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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 29:1-6

Losers may have leave to speak, and there is nothing they speak of more feelingly than of the comforts they are stripped of. Their former prosperity is one of the most pleasing subjects of their thoughts and talk. It was so to Job, who begins here with a wish (Job 29:2): O that I were as in months past! so he brings in this account of his prosperity. His wish is, 1. ?O that I were in as good a state as I was in then, that I had as much wealth, honour, and pleasure, as I had then!? This he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 29:3

When his candle shined upon my head ,.... Which may be understood either of outward prosperity, sometimes signified by a candle, Job 18:5 ; and may be called the candle of the Lord, because it is from him, it is of his lighting and setting up; and its shining on his head may denote the large measure and degree of it possessed by him, in allusion to torches carried on high to light with; or lamps, or candles, set up in the higher part of the house to give the more light; or to the sun in... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 29:3

When his candle shined upon my head - Alluding most probably to the custom of illuminating festival or assembly rooms by lamps pendant from the ceiling. These shone literally on the heads of the guests. By his light I walked through darkness - His light - prosperity and peace - continued to illuminate my way. If adversity came, I had always the light of God to direct me. Almost all the nations of the world have represented their great men as having a nimbus or Divine glory about their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:1-25

From these deep musings upon the nature of true wisdom, and the contrast between the ingenuity and cleverness of man and the infinite knowledge of God, Job turns to another contrast, which he pursues through two chapters ( Job 29:1-25 ; Job 30:1-31 .)—the contrast between what he was and what he is—between his condition in the period of his prosperity and that to which he has been reduced by his afflictions. The present chapter is concerned only with the former period; and gives a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:1-25

Job's second parable: 1. Regretful memories of bygone days. I. DAYS OF RELIGIOUS HAPPINESS . In tender elegiActs strains Job resumes his monologue of sorrow, casting a pathetic glance upon "the times of yore," already faded in the far past and gone beyond recall; not the days of his youth (Authorized Version), hut the autumn season of his mature manhood, when, like a field that the Lord had blessed ( Genesis 27:27 ), groaning beneath the exuberance of its harvest fruits, he was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:1-25

Wistful retrospect of past happy days. I. PICTURES OF MEMORY ; HAPPINESS FOUNDED ON THE FRIENDSHIP OF GOD . ( Job 29:1-10 .) 1 . Friendship with God the source of happiness. ( Job 29:1-5 .) This is beautifully indicated in figurative expressions. He thinks of the days when God's light beamed upon his brow, by God's light he walked through the darkness; the days of his ripe and mellow age (rather than of his "youth"), when the secret, i.e. the intimacy, of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:1-25

A mournful reflection upon a happy past. Job had lived in honour and great respect. He was "the greatest of all the men of the East." The Divine testimony concerning him was, "There is none like him in the earth." Job's was an enviable condition, and his own words indicate how sensible he was of it. In his mournful utterance, made as he looks back upon a dead past, we see wherein consisted his happiness; and we learn what arc the elemental conditions of the highest felicity in human life—at... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:2-4

Regrets for the happy past. I. IT IS NATURAL TO LOOK BACK WITH REGRET ON THE HAPPY PAST . The memory of past joy is not wholly pleasant. If the joy is gone, the memory only adds pain to the present sense of loss. Several things contribute to give intensity to the feeling of regret. 1 . Many of the best blessings are not appreciated while we possess them. We have to lose them to learn their value. This is especially true of great common blessings, such as the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:3

When his candle shined upon my head (comp. Psalms 18:28 , "For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness"). A "candle," or "lamp," is a general symbol in Scripture for life and prosperity. God is said to light men's candles when he blesses them and maizes his countenance to shine upon them; conversely, when he withdraws his favour he is said to put their candles out ( Job 18:6 ; Job 21:17 ). And when by his light I walked through darkness . The light of... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 29:3

When his candle shined upon my head - Margin, or, “lamp;” compare notes Job 18:6. It was remarked in the note on that place, that it was common to have lamps or lights always burning in a house or tent. When Job speaks of the lamps shining “on his head,” the allusion is probably to the custom of suspending a lamp from the ceiling - a custom which prevails among the wealthy Arabs. “Scott.” Virgil speaks of a similar thing in the palace of Dido:- Dependent lychni laquearibus aureis Incensi.Aeneid... read more

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