Whedon's Commentary on the Bible - Job 12:14
14. Shutteth up a man In the sense of closing over. This is explained by the nature of the prisons among the Hebrews, which were subterranean excavations, whose mouth was covered with a stone. Lamentations 3:53. The Chaldee renders it, “He shuts man up in the grave, and it cannot be opened.” Saint Gregory moralizes upon this clause: “Evil deeds build a prison for man in the depths of his conscience. Habit bars the doors, and blindness of understanding darkens the windows. Thus God shuts... read more
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible - Job 12:13
Section Second THE WISDOM OF GOD, SUBORDINATED TO INFINITE AND IRRESISTIBLE POWER, INVOLVES THE DIVINE MORAL GOVERNMENT IN AN INEXPLICABLE MAZE, Job 12:13-25. First double strophe. Job 12:13-18. a. Admits the wisdom and power of God, as illustrated by the divine government in the natural world, Job 12:13-15. 13. Him God. The rest of this chapter is thought by some to be an old Idumaean poem, or else a collection of maxims handed down from antediluvian ancestors or sages. (Wemyss.) In... read more