Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 27:8
For what [is] the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
8. The verse most probably means,
For what is the hope of the godless man when God cutteth off,
When he taketh away his soul?
lit. when He cutteth off, when God draweth out his soul. The comfortless state of the ungodly man (A. V. hypocrite, see on ch. Job 8:13), who has no trust in God, is described in three conditions of his history, first, when he is at the moment of death, when God “cutteth (him) off” and “draweth out his soul” ( Job 27:8); second, when calamity overtakes him ( Job 27:9); and in general, in his whole life ( Job 27:10).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For what is the hope of the hypocrite? – The same sentiment which Job here advances had before been expressed by Bildad; see it explained in the notes at Job 8:13 following It had also been expressed in a similar manner by Zophar (see the notes on Job 20:5, and had been much insisted on in their arguments. Job now says that he fully accords with that belief. He was not disposed to defend hypocrisy; he had no sympathy for it. He knew, as they did, that all the joy of a hypocrite would be temporary, and that when death came it must vanish. He wishes that his remarks should not be construed so as to make him the advocate of hypocrisy or sin, and affirms that he relied on a more solid foundation of peace and joy than the hypocrite could possess. It was by explanations and admissions such as these that the controversy was gradually closed, and when they came fully to understand Job, they felt that they had nothing which they could reply to him.
Though he hath gained – – ybatsa. The Vulgate renders this, si avare rapiat – if he avariciously seizes upon. The Septuagint, hoti epechei that he persisteth. Dr. Good, That he should prosper; and so Wemyss. The Hebrew word ( batsa) means properly, to cut or dash in pieces; then to tear in pieces, or to plunder or spoil; then to cut off, to bring to an end, etc. It is applied to the action of a weaver, who, when his web is finished, cuts off the thrum that binds it to the beam. The web is then finished; it is all woven, and is then taken from the loom. Hence, it is elegantly used to denote the close of life, when life is woven or finished – by the rapid passing of days like the weavers shuttle Job 7:6, and when it is then, as it were, taken out of the loom; see this figure explained in the notes at Isa 38:12. This is the idea here, that life would be cut off like the weavers web, and that when that was done the hope of the hypocrite would be of no value.
When God taketh away his soul – When he dies. There has been much perplexity felt in regard to the Hebrew word here rendered taketh away – yeshel. A full explanation may be seen in Schultens and Rosenmuller. Some suppose it is the future from for – meaning to draw out, and that the idea is, that God draws out this life as a sword is drawn out of a sheath. Others, that it is from – to be secure, or tranquil, or at rest: and that it refers to the time when God shall give rest in the grave, or that the meaning of the word here is the same as or – to draw out; see Gesenius on the word . Schnurrer conjectures that it is derived from – to ask, to demand, and that the form here is contracted from the future . But the common supposition is, that it means to draw out – in allusion to drawing out a sword from a scabbard – thus drawing life or the soul from the body.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 27:8
For what is the hope of the hypocrite?
The character and hope of the hypocrite
I. The character of the hypocrite. By a hypocrite we understand not a self-deceiver, but a deceiver of others. To himself his real character is known, as it is also to God, the Judge of all; but it is hid from his fellow men, who are deceived by his plausible profession and fair speeches. The word implies that, like an ancient stage player, he acts under a mask, and personates a character which does not properly belong to him. The mask he wears is a form of godliness, and the part he acts is that of a religious man. His religion is only a counterfeit.
1. The hypocrite is a person whose outward conduct, upon the whole, is irreproachable in the sight of men.
2. His true character is far from coming up to the requirements of the Gospel. He is one whose heart is not right with God. His heart is unchanged, unrenewed, unsanctified, destitute of faith and humility, and without the love and fear of God.
3. The hypocrite does all his works to be seen of men. It is not God that he seeks to please. Self is the idol which he worships, and to which his incense is burned.
4. The hypocrite is partial and formal in his obedience. His obedience has respect only to some of the Commandments. The principle by which he is actuated is earthly and grovelling, leading him to seek only to have glory of men. Such a man has no portion in the life to come; he has no treasure in heaven.
II. The nature of his hope. Job takes for granted that the hypocrite may gain by his profession. He may, in many respects, succeed in obtaining the object of his wishes or the reward he covets. But what is his hope when God taketh away his soul? Consider–
1. The foundation on which his hope rests.
2. The author of his hope. Not God, but Satan.
3. The effects it produces.
Then let us examine ourselves by this test. There are some who do not go so far even as the hypocrite. Even he pays some deference to religion. What character do we bear? Let us beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Avoid hypocrisy and cultivate sincerity. Be Christians, not merely in name, but in reality. Build your hope on Christ alone, counting Him to be your greatest gain. (D. Rees.)
A warning to hypocrites
I. The fearful nature of religious hypocrisy. With all His mildness, gentleness, and compassion, we yet find Christ thundering against the hypocrite. There is a class of men who make a profession of religion which they know to be false. These are the persons whom the Redeemer denounces. A religious profession is undoubtedly an excellence, but this is the honest avowal of the religion that is already in the heart; taking care, that as the hypocrite hides his sins under a cloak, we should not hide our religion under a cloak, but should honestly avow that Saviour whom we profess to believe on in secret. Now that which is uttered and avowed before nil the world, because we have it in secret, is surely a different affair from a mere profession that is allied to an attempt to impose upon men, and setting the omniscience of God at defiance.
II. Vain are all warnings given to hypocrites, because hypocrisy hardens the heart. See the case of Judas. We ought to be made of glass, that every man may see what is our real character. We are more transparent than crystal before the eyes of the eternal God. The sin of false profession infatuates the mind, hardens the heart, and keeps a man always forming such false reasonings and conclusions that they lead at last to the most manifest overwhelming of him with his own crimes and with Gods judgment.
III. How vain are all the things on which the hypocrite places his hope when God arises to judgment. A man may accustom himself to falsehood until he makes lies his refuge, and can scarcely distinguish between the most gross imposition upon himself and sincere safe dealing. When men accustom themselves to a system of deceit, they get perfectly bewildered and know not that which a child would have known and expected.
IV. A life of hypocrisy is likely to end in a death of impenitence. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; the prayer only of the upright is Gods delight. We dare not think that a man, after living a life of hypocrisy, need only utter a few prayers and all is safe and well. True prayer is alone the prayer of true penitence. (James Bennett, D. D.)
The hypocrites hope
The teaching of the text may be summed up in this plain proposition–the hypocrites hope. How happy soever he may seem from it for a while, will leave him miserable when God shall take away his soul.
I. To whom the character of a hypocrite belongs. The word suggests, one who acts in a play, representing another person rather than his own. Transferred to religion, it is used to denote such as have put on a form of godliness, and would pass for saints, but are not in reality what they seem. The Hebrew word comes from one that signifies a cloud, as their wickedness is covered; or as they are painted over with another colour, hiding their natural one, that it may not be known. Thus an hypocrite is a real enemy to God, outwardly acting as one of His children. Open his character.
1. An hypocrite is one that pretends to have entirely devoted himself to God, when he has not, but divided his heart between God and the world; and so God has no interest in him at all. It is the whole heart God calls for, and He will have nothing less.
2. He is one that professes a regard to the will of God, as the reason, and to the glory of God as the end, of what he does in religion; when, in the meantime, he acts from other springs, and for lower and selfish ends.
3. He is one that takes more pains to appear outwardly religious than to be really so, between God and his own soul. A true Christian is as solicitous about his heart as about his life. But this is not the hypocrites concern. If he has a fair outside, he is little careful how matters stand within.
4. He is one that, in religious duties, puts God off with bodily service, whilst the heart is unengaged and left out.
5. He is partial and uneven in his obedience to God, and in his walk with Him.
II. Such may have a hope which they maintain as long as they live. It is strange that in souls so unsafe this hope should be so tong kept up. It is owing to such things as these–
1. To wretched ignorance of themselves, through neglecting to look into their own hearts.
2. To their not attending to the extent and spirituality of the law, as to what it requires of them, and how far they come short of obedience to it.
3. To the favourable apprehensions others may have of them.
4. To comparing themselves with open sinners, or more loose professors.
5. To the length they may go as to the attainment of what looks like grace.
III. What hypocrites may be said for a while to gain. It is supposed that some advantage they aim at, and may also reach.
1. By the part they act, they may gain more of the world.
2. They may gain the esteem and applause of men, and have the reputation of being eminently holy and religious.
3. They may gain a sort of peace in their own minds.
4. They may hereupon gain a smooth passage through the world, and an easy going out of it.
5. They may have a pompous funeral, and be well spoken of when they are dead.
IV. The vanity and emptiness of the hypocrites hope and gain, and the certainty and dreadfulness of his misery when God taketh away his soul.
1. What is the hope of the hypocrite? A hope without ground, without fruit; and a hope that will not hold before the Judge.
2. What is the gain of the hypocrite? It is unsuitable to his soul, his better part. It is bounded within this present life, and can accompany him no further. Then take up with no hope but such as will stand you in stead when God shall take away your soul.
(1) Not the hope that is built upon a mere profession, how specious soever.
(2) Not a hope that is built upon excellent gifts and attainments.
(3) Not a hope that is built upon external reformation.
(4) Not a hope that is built upon the good opinion of others.
(5) Not a hope that is built upon what we enjoy or suffer as to the present world.
(6) Not a hope that is built upon Church privileges; but a hope that has the mercy of God in Christ for its ground, and the promise of God for its warrant. (D. Wilcox.)
The hypocrites hope
I. To whom the character in the text applies. To all those who, in the concerns of religion, act a different part to what they really are. Particularly it applies–
1. To those who pretend entire devotedness to God, while their hearts are divided (Psa 12:2)
.
2. Who profess a regard to the will of God as the reason, and His glory as the end, of what they do in religion; while, at the same time, they act from other springs, and for lower and selfish ends (Mat 6:1).
3. Who are more careful to appear outwardly religious, than to be really so between God and their own souls (Mat 23:27-28).
4. Who put God off with bodily service, while the heart is not engaged in it (Isa 29:13; Joh 4:24).
5. Who are partial in their obedience to God, while the real Christian says Psa 119:128.
II. The hope and the gain of such a character.
1. Their hope relates to a future state of blessedness.
2. It is groundless, without a solid foundation (Col 1:27).
3. It is fruitless. See the Christians hope, 1Jn 3:3.
4. It will be cut off (Mat 7:23).
And this false hope is generally owing–
1. To ignorance of themselves; their own hearts.
2. To want of attention to the extent and spirituality of the law of God (Rom 7:9).
3. The favourable opinion others have of them.
4. Comparing themselves with open sinners, or lukewarm professors (Luk 18:11).
5. The length they go, as to the exercise of what appears to be grace; abstaining from many sins; practising many religious duties, etc.
As to their acquisitions; they may gain–
1. More of this world.
2. The esteem and applause of men.
3. A false peace (Rev 3:17).
4. A smooth passage through life.
5. A pompous funeral. But, behold–
III. The dreadful end of such; expressed in these words, When God taketh away his soul.
1. His soul, his immortal part, which he has deceived and ruined.
2. God will take it away; whose power there is no resisting; from whose presence there is no escape.
3. He will take it away; perhaps with violence (Pro 14:32), always in displeasure.
4. Take it away from present gains and hopes, to real misery, and to the greatest share of it. To all this he is continually liable, and at no time safe from it. While he is crying, Peace, peace, sudden destruction is coming upon him.
Improvement–
1. Seriously examine as to your own character. Judge yourselves, that ye be not judged.
2. Dread nothing more than the hypocrites hope, and frequently look to the foundation of your own.
3. Bless God if you can give a reason for the hope that is in you; but do it with fear and trembling; the final judgment is not yet over.
4. Do nothing to sink your hope, or fill you with overwhelming fear. Think often what you hope for, whom you hope in, and of the ground you hope upon; and thus prepare for the fruition of your hope in eternal glory. (T. Hannam.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. What is the hope of the hypocrite] The word chaneph, which we translate, most improperly, hypocrite, means a wicked fellow, a defiled, polluted wretch, a rascal, a knave, a man who sticks at nothing in order to gain his ends. In this verse it means a dishonest man, a rogue, who by overreaching, cheating, c., has amassed a fortune.
When God taketh away his soul?] Could he have had any well grounded hope of eternal blessedness when he was acquiring earthly property by guilt and deceit? And of what avail will this property be when his soul is summoned before the judgment-seat? A righteous man yields up his soul to God the wicked does not, because he is afraid of God, of death, and of eternity. God therefore takes the soul away – forces it out of the body. Mr. Blair gives us an affecting picture of the death of a wicked man. Though well known, I shall insert it as a striking comment on this passage: –
“How shocking must thy summons be, O death!
To him that is at ease in his possessions;
Who, counting on long years of pleasures here;
Is quite unfurnished for that world to come!
In that dread moment how the frantic soul
Raves round the walls of her clay tenement;
Runs to each avenue, and shrieks for help,
But shrieks in vain! How wishfully she looks
On all she’s leaving, now no longer hers!
A little longer, yet a little longer,
O, might she stay, to wash away her stains,
And fit her for her passage! Mournful sight!
Her very eyes weep blood; and every groan
She heaves is big with horror. But the foe,
Like a stanch murderer, steady to his purpose,
Pursues her close, through every lane of life,
Nor misses once the track, but presses on;
Till, forced at last to the tremendous verge,
At once she sinks to everlasting ruin.”
THE GRAVE.
The Chaldee has, What can the detractor expect who has gathered together ( mamon dishkar, the mammon of unrighteousness) when God plucks out his soul? The Septuagint: , ; “For what is the hope of the ungodly that he should wait for? shall he, by hoping in the Lord, be therefore saved?” Mr. Good translates differently from all the versions: –
“Yet what is the hope of the wicked that he should prosper,
That God should keep his soul in quiet?”
I believe our version gives as true a sense as any; and the words appear to have been in the eye of our Lord, when he said, “For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mt 16:26.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
There is no reason why I should envy or desire the portion of wicked men; for though they ofttimes prosper in the world, as I have said, and seem to be great gainers, yet death, which hasteneth to all men, and to me especially, will show that they are far greater losers, and die in a most wretched and desperate condition; having no hope either of continuing in this life, which they chiefly desire, or of enjoying a better life, which they never regarded. But I have a firm and well-grounded hope, not of that temporal restitution which you promised me, but of a blessed immortality after death, and therefore am none of these hopeless hypocrites, as you account me. Taketh away; or, expelleth, or plucketh up; which notes violence, and that he died unwillingly; compare Luk 12:20; when good men are said freely and cheerfully to give themselves or their souls unto God.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. “What hope hath thehypocrite, notwithstanding all his gains, when?” c. “Gained”is antithetic to “taketh away.” UMBREIT’Stranslation is an unmeaning tautology. “When God cuts off, whenHe taketh away his life.”
taketh awayliterally,”draws out” the soul from the body, which is, as it were,its scabbard (Job 4:21 Psa 104:29;Dan 7:15). Job says that headmits what Bildad said (Job 8:13)and Zophar (Job 20:5). But hesays the very fact of his still calling upon God (Job27:10) amid all his trials, which a hypocrite would not dare todo, shows he is no “hypocrite.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For what [is] the hope of the hypocrite,…. In religion, who seems to be what he is not, a holy and righteous man; professes to have what he has not, the grace of God; pretends to do what he does not, worship God sincerely and fervently, and does all he does to be seen of men; though such a man may have an hope, as he has, of an interest in the divine layout, and of eternal glory and happiness, what will it signify? what avail will it be unto him? what will it issue in? Job was of the same mind in this with Bildad and Zophar, that such a man’s hope is as the spider’s web, and as the giving up of the ghost, Job 8:14; however he may please himself with it in this life, it will be of no service to him at death; for it is not like that of the true believer’s, that is sure and steadfast, and founded upon the perfect righteousness and sacrifice of Christ; but upon his outward substance, fancying, that because God prospers him in this world, he is highly in his favour, and shall enjoy the happiness of the world to come; and upon his external profession of religion, and found of duties performed by him, but he will find himself mistaken: though he hath gained; great wealth and riches under a guise of religion, and by that means making gain of godliness, and taking the one for the other; so the Targum,
“because he hath gathered the mammon of falsehood;”
and also has great gifts, and a great deal of head knowledge, being able to talk of and dispute about most points of religion, and so has gained a great name among men both for knowledge and holiness, and yet all will not stand him in any stead, or be of any advantage to him:
when God taketh away his soul? out of his body by death, as a sword is drawn out of its scabbard, and which is as easily done by him; or as a shoe is plucked off from the foot, as Aben Ezra, and what he has a right to do, and will do it: and this taking it away seems to be in a violent manner, though not by what is called a violent death, yet against the will of the person; a good man is willing to die, is desirous of it, and gives up the ghost cheerfully; but an hypocrite is not willing to die, being afraid of death, and therefore his life or soul is taken from him without his consent and will, and not in love but in wrath, as the latter part of this chapter shows. Now Job had an hope which bore him up under all his troubles, and which he retained in the most killing and distressed circumstances, and which continued with him, and supported him in the views of death and eternity, so that he could look upon death, and into another world, with pleasure, and therefore could be no hypocrite, see Job 13:15.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8 For what is the hope of the godless, when He cutteth off,
When Eloah taketh away his soul?
9 Will God hear his cry
When distress cometh upon him?
10 Or can he delight himself in the Almighty,
Can he call upon Eloah at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God,
I will not conceal the dealings of the Almighty.
12 Behold, ye have all seen it,
Why then do ye cherish foolish notions?
In comparing himself with the , Job is conscious that he has a God who does not leave him unheard, in whom he delights himself, and to whom he can at all times draw near; as, in fact, Job’s fellowship with God rests upon the freedom of the most intimate confidence. He is not one of the godless; for what is the hope of one who is estranged from God, when he comes to die? He has no God on whom his hope might establish itself, to whom it could cling. The old expositors err in many ways respecting Job 27:8, by taking , abscindere (root ), in the sense of ( opes ) corradere (thus also more recently Rosenm. after the Targ., Syr., and Jer.), and referring to in the signification tranquillum esse (thus even Blumenfeld after Ralbag and others). is the object to both verbs, and , abscindere animam , to cut off the thread of life, is to be explained according to Job 6:9; Isa 38:12. , extrahere animam (from , whence Arab. salan , the after-birth, cogn. . Arab. sll , Arab. nsl , ntl , nsl ), is of similar signification, according to another figure, wince the body is conceived of as the sheath ( , Dan 7:15) of the soul
(Note: On the similar idea of the body, as the kosha (sheath) of the soul, among the Hindus, vid., Psychol. S. 227.)
(comp. Arab. sll in the universal signification evaginare ensem ). The fut. apoc. Kal (= ) is therefore in meaning equivalent to the intrans. , Deu 28:40 (according to Ew. 235, c, obtained from this by change of vowel), decidere; and Schnurrer’s supposition that , like the Arab. ysl, is equivalent to (when God demands it), or such a violent correction as De Lagarde’s
(Note: Anm. zur griech. Uebers. der Proverbien (1863), S. VI.f., where the first reason given for this improvement of the text is this, that the usual explanation, according to which and have the same subj. and obj. standing after the verb, is altogether contrary to Semitic usage. But this assertion is groundless, as might be supposed from the very beginning. Thus, e.g., the same obj. is found after two verbs in Job 20:19, and the same subj. and obj. in Neh 3:20.)
(when he is in distress , when one demeans his soul with a curse ), is unnecessary.
The ungodly man, Job goes on to say, has no God to hear his cry when distress comes upon him; he cannot delight himself ( , pausal form of , the primary form of ) in the Almighty; he cannot call upon Eloah at any time (i.e., in the manifold circumstances of life under which we are called to feel the dependence of our nature). Torn away from God, he cannot be heard, he cannot indeed pray and find any consolation in God. It is most clearly manifest here, since Job compares his condition of suffering with that of a , what comfort, what power of endurance, yea, what spiritual joy in the midst of suffering ( , as Job 22:26; Psa 37:4, Psa 37:11; Isa 55:2; Isa 58:13), which must all remain unknown to the ungodly, he can draw from his fellowship with God; and seizing the very root of the distinction between the man who fears God and one who is utterly godless, his view of the outward appearance of the misfortune of both becomes changed; and after having allowed himself hitherto to be driven from one extreme to another by the friends, as the heat of the controversy gradually cools down, and as, regaining his independence, he stands before them as their teacher, he now experiences the truth of docendo discimu s in rich abundance. I will instruct you, says he, in the hand, i.e., the mode of action, of God ( just as in Psa 25:8, Psa 25:12; Psa 32:8; Pro 4:11, of the province and subject of instruction); I will not conceal , i.e., according to the sense of the passage: what are the principles upon which He acts; for that which is with ( ) any one is the matter of his consciousness and volition (vid., on Job 23:10).
Job 27:12 is of the greatest importance in the right interpretation of what follows from Job 27:13 onwards. The instruction which Job desires to impart to the friends has reference to the lot of the evil-doer; and when he says: Behold, ye yourselves have beheld (learnt) it all, – in connection with which it is to be observed that does not signify merely vos omnes , but vosmet ipsi omnes , – he grants to them what he appeared hitherto to deny, that the lot of the evil-doer, certainly in the rule, although not without exceptions, is such as they have said. The application, however, which they have made of this abiding fact of experience, as and remains all the more false: Wherefore then ( makes the question sharper) are ye vain (blinded) in vanity (self-delusion), viz., in reference to me, who do not so completely bear about the characteristic marks of a ? The verb signifies to think and act vainly (without ground or connection), 2Ki 17:15 (comp. , Rom 1:21); the combination is not to be judged of according to Ges. 138, rem. 1, as it is also by Ew. 281, a, but may also be taken as the representative of the gerund, as e.g., , Hab 3:9.
In the following strophe (Job 27:13) Job now begins as Zophar (Job 20:29) concluded. He gives back to the friends the doctrine they have fully imparted to him. They have held the lot of the evil-doer before him as a mirror, that he may behold himself in it and be astounded; he holds it before them, that they may perceive how not only his bearing under suffering, but also the form of his affliction, is of a totally different kind.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(8) What is the hope?Better, What is the hope of the godless, though he get him gain, when God taketh away his soul?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. For Job appeals to the want of religious experience on the part of the ungodly to show that he cannot be accounted such.
Gained (unjustly) Thus the Syriac, Chaldee, Vulgate, Arnheim, Gesenius, Furst, etc. The exhaustive comment of Tayler Lewis abundantly shows that Zockler, (in Lange,) Dillmann, etc., are wrong in reading , “When he cutteth off.” The transition from the prime meaning of batsa’h, “break off,” “plunder” (for gain,) to its secondary meaning “gain,” is easy and natural. The construction of Zockler, etc., mixes the metaphor, and demands, contrary to Hebrew usage, the same subject for two successive verbs, each preceded by ; also it destroys the parallelism. The resemblance between the text and the profound question of Christ (Mar 8:36) is worthy of note.
Taketh away Literally, Draweth out, as a sword from its sheath, as in Dan 7:15, (see margin,) where the body is called a sheath. The Talmud, the Hindu, and the Roman, (Pliny,) use the same metaphor. The Hindu Vedanta says, “The soul is in the body as in a sheath.” COLEBROOK, Misc. Essays, 1:372. Gesenius ( Thes., 855) cites a philosopher who, being despised by Alexander on account of his ugliness, responded: “The body is nothing but the sheath of a sword in which the soul is concealed.” While the figure of the text painfully expresses the resistance of the soul against its severance from the body, (compare Gen 35:18,) it assumes a separate existence for the soul. To speak of hope for a man after his death, unless the soul be conscious, would be a palpable absurdity. The passage is among the many of this book that take for granted the conscious existence of the wicked after death, and by implication the immortality of all.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(8) For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? (9) Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? (10) Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?
This is a fine unfolding of the hypocrite’s character. It is but short, but it is unanswerably striking and conclusive. The questions rise out of one another; and the last serves to unfold the whole, and finally to determine the point. What can be the hope of the hypocrite? Surely, having acted but as a deceiver, he only finds his hope a deception, when GOD enters into judgment. But will he cry unto GOD? Yes, he may; for hypocrisy doth not prevent this. The Prophet hath pointed out such characters as remarkable for prayer. Thou art near, saith the Prophet (speaking to the LORD), in their mouth, and far from their reins: Jer 12:2 . Here the hypocrite is described, under a double view: first, in what he is; and then, in what he is not. He is near to GOD in mouth, but he is far from GOD in his heart. Therefore the hypocrite may, and the hypocrite will, cry unto GOD when trouble cometh upon him. But another question ariseth out of this. Will he always call upon GOD? Yes, when trouble is upon him: for so saith the Prophet. ‘LORD, in trouble have they visited thee: they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them:’ Isa 26:16 . But the third question settles the matter: Will he delight himself in the Almighty? No: that is impossible. He may pray, he may cry unto GOD with the mouth when the arrows of GOD are in him; but to take pleasure in GOD, never did a hypocrite do this, nor ever will to the end of the world. So that Job in these verses decidedly settles the matter.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Job 27:8 For what [is] the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
Ver. 8. For what is the hope of the hypocrite, &c. ] Here Job proveth himself to be no hypocrite, by his and their different character and carriage, especially under affliction. Though God kill Job, yet he will trust in him; but “what is the hope of the hypocrite?” &c. He that maketh a bridge of his own shadow must needs fall into the brook. The common hope thinks it takes hold of God; but it is but as a child that catcheth at the shadow on the wall, which he thinks he holdeth fast in his hand, but soon finds it otherwise; so shall the hypocrite at death, his hope shall be then as the giving up of the ghost, and that is but cold comfort. While he was in health, and had all well about him, he nourished strong hopes of God’s favour, and the rather because he gained and gathered wealth apace. So bladder like is the soul that is filled with earthly vanities, though but wind, it grows great, and swells in high conceitedness; but if pricked with the least pin of piercing grief (how much more when struck with death’s dart!) it shriveleth to nothing, and is ready to say, as one rich wretch did on his death bed, Spes et fortuna valete, Life and hope, adieu to you both at once.
Though he hath gained
When God taketh away his soul?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
what . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6.
taketh away his soul. By a different division of the letters it means “when he lifteth up his soul to God”, or “when God demandeth his soul”.
his soul = himself; or, his life. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Job 27:8-12
Job 27:8-12
WHAT IS THE HOPE OF THE GODLESS?
“For what is the hope of the godless though he get him gain,
When God taketh away his soul?
Will God hear his cry
When trouble cometh upon him?
Will he delight himself in the Almighty,
And call upon God at all times?
I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
That which is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it;
Why then are ye become altogether vain.”
“Will he delight himself in the Almighty, and call upon God at all times” (Job 27:10)? Job here points out the fundamental difference between himself and the wicked, that difference being simply that Job delights in the Almighty and calls upon God at all times. Such things the wicked do not. “Job’s friends should have recognized that in Job’s persistent crying to God there was the proof that their identification of Job with the godless was false.”
“I will teach you concerning the hand of God” (Job 27:11) Job here proposes to teach his friends some basic truths concerning God. Why do they need teaching? “They have become altogether vain” (Job 27:12). They have wickedly judged Job; and throughout this whole section Job emphasizes the fate of the wicked, because by their evil words against Job they have themselves joined the forces of wickedness. Thus his friends need the warning.
Of course, this chapter is disputed, some claiming that it is actually a mislabeled speech of Zophar, not pertaining to Job at all. Franks called Job 27:7-23 of this chapter, “The missing third speech of Zophar”; and Watson also accepted the authorship of Zophar for this passage as, “By far the best explanation of an otherwise incomprehensible passage.” Anderson noted that this device of making the passage the speech of Zophar, “Has enjoyed considerable prestige among scholars for two centuries.”
Nevertheless, this writer rejects this explanation as being unproved and unprovable. Furthermore, there is not anything that Job said in this chapter that is inconsistent either with the truth or with what Job had previously said. The critical scholars have simply misunderstood what Job is saying here, and throughout the Book of Job.
“Job’s prediction here of the judgment of God upon the godless is not a belated conversion to his friends’ point of view …. Nowhere has Job denied the justice of God; and it is not inconsistent for him to affirm it here.” In fact, throughout Job’s speeches, the one thing that has separated Job from his friends is their neat little system of making Job a gross sinner because of his sufferings. The two great errors in their allegations were (1) that God punishes all wickedness in this life, and does so immediately after the sins are committed, and (2) that any sufferer, from what ever disease or calamity, is suffering the just reward of his sins. Job never denied either that righteousness tends toward happiness or that wickedness tends in the other direction.
Dr. Hesser stressed these same facts as follows: “Job believed that the wicked will pay for their sins, that sins lead to misery; but what he did not believe was that neat little formula in which exactly the right amount of suffering is immediately dealt out to all sinners. There is therefore no good reason for assigning this passage to Zophar instead of to Job.” Jamieson was in full agreement with this.
Matthew Henry also noted another reason why Job in this passage spoke so dramatically about God’s judgment of the wicked. “It was fittingly brought in here as a reason why Job would not deny his integrity.” We have already noted that it was likewise a fitting warning to his friends who had so wickedly accused him.
E.M. Zerr:
Job 27:8. Job could not afford to maintain his present attitude if it were knowingly wrong. Such would be hypocrisy and that kind of character will lose his soul.
Job 27:9-10. It would do no good for the hypocrite to cry unto God in time of trouble. This would be a sufficient reason for Job to behave himself sincerely now.
Job 27:11. Job believed he was by (in) the hand of God. That would put him in possession of knowledge about God’s ways so that he could impart it to others.
Job 27:12. The three friends had seen many indications of Job’s faithfulness to God. For this reason they were inexcusable in talking against the unfortunate man.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Job 11:20, Job 13:16, Job 15:34, Job 20:5, Job 31:3, Isa 33:14, Isa 33:15, Mat 16:26, Mat 23:14, Mar 8:36, Mar 8:37, Luk 9:25, Luk 12:20, Luk 12:21, 1Ti 6:9, 1Ti 6:10, Jam 5:1-3
Reciprocal: Job 5:3 – taking Job 8:13 – the hypocrite’s Job 14:19 – destroyest Job 35:13 – God Job 36:13 – they Psa 66:18 – If I regard Psa 73:17 – then Psa 120:3 – What shall Pro 10:22 – he Ecc 5:8 – regardeth Ecc 9:4 – General Isa 1:15 – when Eze 20:31 – and shall Hos 5:15 – in their Mat 6:5 – thou shalt not Mat 13:21 – dureth Mar 4:17 – have Luk 12:1 – which Luk 18:1 – that Joh 9:31 – we know Rom 5:5 – hope Rom 12:12 – continuing Col 4:2 – Continue Jam 4:3 – and
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 27:8. What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained? There is no reason why I should envy or desire the portion of wicked men: although they ofttimes prosper in the world, and seem to be great gainers; yet death, which hasteneth to all men, and to me especially, will show that they are far greater losers, and die in a most wretched and desperate condition, having no hope either of continuing in this life, which they chiefly desire, or of enjoying a better life, which they never regarded. But I have a firm and well-grounded hope, not of that temporal restitution which you promise, but of a blessed immortality after death; and therefore I am not a hopeless hypocrite, as you think me to be. When God taketh away his soul When, much against his will, and by an act of violence, (as the word , jeshel, here used, signifies,) God, as the Judge, takes his soul out of his body, that it may be tried and determined to its everlasting state. What will his hope be then? It will be vanity and a lie; it will stand him in no stead. The wealth of this world, which he hoped in, he must leave behind him, and the happiness of the other world, which he hoped for, he will certainly fall short of; his hopes, therefore, will disappoint and make him ashamed.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
27:8 For what [is] the {f} hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
(f) What advantage has the dissembler to gain, seeing he will lose his own soul?