Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 18:5
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
5 21. The disastrous end of the wicked, in the moral order of the world, is certain
The last verse naturally led over to this idea, which is the theme of the speech. The idea is set out in a great variety of graphic figures, and the speech is studded with sententious and proverbial sayings in the manner of the speaker’s first discourse (ch. 8). The history of the wicked man’s downfall is followed through all its stages:
Job 18:5-7.
The principle the sinner’s light goes out.
Job 18:8-11.
The progress of his downfall.
Job 18:12-14.
The final scenes.
Job 18:15-17.
The extinction of his race and name.
Job 18:18-21.
Men’s horror of his fate and memory.
5 7. The principle the sinner’s light goes out. The word yea means “notwithstanding” in spite of Job’s struggling against the law, the law remains and verifies itself universally. The bright beacon light on the sinner’s tent goes out, and the cheerful flame on his hearth shines no more. His home is desolate. The word “light” lends itself in all languages for such general use, as the Arab proverb says, Fate has put out my light extinguished my prosperity. The picture here however is scarcely to be so generalized.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Yea – Truly; or, behold. Bildad here commences his remarks on the certain destiny of the wicked, and strings together a number of apparently proverbial sayings, showing that calamity in various forms would certainly overtake the wicked. There is nothing particularly new in his argument, though the use of the various images which he employs shows how deep was the conviction of this doctrine at that time, and how extensively it prevailed.
The light of the wicked shall be put out – Light here is an emblem of prosperity.
The spark of his fire – Hebrew the flame of his fire. There may be an allusion here to the customs of Arabian hospitality. This was, and is, their national glory, and it is their boast that no one is ever refused it. The emblem of fire or flame here may refer to the custom of kindling a fire on an eminence, near a dwelling, to attract the stranger to share the hospitality of the owner of it; or it may refer to the fire in his tent, which the stranger was always at liberty to share. In the collection of the Arabian poems, called the Hamasa, this idea occurs almost in the words of Bildad. The extract was furnished me by the Rev. Eli Smith. It is a boast of Salamiel, a prince of Tema. In extolling the virtues of his tribe, he says, No fire of ours was ever extinguished at night without a guest; and of our guests never did one disparage us. The idea here is, that the wicked would attempt to show hospitality, but the means would be taken away. He would not be permitted to enjoy the coveted reputation of showing it to the stranger, and the fire which might invite the traveler, or which might confer comfort on him, would be put out in his dwelling. The inability to extend the offer of a liberal hospitality would be equivalent to the deepest poverty or the most trying affliction.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 18:5-6
The light of the wicked shall be put out.
–The reference is to a lamp that was suspended from the ceiling. The Arabians are fond of this image. Thus they say, Bad fortune has extinguished my lamp. Of a man whose hopes are remarkably blasted, they say, He is like a lamp which is immediately extinguished if you let it sink in the oil (see Schultens). The putting out of the lamp is to the Orientals an image of utter desolation. It is the universal custom to have a light burning in their houses at night. The houses of Egypt in modern times are never without lights; they burn lamps all the night long, and in every occupied apartment. So requisite to the comfort of a family is this custom reckoned, and so imperious is the power which it exercises, that the poorest people would rather retrench part of their food than neglect it.–Paxton. It is not improbable that this custom prevailed in former times in Arabia, as it now does in Egypt; and this consideration will give increased beauty and force to the passage. (Albert Barnes.)
Three sorts of light
Moral, spiritual, civil.
1. Moral light is the light of wisdom, prudence, and understanding. In this sense some Rabbins understand the text; as if he had said, the wicked man shall be made a very fool, destitute of wit, reason, understanding, and ability to judge or know what evil is upon him, or what is good for him. The spirit of counsel shall be taken from him. That is a sore judgment.
2. There is spiritual light, and that is double. The light of the knowledge of God, and the light of comfort from God. The knowledge we receive from God is light; and the joy we receive from God is light. Some interpret the peace of this spiritual light. Though a wicked man, an hypocrite, hath a great measure of this light, yet his light shall be put out, as Christ threatens (Mat 13:12).
3. A civil light: that is, the light of outward prosperity. And so these words are a gradation, teaching us that, not only whatsoever a carnal man reckons his greatest splendour, but what he calls his smallest ray of temporal blessedness, shall be wrapt in darkness and obscurity. Outward prosperity may be called light upon a threefold consideration.
(1) Because as light refresheth and cheereth the spirits, so doth outward prosperity and the presence of worldly accommodations.
(2) Light helps us on in our work; no man can work until he have either the natural light of the sun and fire, or some artificial light. Prosperity and peace carry us on in our worldly affairs.
3. Light makes us conspicuous: we are seen what we are in the light. Thus outward prosperity makes men appear. Poverty joins with obscurity. (Joseph Caryl.)
The light shall be dark in his tabernacle.
A plea for the idiot
The text is part of Bildads description of a wicked man. The description might, however, be adapted to represent weakness and deficiency, as well as wickedness. Those who are of radically weak understanding may be spoken of thus: The light shall be dark in his tabernacle. There is a four-fold light in our nature, placed there by our Creator, the Father of our spirits–the light of the understanding, the light of the judgment, the light of the conscience (including the whole moral sense), and the light of the religious sensibility, This light may be diminished, nay, even extinguished, by wickedness. Sin reduces the natural light within us, and continuous sinning involves constant decrease in that light. Sins in the body and sins against the body lessen the light of the understanding, and reduce the power of mental conception, and the power of thought. All sin perverts the judgment, sears the conscience, and blunts the moral sense. By continuing in sin there is a hardening process carried on, so that sin is at length committed without fear, or remorse, or regret. All sin tends to destroy faith in God, and to stop intercourse with God. The whole tendency of sin is to reduce the light within him. But there is a Deliverer from this position; there is a Saviour from this condition There is, in some cases, a natural deficiency of the light of which we have been speaking–a natural defect in conscience, understanding, judgment, and religious sensibility–a deep and radical defect. This is idiocy. The light is dark in the tabernacle. What can be done in such cases? Five things.
1. Whatever latent capacity is possessed may be developed–power of observation, and of speech, power of attention and acquisition, power of thought and feeling, power of skill and labour, moral and religious power. The idiot is not a broken vessel, but an unfilled vessel; not a broken candlestick, but a candlestick with a feeble lamp.
2. The external condition may be made comfortable and pleasant, and favourable to the idiots improvement. The dwelling may be made wholesome and attractive, and may present objects to the eye which shall call out the imagination, and evoke healthy sentiment and feeling.
3. All the energy of the body and of the spirit which is manifested may be directed into the channels of usefulness.
4. The almost insupportable burden of providing for an idiot child in the family whose means are scanty and insufficient may be shared or entirely borne by Christian benevolence.
5. A refuge from observation, and mockery, and injudicious treatment, and from ill-treatment, may be provided for idiots who are not poor. On all grounds it is most undesirable for those who are distinctly idiotic to live with those whose condition is sound. Consider the claims of idiots upon us Christians. The birth of idiots is a great mystery. It is one of the mysteries that would crush us if we did not look up. Way does God permit and inflict idiocy? It cannot come from malevolence in God. All we can say is, God willeth, and it must be right. Children smitten through their parents have a strong claim–the strongest possible claim–upon Christian benevolence. We may not be kept back from providing for the idiot by the fact that the affliction is sometimes directly traceable to sin in the parents and other ancestors. (Samuel Martin, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. The light of the wicked shall be put out] Some think it would be better to translate the original, “Let the light of the wicked be extinguished!” Thou art a bad man, and thou hast perverted the understanding which God hath given thee. Let that understanding, that abused gift, be taken away. From this verse to the end of the chapter is a continual invective against Job.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Yea; the thing is true and certain, notwithstanding thy dissatisfaction and opposition against it.
The light of the wicked shall be put out; all their glory and felicity shall perish.
The spark of his fire, i.e. their highest and brightest glory, which he calleth the spark, &c., because, like a spark, it shines briskly for a moment, but is quickly extinct.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. That (Job18:4) cannot be. The decree of God is unalterable, the light(prosperity) of the wicked shall at length be put out.
his firealluding toArabian hospitality, which prided itself on welcoming the stranger tothe fire in the tent, and even lit fires to direct him to it. Theungodly shall be deprived of the means to show hospitality. Hisdwelling shall be dark and desolate!
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out,…. Or “nevertheless” m; notwithstanding all this disregard and inattention to us, and contempt of us, and all the rage, and wrath, and pride, and haughtiness discovered, as if the laws of nature, and stated methods of Providence, must all give way to justify a man in such circumstances as show him to be wicked; this will certainly be his case, his “light shall be put out”; meaning not the light of his eyes, or his corporeal light, which sometimes has been the case of wicked men, as was of the Sodomites, since this, through accident, or old age, is common to good and bad then; but rather moral light, the light of nature, with which every man is enlightened that comes into the world; by which he can discern things natural and civil, and in some degree things moral and religious, though in a very dim manner; and which, when it is abused, may be taken away, and men be given up to judicial blindness, and to a reprobate mind, a mind void of sense and judgment. Cocceius thinks light of doctrine may be intended, speculative and notional light and knowledge of divine things, as of God, and his perfections, which may be more clearly discerned by revelation than by the light of nature; and of Christ, his person, offices, and grace; and of the Gospel, and each of the doctrines of it, which men may be enlightened into, and yet be wicked men, as Balsam, and others; which knowledge may be lost, and light put out, as in the man that had but one talent, and neglected it, and in the idle shepherd, Mt 25:29; to which may be added the light of joy, or a flash of natural affections that sometimes is to be observed in hypocritical persons, or notional professors, which in time is lost, and comes to nothing, as in Herod and the stony ground hearers, Mr 6:20; but as for the true spiritual light, and experimental knowledge, that can never be lost or put out, but shines more and more unto the perfect day: but it seems best by “light” here to understand outward prosperity, for as darkness is often put for adversity, so light for prosperity in civil things, see Es 8:16; but then, though this in wicked men is often put out, and they are reduced to distressed circumstances, yet not always; and it sometimes is the case of good men, and was the case of Job, which Bildad had his eye upon, see Job 29:2;
and the spark of his fire shall not shine; all his carnal reasonings, the effects of the light of nature, and all his schemes, especially religious ones built upon them, shall all come to nothing, and be of no effect or use unto him, see Isa 50:11; or the sense is, that he shall be reduced to so low a condition in things civil, that he shall have no light nor heat, nor joy and comfort, in this sense; no, not so much as a spark of outward happiness shall be left him.
m “attamen, nihilominus”, Cocceius, Schultens; so the Targum.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Miserable Condition of the Wicked. | B. C. 1520. |
5 Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. 6 The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. 7 The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. 8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. 9 The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him. 10 The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way.
The rest of Bildad’s discourse is entirely taken up in an elegant description of the miserable condition of a wicked man, in which there is a great deal of certain truth, and which will be of excellent use if duly considered–that a sinful condition is a sad condition, and that iniquity will be men’s ruin if they do not repent of it. But it is not true that all wicked people are visibly and openly made thus miserable in this world; nor is it true that all who are brought into great distress and trouble in this world are therefore to be deemed and adjudged wicked men, when no other proof appears against them; and therefore, though Bildad thought the application of it to Job was easy, yet it was not safe nor just. In these verses we have,
I. The destruction of the wicked foreseen and foretold, under the similitude of darkness (Job 18:5; Job 18:6): Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out. Even his light, the best and brightest part of him, shall be put out; even that which he rejoiced in shall fail him. Or the yea may refer to Job’s complaints of the great distress he was in and the darkness he should shortly make his bed in. “Yea,” says Bildad, “So it is; thou art clouded, and straitened, and made miserable, and no better could be expected; for the light of the wicked shall be put out, and therefore thine shall.” Observe here, 1. The wicked may have some light for a while, some pleasure, some joy, some hope within, as well as wealth, and honour, and power without. But his light is but a spark (v. 5), a little thing and soon extinguished. It is but a candle (v. 6), wasting, and burning down, and easily blown out. It is not the light of the Lord (that is sun-light), but the light of his own fire and sparks of his own kindling, Isa. l. 11. 2. His light will certainly be put out at length, quite put out, so that not the least spark of it shall remain with which to kindle another fire. Even while he is in his tabernacle, while he is in the body, which is the tabernacle of the soul (2 Cor. v. 1), the light shall be dark; he shall have no true solid comfort, no joy that is satisfying, no hope that is supporting. Even the light that is in him is darkness; and how great is that darkness! But, when he is put out of this tabernacle by death, his candle shall be put out with him. The period of his life will be the final period of all his days and will turn all his hopes into endless despair. When a wicked man dies his expectation shall perish, Prov. xi. 7. He shall lie down in sorrow.
II. The preparatives for that destruction represented under the similitude of a beast or bird caught in a snare, or a malefactor arrested and taken into custody in order to his punishment, v. 7-10. 1. Satan is preparing for his destruction. He is the robber that shall prevail against him (v. 9); for, as he was a murderer, so he was a robber, from the beginning. He, as the tempter, lays snares for sinners in the way, wherever they go, and he shall prevail. If he make them sinful like himself, he will make them miserable like himself. He hunts for the precious life. 2. He is himself preparing for his own destruction by going on in sin, and so treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. God gives him up, as he deserves and desires, to his own counsels, and then his own counsels cast him down, v. 7. His sinful projects and pursuits bring him into mischief. He is cast into a net by his own feet (v. 8), runs upon his own destruction, is snared in the work of his own hands (Ps. ix. 16); his own tongue falls upon him, Ps. lxiv. 8. In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare. 3. God is preparing for his destruction. The sinner by his sin is preparing the fuel and then God by his wrath is preparing the fire. See here, (1.) How the sinner is infatuated, to run himself into the snare; and whom God will destroy he infatuates. (2.) How he is embarrassed: The steps of his strength, his mighty designs and efforts, shall be straitened, so that he shall not compass what he intended; and the more he strives to extricate himself the more will he be entangled. Evil men wax worse and worse. (3.) How he is secured and kept from escaping the judgments of God that are in pursuit of him. The gin shall take him by the heel. He can no more escape the divine wrath that is in pursuit of him than a man, so held, can flee from the pursuer. God knows how to reserve the wicked for the day of judgment, 2 Pet. ii. 9.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
TEXT 18:521
5 Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out,
And the spark of the fire shall not shine.
6 The light shall be dark in his tent,
And his lamp above him shall be put out.
7 The steps of his strength shall be straitened,
And his own counsel shall cast him down,
8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet.
And he walketh upon the toils.
9 A gin shall take him by the heel,
And a snare shall lay hold on him.
10 A noose is hid for him in the ground,
And a trap for him in the way.
11 Terrors shall make him afraid on every side,
And shall chase him at his heels.
12 His strength shall be hunger-bitten,
And calamity shall be ready at his side.
13 The members of his body shall be devoured,
Yea, the first-born of death shall devour his members.
14 He shall be rooted out of his tent wherein he trusteth;
And he shall be brought to the king of terrors.
15 There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his:
Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.
16 His roots shall be dried up beneath,
And above shall his branch be cut off.
17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth,
And he shall have no name in the street.
18 He shall be driven from light into darkness,
And chased out of the world.
19 He shall have neither son nor sons son among his people,
Nor any remaining where he sojourned.
20 They that come after shall be astonished at his day,
As they that went before were affrighted.
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,
And this is the place of him that knoweth not God.
COMMENT 18:521
Job. 18:5This verse initiates the second part of Bildads speech. Jobs sole remaining possession is the horrible memory of his past prosperity and present agony. The Hebrew tenses convey the meaning that this is a condition which is continuous. The light burning in a house is symbolic of continuous prosperityJob. 21:17; 1Ki. 11:36; Pro. 13:9; Pro. 20:20; and Pro. 24:20. The extinction of these symbols of happiness and prosperity is a mark of judgment on the household. Failing light is a sign of disaster, (cf. Jesus said that I am the light of the world, Joh. 8:12).
Job. 18:6The tent implies that the event is occurring in the patriarchal age (see discussion of possible date for authorship)Job. 5:24; Job. 8:22; Job. 12:6; and Job. 15:34. Bildads speech progresses with the use of proverbial sayings: (1) Job. 18:5-7sinners light goes out; (2) Job. 18:8-11deterioration to downfall; (3) Job. 18:12-14final condition; (4) Job. 18:1517extinction of his race and names; and (5) Job. 18:18-21horror of his fate. His home is engulfed by darknesshis lamp above him shall be put out.
Job. 18:7Like the strength of an aging man, the fortunes of the wicked will fail. Metaphorically, the steps of his strength expresses the confident stride of a prosperous manPsa. 18:36. The evil motives of an unrighteous man will ultimately throw him down, i.e., bring him to calamity and ruin.
Job. 18:8-9This verse and the next develop the image of the perils in the path of the wicked. Bildad uses a variety of terms for the traps and snares which the wicked will encounter in life. The steps of the unrighteous man are reduced to a feeble hobble, then ensnared by his own evil motives. The net (for catching birdsPro. 1:17; Psa. 140:5) and toils (lit. network, webbingthings interwoven) are means of his own destruction.[199] Probably the latter snare has reference to webbing placed over a pit to catch an animalsuddenly and unawares. This is Bildads description of Jobs ensnaring himself. In Job. 18:9 the world of an evil man is full of traps. The gin is a fowlers trapHos. 9:8. The term snare comes from a root meaning veilIsa. 47:2. Probably it refers to a trap made from some kind of mesh.
[199] G. Gerleman, Journal of Semitic Studies, 4, 1958, 252254, for interpretation of beragloywwith his feet as an idiomatic phrase meaning on the spot, or immediately. But this hardly fits the context.
Job. 18:10A rope, or cord, lies hidden in the groundIsa. 8:14; Jer. 48:44; Psa. 74:7; Psa. 140:6; and Pro. 5:22. This type is used to ensnare birds and smaller animals. The term trap (root means to capture) in the second line is found only here and probably is a general descriptive word for any catching device.
Job. 18:11Bildad is here referring to an actual experience which a wicked person will have, not one caused by a fearful conscience. The verb translated chase is usually employed to denote the scattering of a group, but here of an individual. The image suggests bewilderment and almost total emotional and intellectual confusion.[200]
[200] M. Dahood, Psalms, Vol. I, Anchor, on Psa. 38:18.
Job. 18:12Trouble and calamity, about to seize him, are ravenously hungry. The Hebrew text can be saying Let his strength be hungry. Dahoods emendations suggest hungry one is an epithet of motdeath. The second line literally says to or for his rib which, as the Targums suggested, can mean wife. But the general sense is that misfortune is always ready and able to bring him to destruction.
Job. 18:13Here is a cryptic reference to the lethal disease that is consuming Jobs body. The Hebrew texts make no senselit. It shall consume the limbs of his skin. Perhaps the late G. E. Wrights suggestion at least produces a meaningful lineBy disease his skin is consumed. Wrights suggestion, reinforced by the one provided by Sarna, reveals the essence of the meaning of this verse. The firstborn of mot will devour his skin with two hands, yea with his two hands he will devour (him).[201] The firstborn of death is probably a metaphor for Jobs deadly disease. Death is firstbornbekor, i.e., heir with rights of primogeniturePsa. 89:28. Disease is deaths firstborn.
[201] N. Sarna, JBL, 1963, p. 317, suggests that badde here means two hands and baddayw in Job. 18:14 means with his two hands.
Job. 18:14The wicked is marched[202] from the security of his own tent, then conducted into the presence of the King of Terror. This phrase is a personification of death, as firstborn is of disease.
[202] W. Moran, Biblica, 1964, p. 82, n. 1.
Job. 18:15The Hebrew literally states In his tent no trace of him remains. . . . Perhaps the brimstone or sulphur is to be understood as disinfectant.[203]
[203] This verse is grammatically corrupt, so see suggestions of M. Dahood, Biblica, 37, 1956, 339; and his Biblica, 38,1957, 312ff; and G. R. Driver, Vetus Testamentum, 1955, p. 79.
Job. 18:16Bildad returns to his metaphor based on vegetable lifeJob. 8:11 ff; Job. 14:7 ff. Destruction of root and fruit is proverbialAmo. 2:9. Here the image refers to progeny and posterity. Branches is a collective term as in Job. 14:9, and they shall be cut off. Nothing will remain of Jobs household.
Job. 18:17Job and his posterity will be completely cut off from the earth. His children are destroyed, and even his name will be erased from memoryPsa. 9:6; Psa. 34:16; and Psa. 109:15 b.
Job. 18:18The Hebrew word found here and translated as world expressed the finality, totality, and cosmic absence of his name. The verbs are in the indefinite third person and are equivalent to the passive voice, meaning They shall chase or drive him from light into darknessJob. 3:20 and Job. 17:13.
Job. 18:19The feared fate of the extinction of the family is set before Job. Nothing could be more disastrous than the demise of a mans household. A lack of progeny is a lack of Gods blessings.[204]
[204] M. Buttenweiser, The Book of Job, 1922.
Job. 18:20The day is his final day or fate1Sa. 26:10; Jer. 1:27; Eze. 21:29; and Psa. 37:13. The words translated before and after are literally behind and beforemeaning followers and predecessors. The A. V. were affrighted is literally they laid hold on horror, Job. 21:6laid hold on shuddering. Perhaps the best translation would be over his end coming generations will be appalled, and his contemporaries will be seized with shuddering.
Job. 18:21Bildad summarily assures Job of his fate, as a member of the class of the wicked. Job, can you not see the irrefutable proof that you are a godless man? Here again Bildads truth is half a lie. Severity, not sympathy flows from his lips. Violent indignation, but no mercy, is heaped upon Jobs pitiful head. Is there no grace in a world of suffering? Surely Job will later cryIn my hands no price I bring; simply to the cross I cling. But not yet!
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
THE DIVINE ORDER OF THE WORLD IS DISPLAYED IN THE INEVITABLE PUNISHMENT OF INCORRIGIBLE SINNERS. Job 18:5-21.
Hengstenberg divides the section into a Heptade, Job 18:5-11; and a Decade, Job 18:12-21.
All things nets, pitfalls, gins, nooses, snares, and traps conspire to carry into effect the law of retribution established by God, Job 18:5-11.
5. The spark, etc. The flame of his fire. There may be an allusion to the fires of hospitality which the wealthy Arabs were wont to light upon the tops of hills, to direct travellers to their houses for entertainment. An Arabian poet, cited by Scott, thus expresses the permanent prosperity of his family: “Neither is our fire, lighted for the benefit of the night stranger, extinguished.” The flame of fire is a common Oriental figure for splendid fortune. The extinction of the one implied that of the other.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Bildad Reckons Job with the Hardened Sinners
v. 5. Yea, v. 6. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle, v. 7. The steps of his strength, v. 8. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, v. 9. The gin shall take him by the heel, v. 10. The snare is laid for him in the ground, v. 11. Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, v. 12. His strength shall be hunger-bitten, v. 13. It shall devour the strength of his skin, v. 14. His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, v. 15. It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his, v. 16. His roots shall be dried up beneath, v. 17. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street, v. 18. He shall be driven from light into darkness, v. 19. He shall neither have son nor nephew, v. 20. They that come after him, v. 21. Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Job 18:5. Yea, the light of the wicked Rather let the light of the wicked be put out. Heath.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Job 18:5 Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
Ver. 5. Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out ] The ensuing description of a wicked man’s unhappiness in like, at death, and after death, is very true, and daintily set forth, but falsely and wrongfully wrested against Job. Yea, or of a surety, the light of the wicked shall be put out, though thou wilt not hear of it; but the truth shall be spoken, however it be taken, and thou shalt hereby see thyself to be a wicked man, because thy light is extinct, that is, thy outward prosperity, fitly compared to light, because, 1. It cheereth our minds; 2. Directeth our hands to every business; 3. Lesseneth our frights; 4. Rendereth us conspicuous. The light of the wicked shall put out itself (so some render it); he is commonly the cause of his own ruin (Merlin).
And the spark of his fire shall not shine
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
light. The reference is to the universal practice of burning a light during the night.
wicked = lawless. Hebrew. rasha. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Job 18:5-21
Job 18:5-21
BILDAD’S LONG; UNINSPIRED DIATRIBE ON THE FATE OF THE WICKED
“Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out,
And the spark of his fire shall not shine.
The light shall be dark in his tent,
And his lamp above him shall be put out.
The steps of his strength shall be straightened
And his own counsel shall cast him down.
For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
And he walketh upon the toils.
A gin shall take him by the heel,
And a snare shall lay hold on him.
A noose is hid for him in the ground,
And a trap for him in the way.
Terrors shall make him afraid on every side,
And shall chase him at his heels.
His strength shall be hunger-bitten,
And calamity shall be ready at his side.
The members of his body shall be devoured,
Yea, the first-born of death shall devour his members.
He shall be rooted out of his tent where he trusteth;
And he shall be brought to the king of terrors.
There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his:
Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.
His roots shall be dried up beneath,
And above shall his branch be cut off.
His remembrance shall perish from the earth,
And he shall have no name in the street.
He shall be driven from light into darkness,
And chased out of the world.
He shall have neither son nor son’s son among his people.
Nor any remaining where he sojourned.
They that come after shall be astonished at his day,
As they that went before were affrighted.
Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,
And this is the place of him that knoweth not God.”
“Bildad here painted a dark picture of the fate of the wicked.” The only thing wrong with it was that it bore no resemblance to the truth. How could he have thought that, “The remembrance of the wicked shall perish from the earth” (Job 18:17)? Even a fool should have known that the extremely wicked make up the vast majority of mankind whose names shine forever on the pages of history. Not for a moment can we agree with Blair that this wicked description of the fate of the wicked is, “More powerful than any other in the Bible.” As Rawlinson noted, “Bildad was only stringing together a list of `ancient saws.'” But, as Watson wrote, “It is a cold creed indeed that is built on the wisdom of this world.”
Again returning to Bildad’s ridiculous idea that the remembrance of the wicked shall perish (Job 18:17), Bildad himself would refute his silly allegation. His name, and that of his evil friends, all of them special agents of Satan himself, would be remembered forever in the pages of the Bible. Also, think of Cain, Esau, Balaam, Abimelech, Saul, Nebuchadnezzar, many of the reprobate kings of Israel, the brutal and ruthless rulers of the Gentiles, etc, – the list is endless! And, as for such men having, “no name in the street” (Job 18:17 b), just take a look at the monuments that stand in the streets of all nations. Countless numbers of them memorialize the names of the wickedest men in their respective generations! How blind was Bildad!
“His lamp above him shall be put out” (Job 18:6). “There is no doubt that Bildad applied every word of this to Job.”
“Six kinds of snares or traps are mentioned in Job 18:8-10”;[12] and Bildad’s point here is that there’s no possible way for Job to escape; he might as well admit his wickedness!
Andersen’s paraphrase of Job 18:11-13 is:
“His plump body becomes emaciated,
His ribs stick right out,
Disease corrodes his kin,
Death’s eldest son swallows his organs.”
“The first-born of death … the king of terrors” (Job 18:13-14). “The first of these is probably the worst pestilence, and the `king of terrors’ is death itself.”
“Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation” (Job 18:15). Fire and brimstone were rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness; and hell itself was eventually described as the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. It is not hard to read Bildad’s evil thoughts toward Job in remarks such as this.
“And this is the place of him that knoweth not God” (Job 18:21). “The use of the singular pronoun here and in the preceding clause indicates that this whole series of denunciations (Job 18:5-21) is leveled against an individual, namely, Job.”
E.M. Zerr:
Job 18:5-10. I have grouped these verses into one paragraph because they all are to the same effect. They give a good description of a foolish and boastful man, but the information was unnecessary, for it did not apply to this afflicted man.
Job 18:11. This implied what was untrue for Job had manifested unusual courage amid all of his terrible afflictions.
Job 18:12-13. This paragraph implied that Job was stricken with hunger and other destitute conditions as a result of his sins. That has been exposed many times.
Job 18:14. When king is used figuratively it has the significance of something gigantic. The verse means that a character like the one just described will be confronted with huge troubles that will terrify him.
Job 18:15. This king of terrors will take possession of the evil man’s tabernacle and treat him as if it were not his own by rightful possession, but that it belonged to this “king.” Brimstone was used to indicate the burning shame that would envelop the habitation of the wicked person, all of which is not to be denied.
Job 18:16-18. This paragraph will take the same comments as Job 18:5-10.
Job 18:19. It was true that Job lost all of his family, but it was not true that it was because of any fault of his.
Job 18:20. Yes, no doubt that the people who lived after Job’s day were astonied (astonished). However, it was because of the remarkable recovery that he made.
Job 18:21. All of this verse was true but had no application to Job. Therefore the speech was wasted as far as the real issue was concerned.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the light: Job 20:5, Pro 4:19, Pro 13:9, Pro 20:20, Pro 24:20
spark: Isa 50:11
Reciprocal: Est 7:6 – was afraid Job 12:5 – a lamp Job 13:4 – ye are forgers Job 15:23 – the day Job 15:30 – depart Job 20:26 – darkness Job 21:17 – oft Job 38:15 – from Ecc 8:13 – it shall Isa 57:20 – like Eze 32:7 – put thee out Hos 9:11 – their Mat 25:8 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 18:5-7. Yea Depend upon it, the thing is true and certain, notwithstanding thy dissatisfaction and opposition to it; the light of the wicked shall be put out All their glory and felicity shall perish: and the spark of his fire shall not shine His light is but a spark, which shines briskly for a moment, and is soon extinguished. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle That is, in his family. Instead of his former splendour, both he and his children shall fall into extreme contempt and misery. And his candle shall be put out with him His glory shall not descend to his posterity, as he designed and hoped it should, but die with him. The steps of his strength His strong steps, by a vulgar Hebraism: his attempts and actions; such of them as seem to be contrived with the greatest strength of understanding, and carried on with the greatest resolution; shall be straitened Shall be hindered and entangled. He shall be cast into difficulties and perplexities, so that he shall not be able to proceed, and to accomplish his enterprises. And his own counsel shall cast him down He shall be undone by his own contrivances; either because God will give him up to dangerous and destructive mistakes, or because he will oppose him and turn his own devices against him.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18:5 Yea, the light of the wicked shall be {e} put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
(e) When the wicked is in his prosperity, then God changes his state: and this is his ordinary working for their sins.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Bildad’s warning concerning the wicked 18:5-21
Here are some of the things both Eliphaz and Bildad pointed out concerning the wicked.
|
Eliphaz |
The Wicked . . . |
Bildad |
|
|
Job 15:22-23; Job 15:30 |
experience darkness |
Job 18:5-6; Job 18:18 |
|
|
Job 15:30 b, Job 15:32-33 |
are like unhealthy plants |
Job 18:16 |
|
|
Job 15:30; Job 15:34 |
are destroyed by fire |
Job 18:15 |
|
|
Job 15:27-31 |
lose their influence |
Job 18:7; Job 18:15-16 |
|
|
Job 15:21; Job 15:24 |
are terrified by anguish |
Job 18:11; Job 18:14 |
|
|
Job 15:34 |
lose their homes |
Job 18:6; Job 18:14-15 |
|
|
Job 15:4; Job 15:13; Job 15:25-26 |
oppose or do not know God |
Job 18:21 |
|
|
Job 15:13 |
are ensnared |
Job 18:8-10 |
|
Bildad painted four vivid pictures of the death of the wicked in this passage: a light put out (Job 18:5-6), a traveler trapped (Job 18:7-10), a criminal pursued (Job 18:11-15), and a tree rooted up (Job 18:16-21). [Note: Wiersbe, pp 37-38.]
Another noteworthy feature of this section is the frequent recurrence of the idea that the wicked will end up in a trap, especially in Job 18:8-10. Bildad promised not only their capture but that they would experience terror, like animals hunted down by a predator (Job 18:11). As in Eliphaz’s second speech, much of what Bildad said here concerning the wicked he claimed was true of Job (e.g., Job 18:13 a, 15). "The first-born of death" may refer to "death in its most terrible form." [Note: Rowley, p. 130.] Another possibility is that this is a reference to Namtar, the Mesopotamian god of pestilence and vizier of the underworld. [Note: John B. Burns, "The Identity of Death’s First-Born (Job XVIII 13)," Vetus Testamentum 37:3 (July 1987):362-64.] Both Job and Bildad had a lot to say about death.
"Bildad felt Job did not really understand the doctrine of retribution. He probably considered Job weak on this subject because Job kept harping on how the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. In these speeches Job and his friends had nothing to say about future retribution at the day of final judgment or the balancing of the scales of justice after death. This is a truth that unveils gradually (progressive revelation) in the OT." [Note: Smick, "Job," pp. 936-37.]
Often when we counsel suffering people it is more important to help them think about God and talk to Him than it is to get them to adopt all of our theology. Job’s companions seem to have given up on Job because he would not agree with their theological presupposition. They failed to give him credit for being sincere in his desire to come to terms with God.