The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 123

mnl'I'. The Egyptian belief was that the "wee.risome nights" (-rer. 6), Job would soul u,ould ultimRtely r,,turn to the body ente,taiu a hope of a few hours' rest and from whirh death sepe.rntcd it, and roin- trsnquillity, as, weal'ied and exhausted, he habit it. But this belief wu <'ertainly not sought hie oouch, and laid himself down general among thP nations of antiquity. upon it, but only to be di8Rppointe,I. Then Yer. 10.-He ehell return no more to his thou 1oar11t me with dre&m1, and terri1leet house. This is b,,st taken literally. Men me through visi0111. Unpleasant drenma d(l not. nfter death, return to their houses arc sai,i io be a symptom, or at any rate a and T('sume their old oooupRtions. From frequent concomitant, of elephanti1U1is: but the life m tliis world they disappear for Job seems to speak of something worse than ev~r. Neither shall his place know him any these. Horrible visions cnme upon him, more (comp. Ps. oiii. 16). which he believed to be sent direotly from Yer. I I .-Therefore I will not refrain my the Almighty, and which effeotually dis- month ; rnLher, 1, ,noreoDBr, tDiU ,iot 'refrain turbed his rest, making night hideous. "''1 I 1j,f; 1 hat is, " Y 011 may do as you like Probably this wu one of the modes in 111«ler 11ffiiction, I claim the right of oom- which Satnn waa permitted to try and tesl pLiuing." Job hns e.lrcndy pointed out him. th:it naturo toac-hee the animals tn complain Ver. 15.-So that my soul ohooaeth atran• when ihey Rtlffer (eh. vi. 5). Why, then, gling; i.e. "so that I would prefer s.tran- should noL he i' Complaint is not neceBB&rily gling to such horrid dreams," which are murmuring; it is sometimes merely expos- worse thl\n any physical sufferings. .Some tulation, which God allows (comp. Ps. Iv. see here a reference io suicide: but this is a 2; Jxxvii. S; c:i:lii. 2, etc.). I will ape&k very forced explanation. Suicide, BS already in the anguish of my apirit; I will complain observed, seems never even to have occurred in the bittern8811 of my aoul. Extreme to the thoughts of Job (see the comment on "anguish " and " bitter" suffering excuse eh. vi. 8). And death rather than my life; complaints that would otherwise be blam- literally, rather than my bones. Death, ablc (comp. eh. vi. 2-4). that is, would be prefemble to such .1\ life Ver. 12.-Job now begins his complaint, as he leads, which is -that of a living which is wholly addresaed to God. The skeleton. . hrads of it are: (I) that lie is confined and Ver. 16.-Iloathe it; rather, I am wasted restrained, allowed no liberty (ver. 12); (2) away-" ulceratus tabesco" (Schultens). I thaL he is terrified by visions in the night would not live al.way ; rather, I shall nol (\'dB. 13, H); (3) that he is not "]et alone" lioe alway. Let me . alone; for my days (ver. 16); (4) that so much attention is paid are vanity; literally, cease from me; i.e.. to J,im (vers. 17-19); (5) that he is made ••eeaee to trouble me"-with, perhaps, ·the a butt for God•s arrows (ver. 20); and (6) further meaning. "cease to trouble thyself thut he is 11ot pardoned, but relentleesly about me." for I am sufficiently reduced to pcr~ccuted (ver. 21). Am I a aea, or a nothingness-my life is mere vanity. whale 1 rather. Am I a eea, or a sea-m071Bterf Ver. 17.-What is man, that thou ahouldeat Am I as wild o.nd uncontrollable as the magnify him 1 or, i,w.ke so much of him-re• ocean, as fierce and B&vo.ge as a crocodile gard him as of such great importance ( comp, or other monster of the deep? Do I not Pa. viii. 4). It seems, at first eight, an Jlossess rea.son and conscience, by which I exalted idea of God to regerd him as too might be directed and guided? Why, then, lofty, too great, to be reaJly concerned about em I treated as if I were without them? The so mean a creature, so poor a being, as mali. isea must be watched, lest it break in npon Hence, among the Greeks, the EpicureaDs the land; in Egypt there had been many Ill&intained that God paid no attention at sncli breaches, ns the configuration of the all to this world, or to anything that hap- coast, with its narrow belts of sand and its pened in it, but dwelt secure and tranquil vast lagoons, shows; and crocodiles must be in the empyrean, with nothing to disturb, watched, Jest they destroy human life; but displease, or vex him. .And the holy mE.>n is there anv need that I should be watched, of old sometimes fell into this sawe phase of restrained,·coerced, hedged in on every side thought, and expressed surprise and wonder (cl,. ili. 23)? Am I so dangerous? Surely that God, who dwelt on high, should "hum- not. Some liberty therefore might have ble himself to consider the things in heaven been safely given io me, instead of this and £•arth." "Lord," says David, or who- irksome rest.ruint. That thou sett.est a ever was the author of the hundred and watch over me; or, a gUll,f"d; ie. a set of forty.fourth psalm, "what is man, that thou physical impediments, whioh leave me no takcst knowledge of him ? or the son of man, ft,,c,-dom of oction. , that thou ma.kest e.ecount of him? Man is Vcrs. 13, J i.-When I 1&y, Jly bed lhall like to vanity; his days are as a shadow comfort me, my couoh 1bell eue my com- that passeth away" ( Ps. cxliv. S, i). But plaint. Somctimes,notwilhJta.nding his many all, except Epicureans, agree that God doea. OH. Vil. 1-21.] THE BOOK OF JOB. 123