Job 29:7

When I went out to the, gate through the city,.... Job having described his former state of happiness by the personal favours he enjoyed, and by the prosperity of his family, and his abundance of

When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street! The great influence Job had over young and old, and noblemen.

When I went out from my dwelling to the gate, to wit, of the city, as the following words show; to the place of judicature, which was in the gates, as hath been oft observed. Through the city; through that part of the city which was between my house and the gate. Or, to the city, i.e. the gate belonging to the city. So Job might live in the country adjoining to it. When I prepared my seat; when I caused the seat of justice to be set for me. By this and divers other expressions it appears that Job was a magistrate or judge in his country. In the street, i.e. in that void and open place within or near the gate, where the people assembled for the administration of justice among them.

Job 29:7 When I went out to the gate through the city, [when] I prepared my seat in the street!Ver. 7. When I went out to the gate] i.e. To the place of judicature, called by Solomon the holy place, Ecclesiastes 8:11, because God sitteth in the midst of those gods, Psalms 82:1. The Ethiopian judges were wont to keep the chief seat empty for him. It appeareth by this text that Job was a judge: or chief magistrate, not like those whom Isaiah calleth scabs or wounds, Isaiah 3:7, vid. Pisc. in loc.; but those whom the same prophet calleth healers, or binders up of wounds, Isaiah 3:7, Here αναξ from ακος, Medela; and Hosea, shields, as Junius translateth, Hosea 4:8; and another prophet, heirs or possessors of restraint, Judges 18:7. It appeareth also that he did justice in his own person; so did David, Solomon, Jehoshaphat, Augustus Caesar, more vigorously than any young man, and more prudent than any old man, as the historian saith of him, Pαντοςμενανδροςνεανικωπερον, παντοςδεγεροντοςφρονιμωτερον (Dio). Which while Aurelian the emperor neglected to do, he was even bought and sold by his deputies. When I prepared my seat in the street/] i.e. My judgment seat, where he sat Sub dio, non attollens inane supercilium, sed exhibens utile ministerium, Not priding himself, but profiting others, while justice, justice, as Moses speaketh, that is, pure justice, was duly administered, Deuteronomy 10:20. Over this tribunal might well have been set that distich at Zant, Hic locus odit, amat, punit, conservat, honorat, Nequitiam, pacem, crimina, iura, bonos.

(7) To the gate.—There business was transacted. (Comp. the expression, which is still used with reference to the Turkish Empire, of “the Sublime Porte,” or the supreme Place of government; Psalms 127:5; Jer. 35:20, &c.)

Verse 7. When I went out to the gate] Courts of justice were held at the gates or entrances of the cities of the East; and Job, being an emir, was supreme magistrate: and here he speaks of his going to the gate to administer justice. I prepared my seat in the street] I administered judgment openly, in the most public manner, and none could say that I, in any case, perverted justice. Mr. Good translates: - "As I went forth the city rejoiced at me, as I took my seat abroad."

7. The third and chiefest element of his past happiness was the respect of men, and the joy of intercourse with them. This is the main subject of the chapter. the gate through the city] Or, the gate by the city. Job, a rich landowner, probably did not live in the city but on his estate that adjoined it. He took part, however, in all the life of the city, and sat in the council that guided its affairs. The “gate” is spoken of as the place where the Council or Assembly of the town met. Such a “gate” is usually a building of considerable size, like an arcade, and hence it is spoken of here as an independent edifice by or beside the city. Others render up to the city, supposing that the city, as not unusual, was built on an eminence. in the street] lit. broad place, i. e. market place, a synonym for “gate.”

When I went out to the gate - The “gate” of a city was a place of public concourse, and where courts were usually held. Job speaks here as a magistrate, and of the time when he went forth to sit as a judge, to try causes.

7. Through — Up to the city. Cities, together with their acropolis, were in ancient towns usually built on heights, thus securing better defence, and perhaps greater probability of health.