Job 7

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

7:1 Human life has been a struggle since the Fall (Gen 3:17; 5:29; Eccl 1:2, 13-14; 2:11, 17; Rom 8:20-22).

Verse 2

7:2 A worker was to be paid at the end of each day (Lev 19:13; Deut 24:15), though this did not always happen (Jer 22:13; Mal 3:5; Jas 5:4).

Verse 3

7:3 Job’s trial might already have gone on for months. • The Hebrew term (‘amal) that runs throughout Job is translated as “misery/miserable” (3:20; 11:16; 16:2; 20:22) or as “trouble” (3:10; 4:8; 5:6, 7; 15:35).

Verse 5

7:5 Job’s reference to maggots signified mortality (25:6) and the rampant corruption of Sheol (17:14; 21:26; 24:20; see Isa 14:11).

Verse 6

7:6-21 Job cried out to God, complaining that life was too brief (7:6-10). This complaint contrasts ironically with his earlier desire that God end it all (6:9).

Verse 7

7:7 Those who call upon God to remember are typically seeking covenant mercy (Pss 35:6; 106:4). • Job’s declaration that life is but a breath (Hebrew ruakh) meant either that he was one breath away from death or that his life was like a passing wind (Ps 39:9, 11).

Verse 8

7:8 You see me now, but not for long: The Greek Old Testament omitted this verse to avoid the implication that God would be unable to see Job in Sheol (see study note on 7:9).

Verse 9

7:9 die (literally go down to Sheol): This is the first explicit mention of Sheol in Job. It is described as a place of rest from earthly pressures and distinctions (3:13-19) and as a dark dwelling place (10:21-22; 17:13) deep in the earth (11:8) that is covered in dust (17:16). It is the destiny of all the living (30:23) from which no one can return (10:21; see Gen 37:25; 2 Sam 12:12).

Verse 11

7:11 I cannot keep from speaking: Job echoed Eliphaz’s inability to refrain from words (4:2).

Verse 12

7:12 The sea monster (Hebrew yam) and dragon (Hebrew tannin) represent chaotic opposition to God’s orderly creation. In Canaanite mythology, Yam was the primordial sea god and Tannin was a sea monster (Jer 51:34) or a mythological deity of chaos (Ps 74:13-14). This kind of chaos is also represented in Job as Leviathan (Job 3:8; Isa 27:1) or Rahab (Job 9:13; 26:12; Isa 51:9). The Lord is sovereign over the sea and all that it represents (Job 26:12; 38:8-11; Ps 89:9-10; Jer 5:22).

Verse 13

7:13-14 Job’s sickbed dreams and visions echoed those of Eliphaz (4:12-16).

Verse 16

7:16 for my few remaining days: Literally for my days are a vapor (Hebrew hebel); see “All Is ‘Vapor’” Theme Note.

Verse 17

7:17-18 that you should make so much of us: Cp. Ps 8:4-5, which treats the same thoughts positively. • examine (Hebrew paqad): In Ps 8:4, the same term means “to honor or care for”; Job used the term ironically, meaning “to be pestered” (cp. “attacked,” Isa 26:14).

Verse 19

7:19 Won’t you leave me alone (literally How long will you not look away from me): Job sought the opposite of the watchful care that faithful people usually seek (Num 6:25; Pss 27:9; 69:17; 80:3, 7, 19; Lam 1:9). • to swallow: This is equivalent to “a chance to catch my breath.”

Verse 20

7:20 watcher of all humanity: Rather than praising God for his goodness expressed in watchfulness (Deut 32:10; Ps 25:21; Prov 24:12), Job blamed God for hostile surveillance, which actually characterizes Satan’s activity (Job 1:7). • Why is from the language of lament (see study note on 3:11-24). • your target: See 6:4; Lam 3:12.