Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 6:10
Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.
10. This verse reads,
And I should yet have my comfort,
And I would leap (for joy) amidst unsparing pain;
For I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
His comfort or consolation that he would have is death, the only one he seeks or can receive ( Job 6:11). The second clause betrays a rising frenzy in the sufferer’s mind. The third clause is thrown in almost in parenthesis. It expresses Job’s feeling that there is nothing that would impair his comfort or mar his joy in death, for he has never denied or disobeyed the words, or commands, of the Holy One. Perhaps the words may be flung out also against a thought which Job felt might rise in the minds of his friends. They serve at least to give an emphatic contradiction to their suspicions, by shewing how fearlessly he looks at death.
Others render the verse somewhat differently: and it should still be my consolation that I have not denied, etc., making his consolation in death to consist in the thought that he had never disobeyed the words of the Holy One, cf. ch. Job 13:16; Job 27:8 seq. But this gives a prominence to the innocence of Job which is not suitable in this place, and makes his words too reflective and self-possessed for the rest of the passage.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then should I yet have comfort – Dr. Good renders this, then would I already take comfort. Noyes, yet it should still be my consolation. The literal sense is, and there would be to me yet consolation; or my consolation would yet be. That is, he would find comfort in the grave (compare Job 3:13 ff), or in the future world.
I would harden myself in sorrow – Dr. Good renders this, and I will leap for joy. In a similar way Noyes renders it, I would exult. So Schultens understands the expression. The Hebrew word rendered I would harden myself ( salad) occurs nowhere else, and expositors have been divided in regard to its meaning. According to Castell, it means to strengthen, to confirm. The Chaldee () means to grow warm, to glow, to burn. The Arabic word is applied to a horse, and means to beat the earth with his feet, and then to leap, to exult, to spring up; and this is the idea which Gesenius and others suppose is to be retained here – an idea which certainly better suits the connection than the common one of hardening himself in sorrow. The Septuagint renders it hellomen – I would leap, or exult, although they have sadly missed the sense in the other part of the verse. They render it, Let but my city be a grave, upon whose walls I will leap; I will not spare, for I have not falsified the holy words of my God. The Chaldee renders it, and I will exult () when fury comes upon the wicked. The probable meaning is, that Job would exult or rejoice, if be was permitted to die; he would triumph even in the midst of his sorrow, if he might lie down and expire.
Let him not spare – Let him not withhold or restrain those sufferings which would sink me down to the grave.
For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One – I have openly and boldly maintained a profession of attachment to the cause of God, and to his truth. I have, in a public and solemn manner, professed attachment to my Maker; I have not refused to acknowledge that I am his; I have not been ashamed of him and his cause. How much consolation may be found in such a reflection when we come to die! If there has been a consistent profession of religion; if there has been no shrinking back from attachment to God; if in all circles, high and low, rich and poor, frivolous and serious, there has been an unwavering and steady, though not ostentatious, attachment to the cause of God, it will give unspeakable consolation and confidence when we come to die. If there has been concealment, and shame, and shrinking back from a profession of religion, there will be shame, and regret, and sorrow; compare Psa 40:9; Act 20:20-27.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 6:10
I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.
Concealing the words of God
1. The testimony of a good conscience is the best ground of our willingness to die.
2. The counsels of God, His truths, must be revealed. It is as dangerous, if not more, to conceal what God hath made known, as to be inquisitive to know what God hath concealed.
3. The study of a godly man is to make the Word of God visible.
4. It is a dangerous thing for any man to conceal the Word of God, either in his opinion or in his practice. (J. Caryl.)
God, the Holy One
This is a title too big for anyone but God. All holiness is in God. God is so holy that properly He only is holy. God is called the Holy One in three respects: Because He is all holy in Himself; because we receive all holiness from Him; and because we are to serve Him in holiness and righteousness all our days. God is holy in His nature. His essence is purity. He is holy in His Word. He is holy in His works. These three put together lift up the glory of God in this title, The Holy One. Or we may consider God, the Holy One,
1. Radically and fundamentally, because the Divine nature is the root and original, the spring of all holiness and purity.
2. God is the Holy One by way of example and pattern, or in regard of the rule and measure of holiness.
3. By way of motive. He is, as the rule of holiness, so likewise the reason of our holiness.
4. God is the Holy One effectively, because He works, conveys, and propagates all holiness to and in the creature. Man can no more make himself or another holy, than he can redeem another or himself.
5. He is called the Holy One by way of eminency, or super-excellence, because His holiness is infinitely beyond all the holiness of men and angels. Holiness in angels is a quality; holiness in God is His essence. God is above men and angels, because He is absolutely perfect in holiness. And God is ever equally holy, ever in the same degree and frame of holiness. The holiness of man consists in his conformity to the holiness of God. There is a two-fold conformity: a conformity to the nature of God, and a conformity to the will of God, or to that which God wills. These make up the total holiness of the creature. (Joseph Caryl.)
Concealing the words of God
Jobs distress was aggravated by the remarks of his friends, but he turned the guns of the enemy upon themselves, and extracted comfort from what was meant to grieve. He had not concealed the words of the Holy One; had taught his family the great sacrificial truth; was a most faithful witness for God, and made open confession of his own faith in the one holy God.
I. Here is a sin to be avoided–concealing the words of the Holy One.
1. We can conceal these words from ourselves. We do this when we will not permit this word to search our own heart and ways–when we conceal the Gospel, and go about to find out some way of our own for self-salvation. We should hide the Gospel in our heart, but not from our heart. We conceal it when we do not receive the whole of revelation, but pick and choose out portions of it.
2. We conceal these words from others by not confessing the truth at all, or by a sinful silence after confession, or by concealing the words of the Lord by our own words, or by clouding the truth with error, or by an inconsistent life. We must shine as lights.
II. Arguments for avoiding this sin.
1. The man who conceals the Word is out of order with God. The design of words is to make known the speakers mind. If you conceal His words you are not in harmony with anything God has made. All declare His glory. Think of the consequences which would have followed if others had done so.
2. The motive to conceal is sinful. It may be cowardice, self-love, or the avoidance of shame.
3. By concealing Gods words we are disloyal to God and unlike the Saviour. Think of how this will appear on a dying bed–I knew the saving secret, but I never told even a child of it. How will this look at the last day?
III. Two methods by which we may avoid this sin.
1. By taking care that you make an open profession of your faith and unite with the people of God.
2. When you have done that, by keeping yourself clear of sinful silence by very often speaking to others of the things of God. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 10. Then should I yet have comfort] Instead of od, YET, three of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS. have zoth, THIS. And THIS should be my comfort. The expectation that he will speedily make an end of me would cause me to rejoice with great joy. This reading is supported by the Vulgate and the Chaldee.
I would harden myself in sorrow] To know that I should shortly have an end put to my miseries would cause me to endure the present with determinate resolution. Let him not spare – let him use whatever means he chooses, for I will not resist his decree; he is holy, and his decrees must be just.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The thoughts of my approaching death would comfort me in all my sorrows. This would solace me more than life, with all that worldly safety, and glory, and happiness which thou hast advised me to seek unto God for.
I would harden myself in sorrow, i.e. I would bear up myself with more courage and patience under all my torments with the hopes of my death, and that blessedness into which I know I shall after death be admitted, as he more fully speaks, Job 19:26,27, whereas now I pine away in lingering and hopeless miseries. Or, I would burn (i.e. I am content to burn) in sorrow. Or, I would pray (as this word signifies in Hebrew writers; and praying may be here put for praising or worshipping of God, as it is frequently used in Scripture) in, or for, my sorrow or pain; then I would worship God, and say, Blessed be the Lords name for these afflictions, as I did for the former, Job 1:20,21.
Let him not spare; but let him use all severity against me, so far as to cut me off, and not suffer me to live any longer; which will seem to me a cruel kind of patience towards me.
Of the Holy One, i.e. of God, who is frequently called the Holy One in Scripture, as Isa 40:25; Isa 57:15; Hab 3:3, and is so in a most eminent and peculiar manner. The sense is, Therefore I do not fear death, but desire it; and that not only to be freed from my present troubles, but also and especially to put me into the possession of the happiness of the next life; of which I am assured, because I have in good measure performed the conditions of that covenant upon which he hath promised it; for as for
the words of God, i.e. that light of sacred truths and precepts which he hath been pleased to impart to me,
I have not concealed them, neither from myself by shutting mine eyes against them, or suffering my prejudices, or passions, or worldly interests to blind my mind, lest I should see them, as you think I have done; nor from others; but as I myself have stedfastly believed them, and not wilfully and wickedly departed from them, so I have endeavoured to teach and commend them to others, and have not been ashamed nor afraid boldly to profess and preach the true religion in the midst of heathens who are round about me. And therefore I know that if God doth cut me off, it will be in mercy, and I shall be a gainer by it. Some translate and distinguish the verse thus. Yet this is my comfort, (though, or when, I scorch with pain, and he, i.e. God, doth not spare me, but afflicts me most severely,) that I have not concealed the words of God, but have professed and practised them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. I would harden myself insorrowrather, “I would exult in the pain,” ifI knew that that pain would hasten my death [GESENIUS].UMBREIT translates theHebrew of “Let Him not spare,” as “unsparing”;and joins it with “pain.”
concealedI have notdisowned, in word or deed, the commands of the Holy One (Psa 119:46;Act 20:20). He says this inanswer to Eliphaz’ insinuation that he is a hypocrite. God is herecalled “the Holy One,” to imply man’s reciprocal obligationto be holy, as He is holy (Le 19:2).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then should I yet have comfort,…. Either before death, and in the midst of all his pains and sorrows, being in view of it as near at hand, and sure and certain; could he but be assured of its near approach, he could exult in his afflictions; it would be an alleviation of his trouble, that he should be soon out of it; and he would sit and sing upon the brink of eternity, and say, “O death, where is thy sting! O grave, where is thy victory?” 1Co 15:55; his sufferings being just at an end, and being comfortably persuaded of a happy future state, and a glorious resurrection, see Job 19:25; or after death, when destroyed and cut off by it; and he hereby signifies as if he expected no comfort on this side death and the grave; that is, no temporal comfort, his comforts were gone, his substance, his children, and health, and he had no hope of the restoration of them, Eliphaz had suggested; but he believed, that though he now had his evil things, as Lazarus since, yet after death should be comforted with the presence of God, in which is fulness of joy; with the discoveries of his love, as a broad river to swish in; with a glory that should be on him, and revealed in him, with which “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared”, Ro 8:18; and with the company of angels, and glorified saints, as well as be freed from all bodily disorders and pains, and death itself, from all sin, and sorrow, from Satan’s temptations, divine desertions, doubts, and fears:
yea, I would harden myself in sorrow; meaning either upon the first news of death’s being near at hand, he would harden himself against all pains and pangs of death; when those should beset him around, and he should find trouble and sorrow through them, he would not regard them, but most cheerfully and patiently bear them, and most courageously go through them, not at all intimidated by them, or by death, and the most terrible agonies of it: or “though I should be hot, burn”, or “be burnt in sorrow” or “pain” o, as some render it; or parched with pain, as Mr. Broughton; though I should be still more and more inflamed with these burning ulcers upon me, or be dried up with a burning fever, or my body cast into a fire, and be scorched and burnt in the flames of it, I should not value it; I could bear the most excruciating pains, and sharpest torments, could I but be assured I should die. Some observe, that the word signifies to “leap” p; and so the Septuagint render it; and then the sense is, that he should leap for joy, as men do when they are elevated at good news, or possess what is exceeding grateful to them, was it certain to him he should die quickly; and so the Targum interprets it of exultation. The word in the Arabic language, as a good judge q of it observes, is used of the prancing and pawing of a horse, which makes the ground to shake; he strikes with his foot, and which as done in the midst of a battle, mocking at fear, at the rattling quiver, and glittering spear and shield, is most beautifully described in Job 39:21 in like manner, Job suggests, he should rejoice in the view of death, and mock at the fear of it: or this may respect the happiness he should enjoy after death; for in the Syriac and Arabic versions the words are rendered, “and I shall be perfected in virtue”; and the word used has the signification of solidity, confirmation, stability, and perfection; and to this sense it is rendered by some r, though to different purposes; and after this suffering state is over, the saints will be established, settled and perfected in all virtue, in knowledge, holiness, and happiness: therefore
let him not spare; laying on his blows thicker and heavier, till he has beaten me to pieces, and utterly destroyed me, a petition the reverse of David’s, Ps 39:13; his desire is to have it done quickly and thoroughly, neither to spare him any longer, nor abate in measure, but strike him immediately, and that effectually, so as to dispatch him at once:
for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One; that is, of God, as some t supply it, whose name is holy, who is holy in his nature, and in all his works, and is eminently glorious in the perfection of his holiness; for though there are holy men and holy angels, there are none holy as the Lord: his “words” are the doctrines delivered out by him concerning Christ the promised seed, and salvation by him, which were spoken of by the mouth of all the prophets from the beginning of the world, of which Job had knowledge, Job 19:25; see Ge 3:15 Lu 1:70; and the duties of religion enjoined men in those early times; which Sephorno refers to the laws and commandments given to the sons of Noah; of which [See comments on Ge 9:4]; Here everything is included, both with respect to doctrine and practice, then revealed unto the sons of men, all which Job had a special regard unto: he embraced, professed, and practised them; he did not hide them from himself, or shut his eyes to the evidence of them, and smother within him the light he had; nor did he conceal them from others, but communicated the knowledge of them among his neighbours, as far as he could reach; he was not ashamed to profess the true religion of God; he held fast, and did not deny the faith in the midst of a dark and Heathenish country, and he lived up to his profession and principles in his life and conversation: now having a testimony of a good conscience within him, that he, through the grace of God, had acted a sincere and upright part in the affair of religion, and having knowledge of a living Redeemer, and faith in him, and in his justifying righteousness, he was not afraid of death, come when it would, and in whatsoever shape: and whereas his friends had suggested that he was a hypocrite and a wicked man, his conscience bore witness to the contrary; and to let them know they were mistaken in him, he signifies, he was not afraid to die, yea, he desired it; he cared not how soon he left the world, and appeared before God, the Judge of all, since the truth of grace was in him, and the righteousness of Christ upon him, and he had not, through the course of his profession of religion, departed wickedly from his God, his truths and ordinances. Some u read this in connection with the first clause, putting the rest in a parenthesis: “this is yet my comfort (though or when I am burned or parched with pain, and he spares not), that I have not concealed the words of the Holy One”.
o “calefaciam”, Pagninus, Bolducius; “flagrem”, Vatablus; “exaestuo”, Junius Tremellius “urar”, Drusius, Mercerus; so Gersom, Kimchi, Peritsol, Ben Melech. p , Sept. “saltarem prae gaudio” so some in Munster. q “Et pede terram quatium cum exultatione”, Schultens. r “Consolidescam”, Montanus; “corroboror”, Beza; so Aben Ezra. t Vatablus, Tigurine version, Michaelis. u So Vatablus, Mercerus, Codurcus, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(10) Concealedi.e., denied. The same was the confidence of the Psalmist (Psa. 40:9-10). (Comp. Act. 20:20.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. Then should I yet have comfort “A clear assertion of belief in a life to come.” Wordsworth. The difficulty of any other interpretation is felt by Zockler, who cannot see in this connexion how a speedy death could, in and of itself, bring any comfort. He is forced, with Delitzsch, Schlottmann, etc., to find the source of comfort in the statement of the last clause, that he had not denied the words of the Holy One! thus making the second member of the verse parenthetical. The structure of the clause, however, naturally points to the preceding verse for the ground of his comfort. His jubilant expression, that in the midst of unsparing anguish he “would exult,” is also retrospective. The last clause of the verse is rather a continued reason why God should give him the solace of death, as both Hirtzel and Dillmann admit: the latter urging that the cool reflection that he had not denied the words of the Holy One would be out of harmony with the triumphant exultation of the second member. That he had kept the faith, is a climactical reason why God should discharge him from his troubles, and give sweet rest in the grave. “A poor consolation,” (that of being cut off,) Peters well says, “perfectly romantic and delusive, could we suppose him to have no expectations after death.”
I would harden myself, etc. I would exult in the pain which He does not spare: ( Furst:) or the pain that does not spare. ( Dillmann.) The subject of the word “spare” is not given in the original.
Harden myself . The Arabic saladha to leap, to exult determines the meaning of this word, which occurs only once in the Scriptures. The of the Septuagint corresponds: thus, “Let the grave be my city, upon the walls of which I have leaped.”
Concealed That is, denied in the sense of renouncing.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 6:10. Then should I yet have comfort, &c. So should my cry still be; nay, I would raise it louder in proportion to my sufferings: let him not spare, for I dispute not the will (or words) of the Holy One. See Heath.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Job 6:10 Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.
Ver. 10. Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow, &c. ] I would take hard on, and bear what befalleth me as well as I could, by head and shoulders, had I but hopes of an end by death; as having this for my comfort;
I have not concealed the words of the Holy One
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
I would harden, &c. Occurs only here. = Let me even exult in my anguish (should He not spare) that I have not concealed, &c.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Then: Job 3:22, Job 21:33
I would: Job 9:4
let him not: Deu 29:20, Rom 8:32, 2Pe 2:4, 2Pe 2:5
have not concealed: Job 23:12, Psa 37:30, Psa 40:9, Psa 40:10, Psa 71:17, Psa 71:18, Psa 119:13, Act 20:20, Act 20:27
the Holy One: Lev 19:2, 1Sa 2:2, Isa 30:11, Isa 30:12, Isa 57:15, Hos 11:9, Hab 1:12, Hab 3:3, Rev 3:7, Rev 4:8
Reciprocal: Job 11:4 – For thou Job 13:13 – and let come Job 16:13 – doth Job 27:11 – teach
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 6:10. Then should I yet have comfort The thoughts of my approaching death would comfort me in all my sorrows, and yield me abundantly more solace than life, with all that worldly safety, and glory, and happiness, for which thou hast advised me to seek unto God. Yea, I would harden myself in sorrow I would bear up with more courage and patience, under all my torments, with the hopes of death and blessedness after death. Let him not spare Let him use all severity against me, so far as to cut me off, and not suffer me to live any longer. For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One That is, of God, who is frequently called the Holy One in Scripture, and is so in a most eminent and peculiar sense. The meaning is, As I have myself steadfastly believed the words, or truths of God, and not wilfully and wickedly departed from them; so I have endeavoured to teach and recommend them to others, and have not been ashamed nor afraid boldly to confess and preach the true religion in the midst of the heathen round about me. And, therefore, I know, if God do cut me off, it will be in mercy, and I shall be a gainer by it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
6:10 Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; {g} for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.
(g) That is, let me die at once before I come to distrust God’s promise through my impatience.