Job 29:17

Job 29:17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.

Ver. 17. And I brake the laws of the wicked] It is a mercy to have judges, saith one, modo audeant quae sentiunt, as the orator hath it ( Cic. pro Milone); so they dare do as their consciences tell them they should do. Job was such a judge, he feared not to encounter and keep under those unruly beasts and Belialists, who oppressed the poor, and then doubted not to oppose with crest and breast whatsoever stood in the way of their humours and lusts. Hic forti magnoque animo opus fuit, saith one. Here Job’s courage was put to the proof, if ever. Is it nothing to break the jaw bones of the wicked, to take the prey out of the lion’s mouth, and to rescue the oppressed from the man that is too mighty for him? Is it nothing to encounter the Hydra of sin, to oppose the current of times and torrent of vice, to turn the wheel over the wicked, and to leave them as powerless as old Entellus in Virgil did Dares; whom his fellows led away well beaten, and well nigh broken,

Iactantemque utroque caput, crassumque cruorem

Ore reiectantem, mistosque in sanguine dentes? - (Virg. Aeneid.)

And plucked the spoil out of his teeth] i.e. I made him make restitution of his ill gotten goods, whether by fraud or force. So that Job’s court, we see, was not vitiorum sentina, sed virtutum officina; his course was, Parcere subiectis, et debellare superbos, to help the afflicted and to punish the proud. Augustus, the emperor, was wont to say, That such a one only was fit to be a magistrate that was free from foul offence himself, and could withstand the corruptions of the times, keep a constant countermotion to the evil manners of the multitude; "Oς μητε τι αυτος αμαρτανειν και ταις του δημου σπουδαις ανθιστοσθαι δυνηται (Dio); as Cato was ever inveighing against covetousness and riot in the Roman State. Here also we have in Job the lively picture of a good magistrate, much better than that of Caesar Borgia, that villain, whom Machiavel proposeth as the only pattern for princes to imitate (De Principe, p. 185).

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 29:17. I brake the jaws of the wicked — Hebrew, מתלעות, methallegnoth, dentes molares vel maxillas cum dentibus, the grinders, or the jawbones with the teeth, the sharpest and strongest teeth in the jaw; that is, the power and violence wherewith they used to oppress others. It is a metaphor taken from wild beasts, which tear and crush their prey with their teeth. And plucked the spoil out of his teeth — Forced him to restore what he had violently taken away.

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

Image from combating with wild beasts (Job 4:11; Psa 3:7). So compassionate was Job to the oppressed, so terrible to the oppressor!

jaws--Job broke his power, so that he could do no more hurt, and tore from him the spoil, which he had torn from others.

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 17. I brake the jaws of the wicked] A metaphor taken from hunting. A beast of prey had entered into the fold, and carried off a sheep. "The huntsman comes, assails the wicked beast, breaks his jaws, and delivers the spoil out of his teeth. See the case 1Sa 17:34-37.

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

17. The figure is that of a beast of prey, who has its booty already in its teeth. The verse carries on Job_29:16; even when the unjust oppressor seemed already to have triumphed and carried off his prey, it was torn from his jaws.

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.

And I brake the jaws of the wicked,.... Their jaw teeth, or grinders, alluding to beasts of prey, who have such teeth, very large; the meaning may be, that Job confuted the arguments which wicked men made use of in their own defence, and against the poor, exposed the weakness of them, and made them ineffectual to answer their purposes; disabled tyrants and cruel oppressors from doing any further hurt and damage to the fatherless and helpless; was an instrument in the hand of God of breaking the power, and weakening the hands of such persons, and hindering them from doing the mischief they otherwise would; see Pro 30:14;

and plucked the spoil out of his teeth; as David took the lamb out of the mouth of the bear and lion that came into his father's flock, and carried it off: thus Job delivered the poor out of the hands of such monsters in nature, comparable to beasts of prey, and saved them from being utterly ruined by them, and obliged them to restore unto them what they had in an unrighteous manner taken from them.

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

And I brake the jaws of the wicked - Margin, “jaw-teeth, or, grinders.” The Hebrew word מתלעה methalle‛âh, the same, with the letters transposed, as מתלעות, is from לתע, to “bite” - and means “the biters,” the grinders, the teeth. It is not used to denote the jaw. The image here is taken from wild beasts, with whom Job compares the wicked, and says that he rescued the helpless from their grasp, as he would a lamb from a lion or wolf.

And plucked - Margin, “cast.” The margin is a literal translation, but the idea is, that he violently seized the spoil or prey which the wicked had taken, and by force tore it from him.

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

Prey, which he had extorted from the poor. (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 jaws; or, the jaw-bones; or, the grinders, the sharpest and strongest teeth in the jaw, i.e. their power and violence wherewith they used to oppress others. It is a metaphor from wild beasts, which break their prey with their teeth. Compare Psa 3:7; 57:4; 58:6.

Plucked the spoil out of his teeth, i.e. forced them to restore what they had violently and unjustly taken away.

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

17. I brake the jaws of the wicked — Gentle and compassionate to the oppressed, he was a thunderbolt to the oppressor. He broke the jaws of these ravenous beasts, and thus crushed their power to do injury; from their very teeth he tore their prey. The word for jaw may also be rendered eye teeth, protruding, says Schultens, like those of a wild boar.

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

And I brake the jaws of the wicked. (comp. Psa_58:6) It is scarcely meant, as Canon Cook supposes, that Job was himself the executioner. Quod facit per allure facit per so." Job would regard as Age doing what he ordered to be done. And plucked the spoil out of his teeth. Either by disappointing him of a prey which he was on the verge of making ms own, or by compelling him to make restitution of a prey that he had actually laid hold of.

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:

In verses 18-20 Job tells about the things he used to say before bad things happened to him.

I broke the jaws of ... I plucked the victim

Job speaks of unrighteous people who persecute others as if they were wild animals that attack their victims by picking them up between their teeth. AT: "I made unrighteous people stop persecuting people, like someone who breaks the jaw of a wild animal and rescues its victim from between its teeth" (See: Metaphor)

I will die in my nest

Here "nest" represents Job's home and family. Job used to speak as if he were a bird that lived in a nest with his baby birds. AT: "I will die at home with my family" or "I will die in the safety of my home" (See: Metaphor)

I will multiply my days like the grains of sand

There are more grains of sand on the shore than anyone can count. To say that he would live more days than anyone could count is an exaggeration to express that he would live a very long time. AT: "I will live a very long time" or "I will live many years" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization and Simile)

My roots ... my branches

Job used to speak of his strength as if he were strong like a well-watered tree. (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

righteous

die

water

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