Job 4:9

4:7-11 Eliphaz argues, 1. That good men were never thus ruined. But there is one event both to the righteous and to the wicked, Ec 9:2, both in life and death; the great and certain difference is after death. Our worst mistakes are occasioned by drawing wrong views from undeniable truths. 2. That wicked men were often thus ruined: for the proof of this, Eliphaz vouches his own observation. We may see the same every day.

By the blast of God they perish,.... They and their works, the ploughers, sowers, and reapers of iniquity; the allusion is to the blasting of corn by the east wind, or by mildew, &c. having used the figures of ploughing and sowing before; and which is as soon and as easily done as corn, or anything else, is blasted in the above manner; and denotes the sudden and easy destruction of wicked men by the power of God, stirred up by his wrath and indignation, because of their sins; who when he blows a blast on their persons, substance, and families, they perish at once: and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed; meaning his wrath and anger, which is like a stream of brimstone, and kindles a fire on the wicked, which are as fuel to it, and are soon consumed by it; the allusion is to breath in a man's nostrils, and the heat of his wrath and fury discovered thereby: some think this refers to Job's children being destroyed by the wind, see Isaiah 11:4.

Job 4:9-10 . By the blast of God they perish, &c. — These two verses are thus interpreted by Heath: By the breath of God they perish; for, at the blast of his anger, the roarings of the lion, and the growling of the black lion, are hushed, and the teeth of the young lions are broken; that is, by the mere breath of God’s displeasure, or by a secret, and often undiscerned, but mighty and irresistible calamity, their projects are blasted, and they are suddenly carried away, as chaff by the wind, and come to a fearful end. Nor can they escape, were they even as strong as lions, yea, as the strongest and fiercest of them. For when the divine wrath is once kindled against them, their power is immediately broken, and in a moment they are cut off, and totally consumed. He speaks of powerful tyrants, fitly compared to lions, Ezekiel 32:2 ; Ezekiel 38:13 ; 2 Timothy 4:17 , who, though for a time they persecute and oppress other men, yet in due time they are restrained and crushed by the mighty power of God. Possibly, he might intend secretly to accuse Job, or his children, that, being persons of great wealth and power, they had abused it to ruin their neighbours, and therefore were justly cut off.

9 . by the blast of God ] Better, By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of his anger are they consumed. The destructive judgment of God upon the wicked is described as a fiery breath coming from His mouth, as the hot wind of the desert withers and burns up the grass, cf. Isaiah 40:7 ; Amos 1:2 .

Verse 9. - By the blast of God they perish ; rather, by the breath of God , as in Job 37:10 . The word used ( גִשְׁמָה ) means always, as Professor Lee observes," a slight or gentle breathing." The slightest breath of God's displeasure is enough to destroy those against whom it is directed. And by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed . Here "blast" would be better than "breath," for רוח is a stronger word than נשׁמה . Similarly, רוח is a stronger word than יאבדו . The breath kills, the blast utterly consumes, transgressors. Job 4:9

By the blast of God, to wit, of his nostrils , as it here follows, i.e. by his anger, which in men shows itself in the nostrils, by hot and frequent breathings there, and therefore by an anthropopathy is ascribed to God; by a secret, and oft undiscerned, but mighty and powerful, judgment of God, by which they are blasted and blown away as chaff by the wind, as the phrase is, Psalm 1 .

By the blast of God - That is, by the judgment of God. The figure is taken from the hot and fiery wind, which, sweeping over a field of grain, dries it up and destroys it. In like manner Eliphaz says the wicked perish before God. And by the breath of his nostrils - By his anger. The Scripture often speaks of breathing out indignation and wrath; Acts 9:1; Psalm 27:12; 2 Samuel 22:16; Psalm 18:15; Psalm 33:6; notes at Isaiah 11:4; notes at Isaiah 30:28; notes at Isaiah 33:11. The figure was probably taken from the violent breathing which is evinced when the mind is under any strong emotion, especially anger. It refers here to any judgment by which God cuts off the wicked, but especially to sudden calamity - like a tempest or the pestilence.

6 Is not thy piety thy confidence, Thy Hope? And the uprightness of thy ways? 7 Think now: who ever perished, being innocent?! And where have the righteous been cut off?! 8 As often as I saw, those who ploughed evil And sowed sorrow, - they reaped the same. 9 By the breath of Eloah they perished, By the breath of His anger they vanished away. 10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the shachal, And the teeth of the young lions, are rooted out. 11 The lion wanders about for want of prey, And the lioness' whelps are scattered. In Job 4:6 all recent expositors take the last waw as waw apodosis: And thy hope, is not even this the integrity of thy way? According to our punctuation, there is no occasion for supposing such an application of the waw apodosis, which is an error in a clause consisting only of substantives, and is not supported by the examples, Job 15:17; Job 23:12; 2 Samuel 22:41. (Note: We will not, however, dispute the possibility, for at least in Arabic one can say, zı̂d f-hkı̂m Zeid, he is wise. Grammarians remark that Arab. zı̂d in this instance is like a hypothetical sentence: If any one asks, etc. 2 Samuel 15:34 is similar.) continued...

[Bible] 3:24. Before I eat I sigh: and as overflowing waters, so is my roaring: 3:25. For the fear which I feared, hath come upon me: and that which I was afraid of, hath befallen me. 3:26. Have I not dissembled? have I not kept silence? have I not been quiet? and indignation is come upon me. Job Chapter 4 4:1. Then Eliphaz, the Themanite, answered, and said: 4:2. If we begin to speak to thee, perhaps thou wilt take it ill; but who can withhold the words he hath conceived? 4:3. Behold thou hast taught many, and thou hast strengthened the weary hands: 4:4. Thy words have confirmed them that were staggering, and thou hast strengthened the trembling knees: 4:5. But now the scourge is come upon thee, and thou faintest: It hath touched thee, and thou art troubled. 4:6. Where is thy fear, thy fortitude, thy patience, and the perfection of thy ways? 4:7. Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? or when were the just destroyed? 4:8. On the contrary, I have seen those who work iniquity, and sow sorrows, and reap them, 4:9. Perishing by the blast of God, and consumed by the spirit of his wrath. 4:10. The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the teeth of the whelps of lions, are broken: 4:11. The tiger hath perished for want of prey, and the young lions are scattered abroad. 4:12. Now there was a word spoken to me in private, and my ears by stealth, as it were, received the veins of its whisper. 4:13. In the horror of a vision by night, when deep sleep is wont to hold men, 4:14. Fear seized upon me, and trembling, and all my bones were affrighted: 4:15. And when a spirit passed before me, the hair of my flesh stood up. 4:16. There stood one whose countenance I knew not, an image before my eyes, and I heard the voice, as it were, of a gentle wind. 4:17. Shall man be justified in comparison of God, or shall a man be more pure than his maker?

[Reformed Biblical] hou shouldest not answer me in thy righteousness, yet thou shouldest be righteous still; but if thou shouldest not answer me in thy faithfulness, thou shouldest not be faithful still.—Sir Richard Baker. Verse 1. Answer me in thy righteousness. Forgiveness is not inconsistent with truth or righteousness, and the pardon which in mercy God bestows upon the sinner is bestowed in justice to the well beloved Son who accepted and discharged the sinner's obligations. This is an infinitely precious truth, and the hearts of thousands in every age have been sustained and gladdened by it. A good old Christian woman in humble life so fully realized this, that when a revered servant of God asked her, as she lay on her dying pillow, the ground of her hope for eternity, she replied, with great composure, "I rely on the justice of God"; adding, however, when the reply excited surprise, "justice, not to me, but to my Substitute, in whom I trust."— Robert Macdonald, in "From Day to Day; or, Helpful Words for Christian Life," 1879. Verse 2. Enter not into judgment with thy servant. The Divine justice has just been invoked in the first verse; and now the appellant suddenly seems to deprecate it. These verses really sum up the apparent paradox of the Book of Job (see Job 4:17 9:2,32 14:3 Job 15:14 22:4, etc.). In one breath Job frequently pours forth pathetic protestations of his innocence, and a dread lest God should take him at his word, and arraign him for trial.