Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 33:13
Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
13 28. When Elihu gives the general answer to Job’s charges against God that “God is greater than man” he means that the moral loftiness of God’s nature made it impossible that He should act in the arbitrary, hostile manner charged against Him by Job (comp. ch. Job 36:5). It was but another form of the same charge of arbitrary hostility to man when Job affirmed that God was deaf to all appeal and refused to speak to man; comp. ch. Job 19:7, Job 30:20, and often. To this general form of the charge Elihu directs his attention and replies that God speaks to man in many ways, though He may not answer when challenged as Job had challenged Him; comp. ch. Job 35:14. He speaks to man in ways becoming His greatness, ways that shew that His goodness is over all His works. Job 33:13 probably reads
Why dost thou contend against him
That he giveth not account of any of his matters?
that is, Job’s contention or plea against God is that He deals arbitrarily and refuses all account of His dealing.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Why dost thou strive against him? – By refusing to submit to him, and by calling in question his wisdom and goodness.
For he giveth not account of any of his matters – Margin, as in Hebrew answereth not. The idea is, that it is as useless as it is improper to contend with God. He does his own pleasure, and deals with man as he deems best and right. The reason of his doings he does not state, nor has man any power to extort from him a statement of the causes why he afflicts us. This is still true. The reason of his doings he does not often make known to the afflicted, and it is impossible to know now the causes why he has brought on us the calamity with which we are visited. The general reasons why men are afflicted may be better known now than they were in the time of Elihu, for successive revelations have thrown much light on that subject. But when he comes and afflicts us as individuals; when he takes away a beloved child; when he cuts down the young, the vigorous, the useful, and the pious, it is often impossible to understand why he has done it.
All that we can do then is to submit to his sovereign will, and to believe that though we cannot see the reasons why he has done it, yet that does not prove that there are no reasons, or that we may never be permitted to understand them. We are required to submit to his will, not to our own reason; to acquiesce because he does it, not because we see it to be right. If we always understood the reasons why he afflicts us, our resignation would be not to the will of God, but to our own knowledge of what is right; and God, therefore, often passes before us in clouds and thick darkness to see whether we have sufficient confidence in him to believe that he does right, even when we cannot see or understand the reason of his doings. So a child reposes the highest confidence in a parent, when he believes that the parent will do right, though he cannot understand why he does it, and the parent does not choose to let him know. May not a father see reasons for what he does which a child could not understand, or which it might be proper for him to withhold from him?
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 13. Why dost thou strive against him?] Is it not useless to contend with God? Can he do any thing that is not right? As to his giving thee any account of the reasons why he deals thus and thus with thee, or any one else, thou needest not expect it; he is sovereign, and is not to be called to the bar of his creatures. It is sufficient for thee to know that “he is too wise to err, and too good to be unkind.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Why? upon what grounds and for what ends? What advantage dost thou expect from it?
Dost thou strive against him, to wit, in a judicial way? See Job 8:6.
He giveth not account of any of his matters; he neither useth, nor is by any law obliged, to give an account to any of his creatures of the grounds and reasons of his judgments or dispensations, as being the supreme and absolute Governor of all persons and things, in whose will and pleasure it becometh all men to acquiesce. And therefore, O Job, thou exceedest all bounds of modesty, and humility, and reverence, and submission, which thou owest to thy Maker, in that thou presumest to demand a reason for his dealings with thee, and to quarrel with him for not giving it to thee at thy desire. Or, he answereth not all his words, i.e. he doth not say, or hath not said, all that he can to justify his actions, which he can do many more ways than we can imagine; but hath revealed so much of his will and ways to mankind as he hath thought meet, and as their narrow capacity can comprehend; as he declareth in the following verses.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. (Isa45:9).
his mattersways. Ourpart is, not to “strive” with God, but to submit. Tobelieve it is right because He does it, not because we see all thereasons for His doing it.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Why dost thou strive against him?…. A creature against the Creator, a man against his Maker, the clay against the potter; how absurd and stupid is this! and a piece of weakness and folly it was in him to desire to litigate the point with God, and dispute with him, as he often did, when men cannot answer him one of a thousand, as he himself owned, Job 9:3; and very sinful and criminal it is to chide with God, or complain of him, on account of any of his dealings with the sons of men, as well as it is vain and fruitless:
for he giveth not account of any of his matters; he is a sovereign Being, and does what he pleases in nature, providence, and grace, and is not accountable to any for what he does; in things temporal, he does all after the counsel of his will; he bestows riches and honours, wealth and health, gifts of natural wisdom and knowledge on some, and withholds them from others; and each of these are his own, and he may do with them as he pleases: so likewise in things spiritual, he loves, chooses, redeems, regenerates, calls by his grace, and brings to glory whom he thinks fit; the blessings of grace and glory are his own, and he disposes of them as seems good in his sight; and in all respects he acts according to his will in heaven and in earth; none can stay his hand, or hinder him from doing his pleasure; and none ought to say to him, what dost thou? or why dost thou thus? or, if they do, he is not obliged to give any reasons for his so doing. Some take this to be the thing Job strove and contended with God about, that he did not, and because he did not give an account of all his matters, or answer all his words; and particularly he did not show to him wherefore he contended with him; and others think the meaning is, that God does not reveal all his secrets to men, but only as much as he thinks fit to acquaint them with; secret things belong to him, and things revealed to men; the secrets of his own nature, and the modes of subsistence of the divine Persons in the Godhead, the secret reasons of divine predestination of men to life or death, and of his dealings with men in a providential way, afflicting the righteous, and suffering the wicked to prosper.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
13 Why hast thou contended against Him,
That He answereth not concerning all His doings?
14 Yet no-in one way God speaketh,
And in two, only one perceiveth it not.
15 In the dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falleth upon men,
In slumberings upon the bed:
16 Then He openeth the ear of men,
And sealeth admonition for them,
17 That He may withdraw man from mischief,
And hide pride from man;
18 That He may keep back his soul from the pit,
And his life from the overthrow of the sword.
Knowing himself to be righteous, and still considering himself treated as an enemy by God, Job has frequently inquired of God, Why then does He treat him thus with enmity, Job 7:20, and why has He brought him into being to be the mark of His attack? Job 10:18. He has longed for God’s answer to these questions; and because God has veiled Himself in silence, he has fallen into complain against Him, as a ruler who governs according to His own sovereign arbitrary will. This is what Elihu has before his mind in Job 33:13. (elsewhere in the book of Job with or the acc. of the person with whom one contends) is here, as Jer 12:1 and freq., joined with and conjugated as a contracted Hiph. ( instead of , Ges. 73, 1); and with the acc. signifies here: to answer anything (comp. Job 32:12; Job 40:2, and especially Job 9:3); the suff. does not refer back to of the preceding strophe (Hirz., Hahn), but to God. are the things, i.e., facts and circumstances of His rule; all those things which are mysterious in it He answers not, i.e., He answers concerning nothing in this respect (comp. , Job 34:27), He gives no kind of account of them (Schnurr., Ges., and others). , Job 33:14, in the sense of imo , is attached to this negative thought, which has become a ground of contention for Job: yet no, God does really speak with men, although not as Job desires when challenged and in His own defence. Many expositors take and after lxx, Syr., and Jer., in the signification semel , secundo (thus also Hahn, Schlottm.); but semel is , whereas is nowhere equivalent to , for in Num 10:4 it signifies with one, viz., trumpet; Pro 28:18, on one, viz., of the many ways; Jer 10:8, in one, i.e., in like folly (not: altogether, at once, which , Syr. bachdo , signifies); then further on it is not twice, but two different modes or means of divine attestation, viz., dreams and sicknesses, that are spoken of; wherefore it is rightly translated by the Targ. una loquela , by Pagn. uno modo , by Vatabl., Merc., una via . The form of the declaration: by one – by two, is that of the so-called number-proverbs, like Job 5:19. In diverse ways or by different means God speaks to mortal man – he does not believe it, it is his own fault if he does perceive it. , which is correctly denoted as a separate clause by Rebia mugrasch, is neither with Schlottm. to be regarded as a circumstantial clause (without one’s … ), nor with Vatablus and Hahn as a conditional clause (if one does not attend to it), nor with Montanus and Piscator as a relative clause (to him who does not observe it), but with Tremellius as a co-ordinate second predicative clause without a particle (one might expect ): he (mortal man) or one observes it not ( with neut. suff. exactly like Job 35:13).
Job 33:15-18 Elihu now describes the first mode in which God speaks to man: He Himself comes forward as a witness in man’s sleep, He makes use of dreams or dream-like visions, which come upon one suddenly within the realm of nocturnal thought (vid., Psychol. S. 282f.), as a medium of revelation – a usual form of divine revelation, especially in the heathen world, to which positive revelation is wanting. The reading (Codd., lxx, Syr., Symm., Jer.), as also the accentuation of the with Mehupach Legarme, proceeds from the correct assumption, that vision of the night and dream are not coincident notions; moreover, the detailing Job 33:15, is formed according to Job 4:13. In this condition of deep or half sleep, revelat aurem hominum , a phrase used of the preparation of the ear for the purpose of hearing by the removal of hindrances, and, in general, of confidential communication, therefore: He opens the ear of men, and seals their admonition, i.e., the admonition that is wholesome and necessary for them. Elihu uses here and Job 37:7 as is used in Job 9:7: to seal anything (to seal up), comp. Arab. hm , , in the sense of infallible attestation and confirmation (Joh 6:27), especially (with Arab. b) of divine revelation or inspiration, distinct in meaning from Arab. chtm , , in the proper sense. Elihu means that by such dreams and visions, as rare overpowering facts not to be forgotten, God puts the seal upon the warning directed to them which, sent forth in any other way, would make no such impression. Most ancient versions (also Luther) translate as though it were (lxx ). is a secondary form to , Job 36:10, which occurs only here. Next comes the fuller statement of the object of the admonition or warning delivered in such an impressive manner. According to the text before us, it is to be explained: in order that man may remove (put from himself) mischief from himself (Ges. 133, 3); but this inconvenient change of subject is avoided, if we supply a to the second, and read , as lxx (which does not necessarily presuppose the reading ), Targ. ab opere malo ; Jer. not so good; ab his quae fecit . signifies facinus, an evil deed, as 1Sa 20:19, and , Job 36:9, evil-doing. The infin. constr. now passes into the v. fin., which would be very liable to misconstruction with different subjects: and in order that He (God) may conceal arrogance from man, i.e., altogether remove from him, unaccustom him to, render him weary of. the sin of pride ( from = , as Job 22:29, according to Ges., Ew., Olsh., for = ). Here everything in thought and expression is peculiar. Also , Job 33:18 (as Job 33:22, Job 33:28), for rof ,) (Job 33:30) does not occur elsewhere in the book of Job, and the phrase here and Job 36:12 (comp. , Job 33:28) nowhere else in the Old Testament. (Arab. silah , a weapon of offence, opp. meta , a weapon of defence) is the engine for shooting, from , emmittere , to shoot; and is equivalent to ot tnelaviuqe s , Joe 2:8, to pass away by (precipitate one’s self into) the weapon for shooting. To deliver man from sin, viz., sins of carnal security and imaginary self-importance, and at the same time from an early death, whether natural or violent, this is the disciplinary design which God has in view in connection with this first mode of speaking to him; but there is also a second mode.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
3. God has answered Job in two waysto discipline him. (Job. 33:13-22)
a. In dreams, to draw him from the fate of an evil course (Job. 33:13-18)
TEXT 33:1318
13
Why dost thou strive against him,
For that he giveth not account of any of his matters?
14 For God speaketh once,
Yea, twice, though man regardeth it not.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falleth upon men,
In slumberings upon the bed;
16 Then he openeth the ears of men,
And sealeth their instruction,
17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose,
And hide pride from man;
18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit,
And his life from perishing by the sword.
COMMENT 33:1318
Job. 33:13Elihu asks Job, Why are you contentious against Him because He does not answer? The A. V. includes saying which is not in the text and would better be rendered in English as that. There is a possible reading variation between my words and his words of the Hebrew text. The reading variation is of no consequence, since Jobs complaint that God gives no answer is appropriate for any and all men who ask and receive no answer. All contests with God are futile.
Job. 33:14Perhaps the verse implies that God reveals himself in more than one way, and if man does not hear God speak in one place, perhaps he will in another. The sense of this verse is elliptical, though not impossible.[333]
[333] See discussion L. Dennefeld, Revue Biblique, 1939, p. 175.
Job. 33:15Elihu expresses the classical Near Eastern view of dreams, viz., that they may be a vehicle of divine revelationGen. 41:11-12; Num. 12:6; Jdg. 7:13; Jdg. 7:15; Daniel 2, 4, 7. His specific reference here is to dreams that are warnings about and deterrents from ungodly behavior. Dreams of warnings are found in Gen. 20:3; Gen. 31:24; Daniel 4; Mat. 2:13; Mat. 27:19; Job. 4:12 ff; Job. 7:14. The prophets warn us about any uncritical approach to dream interpretation, either before or after FreudDeu. 13:1-5 and Jer. 23:28.
Job. 33:16The Hebrew text has mosaram or their bond, which makes little sense.[334] The dreams may need interpretation. The phrase open the ears sometimes informRth. 4:4; 1Sa. 20:2; 1Sa. 20:12-13. When God is the subject, the phrase often means revelationJob. 36:10; Job. 36:15; 1Sa. 9:15; 2Sa. 7:27. By certain types of dreams, God awakens men to repentance from the error of their ways. The LXX reads appearances of terrors (en eidesin phobou), which conveys the essence of the meaning.
[334] For this difficult verse see M. Dahood, Biblica, 1968, p. 360; see also Dhorme and Pope.
Job. 33:17The Hebrew literally says to remove man deed, and probably means to remove man from his evil purpose; i.e., warning dreams often cause man to abandon his plans for evil. The second line literally reads pride from man he covers, which our A. V. interprets to mean hide pride from man. The sense seems to be that Gods warning dreams are also to humble man.
Job. 33:18Gods purpose is beneficent, i.e., to save man from a worse fate. The parallelism makes it evident that selah should not be rendered sword as in the A. V. The reference is to the realm of Sheol and to perishing by the sword. The verb perhaps should be rendered to pass through, though the noun often means weapon or sword; but the relevancy of this here is suspect.[335]
[335] For the critical considerations, see M. Tsevat, Vetus Testamentum, 1954, p. 43; and Svi Rin, Biblische Zeitschrift, 1963, p. 25, where selah is identified with the underworld.
b. Through affliction God has spoken (Job. 33:19-22) to bring repentance (Job. 33:30).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(13) Why dost thou strive against him?Job had not striven against God, he had only expressed his longing to come into judgment with Him (Job. 23:3, &c.). Job was striving with and against the darkness that was round about His throne, not with the justice of God, which he entirely trusted. Some render the last clause of the verse, For none can answer any of His words, but the Authorised Version seems preferable.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. For he giveth not account, etc. God is not accountable for his doings, least of all to man; yet he condescends to communicate with man, as is seen in the following verses.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters.
Ver. 13. Why dost thou strive against him? ] Why dost thou wrangle and reason it thus irreverently with God, whose will alone is the supreme reason, nec recta solum, sed et ipsa regula; and not only right, but the very rule of right? He may better say, than any Constantine, that Arian emperor, Quod ego volo, pro Canone sit, Let my will be your sovereign rule; since things are therefore right because I will them; I will them not, because they are right. Who then art thou, O man, that repliest against God? saith St Paul; that chattest and wordest it with him, that answereth again, and thinkest to hold him to it, and be hard enough for him? Rom 9:20 . “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth,” Isa 45:9 . Let men learn to meddle with their match, and not to contend with God, who is much mightier than they, Ecc 6:10 , and hath assured them that with the froward he will wrestle, Psa 18:26 . Jeremiah, who in his distemper would needs reason the cause with God concerning his judgments (which are sometimes secret, but always just), did well and wisely to preface thus: “Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee,” Jer 12:1 .
For he giveth not account of any of his matters
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Job 33:13-22
Job 33:13-22
ELIHU THINKS GOD IS CHASTENING JOB
“Why dost thou strive against him,
For that he giveth not account of any of his matters?
For God speaketh once,
Yea twice, though man regardeth it not.
In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falleth upon men,
In slumberings upon the bed;
Then he openeth the ears of men.
And sealeth their instruction,
That he may withdraw man from his purpose,
And hide pride from men;
He keepeth back his soul from the pit,
And his life from perishing by the sword.
He is chastened also with pain upon his bed,
And with continual strife in his bones;
So that his life abhorreth bread,
And his soul dainty food.
His flesh is consumed away that it cannot be seen;
And his bones that were not seen stick out.
Yea, his soul draweth near unto the pit,
And his life to the destroyers.”
The only original thing we have been able to find in Elihu’s words is the viewpoint expressed in this paragraph that God’s purpose in punishing Job was designed for Job’s benefit, a divine chastening, to prevent his utter ruin. The New Testament doctrine of chastening (Heb 12:5-13) is indeed the explanation of some sufferings of God’s people; but in the light of the prologue, Elihu was not correct in this explanation of Job’s sorrows.
Job had challenged God to “show me” (Job 10:2) or “Give me an answer.” Elihu is here saying that, “God has been speaking to you all the time, and you are not listening: He has been speaking in dreams (Job 33:15) (Job had mentioned such things as nightmares) and in severe judgments against you” (Job 33:19-22). God’s purpose in this, according to Elihu, was stated in Job 33:17.
“That he may withdraw man from his purpose” (Job 33:17). The impact of these words upon Job was this: “All of the terrible things that have happened unto you are merely God’s way of trying to get you to withdraw from those evil purposes you have in your heart. And hide pride from man (Job 33:17). “Elihu perhaps thinks that Job is unduly proud of his integrity.” It would be difficult to imagine any words that could have been spoken which might have been any more distasteful or repulsive to Job than these things that Elihu was saying here.
“He is chastened also with pain upon his bed” (Job 33:19). From here to the end of the chapter, Elihu describes how God speaks to men in the judgments sent upon them; and, of course, he vividly describes the very things that have happened to Job! God’s message for Job in all this suffering, according to Elihu, is “Repent!” — exactly the same message the three friends had been pounding into Job’s ears.
E.M. Zerr:
Job 33:13. Job was not striving against God, but was objecting to the erroneous charges being made by Elihu against the unfortunate man.
Job 33:14-16. Elihu’s theory was that God’s voice is not always recognized. Finally, however, the human mind awakes to the fact that the Lord has spoken.
Job 33:17-18. When the voice of God is understood it will be known why he has spoken. The purpose was to save man from the evil effects of his ways.
Job 33:19. Chastened also with pain is the expression that is directly on the point at issue. Elihu meant that Job’s afflictions were a chastisement from God. That was the identical position of the three friends which Job denied.
Job 33:20. A man’s illness may be so cruel upon him that it will take from him his appetite. That is why he abhorreth bread.
Job 33:21. This verse fairly described the condition of Job at that time. It was no additional information, for practically the same thing was stated by Job in Job 30:17, which the reader is requested to read again.
Job 33:22-24. The unfortunate man will be brought near to death as a punishment for sin. Yet if he will listen to the messenger at hand and accept the advice offered he will have mercy shown to him.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
strive: Job 9:14, Job 15:25, Job 15:26, Isa 45:9, Jer 50:24, Eze 22:14, Act 5:39, Act 9:4, Act 9:5, 1Co 10:22
giveth not account: Heb. answereth not, Job 40:2, Deu 29:29, Psa 62:11, Isa 46:10, Dan 4:35, Mat 20:15, Act 1:7, Rom 11:34
Reciprocal: Job 9:3 – he will contend Job 9:12 – What Job 40:9 – Hast Ecc 6:10 – neither Ecc 8:4 – What Mat 11:26 – for Luk 4:27 – Naaman Joh 21:23 – what Act 11:17 – what Rom 9:20 – who art Rom 11:33 – how
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 33:13. Why dost thou strive against him? Upon what grounds, and for what ends? What advantage dost thou expect from it? Why dost thou presume to dispute with him, and call him to an account for his actions? for he giveth not account of any of his matters He revealeth not to us the secrets of his providence. He neither useth, nor is, by any law, obliged to give an account to any of his creatures, of the reasons of his judgments and dispensations, as being the supreme and absolute Governor of all persons and things, in whose will it becomes all men to acquiesce.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not {e} account of any of his matters.
(e) The cause of his judgments is not always declared to man.