Job 16:9

He teareth [me] in his wrath, who hateth me,.... By whom is meant not Satan, as Jarchi, though he is an enemy to, and an hater of mankind, especially of good men; nor Eliphaz, as others, who had

He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. Image from a wild beast. So God is represented (Job 10:16).

He teareth me in his wrath, Heb. his wrath teareth me in pieces, as a lion doth his prey. Who hateth me, Heb. and he hateth me, i.e. he pursueth me with a deadly hatred and rage. Or, and he is become mine enemy; or, he sets himself against me with all his might; or, he treats me like an implacable enemy. He gnasheth upon me with his teeth; which is a gesture and sign of extreme anger and fury, as 37:12 ; as elsewhere of grievous pain, as . Mine enemy; either, 1. God, who of a friend is now become my implacable enemy. Or, 2. Eliphaz, who deals with me more like an enemy than a friend. Sharpeneth his eyes upon me, i.e. looks upon me with a fierce and sparkling eye, as enraged persons uso to do.

Job 16:9 He teareth [me] in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.Ver. 9. He teareth me in his wrath, &c.] Who did all this to Job? The devil, say some; his disease, say others that was a most uncharitable censure passed by Luther upon Oecolampadius, that he died suddenly, ignitis Satanae telis confossus, slain by Satan’ s fiery darts, because he died of a carbuncle (Lib. de Missa. prin., A.D. 1533). But Job surely meaneth it of God, upon whom his heart was still, though he speak here somewhat unhappily of him, out of the sense of the flesh, and greatness of his grief. Who hateth me] Heb. He Satanically hateth me. What strange language is this from him who elsewhere calleth God his salvation, his redeemer, Job 13:15-16; Job 13:18; Job 19:25, and will eventually call him his witness in heaven, to whom his eye poureth out tears! Job 16:19-20. How shall we reconcile these so contrary passions and passages, otherwise than by saying, that every good man is two men? &c.; neither can it possibly be expressed how deeply sensible the saints are of God’ s displeasure when they are more than ordinarily afflicted by him, and especially when he seemeth to fight against them with his own hand. Hereby, saith Ferus, we may easily see in what a perplexed estate wicked reprobates shall be at the last day, when God shall declare himself to be such an enemy to them indeed; for so much as one of his elect, and a most rare man, but, conceiving him to be against him, because he had no present sense of his favour, was thus extremely troubled. He gnasheth upon me with his teeth] As extremely angry, Acts 7:54, and by sharpening his teeth threatening destruction, Psalms 37:12. Mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me] Which cast forth, as it were, sparkles of fire. An elegant hypotyposis, or description of his sad condition to the life, Ut non tam gesta res quam nunc geri videatur, saith Brentius, as if we saw it even acted before our faces.

(9) He teareth me in his wrath.—Terrible as the language is that Job has used against God, he seems here almost to exceed it, for he calls Him his adversary. It is hardly possible not to understand the expression of God, for though he immediately speaks of his friends, yet just afterwards he openly mentions God.

Verse 9. He teareth me in his wrath] Who the person is that is spoken of in this verse, and onward to the end of the fourteenth, has been a question on which commentators have greatly differed. Some think God, others Eliphaz, is intended: I think neither. Probably God permitted Satan to show himself to Job, and the horrible form which he and his demons assumed increased the misery under which Job had already suffered so much. All the expressions, from this to the end of the fourteenth verse, may be easily understood on this principle; e.g., Job 16:9: "He (Satan) gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me." Job 16:10: "They (demons) have gaped on me with their mouth;-they have gathered themselves together against me." Job 16:11: "God hath delivered me to the ungodly, (עויל avil, to the EVIL ONE,) and turned me over into the hands of the wicked." He hath abandoned me to be tortured by the tempter and his host. If we consider all these expressions as referring to Job's three friends, we must, in that case, acknowledge that the figures are all strained to an insufferable height, so as not to be justified by any figure of speech.

9. Picture of God’s hostility to him. The figure is that of a beast of prey. who hateth me] lit. and hateth me, or, and is hostile to me, i. e. assaileth me. The picture of the lion-like assailant, his rending fury, and gnashing teeth, and flashing eyes, is graphic.

He teareth me in his wrath - The language here is all taken from the ferocity of wild beasts; and the idea is, that his enemy had come upon him as a lion seizes upon its prey.

9. He teareth — His anger teareth me and warreth against me. If Job ascribe his treatment to God, (Job 16:9-14,) his language transcends all bounds of reason; but if, on the contrary, he speaks of