約伯記註釋 第 1 章 第 13/19 段

That Job knows he is not suffering on account of sin is quite evident, and this supposition is indeed true.

For it was a trial of virtue, not a recompense for evils.

Yet it is not for this reason that he is to be added to the portion of the impious; rather, he even calls them wretched, adding 'Woe to them,' meaning destruction and estrangement from God.

Will he not himself see my way, and number all my steps? And indeed, God has been ignorant of nothing concerning me, not even down to my slightest movements.

And if I had walked with mockers.

Note that he calls it a sin to keep company with mockers.

Therefore the divine apostle also exhorts that coarse jesting be put away from us.

And if my foot has hastened toward deceit.

I was never moved to use deceit against anyone.

For I stand in a just balance, and the Lord saw my guilelessness.

Scripture also bore this witness concerning him, saying:

And that man was blameless, righteous, and God-fearing.

If my foot turned aside from his way—

that is, obviously, the way that accords with piety.

And if my heart followed after my eye,

everything that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life.

I never, having noticed and admired it, went on to desire it.

This belongs to freedom from passion: to praise the things in the world that are worthy of praise—such as the symmetry and proportion of bodies, the blending of colors, the sparkle and grace of gems—yet not to fall into desire for them.

And if with my hands I laid hold of gifts, then let me sow and let others eat, and let me be uprooted upon the earth.

Job cannot say these things now, since he is poor and has lost his children.

Therefore he says this either because he had these things before the calamity, or he spoke thus for our instruction, so that we, in reading it, might invoke these curses upon ourselves, saying:

If we took bribes, or did such-and-such a thing, let such-and-such befall us.

By 'hands' he means 'deeds'—that is:

I did nothing on account of bribery.

And if my heart followed after another man's wife, and if I lay in ambush at her doors, then let my own wife also please another man, and let my little ones be brought low.

Since desire, having conceived, gives birth to sin, he says that he used to cut off desire itself from his heart, so that sin might not find a way to enter.

Would that it had also been fitting, before the calamity, that I received recompense for what I had done, according to the principle of just requital!

That he is speaking about the things before his sickness and poverty is clear from what he says:

'And let my little ones be brought low'—

for indeed his children had already died.

For the fury of wrath is uncontrollable when it comes to defiling another man's wife:

for it is a fire burning in every part, and wherever it comes, it destroys utterly, down to the roots.

For adultery provokes God to anger and brings inescapable punishment upon the one who has committed it.

For wherever he turns, he is without excuse.

For this is the fire that burns in every part, consuming the doer root and branch.

And if I despised the plea of my manservant or maidservant when they had a dispute with me, what then shall I do if the Lord makes an inquiry of me? And if he also makes a visitation, what answer shall I give? Was it not so that as I was formed in the womb, so were they too? We were formed in the very same womb.

Here he speaks of another wonderful equity and righteousness of his own.

For indeed, he says, I also granted my household servants freedom to bring suit against me, if they suspected that they were suffering some injustice at my hands.

I was led to the principle of justice by nature itself, reasoning within myself that all men, whether slaves or masters, have one and the same origin in their coming into being, and all have one Master in the heavens, with whom there is neither slave nor free, but who, being no respecter of persons, requires of each one equity toward the other.

By 'inquiry,' then, he means scrutiny or examination, and he considers 'visitation' to be the divine reproofs.

Setting out from this sense of equity, he longed to be judged before God, trusting in God's just judgment.

And if the helpless ever had need, they did not fail to obtain it;

nor did I cause the eye of the widow to waste away.

And if I ate my morsel alone, and did not share it with the orphan—for from my youth I reared him as a father, and from my mother's womb I guided him—

Concerning God, singing his praises, we say:

'Father of the orphans and judge of the widows,' and 'you were a helper to the orphan.'

Thus, then, as one who kept the image intact, he imitated the archetype.

And 'I did not cause to waste away' means:

I did not let her waste away from poverty.

And truly wonderful is the sharing of one's food with those in need.

And 'from the womb I guided him' means that he is saying:

Taking in as mere infants those who had been orphaned, I raised them to maturity and taught them trades, leading them by the hand up to the point when they would no longer be in great need of my assistance.

And if I overlooked a naked man perishing and did not clothe him; and if the helpless did not bless me; and if their shoulders were not warmed by the fleece of my lambs—

By 'shoulders' he signified the whole body:

for from them the whole garment is suspended.

And the shoulders also seem, in a way, to be more susceptible to the cold;

for this reason he made mention of them.

If I raised my hand against the orphan, trusting that I had abundant support at my disposal, then let my shoulder fall away from its collarbone, and let my arm be broken off from its elbow.

This too, which we mentioned above, must be kept in mind: that he ranks failing to do good together with doing wrong, and that one must not only abstain from vice but also be diligent in the pursuit of virtue.

Not only did I not wrong the orphans, but also—

I took on their care in the manner of a father.

By 'collarbone' he means the joint connecting the shoulder to the neck.

For the fear of the Lord constrained me, and I could not endure before his majesty.

He did these things, constrained by divine fear, considering that if God should lay hold of him—whether for doing wrong or for failing to do good—he would face unbearable punishment.

If I set gold as my strength; and if I trusted in a costly stone; and if I rejoiced when great wealth came to me; or if I set my hand upon countless riches—

Denouncing the man who trusts not in divine help but in his own abundance, the Psalmist said:

who did not make God his helper, but hoped in the abundance of his riches.

On the contrary, then, the righteous man has fixed his hope on God.

And observe how the righteous man does not rejoice in wealth:

rather, they do not rejoice in these things as their primary joy—

for their primary joy is something else, namely, the spiritual joy.

But, he says, neither did I have an unlimited increase of possessions.

Perhaps, then, for this reason his sheep and camels and the rest were kept within a set number, since the surplus was continually being sold and distributed to the poor.

For even though he was rich by divine grace, he restrained his desire from becoming immoderate, seeing that he did not even rejoice in what he possessed as though it were the primary good.

Do I not see the sun shining and then failing, and the moon waning? For this is not within their own power.

He did these things while reasoning as follows:

If the sun fails, and night succeeds day, and the moon wanes by divine ordinance, what benefit is there even if I should grow rich? For if these great elements themselves come to an end, then wealth too must certainly depart from us—either our possessions forsaking us by the will of God, or we ourselves passing out of this life and handing these things on to others.

And if my heart was secretly deceived; and if, laying my hand upon my mouth, I kissed it—then let this too be reckoned to me as the very greatest iniquity, for I would have lied before the Lord Most High.

Many, often praising their own deeds, kiss their own hand.

If I trusted in my own power and my own deeds, and not in God, I have spoken falsely against the truth.

For our help is not from ourselves, but from divine grace.

If, then, being deceived, I suffered something of this kind, let this be reckoned to me as equal to a great transgression.

By the word 'secretly' he seems to indicate that he did not experience anything of this sort even through being suddenly overcome.

But others have understood it thus:

'If I worshiped the sun and moon, being deceived by their brightness, and did not consider that they too suffer eclipse and are subject to their Master's commands, but at their marvel I kissed my own hand' — let the greatest transgression be reckoned to me.

But I think the first interpretation is better.

But if I also rejoiced over the downfall of my enemies, and my heart said:

'Well done!' — then let my own ear hear my curse, and let me be talked about as ill-treated by my own people.

He used the word 'well done' as a mocking exclamation, just as the Psalmist also says:

'Well done, well done! Our eyes have seen it.'

If, then, I ever greatly rejoiced at the downfall of my enemies, may I too hear others cursing me, and may I be talked about as ill-treated, having received back according to what I did.

But if my maidservants also often said:

'Who would grant us to be filled with his flesh?' — since I was exceedingly good to them.

'I was not,' he says, 'burdensome to my maidservants, such that, because of my cruelty, they too, made savage, should desire to taste of my flesh.'

But quite the contrary — I was exceedingly good to them.

But others have interpreted it thus:

'Thus,' he says, 'I was so exceedingly kind and sweet to my maidservants that, if it had been possible even to be fed on my own flesh, they would gladly have done so.'

The stranger did not lodge outside, but my door was opened to everyone who came.

This is a mark of Abrahamic and hospitable nobility.

But if, having sinned, I willingly hid my sin — for I was not intimidated by the great crowd of the multitude so as not to confess it in his presence.

He was conscious in himself of no willful transgression, so utterly did he practice a life according to virtue.

But since, being human, it was not possible for him not to fall unwittingly — for 'who will understand his own transgressions?' says the Psalmist — whenever a sin became known, he healed it through repentance and confession, not being ashamed to confess what had been done contrary to right reason.

'But if I allowed the powerless to go out from my door with an empty bosom — who would grant me a hearer?' He seems to be saying that if he had come to judgment and had someone to hear him, as far as human judgment goes, he would not have endured any of these terrible things.

But it seems to me that he is seeking intelligent hearers, able to comprehend the height of the conduct of life which he has just set forth.

For he did not say these things, being puffed up over his own good deeds, but leaving for us a pattern of how one ought to live.

For these things were written beforehand for our admonition, the Holy Spirit so ordaining it.

He indicates that, besides feeding them, he also provided them with provisions for the journey, pursuing the practice of almsgiving and love of the poor richly and cheerfully.

'Had I not feared the hand of the Lord...'

'But,' he says, 'I was also reverently disposed in matters pertaining to God.'

'And the bond which I held against someone — I would put it on my shoulders and read it out as though it were a crown; and if I did not tear it up and give it back, having received nothing from the debtor...'

Not as one boasting over loans, unrolling the bonds with both hands, did I read them out publicly — for this is what 'upon the shoulders' signifies, as through the shoulders the hands are set in motion; or else: tearing up the debtors' bonds and forgiving their debts, I would first read the bonds to them, and then, tearing up the document, I made this act of forgiveness itself a crown and my own adornment.

'If the land ever groaned against me, and if its furrows wept together...'

Clearly on account of seizing what belongs to others, or also because of working the land without paying wages.

'And if I alone ate its produce, without payment...'

He signifies two things here: that he both paid the price of the crops, and did not eat alone, but shared the food in common with those in need.

'And if, by casting out the soul of the land's owner, I grieved him...'

As having by force seized something belonging to the possessor of the land.

'Then let a nettle come up for me instead of wheat, and a bramble instead of barley.'

Symmachus has rendered it thus:

'Instead of grain, let a thistle spring up.'

We have read of the plant called 'akanos' (thistle) in the books of Kingdoms.

Both the bramble and the thistle are thorny plants;

and the nettle too seems to be something of this sort.

If I did any of the aforesaid things — either taking away another's land, or plowing and working the land without paying wages — may it yield me thorns instead of the cultivated crops in return.

And Job ceased from words, and his three friends also fell silent and ceased to answer Job any further—

for he was righteous in their sight.

Here Job and his friends brought their speech to a halt, having concluded the dialogue.

They fell silent not by their own choice, but because Job had closed off every plea of self-justification available to them, and they had nothing to say against what had been spoken.

For they too knew well, along with the righteous man, his upright deeds, and that from disposition of heart he hated evil, and with sincere love toward God pursued the good.

For Job showed that he had kept, to the utmost, both what is just toward men and reverence toward God, together with that wondrous humility which is demonstrated by his confessing his sins.

{Concerning Elihu.} And Elihu the son of Barachiel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram, of the land of Ausitis, was angered—

A preliminary survey of the chapter: Job's friends had come for the purpose of consolation, but had wandered outside the aim of their coming, and with the harshness of their words aggravated the righteous man's wounds — for they claimed that he had suffered on account of sins, and that God brought punishments upon him in no other way than as recompense;

for, they said, afflictions always follow upon sins. Job, defending himself against their arguments, raised this difficulty, saying:

'If this is so, as you say, how is it that we see many unjust men who have not paid the penalty even to the end, while many righteous men suffer?' Then, rejecting his friends' mistaken judgments, he asks God to release him from his torments, and to plead his case before Him, and to set forth his own righteous deeds, so as to show that he had done nothing unjust deserving so great a scourge.

He said these things not condemning God as acting unjustly, but rather greatly trusting in His righteous judgment, and wishing to refute his friends for making unjust judgments against him.

So then, Job's aim is directed entirely against his friends, wishing to show that when the true and impartial God judges, he will be shown to be righteous, whereas those who accuse him in vain hold judgments about the righteous man that are not true.

Elihu, listening to these things and not comprehending the righteous man's intent, supposed that he was saying that, being righteous, he was suffering unjustly at God's hand.

For this reason he burned with jealous zeal for the Lord and was angered against Job—

though he had grounds justly to accuse the righteous man of a fault, he was also angered against the three friends, because they had condemned the righteous man of impiety, as though he were undergoing his punishments on account of sins.

From this a question of the following sort arises:

If Elihu is angry with the friends because they judged Job impious, then Job must be righteous.

But if he is righteous, how does Elihu also direct his rebuke against him? But to this Elihu would reply that Job is indeed pious and righteous, and no one will gainsay this;

but he has given cause against himself by his desire to enter into judgment with God.

So then, Elihu's intent is not blameworthy;

for he did not strike Job as harshly as those others did, condemning him for impiety; yet still, as we have said, he did not understand the righteous man's intent, nor from what love and confidence toward God he longed to plead his case before Him.

Hence we consider that God neither praised Elihu, since he had not understood Job's words, nor yet condemned him, since he did not condemn Job of impiety, nor declare that he was suffering because of injustice, as the friends did;

for it was precisely on this account that God brought about the rebuke against those men.

The words: 'And Elihu the son of Barachiel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram, of the land of Ausitis, was angered—'

Elihu was the son of Barachiel, while 'the Buzite' derives from kinship with Buz, from whom Ram also descended, or else from some city of the land of Ausitis.

The Jews, then, say that he was of the kindred of Judah.

But this account is not plausible.

For Scripture calls him a man of the land of Ausitis.

Yet it is not very necessary to be overly precise about such matters.

He was greatly angered at Job, because he declared himself righteous before the Lord.

Elihu was moved, as he supposed, on reasonable grounds—not because Job said he himself was righteous, for Elihu knew along with him that Job was righteous, but because Job, as though condemning God's justice before the Lord, held that God was not justly inflicting punishments upon him.

But, as we have said, he did not understand Job's pious and God-loving intent.

For it was not that he was accusing God, but in refuting his friends he wished to be judged before God, trusting with unbreakable faith in God's righteous judgment.

He was also greatly angered at the three friends, because they were unable to make an answer opposing Job, and yet they set him down as impious.

Elihu was angered at the friends on two counts: first, that they judged the righteous man as impious, saying that punishments are altogether inflicted on the unjust as retribution; and secondly, that, having taken up the advocacy on God's behalf, they were defeated by Job's words and fell silent, thereby betraying the one whose cause they were advocating, and by their silence granting Job the victory over God.

But Elihu waited to give an answer to Job, because they were older than he in days.

And Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, and he was moved to anger.

Elihu's character is praiseworthy: at the proper time he kept silent—for it was fitting that the elders in age should speak first—and at the proper time he answered, once his elders were caught in perplexity.

For to interrupt the reasoning of his elders would have incurred the charge of rashness, while to keep silent where he judged that justice was being wronged, he rightly supposed to be not good.

The word 'he waited,' then, is used instead of:

'he awaited'; and 'he was moved to anger' instead of:

For blameworthy anger is the irrational impulse, whereas the anger that accompanies what is just is praiseworthy, being natural, and it anoints the soul with courage against the unjust.

And Elihu the son of Barachiel the Buzite answered and said:

taking up in turn the words that had been spoken

'I am younger in years, and you are elders;'

'therefore I kept quiet, being afraid to declare to you my own knowledge.'

For there is one who is younger in age but possesses grey-haired wisdom, and another who is old in years but younger in understanding.

See how it was not only out of reverence but also out of fear and caution that he waited for the elders' discourse to finish, and had they not first ceased, he himself would not have spoken what he reckoned and knew to be right.

'...speaking; yet in many years they do not know wisdom.'

'But there is a spirit in mortals, and it is the breath of the Almighty that teaches.'

'Long ago,' he says, 'as I sat and listened attentively to what was being said, and heard words not worthy of your age, I said within myself:'

Not altogether nor simply are those who have lived many years wise, but there is need of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which does not wait for length of time but suddenly makes a person wise.

And it was not without reason that Elihu said this.

For Daniel, who was younger in age, being made wise by divine grace, refuted the elders who had grown old in evil days.

But grace does not teach indiscriminately, but only if it finds a pure soul.

'Those of many years are not wise, nor do the aged know judgment.'

Time by itself, then, apart from grace, is incapable of granting wisdom.

And it seems that by 'judgment' he means a part of the ways of God:

for 'judgment' in the strict sense denotes the universal, while 'a judgment' denotes the particular.

This, then, is what he says: that no one made wise merely by time can comprehend even a part of God's judgments, unless divine grace should also come upon him.

'Listen to me, and I will declare to you what I know.'

'Give ear to my words, for I will speak while you are listening, until you have tested my words, and I will understand as far as you.'

Other copies, after the words 'for I will speak while you are listening,' also contain these verses:

'Behold, I have heard your words; I have given ear until I reached your understanding.'

But the other translators have rendered it thus:

'Behold, I awaited your words; I listened as long as you were thinking, as long as you were examining your arguments, and I kept pondering until I could reach as far as you.'

According to this version, then, and also the other copies, the sense is quite clear.

'Just as I,' he says, 'quietly heard all that was said and waited until the conclusion of your words and until you had emptied out the whole of your understanding, so you also listen to my words, and through your ears store up these sayings in your mind.'

But according to the copies current among us, which read as follows:

'for I will speak while you are listening,' and then joined to this:

'until you have tested my words, and I will understand as far as you'—the sense is this:

'I say nothing excessive, but only what you are able to test'; and 'I will understand as far as you' instead of:

'I will not use empty talk, but I will speak what you are able to comprehend and what you are able to understand.'

'And behold, there was none among you refuting Job, answering him back with words, lest you should say:'

'We have found wisdom by taking the Lord's side.'

'But you allowed a mere man to speak such words.'

'For this reason,' he says, 'I was moved to speak, since none of you was able to refute the words of Job, but you fell silent while a mere man spoke such things against God.'

'We have found wisdom by taking the Lord's side'—this suggests some such sense:

'And lest you should think that simply taking God's side and advocating for God is in itself wisdom, I necessarily make these remarks.'

The whole sense appears to be something like this:

'I came forward to speak,' he says, 'for a twofold reason: first, so that you, thinking you were advocating for God and that this was wisdom, might not condemn Job without knowing the causes of his affliction—for even if you were god-fearing, you had not yet grasped the measure of wisdom—and secondly, because, being unable in any way to answer Job, you allowed, through your silence, a mere man to speak such things against God.'

'They were dismayed and did not answer, for their words had grown old within them.'

Some say that these verses are not Elihu's, but that the author inserted them in the middle, describing the friends' silence.

But I say that these too belong to Elihu.

This is the figure of speech called 'apostrophe':

for, as though conversing with someone else about them, he says:

'For this reason I speak, since they were struck dumb by Job's words, and by their silence they showed their own arguments to be stale, unsound, and useless.'

'I waited, for indeed I did not speak, because they stood still and did not answer.'

...that had been said; and had they indeed been furnished with arguments of defense, I would not have spoken.

But since they stood still and, being checked by Job's words, were unable to proceed further, I came forward to refute what had been said.

And Elihu answered and said:

'I will speak again, for I am full of words;'

'for the spirit of my belly torments me.'

Preliminary Survey of the Chapter. Having stated the reason why he was moved to speak—since a deep silence had come upon them—Elihu, now filling out his own words, says that he is full of words: words, that is, on behalf of God, and words addressed to Job, who wished to set himself up against God in a like contest of argument.

He says, then, that he will speak, preferring justice above all human respect.

And he challenges Job to a hearing, being cautious of nothing.

For, he says, your contest is not against God — do not be afraid — but against a man of like feeling with yourself.

For this you were saying, that you are ready to go to judgment with God, if you were permitted to do so without fear; and you said that you were blameless, yet you accused God of having examined your affairs too strictly.

But I will teach you that God, in a disciplinary manner and for the benefit of sinners, brings both fears through dreams and scourges through sicknesses, and saves those who are disciplined and repent.

And what Elihu says concerning God's disciplinary and providential care for us is indeed true.

But Job's case was not of this sort; for it was a contest of virtue against vice, and of a godly man against diabolical cruelty, so that Elihu, not having grasped the true nature of Job's case, did not understand the cause of the affliction brought upon him.

The words: 'I will speak again, for I am full of words.'

He says he is full of words, both concerning God and concerning the man who was so exalted as to wish to be judged against God and to hope to receive the prize of victory.

For the spirit of my belly consumes me.

For I cannot bear silence, he says, being goaded by what has been said, nor am I able any longer to hold my tongue; rather I am perishing in soul, altogether stirred up, inflamed, and stifled, if I do not speak.

By 'the spirit of the belly' he means either the soul, speaking by circumlocution, or the spirited part of the soul, reasonably and manfully moved, as being stirred on behalf of God.

And my belly is like a wineskin of new wine, bound and seething, or like a bronze-smith's bellows, torn.

I am, he says, all but bursting, being straitened by the multitude of thoughts that have come upon me for the refutation, like a wineskin filled with new, hot wine, about to burst from the fermentation and boiling, or like a bronze-smith's bellows.

He said 'torn' because he began to speak and, as it were, to let out the breath within.

For the bronze-smith's bellows, once torn, lets out its air.

I will speak, that I may find rest, having opened my lips.

For I will surely not be ashamed before man, nor indeed will I show deference to a mortal.

For I do not know how to show favor to persons.

But if not, let moths also devour me.

I will therefore speak without shame, and apart from all people-pleasing.

But if I should utter anything contrary to justice, out of deference to someone's person or to curry favor with someone, then just as moths consume garments, so too the moths of the soul — vainglory and people-pleasing — will consume me, bringing on the punishments that come from God.

Nevertheless, hear, O Job, my words, and give ear to my speech.

For behold, I have opened my mouth, and my tongue has spoken.

My heart is pure in its words, and the understanding of my lips is pure in perception.

Hear, therefore, O Job.

For I am now beginning my words to you, having a soul that is pure and untroubled by any passion, and possessing knowledge that is intelligent, unerring, and purified.

By 'pure knowledge' he means that which concerns God, directed against the man who, on equal terms, wished to be judged against God.

The divine spirit is what made me, and the breath of the Almighty is what teaches me.

It is the cause of creation, of understanding, and of knowledge; and trusting in this he was moved forward to speak.

Note again that he says the Holy Spirit is the cause of man's creation.

For even if it is the Father through whom are all things, the same [Spirit belongs] also to the Son, being inseparable from him, since it is also by nature proper to the Only-Begotten.

But if you are able, give me an answer to these things; stand your ground.

Stand your ground, then, to hear what comes from me, and if you have a word of rebuttal, answer.

Stand opposite me, and I opposite you.

You were formed from clay, as I also was; we were both formed from the same substance.

Therefore be cautious of nothing in answering, for the contest is evenly matched.

For we both happen to be of the same nature, that from clay and earth, having nothing extraordinary about it.

He says these things to put him to shame, as one who had wished to go to judgment with God.