Job 15:19

Unto whom alone the earth was given,.... Who were intrusted with the government of whole kingdoms and nations; and therefore not mean men, but persons of great consequence, and to be credited; being

Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. Eliphaz speaks like a genuine Arab when he boasts that his ancestors had ever possessed the land unmixed with foreigners (Umbreit).

Unto whom alone the earth was given; either, 1. By the special and gracious gift of God; whereas wicked men invaded their parts of the earth, and took them away by force. Or, 2. By the choice and consent of the people, who for their great and known wisdom and virtue conferred this power and trust upon them. This he allegeth, partly to make their testimony more considerable, because these were not obscure, and mean, and foolish men, whose words are commonly despised, but the most worthy and famous men in their places and ages; and partly to contradict and confute what Job had said, , that the earth was given into the hand of the wicked. By the earth he means either the dominion of the earth, to wit, of that part of the earth in or nigh which Job and his friends lived; or rather, the possession of the earth, i.e. of a great portion of worldly goods; or particularly, the land, or that land, (as the word properly signifies,) to wit, the land of Canaan, which was given by special gift unto Abraham, (from whom it seems most probable that both Job and his friends were descended,) and to Isaac, and to Jacob; who, though they met with some common and ordinary afflictions, yet enjoyed a great measure of comfort, and wealth, and honour, and power in the world, as the fruits of God’ s blessing, and of his covenant made with good men, whilst wicked men were exposed to manifold distresses and grievous calamities; all which those holy patriarchs diligently observed, and industriously imparted to their children, to encourage them to continue and proceed in the ways of true piety. But how was the earth or land given to them alone, as is here said? Answ. Either, 1. Because Noah and his sons (of whom some understand these words) had the sole possession and dominion of the earth. Or, 2. Because Canaan was given to Abraham and to his seed alone; and some of Abraham’ s children had the dominion of, or an ample possession in, those parts where Job and his friends lived, who also seem to be in the number of them. Or, 3. Because they only had it either by God’ s special and gracious providence, or by the choice and approbation of the people; whereas wicked men took it by rapine and violence, without asking leave either from God or men. No stranger, i.e. the enemy; for such are called strangers, both in Scripture, as 28:10, and in other authors. No person of a strange nation and disposition or religion. Among them, i.e. through their land, as this phrase is used, , to wit, so as to molest, or disturb, or spoil them, as the Sabeans and Chaldeans did thee. God watched over those wise and holy men so carefully, that no enemy should invade them; and so he would have done over thee, if thou hadst been such a one.

Job 15:19 Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.Ver. 19. To whom alone the earth was given] Noah and his pious posterity (as was above noted), whom Methodius and other ancients call, Mundi chiliarchos, the lords of the whole world, given them by the possessor of heaven and earth, as Melchisedek first called God, Genesis 14:19, and from him Abraham, another prince of God, Genesis 22:3, as those heathens acknowledged him, and heir of the whole world, Romans 4:13 As for Melchisedek (commonly taken to be Shem), he was king in Salem, and no stranger, that is, no enemy, molested him; no, not those great spoilers, Chedorlaomer and his accomplices; these never meddled with Melchisedek and his subjects (probably out of respect to his wisdom and holiness, for which he was famous), no, not when, marching against the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, they wasted and smote all the neighbour countries. So true of his subjects and territories was that which followeth here, And no stranger passed among them] viz. In a hostile way, in a warlike manner, Nehemiah 4:15 Some read, No strange thing passeth among them; as not the devouring sword, so neither the pestilence that walketh in darkness nor the destruction that wasteth at noonday, Psalms 91:6. Such as was the reign of Ferdinando III, king of Spain, for five and thirty years’ time. In quibus nec fames nec pestes fuit ni regno, saith Lopez, wherein there happened neither famine nor pestilence (Gloss. in Prolog. par. 1).

Verse 19. Unto whom alone the earth was given] He very likely refers to the Israelites, who got possession of the promised land from God himself; no stranger being permitted to dwell in it, as the old inhabitants were to be exterminated. Some think that Noah and his sons may be intended; as it is certain that the whole earth was given to them, when there were no strangers-no other family of mankind-in being. But, system apart, the words seem to apply more clearly to the Israelites.

19. And it is a tradition pure and uncorrupted by admixture of foreign elements, for it is the moral wisdom of races to whom alone the land has been given, who have dwelt always in the same seats, and never been displaced, and among whom foreign and inferior races have never penetrated.

Unto whom alone the earth was given - The land; the land or country where they dwelt. He refers to the period before they became intermingled with other nations, and before they imbibed any sentiments or opinions from strangers.

Fourth strophe — The remarkable fragment out of the experience and wisdom of the ancients which Eliphaz is about to recite in confirmation of his own views as to the miserableness of the wicked, he