A Lesson from the Pagans (3)

Who is like You among the gods, Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?Exodus 15:11 NASB Among the gods – “If we were in a position to feel once more what it means for a god to be in our immediate presence, only an experience of this imminence could open our eyes.”[1] …

And in the End

And man wears away like rot, like a garment eaten by moths.  Man born of woman, scant of days and sated with trouble, like a blossom he comes forth and withers, and flees like a shadow—he will not stay.  Job 13:28-14:2  Robert Alter Wears away – Maybe you have to live a long time to…

The End of Everything

“Before I go—and I shall not return—to the land of darkness and deep shadow, the land of utter gloom like darkness itself, of deep shadow without order, and it shines like darkness.”  Job 10:21-22  NASB I shall not return – There could hardly be a more definitive statement about the permanence of death.  “I shall not return.” …

A Law of Nature

For man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward.  Job 5:7 NASB Born for trouble – Surprise, surprise!  We often imagine that it is Job who utters these familiar words, but it isn’t.  It’s Eliphaz.  That makes a difference.  Even if we resonate with his aphorism about the human condition, his comment is couched within…

Hunger Strike

For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, and my cries pour out like water.  Job 3:24  NASB Groaning – Before we tackle the participle “groaning,” let’s understand the context.  The NASB translates the opening of this verse as “at the sight of my food,” but the Hebrew is perhaps more poignant.  Literally, it reads…

Divine Silence

Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has shut off? Job 3:23  NASB Way is hidden – The verb is sātar.  Its uses are important. The root in its basic meaning “hide” is common to West, Southwest, and Southeast Semitic. The subordinate thought of protection involved in the root, which helps…

Equality

The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master. Job 3:19 NASB The small and the great – What is Job’s description of life after death?  Well, perhaps we shouldn’t term it “life” after death, but rather ask, “What is it like when you die?”  You see, this verse…

Job – Unsatisfied

“Why did I not die [f]at birth, come out of the womb and pass away?  Job 3:11 NASB Pass away – We’ll have to add another verse in order to understand the implications of this one.  That other verse is Job 3:13: “For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then,…

The Poet’s Proclamation

May darkness and black gloom claim it; may a cloud settle on it; may the blackness of the day terrify it.  Job 3:5 NASB Black gloom – ṣalmāwet.  An unusual Hebrew word.  A terrifying word.  Not just deep shadow but rather “the shadow of death.” צַלְמָוֶת (ṣalmāwet). Deep darkness. (ASV prefers “the shadow of death” and…

Open Air Theology

Sustain me so that I may be safe, that I may have regard for Your statutes continually.  Psalm 119:117  NASB May be safe – If you read the Hebrew text, you’d recognize this verb immediately, not as “may be safe” but rather as “be saved.”  It is the verb yāšaʿ from which we derive the name Yeshua. …