Job 1:14-15 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 1:14

And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were ploughing, and the asses (literally, the she-asses ) feeding beside them (literally, at their hand ) . Note that, notwithstanding the festival, labour was still going on; there was no general holiday; the oxen were at work in the field, not perhaps all of them, but the greater number, for the ploughing-time is short in the Oriental countries, and the "earing" is all done at the same time. The bulk of Job's labourers were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 1:15

And the Sabeans (literally, Sheba) fell upon them, and took them away . The Sabeans were the principal people of Arabia in ancient times, and the name seems to be used sometimes in the general sense of "Arabs" (see Psalms 72:10 , Psalms 72:15 ; Jeremiah 6:20 ). We may suppose that hem, either the general sense is intended, or, if the specific one, then that, at the date whereto the story of Job belongs, there were Sabeans in Eastern as well as in Southern Arabia, in the neighbourhood... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 1:14

And there came a messenger unto Job - Hebrew מלאך mal'âk; the word usually rendered “angel,” appropriately rendered “messenger” here. The word properly means “one who is sent.”The oxen were plowing - Hebrew “the cattle” (בקר bâqâr) including not merely “oxen,” but probably also “cows;” see the notes at Job 1:3.And the asses - Hebrew אתון 'âthôn “she-asses.” The “sex” is here expressly mentioned and Dr. Good maintains that it should be in the translation. So it is in the Septuagint αἱ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 1:15

And the Sabeans - Hebrew שׁבא shebâ', Vulgate, “Suboei.” The Septuagint gives a paraphrase, καὶ ἐλθόντες οἱ αἰχμαλωτεύοντες ἠχμαλώτευσαν kai elthonia hoi aichmalōteuontes ēchmalōteusan, “And the plunderers coming, plundered them,” or made them captive. On the situation of Sheba and Seba, see Isaiah 43:3, note; Isaiah 45:14, note; Isaiah 9:6, note. The people here referred to were, undoubtedly, inhabitants of some part of Arabia Felix. There are three persons of the name of Sheba... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 1:14-15

Job 1:14-15. And the asses feeding beside them That is, beside the oxen. And the Sabeans fell upon them A people of Arabia, who led a wandering life, and lived by robbery and plunder, as Strabo and other heathen writers observe. They were the descendants of Abraham by Keturah, whose son Jokshan begat Sheba, their progenitor. Indeed, the Hebrew here is, Sheba fell upon them; and took them away The whole five hundred yoke of oxen, and the five hundred asses which he had. Yea, they have... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Job 1:1-22

1:1-2:13 SATAN TESTS JOBFrom prosperity to ruin (1:1-22)A popular belief in ancient times was that prosperity and well-being were proofs of godliness, but poverty and suffering were proofs of ungodliness. They were signs that God was either rewarding or punishing a person, according to whether that person’s life was good or bad. The book of Job contradicts this belief. Yet the prosperous and contented Job was indeed a godly person who was blameless in all that he did. He was concerned also for... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Job 1:14

and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton ( App-6 ), to emphasize the details in all these reports of the calamities. read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Job 1:15

the Sabeans. Hebrew Sheba. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of the Subject), for the people of Sheba. Compare Job 6:19 . Isaiah 60:6 . servants = young men. read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Job 1:14

Job 1:14. Feeding beside them— Feeding near them. Houbigant. Feeding as usual. Heath and Schultens. Job 1:15. The Sabeans fell upon them] Hebrew, שׁבא. Sheba fell upon them; Sheba was the general name of the nation; so the two kingdoms of the posterity of Jacob were called Judah and Israel. These spoilers seem to have been Job's near neighbours; for the Sabeans lay at the north-west of his country. The Chaldee says, he was plundered by Lilith, queen of Zamargad and Barthinnon; this last is... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Job 1:14

14. the asses feeding beside them—Hebrew, "she asses." A graphic picture of rural repose and peace; the more dreadful, therefore, by contrast is the sudden attack of the plundering Arabs. read more