Job 11:17

And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(17) Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday.—Rather, there shall arise for thee a lifetime brighter than the noonday; thou shalt soar on high; thou shalt be like the morning, which is conceived of as having wings (Psalm 139:9). (Comp. Malachi 4:2, of the Sun of Righteousness.) This is how we understand the word rendered thou shalt shine forth. Many take it as a substantive, meaning darkness, in which case we must render, though there be darkness, thou shalt be as the morning.

Benson Commentary

Job 11:17. And thine age shall be clearer than the noon-day — The remainder of thy life in this world shall be more glorious than the sun at noon. Hebrew, יקים, jakum, shall arise above the noon-day, or above the sun at noon-day, when it is at its greatest height, as well as in its greatest glory. Thou shalt shine forth — Thy light shall arise out of obscurity, and thou shalt be prosperous and happy; thou shalt be as the morning — Thy night of trouble shall certainly and speedily be followed with the morning of deliverance and comfort, which, like the morning light, shall shine brighter and brighter till the perfect day. Light, in the Scripture, commonly signifies prosperity and glory.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

11:13-20 Zophar exhorts Job to repentance, and gives him encouragement, yet mixed with hard thoughts of him. He thought that worldly prosperity was always the lot of the righteous, and that Job was to be deemed a hypocrite unless his prosperity was restored. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; that is, thou mayst come boldly to the throne of grace, and not with the terror and amazement expressed in ch. 9:34. If we are looked upon in the face of the Anointed, our faces that were cast down may be lifted up; though polluted, being now washed with the blood of Christ, they may be lifted up without spot. We may draw near in full assurance of faith, when we are sprinkled from an evil conscience, Heb 10:22.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And thine age - Thy life. This does not mean old age, but the idea is, that his life would be cheerful and happy.

Clearer than the noon-day - Margin, "Arise above the noon-day." The margin is a literal rendering; but the sense is clear in the text. The idea is, that the remainder of his life would be bright as the sun if he would return to God.

Thou shalt shine forth - Or rather, "thou art now in darkness, but thou shalt be as the morning." The word used here - תעפה tā‛upâh is from עוּף ‛ûph, to cover - as with wings, to fly, to cover with darkness. In no instance does it mean to shine, or to be clear and bright; and why our translators attached that idea to it, it is now difficult to conjecture. The Chaldee and Syriac read the word as a noun, and render the passage, "and thy darkness shall be as the aurora." The Vulgate renders it, "and meridian splendor, as it were, shall arise upon thee at the evening." The Septuagint, "and thy prayer shall be like the morning star, and life shall rise upon thee from noon-day." The sense in the Hebrew is plain. He was then in darkness. Clouds and calamities were round about him, but if he would return to God, he would be permitted to enjoy a bright day of prosperity. Such a day would return to him like the morning after a long and gloomy night.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

17. age—days of life.

the noon-day—namely, of thy former prosperity; which, in the poet's image, had gone on increasing, until it reached its height, as the sun rises higher and higher until it reaches the meridian (Pr 4:18).

shine forth—rather, "though now in darkness, thou shall be as the morning"; or, "thy darkness (if any dark shade should arise on thee, it) shall be as the morning" (only the dullness of morning twilight, not nocturnal darkness) [Umbreit].

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Thine age, i.e. the remainder of thy life and time in this world.

Shall be clearer, Heb. shall arise. Men are said to fall into troubles, and to arise out of them.

Than the noon-day; or, above the noon-day, or above the sun at noon-day, when it is at its highest pitch, as well as in its greatest glory.

Thou shalt shine forth: light in Scripture commonly signifies prosperity and glory, as Esther 8:16 Job 18:5,6 38:15 Proverbs 4:18. Or, if thou art in darkness, as this word properly signifies, Job 10:22 Amos 4:13, i.e. if thou comest into any distress and trouble. Shalt be as the morning, i.e. that night of trouble shall certainly and speedily be followed with the morning of deliverance and comfort, which, like the morning light, shall shine brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday,.... That is, the remainder of his days; the latter part of his life, which was yet to come, should be no more attended with the darkness of adversity; but the light of prosperity should shine upon him, and exceed the light of the sun at noonday: the phrase is expressive of the wonderful change there should be in his state and circumstances; see Isaiah 58:10;

thou shall shine forth; like the rising sun, or as when it breaks forth out of a cloud; in a temporal sense, it may be understood of his enjoying health, wealth, and friends, the candle of the Lord shining upon him, as in days past; and in a spiritual sense, of his being favoured with the light of God's countenance, the Sun of righteousness rising upon him, with healing in his wings; the graces of the Spirit being brightened, and in lively exercise, and a large share of spiritual light and knowledge being given: the word used has a contrary sense, and signifies darkness and obscurity, and may be rendered "although thou art", or hast been, or mayest "be dark" (x); under dark and afflictive providences, as he had been, and still was and in darkness of soul, under the hidings of God's face: yet

thou shall be as the morning; whose light breaks forth suddenly, and makes everything gay and cheerful; especially a morning without clouds, when it is bright and clear, and is increasing more and more: by this metaphor is signified, that Job would at once emerge out of his darkness, afflictions, and trouble, and have abundance of joy and comfort, which would be increasing in every sense; see Proverbs 4:18.

(x) "tenebresces", Montanus, Drusius, Mercerus; to the same sense, Tigurine version, Cocceius, Schmidt, Schultens; so Ben Melech.

Geneva Study Bible

And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday: thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

17. and thine age] Or, as we should say, and life, Psalm 17:14; Psalm 39:5.

thou shalt shine forth] Rather, if there be darkness, it shall be as the morning. Even should temporary darkness occur it will not be utter, but light like the morning. This seems said in opposition to Job’s mournful words, ch. Job 10:22, “where the light is as darkness.” The present words might also mean that the darkness shall be not a continual obscurity but one which a morning comes to dispel.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 17. - And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; literally, shall arise above the noonday; i.e. "exceed it in splendour." Instead of the "thick darkness" to which Job is looking forward (Job 10:21, 22), he shall bask in a light brighter than that of the sun at noon. Thou shalt shine forth. The Hebrew cannot possibly bear this meaning. The uncommon word used is allied with עֵיפָה, "obscurity," and, if a verb, should mean "thou shalt be obscure," rather than "thou shalt shine forth." But it is perhaps a substantive, meaning "darkness;" and the translation of the Revised Version is perhaps correct: "Though there be darkness." Thou shalt be as the morning. "Thy light," as Professor Lee explains, "shall gradually rise and expand itself far and wide." It shall dispel the darkness, and take its place," shining more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18). Job 11:17

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

16 For thou shalt forget thy grief,

Shalt remember it as waters that flow by.

17 And thy path of life shall be brighter than mid-day;

If it be dark, it shall become as morning.

18 And thou shalt take courage, for now there is hope;

And thou shalt search, thou shalt lie down in safety.

19 And thou liest down without any one making thee afraid;

And many shall caress thy cheeks.

20 But the eyes of the wicked languish,

And refuge vanisheth from them,

And their hope is the breathing forth of the soul.

The grief that has been surmounted will then leave no trace in the memory, like water that flows by (not: water that flows away, as Olshausen explains it, which would be differently expressed; comp. Job 20:28 with 2 Samuel 14:14). It is not necessary to change אתּה כּי into עתּה כּי (Hirzel); אתה, as in Job 11:13, strengthens the force of the application of this conclusion of his speech. Life (חלד, from חלד to glide away, slip, i.e., pass away unnoticed,

(Note: Vid., Hupfeld on Psalm 17:14, and on the other hand Bttcher, infer. 275 s., who, taking חלד in the sense of rooting into, translates: "the mildew springs up more brilliant than mid-day." But whatever judgment one may form of the primary idea of חלד, this meaning of חלד is too imaginary.)

as αἰών, both life-time, Psalm 39:6, and the world, Psalm 49:2, here in the former sense), at the end of which thou thoughtest thou wert already, and which seemed to thee to run on into dismal darkness, shall be restored to thee (יקום with Munach on the ult. as Job 31:14, not on the penult.) brighter than noon-day (מן, more than, i.e., here: brighter than, as e.g., Micah 7:4, more thorny than); and be it ever so dark, it shall become like morning. Such must be the interpretation of תּעפה. It cannot be a substantive, for it has the accent on the penult.; as a substantive it must have been pointed תּעוּפה (after the form תּקוּדה, תּקוּמה, and the like). It is one of the few examples of the paragogic strengthened voluntative in the third pers., like Psalm 20:4; Isaiah 5:19

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