Job 14:7-12

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 14:7-15

We have seen what Job has to say concerning life; let us now see what he has to say concerning death, which his thoughts were very much conversant with, now that he was sick and sore. It is not unseasonable, when we are in health, to think of dying; but it is an inexcusable incogitancy if, when we are already taken into the custody of death's messengers, we look upon it as a thing at a distance. Job had already shown that death will come, and that its hour is already fixed. Now here he shows,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 14:7

For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again ,.... That is, if it be cut down to the root, and only the stump of the root is left in the ground, as the tree in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel 4:15 , yet the owner of it may entertain a hope that it is not utterly destroyed, but will bud out again; or "change" F19 יחליף "mutabit se", Drusius; "conditionem suam", Piscator. its state and condition, and become flourishing again: or "renew" F20 "Renovat... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 14:8

Though the root thereof wax old in the earth ,.... Lies long there, and is become dry, and seems to be consumed, on which account there may be the less hope of its flourishing: and the stock thereof die in the ground ; which may make it still more improbable; for this is not to be understood with some interpreters F25 So Piscator and Cocceius. of the stock or trunk of the tree cut down, and lying along on the earth, and in the dust of it; though it may be observed, that even such a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 14:9

Yet through the scent of water it will bud ,.... As soon as it smells it, or perceives it, is sensible of it, or partakes of its efficacy; denoting both how speedily, and how easily, at once as it were, it buds forth through the virtue either of rain water that descends upon it, or river water by which it is planted, or by any means conveyed unto it; particularly this is true of the willow, which delights in watery places; and, when it is in the circumstances before described, will by the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 14:10

But man dieth, and wasteth away ,.... All men, every man, "Geber", the mighty man, the strong man; some die in their full strength; the wise man, notwithstanding all his wisdom and knowledge, and even skill in the art of medicine; the rich man, with all his riches, with which he cannot bribe death, nor keep it off; the great and the honourable, emperors, kings, princes, nobles, all die, and their honour is laid in the dust; yea, good men die, though Christ has died for them; even those that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 14:11

As the waters fail from the sea ,.... the words may be rendered either without the as, and denote dissimilitude, and the sense be, that the waters go from the sea and return again, as with the tide: and the flood decays and dries up ; and yet is supplied again with water: "but man lieth down, and riseth not again", Job 14:12 ; or else with the as, and express likeness; as the waters when they fail from the sea, or get out of lakes, and into another channel, never return more; and as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 14:12

So man lieth down ,.... Or "and", or "but man lieth down" F2 ואיש "et vir", Pagninus, Montanus, Beza, Schmidt; "at vir", Cocceius. ; in the grave when he dies, as on a bed, and takes his rest from all his labours, toil and troubles, and lies asleep, and continues so till the resurrection morn: and riseth not ; from off his bed, or comes not out of his grave into this world, to the place where he was, and to be engaged in the affairs of life he was before, and never by his own... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 14:7

For there is hope of a tree - We must not, says Calmet, understand this of an old tree, the stem and roots of which are dried up and rotted: but there are some trees which grow from cuttings, and some which, though pulled out of the earth, and having had their roots dried and withered by long exposure to the sun and wind, will, on being replanted, take root and resume their verdure. There are also certain trees, the fibres of which are so solid, that if after several years they be steeped in... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 14:9

Through the scent of water it will bud - A fine metaphor: the water acts upon the decaying and perishing tree, as strong and powerful odors from musk, otto of roses, ammonia, etc., act on a fainting or swooning person. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 14:10

But man dieth - No human being ever can spring from the dead body of man; that wasteth away, corrupts, and is dissolved; for the man dies; and when he breathes out his last breath, and his body is reduced to dust, then, where is he? There is a beautiful verse in the Persian poet Khosroo, that is not unlike this saying of Job: - "I went towards the burying ground, and wept To think of the departure of friends which were captives to death; I said, Where are they! and Fate Gave back... read more

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