The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 428

or eh. nviii.,- reintroduciing Job and mak- hae been BO long and so frequentlf made, ing him once more the interlocntor. That manife~penly eet forth in the eight of this ■bonld have happened by accident is men-that Job cannot believe that thoee inoonoeivable. Ta ,ea.-• .-uX'lv or/ mLvu IYVV• whom he addre11eee are ignorant of it. They mnst themselves have eeen the scheme at 11...l(~.,...,. To l\l!Cribe it to intentional oor- work. Why then are ye thn■ altogether ruption by a Hebre\\· redactor, bent on main- vaint Why, then, do they not draw true taining the old orthodox view, e.nd on fe.leely inferences from the fact.s that oome under and wiokedly giving the authority of Job to their notice? it (Froude, • Short Studies on Great Sub- Ver. 13.-Thia ie the portion of a wioked man with God. In "this" Job includes all jects,' vol. i. p. SI 6), is to take e.way all au- that follows from vcr. 14 to ver. 29-" this thority from the existing text of the Hebrew which I am going to lay down." H~ Scriptures, and t.o open a door to nny amount pointedly takc-s up the words of Zophar in of wild suggestion and conjectural emenda- eh. :n. 29, admitting their general truth. tion. The other hypotllesi~-that of Eich- And the heritage of oppreaaor■, which they horn-that Job is here simply anticipating shell receive of the Almighty. Retribution is "their portion," "their heritage," i.e. the what hi■ adversaries will say, though n Iese natural result and consequence of their pre• dangeromi view, is untenable, since Job cedent sin. never does this without following up his Ver. 14.-It hill ohildren be multiplied, it statement of the adverst1ries' case with a is tor the swnrd. Among the ittims of pros- reply, and here is no reply whatever, but a perity which Job had 1LSsigned to the wicked' man in one of his previous diecourses (eh. simple turning away, after ver. 23, to another :ni. 8, 11) wes a numerous and flourish- subject. The expl.e.naiion of the oontradic- ing oft"~-pring. Now he feels forced to odmit tion by supposing that Job's former state- that, frequently at any rote, this flourishing ment was tentative and controversial, or off'sprina is overtaken by calamity (oh. xxi. ~lee he.sty and ill-oousidered, and that now, 19)-it falls by the sword,either in predatory warfare, to whioh it WILS bred up, or ae the to prevent misoonoeption, he determines to consequence of a blood-feud inherited from' set himself right, is, on the other hand, it:s progenitor. They who "take the sword.''- thoroughly defeDBible, and receives a strong either in their own persons or iu their support from the remarkable iutrodnction in posterity, "perish with the sword." And ver. 11, which '· prepares us, if not for a re- hill oililpring shall not be sati.ded with· bread. If they escape this fate, thou, oantation, yet (at any raie) for a modifica- mostly, they fall into poverty, and suffer tion of statements wrung from the speaker want, no one caring to relieve them, since when his words 11.owed over from a spirit they have au ill reputation, the memory of drunk with the poison of God's arrows" their parent's wickednese clinging to them (see the remarks of Canon Cook, in the long after his deceaee. ' Ver.15.-Thoae that remain of him lihall • Speaker's Commentary,' vol. iv. p. 90, which be buried in death. Not simply" shall die," are in eubatanti&l agreement with those of but eh.ell "be buried," i.e. lost sight of, e.nd Ewuld and Dillmann). forgotten, "in Jeeth." And hia widow• shall not weep (comp. Ps. Ixxviii. 6-l). The Yer. 11.-I will teach you by (or, concem- deaths of his offspring shall not be lamented ing) the hand of God. Job is now at last by their widows-a very grievous omission about to deliver his real sentiments respecting in the eyes of Orientals. God's dealings with men in the world, BDd Ver. 16.-Thongh he heap up ailver u prefaces his remarks with this solemn intro- the dut. The city of Tyre, we are told by duction, to draw specie.I attention to them. Zecharia.h, "heaped up silver a, the dust" He is e.ware tl,at his previoW! statements on (Zech. ix. 3), i.e. in vast quantities, beyond the subject, especially in eh. xxiv. 2-24, couut. So might the wicked man do. He h.e.,,e boo11 ovel'l!tre.ined and exaggerated, might e.leo prepare raiment as the olay; i.e. ll.lld wishes, now that he is uttering his last fill his house with rich dresses, partly for word;; (eh. xxxi. 40), to correct Lis previous llis own wear, partly to be given 11.11 robes h:l.Bty utterances, end put on record his true of honour to, hie friends and boon com- views. That whil!h is with the Almighty panions (comp. Gen. xiv. 22; 2 Kings v. 22; -v.ill I not conoeal.. By "that which is with x. 22; Matt. vi. 19; Je.s. v. 2). Robes of tl,c Almighty" Job means the Divine honour are still kept in store by Eastern r,ri1Jciplea of action. monarchs, and presented e.s marks of favour Yer. 12.-Behold, all ye youraeJyes have to visitors of importanoe. uen it. The trne Di vine scheme >f action Ver. 17.-Re may prepue it, but the jnu dn. :xxvu. 1~28.) TH:ll: BOOK OF JOB.