Job 20:8

Job 20:8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

Ver. 8. He shall fly away as a dream, &c.] As a delightful dream is soon forgotten, so shall it be with the hypocrite. His felicity is merely imaginary, his joy is but as the commotion of the affections in a dream, which comes to nothing, Isa 29:7-8. A man that is to be hanged next day may dream over night he shall be a king. A man that sleepeth upon a steep rock may dream of great possessions befallen him, and, starting for joy, may fall to the bottom, and mischieve himself. Psa 73:20, "As a dream when one awaketh, so, O Lord, when thou wakest, thou shalt despise their image"; that is, their painted pageant of outward pomp. Surely such of all men, walk in a vain show or in an image, Psa 39:6; their seeming prosperity hath no tack or consistence in it, themselves and their money perish together, Act 8:20.

Yea, he shall be chased away] By the displeasure of Almighty God, he shall be driven or rather kicked out of the world.

As a vision of the night] Phasma, sire Phantasma, which passes sooner out of memory, and is more transient than a day vision.

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_20:8

He shall fly away as a dream.

The dream of life

Job, in the text, speaks of life as a dream, a mere passing phantom of the brain.

I. A dream implies a dormancy in certain faculties of our nature. The flitting visions of the brain at night always imply the slumbering state of certain powers of the soul. The will has but little to do with the creations of the dream world. In what sense is the soul asleep? What are the faculties that lie dormant within us? There are those that consciously connect the spirit with the spiritual universe--God and moral responsibilities. But spiritual sleep is unnatural and injurious.

II. A dream fills the mind with illusive visions. The mind sees things in the dreams of the night that never will and that never can have any actual existence. Like dreams, our life here is full of fictions and fancies.

1. Mans notions as to what his life here will be are illusions.

2. Mans notions as to what constitutes the dignities and blessedness of life are illusions. Compare the worlds ideas of dignity with the dictates of common sense, the teaching of philosophy, to say nothing of the higher light of revelation. All notions of dignity and happiness are illusive which have not--

(1) To do more with the soul than the senses.

(2) To do more with the character than the circumstance.

(3) To do more with the present than the future.

(4) To do more with the absolute than with the contingent.

III. A dream is of very short duration. The night dreams of men are very brief, compared with the regular thoughts of their waking hours. Like a dream, life too is brief. This life dream will soon be over. (Homilist.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(Psa 73:20).

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 8. He shall fly away as a dream] Instead of rising again from corruption, as thou hast asserted, (Job 19:26,) with a new body, his flesh shall rot in the earth, and his spirit be dissipated like a vapour; and, like a vision of the night, nothing shall remain but the bare impression that such a creature had once existed, but shall appear no more for ever.

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

8. as a dream] Comp. Psa_73:20, “As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest thou shalt despise their image”; Isa_29:8, of the enemies of Israel.

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.

He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found,.... Either as a dream which is forgotten, as Nebuchadnezzar's was, and cannot be recovered; or as the matter and substance of a dream, which, though remembered, is a mere illusion; as when a hungry or thirsty man dreams he eats or drinks, but, awaking, finds himself empty, and not at all refreshed; what he fancied is fled and gone (m), and indeed never had any existence but in his imagination, Isa 29:8;

yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night; either the same as a nocturnal dream, or what a man fancies he sees in his dream; or like a mere spectre or apparition, which is a mere phantom, and, when followed and pursued, vanishes and disappears; so such a man before described is chased out of the world, and is seen in it no more, see Job 18:18; the first clause, according to Sephorno, refers to the generation of the flood, and the second to the slaying of the firstborn of Egypt in the night.

(m) , Pindar. Pythia, Ode 8.

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

He shall fly away as a dream - As a dream wholly disappears or vanishes. This comparison of man with a dream is not uncommon, and is most impressive. See Psa 73:20; see the notes at Isa 29:7-8.

As a vision of the night - As when one in a dream seems to see objects which vanish when he awakes. The parallelism requires us to understand this of what appears in a dream, and not of a spectre. In our dreams we “seem” to see objects, and when we awake they vanish.

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

Fleeth. The poets assign wings to sleep and to dreams. (Homer, &c.) Isaias (xxix. 7.) describes a man who dreams that he is eating, and finds himself hungry when he awakes. Such is the live of the avaricious, (Calmet) and of all wicked people. (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).

As a dream; which for the present makes a great show and noise, and highly affects the fancy, but hath nothing solid nor permanent in it; for as soon as the man awakes all vanisheth, and the remembrance of it is quickly lost.

Shall not be found; the man will be utterly lost and gone, together with all his riches and glory.

As a vision of the night; which appears to a man in the night and in his sleep.

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

He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found; i.e. "as a dream flies, when one awaketh". (see Psa_73:20 Isa_29:7, Isa_29:8) Yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. A "vision of the night" is perhaps something more than a "dream;" but it is equally fugitive, equally unstable with morning it wholly vanishes away.

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:

Zophar continues speaking to Job.

He will

"The wicked person will"

He will fly away like a dream ... he will be chased away like a vision of the night

Here "fly away" and "be chased away" represent disappearing. They may also imply being forgotten, since dreams and visions disappear when people forget them. AT: "He will disappear like a dream ... he will be forgotten like a vision of the night" (See: Parallelism and Simile)

will not be found

This can be stated in active form. AT: "no one will find him" (See: Active or Passive)

The eye that saw him

The eye represents a person. AT: "Anyone who saw him" or "The people who saw him" (See: Synecdoche)

his place

The phrase "his place" represents those who live in his place. AT: "the people who live in his place" or "his family" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

dream

vision

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

and they will not find him i.e., his friends.

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.