So Job died, being old and full of days . The lowest estimate places the occurrence of the afflictions of Job at the time when he was a little more than fifty (" Supponitur quinquagenario hand multo majorem fuisse Nostrum, quum conflictari coepit ," Schultens). Thus his age at his death would be at least a hundred and ninety, read more
The gathered lessons. This remarkable book we close with the persuasion that whilst its separate statements are full of teaching, the whole idea is to be summed up in a few plain and obvious lessons; such as the following:— I. THE GOOD MAN MAY RECEIVE TOKENS OF THE DIVINE BLESSING IN THE FORM OF HEALTH , HONOUR , AND FAMILY JOY . II. THE GOOD MAN , THOUGH MAINTAINING HIS INTEGRITY , MAY LOSE HIS POSSESSIONS , HIS HEALTH ... read more
And the Load turned the captivity of Job - Restored him to his former prosperity. The language is taken from restoration to country and home after having been a captive in a foreign land. This language is often applied in the Scriptures to the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon, and some writers have made use of it as an argument to show that Job lived “after” that event. But this conclusion is unwarranted. The language is so general that it might be taken from the return from... read more
Then came there unto him all his brethren ... - It seems remarkable that none of these friends came near to him during his afflictions, and especially that his “sisters” should not have been with him to sympathize with him. But it was one of the bitter sources of his affliction, and one of the grounds of his complaint, that in his trials his kindred stood aloof from him; so in Job 19:13-14, he says, “He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My... read more
So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job - To wit, by giving him double what he had possessed before his calamities came upon him; see Job 42:10.For he had fourteen thousand sheep ... - The possessions which are here enumerated are in each instance just twice as much as he possessed in the early part of his life. In regard to their value, and the rank in society which they indicated, see the notes at Job 1:3. The only thing which is omitted here, and which it is not said was doubled, was his... read more
He had also seven sons and three daughters - The same number which he had before his trials. Nothing is said of his wife, or whether these children were, or were not, by a second marriage. The last mention that is made of his wife is in Job 19:17, where he says that “his breath was strange to his wife, though he entreated her for the children’s sake of his own body.” The character of this woman does not appear to have been such as to have deserved further notice than the fact, that she... read more
And he called the name of the first, Jemima - It is remarkable that in the former account of the family of Job, the names of none of his children are mentioned, and in this account the names of the daughters only are designated. “Why” the names of the daughters are here specified, is not intimated. They are significant, and they are “so” mentioned as to show that they contributed greatly to the happiness of Job on the return of his prosperity, and were among the chief blessings which gladdened... read more
And their father gave them inheritance among their brethren - This is mentioned as a proof of his special regard, and is also recorded because it was not common. Among the Hebrews the daughter inherited only in the case where there was no son, Numbers 27:8. The property was divided equally among the sons, with the exception that the oldest received a double portion; see Jahn’s “Bib. Arch.” section 168. This custom, prevailing still extensively in the East, it seems existed in the time of Job,... read more
After this Job lived an hundred and forty years - As his age at the time his calamities commenced is not mentioned, it is of course impossible to determine how old he was when he died. The Septuagint, however, has undertaken to determine this, but on what authority is unknown. They render this verse, “And Job lived after this affliction an hundred and seventy years: so that all the years that he lived were two hundred and forty.” According to this, his age would have been seventy when his... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Job 42:16
After this lived Job an hundred and forty years . It has been concluded from this statement, combined with that at the close of verse 10, that Job was exactly seventy years of age when his calamities fell upon him; but this is really only a conjecture, since the statement that "God added to all that had been Job's to the double," does not naturally apply to anything but his property. We may, however, fairly allow that (as Professor Lee says) he "could scarcely have been less than seventy"... read more