Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 15:7
[Art] thou the first man [that] was born? or wast thou made before the hills?
7. Art thou the first man ] lit. wast thou born a man first? The first man that came from God’s hand would naturally be endowed with preeminent wisdom and other attributes. Schlottmann (p. 303) quotes an ironical proverb current in India, “Yes, yes, he is the first man, no wonder that he is so wise.” The second clause, of the verse, however, as well as Job 15:8, seems to express the conception of a Being formed before the earth, either the Wisdom of Pro 8:22 seq., or a Being similar, cf. especially Pro 8:25; and the query of Eliphaz is, Art thou the very Wisdom of God? or, Art thou such a Being as the wisdom of God?
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
7 11. But coming back to Job’s assumption of superior wisdom, Eliphaz must ask on what it rests?
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Art thou the first man that was born? – Hast thou lived ever since the creation, and treasured up all the wisdom of past times, that thou dost now speak so arrogantly and confidently? This question was asked, because, in the estimation of Eliphaz and his friends, wisdom was supposed to be connected with long life, and with an opportunity for extended and varied observation; see Job 15:10. Job they regarded as comparatively a young man.
Wast thou made before the hills – The mountains and the hills are often represented as being the oldest of created objects, probably because they are the most ancient things that appear on earth. Springs dry up, and waters change their beds; cities are built and decay; kingdoms rise and fall, and all the monuments of human skill and art perish; but the hills and mountains remain the same from age to age. Thus, in Psa 90:2 :
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.
So in Pro 8:25, in the description of wisdom:
Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills was I brought forth.
So the hills are called everlasting Gen 49:26, in allusion to their great antiquity and permanence. And so we, in common parlance, have a similar expression when we say of anything that it is as old as the hills. The question which Eliphaz intends to ask here of Job is, whether he had lived from the creation, and had observed everything?
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. Art thou the first man that was born?] Literally, “Wert thou born before Adam?” Art thou in the pristine state of purity and innocence? Or art thou like Adam in his first state? It does not become the fallen descendant of a fallen parent to talk as thou dost.
Made before the hills?] Did God create thee the beginning of his ways? or wert thou the first intelligent creature which his hands have formed?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Hast thou lived ever since the creation of the world, and treasured up the experiences of all ages in thy own breast, that thou speakest so arrogantly and magisterially, and with such contempt of other men? Art thou the most ancient and the wisest of all mortal men? Whom dost thou make thyself? Before the hills; before the earth was made and distinguished into mountains and valleys.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. That is, Art thou wisdompersonified? Wisdom existed before the hills; that is, the eternalSon of God (Pro 8:25; Psa 90:2).Wast thou in existence before Adam? The farther back one existed, thenearer he was to the Eternal Wisdom.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
[Art] thou the first man [that] was born?…. The first Adam, who was created in wisdom and knowledge, and had a large share of understanding in things natural, civil, and moral; knew much of God and his perfections, of the works of nature, and of the wisdom and power of God displayed in them; one instance of which is his giving names to the creatures; dost thou think thou art that selfsame individual person, the father of all mankind, who had such a stock and fund of knowledge, until, by seeking after more, and that unlawful, he lost much of what he had? dost thou imagine that thou hast lived ever since, and seen or known everything that was done in all ages from the beginning, and hast gathered a large share of knowledge from long experience, and by making strict observations on men and things in such a length of time? or, as the Targum,
“wast thou born with the first man, without father and mother?”
and hast thou existed ever since? or, “wast thou born before Adam?” before the first man z? Art thou the wisdom and son of God, who was before Abraham, before Adam, before any creature whatever, was in the beginning with God, and was God? What dost thou make thyself to be, Job? thou, a mere man, dost thou make thyself to be the eternal God? for to be before the first man, or to be the firstborn of every creature, or to be born before every creature, is expressive of eternity, as is the following phrase:
or wast thou made before the hills? or existed before they did? as is said of the son of God, Pr 8:25; what is before the hills and mountains is eternal; the eternal God and his eternity are thus described, Ps 90:2.
z So Mercerus, and some in Vatablus, Schmidt, Jarchi, & Bar Tzemach.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7 Wast thou as the first one born as a man,
And hast thou been brought forth before the hills?
8 Hast thou attended to the counsel of Eloah,
And hast thou kept wisdom to thyself?
9 What dost thou know that we have not known?
Doest thou understand what we have not been acquainted with?
10 Both grey-haired and aged are among us,
Older in days than thy father.
The question in Job 15:7 assumes that the first created man, because coming direct from the hand of God, had the most direct and profoundest insight into the mysteries of the world which came into existence at the same time as himself. Schlottman calls to mind an ironical proverbial expression of the Hindus: “Yea, indeed, he is the first man; no wonder that he is so wise” (Roberts, Orient. Illustr. p. 276). It is not to be translated: wast thou born as the first man, which is as inadmissible as the translation of , Hag 2:6, by “a little” (vid., Khler in loc.); rather (i.e., , as Jos 21:10, formed from , like the Arabic ras , from ras , if it is not perhaps a mere incorrect amalgamation of the forms and , Job 8:8) is in apposition with the subject, and is to be regarded as predicate, according to Ges. 139, 2. Raschi’s translation is also impossible: wast thou born before Adam? for this Greek form of expression, , Joh 1:15, Joh 1:30; Joh 15:18 (comp. Odyss. xi. 481f., ), is strange to the Hebrew. In the parallel question, Job 15:7, Umbr., Schlottm., and Renan (following Ewald) see a play upon Pro 8:24.: art thou the demiurgic Wisdom itself? But the introductory proverbs (Prov 1-9) are more recent than the book of Job (vid., supra, p. 24), and indeed probably, as we shall show elsewhere, belong to the time of Jehoshaphat. Consequently the more probable relation is that the writer of Pro 8:24. has adopted words from the book of Job in describing the pre-existence of the Chokma. Was Job, a higher spirit-nature, brought forth, i.e., as it were amidst the pangs of travail ( , Pulal from , ), before the hills? for the angels, according to Scripture, were created before man, and even before the visible universe (vid., Job 38:4.). Hirz., Ew., Schlottm., and others erroneously translate the futt. in the questions, Job 15:8, as praes. All the verbs in Job 15:7, Job 15:8, are under the control of the retrospective character which is given to the verses by ; comp. Job 10:10., where has the same influence, and also Job 3:3, where the historical sense of depends not upon the syntax, but upon logical necessity. Translate therefore: didst thou attend in the secret council ( , like Jer 23:18, comp. Psa 89:8) of Eloah (according to the correct form of writing in Codd. and in Kimchi, Michlol 54 a, , like Job 15:11 and Job 22:13 , with Beth raph. and without Gaja),
(Note: As a rule, the interrogative He, when pointed with Pathach, has Gaja against the Pathach 2Sa 7:5; this, however, falls away (among other instances) when the syllable immediately following the He has the tone, as in the two examples given above (comp. also , Job 8:3; , Job 13:7), or the usual Gaja ( Metheg) which stands in the antepenultima (Br, Metheg-Setzung, 23)
and didst then acquire for thyself ( , here attrahere , like the Arabic, sorbere , to suck in) wisdom? by which one is reminded of Prometheus’ fire stolen from heaven. Nay, Job can boast of no extraordinary wisdom. The friends – as Eliphaz, Job 15:9, says in their name – are his contemporaries; and if he desires to appeal to the teaching of his father, and of his ancestors generally, let them know that there are hoary-headed men among themselves, whose discernment is deeper by reason of their more advanced age. is inverted, like Job 2:10 (which see); and at the same time, since it is sued twice, it is correlative: etiam inter nos et cani et senes. Most modern expositors think that Eliphaz, “in modestly concealed language” (Ewald), refers to himself. But the reference would be obvious enough; and wherefore this modest concealing, which is so little suited to the character of Eliphaz? Moreover, Job 15:10 does not sound as if speaking merely of one, and in Job 15:10 Eliphaz would make himself older than he appears to be, for it is nowhere implied that Job is a young man in comparison with him. We therefore with Umbreit explain : in our generation. Thus it sounds more like the Arabic, both in words ( kebr Arab., usual in the signif. grandaevus ) and in substance. Eliphaz appeals to the source of reliable tradition, since they have even among their races and districts mature old men, and since, indeed, according to Job’s own admission (Job 12:12), there is “wisdom among the ancient ones.”
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(7) Art thou the first man that was born?This is a retort upon Job. 12:2; Job. 12:7; Job. 12:9, where Job had claimed equal knowledge for the inanimate creation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Second strophe Ironical questioning as to the possible modes by which Job had attained to such superior wisdom and self-sufficiency that he could discard divine consolations imparted through his friends, Job 15:7-11.
7. Art thou the first man Literally, Wast thou born the first man? Art thou an Adam still alive, having gathered all the treasures of wisdom the experience of many centuries? In India, Mr. Roberts tells us, a pertinacious opposer is asked, “What! were you born before all others?” “Yes, yes, he is the first man: no wonder he has so much wisdom.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 15:7. Art thou the first man that was born? Wast thou born before Adam? Schultens, Heath, &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(7) Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? (8) Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? (9) What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? (10) With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father. (11) Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee? (12) Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, (13) That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth?
How taunting are those questions, and to what profit? And especially when we consider them coming from the mouth of one who came as a friend to condole with Job on his calamities. Reader! do pause to remark with me, how very important an office that is of visiting the sick, and persons under affliction; yet while a man be found faithful, he should not be harsh and severe in his observations. Eliphaz came to comfort Job: but alas! as Job said, what miserable comforters were both his friends and him!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“Art thou the first man that was born?” Job 15:7
The humbling questions which may be put to men! The very strongest man is thrown down from his high position by the force of a blow like this. How difficult it is to be an originator, the very first in the field, the man who had the earliest revelation and the first message to bring from heaven! We cannot get at that man; he is removed from us by a distance we cannot measure. So when the poet sings he accompanies himself upon a harp which other men made; when a book is published it is only an advance upon a book published long before: when a man puts down upon paper all the knowledge he has acquired, he is bound to say that it was an acquisition and not an origination on his part; he says, in effect, Other men have told me this; whether they are right or wrong, I cannot tell; I merely repeat what I have been told. We must distinguish between a voice and an echo. The application of an inquiry of this kind lies in the direction of modifying our infallibility. As I am not the first man that was born, I am obliged to consult some other man, so that we may come to a common opinion about beginnings, and operations, and issues: he may have seen more than I have seen: he may be better able to express himself than I am: he may have the very thing which I want. Here is the great principle of traditional knowledge and relative knowledge; and this principle must be recognised in the interpretation of the universe, and even in the interpretation of the Bible. God takes away from us all privileges which could be ruined into boasting, or he limits those privileges by showing how many other people have shared them, and have borne their elevation in a modest spirit and with a thankful heart. The question would admit of application in regard to all the worlds into which men are born: for example, a man is born into the world of literature, and there he finds himself crowded by ancestors; a man is born into the spiritual world, in which he sings and prays, and holds communion with God, and suddenly he feels himself surrounded by an infinite host of fellow-worshippers; he is born into a world of intellectual activity, and he is surprised at his own mental miracles, and scarcely has he plumed himself upon their originality or novelty when he finds that all he has looked upon as new are the commonplaces of ages forgotten. Thus there is a subtle action of encouragement, and a concurrent action of humiliation, so that between the two the man’s mind may be established in modesty and reason. We should beware how we go about boasting of our originality, lest the man to whom we speak has given up our novelties as commonplaces he could no longer tolerate. Thus infallibility goes down; thus all papacy is overthrown; thus all priesthood is dispossessed of authority: we can only live healthfully by mental concession, by discussion, by acknowledgment of indebtedness one to another, and by preserving the fellowship which eventuates in common truths, and sentiments which are sustained by a large common practice. Never listen to any teacher who claims to be the first man that was born; be thankful for any wise man’s word who is willing to regard it as but a contribution to the sum-total; and in proportion as the man refers to his authorities, and endeavours to found his claim upon his own gratitude, rather than upon his own inspiration, have confidence in the elevation of his intention.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Job 15:7 [Art] thou the first man [that] was born? or wast thou made before the hills?
Ver. 7. Art thou the first man that was born? ] Or, Wast thou made before Adam? Ut vox Rishon non significet primus, sed prius (Lavat., Bucholc.). Out of the mouth of Adam, as from a fountain, flowed whatsoever profitable learning, skill, or wisdom, is found in the world, saith the divine chronologer. Job had taxed Zophar for a young puny and a novice. Job 12:9-12 This Eliphaz kindleth at, and taketh upon him to answer in Zophar’s behalf. As indeed these three speakers, Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad, stood to one another, as much as any one of them did for himself, as if they had all entered bond, and given security for reciprocal assistance. Here then Eliphaz asketh, Art thou the first man born? that is, Art thou the wisest man alive? and must we all be taught by thee, as Adam’s nephews were by him, in things divine and human.
Or wast thou made before the hills?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Art. ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6.
made = brought forth.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Job 15:7-16
Job 15:7-16
ELIPHAZ CALLED JOB ABOMINABLE AND CORRUPT
“Art thou the first man that was born?
Or wast thou brought forth before the hills?
Hast thou heard the secret counsel of God?
Or dost thou limit wisdom to thy self?
What knowest thou that we know not?
What understandest thou that is not known in us?
With us are both the gray-headed and the very aged men,
Much elder than thy father.
Are the consolations of God too small for thee,
Even the word that is gentle toward thee?
Why doth thy heart carry thee away?
And why do thine eyes flash,
That against God thou turnest thy spirit,
And lettest words go out of thy mouth?
What is man, that he should be clean?
And he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
Behold, he putteth no trust in his holy ones;
Yea the heavens are not clean in his sight:
How much less one that is abominable and corrupt,
A man that drinketh iniquity like water!”
Eliphaz claimed that all of the aged men approved of their judgment and condemnation of Job as a gross sinner, implying that the whole population of the area concurred in their evil appraisal of the situation; and he was very probably correct in that allegation.
Satan here had succeeded in the complete isolation of Job from every possibility of any human support. And how had he been able to do that? It all stemmed from that evil proverb: GOD ALWAYS DEALS (IN THIS LIFE) WITH EVERY MAN EXACTLY AS HE DESERVES. THE GOOD GET RICH; THE EVIL SUFFER. A lie has always been the principal weapon in the arsenal of the devil. Satan is the Father of Lies; and it was with a lie that he seduced and destroyed our Progenitors in Eden.
E.M. Zerr:
Job 15:7-8. This verse intimates that Job had claimed to possess all knowledge, and that he ranked far above all other men. Even a glance at the speeches of Job that we have heard so far will deny the charge.
Job 15:9-10. Job had not said that the friends were without knowledge. They had stated much truth and he did not deny it. All that he did claim was that the things they knew and stated had nothing to do with the case. That is what he meant in Job 6:25 when he asked, “what doth your arguing reprove” [prove].
Job 15:11. No, the consolations of God were not small with Job. In fact, they were the only ones he counted on for these friends were offering him none.
Job 15:12-13. Heart carry thee away was his way of saying that Job was beside himself and saying things that he did not realize.
Job 15:14. This was an implied false accusation. Job never claimed to be innocent, but that his afflictions were not a special punishment.
Job 15:15. This might be said to be true for 2Pe 2:4 says that angels do sin.
Job 15:16. Men as well as angels will be treated according to their conduct. Job has been teaching the same thing all through the controversy.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the first: Job 15:10, Job 12:12, Gen 4:1
or wast thou: Job 38:4-41, Psa 90:2, Pro 8:22-25
Reciprocal: Job 32:6 – durst not Job 38:12 – since Job 38:21 – General Pro 8:25 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 15:7-10. Art thou the first man that was born? Hast thou lived ever since the creation of the world, and treasured up the experiences of all ages in thy own breast, that thou speakest so arrogantly and magisterially, and with such contempt of other men? Art thou the most ancient and the wisest of all mortal men? Whom dost thou make thyself? S. Jarchis comment is, What, wast thou born before Adam? Wast thou made before the hills? As wisdom herself was, Pro 8:23. Didst thou exist before the earth was created, and distinguished into mountains and valleys? Hast thou heard the secret of God? Hath God acquainted thee with all his secret counsels, whereby he governs the world, that thou dost pass so bold a censure upon his designs and actions? Dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? Art thou the only wise man in the world, and we and all others but fools? What knowest thou that we know not? He retorts upon Job his own expressions, Job 12:3; Job 13:2. With us are both the gray- headed, &c. That is, among us; meaning either some of them, or some others with whom they had conversed, and who were of their opinion in this matter. And this they oppose to what Job had expressed, Job 12:12. Very aged men, much elder than thy father Perhaps all these three friends of Job were elder than he, and therefore they thought he was bound to acknowledge them to be wiser. And many think themselves wiser than others for a similar reason, and are confident they know more, because they have lived more years!
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
15:7 [Art] thou the {e} first man [that] was born? or wast thou made before the hills?
(e) That is, the most ancient and so by reason the most wise?