Job 12:24

Job 12:24 He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness [where there is] no way.

Ver. 24. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people] That is, of the greatest part of the people of the world (say some). These God suffereth to walk in their own ways, Act 14:16; to become vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart is darkened; professing themselves to be wise, they become fools, Rom 1:21-22. As the philosophers of old, and the Chinese at this day, who are known to be ingenious, and used to say of themselves, that all other nations of the world see but with one eye, they only with two (Description of the World, of China and Cataia), yet continue they gross idolaters, mere heathens, having no less than a hundred thousand gods, which they worship one while and whip another, if they come not at a call. But the most interpreters, by chief or heads of the people, here understand their governors, of whom, though Job had said as much in effect before, {Job 12:17} viz. that God dispiriteth and besotteth them for a plague to the people who follow their rulers (and fall with them), as the body of a beast followeth the head; yet because few observe and improve this truth, therefore he repeateth and illustrateth it by three elegant similes. And first,

He causeth them to wander in a wilderness, &c.] Not knowing which way to extricate themselves. They beat their brains about it, but to no purpose; they are so bewildered and puzzled, as if they were treading a maze; and this God causeth, he is active in it, while he withdraws his light, and delivereth them up to their own foolish hearts, and to the prince of darkness, to be further benighted, 2Co 4:4.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

heart--intelligence.

wander in a wilderness--figurative; not referring to any actual fact. This cannot be quoted to prove Job lived after Israel's wanderings in the desert. Psa 107:4, Psa 107:40 quotes this passage.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 24. He taketh away the heart of the chief] Suddenly deprives the leaders of great counsels, or mighty armies of courage; so that, panic-struck, they flee when none pursueth, or are confounded when about to enter on the accomplishment of important designs.

And causeth them to wander in a wilderness] A plain allusion to the journeyings of the Israelites in the deserts of Arabia, on their way to the promised land. Their chief, Aaron, had his courage all taken away by the clamours of the people; and so made them a molten calf to be the object of their worship, which defection from God was the cause of their wandering nearly forty years in the trackless wilderness. The reference is so marked, that it scarcely admits of a doubt; yet Houbigant and some others have called it in question, and suppose that those chiefs or heads of families which led out colonies into distant parts are principally intended. It answers too well to the case of the Israelites in the wilderness to admit of any other interpretation.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

24. he taketh away the heart] i. e. the understanding; cf. on ch. Job_11:12.

in a wilderness] Same word as in ch. Job_6:18. The word is that rendered “without form,” Gen_1:2; Jer_4:23, i. e. chaos. The reference is to the confusion and perplexity into which the chiefs are thrown. The word is finely used Isa_45:19, I said not to the seed of Jacob seek ye me in the waste, i. e. in uncertain conditions (A. V., in vain).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They grope in the dark without light,.... Like blind men, as the men of Sodom, when they were struck with blindness; or "they grope", or "feel the dark, and not light" (g), as the Targum; as the Egyptian, did when such gross darkness was upon them as might be felt:

and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man; that has lost his sight, his senses, and his feet, and knows not where he is, which way to go, nor how to keep on his legs, but reels to and fro, and is at the utmost loss what to do; all this is said of the heads or chief of the people, in consequence of their hearts being taken away, and so left destitute of wisdom and strength.

(g) "palpant tenebras et non lucem", Vatablus, Mercerus, Drusius, Schultens.

Next: Job Chapter 13

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He taketh away the heart - The word heart here evidently means mind, intelligence, wisdom; see the notes at Job 12:3.

Of the chief of the people - Hebrew “Heads of the people;” that is, of the rulers of the earth. The meaning is, that he leaves them to infatuated and distracted counsels. By withdrawing from them, he has power to frustrate their plans, and to leave them to an entire lack of wisdom; see the notes at Job 12:17.

And causeth them to wander in a wilderness - They are like persons in a vast waste of pathless sands without a waymark, a guide, or a path. The perplexity and confusion of the great ones of the earth could not be more strikingly represented than by the condition of such a lost traveler.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Changeth. Hebrew, "taketh away the heart," or prudence "of princes." Hence they follow the most absurd counsels, Isaias xxix. 19. (Calmet) --- No way. This was the case of Pharao, when he pursued the Israelites into the sea; (Tirinus) and the like may rationally be feared by those princes, who attempt to make innovations in the true religion, or in the sound laws of a kingdom. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The heart; which signifies either,

1. Their courage, as Psa 76:12; or rather,

2. Their wisdom and counsel, as Job 5:13; Isa 3:4, as the following words show.

The chief; either for place and power, or for wisdom and conduct.

Causeth them to wander in a wilderness, i.e. fills them with confusion, and uncertainty, and perplexity of mind, so that they know not how to govern themselves or their people.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

24. The heart — The same word, and perhaps the same allusion, as in Job_12:3. The first clause of the 21st verse, and the last clause of this, are literally reproduced in Psa_107:40. “A plain allusion,” says Dr. Adam Clarke, “to the journeyings of the Israelites in the deserts of Arabia on their way to the promised land.” The Koran has a similar thought in connexion with the leadership of Moses: “God causeth to err whom he pleaseth, and directeth whom he pleaseth.” (Sur. Job_14:5.)

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth; rather. the chiefs of the people or "the popular chief talus" (Lee). He deprives these "chiefs" of their wisdom or courage, or both, and thus brings down the nations under their governance. And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way; rather, in a chaos one of the words used in Gen_1:2 to describe the condition of the material universe before God had ordered and arranged it. The chieftains, deprived of their "heart," are so confused and perplexed that they do not know what to do, or which way to turn.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He takes away understanding from the leaders of the people of the earth

Taking away their understanding represents causing them to be unable to understand. AT: "He causes the leaders of the people of the earth to be unable to understand" (See: Metaphor)

to wander in a wilderness where there is no path

Wandering in a wilderness where there is no path represents being in a difficult situation and not knowing what to do. AT: "to be unsure of what to do like a person wandering in a wasteland with no path" (See: Metaphor)

They grope in the dark without light

Being in the dark without light represents lacking knowledge. AT: "They struggle to make decisions without knowledge as people struggle to walk in the dark without light" (See: Metaphor)

he makes them stagger like a drunk man

Staggering or wandering like a drunk man represents living without purpose. AT: "he makes them live without purpose like a drunk person who staggers as he walks" or "they wander aimlessly like a drunk person who staggers back and forth" (See: Simile)

translationWords

earth

desert

darkness

light

drunk

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

in a wasteland not a road In a wasteland that is not a road.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.