Job 14:1-6

7. So brief is man's allotted time he should be left to enjoy it. (Job 14:1-6)

TEXT 14:1-6

14 Man, that is born of a woman,

Is of few days, and full of trouble.

2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down:

He fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one,

And bringest me into judgment with thee?

4 Who can bring a clean thing oat of an unclean? not one.

5 Seeing his days are determined,

The number of his months is with thee,
And thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

6 Look away from him, that he may rest,

Till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.

COMMENT 14:1-6

Job 14:1Job continues to generalize his agonizing cry, returning to the theme expressed in Job 7:17. Man'S[160] frail origin betrays him to the suffering in an amoral universe. Life is so short (Job 7:6 ff; Job 9:25 f; Genesis 47:9). Here both pity and contempt are mixed as oil and water. His condition arouses the contrary feelings of wonder[161] and despair. The Hebrew text will not sustain the assumption of some of the Church Fathers that this verse sets forth the doctrine of original sin. Job 14:7-12 are parallel strophes which sharply contrast man's limitations, not just Job'S. Here we encounter another paradox; if Job is describing the condition of humanity, why is he preoccupied with his own plight?

[160] For analysis of the Hebrew word -adham see Maass, adham, in TWOT, ed. Botterweck and Ringgren, Vol. I, E.T., 1974, Eerdmans, pp. 75-87; A. Gelin, L-'homme selon la Bible (Paris, 1962); E. Lussier, Adam in Genesis 1:11, Genesis 4:24, CBQ 18, 1956, pp. 137-39; and Hans W. Wolff, Anthropology of the O.T.. E.T., 1973, Fortress Press.

[161] Wonder is a powerful human response to reality. Plato correctly claims that all series thinking (Philosophy) begins with wonder. Again in the decade of the -60'S wonder appeared in the Dionysian spirit re-dividius. Sam Keen's Apology for Wonder can be celebrated only because of God's Wonder, Christ (Isaiah 9:1 ff) and His name dull be called wonder. The Hebrew word is a noun-wonder, not an adjective, which is translated by wonderful.

Job 14:2In Job's powerful description he uses a verb comes forth which is often applied to plantsIsaiah 11:1; Isaiah 40:6 f; Psalms 90:6; Psalms 103:15 f; Job 8:9; James 1:10 f. Nothing is more ephemeral than a flower. Life's but a walking shadow (Macbeth) Even the longest life is but a brief flickering candlePsalms 90:9-10 and filled with strife (rogezalso Job 3:17; Job 3:26).

Job 14:3Why should God scrutinize one so ephemeral as man? To open your eyes means to focus attention on or to pay attention to. Me is in the emphatic position which focuses attention on Job.

Job 14:4Pope, et al. suggest that this verse be deleted because the context speaks of the shortness of life and not his wickedness. Job is concerned with his sin and guilt in Job 14:16-17. Who will give (Hebrew mi yitten) cleanness to the unclean? The text says not one, but ultimately only God.

Job 14:5Since man's life is so short, why doesn-'t God just leave him alone? The verse contains a rather fatalistic note. If God has determined (literally cut, perhaps engrave a statute on stone) everything and it is thus under his control, let these conditions suffice Him.

Job 14:6God, stop your cruel surveillance of man. Let him alonePs. 39:14. Let him enjoy each day like a laborer who receives his reward each evening at the close of the work day (Job 7:1). Job's attitude was completely at variance with that of Milton who ever lived under the Great Taskmaster's eye.