Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 30:9
And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.
9 10. Job’s treatment now at the hands of these outcasts.
With “spit in my face” comp. ch. Job 17:6. In ch. 24. Job referred to this miserable race With compassion; they had often no doubt excited his pity, and he saw in their lot and in the injustice and cruelties which they suffered at the hands of more prosperous men a strange mystery of providence. Now he speaks of their conduct to himself with resentment; for it was no requital of any injury he had ever done them. Yet though they might mistake Job’s individual feeling to them, he was one of the class that had robbed them and that continued the robbery and oppression, and they avenged their wrongs on him with a malicious delight in the calamities that had overtaken him.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And now am I their song – See Job 17:6; compare Psa 69:12, I was the song of the drunkards; Lam 3:14, I was a derision to all my people, and their song all the day. The sense is, that they made Job and his calamities the subject of low jesting, and treated him with contempt. His name and sufferings would be introduced into their scurrilous songs to give them pith and point, and to show how much they despised him now.
Yea, I am their by-word – See the notes at Job 17:6.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. Now am I their song] I am the subject of their mirth, and serve as a proverb or by-word. They use me with every species of indignity.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The matter of their song and derision. They now rejoice in my calamities, because formerly I used my authority to punish such vagrants and miscreants.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. (Job17:6). Strikingly similar to the derision Jesus Christ underwent(Lam 3:14; Psa 69:12).Here Job returns to the sentiment in Job30:1. It is to such I am become a song of “derision.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And now am I their song,…. The subject of their song, of whom they sung ballads about the streets, in public places, and at their festivals and merriments, as Christ the antitype of Job was the song of the drunkard, Ps 69:12; see La 3:14; or the meaning may be, they rejoiced in his afflictions and calamities, and made themselves merry with them, which was cruel and inhuman, as David’s enemies did in his, and those abject, mean, base people, like those that derided Job: and so the Edomites rejoiced over the children of Judah, in the day of their destruction, and as the inhabitants of Popish countries will rejoice over the witnesses when slain, and make merry, Ps 35:15;
yea, I am their byword: all their talk was about him continually, and at every turn would use his name proverbially for an hypocrite, or a wicked man; and thus Christ, of whom Job was a type, became a proverb in the mouth of the Jews, Ps 69:11; and as the Jews themselves now are with others, Jer 24:9.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
9 And now I am become their song,
And a by-word to them.
10 They avoid me, they flee far from me,
And spare not my face with spitting.
11 For my cord of life He hath loosed, and afflicted me,
Therefore they let loose the bridle recklessly.
12 The rabble presses upon my right hand,
They thrust my feet away,
And cast up against me their destructive ways.
The men of whom Job complains in this strophe are none other than those in the preceding strophe, described from the side of their coarse and degenerate behaviour, as Job 24:4-8 described them from the side of the wrong which was practised against them. This rabble, constitutionally as well as morally degraded, when it comes upon Job’s domain in its marauding expeditions, makes sport of the sufferer, whose former earnest admonitions, given from sympathizing anxiety for them, seemed to them as insults for which they revenge themselves. He is become their song of derision ( to be understood according to the dependent passage, Lam 3:14, and Psa 69:13), and is to them, their (lxx), the subject of their foolish talk ( – Arab. mille , not = melle , according to which Schultens interprets it, sum iis fastidio ). Avoiding him, and standing at a distance from him, they make their remarks upon him; and if they come up to him, it is only for the sake of showing him still deeper scorn: a facie ejus non cohibent sputam . The expositors who explain that, contrary to all decent bearing, they spit in his presence (Eichh., Justi, Hirz., Vaih., Hlgst.), or with Fie! spit out before him (Umbr., Hahn, Schlottm.), overlook the fact of its being , not . The expression as it stands can only affirm that they do not spare his face with spitting (Jer. correctly: conspuere non veruntur ), so that consequently he is become, as he has complained in Job 17:6, a , an object of spitting (comp. also the declaration of the servant of Jehovah, Isa 50:6, which stands in close connection with this declaration of Job, according to previous explanations).
It now becomes a question, Who is the subj. in Job 30:11? The Chethib demands an attempt to retain the previous subj. Accordingly, most moderns explain: solvit unusquisque eorum funem suum , i.e., frenum suum, quo continebatur antea a me (Rosenm., Umbr., Stick., Vaih., Hlgst., and others), but it is to be doubted whether can mean frenum ; it signifies a cord, the string of a bow, and of a harp. The reconciliation of the signification redundantia , Job 22:20, and funis , is, in the idea of the root, to be stretched tight and long.
(Note: The Arab. verb watara shows its sensuous primary signification in Arab. watarun , , cord, bow-string, harp-string (Engl. string): to stretch tight, to extend, so that the thing continues in one line. Hence then Arab. watrun , witrun , separate, unequal, singulus , impar, opp. Arab. safun , bini , par , just as fard , single, separate, unequal ( opp. zaug , a pair, equal number), is derived from farada , properly, so to strain or stretch out, that the thing has no bends or folds; Greek (as in the Shepherd of Hermas: ), an original transitive signification still retained in low Arabic (vid., Bocthor under tendre and Dployer). Then from Arab. watara spring the secondary roots Arab. tatara and tara , which proceed from the VIII form ( ittatara ). The former ( tatara ) appears only in the Arab. adverb tatran and tatra , sigillatim, alii post alios , singly one after another, so that several persons or things form a row interrupted by intervals of space of time; the latter ( tara ) and its IV form ( atra ) are equivalent to watara , to be active at intervals, with pauses between, as the Arabs explain: ”We say Arab. atra of a man when he so performs several acts which do not directly follow one another, that there is always a [Arab.] fatrat , intermissio , between two acts.” Hence also , , duals of an assumed sing. , singulus ( um ), singula , therefore prop. duo singuli ( a) , duae singulae , altogether parallel to the like meaning thinani ( ithnani’ , thinaini ( ithnaini ), ; fem. thintani ( ithnatani ), thintaini ( ithnataini ), instead of , from an assumed sing. thin – un ( ithn – un ), thint – un ( ithnat – un ), from Arab. tana , , like bin ( ibn ), bint ( ibnat ), , (= , hence ) from Arab. bana , .
The significations of watara which Freytag arranges under 1, 2, 3, 4, proceed from the transitive application of , as the Italian soperchiare, soverchiare, from supra, to offend, insult; oltraggiare, outrager, from ultra; from . Similarly, Arab. ttawl lh and sttal lh (form VI and X from tal ), to act haughtily towards any one, to make him feel one’s superiority, properly to stretch one’s self out over or against any one.
But in another direction the signif. to be stretched out goes into: overhanging, surpassing, projecting, to be superfluous, and to be left over, , to exceed a number or bulk, superare (comp. Italian soperchiare as intrans.), , ; to prove, as result, gain, etc., , etc. Similar is the development of the meaning of Arab. fadala and of ta’l , gain, use, from Arab. tal , to be stretched out. In like manner, the German reich, reichlich rich, abundant, comes from the root reichen, recken to stretch, extend. – Fl.)
Hirz. therefore imagines the loosing of the cord round the body, which served them as a girdle, in order to strike Job with it. But whether one decides in favour of the Chethib or of the Keri , the persons who insult Job cannot in any case be intended. The isolated sing. form of the assertion, while the rabble is everywhere spoken of in the plur., is against it; and also the , which introduces it, and after which Job here allows the reason to come in, why he is abandoned without any means of defence to such brutal misconduct. The subj. of Job 30:11 is God. If is read, it may not be interpreted: He hath opened = taken off the covering of His string (= bow) (Ew., Hahn, and similarly even lxx, Jer.), for does not dignify the bow, but the string (Arab. muwattar , stretched, of a bow); and while , Ezek. 21:33 (usually or ), can certainly be said of drawing a sword from its sheath, is the appropriate and usual word (vid., Hab. S. 164) for making bare the bow and shield. Used of the bow-string, signifies to loose what is strained, by sending the arrow swiftly forth from it, according to which, e.g., Elizabeth Smith translates: Because He hath let go His bow-string and afflicted me. One cannot, however, avoid feeling that is not a right description of the effect of shooting with arrows, whereas an idea is easily gained from the Keri , to which the description of the effect corresponds. It has been interpreted: He has loosed my rein or bridle, by means of which I hitherto bound them and held them in check; but in the signification rein or bridle, is as already observed, not practicable. Better Capellus: metaphora ducta est ab exarmato milite, cujus arcs solvitur nervus sicque inermis redditur ; but it is more secure, and still more appropriate to the which follows, when it is interpreted according to Job 4:21: He has untied (loosened) my cord of life, i.e., the cord which stretched out and held up my tent (the body) (Targ. similarly: my chain and the threads of my cord, i.e., surely: my outward and inward stay of life), and bowled me down, i.e., deprived me of strength (comp. Psa 102:24); or also: humbled me. Even in this his feebleness he is the butt of unbridled arrogance: and they let go the bridle before me (not , in my presence, but , before me, before whom previously they had respect; the same as Lev 19:32), they cast or shake it off ( as Job 39:3, synon. of ; comp. 1Ki 9:7 with 2Ch 7:20).
Is it now possible that in this connection can denote any else but the rabble of these good-for-nothing fellows? Ewald nevertheless understands by it Job’s sufferings, which as a rank evil swarm rise up out of the ground to seize upon him; Hahn follows Ew., and makes these sufferings the subj., as even in Job 30:11. But if we consider how Ew. translates: “they hung a bridle from my head;” and Hahn: “they have cast a bit before my face,” this might make us tired of all taste for this allegorical mode of interpretation. The stump over which they must stumble is Job 30:13, where all climax must be abandoned in order to make the words intelligible in this allegorical connection. No indeed; (instead of which might be expected, as supra , Job 3:5, for ) is the offspring or rabble of those fathers devoid of morals and honour, those of Job 30:1, whose laughing-stock Job is now, as the children of priests are called in Talmudic , and in Arabic farch denotes not only the young of animals, but also a rascal or vagabond. This young rabble rises , on Job’s right hand, which is the place of an accuser (Psa 109:6), and generally one who follows him up closely and oppresses him, and they press him continually further and further, contending one foot’s-breadth after another with him: , my feet thrust them forth, protrudunt ( the same as Job 14:20). By this pressing from one place to another, a way is prepared for the description of their hostile conduct, which begins in Job 30:12 under the figure of a siege. The fut. consec. , Job 30:12, is not meant retrospectively like , but places present with present in the connection of cause and effect (comp. Ew. 343, a). We must be misled by the fact that , Job 19:12 (which see), was said of the host of sufferings which come against Job; here it is those young people who cast up the ramparts of misfortune or burdensome suffering ( ) against Job, which they wish to make him feel. The tradition, supported by the lxx, that Job had his seat outside his domain , i.e., upon the mezbele , is excellently suited to this and the following figures. Before each village in Hauran there is a place where the households heap up the sweepings of their stalls, and it gradually reaches a great circumference, and a height which rises above the highest buildings of the village.
(Note: One ought to have a correct idea of a Hauranitish mezbele . The dung which is heaped up there is not mixed with straw, because in warm, dry countries no litter is required for the cattle, and comes mostly from single-hoofed animals, since small cattle and oxen often pass the nights on the pastures. It is brought in a dry state in baskets to the place before the village, and is generally burnt once every month. Moreover, they choose days on which the wind if favourable, i.e., does not cast the smoke over the village. The ashes remain. The fertile volcanic ground does not need manure, for it would make the seed in rainy years too luxuriant at the expense of the grain, and when rain fails, burnt it up. If a village has been inhabited for a century, the mezbele reaches a height which far surpasses it. The winter rains make the ash-heaps into a compact mass, and gradually change the mezbele into a firm mound of earth in the interior of which those remarkable granaries, biar el – ghalle , are laid out, in which the wheat can be completely preserved against heat and mice, garnered up for years. The mezbele serves the inhabitants of the district as a watch-tower, and on close oppressive evenings as a place of assembly, because there is a current of air on the height. There the children play about the whole day long; there the forsaken one lies, how, having been seized by some horrible malady, is not allowed to enter the dwellings of men, by day asking alms of the passers-by, and at night hiding himself among the ashes which the sun has warmed. There the dogs of the village lie, perhaps gnawing at a decaying carcase that is frequently thrown there. Many a village of Hauran has lost its original name, and is called umm el – mezabil from the greatness and number of these mounds, which always indicate a primitive and extensive cultivation for the villages. And many a more modern village is built upon an ancient mezbele , because there is then a stronger current of air, which renders the position more healthy. The Arabic signification of the root seems to be similarly related to the Hebrew as that of the old Beduin seken ( ), “ashes,” to the Hebrew and Arabic , “a dwelling.” – Wetzst.)
Notwithstanding, everything is intelligible without this thoroughly Hauranitish conception of the scene of the history. Bereft of the protection of his children and servants, become an object of disgust to his wife, and an abhorrence to his brethren, forsaken by every attention of true affection, Job 19:13-19, Job lies out of doors; and in this condition, shelterless and defenceless, he is abandoned to the hideous malignant joy of those gipsy hordes which wander hither and thither.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(9) And now am I their song.See the references in the margin, which show that it is quite appropriate to give to the complaints of Job a Messianic interpretation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Second strophe These human outcasts are led on to such brutal usage of Job by the treatment he had received at the hands of God, who had himself set the example, by letting loose his horde of calamities against his servant, Job 30:9-15.
9. Their song (of derision) See Job 17:6. Nothing can give us of the West an idea of the shocking and indecent scurrilities Orientals put into their satirical, or, rather, abusive songs. (Kitto.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 30:9 And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.
Ver. 9. And now am I their song ] They compose comedies out of my tragedies, and make themselves merry in my misery; they not only make ballads and sonnets of my sufferings, but also play them upon their instruments, as the Hebrew word importeth.
Yea, I am their byword
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
am I: Job 17:6, Psa 35:15, Psa 35:16, Psa 44:14, Psa 69:12, Lam 3:14, Lam 3:63
Reciprocal: Jdg 16:23 – to rejoice Jdg 16:25 – sport 2Ki 2:23 – mocked Psa 22:7 – shoot out Psa 34:19 – Many Lam 3:46 – have Mat 26:67 – did Luk 22:63 – mocked
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
30:9 And now am I their {e} song, yea, I am their byword.
(e) They make songs of me, and mock my misery.