Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 13:20

Only do not two [things] unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee.

20, 21. Yet the thought recurs before whom he is to appear and against whom he has to maintain his plea, and he begs God to grant two conditions, cf. ch. Job 9:34-35.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Only do not two – things unto me. The two things which are specified in the following verse. This is an address to God as Job argues his cause before him, and the request is, that he would remove every obstacle to his presenting his cause in the most favorable manner, and so that he may be on equal terms with him. See the notes at Job 9:34-35. He was ready to present his cause, and to plead before God, as Job 13:18 he had the utmost confidence that he would be able so to present it as to vindicate himself; and he asks of God that he would withdraw his hand for a time Job 13:21 and not terrify him Job 13:21, so that he could present his case with the full vigor of his mind and body, and so that he need not be overawed by the sense of the majesty and glory of the Most High. He wished to be free to present his cause without the impediments arising from a deeply distressing and painful malady. He wished to have his full intellectual and bodily vigor restored for a time to him, and then he was confident that he could successfully defend himself. He felt that, he was now enfeebled by disease, and incapacitated from making the effort for self-vindication and for maintaining his cause, which he would have been enabled to make in his palmy days.

Then will I not hide myself from thee – From God. I will stand forth boldly and maintain my cause. I will not attempt to conceal myself, or shun the trial and the argument. See Job 9:34-35.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 20. Only do not two things unto me] These two things are the following:

1. Withdraw thine hand far from me-remove the heavy affliction which thy hand has inflicted.

2. Let not thy dread make me afraid-terrify me not with dreadful displays of thy majesty. The reasons of this request are sufficiently evident:

1. How can a man stand in a court of justice and plead for his life, when under grievous bodily affliction? Withdraw thy hand far from me.

2. Is it to be expected that a man can be sufficiently recollected, and in self-possession, to plead for his life, when he is overwhelmed with the awful appearance of the judge, the splendour of the court, and the various ensigns of justice? Let not thy dread make me afraid.

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

Which two he expresseth Job 13:21. Then shall I boldly present myself and cause before thee.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

20. Address to God.

not hidestand forthboldly to maintain my cause.

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

Only do not two [things] unto me,…. This is an address not to Zophar as in the place of God, as to me, but to God himself; by this it appears, that though in modesty he does not mention him, yet he it is he has the chief, if not the sole regard unto in Job 13:19; for his desire was to speak to the Almighty, and reason with God, and have nothing more to do with his friends, Job 13:3; but before any pleadings begin on either side, he is desirous of settling and fixing the terms and conditions of the dispute; he requests that two things might be granted him, which are mentioned in Job 13:21:

then will I not hide myself from thee; through fear or shame, but boldly appear before God, and come up even to his seat, and plead with him face to face.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

20 Only two things do not unto me,

Then will I not hide myself from Thy countenance:

21 Withdraw Thy hand from me,

And let Thy fear not terrify me –

22 Call then and I will answer,

Or I will speak and answer Thou me!

He makes only two conditions in his prayer, as he has already expressed it in Job 9:34: (1) That God would grant him a cessation of his troubles; (2) That He would not overwhelm him with His majesty. The chastening hand of God is generally called elsewhere; but in spite of this prevalent usage of the language, cannot be understood here (comp. on the contrary Job 33:7) otherwise than of the hand (Job 9:34: the rod) of God, which lies heavily on Job. The painful pressure of that hand would prevent the collecting and ordering of his thoughts required for meeting with God, and the (Codd. defectively ) of God would completely crush and confound him. But if God grants these two things: to remove His hand for a time, and not to turn the terrible side of His majesty to him, then he is ready whether God should himself open the cause or permit him to have the first word. Correctly Mercerus: optionem ei dat ut aut actoris aut rei personam deligat, sua fretus innocentia, sed interim sui oblitus et immodicus. In contrast with God he feels himself to be a poor worm, but his consciousness of innocence makes him a Titan.

He now says what he would ask God; or rather, he now asks Him, since he vividly pictures to himself the action with God which he desires. His imagination anticipates the reality of that which is longed for. Modern expositors begin a new division at Job 13:23. But Job’s speech does not yet take a new turn; it goes on further continually uno tenore.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

6. He calls on God for an arraignment. (Job. 13:20-28)

TEXT 13:2028

20 Only do not two things unto me:

Then will I not hide myself from thy face:

21 Withdraw thy hand far from me;

And let not thy terror make me afraid.

22 Then call thou, and I will answer;

Or let me speak, and answer thou me.

23 How many are mine iniquities and sins?

Make me to know my transgression and my sin.

24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face,

And holdest me for thine enemy?

25 Wilt thou harass a driven leaf?

And wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

26 For thou writest bitter things against me,

And makest me to inherit the iniquities of my youth:

27 Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks,

And markest all my paths;
Thou settest a bound to the soles of my feet:

28 Though I am like a rotten thing that consumeth,

Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

COMMENT 13:2028

Job. 13:20Spare me two things: (1) one request is negative, (2) one positive. The substance of Jobs present request has been presented before in Job. 9:34; see also Isa. 51:19; Jer. 2:13. God first gives Job peace in suffering before relief from suffering. Job addresses God directly throughout the remainder of his speech.

Job. 13:21Jobs two-pronged request is here stated: (1) withdraw your hand (yadecha) used in both positive sense of protection, and negative sense of afflicting pain and suffering (Exo. 33:22; and (2) do not use your sovereign power to terrify me.

Job. 13:22The imagery is that of a law court where Job offers to appear as either appellant or respondentJob. 14:15. The call is for either fellowship or indictment.

Job. 13:23Job boldly asks for God to list the number and nature of his sins.[159] There are three different Hebrew words for sin used here: (1) root meaning to deviate from prescribed course; (2) root to miss attaining a goal or fulfilling an intentionally chosen goal; and (3) root form to revolt, freely rebel (Psalms 51).

[159] See G. Quell, G. Bertram, G. Stahlin, and W. Grundmanns article in TWNT, Vol. I, E. T. Eerdmans; and K. Menninger, Whatever Became of Sin? (Hawthorn, 1973.)

Job. 13:24God does not break His silence.

Job. 13:25The A. V. harass should be translated something like terrify. Why should God, as sovereign of the universe, assail one so trivial and impotent to meet His challengePsa. 1:4?

Job. 13:26Has some sin in my youth brought on your bitter punishment? (Psa. 25:7) The word translated bitter is used of poison Job 20:14, and gall bladder in Job. 20:25.

Job. 13:27The three images employed here suggest arrest and the impossibility of escape (Job. 33:11). God draws a line and no one can step beyond it. Slaves were identified by markings on various parts of the body (Isa. 44:5; Isa. 49:16), apparently also on the sole of the slaves feet, in order to make tracking easier.

Job. 13:28His life is rotten and like a pest-eaten vine decaying with no hope of recovery. This is despair conceived in the womb of pessimism and fathered by manacles of the mind.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(20) Will I not hide myself from theei.e., I shall not be hiddenquite a different word from that in Gen. 3:10, though the comparison of the two places is not without interest.

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

20. Two things Specified in the following verse: 1. That God would grant him a respite from trouble; 2. That he would not overwhelm with his terror.

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

Job 13:20 Only do not two [things] unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee.

Ver. 20. Only do not two things unto me ] Accord me only two conditions, and then I will not fly the combat. He knew he might have anything from God that was fit and lawful to be asked. When poor men make requests to princes they usually answer them as the echo doth the voice, the answer cuts off half the petition; and if they beg two boons at once, they may be glad that they get one. But God dealeth by his servants and suppliants not only as the prophet did by the Shunammite (when he bade her ask what she needed, and promised her a son, which she most desired, and yet through modesty asked not, 2Ki 4:16 ), but also as Naaman did by Gehazi, when, asking one talent, he forced him to take two. This Job well knew, and, therefore, he beggeth two things at once; but better he had begged that one thing necessary, patience; or, if two, the best use of his present sufferings. As we read of one good man, that, lying under great torments of a gall stone, he would often cry out while his friends melted with compassion towards him, The use, Lord, the use; and of Mr William Perkins, that, when he lay in his last and killing torment of the gall stone, hearing the bystanders pray for a mitigation of his pain, he willed them not to pray for an ease of his complaint, but for an increase of his patience (Mr Leigh’s Saints’ Encouragement, &c., p. 164; Dr Hall’s Rem. of Profaneness, p. 143): thus if Job had done, he had done better; but by what he doth here we may easily gather that he expected no freedom from his misery but from God alone; and that he was wont familiarly to impart to God all the thoughts and actings of his heart; and, lastly, that he acknowledged him to be a most righteous Judge, who would not deal with his people upon unequal conditions, but give them a fair trial.

Then will I not hide myself from thee ] i.e. I shall have no cause, either through fear or shame, to hide myself. It is not safe for a man to indent with God, and make a bargain with him; for so one may have the thing he would have, but better be without it; as those workmen, Mat 20:9-14 , who bargained for a penny a day, and yet when they had it, were no whit contented. Socrates thought it was not fit to ask of God any more than this, that he would bestow good things upon us; but what, and how much, to leave that to him, not being overly earnest, or presuming to prescribe aught. Sir Thomas Moore’s wife was mightily desirous of a boy (that was her word), and she had one that proved a fool; and, saith her husband, you were never quiet till you had a boy, and now you have one that will be all his life a boy. But what were those two things that Job was so earnest for?

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

Job 13:20-28

Job 13:20-28

JOB’S EARNEST PRAYER TO GOD TO KNOW WHAT HIS SIN IS

“Only do not two things unto me;

Then will I not hide myself from thy face:

Withdraw thy hand far from me;

And let not thy terror make me afraid.

Then call thou, and I will answer;

Or let me speak, and answer thou me.

How many are mine iniquities and sins?

Make me to know my transgression and my sin.

Wherefore hidest thou thy face,

And holdest me for thine enemy?

Wilt thou harrass a driven leaf?

And wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

For thou writest bitter things against me,

And makest me to inherit the iniquities of my youth.

Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, And markest all my paths;

Thou settest a bound to the soles of my feet.

Though I am like a rotten thing that consumeth,

Like a garment that is moth-eaten.”

Job’s illness appeared to be terminal, and he expected nothing but death; yet in that awful extremity he turned to God in prayer. What a marvelous faith he had! In the previous paragraph he had asked his friends to reveal to him any sin that he had committed; and here he prayerfully asked the same thing of God.

“Withdraw thy hand far from me” (Job 13:21). This was Job’s plea that God would ease the punishment which he was suffering.

“Make me to know my transgression” (Job 13:23). The absolute sincerity and innocence of Job in all this is clearly visible. Not merely to his friends, but to God himself, he addressed this plea. Jesus himself made the same appeal to men, “Which of you convinceth me of sin” (Joh 8:46)?

“Wherefore hidest thou thy face” (Job 13:24)? This feeling that God had hidden from him, or had forsaken him, was also experienced by Jesus Christ upon the Cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”?

The glory of these concluding verses of the chapter is that they are addressed to God. Scholars differ as to the exact meaning of some of the expressions here; but the big point is that, in spite of all the uncertainties, the perplexities, the sufferings, the hopelessness of his awful condition, and everything else, including the cruel allegations of his friends and their utter incapability of either providing any comfort for Job, or understanding him, – in spite of it all, Job poured out his heart to God; and THAT is what made all the difference, finally, completely frustrating Satan’s vain efforts to destroy Job’s integrity.

E.M. Zerr:

Job 13:20-22. The two things Job requested God to do for him were, withdraw thine hand and call thou. Those two favors would encourage Job to speak.

Job 13:23-24. This plea of Job was that which might be made by any devoted man of God. He was not conscious of any particular wrong, as his friends had been arguing, but made his confession on the general basis that man is frail and in need of the mercy of God at all times in his We on earth.

Job 13:25. The weakness of Job was compared to a beaten leaf and withered stubble.

Job 13:26. Like most human beings, Job realized that he had made mistakes in the days of his youth, and his present experiences caused him to realize it more.

Job 13:27-28. This paragraph is another description of the unfortunate conditions of Job. It was necessary that he give us a description of his experience. The purpose and manner of such a report received a more extended explanation at Job 3:2-3, and the reader is requested to consult those comments again.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

do not two: Job 9:34, Job 9:35

hide myself: Gen 3:8-10, Psa 139:12, Rev 6:15, Rev 6:16

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Job 13:20-22. Let me only beg, O great Judge of all, that thou wilt forbear to make use of two things against me. Then will I not hide myself from thee Then will I appear confidently to plead my cause before thee. Withdraw thy hand from me Suspend my torments during the time of my pleading with thee, that my mind may be at liberty. And let not thy dread make me afraid Do not present thyself to me in terrible majesty, neither deal with me in rigorous justice. Then call thou, and I will answer Then choose thy own method: either do thou charge me with hypocrisy, or more than common guilt, and I will defend myself. Or let me speak, &c. I will argue with thee concerning thy extraordinary severity toward me; and do thou show me the reasons of it. This proposal savours of self-confidence, and of irreverence toward God; for which, and the like speeches, he is reproved by God, Job 38:2-3; Job 40:2.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Job’s presentation of his case to God 13:20-28

As in his replies to Eliphaz (Job 7:12-21) and Bildad (Job 9:28-33; Job 10:2-19), Job also addressed God in this reply to Zophar (Job 13:20 to Job 14:22). Job asked God to stop afflicting him and to stop terrifying him (Job 13:20-21). He also requested a courtroom confrontation with God (Job 13:22). God did not reply, so Job asked Him to list his sins (Job 13:23). Still there was no answer. This led Job to ask why God was hiding and hostile to him (Job 13:24-26). Frustrated by God’s lack of response, Job sank down again into despair.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)