Job 7:1-4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 7:1-6

Job is here excusing what he could not justify, even his inordinate desire of death. Why should he not wish for the termination of life, which would be the termination of his miseries? To enforce this reason he argues, I. From the general condition of man upon earth (Job 7:1): ?He is of few days, and full of trouble. Every man must die shortly, and every man has some reason (more or less) to desire to die shortly; and therefore why should you impute it to me as so heinous a crime that I wish... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 7:1

Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth ?.... There is a set time for his coming into the world, for his continuance in it, and for his going out of it; this is to man "on earth", with respect to his being and abode here, not in the other world or future state: not in heaven; there is no certain limited time for man there, but an eternity; the life he will enter into is everlasting; the habitation, mansion, and house he will dwell in, are eternal; saints will be for ever with... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 7:2

As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow ,.... Either the shadow of some great rock, tree, or hedge, or any shady place to shelter him from the heat of the sun in the middle of the day, which in those eastern countries is hot and scorching; and very burdensome and fatiguing it is for servants and labourers to work in fields and vineyards, or in keeping herds and flocks in such countries, and at such a time of the day; to which the allusion is in Song of Solomon 1:7 Isaiah 25:4 .... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 7:3

So am I made to possess months of vanity ,.... This is not a reddition or application of the above similes of the servant and hireling, Job 7:1 ; for that is to be understood, and to be supplied at the end of Job 7:2 ; that as those looked for the shadow and payment of hire, so Job looked for and earnestly desired death, or to be removed out of the world; besides, the things here instanced in do not answer; for Job, instead of having the refreshing shadow, had months of vanity, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 7:4

When I lie down, I say, when shall I arise ,.... Or, "then I say", &c.; F20 ואמרתי "tum dixi", Beza, Piscator, Mercerus. ; that is, as soon as he laid himself down in his bed, and endeavoured to compose himself to sleep, in order to get rest and refreshment; then he said within himself, or with an articulate voice, to those about him, that sat up with him; oh that it was time to rise; when will it be morning, that I may rise from my bed, which is of no manner of service to me,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 7:1

Is there not an appointed time to man - The Hebrew, with its literal rendering, is as follows: ארץ עלי לאנוש צבא הלא halo tsaba leenosh aley arets , "Is there not a warfare to miserable man upon the earth?" And thus most of the versions have understood the words. The Septuagint: Ποτερον ουχι πειρατηριον εστι ὁ βιος ανθρωπου επι της γης ; "Is not the life of man a place of trial upon earth?" The Vulgate: Militia est vita hominis super terram , "The life of man is a warfare upon... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 7:2

Earnestly desireth the shadow - As a man who labors hard in the heat of the day earnestly desires to get under a shade, or wishes for the long evening shadows, that he may rest from his labor, get his day's wages, retire to his food, and then go to rest. Night is probably what is meant by the shadow; as in Virgil, Aen. iv., ver. 7: Humentemque Aurora polo dimoverat Umbram . "The morning had removed the humid shadow, i.e., night, from the world." Where Servius justly observes: ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 7:3

So am I made to possess - But night is no relief to me, it is only a continuance of my anxiety and labor. I am like the hireling, I have my appointed labor for the day. I am like the soldier harassed by the enemy: I am obliged to be continually on the watch, always on the look out, with scarcely any rest. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 7:4

When I lie down - I have so little rest, that when I do lie down I long for the return of the light, that I may rise. Nothing can better depict the state of a man under continual afflictions, which afford him no respite, his days and his nights being spent in constant anguish, utterly unable to be in any one posture, so that he is continually changing his position in his bed, finding ease nowhere: thus, as himself expresses it, he is full of tossings. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 7:1

Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? rather, Is there not a warfare (or, a time of service ) to man upon earth? Has not each man a certain work appointed for him to do, and a certain limited time assigned him within which to do it? And thus, Are not his days also like the days of an hireling? Since the hireling is engaged to do a certain work in a certain time. read more

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