October 27: Job 16:7-8

Job 16:7-8

Job’s lament (16:7-17:16) is introduced by the opening verses of vv. 7-8, in which the poetic pattern and thematic points of emphasis are established.

Verse 7

“(Indeed,) even now it has weakened me—
(how) you have devastated all my assemblage!”

This couplet begins the lament by Job. The shift from third person to second person address, between lines 1 and 2, is jarring, but it can be explained in terms of the harsh and vigorous character of Job’s speech. From a literary-poetic standpoint, the shift represents a transitional point, from the close (v. 6) of the initial rebuke to the lament proper (which is made toward God). Thus, it is now God who is addressed by the second person (singular) address, and no longer Eliphaz and the other companions. The third person point of reference in line 1 is properly the “pain” (ba@K=) mentioned in v. 6 (see the previous note); Job states that even now this pain has weakened him (vb ha*l* Hiphil, “make weak/weary/tired”), to the point that he can scarcely bear it.

This prepares us, dramatically, for the outburst toward God in line 2: “(how) you have devastated all my assemblage!” The verb <m@v* (in the Hiphil) means “make desolate, devastate”. The noun hd*u@ (I), used earlier in 15:34, means “assembly, assemblage, gathering”, usually of people and/or animals; it can be rendered, based on the context, as “company, congregation, gang, pack, throng/swarm”, etc. There may be multiple layers of meaning intended here. Job can be referring to: (i) his household (property, family, etc.); (ii) his friends and companions; or (iii) to the limbs of his body. The suffering and ‘devastation’ that God has brought upon him have effectively destroyed all of these things for him. Cf. Seow, p. 744.
A number of commentators (e.g., Driver-Gray, Hölscher, Pope) would emend yt!d*u& (“my assembly/assemblage”) to yt!u*r* (“my evil”, in the sense of “my calamity/disaster/misfortune”, i.e., the evil that has befallen me), treating it as the subject of the verb <m^v* (i.e., “all my calamity has devastated [me]”) which is emended to a third person form (<v^h@, or the suffixed form yn]M^v!h&). Clines (p. 370) similar emends the text, viewing God as the implied subject for both lines; cf. his note on other proposed emendations and ways of handling vv. 7-8. Some commentators prefer to regard ytdu lk (or the emendation to ytur lk) as the opening of v. 8 (cf. Pope, p. 123), thus departing from the Masoretic line/verse division.

The ancient versions, much like many modern commentators and translators, seem to have struggled with the sense and meaning of v. 7f, differing considerably in the way that the verses are rendered (the Targum being the closest to the MT). Verse 8 appears to have been absent from the LXX, though present in the other Greek versions. See the note by Althann, p. 76*.

Verse 8

“So you have grasped me—as a witness it is—
it even stands against me, my decrease,
against my (own) face it gives answer!”

Pope (p. 123) has effectively characterized the MT of vv. 7-8 as ‘torturous’; he meant this in the text-critical sense of the difficulties inherent in the MT, so that preserving the MT requires, in his view, a “futile effort of torturing suitable sense from the text as it stands”. But the rough and uneven text, especially here in v. 8, can be well explained from a poetic-dramatic standpoint, as reflecting the ‘tortured’ condition of Job. His terrible suffering makes sensible and reasoned response all but impossible. Indeed, the companions have already rebuked Job, repeatedly, for his harsh and reckless words, lamenting and complaining—both to God and about what God has done to him.

Along these lines, there is another shift here in v. 8, from the second person back to the third person—the reverse of the shift made in v. 7 (see above); from this point on, God is primarily addressed in the third person. In this regard, the noun vj^K^ here is parallel with ba@K= (“pain”) in v. 7; it denotes “leanness, becoming/growing lean”, in the sense of a “decrease” (or “lessening”). In light of the multiple levels of meaning associated with the noun hd*u@ in v. 7b (cf. above), one may posit a similar multiplicity of meanings for Job’s “decrease”: (i) loss of family and property/possessions, (ii) loss of friends and companions, (iii) loss of physical health and vitality.

There is a certain loose chiastic structure for vv. 7-8 (taken together):

• • “It [i.e., my pain, bak] has weakened me
    • you have devastated all my hd*u@
    • you have grasped me, as a witness [du@]
  • my loss/decrease [vjk] has stood up against me…”

The initial verb in v. 8 (fm^q*) is quite rare, occurring only here (and in 22:16) in all the Scriptures. The fundamental meaning seems to be “grasp”, in the specific sense of a person wrapping one’s hands and fingers around something (or someone); cf. Arabic qamaṭa (“wrap [up], bind”). God has “grasped hold” of Job, with His mighty ‘hand’, afflicting him with terrible loss and suffering. A secondary sense of this verb seems to indicate the effect of the grasping—viz., “crumple, wrinkle” —and there may well be a specific reference here to Job’s physical/bodily affliction which has left him in a ‘shriveled’ condition. The ancient versions, no less than modern translations, exhibit considerable variety in rendering the verb here. For example, Theodotion translates with the verb e)pilamba/nw (“take hold upon”, i.e., “grasp”), while Symmachus has katade/w (“bind/tie down”), and Aquila r(utido/w (“wrinkle, make wrinkled”). In later (Mishnaic/Rabbinic) Hebrew, the derived noun fm#q# means “wrinkle(s)”. Cf. HALOT, p. 1108; Seow, p. 744; Althann, p. 76*.

The “decrease” that has come to Job, as the result of God “grasping” (i.e., afflicting) him, serves as a witness against him; note the wordplay here between the noun du@ (“witness”) and the noun hd*u@ (I, “assembly”) in v. 7 (the homonym hd*u@ [II, fem. of du@] likewise means “witness”, cf. Gn 21:30; 31:52; Jos 24:27). The use of this witness-motif reflects the continuing legal-judicial setting in which much of the Dialogue has been framed. The affliction that his come upon Job represents (apparently) a judgment (and punishment) made against him by God (the Sovereign Judge). Job, in turn, has sought to appeal this judgment, bringing an appeal (and complaint) to God, claiming that he has been unfairly (and unjustly) judged. The verb hn`u* (“answer, respond”) in line 3 should be understood in this same legal-judicial context—viz., of giving testimony, rendering judgment, making an appeal, etc.

The effect of Job’s affliction—that is, the loss of family/friends/property, and the devastation of his physical being—serves as testimony against him. This can be understood two ways: (a) God’s judgment against him (seen by Job as hostile and unfair), and (b) the apparent evidence for Job’s own wickedness (which would justify the judgment made by God).
As Seow (p. 744f) notes, the verbal root vjk (“be[come] lean”, cf. Ps 109:24) can also carry the associated secondary meanings of “pretend, deceive, lie” (cf. Ps 59:13[12]; Hos 7:3; 10:13; 12:1 [11:12]; Nah 3:1), so that there may be an allusion here to the idea of false or deceptive (i.e., misleading) testimony (note the similar wording in Deut 19:15-16); so the Versions render the terminology here (cf. Seow; Clines, p. 370). Indeed, Job would regard his suffering and affliction very much as false and misleading evidence; it may appear as though his punishment (from God) is evidence for his wickedness, but Job throughout maintains his innocence and fundamental righteousness. Though Job cannot (as yet) explain the reasons for his suffering, he knows that it cannot rightly be considered evidence for wicked or impious behavior on his part. 

Metrically, verse 8 is an irregular (3+3+2) tricolon, anticipating the tricola pattern in the initial strophes (vv. 9-11, 12-14) of the lament proper, which we shall begin analyzing in the next note.

• • References above (and throughout these notes) marked “Seow” are to C. L. [Choon Leong] Seow, Job 1-21: Interpretation and Commentary, Illuminations Commentary Series (Eerdmans: 2013).
  • Those marked “Clines” are to David J. A. Clines, Job 1–20, Word Biblical Commentary [WBC] vol. 17 (1989).
  • Those marked “Althann” are to Robert Althann, bwya Job, Biblia Hebraica Quinta, vol. 16 (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft: 2024).
  • Those marked “Pope” are to Marvin H. Pope, Job, Anchor Bible [AB] vol. 15 (1965, 1973).