29<\/strong>. at the destruction<\/em> ] Or, at the misfortune<\/strong>, ch. Job 12:5<\/span>.<\/p>\n lift up myself<\/em> ] Or, exalted<\/strong>.<\/p>\n If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me – <\/B>Job here introduces another class of offences, of which he says he was innocent. The subject referred to is the proper treatment of those who injure us. In respect to this, he says that he was entirely conscious of freedom from exultation when calamity came upon a foe, and that he had never even wished him evil in his heart. The word destruction here, means calamity, disappointment, or affliction of any kind. It had never been pleasant to him to see one who hated him suffer. It is needless to remark how entirely this accords with the New Testament. And it is pleasant to find such a sentiment as this expressed in the early age of the world, and to see how the influence of true religion is at all times the same. The religion of Job led him to act out the beautiful sentiment afterward embodied in the instructions of the Savior, and made binding on all his followers; Mat 5:44<\/span>. True religion will lead a man to act out what is embodied in its precepts, whether they are expressed in formal language or not.<\/P> Or lifted up myself – <\/B>Been elated or rejoiced.<\/P> When evil found him – <\/B>When calamity overtook him.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 29<\/span>. If I rejoiced<\/B><\/I>] I did not avenge myself on my enemy; and I neither bore malice nor hatred to him.<\/P> <\/p>\n I was so far from malice and revenging myself of mine enemy, which is the common and allowed practice of ungodly men, that I did not so much as desire or delight in his ruin, when it was brought upon him by other hands. Compare Exo 23:4<\/span>; Pro 24:17<\/span>,18<\/span>. Whence we may judge whether the great duty of loving and forgiving our enemies be a peculiar precept of Christianity, or whether it be a natural and moral duty, and a part and act of that charity which now is, and ever was, the duty of one man to another in all ages. <\/P> Lifted up myself, <\/B>Heb. stirred up myself<\/I>, to rejoice and insult over his misery. <\/P> <\/p>\n 29. lifted up myself<\/B>inmalicious triumph (Pro 17:5<\/span>;Pro 24:17<\/span>; Psa 7:4<\/span>).<\/P><\/p>\n If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me<\/strong>,…. Job, though a good man, had his enemies, as all good men have, and that because of their goodness, and who hated him with an implacable hatred, without a cause, there being a rooted bitter enmity in the seed of the serpent against the godly in all generations; on whom sooner or later, at one time or another, destruction comes, one calamity or another on their families, diseases on their bodies, loss of substance, death of themselves or relatives; now it is a common thing with wicked men to rejoice in the adversity of their enemies, but good men should not do so; yet it is a difficult thing, and requires a large measure of grace, and that in exercise, not to feel any pleasing emotion, a secret joy and inward pleasure, at the hearing of anything of this sort befalling an enemy; which is a new crime Job purges himself from:<\/p>\n or lifted up myself when evil found him<\/strong>; either the evil of sin, which sooner or later finds out the sinner, charges him with guilt, and requires punishment, or the evil of punishment for sin; which, though it may seem to move slowly, pursues the sinner, and will overtake him, and light upon him. Mr. Broughton renders the words, “and bestirred me when he found loss”: loss in his family, in his cattle, and in his substance; now, when this was the case, Job did not raise up himself in a haughty manner, and insult and triumph over him, or stir up himself to joy and rejoicing, or to make joyful motions, as Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom interpret it; and by his gestures show that he was elated with the evil that had befallen his enemy; indeed so far as the fall and destruction of the wicked make for the public good, for the interest of religion, for the glory of God, and the honour of his justice, it is lawful for good men to rejoice thereat; but not from a private affection, or from a private spirit of revenge, see Ps 58:10<\/span>.<\/p>\n 29 If I rejoiced over the destruction of him who hated me,<\/p>\n And became excited when evil came upon him – <\/p>\n 30 Yet I did not allow my palate to sin<\/p>\n By calling down a curse upon his life.<\/p>\n The aposiopesis is here manifest, for Job 31:29<\/span> is evidently equal to a solemn denial, to which Job 31:30<\/span> is then attached as a simple negative. He did not rejoice at the destruction ( , Arab. fed <\/em>, <\/p>\n (Note: Gesenius derives the noun from the verb , but the Arabic, which is the test here, has not only the verb fada <\/em> as med. u<\/em> and as med. i<\/em> in the signification to die, but also in connection with elfeid <\/em> ( fed <\/em>) the substantival form el – fd <\/em> (= el – mot <\/em>), which (= fiwd <\/em>, comp. p. 26, note<\/em>) is referable to fada , med. u.<\/em> Thus Neshwn<\/em>, who in his Lexicon<\/em> (vol. ii. fol. 119) even only knows fada , med. u,<\/em> in the signif. to die (comp. infra<\/em> on Job 39:18<\/span>, note<\/em>).)<\/p>\n as Job 12:5<\/span>; Job 30:24<\/span>) of his enemy who was full of hatred towards him ( , elsewhere also ), and was not excited with delight ( , to excite one’s self, a description of emotion, whether it be pleasure, or as Job 17:8<\/span>, displeasure, as a not merely passive but moral incident) if calamity came upon him, and he did not allow his palate ( as the instrument of speech, like Job 6:30<\/span>) to sin by asking God that he might die as a curse. Love towards an enemy is enjoined by the Thora, Exo 23:4<\/span>, but it is more or less with a national limitation, Lev 19:18<\/span>, because the Thora is the law of a people shut out from the rest of the world, and in a state of war against it (according to which Mat 5:43<\/span> is to be understood); the books of the Chokma, however (comp. Pro 24:17<\/span>; Pro 25:21<\/span>), remove every limit from the love of enemies, and recognise no difference, but enjoin love towards man as man. With Job 31:30<\/span> this strophe closes. Among modern expositors, only Arnh. takes in Job 31:31<\/span> as belonging to it: “Would not the people of my tent then have said: Would that we had of his flesh?! we have not had enough of it,” i.e., we would eat him up both skin and hair. Of course it does not mean after the manner of cannibals, but figuratively, as Job 19:22<\/span>; but in a figurative sense “to eat any one’s flesh” in Semitic is equivalent to lacerare , vellicare , obtrectare <\/em> (vid., on Job 19:22<\/span>, and comp. also Sur<\/em>. xlix. 12 of the Koran, and Schultens’ Erpenius<\/em>, pp. 592f.), which is not suitable here, as in general this drawing of Job 31:31<\/span> to Job 31:29<\/span> is in every respect, and especially that of the syntax, inadmissible. It is the duty of beneficence, which Job acknowledges having practised, in Job 31:31<\/span>.<\/p>\n e.<\/p>\n He lived openly and would not hesitate to have the Almighty publish his record. (Job. 31:29-40<\/span>)<\/p>\n TEXT 31:2940<\/strong><\/p>\n 29 If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me,<\/strong><\/p>\n Or lifted up myself when evil found him<\/strong><\/p>\n 30 (Yea, I have not suffered my mouth to sin<\/strong><\/p>\n By asking his life with a curse);<\/strong><\/p>\n 31 If the men of my tent have not said,<\/strong><\/p>\n Who can find one that hath not been filled with his meat?<\/strong><\/p>\n 32 (The sojourner hath not lodged in the street;<\/strong><\/p>\n But I have opened my doors to the traveller);<\/strong><\/p>\n 33 If like Adam I have covered my transgressions,<\/strong><\/p>\n By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom.<\/strong><\/p>\n 34 Because I feared the great multitude,<\/strong><\/p>\n And the contempt of families terrified me, 35 Oh that I had one to hear me!<\/strong><\/p>\n (Lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me) 36 Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder;<\/strong><\/p>\n I would bind it unto me as a crown:<\/strong><\/p>\n 37 I would declare unto him the number of my steps;<\/strong><\/p>\n As a prince would I go near unto him.<\/strong><\/p>\n 38 If my land crieth out against me,<\/strong><\/p>\n And the furrows thereof weep together;<\/strong><\/p>\n 39 If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money,<\/strong><\/p>\n Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:<\/strong><\/p>\n 40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat,<\/strong><\/p>\n And cockle instead of barley. COMMENT 31:2940<\/p>\n Job. 31:29<\/span><\/strong>Job declares that he has never found pleasure in the destruction of his enemies. We are here presented with a rare treat. If chapter 31 is the crown of all the ethical development of the Old Testament, Job. 31:29<\/span> is the jewel of that crown (Duhm). Oh, if he could have heard Jesus speakMat. 5:43<\/span> ff. Moses enjoins help to ones enemiesExo. 23:4<\/span> ff; Pro. 20:22<\/span>; Pro. 24:17<\/span> ff; Pro. 25:21<\/span> ff. Though the Psalmists often reveal a spirit of malevolence toward their enemiesPsa. 58:10<\/span>; Psa. 109:6<\/span> ff; Psa. 118:10<\/span> ff; Psa. 137:8<\/span> ffor become exulted over their misfortunePsa. 57:7<\/span>; Psa. 59:10<\/span>; Psa. 92:11<\/span>; Psa. 118:7<\/span>Job declares against the imprecatory spirit found in some of Israels hymns.<\/p>\n Job. 31:30<\/span><\/strong>The contrary-to-fact conditional (lu) is not apparent in the A. V. translation; it is stronger than (lonot) a negation. The turn of phrase Job uses, my palate, suggests a dainty morsel, meaning he never permitted himself to taste such a delicious tid-bitEcc. 5:5<\/span> and 1Ki. 3:11<\/span>.<\/p>\n Job. 31:31<\/span><\/strong>Jobs hospitality has been shared by his slaves, not only his social equals. The uncompleted oath if not (im lo) has been taken by both Tur Sinai and Pope to imply the reading to be sated with his flesh, i.e., homosexual abuse, at Jobs table or in his house.[324] This is not self-evident from the Hebrew grammar, nor its most likely emendations. Imposing the sexual content of the Ugaritic literature on Job is a precarious pastime, as well as of dubious exegetical value.<\/p>\n [324] Pope, Job. pp. 236237.<\/p>\n Job. 31:32<\/span><\/strong>His hospitality has been extended to both slaves and strangers (lit. wayfarer)Genesis 19<\/span> and Jud. 1:19<\/span>. Extension of hospitality meant the extension of protection from abuses of any kind.<\/p>\n Job. 31:33<\/span><\/strong>Now Job repudiates the sin of hypocrisy. Job identifies Adam as a person who has sinned and attempted to hide his guilt along with himself from God. The mark of hypocrisy is living a lie. Often men try to hide their sins, but I have not.<\/p>\n Job. 31:34<\/span><\/strong>If it refers to guests, then he refused to give up his guest to the aggressive ones outside. Protection both inside and outside the home is the mark of true, i.e., non-hypocritical, hospitality. Or if the verse refers to Job, then had Job actually done the things charged to him by his enemies, he would have been afraid to have gone out of doors. He lived with a pure and unafraid heartJob. 29:7<\/span>. But if he were guilty, he would be horrified. Hospitality was a sacred trust in Jobs world, dominated by God.<\/p>\n Job. 31:35<\/span><\/strong>What are the specific chargesGod? Every accused person has a right to know the charges brought against him. State the chargesGod. I will validate my oath by my signature (Heb. -tawlast letter of Hebrew alphabet).[325] Jobs opponent (lit. man of my controversy) is God. Divine accuser, specify my charges, write them down, either as a writ of indictment or of acquittal.<\/p>\n [325] For grammatical possibilities, see E. F. Sutcliffe, Biblica, 1949, pp. 71ff; P. P. Saydon, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1961, pp. 252ff.<\/p>\n Job. 31:36<\/span><\/strong>What is it that Job would carry on his head or shoulders? The natural antecedent is the writ that he has called for in Job. 31:35<\/span>. To carry or wear something in this manner is to display it proudlyIsa. 9:5<\/span>; Isa. 27:22; Exo. 13:16<\/span>; Deu. 6:8<\/span>; Deu. 11:18<\/span>; Pro. 6:21<\/span>. The exchange of dirty clothes for clean is the symbol of acquittal as in Zec. 3:2-6<\/span>; Zec. 3:8-9<\/span>. The mixed images suggest that the display of the writ and the symbol of acquittal he would wear as a crown.<\/p>\n Job. 31:37<\/span><\/strong>There is nothing from his past that he is seeking to hide. He is willing to appear before God as an innocent man, not as an unrighteous oneJob. 31:34<\/span>. He would appear as a prince with a clear conscience.<\/p>\n Job. 31:38<\/span><\/strong>Job calls his land to testify. If he has gained the land unjustly, let it cry outDeu. 15:1<\/span> ff and Lev. 19:19<\/span>. Instead the land weeps for joy. The land is personified and identified with its rightful owner, Job.<\/p>\n Job. 31:39<\/span><\/strong>The imagery is unclear. It is not certain whether the reference is to oppressive appropriation[326] of lands which brought death to their owner, such as Naboth1 Kings 21<\/span>or that the owner died from some other cause.<\/p>\n [326] On this point see M. Dahood, Biblical, 1960, p. 303; also Biblica, 1962, p. 362; and the Gregorianum, 1962, p. 75.<\/p>\n Job. 31:40<\/span><\/strong>If I have wrongly acquired the land, let it refuse to bear fruit, wheat, etc. Instead, let it bear thorns and putrid smelling plants. Presumably an editorial note adds, The words of Job are ended. Thus he has delivered his final response to his consolers and his last challenge to God. Jobs oath is response to the friends charges, and it will stand because of default of evidence. His case against them is intact, but he has not won a judicial hearing before his creator. Job has made at least one defective move, i.e., presenting God as an adversary in a lawsuit. He has drawn conclusions from his unblemished life which are inappropriate in the presence of deity. From his suffering he has precariously deduced what God ought to do about it. What is the way to mediate between Gods transcendence and His immanence? Rilke says that man cried for a ladder of escape, but God sent down a cross! Nonetheless, Job has asserted his rightsJob. 9:20<\/span>; Job. 13:18<\/span>; Job. 19:7<\/span>; Job. 23:7<\/span>; Job. 27:2<\/span>; Job. 27:6<\/span>. He has been what God pronounced him to beJob. 1:8<\/span> and Job. 2:3<\/span>. His presumptiveness face to face with holiness is hybris of the highest order. Prometheus and Iscarus combined had less arrogance than Job. His integrity has become a high wall, separating him from God, while he is searching for Him. He could never find God while walking the path of pride. God must come to Him; he could never come to God2Co. 5:17<\/span> ff.[327]<\/p>\n [327] For the hermeneutical problems in chapters 2931, see J. R. Kautz, A Hermeneutical Study of Job 29-31. Diss. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1970; see Diss. Abstracts 30, 1970, 5516s.<\/p>\n (29) If I rejoiced at the destruction.<\/strong>He now proceeds to the realm of the wishes and thoughts, and is, therefore, far more thorough and searching with his own case than his friends had been.<\/p>\n 29<\/strong>. <\/strong> Rejoiced at the destruction<\/strong>, etc. Rejoicing in the sufferings of others is a most hateful form of evil. (See note on Job 15:27<\/span>.) In Job’s bitterest invectives there is no trace of hate. Here he speaks of him who hated me<\/strong>. Noble as Job appears in such a light, Christ demands more than this negative moral action, even the love of an enemy; “a voice,” says Lord Bacon, “beyond the light of nature.” Comp. Exo 23:4-5<\/span>; Lev 19:18<\/span>; Deu 23:7<\/span>; Pro 20:22<\/span>; Pro 24:17<\/span>; Pro 25:21-22<\/span>; and Cicero, De Officiis, <\/em> 1, 25.<\/p>\n Job 31:29 If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:<\/p>\n Ver. 29. If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me<\/strong> ] If I rejoiced at his ruin or fed my thoughts with his fall. Flesh and blood would have taught him so to do; there being nothing more natural to us than revenge; as we see in little ones. Heathens commended it for manhood (Arist. Rhet. c. i. lib. 9), and held it out as sweeter than life itself. <\/p>\n At vindicta bonum vita iucundius ipsa.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Howbeit some heathens professed against it, as Seneca, Immane verbum est ultio,<\/em> saith he; Revenge is unmanly, both word and thing. And, Qui ulciscitur excusatius peccat<\/em> He that avengeth himself sinneth, though he hath some colour for his sin. Socrates is famous for forgiving of injuries; and Julius Caesar, when he had Pompey’s head presented to him, wept, and said, I sought not revenge, but victory, Non mihi placet vindicta, sed victoria.<\/em> Both law and gospel forbids revenge; and Job, who lived before both, obeyed both; as here appeareth. Enemies he had, but he hated them not. That of Solomon was his practice, “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth,” &c., Pro 24:17-18<\/span> . See Trapp on “<\/em> Pro 24:17 “<\/em> See Trapp on “<\/em> Pro 24:18 “<\/em> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Or lifted up myself when evil found him<\/strong> ] Sin will find men out, sooner or later; Nemesis semper a tergo; <\/em> and they called her A , because unavoidable. Men may shuffle from side to side, as Balaam’s ass did; but there is no escaping this punishing angel. God will pursue wicked men to destroy them, till such time as they throw the traitor’s head over the wall. Now, good Job had put over his enemies to God, that he might order them (which also he did), and therein did himself no disservice. But how did Job deport himself toward them in this case? Did he lift up himself and insult? Did he bestir himself, as Broughton here elegantly translateth, and was he well paid? Nothing less.<\/p>\n found. Figure of speech Prosopopoeia. App-6. <\/p>\n 2Sa 1:12, 2Sa 4:10, 2Sa 4:11, 2Sa 16:5-8, Psa 35:13, Psa 35:14, Psa 35:25, Psa 35:26, Pro 17:5, Pro 24:17, Pro 24:18 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Gen 44:34 – come on Exo 23:4 – General 1Sa 24:6 – the Lord forbid Job 20:18 – and he shall Psa 35:15 – in mine Isa 33:15 – stoppeth Amo 6:13 – which Oba 1:12 – rejoiced Mic 7:8 – Rejoice Mat 5:39 – That Luk 6:27 – Love Luk 9:55 – and rebuked Rom 12:14 – General<\/p>\n Job 31:29-30. If I rejoiced, &c. I was so far from being malicious toward, and from revenging myself on, an enemy, which is the common and allowed practice of ungodly men, that I did not so much as delight in his ruin, when it was brought upon him by other hands. By this, and other passages of the Old Testament, (see Exo 23:4; Pro 24:17-18,) we see that to love, forgive, and do good to our enemies, is not a duty peculiar to Christianity, but a part of that charity which now is, and ever was, by the law of nature, of indispensable obligation upon all men. Or lifted up myself when evil found him Hebrew, , hithgnorarti, stirred up himself, to rejoice and insult over his misery. Neither have I suffered my mouth Hebrew, , chicchi, my palate, which, being one of the instruments of speech, is put for all the rest; to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. The sense is, if any desire of his hurt did arise in me, I forthwith suppressed it, and did not suffer it to break forth in my uttering an imprecation against him.<\/p>\n If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: 29. at the destruction ] Or, at the misfortune, ch. Job 12:5. lift up myself ] Or, exalted. Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 31:29”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door<\/strong><\/p>\n
And <\/strong>that I had <\/strong>the indictment which mine adversary hath written!<\/strong><\/p>\n
The words of Job are ended.<\/strong><\/p>\nFuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"