Job 29:18

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 29:18-25

That which crowned Job's prosperity was the pleasing prospect he had of the continuance of it. Though he knew, in general, that he was liable to trouble, and therefore was not secure (Job 3:26; I was not in safety, neither had I rest), yet he had no particular occasion for fear, but as much reason as ever any man had to count upon the lengthening out of his tranquility. I. See here what his thoughts were in his prosperity (Job 29:18): Then I said, I shall die in my nest. Having made himself a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 29:18

Then I said, I shall die in my nest ,.... Job, amidst all his prosperity, knew he should die, death and the grave being appointed for all men; and he often thought of it, and of the manner of it; but he concluded that death was as yet some distance from him, as appears from the following clause; and that, when the time was come, he should not die on the ground, but in the city in which he lived F13 So Rufus Virginius used to call the villa where he dwelt, "Senectutio suae Nidulum", Plin.... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 29:18

I shall die in my nest - As I endeavored to live soberly and temperately, fearing God, and departing from evil, endeavoring to promote the welfare of all around me, it was natural for me to conclude that I should live long, be very prosperous, and see my posterity multiply as the sands on the seashore. 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 29:18

Then I said, I shall die in my nest . The metaphor of "nest" for "dwelling-place" occurs in Numbers 24:21 ; Jeremiah 49:16 : Obadiah 1:4 ; and Habakkuk 2:9 . It is also employed by Healed ('Op. et Di.,' 1.301). And I shall multiply my days as the sand. Some translate, "I shall multiply my days as the phoenix," the fabulous bird which was supposed to live for five hundred years (Herod; 2:72), to burn itself on a funeral pile of spices, and then to rise again from its ashes. But the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:18

The phoenix. Accepting the rendering that is now adopted by most of the abler commentators—that which is given in the margin of the Revised Version—we see Job comparing himself in his earlier days to the phoenix, which, "according to the Egyptian legend, lived five hundred years, and then, setting fire to its nest, renewed its youth in the funeral pyre." Youth cannot believe in death, unless, indeed, it falls into a sentimental mood, or is startled by the ugly fact itself. Naturally, when... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 29:18

Then I said - So prosperous was I, and so permanent seemed my sources of happiness. I saw no reason why all this should not continue, and why the same respect and honor should not attend me to the grave.I shall die in my nest - I shall remain where I am, and in my present comforts, while I live. I shall then die surrounded by my family and friends, and encompassed with honors. A “nest” is an image of quietness, harmlessness, and comfort. So Spenser speaks of a nest:Fayre bosome! fraught with... read more

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