Job 22:25

Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(25) The Almighty shall be thy defence.—Rather, And the Almighty shall be thy treasure, and precious silver unto thee. The word thus qualifying silver occurs only three other times in the Bible: Psalm 95:4, “The strength of the hills”; Numbers 22:23-24, “the strength of a unicorn.” Its original idea is probably brightness or splendour.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

22:21-30 The answer of Eliphaz wrongly implied that Job had hitherto not known God, and that prosperity in this life would follow his sincere conversion. The counsel Eliphaz here gives is good, though, as to Job, it was built upon a false supposition that he was a stranger and enemy to God. Let us beware of slandering our brethren; and if it be our lot to suffer in this manner, let us remember how Job was treated; yea, how Jesus was reviled, that we may be patient. Let us examine whether there may not be some colour for the slander, and walk watchfully, so as to be clear of all appearances of evil.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yea, the Almighty shall be - Or, rather, "then the Almighty shall be" - והיה yehâyâh. The meaning is, that if he would return to God, and cast off his anxiety for gold, "then" the Almighty would be his real treasure, and would impart to him solid happiness.

Thy defense - Margin, "gold." The margin is the more correct translation. The word is the same which occurs in the previous verse בצר betser, and there rendered "gold." The word may have the sense of "defense," as the verb בצר bâtsar is often used with such a reference; Numbers 13:28; Deuteronomy 1:28; Deuteronomy 3:5; Deuteronomy 9:1, et al. The meaning of such places, where the word is applied to walled towns or fortified places, is, that the enemy was, by means of walls, "cut off" from approach. Here, however, the idea of "gold" or "treasure" better suits the connection, and the meaning is, that "God" would be to him an invaluable "treasure" or source of happiness.

And thou shalt have plenty of silver - Margin, "silver of strength." The correct idea, however, is, "and the Almighty shall be treasures of silver unto thee;" that is, he shall be better to you than an abundance of the precious metals. The Hebrew is literally, "And silver of treasures unto thee."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

25. Apodosis.

Yea—rather, Then shall the Almighty be, &c.

defence—rather, as the same Hebrew means in Job 22:24 (see on [516]Job 22:24)—Thy precious metals; God will be to thee in the place of riches.

plenty of silver—rather, "And shall be to thee in the place of laboriously-obtained treasures of silver" [Gesenius]. Elegantly implying, it is less labor to find God than the hidden metals; at least to the humble seeker (Job 28:12-28). But [Maurer] "the shining silver."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

God by his special and watchful providence shall protect thee from all dangers and calamities. Heb.

thy defences, or munitions. One God shall keep thee as safely as many munitions.

Plenty of silver, Heb. silver of strength, i.e. which by God’s blessing shall be thy defence, Ecclesiastes 7:12. Or, silver of heights, i.e. high and heaped up like a mountain.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence,.... In temporal things, secure the plenty of gold and silver possessed of; surround and protect by his providence, that there shall be no danger of the Sabeans and Chaldeans, or others, breaking in and stealing it away; and, in spirituals, preserve from all enemies, sin, Satan, and the world; be a wall of fire about him, his fortress, his tower, and place of defence; or keep him as in a garrison, through faith unto salvation; or, as others render the words, "and let the Almighty be", or "he shall be thy gold", or "golds" (o); all thy gold, the same word being used as in Job 22:24; treat earthly riches, gold and silver, with contempt, and reckon God to be thy truest riches: esteem him as gold, and more precious than that, and put thy confidence in him; his grace is compared to gold, for its lustre, value, and duration, and is more precious than gold that perisheth, Revelation 3:18; the righteousness of Christ is, for its excellency, called the gold of Ophir, and clothing of wrought gold, Psalm 45:9; and he himself is much more precious than the gold of Ophir, and the gain that comes by him than fine gold, Sol 5:11; the doctrines of the grace of God are comparable to gold, silver, and precious stones; yea, to be preferred unto them, 1 Corinthians 3:12. God is instead of all riches to his people; and they that have an interest in him share in the riches of grace, and are entitled to the riches of glory; all are theirs:

and thou shall have plenty of silver; or God shall be, or "let him be to thee silver of strength" (p); or instead of silver, which is the strength of men, in which they confide for business or war; but God is to his people infinitely more than what silver or gold can be to them.

(o) "lectissimum aurum tuum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Vatablus, Schmidt, Schultens; so R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 23. 2.((p) "et argentum fortitudinum tibi", Montanus, Cocceius, Schmidt.

Geneva Study Bible

Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 25. - Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defense; rather, thy treasure. The word is the same as that used in the first clause of ver. 24, It properly signifies "ore." The general meaning of the passage seems to be, "However rich thou mayest be in the precious metals, thy true treasure - that which thou wilt value most - will be the Almighty himself." And thou shalt have plenty of silver; or, and he shall be previous silver unto thee (see the Revised Version). Job 22:25

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

If he return to the Almighty (שׁוּב עד as freq., e.g., Isaiah 19:22, comp. Isaiah 45:24, instead of the otherwise usual שׁוב אל, of thorough and complete conversion), he will be built up again, by his former prosperity being again raised from its ruins. בּנה, to build, always according to the connection, has at one time the idea of building round about, continuing to build, or finishing building (vid., on Job 20:19); at another of building up again (Job 12:14; Isaiah 58:12), referred to persons, the idea of increasing prosperity (Malachi 3:15), or of the restoration of ruined prosperity (Jeremiah 24:6; Jeremiah 33:7), here in the latter sense. The promissory תּבּנה is surrounded by conditional clauses, for Job 22:23 (comp. Job 11:14) is a second conditional clause still under the government of אם, which is added for embellishment; it opens the statement of that in which penitence must be manifested, if it is to be thorough. The lxx translates ἐὰν δὲ ἐπιστραφῇς καὶ ταπεινώσῃς, i.e., תּענה, which Ewald considers as the original; the omission of the אם (which the poet otherwise in such connections has formerly heaped up, e.g., Job 8:5., Job 11:13) is certainly inconvenient. And yet we should not on that account like to give up the figure indicated in תבנה, which is so beautiful and so suited to our poet. The statement advanced in the latter conditional clause is then continued in Job 22:24 in an independent imperative clause, which the old versions regard as a promise instead of exhortation, and therefore grossly misinterpret. The Targ. translates: and place on the dust a strong city (i.e., thou shalt then, where there is now nothing but dust, raise up such), as if בּצר could be equivalent to בּצּרון or מבצר, - a rendering to which Saadia at least gives a turn which accords with the connection: "regard the stronghold (Arab. 'l-ḥṣn) as dust, and account as the stones of the valleys the gold of Ophir;" better than Eichhorn: "pull down thy stronghold of violence, and demolish (הפיר) the castles of thy valleys." On the other hand, Gecatilia, who understands בצר proportionately more correctly of treasures, translates it as a promise: so shalt thou inherit treasures (Arab. dchâyr) more numerous than dust, and gold ore (Arab. tbr') (more than) the stones of the valleys; and again also Rosenm. (repones prae pulvere argentum) and Welte interpret Job 22:24 as a promise; whereas other expositors, who are true to the imperative שׁית, explain שׁית ni aestimare, and על־עפר pulveris instar (Grot., Cocc., Schult., Dathe, Umbr.), by falsely assigning to על here, as to ל elsewhere, a meaning which it never has anywhere; how blind, on the other hand, since the words in their first meaning, pone super pulverem, furnish an excellent thought which is closely connected with the admonition to rid one's self of unjust possessions. בּצר, like Arab. tibr (by which Abulwalid explains it), is gold and silver ore, i.e., gold and silver as they are broken out of the mine, therefore (since silver is partially pure, gold almost pure, and always containing more or less silver) the most precious metal in its pure natural state before being worked, and consequently also unalloyed (comp. Arab. nḍı̂r and nuḍâr, which likewise signifies aurum argentumve nativum, but not ab excidendo, but a nitore); and "to lay in the dust" is equivalent to, to part with a thing as entirely worthless and devoid of attraction. The meaning is therefore: put away from thee the idol of previous metal with contempt (comp. Isaiah 2:20), which is only somewhat differently expressed in the parallel: lay the Ophir under the quartz (וּבצוּר agreeing with בצר) of the brooks (such as is found in the beds of empty wdys), i.e., place it under the rubble, after it has lost for thee its previous bewitching spell. As cloth woven from the filaments of the nettle is called muslin, from Mossul, and cloth with figures on it "damask, דּמשׁק" (Amos 3:12), from Damascus,

(Note: We leave it undecided whether in a similar manner silk has its name μέταξα (μάταξα), Armenian metaks, Aramaic מטכסא, מטקסין, from Damascus (Ewald and Friedr. Mller).)

and aloes-wood Arab. mndl, from Coromandel; so the gold from Ophir, i.e., from the coast of the Abhra, on the north coast of the Runn (Old Indian Irina, i.e., Salt Sea), east of the mouth of the Indus,

(Note: Thus אופיר has been explained by Lassen in his pamphlet de Pentapotamia, and his Indische Alterthumskunde (i. 539). The lxx (Cod. Vat.) and Theodot. have Σωφείρ, whence Ges. connects Ophir with Arrian's Οὔππαρα and Edrisi's Sufra in Guzerat, especially since Sofir is attested as the Coptic name for India. The matter is still not settled.)

is directly called אופיר. When Job thus casts from him temporal things, by the excessive cherishing of which he has hitherto sinned, then God himself will be his imperishable treasure, his everlasting higher delight. He frees himself from temporal בּצר; and the Almighty, therefore the absolute personality of God himself, will be to him instead of it בּצרים, gold as from the mine, in rich abundance. This is what the contrast of the plur. (בצרך without Jod plur. is a false reading) with the sing. implies; the lxx, Syriac version, Jerome, and Arabic version err here, since they take the בּ of בּצריך as a preposition.

The ancient versions and lexicographers furnish no explanation of תּועפות. The Targ. translates it תּקוף רוּמא, and accordingly it is explained by both חסן (strength) and גבה (height), without any reason being assigned for these significations. In the passage before us the lxx transl. ἀργύριον πεπυρωμένον from עף, in the Targum signification to blow, forge; the Syriac versions, argentum computationum (חושׁבנין), from עף in the Targum-Talmudic signification to double ( equals Hebr. כפל). According to the usage of the language in question, יעף, from the Hiph. of which תועפות is formed, signifies to become feeble, to be wearied; but even if, starting from the primary notion, an available signification is attained for the passage before us (fatigues equals toilsome excitement, synon. יגיע) and Psalm 95:4 (climbings equals heights), the use of the word in the most ancient passages citable, Numbers 23:22; Numbers 24:8, כּתועפת ראם לו, still remains unexplained; for here the notion of being incapable of fatigue, invincibility, or another of the like kind, is required, without any means at hand for rightly deriving it from יעף, to become feeble, especially as the radical signification anhelare supposed by Gesenius (comp. און from the root אן) is unattested. Accordingly, we must go back to the root וף, יף, discussed on Psalm 95:4, which signifies to rise aloft, to be high, and from which יפע, or with a transposition of the consonants יעף (comp. עיף and יעף), acquires the signification of standing out, rising radiantly, shining afar off, since יעף, to become weary, is allied to the Arab. wgf, fut. i; this יעף (יפע), on the other hand, to Arab. yf', ascendere, adolescere, Arab. wf‛, elatum, adultum esse, and Arab. wfâ, eminere, and tropically completum, perfectum esse. Thus we obtain the signification enimentiae for תועפות. In Psalm 95:4, as a numerical plur., it signifies the towerings (tops) of the mountains, and here, as in the passages cited from Numbers, either prominent, eminent attributes, or as an intensive plur. excellence; whence, agreeing with Ewald, we have translated "silver of the brightest lustre" (comp. יפעה, eminentia, splendor, Ezekiel 28:7).