Job 8:8-19

2. The wisdom of the ages teaches that it is the godless who perish. (Job 8:8-19)

TEXT 8:8-19

8 For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age,

And apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out

9 (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing,

Because our days upon earth are a shadow);

10 Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee,

And utter words out of their heart?

11 Can the rush grow up without mire?

Can the flag grow without water?

12 Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down,

It withereth before any other herb.

13 So are the paths of all that forget God;

And the hope of the godless man shall perish:

14 Whose confidence shall break in sunder,

And whose trust is a spider's web.

15 He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand:

He shall hold fast thereby, but it shall not endure.

16 He is green before the son,

And his shoots go forth over his garden.

17 His roots are wrapped about the stone-heap,

He beholdeth the place of stones.

18 If he be destroyed from his place,

Then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.

19 Behold, this is the joy of his way;

And out of the earth shall others spring.

COMMENT 8:8-19

Job 8:8For inquire[112] of the wisdom of the ancients, see that I am right. The ancients searched out lit. searching out, i.e., the results of investigation. Note that it is deduction based on past experience of human correlation between rich-righteousness, and poverty and the power of sin, not revelation from God.[113]

[112] For discussion concerning the reading bonen for M. T. konen, see M. Dahood, Biblica, 46, 1965, 329.

[113] See W. F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan (Doubleday, pb.), p. 142, n. 85.

Job 8:9-10The longest life is but a brief flickering candle, so we need to consider the experience of humanity, not merely that of an individual. The brevity of life is a common theme in Wisdom LiteratureJob 14:2; Psalms 90:9-10; Psalms 102:3-4; Psalms 144:4; Ecclesiastes 6:12; Ecclesiastes 8:13. Every individual needs recourse to total experience of mankind. Bildad claims that the instruction comes from the depth of their understanding (Heb. heart), and not from their lips as mere verbal advice.

Job 8:11Bildad now recites some proverbial sayings which might have Egyptian background.[114] Could the papyrus and reeds (Heb. gome and -ahu) grow without a proper environment? Can Job prosper without environmental righteousness? The law of retribution is as sure as physical law. The unrighteous will perish in the midst of their prosperity, just as plants die when they are deprived of waterJob 15:32.

[114] In Ugaritic a cognate word is applied to the marshlands of Lake Samak, revealing that the terms above could have Palestinian origin.

Job 8:12When deprived of its life-sustaining environment, it withers before all, i.e., quicker than everything else. This symbolizes Job's condition.

Job 8:13The paths (Heb. orhot), i.e., the fate[115] of all who forget God is suffering. The word translated godless occurs eight times in the book. The verb means to be profane, irreligious, or worldly person.

[115] Dhorme retains the M. T. over the LXX, and adduces support from Proverbs 1:19 where paths mean fate; see also discussion in B. S. Childe, Isaiah and the Assyrian Crisis, 1967, pp. 28ff.

Job 8:14Though there are technical problems in this verse, its basic meaning is clear. Job's confidence is not in God's justice, so his life will break like a spider's web.[116]

[116] See Dhorme, pp. 120ff, and Pope, pp. 66-7, for discussion; J. Reider, Vetus Testamentum, IV, 1954, 288ff.

Job 8:15The confidence of the wicked is no more substantial than the proverbial flimsy spider's webJob 27:18. Verily, frailest of all houses is the house of the spider, Qoran, 29:40.

Job 8:16Here we observe a radical shift in imagery, that of a flourishing tree suddenly cut down. The tree thrives (lit. is sappysee also Job 24:8) in a garden,[117] Job 15:30-33; Job 18:16-19; Eccl. 40:15; Matthew 13:4-9.

[117] See Jean Leveque, Job et Son Dieu, Tome II, 400-408.

Job 8:17The tree even grows in the midst of a stone-heap. Though they may appear secure, the wicked live in the midst of stones. The R. S. V. follows the LXX rather than the M. T. Though there are several problems with the translation of the A. V., the general sense is communicated, i.e., the tree strengthens its hold on the earth (even grows within context of stones).[118]

[118] Hebrew text readsyehezehhe sees, LXX reads zesetaihe lives.

Job 8:18There is no vestige of the tree left; it must be removed from among the stones, which is the final sign of its former state and presence. He shall deny him or disown himJob 31:28; reveals its final uprootedness of the treePsalms 103:16.

Job 8:19Here joy can only be ironic. The grammar shows incongruity between the singular subject and plural verb, though the sense is that others will soon replace him, and he will not even be remembered.