The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 395

and be guided by suoh restraints continu- themselves oloee. Professor Lee. however, ally. On the oontrary, defends the Authorized Version. They Ver. 14.-The murderer rising with the know not the light; i.e. they e.voi,l it light killeth the poor and needy, The mur- keep e.we.y from it, will have nothing oo d~ derer rises at the first glimpse of dawn-the with it. time when most men sleep moat soundly. Ver. 17.-l'or the morning is to them He cannot go about hie wicked business in even as the shadow of death. They hate oompleto dnrknese. He hne not the cour11ge the morning light. It is associated in their to attack the great and powerful, who might minds with the idea of detection; for when be well armed and have retainers to defend it breaks in upon them nnexpecterlly in the them, but enters the houses of n. compara- midst of tbeir ill deeds, detection commonly tively poor ole.ss, in which he is less a.fro.id follows ; and detection is e. true " shadow to risk himself. Here, in the night he is of death," for it commonly means the gal- as a thief. He bas not come into the house lows. I! one know them, they are in the simply for murder. Theft is his me.in ob- terrors of the shadow of death ; rather, ject. He will not take life unless he is re- for they knO'IJ1 the teTTMB of the shadow of sisted or discovered, and so, in a certain death (see the Revised Version). It is a 110nse, driven to it. familiar experience to them; as, whenever Ver. 15.-The eye also of the adulterer crime is severely punished, it is to the waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye criminal class genera.Hy. shall aee me. There ie e.u analogy between Ver. 18.-He is swift as the waters. "Lo- moral and physical light, and between moral cus obscnrissimus" (Schultens). Scarcely and physical darlmess. The class of men any two commentators agree even a.a to the here spoken of (vere. H-16), who have re- subject on which Job proceeds to speak. belled e.ge.inet more.I light (ver. 13), e.nd re- Some regard him e.s giving his own judg- fused its we.ye, e.nd rejected its pa.the, a.re ment on the ultimate fate of the wicked; no great lovers of physical light. Their others, as anticipating what his opponents deeds of darkness a.re only suited to be done will say on the point. One recent exposi- in the dark, and they wait for the evening tor takes the pa.<!sage M referring to the twilight or the dusk of dawn to engage in efforts made by the malefactors of vers. them (comp. John iii. 19-21, "And this is 14-16 to escape from justice, and to the the condemnation, that light is come into discredit and difficulty in which they in- the world, e.nd men loved darkness rather volve themselves. Another suggests that than light, because their deeds were evil. Job here calls attention to e. fresh class of For every one that doeth evil he.teth the oppressors, viz. water-thieves (see Stre.bo, light, neither cometh to the light, lest his xvi. 18), who, starting in light boats from deeds should be reproved. But ho that some island in a la.ke or river, plundered doeth truth cometh to the light, that his the neighbouring lands, making the por- deeds may be made manifest, that they a.re tions of the landholders worthless, and wrought in God." See also John viii. 12; ea.using them to neglect the cultivation, xii. 85; Rom. xiii. 12; Eph. v. 8-14, eto.). even of their vineyards. If we accept this And ho disguiseth his fe.oe. As a further view, the proper transle.tion of the present precaution against discovery, the adulterer verse will be, Swift i• he (i.e. the we.ter- disguiseth, or oovereth up, his face. The thief) upon the face of the waters: Ihen is the same is often done by thieves and mur- portion of them who dwell in the land worth- derers. less; no one turneth his face tot~ard his vine- Ver. 16.-In the dark they dig through yards (see Professor Lee's 'Book of Job,' houses. In ancient times, burglary com- pp. 153, 378, 3i9). monly took this form. Windows were few, Ver. 19.-Drought and heat con..sume the and high np in the Wflls; doors were strongly snow waters; so doth the grave those which fastened with bolts e.nd bars. But the have sinned. This rendning is further con- we.Us, being of clay, or rubble, or sun-dried firmed by the next verse. Accepting it, we brick, were weak and easily penetrable. must suppose Job to pass at this point to This was especially the oose with party the oonsidorntion of the ultimate end of the walls; and if burglars entered an unoccu- wioked, though in ver. 21 he returns to the pied house, nothing was easier than to break consideration of their ill doings. The hee.t through the slight pflrtition which separated and drought of summer, he says, consume it from the house next door. The Greek nnd dry up all the water which comes from word for "burglar" is -ro,xwpuxos," he who the melting of the winter's snows. So does dias through e. wall." Which they had Sheol, or the grave, absorb, and as it were m;rked for themselves in the daytime ; consume, the wicked. rather, they shut themselves up in the day- Ver. 20.-The womb shall forget him. lime; literally, they seal themselves up; the Some regard this as equivalent to ·• Earth meaning being that they carefully keep ehe.11 forget him ; " but mosi suppose " the  41{1 THE BOOK OF JOB. [on. XXIV, 1--'llJ.