Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 22:8
But [as for] the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honorable man dwelt in it.
8. The “mighty man,” lit. man of arm, i. e. the powerful (Psa 10:15), and the “honourable,” lit. man of respect, i. e. high in rank (Isa 3:5), is of course Job himself.
he had the earth ] Or, his is the land.
dwelt in it ] Or, shall dwell in it.
These words describe the feeling that, according to the supposition of Eliphaz, pervaded Job’s conduct his idea was that the land or earth belonged to him, and under this feeling he oppressed the poor and drove them from it.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But as for the mighty man – Hebrew as in the margin, man of arm. The arm, in the Scriptures, is the symbol of power; Psa 10:15, Break thou the arm of the wicked; Eze 30:21. I have broken the arm of Pharaoh; Psa 89:13, Thou hast a mighty arm; Psa 97:1, His holy arm hath gotten him the victory. The reason of this is, that the sword and spear were principally used in war, and success depended on the force with which they were wielded by the arm. There can be no doubt that this is intended to be applied to Job, and that the meaning is, that he had driven the poor from their possessions, and he had taken forcible occupancy of what belonged to them. The idea is, that he had done this by power, not by right.
Had the earth – Took possession of the land, and drove off from it those to whom it belonged, or who had an equal right to it with him.
And the honorable man – Margin, eminent, or accepted of countenance. Hebrew: Lifted up of countenance; that is, the man whose countenance was elevated either by honor or pride. It may be used to describe either; but, perhaps, there is more force in the former, in saying that it was the great man, the man of rank and office, who had got possession. There is, thus, some sarcasm in the severe charge: The great man … the man of rank, and wealth, and office, has got possession, while the humble and poor are banished. Job had had great possessions; but this charge as to the manner in which he had acquired them seems to be wholly gratuitous. Eliphaz takes it for granted, since he was so severely punished, that it must have been in some such way.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth] ish zeroa, the man of arm. Finger, hand, and arm, are all emblems of strength and power. The man of arm is not only the strong man, but the man of power and influence, the man of rapine and plunder.
The honourable man] Literally, the man whose face is accepted, the respectable man, the man of wealth. Thou wert an enemy to the poor and needy, but thou didst favour and flatter the rich and great.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Heb. And, or but, the man of arm, or strength, or, power, to him was the earth, or the land. i.e. he had the firm possession or free enjoyment of it: which is meant either,
1. Of Job, of whom he speaks invidiously in the third person. The mighty man Job possessed, and enlarged, and enjoyed his estate without any compassion to the poor. Or rather,
2. Of other rich and potent men, who had the earth or land, either.
1. By Jobs judicial sentence, which was generally given in favour of the rich, and against the poor; or,
2. By Jobs kindness and courtesy. The rich were always welcome to him, his house was open to them, his land was before them, when the poor were driven away from his house and territories.
The honourable man dwelt in it; either by thy sentence or permission he had a peaceable and sure possession of it. He repeateth the same thing in other words.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. mightyHebrew, “manof arm” (Ps 10:15;namely, Job).
honourableHebrew,“eminent, or, accepted for countenance” (Isa 3:3;2Ki 5:1); that is, possessingauthority. Eliphaz repeats his charge (Job15:28; so Zophar, Job 20:19),that it was by violence Job wrung houses and lands from the poor, towhom now he refused relief (Job 22:7;Job 22:9) [MICHAELIS].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But [as for] the mighty man, he had the earth,…. A large share and portion of it, which Job could not hinder him from the enjoyment of, because mightier than he, or otherwise he would have done it; or Job was content he should have what he had, and gave him more than what of right belonged to him; for when any cause came before him as a judge, or civil magistrate, between a rich man, and a poorer man, relating to a field, or piece of land he always gave the cause to the rich and mighty and so he had the land, as is suggested:
and the honourable man dwelt in it; peaceably, quietly, and undisturbed, though he had no just title to it; or “the man accepted of face” or “countenance” q, who was respected because of his outward circumstances, wealth and riches, power and authority; and so Job is tacitly charged with being a respecter of persons in judgment, which was not good; and in general these phrases denote partiality in him, that he was favourable to the mighty and powerful, and unkind and cruel to the poor and needy. Some r understand all this of Job himself, that because he was the mighty man, or “man of arms” s, he made use of his power and might, and stretched out his arm, and grasped and got into his possession, by force and violence, the houses, and lands, and estates of others, and became the greatest man in all the east, and the earth in a manner was his alone; and because he was respected for his greatness and riches, he was confirmed therein, and dwelt securely: or rather, taking the words in this sense, they may be considered as an aggravation of Job’s sins, both before and after charged upon him; as that when he was the mighty and honourable man, and though he was such, and had it in the power of his hands to do a great deal of good to the poor and needy; yet took a pledge from his indigent brother, stripped those that were almost naked of their clothing, and would not give a poor weary traveller a cup of water, nor a morsel of bread to an hungry man; yea, abused his power and authority which he had, to the oppression of the widow and fatherless, as in Job 22:9.
q “acceptus faciebus”, Montanus; “vel facie”, Vatablus, Beza, Junius & Tremellius, Drusius, Mercerus. r Jarchi, Ramban, Bar Tzemach, Sephorno. s “viro brachii”, Pagninus, Montanus, Bolducius, Vatablus, Drusius, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(8) But as for the mighty man.By the mighty and the honourable man is probably meant Job. Some understand the words from Job. 22:5-10 inclusive, as the words spoken by God on entering into judgment with Job (Job. 22:4); but this hardly seems probable.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. The mighty man Literally, the man of arm. An idiom common to almost all Asia, even in the present day. (Good.) The arm was the symbol of strength; length of arm expressed power; shortness of arm, impotency. “The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save.” (Isa 59:1.)
The honourable man : that is, men accepted for favour, favoured on account of wealth and power. Renan renders it, The formidable man; and says, “These misfortunes, in the thought of Eliphaz, took place through the fault of Job. It was the duty of Job, in fact, being judge, to prevent them.” Or it may mean the mighty and the honourable (ironical) prosper, under the emirship of Job, while widows and the fatherless are trampled into the dust; the arm of might excels, and the arm of the orphan is broken.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 22:8. But as for the mighty man But if any one had sown a field for himself, being in thy favour, he received the fruit of it. Houbigant, in part after the Syriac. Heath renders it, but as for the mighty man, the whole land was for him; and thy particular favourite he might dwell in it. The meaning of Eliphaz seems to be, that while Job oppressed the poor, he courted and paid all adulating respect to the great and the rich.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Job 22:8 But [as for] the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.
Ver. 8. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth ] Heb. But as for the man of arm, he had the land. This the Vulgate applieth to Job; as if by his power he had wrought all others out, and seated himself alone in the land; suffering none to dwell by him but those that he could not overly match. Others by the mighty man understand the strong and wealthy, who are said to be gracious with Job, sharing with him in his possessions, and partaking of his privileges, when the poor were slighted and could not have justice, much less mercy, Pauperes non dignaris pane: at potentibus possessiones tuas offers, &c. (Vatab.). Here then Eliphaz accuseth Job of pride and partiality.
And the honourable man dwelt in it
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
man. Hebrew. ‘ish. App-14. See translation below.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
But as: Job 29:7-17, Job 31:34, 1Ki 21:11-15, Psa 12:8, Mic 7:3
mighty man: Heb. man of arm
honourable: Heb. eminent, or, accepted for countenance. Job 13:8
Reciprocal: Deu 24:17 – pervert
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 22:8. The mighty man had the earth That is, he had the firm possession, or free enjoyment of it. Which is meant, either, 1st, of Job, of whom he speaks invidiously in the third person: as if he had said, The mighty man Job possessed, enlarged, and enjoyed his estate, without any compassion to the poor. Or, 2d, of other rich and potent men, who had the earth or land by Jobs kindness and courtesy. The rich were always welcome to him; his house was open to them; his land was before them, when the poor were driven away from his house and territories. The honourable man dwelt in it Either by Jobs sentence or permission, he had a peaceable and sure possession of it, whether he had a right to it or not. Heath renders this verse, But, as for the mighty man, the whole land was for him; and thy particular favourite, he might dwell in it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
22:8 But [as for] the mighty man, he {d} had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.
(d) When you were in power and authority you did not do justice but wrong.