The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 310

iheir abhonnoe of me. And they whom I nothing tha.t·~s,vorJ remarkable in th111 pie- loved are turned ~wt me (comp. Pe. xli. oeding worcts, wheroe.s the latter are among 8; Iv. 12-14; Jer. x.x. 10). The t<(l,inta ot the most striking in the .book, the general God in all e.gea, and however different1y opinion lie.a U(len that be refers to th&1e IBBt. circumetanoed, are aesailed bv almost the It is now universa.lly a)lowed, even by those 1111.lDe trie.le and temptations. "\Vhetber it be whose date for Job is the most remote. that Job, or Drwid, or Jeremiah, or One greater books were common loug before hie time, than an,. of them. the desertion aud un- aud_ao th~t he.might·n~~rally have been kindne~s of t.h,·ir ucarest and clearest, as &nnhar ~th them, Writing.is, of coU?Be, the bittere,1. of all snffering-s, is almost sere even antenor to books, and was certainly in io be included in tlwircup, which they mu11t use before B.O, 2000. Th11 earliest writing drink 1,, tlic drc.tcs. if they are to exporienee was probably on stone or brick, _and ·wa13 to the full" the precious uses of adversity." perhaps in every case hieroglyphical., When Yer. 2il.-My bone olea'\'eth to my skin writing on papyrus, or parchment, o;r the and to my flesh. Hne the third aonrce of ba.rkof trees, oume into use, a .cursive. Qha;. Job's misery is brought forward-bis p~inful re.cter soon superseded the bieroglyphioal, and incurable disease. This hns l,ruught t4ough_ t!ie latte1· ~ntinued to be employed him to such e. pitcli of emaciation that hie Far rch.g1.ous purposes, .and for inscriptions bones 11eem to adhere to tlie tigh tencd skin, on stone. Oh that they Wl!r.e ..~inte4. in a e.nd the Manty and shrunken muscles, that book! rather, i'llBCribed, or engra'IJed. The co,·er them (cowp. eh. :i.:xxiii. 21 and Lam. impression of the cha.ro.clers below the ~r- h. S). Such .e.maoiation of the general face of the writing material, as in t.he Baby- frame is quite compatilile with the unsightly lonian and.Assyrian clay.tablets, seems .to be swelling of certain parts of the body which pointed at.· .. ; . , ; • • lr, ;, .. ··, chara.cteriz,·s depbe.ntiD.llis. Andlamesoaped Ver. 2d:.-'l'hat th4111 w,re gravenwtth an with the skin of my teeth. .The expression iron pen and ll!IL(l in the roo,lf. ~or. eve;r ! :A is, no doubt, proverbial, and signifies" barely peculiar kind -of roc~-.inscript~911, ,9£ -wl:\ioh, escaped; " but its origin is obscure. ;;o far as I know, 110 1 speci,m~l)S, l'!lW.11,iµ, Ver. 21:-Rave pit;y upon me, have pity appears to be here .a.llucl~J, to, ; Jop 'fish~p upon me, 0 my frcmaa. On the enumeration , tlie charao~rs of his r.e~rd to b~. cut_ de:e_p of his .arioUB woes, Job's appeal for pity ' into the rock wit)i &!1 iron chisel, and the fo'.lol'l"s. We mu6t notregard it as addressed incision made to be thei;i fil.led up with le~ merely to the three so-called "friends" (eh. ( compare the med,imv:o.1. ',' br~sses ")., • ., ii. 11) or •·comforters" (ch.:1:ti. 2), Eliphaz, Ver. 25.-For, I ~pw that;my Redeemer 13ildad, and Zophar. It is an appeal to liveih. Numerous· .endeo.you~. ha.Vil heen all those who o.re o.round ..him and o.bout ·made to explain a.way the myetei:ious,impori him, whose sympathies have bee.n hitherJ.o of ihis vere.e. First,.it, is no~, .t)!9-t .Iii go~l eastranged (vers. 13-19).-but B'hose :re11:a,d is ILl!Y one who aveng~ or ransoms ~othe:i-, he does not c.J,,.,,pair of winning be.ck. Will a.nd especially that it'.~. "the te~bi;rit111,l!ex- they not, when they perceivt the extremity pr~on for the avenger.,9f bl!)od·": (f~IJ.l!.e, and variety of his sufferings, be mov.ed tq ' S~rt Stpriee,' vpl. i, ,P• 284) .~ , Pt~P. compassion by them, and commiserate him rilentj.o.ned in the . .Qld .'l;'~Hl,D;!e~t. ,;lt <j,s io his day of c.i.le.mity? Far the hand of s~ggeeted, therefore, \J;lu.t..,-ob's r11ai:meaning God ha.th. touohed me. To the.!' comforters" may.be that he expects. 9,ne of his r!;!le.t~ves this is no ar:?;umcut. They deem ·him un- to &rise aft.er his death as the avenger of.:bis worthy of pity on the very grOI.Uld that he blood, and to exact retribution f9_:c .jj;. , I!ui is •· dmitten of God, ancl afflicted" (lea. liiL ·unless in the =e of a violei;it death ,ot .-t.be 4,) ; si.uce t irny hold tho.t, being so ;smitten, hands of .a ~ which was not wh11,t .Job he must h11ve d~ved hui calamity. But expected for hiwscJf, there !)Oqld l;,e , n,o to uuprejudiccd persons, not wedded to a avenger of blood. Job has already expr@esed thtory, such all aggravation of his .ivoe hill desire to have a. third,ma,n l>etween .hi01 would naturally ~eem Jo .render him a gre11oter ,and God (eh. ix.132-35)1 w):ii.ch thirdeIQl!-ll cJLn object of pity and conyiassioxi. .. 11e&rcely be otlier than a ;Divine Pezsi>IJ.!l,g~. Ver. 22.-Why do ye JIO:l'&IIOute me aa God 1 In eh. xvi: 19 he has djlc!&red his convict.ion i.e. Why are ye as hara oo me 11,1i God him- that ".his .Witmu is in hea.ven." In. ver. 21 lK:lf? If I lllive offended him, what have I of the same .chapter he ~ongs tQ J;iave. !Ill done to offend you ? And are not ~a.timed adoocau to plead his ca;i;1se with, (}od., .l:n with my f!eshi i.e. •.. devow- wy flesh, like eh. nii. 3 he ce.11& upon God to be• Bur~t!I fqr wild LeW!is, and yet a.re p.ot eat.isfied." him. Therefore, as ,Dr. Stanley l4la.~b,(l8 Ver. 23.--0h that mJ words were written! points out, '' he ha.s already recqg~ God It i.s qllel!tioned what words of hill Job ia II() u his Judge, hi11 Umpire, Ws ·.Atli,ocatr,:bis an.xiou5 to hav0 committed to writ.ipi- W#neu, and )l~ Surety, i.µ 110~ 1Cll~ • by lhose that precede the expressiµn of I.he Wlllh. f11rmal COJ1.fe11Biqll of the f!!,Ct, i.ii,;Q\him1 )>y IJJ thOBe that follow. or both: As there ia ea,;rneet lo11gi11.g 11~r, and aspiratiqn Jo;r  THE BOOK· OF JOB,, 323