Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 10:13

And these [things] hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this [is] with thee.

13. and these things hast thou hid ] Better perhaps, but these things didst thou hide.

this is with thee ] Rather, this was with thee, was thy purpose, and in thy thoughts, cf. ch. Job 9:35. “These things” and “this” refer to the details about to be given ( Job 10:14-17) of God’s deep purpose cherished beforehand of plaguing Job.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

13 17. The contradiction between this dealing with Job in the womb and since his birth and God’s present treatment of him is only to be reconciled by the supposition that God’s present severe treatment of Job had been resolved on from the first, and that His careful fashioning of him and care over him had been in order the better to carry out His purpose. The details of this cruel purpose are given in the following verses.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

And these things hast thou hid in thine heart – This may either refer to the arrangements by which God had made him, or to the calamities which he had brought upon him. Most expositors suppose that the latter is intended. Such is the opinion of Rosenmuller, Good, Noyes, and Scott. According to this the idea is, that God had purposed in his heart to bring these calamities upon him. They were a part of his counsel and design. To hide in the heart, or to lay up in the heart, is a phrase expressive of a secret purpose. I see no reason to confine it, however, to the calamities which Job had experienced. It may refer to all the plans and doings of the Most High, to which Job had just referred. All his acts in the creation and preservation of man, were a part of his secret counsel, He had formed the plan in his heart, and was now executing it in the various dispensations of his providence.

I know that this is with thee – That all this is a part of thy purpose. It has its origin in thee, and is according to thy counsel. This is the language of piety, recognizing the great truth that all things are in accordance with the purposes of God, or that his plans embrace all events – a doctrine which Job most assuredly held.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 13. And these things hast thou hid in thine heart] Thou hast had many gracious purposes concerning me which thou hast not made known; but thy visitations and mercy are sufficient proofs of kindness towards me; though for purposes unknown to me thou hast sorely afflicted me, and continuest to treat me as an enemy.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

This place may be understood either,

1. Of Jobs present afflictions. So the sense is this, Yet in the midst of all those manifestations of thy grace and kindness to me, thou didst retain a secret purpose of changing thy course and carriage towards me, and of bringing these dreadful calamities upon me. Or rather,

2. Of his former mercies,

these things, to wit, last mentioned;

thou hast hid them in thy heart, i.e. thou dost exactly remember them, as this phrase is used, Psa 119:11; Luk 2:51. So the argument is this, Let the remembrance of thy former great favours vouchsafed to me move thee to give me further blessings, and a speedy deliverance. For this is usual both with God and men, to choose and delight to do more good to those to whom they have done much good already; which is the ground of that known passage, Mat 13:12. To him that hath shall be given. With thee, i.e. in thy mind and heart; thou hast not forgot it: so the same thing is here repeated in other words.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

13. is with theewas Thypurpose. All God’s dealings with Job in his creation, preservation,and present afflictions were part of His secret counsel (Psa 139:16;Act 15:18; Ecc 3:11).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And these [things] thou hast hid in thine heart,…. Meaning, either the mercies and favours he had indulged him with; these he seemed to conceal and suppress the memory of, as if they had never been, by a different conduct and behaviour; or rather, these he had laid up in his mind and memory, and had full knowledge and remembrance of; though he dealt with him in the manner he did, he could not forget his former favours to him, which, when compared with his present dealings, were very unlike: or, it may be best to understand these things of his afflictions and troubles, which, notwithstanding his being the work of his hand so curiously formed, and notwithstanding all his temporal and spiritual mercies, he had in his heart purposed, and decreed in his mind, and laid up in his treasures, in order to be brought forth in due time, and to exercise him with; these were the things he had appointed for him, and many such things were with him, as it follows:

I know that this [is] with thee; either that he was not ignorant and forgetful of what he had done in a kind way; or rather, that he had this in his mind, and it was an eternal purpose of his to afflict him in the manner he had done: some connect these words with Job 10:14, as if the sense was, these are what thou hast hid in thine heart, and this is what I know is with thee, “if I sin”, &c. s.

s So Coceeius, Schmidt.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

13 And such Thou hast hidden in Thy heart,

I perceive that this was in Thy mind:

14 If I should sin, Thou wouldst take note of it,

And not acquit me of my iniquity.

15 If I should act wickedly, woe unto me!

And were I righteous, I should not lift up my head,

Being full of shame and conscious of my misery.

16 And were I to raise it, Thou wouldst hunt me as a lion,

And ever display on me Thy wondrous power,

17 Thou wouldst ever bring fresh witnesses against me,

And increase Thy wrath against me,

I should be compelled to withstand continuously advancing troops and a host.

This manifestation of divine goodness which Job has experienced from the earliest existence seems to him, as he compares his present lot of suffering with it, to have served as a veil to a hidden purpose of a totally opposite character. That purpose – to make this life, which has been so graciously called into existence and guarded thus far, the object of the severest and most condemning visitation – is now manifest. Both and refer to what is to follow: used of the thought conceived, the purpose cherished, as Job 23:14; Job 27:11. All that follows receives a future colouring from this principal clause, “This is what Thou hadst designed to do,” which rules the strophe. Thus Job 10:14 is to be rendered: If I had sinned, Thou wouldst have kept me in remembrance, properly custodies me , which is here equivalent to custoditurus eras me. , with the acc. of the person, according to Psa 130:3 (where it is followed by the acc. of the sin), is to be understood: to keep any one in remembrance, i.e., to mark him as sinful (Hirzel). This appears more appropriate than rigide observaturus eras me (Schlottm.). , according to Ges. 121, 4, might be taken for (viz., ); but this is unnecessary, and we have merely translated it thus for the sake of clearness. His infirmities must not be passed by unpunished; and if he should act wickedly ( , of malignant sin, in distinction from ), woe unto him (comp. , 1Co 9:16). According to the construction referred to above, is praet. hypotheticum (Ges. 155, 4, a); and the conclusion follows without waw apodosis: If I had acted rightly, I should not have raised my head, being full of shame and conscious of my misery. The adjectives are not in apposition to (Bttcher), but describe the condition into which he would be brought, instead of being able (according to the ethical principle, Gen 4:7) to raise his head cheerfully. constr. of , as or . It is needless, with Pisc., Hirz., Bttch., and Ewald, to alter it to , since is verbal adjective like , , . Moreover, cannot be imperative (Rosenm., De Wette); for although imperatives, joined by waw to sentences of a different construction, do occur (Psa 77:2; 2Sa 21:3), such an exclamation would destroy the connection and tone of the strophe in the present case.

Job 10:16

is hypothetical, like , but put in the future form, because referring to a voluntary act (Ewald, 357, b): and if it (the head) would (nevertheless) exalt itself ( , to raise proudly or in joyous self-consciousness), then (without waw apod., which is found in other passages, e.g., Job 22:28) Thou wouldst hunt me like a shachal (vid., Job 4:10), – Job likens God to the lion (as Hos 5:14; Hos 13:7), and himself to the prey which the lion pursues-Thou wouldst ever anew show Thyself wonderful at my expense ( , voluntative form, followed by a future with which it is connected adverbially, Ges. 142, 3, b; , with in the last syllable, although not in pause, as Num 19:12; Ewald, 141, c.), i.e., wonderful in power, and inventive by ever new forms off suffering, by which I should be compelled to repent this haughtiness. The witnesses ( ) that God continually brings forth afresh against him are his sufferings (vid., Job 16:8), which, while he is conscious of his innocence, declare him to be a sinner; for Job, like the friends, cannot think of suffering and sin otherwise than as connected one with the other: suffering is partly the result of sin, and partly it sets the mark of sin on the man who is no sinner. ( fut. apoc. Hiph. Ges. 75, rem. 15) is also the voluntative form: Thou wouldst multiply, increase Thy malignity against me. , contra , as also in other passages with words denoting strife and war, Job 13:19; Job 23:6; Job 31:13; or where the context implies hostility, Psa 55:19; Psa 94:16. The last line is a clause by itself consisting of nouns. is considered by all modern expositors as hendiadys , as Mercier translates: impetor variis et sibi succedentibus malorum agminibus ; and is mostly taken collectively. Changes and hosts = hosts continuously dispersing themselves, and always coming on afresh to the attack. But is not this form of expression unnatural? By Job means the advancing troops, and by the main body of the army, from which they are reinforced; the former stands first, because the thought figuratively expressed in and is continued (comp. Job 19:12): the enmity of God is manifested against him by ever fresh sufferings, which are added to the one chief affliction. Bttcher calls attention to the fact that all the lines from v. 14 end in , a rhythm formed by the inflection, which is also continued in v. 18. This repetition of the pronominal suffix gives intensity to the impression that these manifestations of the divine wrath have special reference to himself individually.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

(13) These things hast thou hid in thine heart.Job implies that his sense of Gods goodness is embittered by the thought that while showing him such kindness, He had in reserve for him the trials and sorrows under which he was then labouring: while showering good upon him, He intended eventually to overwhelm him with affliction. This was the purpose He had hidden in His heart.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

Second section, double strophe A LIFE OF MISERY, SPRINGING FROM GOD’S LEONINE HOSTILITY TO MAN, THOUGH DIVINELY PLANNED, IS LESS DESIRABLE THAN THE MISERABLE ESTATE OF THE DEAD, Job 10:13-22.

a. The relentless assaults of God on man without respect to the life he may lead, betray a hidden purpose or plan inexplicably discordant with all creative evidences of goodness, Job 10:13-17.

13. And But. A glance at the ruin and misery wrought by his loathsome disease (Job 10:15) causes Job another painful revulsion, startles him out of his pleasant revery over God’s watchful care in the past, and drags him again to the brink of despair.

With thee That is, in thy mind. There is no reference in this verse to “the decrees” of the Almighty, as some suppose. This would not harmonize with the context. “In the present ill treatment of his creature Job believes that he sees the secret plan of God formed at his creation, which he now unfolds to him in detail.” Hirtzel and Dillman. He who conceived a plan of cosmical creation, and gradually developed it during vast periods of time; who stamped upon the brute creation a prototype pointing forward to man, who in his physical make is the culmination of all vertebrates; who constructed the tabernacle according to a pattern first “showed to Moses in the mount,” (Heb 8:5,) has launched no human being into existence without a plan for his life; and all the discipline of life is intended to develop and perfect this divine design. That plan may be thwarted or sadly distorted by the actions of the free agent, as the blossom or unripened fruit may be cast to the ground by the untimely blast, but the propose stands no less true.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Job Renews his Complaint of his Affliction

v. 13. And these things hast Thou hid in Thine heart; I know that this is with Thee, that is: In spite of all God’s care in the creation and preservation of Job, in spite of all His apparent kindness in the past, His hidden purpose had planned Job’s destruction.

v. 14. If I sin, then Thou markest me, that is, If Job should sin, God had intended to watch very carefully and immediately charge it against him, and Thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity; He carefully notes down every evidence of wickedness.

v. 15. If I be wicked, woe unto me! He must expect a sudden and violent punishment. And if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head, even if he were right, he would not dare to look up with freedom and confidence, for this would not be acknowledged. I am full of confusion, filled with shame; therefore see Thou mine affliction. He always had his misery in sight and must hang his head in shame, like a wicked sinner who was getting his just deserts,

v. 16. For it increaseth, rather, “and should my head lift itself up,” should Job dare to show a cheerful courage, Thou huntest me as a fierce lion; and again Thou showest Thyself marvelous upon me, God would show His wonderful power in destroying him,

v. 17. Thou renewest Thy witnesses against me, God would cause ever new witnesses to appear against Job, and increasest Thine indignation upon me, with an ever new amount of displeasure. Changes and war are against me; Job would have to consider ever new troops and a whole army opposed to him, He alone is the mark of God’s displeasure,

v. 18. Wherefore, then, hast Thou brought me forth out of the womb? He renews his complaint, bewailing the fact that he was ever born. Oh, that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! He would have died, never have seen the light of day, if God had not called him into being.

v. 19. I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave, still-born, a corpse, and out of misery.

v. 20. Are not my days few? Was not the time of his life short enough? Could not God take from him some of the burden which was weighting him down? Cease, then, and let me alone, turning His attention elsewhere, that I may take comfort a little, enjoy just a little brightness and cheerfulness,

v. 21. before I go whence I shall not return, or, “go hence and return not,” even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;

v. 22. a land of darkness, as darkness itself, black as the shades of midnight; and of the shadow of death, without any order, filled with chaotic confusion, and where the light is as darkness, literally, “where it is light as midnight,” said of the most intense darkness, an utterly sunless gloom. Job here, in the bitterness of his soul, gave way to a hopelessness which should never be found in a believer, but which sometimes threatens to overwhelm him, It is only the remembrance of God’s unwavering kindness, as a characteristic of faith, that will keep us from such depths of despair.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Job 10:13. And these things hast thou hid in thine heart And all the while didst thou treasure up these things in thy heart, I find by experience that this was thy purpose, Job 10:14. That if I should sin, thou wouldst observe me, and wouldst by no means acquit me from mine iniquity. Schultens.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Job 10:13 And these [things] hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this [is] with thee.

Ver. 13. And those things hast thou hid in thine heart ] Legendum hoc cum stomacho, saith Mercer: And hast thou indeed hid these things in thine heart? What things meaneth Job? his afflictions, which God was long before preparing for him, and now took his time to lay load upon him, to be revenged on him at unawares, and at greatest advantage. If this be the sense of Job’s words (as some would conclude from the next verses), he was mightily mistaken; and this was atrox querimonia, a grievous complaint, and unworthy of God, who lieth not at the catch, nor pretendeth fair when he intendeth otherwise. A Cain may do so to Abel, Esau to Jacob, Absalom to Amnon, Joab to Amasa, &c. The Creator needs not daub or prevaricate thus with his creatures; if Job thought he did with him, Job was utterly out, though for confirmation he add, I know that this is with thee; I am sure that thou hast dealt thus closely and covertly with me, and that thy plagues have surprised me. Oh these still revenges! Merlin and others understand by those things hid in God’s heart, and which he was well assured could not have befallen him without God’s will and decree, the mercies which in the former verses Job had recounted and reckoned up, viz, his conception, quickening, preservation; all which he looked upon as love tokens coming out of the heart of God, and from the spring of special love. Here, then, we see whence we may fetch comfort when most hardly bestead; namely, from those effects whereby God sealed up his love to us in forming us in the womb; but especially in his covenant of grace, that beehive of heavenly honey, whereby he hath engaged to be our God even from the womb to the tomb; yea, to all perpetuity. Hereunto Job had respect, and so had David, Psa 22:10-11 ; Psa 25:10 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

hid: Job 23:9, Ecc 8:6, Ecc 8:7, Isa 45:15, Rom 11:33

I know: Job 23:13, Deu 32:39, Isa 45:7, Isa 46:9-11, Lam 3:37, Eph 3:11

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Job 10:13. These things hast thou hid in thy heart Both thy former favours and thy present frowns. Both are according to thy own will, and therefore undoubtedly consistent with each other, however they seem. When God does what we cannot account for, we are bound to believe there are good reasons for it hid in his heart. It is not with us, or in our reach, to assign the cause; but I know this is with thee.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

10:13 And these [things] hast thou hid in thine heart: I know {o} that this [is] with thee.

(o) Though I am not fully able to comprehend these things, yet I must confess that it is so.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes