Job 18:9

Verse 9. The gin shall take him] Houbigant reads the tenth before the ninth verse, thus: "The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way. The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him."

From the beginning of the seventh verse to the end of the thirteenth there is an allusion to the various arts and methods practiced in hunting.

1. A number of persons extend themselves in a forest, and drive the game before them, still straitening the space from a broad base to a narrow point in form of a triangle, so that the farther they go the less room have they on the right and left, the hunters lining each side, while the drovers with their dogs are coming up behind. "The steps of his strength shall be straitened," Job 18:7.

2. Nets, gins, and pitfalls, are laid or formed in different places, so that many are taken before they come to the point where the two lines close. "He is cast into a net, he walketh upon a snare - the trap is laid for him in the way-the snare in the ground," Job 18:8-10.

3. The howling of the dogs, with the shouts of the huntsmen, fill him with dismay, and cause him to run himself beyond his strength and out of breath. "Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet," Job 18:11.

4. While spent with hunger and fatigue, he is entangled in the spread nets; and the huntsman either pierces him with an arrow or spear, or cuts the sinews of his legs, so that he is easily captured and destroyed. "The robbers shall prevail against him," Job 18:9. "His strength is hunger-bitten, and destruction is ready at his side," Job 18:12. This latter verse is thus paraphrased by the Chaldee: "Let his first-born son be famished; and affliction be prepared for his wife."

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

Job 18:9 The gin shall take [him] by the heel, [and] the robber shall prevail against him.

Ver. 9. The gin shall take him by the heel] Or, he shall lay hold on the trap with his heel, so Mercer readeth it; that is, he foolishly runs upon his own ruin, he perisheth by his own oversight.

And the robber shall prevail against him] Horridi sitibundi, the shag-haired ruffians, that have wasted their own estates, and now thirst after other men’s. Broughton readeth it, The savage shall lay hold on him. So that either by secret contrivance or open violence he shall be undone.

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.

Job 18:9-10. The gin shall take him by the heel — That is, take fast hold on him, so as to keep him in those distresses. And the robber shall prevail against him — Hebrew, צמים, tsammim, the horrible or terrible man, the huntsman that laid the snare for him shall come upon him, when he is insnared, take and spoil or kill him. The snare is laid for him in the ground — Where he did not discern nor expect it. The former snare he laid for himself, but this was laid for him by another.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

robber--rather answering to "gin" in the parallel clause, "the noose shall hold him fast" [UMBREIT].

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

9. the robber shall prevail] Rather, the trap layeth hold of him, as all the verbs in this passage should be put in the present tense. The word is that occurring ch. Job_5:5. The world of God is one network of snares for the wicked man, he walks upon snares, in the field and in the way alike. The idea that the world is a moral constitution is very prominent in the Old Testament, a mere physical constitution of things is an idea unknown to it.

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.

The snare is laid for him in the ground,.... Or "hidden" (r) there; for, as Solomon says, "in vain the net is spread in sight of any bird", Pro 1:17; and in vain it is to lay a snare publicly in the sight or creature, it will not then come near it, but shun and avoid it; and therefore it is laid underground, or hid in the earth, or in some private place, where the creature it is designed for may be thought to come, or into which it is decoyed; or "the cord" (s), that which is fastened to the snare or net, and which the fowler holds in his hand, and pulls with; as he finds occasion and opportunity offers; but this is hid as much as possible, that it may not be seen:

and a trap for him in the way; in which he is used to walk, by the roadside, or in it; Mr. Broughton renders it, "a pitfall on the wayside", such as is dug for beasts to fall into and be taken. The whole of this is designed to show how suddenly and secretly wicked men are taken in nets, and snares, and gins, either of their own or others laying, and, while they are crying "Peace, peace, sudden destruction comes upon them"; see Ecc 9:12.

(r) "absconditus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, &c. (s) "funis ejus", Montanus, Tigurine version, Mercerus, Drusius, Cocceius, Schmidt.

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

The gin - Another method of taking wild beasts. It was a snare so made as to spring suddenly on an animal, securing him by the neck or feet. We use a trap for the same purpose. The Hebrew word (פח pach) may denote anything of this kind - a snare, net, noose, etc. with which birds or wild animals are taken.

By the heel - By the foot.

And the robber shall prevail - He shall be overpowered by the highwayman; or the plunderer shall make a sudden descent upon him, and strip him of his all. The meaning is, that destruction would suddenly overtake him. There can be no doubt that Bildad meant to apply all this to Job.

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

Thirst: the greedy hunter. (Calmet) --- Hebrew, "the robber." (Haydock)

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).

Shall take the by the heel, i.e. take fast hold of him, so as to keep him in those distresses; and when he is insnared the robber shall come upon him, and take, and spoil, or kill him. Or,

the horrible or terrible man; the huntsman, that laid the snare for him. A metaphor from those who hunt for wild beasts, who first lay snares for them, and then seize upon them in the snares.

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

9. The robber — The noose (ch. Job_5:5) shall take fast hold of him. In Job_18:8-10 six different modes of taking wild animals are alluded to. They do not differ much from those still prevailing among barbarous tribes. The variety of figure employed indicates the hopelessness of escape.

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

The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber (rather, the man-trap) shall prevail against him. Fifty years ago man-traps were commonly set at night in gardens and orchards in this country, which held intending thieves until the proprietor came and took them before a magistrate in the morning. (On the employment of such traps in antiquity, see Herod., 2:121.

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

General Information:

Bildad continues to speak and uses three parallel images to describe how suddenly the wicked person will experience disaster. (See: Parallelism)

A trap will take him ... a snare will ... A noose is ... and a trap for him in the way

These four phrases speak of the wicked man experiencing disaster as if he were caught in a trap. AT: "It will be as though a trap will take him ... a snare will ... A noose is ... and a trap for him in the way" (See: Metaphor)

A trap

People used this kind of trap to catch birds. The trap snapped shut and held on to the foot of the bird.

will take him by the heel

Here the "heel" refers to the whole foot. AT: "will take hold of his foot" (See: Synecdoche)

A noose is hidden for him on the ground

This can be stated in active form. AT: "Someone has hidden a noose on the ground in order to catch him" (See: Active or Passive)

A noose

a rope with a loop that grabs hold of an animal's leg when the animal steps in the middle of the loop

a trap for him

The understood verbal phrase "is hidden" may be supplied. AT: "a trap is hidden on the path to catch him" or "someone will hide a trap to catch him in the way" (See: Ellipsis)

Terrors will make him afraid on every side

"Terrors all around will make him afraid"

they will chase him at his heels

This speaks of the things that terrify the wicked person as if they were enemies who chased him. AT: "it will be as if the terrors will chase him all around" (See: Personification)

translationWords

snare

terror

fear

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

shall seize A trap shall seize him by the heel.

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.