth upon nothing." Here Bildad speaks strictly according to the doctrines of philosophy ; for the foundation of a pendulous globe can be nothing but its centre, upon which all the parts lean, and are supported thereby. So that the Idumean cosmogony agrees with the modern. The LXX. have, " Stretching the north upon nothing ; Hanging the earth upon nothing." Chap. xxvi. 10. " The boundary of light and darkness." The ancient eastern philosophers imagined that the earth was an immense circular plain, surrounded by water, which reached to the concave heavens, in which the stars were fixed. The meeting of the water and the heavens formed the great circle, at which the sun appeared and disappeared, and which is therefore called by Bildad the limit or boundary of light and darkness. See Prov. viii. 27. 330 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. Chap. xxvi. 11. " The pillars of heaven." By these may be meant, according to the popular notion, those high mountains on which the heavens were supposed to rest, and to be supported ; and when these were shaken by earth- quakes, it might be said they trembled. It is well known that Mount Atlas, in Mauritania, was considered in this light in ancient times : " Atlas' broad shoulders prop th' incumbent skies ; Around his cloud-girt head the stars arise." As in Silius Italicus, b. i. v. 202. Chap, xxxvii. 18. " Hast thou with Him spread out the heavens, Polished as a molten mirror ?" that is, durable, and resembling a molten looking-glass ; for mirrors in ancient times were made of brass, or other metals : and, as the instruments originally used for the purpose of reflecting light, were plates of polished metal, so no apter simile could be used in respect to the sky. See Exod. xxxviii. 8. ASTRONOMY. A pastoral people always possesses some knowledge of astronomy. Tending their flocks by night necessarily leads to the observation of the heavenly bodies, and they naturally become familiar with those constellations which are most regularly visible in their horizon. Besides, in their navi- gation of the Red Sea, and their caravan journeys through the desert, a knowledge of the stars became indispensable to these Idumeans, at a time when the mariner's compass was unknown. In our version of the book of Job we have long been accus- tomed to read the names of several constellations ; and they ASTRONOMY. 331 are, by long use, so associated with the book in the reader's mind, that it will be reckoned a kind of sacrilege to displace them. Yet the original terms in the Hebrew have no such meaning ; and we derive the fine-sounding names'of Arcturus, Orion, and the Pleiades, entirely from the Greek and Latin translations ; namely, from the LXX. and Vulgate. Let us take the two passages in which they occur in Job, and a third passage in Amos v. 8, being the only other in the Old Testament. The following are the respective readings of the Hebrew, LXX., and Vulgate : Chap. ix. 9. (Hebrew.) " Who maketh the blight (osh), and the cold (cesil), The genial heat (cime), and the thick clouds of the south." (Septuagint.) " Who is the Maker of the Pleiades and Hesperus, And of Arcturus, and the chambers of Notus." (Vulgate.) " Who maketh Arcturus and Orion, And the Hyades, and the interior parts of the south." Here we see that the Vulgate differs from the Septuagint in the names of the supposed constellations; from which it is plain that they followed no certain system in translating them, but that they rendered them so by conjecture, taking the names of such as were most familiar to them. Or they may have been led by Homer's description of Achilles's shield (Iliad S. v. 485,) where he takes notice of the same stars, which is rather remarkable. Chap, xxxviii. 31. (Hebrew.) " Canst thou restrain the influence of the genial warmth (cime), Or relax the contractions of the rigid cold (cesil) ? Canst thou bring forth the simoom (mazarout) in its season, And direct the blighting air (oish) with its insects ?" Literally, "its sons." 332 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. Chap, xxxviii. 31. (Septuagint.) " Canst thou fasten the band of the Pleiades, Or open the enclosure of Orion ? Canst thou cause Mazaroth to come forth in his season, Or drag out Hesperus by his hair ?" (Vulgate.) " Canst thou join together the sparkling stars of the Pleiades, Or disturb the revolution of Arcturus ? Canst thou bring forth Lucifer in his time, Or make Vesper to rise on the sons of the earth ?" Amos v. 8. (Hebrew.) — " Who produceth the heat (cime) and the cold (cesil) ; Who tnrneth the dark night into morning, And darkeneth the day into night." (Septuagint.) " He is the Maker and Former of all things ; He turneth darkness into day, And darkeneth the day into night." (Vulgate.) " Who maketh Arcturus and Orion, And converteth darkness into morning, And changeth day into night." Thus we find, by comparing the passages, that osh, which we have rendered blight, is the Pleiades in the LXX. and Arctu- rus in the Vulgate. Again, in the second passage, osh or oish is Hesperus in the LXX., and Vesper, which is the same, in the Vulgate. Cesil, which we render cold, is at one time Hesperus, and at another, Orion, in the LXX. ; at one time, Orion, and at another, Arcturus, in the Vulgate. Again, cime, which we render heat, or warmth, is at one time Arc- turus ; at another time, the Pleiades ; at a third time, " all things," in the LXX. ; and in the Vulgate, it is once the Hyades ; a second time, the Pleiades ; a third time, Orion. What dependence can be placed on versions, not only differ- inn- thus from each other, but differing from themselves? If there be in the original terms any allusion whatever to clusters ASTRONOMY. 333 of stars, it is not to these, as such, but as the harbingers of certain seasons, that the allusion is made. It is well known, that in different regions of the earth, the appearance of certain constellations before sunrise or after sunset, marks the dis- tinction of seasons, and regulates the labours of the husband- man. And this is all that is meant here. The cime is the genial heat of spring, when nature is reanimated, and the purposes of vegetation are promoted. The cesil, on the con- trary, denotes the frosts, snows, and tempests of the winter months, when the labours of husbandry are suspended, and the earth is in no condition either to receive or to nourish seeds and plants. As to osk, or oish, it is any thing that blights or consumes, such as the samiel, or simoom, the wind that brings the swarms of locusts, or any other blasting air. A curious use has been made by some of the knowledge of the heavenly bodies, to attempt to fix the time of Job's ex- istence by astronomical calculation. Supposing the principal stars here mentioned to be those of Taurus and Scorpio, and that these were the cardinal constellations of spring and autumn in the time of Job ; and calculating their places by the ratio of the precession of the equinoxes; they have brought out the age of Job to be, 818 years after the deluge ; 2337 before Christ ; or, according to the common compu- tation, 2130. 1 84 years before the birth of Abraham ; 474 years before Jacob's settlement in Egypt ; C89 years before the departure of the Israelites from thence. This calculation, made by Dr. Brinkley of Dublin, and adopted by Dr. Hales, had been made, singularly enough, in 17G5, by M. Ducoutant of Paris, in support of the very same argument, with a result differing only in being forty-two years less. Such a coincidence is very striking; and the argument deduced from it, if well founded, would amount nearly to a demonstration. But though this calculation is too ingenious to be omitted, it rests on an assumption, that the cime and 334 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. cesil of Scripture were Taurus and Scorpio, a matter very difficult to prove, and of which no proof has been offered. Chap. xxv. 5. " Behold, even the moon, it abideth not ; And the stars are not pure in his sight." As the Hebrew word ael never means " to shine," our com- mon version here is incoriect. The word means " to abide, or pitch a tent;" and the expression refers to the varying aspects of this planet: "it abideth not;" it is perpetually shifting in its place and appearance. METEOROLOGY. Besides the thunder-storm and the aurora-borealis, both of which we have noticed elsewhere, we have mention made, or descriptions of, several other atmospherical phenomena, a careful attention to which might in some measure serve as a clue to the country and climate in which our patriarch resided. 1. The Euroclydon, or eastern tempest, is distinctly noticed in chap, xxvii. 21. — It is well known as the most boisterous and destructive wind that blows in those countries. It is most violent in the night season. It is particularly tempestuous in the Mediterranean, and is well known to navigators by the name of Levanter. It is the same wind from which Paul suffered, as described in Acts xxvii. 14. The description in Job is extremely forcible : " The eastern whirlwind carrieth him off, and go he must ; It bloweth him away headlong from his place : Yea, it dasheth upon him, and spareth not ; He cannot escape from its power by flight." 2. The Simoom is referred to, in chap. iii. 5, under the title of the " scorching blasts." — By these are no doubt meant METEOROLOGY, 335 that withering and pestilential wind. The original term occurs here only, and is derived from a word signifying a bitter, suffocating heat. This wind, which is now well known by the reports of travellers, sweeps at noon-day over the deserts of Arabia, the country of Job, and not unfrequently destroys whole caravans with instantaneous scorching, suffo- cation and corruption. It sometimes becomes a whirlwind, raising up large quantities of sand, so as to darken the air, and not seldom to bury underneath the unfortunate traveller. There seems to be a reference to this wind in Jer. iv. 11, 12. The most vehement storms to which Judea was subject came from the great desert to the south of it. It is to this wind Job refers in chap, xxxvii. 9. " Out of the south cometh the whirlwind." And Isaiah mentions it in chap. xxi. 1, (Lowth's version) : " Like the southern tempests violently rushing along ; From the desert he cometh — from the terrible country." See also Zech. ix. 14. M He shall go forth with whirlwinds of the south." See Ps. lxxviii. 26. 3. The whirlwind, or tempest, chap, xxxix. 1. — That these addresses of the Almighty to Job and to his friends should proceed from a whirlwind or tempest, was no incredible or uncommon thing in the days of the patriarchs, nor yet of the prophets who followed them. We find God speaking to Adam after the Fall, in the wind of the day ; and at the giving of the Law, in a terrific manner, on Sinai — so much so as to alarm Moses himself, Exod. xix. ; Heb. xii. 18. To Elijah, also, there came " a mighty wind," though God was not in the wind, but in the " still small voice " that followed it, 1 Kings xix. To Ezekiel also, by the river Chebar, (see Ezek. i. 4) ; and therefore God is said to dwell in the obscu- rity of the tempest, (1 Kings viii. 12,) and to have " his way in the whirlwind and the storm," (Nahum i. 3,) to say nothing of the "mighty rushing wind" which accompanied the first effusion of the Spirit. 836 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. Tornadoes or whirlwinds are very frequent in the eastern countries, and often precede rain. They generally blow from the south, and are followed by thunder and lightning. Some- times they are attended with the most fatal consequences. From these phenomena the sacred writers have borrowed some of their most expressive figures. 4. The clem, chap. xxix. 19 ; xxxviii. 28. — It is a question undecided to this day, whether dew ascends from the earth, or descends from the atmosphere. Experiments have been made on the subject, but without satisfactory results. It may be water deposited from the atmosphere when the surface of the ground is colder than the air. Its being found at a certain height from the ground, on trees, shrubs, and plants, makes it less likely to originate from the exhalations of the earth. In Arabia Petraea the dews are so heavy as to wet to the skin those who are exposed to them. But as soon as the sun arises, and the atmosphere becomes a little warmed, the mists are quickly dispersed, and the abundant moisture which the dews had communicated to the sands is entirely evaporated. 5. Snow, hail, &c. chap, xxxviii. 22, 29. — Here these phe- nomena are represented as having a moral purpose ; they are not merely in themselves remarkable, but are employed as instruments in the hands of the Deity, when God makes war vipon his enemies, and punishes the sins of men by destruc- tive storms, destroying the means of subsistence, and some- times life itself. 6. The dawn, chap, xxxviii. 12, &c. — The images here are exceedingly beautiful and appropriate. The earth is repre- sented as a winged creature, moving on its round, whose plumage is tinged with the golden light of the morning sun. And as night is the time for robberies and outrage, (and the Bedouin Arabs are proverbial for plundering,) the return of the day puts a stop to their proceedings, and compels them to desist. As clay receives a new form from the hands of the potter, so the external appearance of nature undergoes a change from the rising of the sun; it becomes much more beautiful, and all things are seen as it were in full dress. But when day comes to the wicked, it is their night ; and METEOROLOGY. 337 night, which was their day, is taken away or withdrawn — and the arm of violence, which was lifted up to strike, is suddenly stopped, and defeated in its purposes, by the opening dawn. 7. The light, chap, xxxviii. 19, &c. — Here every thing is personified : light and darkness have their separate palaces, with avenues to them, and distinct boundaries. In the questions put, there is not so much an appeal to human ignorance, as to human impotence, in making such arrangements, every thing being the work of Almighty power. The expression, " Surely thou knowest," is severely iro- nical ; and the reference to number of days is in mockery of the experience and wisdom usually attributed to old age. 8. The seasons. — See under Astronomy. 9. The clouds and meteors, chap, xxxviii. 36, &c. — ' Who hath given wisdom to the wandering lights ? Who hath bestowed understanding on the meteors 1 Who hath in wisdom made the clouds serene, And restrained the bottles of the sky ? So that the earth is compacted into a mass, And the clods of the ground cohere more firmly." The purport of the whole is to show that man can add nothing to these changes of the atmosphere — that all depends on the will and wisdom of the Creator. All these references to the phenomena of the seasons were well understood by a people like those in ancient times, who led a pastoral life, whose shepherds tended their flocks by night, under an unclouded sky, in the eastern hemisphere, where they watched the revolutions of the seasons, saw the sisterhood of stars, which ushered in the rosy spring ; and beheld Orion, like an armed man, bringing on the winter, — were witnesses to the gathering of the thunder-cloud, and heard the reverberation of the peals, — knew the effects of sudden torrents of rain, and were familiar with the influences of refreshing dew, — saw the earth at one time bound by the frost, at another, comminuted into small particles by the z 838 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. drought. In all these they traced the wonder-working God, and might be supposed to exclaim with the Psalmist : " How manifold are thy works, Jehovah ; In wisdom hast thou made them all ; The earth is full of thy goodness !" 10. The sea, chap, xxxviii. 8, &c. — Under this head we may be permitted to include two subjects, which do not strictly belong to the class of Meteorology : " Who shut up the sea with doors," &c. There never was a more sublime description of that element than is here exhibited. The sea breaks forth from the abyss, from the bowels of the earth, as from its mother's womb. He who forms and arranges all things, speaks to it as a being newly brought into existence ; he speaks, as the irresistible Disposer of all things, in few words ; and the ocean is silent, and obeys him for ever. 11. Earthquakes, chap. ix. 5, 6 ; xxxiv. 20. — In the first of these passages there is an allusion to those awful convulsions of nature, by means of which mountains, valleys, hills, and even whole islands, are removed in an instant, and swallowed up in the twinkling of an eye. In ver. 6. reference is made to that tremulous motion which usually precedes or accompanies, so as to give brief warning of the approaching catastrophe. In the second passage, the case supposed is evidently that of an earthquake happening at midnight, and suddenly de- stroying the rulers and people of some wicked city. Such an event had. probably taken place in Arabia, the tradition of which was preserved in the days of Job. Rain. — With regard to rain, we may observe, that one of the words employed to express it, viz. geshein, is, according to some critics, a direct Arabic word, importing to " descend, fall, or settle ;" and always signifies a heavy, violent shower. Gesliem is the term used to describe " the great rain" which fell after forty-two months' drought in Elijah's time, I Kings xviii. 45. The rains peculiarly seasonable, and hence peculiarly desired by the inhabitants of Syria and Idumea, were the METEOROLOGY. 339 spring, or growing rain, and the harvest, or swelling and perfecting rain. These are often denominated in our version, " the early and the latter rain ;" see Job xxix. 23 ; Hosea vi. 3. But the Hebrew nouns have nothing of former and latter implied in their meaning: the one, melekoush, is, literally, " the crop rain," which fell just before the season of harvest? to plump the grain before it was severed. The other, icnre, is, literally, " the springing rain," or the rain which makes to spring, which fell upon the seed newly sown. The crop rain fell about the beginning of March ; the rain of seed time fell about the middle or end of October. Besides these, there were what were called the second rains, which commonly succeed the first, after an interval of fine weather for a number of days, the winter months being more or less indiscriminately wet. In relation to this subject, as well as in some other instances, the superior copiousness of the Hebrew language is manifest. The Hebrew has six several words to denote rain ; while the Greek has, at most, three ; the Latin, the same number ; and the English, only one, for shower may be applied to snow, hail, and other matters, besides rain. The aspect of the country is very much affected by the presence or absence of rain, as may easily be supposed. In those hot climates, during the season of drought, every thing is burnt up, and the fields are turned into a desert. But when the rains descend, a sudden resurrection of vegetable nature takes place — the pastures are again clothed with luxu- riant herbage, the trees are covered with green leaves, and all things wear a fresh and delightful aspect. Hence the many beautiful allusions in Scripture to the change produced by seasonable showers. z 2 ;54() STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. AURORA BOREALIS. chap, xxxvii. 22. English Vers. " Fair weather cometh out of the North." Dathe. " The golden splendour of the sun shall come from the North." Anon.Transl. " From the North cometh splendour." Septuagint. " Out of the North come clouds of a golden colour." Vulgate. " From the North cometh gold." Purver. " Gold (as it were) comes from the North :" which he explains to mean, " yellow reddish clouds." Wellbeloved. " From the North brightness will come." Parkhiirst. " Clear or bright weather cometh from the North." Bridel. " A clearness like the splendour of gold." Glassius, " From the North cometh gold ;" i. e. a clear bright sky. Le Cene. " A golden light." Scott. " The golden sun." Good. " Splendour itself is with God — insufferable majesty." Rosenmuller. " Aureus splendor." Such are the renderings of this passage by different inter- preters ; and though somewhat varied, their meaning is nearly the same. And what can that meaning be ? The Hebrew term, in its primary sense, signifies gold; in a secondary sense, any thing resembling gold in its colour and lustre. It need not be remarked, that the precious metal, called gold, is not the produce of northern regions, but rather of southern, and is found most plentifully in tropical countries ; nor is the Ophir of Scripture, so celebrated for its gold, supposed by any geographer to have been situated in some Arctic clime, but either in Ceylon or Sofala, or some southern quarter, as yet AURORA BOREALIS. 341 undetermined. Calmet indeed affirms, that in the time of Moses, Job, and Solomon, and for a long time after, gold was obtained from Colchis, Armenia, Phasis, and the land of Ophir, which were all north of Judea and Idumea, and are in the Scriptures ordinarily termed the " north country." But how does he know that Ophir was north of Judea? Let it first be determined what country is meant under the term 0])hir, which has never yet been satisfactorily done. If, as we are told, men in ancient times, as they do even now, called their lands after their own names, then the land of Ophir must have derived its name from Ophir, the son of Joktan, mentioned Gen. x. 29, in company with Havilah and Jobab. Now we know, from Gen. ii. 11, that Havilah abounded in gold, and that of the best kind. These two countries, then, being together, were celebrated in the earliest ages for the precious metals they contained. But all the Joktanides, or sons of Joktan, possessed that part of Arabia now called Yemen, near the Indian Ocean ; consequently, Ophir must have lain in that direction, and therefore must have been south of Idumea. If the term gold, or golden, then, belong not to the metal, but to radiant streams of light, we all know that the sun being posited, as we are accustomed to describe it, within the boundary of the ecliptic ; and Job's country lying about thirty degrees north of the equator; " the golden light," that is, the bright effulgence of the meridian sun, was more likely to pro- ceed from the South than from the North ; consequently, Elihu's remark, if so intended, would be inapplicable. We are already told, in ver. 9. of this chapter, that " cold cometh out of the North," which is perfectly true ; for the summits of the Libanus, or Lebanon mountains, being generally covered with snow, the wind from that quarter, passing over them, must be cold. And though the snows begin to thaw in April, they are never wholly melted throughout the year ; for even in June they are still frozen, and travellers there are com- pelled to put on their winter garments. Leaving, then, these modes of interpreting the passage, may we not suppose that the speaker, who has been engaged 3¥2 STATE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. in describing the various meteorological phenomena that occur time after time, beginning with the magnificent thunderstorms and the heavy rains that accompany or follow it, as charac- teristics of summer and autumn, proceeds to the peculiarities of the winter season, mentions the snow and the frost, and the cessation of labour which these occasion ; and then, as the most remarkable meteoric appearance of the winter months, points to the aurora borealis, and to the effect it has in over- awing the mind of the ignorant or superstitious spectator: thus, " Flashes of fire (or golden lights) proceed from the North, So God is clothed with awful majesty ! The Almighty, who can comprehend him ! Surpassing in power and in judgment !" Should any object to this interpretation, that the aurora borealis is scarcely visible in the land of Idumea, we answer, that travellers, and persons accustomed to astronomical obser- vations, assure us, it is to be seen in every part of the world, (though in the southern hemisphere it is properly termed the aurora australis) ; and though most brilliant, and perhaps most frequent near the poles, yet its radiance may be, or has been, observed in all countries. And if our information on the subject be rather scanty, it is either owing to the little notice taken of the phenomenon, from its generally appearing after men are housed for the night; or from its mysterious and hitherto inexplicable origin, since persons rarely dwell much on that which they cannot explain; or from the general neglect, even of the philosophical part of mankind, in noting those observations which they had made century by century : otherwise, we have traces of it in the writings of Aristotle and Pliny, and other ancient authors ; but this, so far as we know, is the only mention made of it in Scripture. It is well known, that the actual appearance of this meteor corresponds exactly with Elihu's description, the flashes or streams of the aurora being either of a yellowish or reddish hue, and varying in its tints to other colours, but exhibiting the former hues most frequently. The whole he represents as an exhibition of the majesty of the Supreme Being, who produces by his AURORA BOREALIS. 343 power those splendid coruscations, of whose origin, cause, or nature, no mortal can give an account. Bridel is the only author who seems to have taken the same view of the passage, and he merely refers to it in a marginal note, as the probable meaning, without commenting on the subject. Supposing gold to be the meaning here, the question natu- rally arises, what relation can there be between the two clauses of the verse, " gold from the North," and the " terrible majesty of God ?" To this it is not easy to give a satisfactory answer; and this is one reason for discarding the version, since the Scripture is not meant to be intelligible only, but coherent. The English version has been made the subject of comment, on another account, on the supposition of its being a correct one. There is a passage in Prov. xxv. 23 — " The north wind driveth away rain ; So doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue." The true reading of which, as well proved by Dr. Hunt, is, " As the north wind bring '" LIST OF AUTHORS. That I may behold my grave, And that my successor may stand over my dust. Who will undertake for me ? After my skin has been mangled by this disease as by a cudgel, And the portions of my flesh shall have separated from each other, And have deserted my bones, that I shall then see God : That I shall behold him, — shall survey him for myself, — That I myself, and not another, Shall contemplate him with my own eyes." Greve, Ultima Capita Jobi, &c. 4to. 1788. Ilgen, Jobi, &c. Natura atque Virtutes, 8vo. 1789. Dathe in Jobum, &c. 8vo. 1789. Dathe's Latin version of the Book of Job is deserving of atten- tion and regard, as being remarkably concise, and close to the original. It is however to be regretted, that in some cases he has given the spirit of the Hebrew idioms, rather than their own simple though uncouth phraseology. His Notes are uniformly excellent ; the more so, because he is evidently no slave to popular opinions, but dares to think for himself. Garden's Improved Version of the Book of Job, 8vo. 1796. I have not met with it. The British Critic calls it a book of great pretensions, but indifferent execution, (vol. ix.) IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Stock's Book of Job; a new version, with Notes, 4to. 180.3. This performance has received so severe a castigation from Dr. Magee, (Disc, on Atonement, vol. ii.), that it is unnecessary to criticise it farther. The British Critic speaks more favourably of it ; and Adam Clarke occasionally quotes and commends it. The following specimens of the version, taken at random, will convcv some idea of it : LIST OF AUTHORS. 377 Chap. xix. 5. " Lo, I may cry Murder, but have no answer." {>. " My finery from off me he doth strip." xvi. 7. " Against me riseth my belier, among the sons of clamour." xvii. 11. " The tenants of my heart." xviii. 13. " It shall eat to the full his skin ;" instead of " eat gluttonously." xx. 20. " Because he acknowledged not the quail in his stomach." xv. 10. " The grey-headed and the crony are with us." 26. " God shall run at him ivith his neck." 31. " Let not the mistaken man trust in his poise." xvi. 16. " My face is beyrimed." ix. 27. " I will leave off my wry faces, and wear a smile." 35. " For nonsense am I, if compared with him." xiii. 21. " And thine elbow, let it not scare me." How undignified, inelegant, and in some cases how near to the burlesque, those renderings are, the most unpractised reader will be able to judge. Besides, as Dr. Good observes, he has fallen upon one of the most extraordinary methods of proving the date of the poem. He first makes his theory the basis of his translation, and then makes his translation the basis of his theory. Pareau, Commentatio, &c. 8vo. 1807. The Book of Job translated by Eliz. Smith, 8vo. 1810. This work, so creditable to the fair authoress, since dead, was completed before her twenty-sixth year, with little help, except from Parkhurst's Lexicon, and the revision of her friend Dr. Randolph, who annexed to it a few critical Notes. She left a fine example to her sex, of devotedness from an early age to studies that are too much despised and shunned by both sexes; and, though self-taught, with little access to books, left behind her some monuments of learning and piety, calculated to make many blush for their own idleness. The Book of Job, by John Mason Good, 8vo. 1812. This is a very superior performance. The author, a most accomplished and amiable man, enters very thoroughly into his 378 LIST OF AUTHORS. subject ; and as he had a singular thirst for knowledge, and made vast acquisitions in general literature, he has drawn largely from his accumulated stores for materials in illustration of ^this wonder- ful poem. If we must find fault, it is with the redundance of his extracts from oriental and Celtic writers, in whose works his me- mory found many a real or supposed parallel to the language of the patriarch and his friends. Another fault is, his giving too pom- pous and florid a cast to many parts of his own version : he had a poetical taste, and he is rather too lavish of ornamental diction, forgetful of the simplicity of these ancient writings — a feature which constitutes the principal charm. It would be easy, were it not invidious, to produce many examples of this. Let the follow- ing suffice, not as specimens of inflated style, but of bad taste : Chap. xvi. 10. " They rend my cheeks to tatters." „ 15. " I have rolled my turban in the dust;" literally, "my horn." xvii. 5. " The eyes of his children shall be accomplished ;" properly, " the desires." xxxiv. 37. " Yea, he would tempest his words up to God." MiddledorfF, Curae Hexaplares in Jobum, 4to. 1837. Bridel, Le Livre de Job, 8vo. 1818. This is an excellent version, though rather free, in the usual manner of French translators. The introductory part also pos- sesses some value. There are no Notes. Rosenmiiller, Scholia in Vetus Testamentum, 8vo. 1821 — 26. TO THE ABOVE MAY BE ADDED : Codurcus, Praef. ad Job ; Versio et Annotationes in Jobum, &c. 4to. Paris. 1651—57. Schnurrer, Dissert. Philol. Critica?. Farmer on the Temptation. Sherlock on Prophecy. LIST OF AUTHORS. 879 Taylor's Scheme of Scripture Divinity. Lightfbot's Horse Hebraicee. Lowth's Lectures on Hebrew Poetry. Kennicott's Select Remarks. Michaelis's Notes on Lowth. The Works of Grotius. Holden's Paraphrase on Job. Calmet's Works. Stuhlman on Job, (Hamb.) 1806. 8vo. Burder's Oriental Customs. Wellbeloved's Translation of the Old Testament, in parts. An anonymous Translation in the Christian Reformer for 1831. Thomas Clarkson's Antediluvian Researches. Bishop Patrick on Job. Anthony Purver's Translation of the Bible. This last, speaking of Patrick, says, " He has paraphrased this and some other books, in the manner of Levi ben Gershom, by altering the expressions; which way I should not approve of, because it is, or looks like, an attempt to make the Scripture better than it was inspired." Purver himself does not succeed very well in his version, the sense of which is ambiguous in many places. Sandys' Metrical Version of Job. An extended Dissertation on the Book of Job is given in Part II. of the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana, under " Biography." It contains much valuable matter. Parkhurst, in his useful Lexicon of the Hebrew Language, gives several interpretations of insulated passages ; but being warmly attached to the Hutchinsonian scheme, his interpretations are to be received with caution. Dr. Adam Clark's Commentary on the Bible. This learned writer has thrown out some judicious hints in regard to the common version, but he leans too much to Coverdale, and sometimes servilely follows Goode. In his Notes he intermingles 380 LIST OF AUTHORS. much that is irrelevant, — anecdotes, ballads, and quotations from other authors — suited to the taste of the community to which he belonged, but unworthy of so excellent a scholar and linguist, who in such matters often appears deficient in judgment and wedded to system. One of his notions is, that the disease of Job was the small-pox. But, with all its faults, his commentary is a lasting monument of his industry and erudition. Dr. Young, author of the Night Thoughts, has a poetical paraphrase on part of the Book of Job, with Notes. Dr. Hales, in his Analysis of Chronology, treats of the era of Job. Davies, in his Celtic Researches, touches on the subject. See also in the Guardian, No. 86, a paper by Sir Richard Steele on the description of the War-horse. Professor Umbreit's work on Job, translated by Rev. Mr. Gray, did not come to my hand till this work was finished. Professor Lee's work, on the Book of Job, I have had no opportunity of seeing. His skill as a linguist is well known, and therefore I should suppose it a work of merit. Dr. Theodore de Hase, de Leviathan Jobi et Ceto Jonae, 8vo. Bremen, 1723. Since writing the above, I have obtained Dr. Lee's book on Job, a work of erudition, certainly, and which does not belie his fame as a linguist, but very little creditable to his taste or judgment. The version, which is in the prose form, is extremely bald and tame, and in some places deficient in perspicuity. As a whole, it is in- ferior to the common English translation, and less inviting to the general reader. The Notes are numerous, and abound in citations from Arabic and other writers ; but they are chiefly grammatical ; and when they do embrace matters of doctrine, they are wofully tinged with the scholastic divinity of the Cambridge school. I had noticed several instances of unsuccessful renderings, but cannot afford space for them all. The following may suffice as specimens : LIST OF AUTHORS. 381 Chap. iv. 13. " In the perplexings of the night visions, When ecstatic slumber lalleth upon man." vii. 1"). " Yea, strangling hath tried my soul, And from my bones the pains of death." vi. 14. " To the toasted is favour shown by his friend." xx. 20. " The aggregate of darkness is reserved for his trea- sures." xxvi. 7. " He spreadeth out the North on a wilderness, And suspendeth a land upon want." xxx. C. " The holes of the dust, and the rocks." xxxv. 15. " But hath not animadverted in its excessive spread." xxxvii. 17. " Shall it be told him when I speak? Or if a man have commanded that one should be destroyed ?" The Professor seems to find many expressions in Shakespeare parallel to those in Job, and to be very familiar with that author. I am rather surprised he should have recourse to such illustrations, considering the character of Shakespeare's plays, and how natu- rally they lead to the encouragement of the theatre, a school of morality which Job would not have sanctioned. In one department, in particular, he has taken great pains ; namely, in the collection of parallel passages, the enumeration of which he has placed in the margin ; but it is a question whether many, or most of these, are really parallel. As a proof of this, we may observe, that Dr. Lee produces Prov. viii. 23, 24, where (says he) this very passage of Job (chap. xv. 7) is copied. Let any one turn to both, and judge for himself whether it is so. But the Doctor is easy of belief when it suits his system, and very incredu- lous when it does not. He thinks that Eliphaz accuses Job here of wishing to assume the character of the Memra, Logos, or Word of God ! — Can any thing be more absurd or improbable ? In chap. xvi. 21, both in the text and in the notes, the Professor's system evidently biases his judgment ; he is determined that the patriarch shall prove himself a good Christian — one who had hope in Christ ; and therefore he translates and annotates in such a manner as to convey this ; but the whole is a forced construction put upon the patriarch's meaning. 382 LIST OF AUTHORS. I have also seen Gray's version of Umbreit, with whom I agree on several points, but differ from him toto ccelo as to the date of the poem. His version, on the whole, is an agreeable one, but there are many difficult passages on which it throws no light, and some of the expressions are ill chosen ; e.g. chap. xxvi. 11. " The pillars of heaven tremble, And stiffen at his reproof." One of the earliest translators of the Book of Job into a modern tongue, was Luis de Leon, of the order of Augustine, who rendered it into very excellent Spanish. He flourished in the sixteenth century, and composed his version between 1578 and 1591 ; in which year he died, aged sixty-four. It was published in the following year by the consent of the University of Salamanca, who gave it high praise. It was considered a very excellent per- formance, though the writer was not versed in Arabic, and has therefore left the most perplexing difficulties untouched. " The whole book of Job," says Mr. Pope, " with regard both to sublimity of thought and morality, exceeds beyond all comparison the most noble parts of Homer." THE END. RICHARD (LAV, PRINTER, BREAD-STRKET-HILL, LONDON. PREPARING FOR THE PRESS, ISY THE SAME AUTHOR, DANIEL AND HIS TIMES. PUBLISHED BY JACKSON AND WALFORI). AN ANALYTICAL AND COMPARATIVE VIEW OF ALL RELIGIONS NOW EXTANT AMONG MANKIND: WITH THEIR INTERNAL DIVERSITIES OF CREED AND PROFESSION. BY JOSIAH CONDER, Author of " The Modem Traveller," &c. &c. 1 vol. 8vo, 14s. cloth. " We gladly bear testimony to the value of his work, to the indefatigable perseverance, and very extended research which he has employed in its composition; and have no hesitation to aver, that it will become, as it deserves to become.a standard book in our literature."— Church of England Quarterly Review. THE SCRIPTURE TESTIMONY TO THE MESSIAH; An Inquiry with a view to a satisfactory determination of the doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures concerning the Person of Christ. By John Pve Smith, D.D. Third Edition, much improved, and enlarged by a considerable increase of new matter. 3 vols. 8vo, 36*-. boards. 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