Job 27

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 27:18

He buildeth his house as a moth . The moth is the symbol of fragility, decay, and weakness. The wicked man's attempt to build himself up a house, and establish a powerful family, is no better than a moth's attempt to make itself a permanent habitation. As moths do not construct dwellings for themselves, it has been proposed (Merx) to read כעכבישׁ , "as a spider," for מעשׁ , "as a moth;" but the change is too great to be at all probable. May not the cocoon, from which the moth issues as.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 27:19

The rich man lieth down ; rather, he lieth down rich ( see the Revised Version). But he shall not be gathered . If we accept the present text, we may translate, But it ( i.e. his wealth) shall not be gathered ' and suppose his wealth to have consisted in agricultural produce. Or we may alter יאסף into יוֹסיף , and translate, He lieth down rich, but he shall do so no more —a correction to which the οὐ προσθήσει of the Septuagint points. He openeth his eyes, and he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 27:20

Terrors take hold on him as waters (comp. Job 18:11 ). Terrors sweep over the wicked man like a flood of waters—vague terrors with respect to the past, the present, and the future. He fears the vengeance of these whom he has oppressed and injured, the loss of his prosperity at any moment by a reverse of fortune, and a final retribution at the hand of God commensurate with his ill desert. He is at all times uneasy; sometimes he experiences a sudden rush upon him of such gloomy thoughts,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 27:21

The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth . The khamsin wind, coming with all its violence and burning heat, drives him before it, and is irresistible. And as a storm hurleth him out of his place . This is little more than a repetition of the previous hemistich. The man is swept from the earth by a storm of calamity read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 27:21

The east wind. Kingsley wrote an ode to the east wind. But few men have a good word for it. We in England, however, have quite our share of the presence of this unwelcome visitor. Has the east wind any religious significance to us. I. THERE ARE DESTRUCTIVE FORCES IN NATURE . The east wind is destructive. It brings blight to plants and illness to men. We might have expected that a perfect world would have only fresh, healthy west winds. Yet we must recognize the fact that,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 27:22

For God shall out upon him, and not spare . Some commentators regard the storm as still the subject, and translate, "For it shall east itself upon him [or, 'rush upon him'] and not spore" (Sohultens, Merx). The difference is not great, since the storm represents God's judgment. He would fain flee out of his hand ; or, if the storm is meant, out of its hand. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 27:23

Men shall clap their hands at him . Applauding, i.e. the just judgment of God upon him. And shall hiss him out of his place. Accompany with hisses his final ruin and downfall—hissing him, while they applaud the action of God in respect to him. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 27:1

Job continued - Margin, as in Hebrew “added to take up.” Probably he had paused for Zophar to reply, but since he said nothing he now resumed his argument.His parable - A parable properly denotes a comparison of one thing with another, or a fable or allegorical representation from which moral instruction is derived. It was a favorite mode of conveying truth in the East, and indeed is found in all countries; see the notes at Matthew 13:3. It is evident, however, that Job did not deliver his... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 27:2

As God liveth - A form of solemn adjuration, or an oath by the living God. “As certainly as God lives.” It is the form by which God himself often swears; see Ezekiel 14:16; Ezekiel 33:11, and is often employed by others; 1Sa 20:3; 1 Samuel 25:26.Who hath taken away my judgment - Who hath rejected my cause, or who has refused me justice; that is, who has treated me as though I was guilty, and withholds from me relief. The language is forensic, and the idea is, that he would make his solemn... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 27:3

And the spirit of God is in my nostrils - As long as I live. The “spirit of God” here means the breath that God breathed into man when he created him, Genesis 2:7. It would seem probable that there was an allusion to that fact by the language here, and that the knowledge of the way in which man was created was thus handed down by tradition. read more

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