Job 6:1-13

Introduction

Job answers, and vindicates himself; and shows that the great affliction which he suffered was the cause of his complaining, by which life was rendered burdensome to him, Job 6:1-13. He complains that, whereas he expected consolation from his friends, he had received nothing but the bitterest reproaches, on the assumed ground that he must be a wicked man, else God would not so grievously afflict him, Job 6:14-20. He shows them that they knew nothing of his case, and that they had no compassion, Job 6:21-23. And then entreats them, if they can, to show him in what he has offended, as he is ready to acknowledge and correct every trespass, Job 6:24-30. Verse 2

O that my grief were thoroughly weighed - Job wished to be dealt with according to justice; as he was willing that his sins, if they could be proved, should be weighed against his sufferings; and if this could not be done, he wished that his sufferings and his complainings might be weighed together; and it would then be seen that, bitter as his complaint had been, it was little when compared with the distress which occasioned it. Verse 3

Heavier than the sand of the sea - This includes two ideas: their number was too great to be counted; their weight was too great to be estimated. Verse 4

The arrows of the Almighty - There is an evident reference here to wounds inflicted by poisoned arrows; and to the burning fever occasioned by such wounds, producing such an intense parching thirst as to dry up all the moisture in the system, stop all the salivary ducts, thicken and inflame the blood, induce putrescency, and terminate in raging mania, producing the most terrifying images, from which the patient is relieved only by death. This is strongly expressed in the fine figure: The Poison Drinketh Up my Spirit; the Terrors of God Set Themselves in Array against me. That calamities are represented among the Eastern writers as the arrows of the Almighty, we have abundant proofs. In reference to this, I shall adduce that fine saying attributed to Aaly, the son-in-law of Mohammed in the Toozuki Teemour; which I have spoken of elsewhere. "It was once demanded of the fourth califf (Aaly), 'If the canopy of heaven were a bow; and if the earth were the cord thereof; and if calamities were the arrows; if mankind were the mark for those arrows; and if Almighty God, the tremendous and glorious, were the unerring Archer; to whom could the sons of Adam flee for protection?' The califf answered, 'The sons of Adam must flee unto the Lord.'" This fine image Job keeps in view in the eighth and ninth verses, wishing that the unerring marksman may let fly these arrows, let loose his hand, to destroy and cut him off. Verse 5

Doth the wild ass - פרא pere, translated onager, by the Vulgate, from the ονος αγριος of the Septuagint, which we properly enough, translate wild ass. It is the same with the tame ass; only in a wild state it grows to a larger size, is stronger, and more fleet. The meaning of Job appears to be this: You condemn me for complaining; do I complain without a cause? The wild ass will not bray, and the ox will not low, unless in want. If they have plenty of provender, they are silent. Were I at rest, at ease, and happy, I would not complain. Verse 6

Can that which is unsavoury - Mr. Good renders this verse as follows: Doth insipid food without a mixture of salt, yea, doth the white of the egg give forth pungency? Which he thus illustrates: "Doth that which hath nothing of seasoning, nothing of a pungent or irritable power within it, produce pungency or irritation? I too should be quiet and complain not, if I had nothing provocative or acrimonious, but, alas! the food I am doomed to partake of is the very calamity which is most acute to my soul - that which I most loathe, and which is most grievous or trying to my palate." Some render the original, Is there any dependence on the drivel of dreams? There have been a great variety of interpretations given of this verse. I could add another; but that of Mr. Good is as likely to be correct as that of any other critic. Verse 8

O that I might have - As Job had no hope that he should ever be redeemed from his present helpless state, he earnestly begs God to shorten it by taking away his life. Verse 9

Let loose his hand - A metaphor taken from an archer drawing his arrow to the head, and then loosing his hold, that the arrow may fly to the mark. See on Job 6:4 (note). Verse 10

Then should I yet have comfort - Instead of עוד od, Yet, three of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. have זאת zoth, This. And This should be my comfort. The expectation that he will speedily make an end of me would cause me to rejoice with great joy. This reading is supported by the Vulgate and the Chaldee.

I would harden myself in sorrow - To know that I should shortly have an end put to my miseries would cause me to endure the present with determinate resolution. Let him not spare - let him use whatever means he chooses, for I will not resist his decree; he is holy, and his decrees must be just. Verse 11

What is my strength - I can never suppose that my strength will be restored; and, were that possible, have I any comfortable prospect of a happy termination of my life? Had I any prospect of future happiness, I might well bear my present ills; but the state of my body and the state of my circumstances preclude all hope. Verse 12

Is my strength the strength of stones? - I am neither a rock, nor is my flesh brass, that I can endure all these calamities. This is a proverbial saying, and exists in all countries. Cicero says, Non enim est e saxo sculptus, aut e Robore dolatus Homo; habet corpus, habet animum; movetur mente, movetur sensibus. "For man is not chiselled out of the rock, nor hewn out of the oak; he has a body, and he has a soul; the one is actuated by intellect, the other by the senses." Quaest. Acad. iv. 31. So Homer, where he represents Apollo urging the Trojans to attack the Greeks: - Νεμεσησε δ' Απολλων, Περγαμου εκκατιδων· Τρωεσσι δε κεκλετ' αυσας· Ορνυσθ', ἱπποδαμοι Τρωες, μηδ' εικετε χαρμης Αργειοις· επει ου σφιλιθος χρως, ουδε σιδηρος, Χαλκον ανασχεσθαι ταμεσιχροα βαλλομενοισιν.

Illiad, lib. iv., ver. 507.

But Phoebus now from Ilion's towering height

Shines forth reveal'd, and animates the fight.

Trojans, be bold, and force to force oppose;

Your foaming steeds urge headlong on the foes!

Nor are their bodies rocks, nor ribb'd with steel;

Your weapons enter, and your strokes they feel.

Pope.

These are almost the same expressions as those in Job. Verse 13

Is not my help in me? - My help is all in myself; and, alas! that is perfect weakness: and my subsistence, תושיה tushiyah, all that is real, stable, and permanent, is driven quite from me. My friends have forsaken me, and I am abandoned to myself; my property is all taken away, and I have no resources left. I believe Job neither said, nor intended to say, as some interpreters have it, Reason is utterly driven from me. Surely there is no mark in this chapter of his being deranged, or at all impaired in his intellect.