Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 10:8
Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
8. According to the Hebrew punctuation this verse reads,
Thine hands have fashioned me and made me,
Together round about; and thou dost destroy me!
Mention of God’s hand, Job 10:7, suggests how of old God’s hand fashioned him with lavish expenditure of skill on all his parts, and he brings the contradiction of God’s present dealing with him before God exclaiming, Thou dost destroy me!
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thine hands have made me – Job proceeds now to state that he had been made by God, and that he had shown great skill and pains in his formation. He argues that it would seem like caprice to take such pains, and to exercise such amazing wisdom and care in forming him, and then, on a sudden, and without cause, dash his own work to pieces. Who makes a beautiful vase only to be destroyed? Who moulds a statue from marble only to break it to pieces? Who builds a splendid edifice only to pull it down? Who plants a rare and precious flower only to have the pleasure of plucking it up? The statement in Job 10:8-12, is not only beautiful and forcible as an argument, but is especially interesting and valuable, as it may be presumed to embody the views in the patriarchal age about the formation and the laws of the human frame. No inconsiderable part of the value of the book of Job, as was remarked in the Introduction, arises from the incidental notices of the sciences as they prevailed at the time when it was composed.
If it is the oldest book in the world, it is an invaluable record on these points. The expression, thine hands have made me, is in the margin, took pains about me. Dr. Good renders it, have wrought me; Noyes, completely fashioned me; Rosenmuller explains it to mean, have formed me with the highest diligence and care. Schultens renders it, Manus tuae nervis colligarunt – thy hands have bound me with nerves or sinews; and appeals to the use of the Arabic as authority for this interpretation. He maintains (De Defectibus hodiernis Ling. Hebr. pp. 142, 144, 151), that the Arabic word atzaba denotes the body united and bound in a beautiful form by nerves and tendons; and that the idea here is, that God had so constructed the human frame. The Hebrew word used here ( atsab) means properly to work, form, fashion. The primary idea, according to Gesenius, is, that of cutting, both wood and stone, and hence, to cut or carve with a view to the forming of an image. The verb also has the idea of labor, pain, travail, grief; perhaps from the labor of cutting or carving a stone or a block of wood. Hence it means, in the Piel, to form or fashion, with the idea of labor or toil; and the sense here is undoubtedly, that God had elaborated the bodies of men with care and skill, like that bestowed on a carved image or statue. The margin expresses the idea not badly – took pains about me.
And fashioned me – Made me. The Hebrew here means simply to make.
Together round about – yachad sabyb. Vulgate, totum in circuitu. Septuagint simply, made me. Dr. Good, moulded me compact on all sides. The word yachad rendered together, has the notion of oneness, or union. It may refer to the oneness of the man – the making of one from the apparently discordant materials, and the compact form in which the body, though composed of bones, and sinews, and blood-vessels, is constructed. A similar idea is expressed by Lucretius, as quoted by Schultens. Lib. iii. 358:
– Qui coetu, conjugioque
Corporis atque anirnae consistimus uniter apti.
Yet thou dost destroy me – Notwithstanding I am thus made, yet thou art taking down my frame, as if it were of no consequence, and formed with no care.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 10:8
Thine hands have made me.
Creation, the pledge of Gods guardianship
Though Job reached a wrong conclusion, he was arguing on a right principle. The patriarchs argument is this–As we are the creatures, the workmanship of Almighty God, we may expect Him to take care of us, and that as God, any opposite conduct may justly excite surprise, and be thought at variance with the acknowledged fact that the Divine hands have made us and fashioned us together round about. This argument is susceptible of being wrought out into many and instructive shapes. The remembrance of our creation should animate us to expect supplies of grace and instruction. To the benevolence and goodness of God must be referred the production of the multiplied tribes of living things. God caused life to pervade immensity because, as He Himself is everywhere, He would that everywhere there should be objects of His bounty, beings with capacity and provision for enjoyment. Every creature may trace its origin to the benevolence of God, and therefore every creature might infer, from its having been formed, that its Maker was ready to satisfy its wants, yea, to fulfil its desires, so far as those desires might be lawfully entertained. What is creation to me, but a register of the carefulness of the Almighty in providing for my happiness during my sojourn here below? Shall I think it unlikely that God would take measures for my good in reference to that eternity on which I must enter at death? Job seems to reason that, in place of destroying him, God who had made might have been expected to save him. It is an argument from what had been done for him in his natural capacity, to what might have been looked for in his spiritual capacity. And Jobs reason is every way accurate. (Henry Melvill, B. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. Thine hands have made me] Thou art well acquainted with human nature, for thou art its author.
And fashioned me together round about] All my powers and faculties have been planned and executed by thyself. It is thou who hast refined the materials out of which I have been formed, and modified them into that excellent symmetry and order in which they are now found; so that the union and harmony of the different parts, ( yachad,) and their arrangement and completion, ( sabib,) proclaim equally thy wisdom, skill, power, and goodness.
Yet thou dost destroy me.] vatteballeeni, “and thou wilt swallow me up.” Men generally care for and prize those works on which they have spent most time, skill, and pains: but, although thou hast formed me with such incredible skill and labour, yet thou art about to destroy me! How dreadful an evil must sin be, when, on its account, God has pronounced the sentence of death on all mankind; and that body, so curiously and skilfully formed, must be decomposed, and reduced to dust!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Together round about, i.e. all of me; all the faculties of my soul, and all the parts of my body, which are now overspread with sores and ulcers; I am wholly thy creature and workmanship, made by thee and for thee.
Thou dost destroy me, or swallow me up, to wit, without cause, or any eminent provocation of mine; as if thou didst delight in doing and undoing, in making and then destroying thy creatures; which doth not become thy wisdom or goodness.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. Madewith pains; implying awork of difficulty and art; applying to God language applicable onlyto man.
together round aboutimplyingthat the human body is a complete unity, the parts of which onall sides will bear the closest scrutiny.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thine hands have made me, and fashioned together round about,…. This and what follow are an illustration of and an enlargement upon, the work of God’s hands, made mention of in Job 10:3; and suggest reasons why it should not be despised by him, as well as confirm what was just now said, that none could deliver him out of his hands; since his hands had made him, and therefore had such power over him as none else had: and the whole seems designed to move to pity and compassion of him; for not he himself, nor his parents, but God only had made him; he was his workmanship only, and a curious piece it was, which his hands of power and wisdom had nicely formed; for, though the Son and Spirit of God are not to be excluded from the formation of man, yet it seems a too great strain of the words to interpret “hands” of them, as some do; and much less are they to be understood literally of the hands of the Son of God appearing in an human form at the creation of man, since such an appearance is not certain; nor is Job speaking of the formation of the first man, but of himself: the first word c, rendered “made”, has the signification of labour, trouble, grief, and care; and is used of God after the manner of men, who, when things are done well by them, take a great deal of pains, and are very solicitous and careful in doing them; and from hence is a word which is sometimes used for an idol, as Gersom observes, because much labour and skill are exercised to form it in the most curious and pleasing manner; many interpreters, as Aben Ezra observes, from the use of the word in the Arabic language, explain it of God’s creating the body of man with nerves, by which it is bound, compacted, and strengthened d; and the latter word denotes the form and configuration of it, the beautiful order and proportion in which every part is set; and the whole is intended to observe the perfection of the human body, and the exquisite skill of the author of it; and what pity is it that it should be so marred and spoiled! and this is said to be made and fashioned “together”, or all at once; the several parts of it being in the seed, in the embryo, all together, though gradually formed or brought into order; or rather this denotes the unity and compactness of the several members of the body, which are set in their proper place, and joined and fitted together, by joints and bands, and by that which every joint supplieth: and this is done “round about”, on all sides, in every part; or, as Mr. Broughton renders it, “in every point”; the whole of it, and every member, even the most extreme and minute, are curiously formed and fashioned by the Lord; or rather, thine hands are together round about me; embracing, sustaining, and preserving him ever since he was made:
yet thou dost destroy me; this body, so extremely well wrought, by boils or ulcers; or “swallow me” e, as a lion, to which he compares him, Job 10:16; or any other ravenous and large creature, see La 2:2; some connect the words more agreeably to the accents, “yet thou dost destroy me together round about” f; or on every side, as in
Job 19:10; having smitten him with boils from the crown of the head to the sole of the feet, and stripped him of his substance and his family all at once; and so it denotes utter destruction: some read the words interrogatively, “and wilt thou destroy or swallow me?” g after thou hast taken so much pains, and been at such labour and trouble, speaking after the manner of men, to make such a curious piece of work, and yet with one stroke destroy it and dash it in pieces, or swallow it up as a morsel at once.
c “elaboraverunt me”, Tigurine version, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Codurcus, Mercerus, Cocceius, Michaelis. d “Nervis colligarunt”, Schultens. e “et degluties me”, Montanus, Bolducius; “et tamen absorbeas me”, Schmidt; “absorbes me”, Schultens, Michaelis. f So Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Cocceius. g “Absorbes me?” Beza, Mariana.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8 Thy hands have formed and perfected me
Altogether round about, and Thou hast now swallowed me up!
9 Consider now, that Thou has perfected me as clay,
And wilt Thou turn me again into dust?
10 Hast Thou not poured me out as milk,
And curdled me as curd?
11 With skin and flesh hast Thou clothed me,
And Thou hast intertwined me with bones and sinews;
12 Life and favour Thou hast shown me,
And thy care hath guarded my breath.
The development of the embryo was regarded by the Israelitish Chokma as one of the greatest mysteries (Ecc 11:5; 2 Macc. 7:22f.). There are two poetical passages which treat explicitly of this mysterious existence: this strophe of the book of Job, and the Psalm by David, Psa 139:13-16 ( Psychol. S. 210). The assertion of Scheuchzer, Hoffmann, and Oetinger, that these passages of Scripture “include, and indeed go beyond, all recent systemata generationis ,” attributes to Scripture a design of imparting instruction, – a purpose which is foreign to it. Scripture nowhere attempts an analysis of the workings of nature, but only traces them back to their final cause. According to the view of Scripture, a creative act similar to the creation of Adam is repeated at the origin of each individual; and the continuation of development according to natural laws is not less the working of God than the creative planting of the very beginning. Thy hands, says Job, have formed ( , to cut, carve, fashion; cognate are , , without the accompanying notion of toil, which makes this word specially appropriate, as describing the fashioning of the complicated nature of man) and perfected me. We do not translate: made; for stands in the same relation to and as perficere to creare and fingere (Gen 2:2; Isa 43:7). refers to the members of the body collectively, and to the whole form. The perfecting as clay implies three things: the earthiness of the substance, the origin of man without his knowledge and co-operation, and the moulding of the shapeless substance by divine power and wisdom. The primal origin of man, de limo terrae (Job 33:6; Psa 139:15), is repeated in the womb. The figures which follow (Job 10:10) describe this origin, which being obscure is all the more mysterious, and glorifies the power of God the more. The sperma is likened to milk; the (used elsewhere of smelting), which Seb. Schmid rightly explains rem colliquatam fundere et immittere in formam aliquam , refers to the nisus formativus which dwells in it. The embryo which is formed from the sperma is likened to , which means in all the Semitic dialects cheese (curd). “As whey” (Ewald, Hahn) is not suitable; whey does not curdle; in making cheese it is allowed to run off from the curdled milk. “As cream” (Schlottm.) is not less incorrect; cream is not lac coagulatum , which the word signifies. The embryo forming itself from the sperma is like milk which is curdled and beaten into shape.
The consecutio temporum , moreover, must be observed here. It is, for example, incorrect to translate, with Ewald: Dost Thou not let me flow away like milk, etc. Job looks back to the beginning of his life; the four clauses, Job 10:10, Job 10:11, under the control of the first two verbs (Job 10:8), which influence the whole strophe, are also retrospective in meaning. The futt. are consequently like synchronous imperff.; as, then, Job 10:12 returns to perff., Job 10:11 describes the development of the embryo to the full-grown infant, on which Grotius remarks: Hic ordo est in genitura: primum pellicula fit, deinde in ea caro, duriora paulatim accedunt , and by Job 10:12, the manifestations of divine goodness, not only in the womb, but from the beginning of life and onwards, are intended. The expression “Life and favour (this combination does not occur elsewhere) hast Thou done to me” is zeugmatic: He has given him life, and sustained that life amidst constant proofs of favour; His care has guarded the spirit ( ), by which his frame becomes a living and self-conscious being. This grateful retrospect is interspersed with painful reflections, in which Job gives utterance to his feeling of the contrast between the manifestation of the divine goodness which he had hitherto experienced and his present condition. As in Job 10:8., , which Hirzel wrongly translates: and wilt now destroy me; it is rather: and hast now swallowed me up, i.e., drawn me down into destruction, as it were brought me to nought; or even, if in the fut. consec., as is frequently the case, the consecutive and not the aorist signification preponderates: and now swallowest me up; and in Job 10:9 (where, though not clear from the syntax, it is clear from the substance that is not to be understood as an imperfect, like the futt. in Job 10:10.): wilt Thou cause me to become dust again? The same tone is continued in the following strophe. Thus graciously has he been brought into being, and his life sustained, in order that he may come to such a terrible end.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. 9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? 10 Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? 11 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. 12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. 13 And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee.
In these verses we may observe,
I. How Job eyes God as his Creator and preserver, and describes his dependence upon him as the author and upholder of his being. This is one of the first things we are all concerned to know and consider.
1. That God made us, he, and not our parents, who were only the instruments of his power and providence in our production. He made us, and not we ourselves. His hands have made and fashioned these bodies of ours and every part of them (v. 8), and they are fearfully and wonderfully made. The soul also, which animates the body, is his gift. Job takes notice of both here. (1.) The body is made as the clay (v. 9), cast into shape, into this shape, as the clay is formed into a vessel, according to the skill and will of the potter. We are earthen vessels, mean in our original, and soon broken in pieces, made as the clay. Let not therefore the thing formed say unto him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? We must not be proud of our bodies, because the matter is from the earth, yet not dishonour our bodies, because the mould and shape are from the divine wisdom. The formation of human bodies in the womb is described by an elegant similitude (v. 10, Thou hast poured me out like milk, which is coagulated into cheese), and by an induction of some particulars, v. 11. Though we come into the world naked, yet the body is itself both clothed and armed. The skin and flesh are its clothing; the bones and sinews are its armour, not offensive, but defensive. The vital parts, the heart and lungs, are thus clothed, not to be seen–thus fenced, not to be hurt. The admirable structure of human bodies is an illustrious instance of the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator. What a pity is it that these bodies should be instruments of unrighteousness which are capable of being temples of the Holy Ghost! (2.) The soul is the life, the soul is the man, and this is the gift of God: Thou hast granted me life, breathed into me the breath of life, without which the body would be but a worthless carcase. God is the Father of spirits: he made us living souls, and endued us with the power of reason; he gave us life and favour, and life is a favour–a great favour, more than meat, more than raiment–a distinguishing favour, a favour that puts us into a capacity of receiving other favours. Now Job was in a better mind than he was when he quarrelled with life as a burden, and asked, Why died I not from the womb? Or by life and favour may be meant life and all the comforts of life, referring to his former prosperity. Time was when he walked in the light of the divine favour, and thought, as David, that through that favour his mountain stood strong.
2. That God maintains us. Having lighted the lamp of life, he does not leave it to burn upon its own stock, but continually supplies it with fresh oil: “Thy visitation has preserved my spirit, kept me alive, protected me from the adversaries of life, the death we are in the midst of and the dangers we are continually exposed to, and blessed me with all the necessary supports of life and the daily supplies it needs and craves.”
II. How he pleads this with God, and what use he makes of it. He reminds God of it (v. 9): Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me. What then? Why, 1. “Thou hast made me, and therefore thou hast a perfect knowledge of me (Ps. cxxxix. 1-13), and needest not to examine me by scourging, nor to put me upon the rack for the discovery of what is within me.” 2. “Thou hast made me, as the clay, by an act of sovereignty; and wilt thou by a like act of sovereignty unmake me again? If so, I must submit.” 3. “Wilt thou destroy the work of thy own hands?” It is a plea the saints have often used in prayer, We are the clay and thou our potter, Isa. lxiv. 8. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me, Ps. cxix. 73. So here, Thou madest me; and wilt thou destroy me (v. 8), wilt thou bring me into dust again? v. 9. “Wilt thou not pity me? Wilt thou not spare and help me, and stand by the work of thy own hands? Ps. cxxxviii. 8. Thou madest me, and knowest my strength; wilt thou then suffer me to be pressed above measure? Was I made to be made miserable? Was I preserved only to be reserved for these calamities?” If we plead this with ourselves as an inducement to duty, “God made me and maintains me, and therefore I will serve him and submit to him,” we may plead it with God as an argument for mercy: Thou hast made me, new–make me; I am thine, save me. Job knew not how to reconcile God’s former favours and his present frowns, but concludes (v. 13), “These things hast thou hidden in thy heart. Both are according to the counsel of thy own will, and therefore undoubtedly consistent, however they seem.” When God thus strangely changes his way, though we cannot account for it, we are bound to believe there are good reasons for it hidden in his heart, which will be manifested shortly. It is not with us, or in our reach, to assign the cause, but I know that this is with thee. Known unto God are all his works.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
b. Such hostile procedure of God toward Job is in contradiction to the blended love and wisdom displayed in the creation of man, seeing that God ruthlessly destroys what he has lovingly and artistically formed, Job 10:8-12.
8. Made me , ‘ hatsab, primary sense, cut or carve. Hence to elaborate with toil or care. The psalmist (Psa 139:15) likens the work of God upon our frame to embroidery, curiously wrought. Epictetus, the Stoic, saw in the human body “the symbols of God.” the clear marks of a divinity working most wisely and most powerfully.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 10:8. Yet thou dost destroy me And wilt thou tear me to pieces? Heath.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(8) Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. (9) Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? (10) Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? (11) Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. (12) Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. (13) And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee.
What a beautiful description Job gives of GOD’S work in his formation? He eyes GOD as making him, feeding him, sustaining, protecting, fencing him, and granting continued instances of life and favor. Now saith Job, (and he pleads these things, as so many arguments for mercy), did my GOD thus bestow such tokens of wisdom and love, and will he not hear the cries of his afflicted creature? There is a great sweetness, and strength of persuasion, in this argument. But Reader! how this pleading riseth to an higher note; when paraphrased in the melodious accents of the gospel? How may every poor believer in JESUS, bring forth those arguments and say; Thou hast made me, O LORD, and new made me in CHRIST JESUS, thy dear, ever blessed Son; not only given me a being, but a new being, and an union of being in and with JESUS; thou hast fed me with his body, and caused me to drink of his blood; clothed me with his righteousness, put on the garment of salvation, fenced me from all the accusations of sin and Satan, of law and justice; visited me day by day with thy grace; granted me life and favor; and JESUS himself hath preserved my spirit; and shall I now despond; shall I now be afraid? Surely if the LORD were pleased to kill me, would he have received JESUS as my Redeemer at my hands, or accepted me in JESUS; or have showed me all these things? Jdg 13:23 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.” Job 10:8
The fact is correct, but the reasoning is false. It often happens so in reasoning under strong feeling. The argument ought to have proceeded in exactly the opposite way; then Job would have said with the Psalmist, “Thou wilt not forsake the work of thine own hands.” There is a strong temptation to recognise Providence in parts and sections, but not to continue the thought throughout the whole line of human life and experience. Many persons will acknowledge: a Creator, who do not acknowledge the providential government which touches every detail of existence. Others, again, will acknowledge Providence. but deny the reality of Redemption.
Others, again, are devoted to the collection of facts, and yet, when they have brought all their facts into a focus, they seem to be unable to draw the right inferences from them. Man often perishes at the point of argument. Man ought often to let argument alone and simply rest upon facts. Where argument does arise in a case like this, it should take some such terms as the following: Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; therefore thou hast a living and loving interest in me, and although I cannot understand the discipline through which thou art now making me to pass, I am confident, from the excellence and minuteness of thy creation, that thy providence cannot fall short of what is there so vividly and graciously displayed. Jesus Christ always reasoned from the lower to the higher: If God takes care of oxen, will he not take care of you; if he clothe the grass of the field, etc; if he care for the fowls of the air, etc.; if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, etc. This is the Saviour’s argument, always rising upwards towards the unseen, the eternal. By creating man, God does not set up any right to destroy him. Creation would be too narrowly viewed if it were regarded as simply an arbitrary act. Even in the region of manufactures, who is there that makes an article for the sake of destroying it, and, even though there may be the right of destroying such an article, yet who is not restrained by reason from perpetrating its destruction? In the case of man, however, the circumstances are wholly different: man is rational; man is responsible; man can hold companionship with God; man is capable of enduring the most excruciating agonies; under all these conditions of life the very act of creation implies the further act of care, patience, training, love, and redemption. We should reason that if God has given us the light of the sun he will not withhold needful illumination from the mind: if God has filled the earth with bread and other food for man, he has made some provision for the nurture and sustenance of the soul: if he has made us, he means to keep us, yea, though we sin against him, he will come out after us, that he ho has been our Creator may also be our Redeemer.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Job 10:8 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
Ver. 8. Thine hands have made me ] Or, throughly and accurately wrought me, as it were, with much pains and labour; thou hast exactly fashioned all my members: not that God either hath hands, or putteth himself to pains; for he doth his work without either tool or toil, Isa 40:28 . But this is attributed to him after the manner of men, to show the curious workmanship showed in man’s creation, the masterpiece of all his works of wonder. This David sweetly singeth of, Psa 139:1-24 , and Galen admireth in that excellent book of his, De usu partium humani corporis, setting forth the praises of that God whom he knew not, and singing a hymn unto him. Man, saith one, is cura divini ingenii, he is God’s escutcheon, wherein he hath portrayed all the titles of the most excellent beauties of the world. The sun, moon, and stars are but the works of God’s fingers, Psa 8:3 , but man is the work of his hands, Psa 139:14 . He is the most beautiful building of a most wise architect, saith Euripides; the bold attempt of daring nature, saith another heathen; the greatest of all miracles, saith a third. David, speaking of him, and of God’s goodness to him, begins to wonder before he speaketh, and stops speaking, but not to wonder, Psa 8:1 ; Psa 8:9 .
And fashioned me together round about
Yet thou dost destroy me
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Job 10:8-17
Job 10:8-17
JOB CONTINUES TO PLEAD WITH GOD
Here indeed is the secret of spiritual excellence. Suffering, distressed, shamefully treated by his friends, Job nevertheless communed continually with the Lord in prayer.
“Thy hands have framed me and fashioned me
Together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
Remember, I beseech thee that thou hast fashioned me as clay;
And wilt thou bring me into dust again?
Hast thou not poured me out as milk,
And curdled me like cheese?
Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh,
And knit me together with bones and sinews,
Thou hast granted me life and lovingkindness;
And thy visitations have preserved my spirit.
Yet these things thou didst hide in thy heart;
I know that this is with thee:
If I sin, then thou markest me,
And thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
If I be wicked, woe unto me;
And if I be righteous, yet shall I not lift up my head;
Being filled with ignominy,
And looking upon mine affliction.
And if my head exalt itself,
Thou huntest me as a lion;
And again thou showest thyself marvelous upon me.
Thou renewest thy witnesses against me,
And increasest thine indignation upon me:
Changes and warfare are with me.”
“Thou hast fashioned me as dust” (Job 10:9). The Psalmist remembered these very words (Psa 103:14), expressing the same thought that was here in the mind of Job. Job here also granted the right of God to bring him again into the dust.
“Thou hast granted me life … and lovingkindness … and preserved my spirit” (Job 10:12). What a beautiful example is this! When sorrows are multiplied and the terrors of life seem about to sweep us away, what a consolation derives from remembering those precious and wonderful things that God did for his in the days that have vanished.
“These things thou didst hide … I know this is from thee” (Job 10:13). Job here spoke of the terrible things that had come upon him; but he here showed himself willing to accept bad things as well as good from the hand of God.
“If I be righteous, yet shall I not lift up my head … being filled with ignominy” (Job 10 :l5). The very condition of Job was one of extreme shame; and he recognized that, even if his righteousness should be known, his pitiful condition would deny it in the eyes of men.
“Thou showest thyself marvelous upon me” (Job 10:16). Job here called attention to the superlative nature of the disasters that had come upon him. The complimnent he thus bestowed upon God should not be overlooked.
“Thou renewest thy witnesses against me” (Job 10:17). This appears to be a reference to Job’s friends whose words certainly were, in a sense, witnesses against Job. In view of all this, Job again renewed his appeal for God to let him die.
E.M. Zerr:
Job 10:8. Destroy refers to the destruction of Job’s family and property and the loss of his health. God had allowed such a condition to come upon Job although he was the Creator of all those things.
Job 10:9. Job knew that he was made out of the earth and was destined to return to it; he feared that such a change was about to occur.
Job 10:10. When milk is poured out it is lost and Job used the Illustration in view of what he had lost. One meaning of the original for curdled is to shrink or become diminished, and Job had certainly been diminished by the Lord.
Job 10:11-13. This passage is an acknowledgement of the favors of God that had been bestowed on Job notwithstanding all his afflictions.
Job 10:14. Job had denied all along, in his conversations with his friends, that his afflictions were a special judgment, yet he admitted that if he did commit sin he would deserve the judgment of God.
Job 10:15. Job would expect the severe judgment or chastisement of God were he to commit wickedness knowingly. Yet, even though he was not aware of any specific sin, he would not feel inclined to boast of it. On the humble basis of his admission of unworthiness Job asked for the mercy of God.
Job 10:16. God had suffered afflictions to come on Job as if a fierce lion were pursuing him. In spite of that, however, the divine favor had been great.
Job 10:17. War is used figuratively and refers to the attacks being made on Job by his many afflictions as if by an invading army.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
hands: Psa 119:73, Isa 43:7
have made me: Heb. took pains about me
yet thou: Job 10:3, Gen 6:6, Gen 6:7, Jer 18:3-10
Reciprocal: Deu 32:6 – made thee Job 14:15 – thou wilt have Job 31:15 – did not one fashion us in the womb Psa 100:3 – it is he Psa 138:8 – forsake Isa 64:8 – all are
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 10:8. Thy hands have made me, &c., round about That is, all of me; all the faculties of my soul, and all the parts of my body, which are now overspread with sores and ulcers; I am wholly thy creature and workmanship, made by thee and for thee. Yet thou dost destroy me Hebrew, , teballegneeni, swallow me up; namely, without any eminent provocation of mine; as if thou didst delight in doing and undoing, in making and then destroying thy creatures.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10:8 Thine {k} hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
(k) In these eight verses following he describes the mercy of God, in the wonderful creation of man: and on it grounds that God should not show himself rigorous against him.