Bible Commentary

The snare [is] laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way. The snare is laid – All this language is taken from the modes of taking wild beasts; but it is not possible to designate with absolute certainty the methods in which it was done. The word used here … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 18:10”

The gin shall take [him] by the heel, [and] the robber shall prevail against him. 9. the robber shall prevail ] Rather, the trap layeth hold of him, as all the verbs in this passage should be put in the present tense. The word is that occurring ch. Job 5:5. The world of God is … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 18:9”

For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. 8 11. All things hasten on his ruin; the moral order of the world is such that wherever he moves or touches upon it it becomes a snare to seize him. “Snares” do not mean temptations, they are … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 18:8”

The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. 7. Another figure for the same thought. His firm, wide steps of prosperity and security, when he walked in a wide place (Psa 4:1), become narrowed and hampered. Widening of the steps is a usual Oriental figure for the … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 18:7”

The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. 6. his candle shall be put out with him ] The meaning is either: his lamp shall be put out over him, the idea being that it was hung in his dwelling above him or shone upon him, … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 18:6”

Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. 5 21. The disastrous end of the wicked, in the moral order of the world, is certain The last verse naturally led over to this idea, which is the theme of the speech. The idea is … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 18:5”

He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place? 4. The first clause must be rendered in English, Thou who tearest thyself in thine anger. The Heb. uses in preference the objective form, One who teareth himself in his anger, shall … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 18:4”

Wherefore are we counted as beasts, [and] reputed vile in your sight? 3. and reputed vile ] lit. and are unclean. Bildad describes what Job’s treatment of his friends suggests to him as Job’s idea of them. The reference is to the passages, ch. Job 17:4; Job 17:10, and the words “clean of hands” ch. … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 18:3”

How long [will it be ere] ye make an end of words? mark, and afterwards we will speak. 2. Then he spoke impiously of God, saying that He tore him in His anger (ch. Job 16:9), and appealed to the earth and nature to rise up on his side (ch. Job 16:18). Such things provoke … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 18:2”

Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, 1. Job had used very hard words regarding his friends; he had called them annoying comforters (ch. Job 16:2) and scorners (ch. Job 16:20), and complained of being beset by their illusory mockeries (ch. Job 17:2); and said that God had sent blindness and want of understanding upon … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 18:1”