Job 14

14th chapter of the Book of Job

Job 14

← chapter 13

chapter 15 →

The whole Book of Job in the Leningrad Codex (1008 C.E.) from an old fascimile edition.

Book| Book of Job
Hebrew Bible part| Ketuvim
Order in the Hebrew part| 3
Category| Sifrei Emet
Christian Bible part| Old Testament
Order in the Christian part| 18

Job 14 is the fourteenth chapter of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1][2] The book is anonymous; most scholars believe it was written around 6th century BCE.[3][4] This chapter records the speech of Job, which belongs to the Dialogue section of the book, comprising Job 3:1–31:40.[5][6]

## Text

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The original text is written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 22 verses.

### Textual witnesses

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Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).[7] Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q100 (4QJobb; 50–1 BCE) with extant verses 4–6[8][9][10] and 4Q101 (4QpaleoJobc; 250–150 BCE) with extant verses 13–18.[8][11][9][12]

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC; some extant ancient manuscripts of this version include Codex Vaticanus (B;  G {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}} B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK:  G {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}} S; 4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (A;  G {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}} A; 5th century).[13]

## Analysis

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The structure of the book is as follows:[14]

* The Prologue (chapters 1–2)
* The Dialogue (chapters 3–31)
* The Verdicts (32:1–42:6)
* The Epilogue (42:7–17)

Within the structure, chapter 14 is grouped into the Dialogue section with the following outline:[15]

* Job's Self-Curse and Self-Lament (3:1–26)
* Round One (4:1–14:22)
* Eliphaz (4:1–5:27)
* Job (6:1–7:21)
* Bildad (8:1–22)
* Job (9:1–10:22)
* Zophar (11:1–20)
* Job (12:1–14:22)
* The Wicked Prosper but I Am Suffering (12:1–6)
* God's Hand in Creation (12:7–12)
* God's Active Control of the World (12:13–25)
* Job's Stance (13:1–3)
* Job's Rebuke of His Friends (13:4–12)
* Addressing the Friends (13:13–19)
* Addressing God (13:20–28)
* The Brevity of Human Life (14:1–6)
* The Lack of Hope for Humans (14:7–12)
* Job's Imaginative Exploration of Hope (14:13–17)
* The Lack of Hope – Again (14:18–22)
* Round Two (15:1–21:34)
* Round Three (22:1–27:23)
* Interlude – A Poem on Wisdom (28:1–28)
* Job's Summing Up (29:1–31:40)

The Dialogue section is composed in the format of poetry with distinctive syntax and grammar.[5] Chapters 12 to 14 contain Job's closing speech of the first round, where he directly addresses his friends (12:2–3; 13:2, 4–12).[16] There are two major units in chapter 14, each with a distinct key question:[17]

* Verses 1–6 focus on the brevity of human life, with the key question in verses 3–4.
* Verses 7–22 explore the issue of hope for humans, with the key question in verses 13–17.[17]

"Job and his friends", on an unknown medieval wall painting in a Dutch Reformed Church, Hattem, Netherlands.

## Job laments the brevity of human life (14:1–6)

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This section contains Job's laments of his suffering against the backdrop of human sorrow in general (echoing chapter 7).[18] Three phrases ("born of a woman", "few of days" and "full of trouble"; verse 1) and the analogies to "a flower" and "a shadow" (verse 2) emphasize human limitations as well as the brevity of human life.[18] Job attempts to protest that God treats him as a "hired man", which is 'unsuited for his limilations' (verses 5–6).[19]

### Verse 6

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[Job said:] "Look away from him that he may rest,

Till like a hired man he finishes his day."[20]

* "Rest": or "cease",[21] from the Hebrew verb חָדַל, khadal ("to desist; to cease"), so it would mean here "and let him desist" or "and let him rest".[22]

Here Job depicts humans as "hired laborers" under a harsh taskmaster, so 'life becomes mere tedium driven by obligation and fear', instead of 'joyful service to a caring master'.[23]

## Job laments the lack of hope for humans (14:7–22)

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There are three units in this section:[17]

* Verses 7–12 point to lack of hope for humanity
* Verses 13–17 provide the key question as well as Job's imaginative exploration of hope
* Verses 18–22 revisit the lack of hope for humanity.[17]

The center point is that Job wants God to 'remember' him (verse 13; cf. Job 7:7, 10:9) and protect him from divine wrath, believing that God is in charge, although in the ways that Job does not fully understand.[24]

### Verse 13

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[Job said:] "Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,

that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
that You would appoint me a set time

and remember me!"[25]

* "Hide me in the grave": seems to be in contrast to Job's revulsion of the grave in other parts of his speeches (Job 7:9; 17:16), because Job thinks the afterlife is 'an unpleasant prospect of joyless semi-existence', instead of 'a joyful anticipation'.[26]
* "The grave": translated from the Hebrew term "Sheol", which in the Bible refers to 'the place where the dead go'.[27]

## See also

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* Afterlife
* Death
* Divine retribution
* Sin
* Suffering

* Related Bible parts: Job 12, Job 13, Job 31

## References

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1. ^ Halley 1965, pp. 244–245.
2. ^ Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.
3. ^ Kugler & Hartin 2009, p. 193.
4. ^ Crenshaw 2007, p. 332.
5. ^ a b Crenshaw 2007, p. 335.
6. ^ Wilson 2015, p. 18.
7. ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 36–37.
8. ^ a b Ulrich 2010, p. 728.
9. ^ a b Fitzmyer 2008, p. 42.
10. ^ 4Q100 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
11. ^ Dead sea scrolls - Job
12. ^ 4Q101 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
13. ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
14. ^ Wilson 2015, pp. 17–23.
15. ^ Wilson 2015, pp. 18–21.
16. ^ Wilson 2015, p. 79.
17. ^ a b c d Wilson 2015, p. 86.
18. ^ a b Wilson 2015, p. 87.
19. ^ Wilson 2015, p. 88.
20. ^ Job 14:6 NKJV
21. ^ Note on Job 14:6 in NKJV
22. ^ Note [a] on Job 14:6 in NET Bible
23. ^ Estes 2013, p. 87.
24. ^ Wilson 2015, p. 89.
25. ^ Job 14:13 MEV
26. ^ Estes 2013, p. 88.
27. ^ Note [b] on Job 14:13 in NET Bible

## Sources

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* Alter, Robert (2010). The Wisdom Books: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes: A Translation with Commentary. W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 978-0393080735.
* Coogan, Michael David (2007). Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann; Perkins, Pheme (eds.). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 (Augmented 3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195288810.
* Crenshaw, James L. (2007). "17. Job". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 331–355\. ISBN 978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
* Estes, Daniel J. (2013). Walton, John H.; Strauss, Mark L. (eds.). Job. Teach the Text Commentary Series. United States: Baker Publishing Group. ISBN 9781441242778.
* Farmer, Kathleen A. (1998). "The Wisdom Books". In McKenzie, Steven L.; Graham, Matt Patrick (eds.). The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-66425652-4.
* Fitzmyer, Joseph A. (2008). A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 9780802862419.
* Halley, Henry H. (1965). Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary (24th (revised) ed.). Zondervan Publishing House. ISBN 0-310-25720-4.
* Kugler, Robert; Hartin, Patrick J. (2009). An Introduction to the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-4636-5.
* Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill.
* Walton, John H. (2012). Job. United States: Zondervan. ISBN 9780310492009.
* Wilson, Lindsay (2015). Job. United States: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 9781467443289.
* Würthwein, Ernst (1995). The Text of the Old Testament. Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-0788-7. Retrieved January 26, 2019.

## External links

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* Jewish translations:
* Iyov - Job - Chapter 14 (Judaica Press) translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org
* Christian translations:
* Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
* Book of Job Chapter 14. Various versions
* Book of Job public domain audiobook at LibriVox Various versions

* v
* t
* e

Book of Job

* Job
* In Islam
* In rabbinic literature

Bible chapters|

* Prologue (Job 1
* 2)
* Dialogue (3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9
* 10
* 11
* 12
* 13
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* 18
* 19
* 20
* 21
* 22
* 23
* 24
* 25
* 26
* 27
* 28
* 29
* 30
* 31)
* Verdicts (32
* 33
* 34
* 35
* 36
* 37
* 38
* 39
* 40
* 41)
* Epilogue (42)

People and entities|

| Job's family members|

* Job's wife
* Jemima
* Keziah
* Keren-happuch

|

Job's friends|

* Bildad
* Elihu
* Zophar
* Eliphaz

Others|

* Angels (including Satan)
* Behemoth
* Chaldeans
* Jobab ben Zerah
* Leviathan
* Rahab
* Sabeans
* Shuah
* Tannin
* Ziz

Places|

* Ethiopia
* Jordan River
* Ophir
* Sheba
* Tema
* Teman (Edom)
* Uz

Phrases/Terms|

* Eloah
* Shaddai
* YHWH
* Chol

Related religious texts|

* Book of Ezekiel (14:14–20)
* Book of Sirach (49:9)
* Epistle of James (5:11)
* Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 3522
* Testament of Job
* Moralia in Job
* Add MS 31031
* of 945
* Cîteaux

In art|

| Films|

* Adam's Apples (2005)
* A Serious Man (2009)
* The Reverend (2011)
* Leviathan (2014)
* The Shift (2023)

|

Literature|

* Job (1930 novel)
* Job (1939 radio play)
* A Masque of Reason (1945 play)
* Silverlock (1949 novel)
* Answer to Job (1952 analysis)
* J.B. (1958 play)
* God's Favorite (1974 play)
* Job's Passion (1981 play)
* Job: A Comedy of Justice (1984 novel)
* Job's Wife (2002 play)

Other|

* Byzantine illuminated manuscripts
* Job (Bronze sculpture by Judith Shea)
* William Blake's Illustrations of the Book of Job

Other|

* Tomb of Job

Sources|

* Hebrew Bible
* Septuagint
* Wycliffe Version
* King James Version
* American Standard Version
* World English Version

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