Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 9:34
Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:
34. The subject is God, not the daysman let God remove His rod, His afflictions.
his fear terrify me ] Or, his terror affright me. The “terror” of God is His overawing majesty, cf. ch. Job 13:21, Job 33:7, the last passage with direct reference to the present one.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Let him take his rod away from me – Let him suspend my sufferings, and let us come together on equal terms. His terror now is upon me, and I can do nothing. I am oppressed, and broken down, and crushed under his hand, and I could not hope to maintain my cause with any degree of success. If my sufferings were lightened, and I could approach the question with the rigor of health and the power of reasoning unweakened by calamity, I could then do justice to the views which I entertain. Now there would be obvious disparity, while one of the parties has crushed and enervated the other by the mere exercise of power.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 34. Let him take his rod away] In the Masoretic Bibles, the word shibto, his rod, is written with a large teth, as above; and as the letter in numerals stands for 9, the Masora says the word was thus written to show the nine calamities under which Job had suffered, and which he wished God to remove.
As shebet signifies, not only rod, but also sceptre or the ensign of royalty, Job might here refer to God sitting in his majesty upon the judgment-seat; and this sight so appalled him, that, filled with terror, he was unable to speak. When a sinful soul sees God in his majesty, terror seizes upon it, and prayer is impossible. We have a beautiful illustration of this, Isa 6:1-5: “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Then said I, Wo is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
His fear; objectively so called, i.e. the fear and dread of him, of his majesty and justice. Let him not deal with me rigorously, according to his sovereign dominion and perfect justice, but according to his wonted grace and clemency.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
34. rodnot here the symbol ofpunishment, but of power. Job cannot meet God on fair terms solong as God deals with him on the footing of His almighty power.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Let him take his rod away from me,…. Not his government over him, of which the rod or sceptre is an ensign, Job did not want to be freed from that; but, his rod of affliction, or stroke, as the Targum, the stroke of his hand, which, though a fatherly chastisement, lay heavy upon him, and depressed his spirits; so that he could not, while it was on him, reason so freely about things as he thought he could if it was removed, and for which he here prays:
and let not his fear terrify me; not the fear of him as a father, which is not terrifying, but the fear of him as a judge; the terror of his majesty, the dread of his wrath and vengeance, the fearful apprehensions he had of him as a God of strict justice; that would by no means clear the guilty, yea, would not hold him innocent, though he was with respect to the charge of his friends; being now without those views of him as a God gracious and merciful; to these words Elihu seeks to have respect, Job 33:6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
34 Let Him take away His rod from me,
And let His terrors not stupify me.
35 Then I would speak and not fear Him,
For not thus do I stand with myself.
The two Optatives, Job 9:34., as is frequently the case with the Imper., are followed by the Cohortative as the conclusion ( , therefore will I speak; whereas might be equivalent to, in order that I may speak) of a conditional antecedent clause. is here the rod with which God smites Job; comp. Job 13:21. If God would only remove his pain from him for a brief space, so that he might recover himself for self-defence, and if He would not stifle his words as they come freely forth from his lips by confronting him with His overwhelming majesty, then he would fearlessly express himself; for “not thus am I in myself,” i.e., I am not conscious of such a moral condition as compels me to remain dumb before Him. However, we must inquire whether, according to the context, this special reference and shade of meaning is to be given to . There is a use of = nothing, when accompanied by a gesture expressive of contemptuous rejection, Num 13:33 ( , Isa 51:6, as nothing);
(Note: In both these passages (to which Bttcher adds Psa 127:2, “so = without anything further”), has been considered to be the sing. of , gnats; but this sing. is an error, as , formerly considered to be the sing. of . The respective sing. are , .)
and a use of = not only so = not so small, so useless, 2Sa 23:5, accompanied by a gesture expressive of the denial of such contempt, according to which the present passage may probably be explained: I am in myself, i.e., according to the testimony of my conscience, not so, i.e., not so morally worthless and devoid of right.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Job 9:34 Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:
Ver. 34. Let him take his rod away from me ] Having sufficiently set forth that he will not once offer to contend with God, he here humbly begs of God no further to contend with him, but to grant a truce, at least during the treaty; and either to take away or (however) to mitigate his sorrows and sores. See the like Job 13:20-21 .
And let not his fear terrify me
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
His fear = the fear that He causes.
terrify = startle, or scare. Compare Job 13:21; Job 33:7.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
let not: Job 13:11, Job 13:20-22, Job 23:15, Job 31:23, Job 33:7, Job 37:1, Psa 39:10, Psa 90:11, but it is not so with me, Heb. but I am not so with myself, Job 29:2-25
Reciprocal: Job 13:3 – Surely Job 16:21 – plead Job 21:9 – the rod Job 23:6 – plead
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 9:34-35. Let not his fear terrify me The fear and dread of his majesty and justice. Let him not deal with me according to his perfect justice, but according to his grace and clemency. Then would I speak, and not fear I would speak freely for myself, being freed from that dread, which takes away my spirit and courage. But it is not so with me I am not free from his terror, and therefore cannot plead my cause with him.