Job 22:25

Job 22:25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

Ver. 25. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence] Or, thy gold, for the same word signifieth both, Job 36:19, because gold is the worldly man’s defence, Pro 18:11, though but a sorry one, Zep 1:18 Pro 11:4 Eze 7:19. It is as if he should say, Either thou shalt have gold gods plenty; or else, thou shalt have that which is better than gold, viz. God the maker and master of all the world, saith Junius, who rendereth the text thus, And the Almighty shall be thy choicest gold, and silver, and strength to thee. He shall be all that heart can wish or need require. A friend of Cyrus, in Xenophon, being asked where his treasure was? answered, οπου Kυρος φιλος, Where Cyrus is my friend. Let us answer, οπου Kυριος φιλος, Where God is my friend. When David had said, "The Lord is my portion," he subjoined in the next verse, "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage," Psa 16:5-6. When God had said to Abraham, I am thy shield, he easily slighted the king of Sodom’s rich offers.

And thou shalt have plenty of silver] Heb. Silver of strengths or of heights; that is, as the Vulgate interpreteth it, argentum coacervabitur tibi, thou shalt have high heaps of silver, store of money. Godliness hath the promise of both lives; and if godly men are not always rich men, it is that godliness may be admired for itself. And they must know, that what they lack in temporals shall be made up in spirituals, according to that which followeth.

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.

22:25 God promises to be his people’s treasure (Ps 16:5; Isa 33:6; Matt 19:21; Mark 10:21); although they possess nothing, they will be rich (2 Cor 6:10; Jas 2:5).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Apodosis.

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

defence--rather, as the same Hebrew means in Job 22:24 (see on 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."

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 25. Thou shalt have plenty of silver.] Here again the versions and critics vary. The critics may disagree; but the doctrine of Eliphaz is sufficiently plain: "To those whom God loves best he gives the most earthly good. The rich and the great are his high favorites: the poor and the distressed he holds for his enemies."

In the above verses there seems to be a reference to the mode of obtaining the precious metals:

1. Gold in dust;

2. Gold in streams from the hills and mountains;

3. Silver in mines; כסף תועפות keseph toaphoth, "silver of giddiness," of mines so deep as to make one giddy by looking into them. See Mr. Good.

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

(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: Psa_95:4, “The strength of the hills”; Num_22:23-24, “the strength of a unicorn.” Its original idea is probably brightness or splendour.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For then shall thou have thy delight in the Almighty,.... In the perfections of his nature, in the works of his hands, in his word and worship, in communion with him, and in the relation he stands in to his people as their covenant God and Father; this would be the case when Job should be more and better acquainted with God, and with the law or doctrine his month, and the words of his lips, and should return unto him with his whole heart; and when his affections should be taken off of all earthly riches; when he should look upon gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brook, and God should be to him his gold and his silver; then, and not till then, could he have true delight and complacency in God:

and shalt lift up thy face unto God; in prayer, as Sephorno interprets it, with an holy confidence, boldness, and cheerfulness; as a believer in Christ may, having on his righteousness, and having his heart sprinkled from an evil conscience by his blood; such an one can appear before God, and lift up his face to him, as without spot, so without confusion, shame, and blushing, without a load of guilt upon him, without fear of wrath or punishment, and of being repulsed; see Job 11:15.

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

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; Num 13:28; Deu 1:28; Deu 3:5; Deu 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.”

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

Silver. Septuagint, "But he shall purify thee, as silver, which has passed the fire." (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).

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, Ecc 7:12. Or, silver of heights, i.e. high and heaped up like a mountain.

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

25. Plenty of silver — Literally, bars of silver, (Hitzig:) silver of excellencies or splendours, (Ewald;) and heaps of silver, (Dillmann;) or better, silver of labours, (Gesenius,) that is, obtained by great labour. The word appears in Psa_95:4, “the strength [labours] of the hills;” one of the prime meanings of the verbal root being “to become weary.” Gold and silver have ever been the bright and alluring symbols of worldly good. God thus early uses them in figure to set forth the desirableness of himself and his glory. He who, like the Levite, gives up all for God, finds his treasure in God. God becomes his Ophir, the Almighty his precious ores. A just estimate of this world’s treasures becomes a golden round in the heavenly ladder.

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

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).

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

And the Almighty shall be of your adversaries Heb. והיה שד-י בצריך. If this word is holy [i.e., is a reference to the Almighty], I am bewildered at its interpretation, because its meaning is a curse, that He will be counted with his enemies, as in (Jud. 11:35), “and you have become one of those who trouble me (בעכרי),” with those who trouble me. By necessity, we will adjudge it as one of the elliptical verses, [meaning: And the Almighty shall be the Judge over your adversaries. But if we can interpret it as profane, as an expression of a judge and of strength, the following is its interpretation:] And your fortifications (בצריך) shall be strong (שד-י), like “Then you shall make a fortification (בצר) on the earth.” That is, powerful wealth will be fortified, and according to the context, that is indeed its interpretation, as evidenced by the end of the verse, “and you shall have abundant (תועפות) silver,” an expression of strength, like (Num. 23:22), “his is like the power of (כתועפות) a wild ox.”

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.