Job 22:8

Job 22:8 But [as for] the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.

Ver. 8. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth] Heb. But as for the man of arm, he had the land. This the Vulgate applieth to Job; as if by his power he had wrought all others out, and seated himself alone in the land; suffering none to dwell by him but those that he could not overly match. Others by the mighty man understand the strong and wealthy, who are said to be gracious with Job, sharing with him in his possessions, and partaking of his privileges, when the poor were slighted and could not have justice, much less mercy, Pauperes non dignaris pane: at potentibus possessiones tuas offers, &c. (Vatab.). Here then Eliphaz accuseth Job of pride and partiality.

And the honourable man dwelt in it] Heb. Eminent, or accepted for countenance; that is, he who came commended by his wealth, friends, great alliances, honours, &c., was in great request with Job, and might easily carry any cause with him. Haec sunt peccata gravissima, quae non reputant homines, saith Vatablus, These are very great sins, though men little think of it.

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 22:8. The mighty man had the earth — That is, he had the firm possession, or free enjoyment of it. Which is meant, either, 1st, of Job, of whom he speaks invidiously in the third person: as if he had said, The mighty man Job possessed, enlarged, and enjoyed his estate, without any compassion to the poor. Or, 2d, of other rich and potent men, who had the earth or land by Job’s kindness and courtesy. The rich were always welcome to him; his house was open to them; his land was before them, when the poor were driven away from his house and territories. The honourable man dwelt in it — Either by Job’s sentence or permission, he had a peaceable and sure possession of it, whether he had a right to it or not. Heath renders this verse, But, as for the mighty man, the whole land was for him; and thy particular favourite, he might dwell in it.

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

When thou wast in power and authority, thou didst not justice but wrong.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

mighty--Hebrew, "man of arm" (Psa 10:15; namely, Job).

honourable--Hebrew, "eminent, or, accepted for countenance" (Isa 3:3; Kg2 5:1); that is, possessing authority. Eliphaz repeats his charge (Job 15:28; so Zophar, Job 20:19), that it was by violence Job wrung houses and lands from the poor, to whom now he refused relief (Job 22:7, Job 22:9) [MICHAELIS].

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. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth] איש זרוע ish zeroa, the man of arm. Finger, hand, and arm, are all emblems of strength and power. The man of arm is not only the strong man, but the man of power and influence, the man of rapine and plunder.

The honourable man] Literally, the man whose face is accepted, the respectable man, the man of wealth. Thou wert an enemy to the poor and needy, but thou didst favour and flatter the rich and great.

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

(8) But as for the mighty man.—By the “mighty and the honourable” man is probably meant Job. Some understand the words from Job_22:5-10 inclusive, as the words spoken by God on entering into judgment with Job (Job_22:4); but this hardly seems probable.

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

8. The “mighty man,” lit. man of arm, i. e. the powerful (Psa_10:15), and the “honourable,” lit. man of respect, i. e. high in rank (Isa_3:5), is of course Job himself.

he had the earth] Or, his is the land.

dwelt in it] Or, shall dwell in it.

These words describe the feeling that, according to the supposition of Eliphaz, pervaded Job’s conduct—his idea was that the land or earth belonged to him, and under this feeling he oppressed the poor and drove them from 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.

Thou hast sent widows away empty,.... Either out of their own houses, which he spoiled, and devoured, and stripped, and cleared of all that were in them, as did the Scribes and Pharisees in Christ's time, Mat 23:14; or out of his own house, when they came to him, as a rich man, for charity; as they came to him wanting relief, they went away so; if without food and clothing, they were bid to depart without giving them anything to feed and clothe them with; or if they came to him as a civil magistrate to have justice done them, and to be delivered out of the hands of their oppressors, they could not obtain any, but were dismissed without it; how contrary is this to Job 29:13;

and the arms of the fatherless have been broken; not in a literal sense, as if when refusing to go out, when their mothers, the widows, had their houses spoiled, and they sent empty out of them; these laid hold on something within them, and would not depart, and so, had their arms broken by the mighty man, the man of arms; but, in a metaphorical and figurative sense, their substance, and goods, and possessions, left them by their fathers for their support, these were taken away from them, and so they were as impotent and helpless as if their arms had been broken; or their friends on whom they relied for their sustenance, these were either ruined, and so could not help them; or else their affections were alienated from them, and would not. This indeed is not expressly charged upon Job, but it is intimated that it was done with his knowledge and consent, good will, and approbation; at least that he connived at it, and suffered it to be done when it was in his power to have prevented it, and therefore to be ascribed unto him; but how foreign is all this to Job's true character, Job 29:12?

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

But as for the mighty man - Hebrew as in the margin, “man of arm.” The “arm,” in the Scriptures, is the symbol of power; Psa 10:15, “Break thou the arm of the wicked;” Eze 30:21. “I have broken the arm of Pharaoh;” Psa 89:13, “Thou hast a mighty arm;” Psa 97:1, “His holy arm hath gotten him the victory.” The reason of this is, that the sword and spear were principally used in war, and success depended on the force with which they were wielded by the arm. There can be no doubt that this is intended to be applied to Job, and that the meaning is, that he had driven the poor from their possessions, and he had taken forcible occupancy of what belonged to them. The idea is, that he had done this by power, not by “right.”

Had the earth - Took possession of the land, and drove off from it those to whom it belonged, or who had an equal right to it with him.

And the honorable man - Margin, “eminent,” or “accepted of countenance.” Hebrew: “Lifted up of countenance;” that is, the man whose countenance was elevated either by honor or pride. It may be used to describe either; but, perhaps, there is more force in the former, in saying that it was the great man, the man of rank and office, who had got possession. There is, thus, some sarcasm in the severe charge: “The great man ... the man of rank, and wealth, and office, has got possession, while the humble and poor are banished.” Job had had great possessions; but this charge as to the manner in which he had acquired them seems to be wholly gratuitous. Eliphaz takes it for granted, since he was so severely punished, that it “must have been” in some such way.

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

It. Hebrew and Septuagint intimate that Job accepted persons, and gave sentence in favour of his rich friends. (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).

Heb. And, or but, the man of arm, or strength, or, power, to him was the earth, or the land. i.e. he had the firm possession or free enjoyment of it: which is meant either,

1. Of Job, of whom he speaks invidiously in the third person. The mighty man Job possessed, and enlarged, and enjoyed his estate without any compassion to the poor. Or rather,

2. Of other rich and potent men, who had the earth or land, either.

1. By Job’s judicial sentence, which was generally given in favour of the rich, and against the poor; or,

2. By Job’s kindness and courtesy. The rich were always welcome to him, his house was open to them, his land was before them, when the poor were driven away from his house and territories.

The honourable man dwelt in it; either by thy sentence or permission he had a peaceable and sure possession of it. He repeateth the same thing in other words.

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

8. The mighty man — Literally, the man of arm. An idiom common to almost all Asia, even in the present day. (Good.) The arm was the symbol of strength; length of arm expressed power; shortness of arm, impotency. “The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save.” (Isa_59:1.)

The honourable man — נשׂוא פנים: that is, men accepted for favour, — favoured on account of wealth and power. Renan renders it, The formidable man; and says, “These misfortunes, in the thought of Eliphaz, took place through the fault of Job. It was the duty of Job, in fact, being judge, to prevent them.” Or it may mean the mighty and the honourable (ironical) prosper, under the emirship of Job, while widows and the fatherless are trampled into the dust; the arm of might excels, and the arm of the orphan is broken.

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

But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; literally, as for the man of arm; i.e. the man strong of arm. Job"s retainers are probably meant, whom Eliphaz supposes to have been allowed by Job to oppress the poor, and have their own way in the world. This charge was doubtless as baseless as the others. (comp. Job_29:16, Job_29:17) And the honourable man dwelt in it; of the accepted man favoured man," i.e. those of whom Job approved and whom he favoured.

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

Dwelt - Either by thy sentence or permission, he had a peaceable and sure possession of it, whether he had right to it, or no.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Does a strong man own the earth This is a question. Because you were strong, should you inherit the earth?

remain therein Is he fit to remain in existence?

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.